b0mbrman -- i'm w/ you... i'd do kick panels in a heartbeat before i'd cut up my dash... legroom, smegroom... who needs it? the thing is, my fiberglassing abilities are amateur at best, so i'd have to pay for kickpanels to be made... and well, i'd have to agree that factory locations can be made to sound quite exceptional with the proper choice of speaker.

r2d2, i would agree with you that money is not the solution to every car stereo problem -- that's for sure. many times, it doesn't hurt as it provides you with a lot of options. but at the same time, while custom speaker installs often improve sound quality, they aren't always the best solution in a given situation either... i'd be inclined to believe there are other options that could provide a much improved sound stage without any potential safety compromises. kick panels or custom made door panels would be high on my list...

 

Remember - my reasoning is that it is all about the location and the fact that the noise is just a resonance. As such it needs to reflect the surface (bass) or go directly (highs) otherwise it won't make it to your ear or would make it unclear. Keep in mind that I am talking about listening to Pink Floyd, not m&m.

I am driving my car 95% top down (sunny cali:-). You should try to test your speakers with top up, top down & side windows up and top&windows down. Each time you will get different result, in fact you will feel that each step degrades the quality of sound. Oh - don't forget to drive 70mph with each setup.

This would answer why I think that the midrange speakers in kick panel are not a solution. Yes for sub, no for 100hz up.

Before I cut dash I was experimenting (for 5 months) with speakers in roll bar. Even though at the beginning they brought significant difference over the time they got me headache - by noise. It's no joy to have highs coming directly to your head from the back. So anybody thinking about putting them in (especially since they are supposed to be an accessory from Honda) don't do it.

 

about the safety issue - I am currently looking for different grills (speaker is completely off the airbag section) which would not rattle so much:-). The dash speakers are square so in theory there could be custome made grill which would be completely off the airbag section too, I just didn't find any, that's all.

And about the speakers choice - Excelons sound really well compared to other cheaper or (much) more expensive speakers. They are dual magnet design, remember. Their big benefit is that they are VERY shallow. The dash on the left side does not have much depth (vent pipes) and also you know how big magnet you can fit behind the seat...

 

r2d2: How about you just remove the grills, place a soft foam spacer ring on top of the speaker and cover it with speaker cloth. Basically you'll be making a custom grill out of soft foam and speaker cloth. It will also blend in with the rest of the dash better and be much safer (just in case).

 

I bet I could find cheaper and better

Or I bet I could find just a little more expensive and a lot better...

I spend a lot of time playing with 3" to 5" drivers, using them for computer speakers, travel speakers, or your old-fashioned smashmouth line arrays

 

doesn't sound like you know what are you talking about:-) did you actually hear Excelons?

 

mas: interesting idea. I was thinking about having CF frame built matching the square design of the speaker.

 

actually, i've heard them, and suspect b-man has as well...

my question at this point would normally be, "Have YOU heard Excelons?" but clearly you have x 6. i'm just wondering if you've heard anything else...

 

Sounds like someone is a brand

 

not at all. My Kenwood collection is just the result of lack of other options.

- i was looking for 6' midbass to put to doors and purchased Kicker r6b (or what is exact name). I blew one quickly plus it had very pure performance. The remaining vendor was Kenwood with W1705 - what a difference (!). More rich, more bass, more everything. Just the price was lower:-)

- fosgate 3way setup was considered but I heard other (good) fosgates in a showroom and didn't like them as much as I did excelons. Plus they are quite deep, especially for dash setup.

Note - there are two lines of excelons. I am talking about the new ones. So - have you heard the new ones?