I'm wondering what routes people have gone when installing coaxial speakers in the doors. We all know the stock speakers and HU leave a lot to be desired. I want to go with a rather simple upgrade, and stay away from spending a lot of money and going overboard. I was thinking about a decent set of coaxials (maybe $75-100) for the doors that would sound good running off of deck power from a decent alpine HU (maybe $200) but I could also add a small amp to down the line for a little more volume if need be. The reason I'm thinking coaxials is because it seems like all of the separates I've seen will absolutely require an external amplifier to sound decent whereas a middle of the line coaxial would be ok off of deck power. If I go the route of coaxials though, what do I do with my stock tweeters? Just unhook them and leave them mounted in the doors? Or would there be a way I could hook them up in conjunction with the coaxials? I'd want to leave my rear speaker wires from the deck unused though so that I can add some rear speakers down the line. Thanks for any advice/help.

 

I would just take them out.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by usace
I'm wondering what routes people have gone when installing coaxial speakers in the doors.

 

Thanks PJK3. I do already have a small 2 ch amp (about 75X2) that I'll probably go ahead and incorporate for the fronts. I just really hate the idea of losing any storage space. I'll take a look at those speakers you've mentioned.

While I have your attention with this thread (and since you really seem to know your stuff when it comes to car audio) I'm curious as to how the stock speakers are wired to the HU. Are the midbass and tweeter wired in parallel to the front channels? Are they both an 8 ohm speaker resulting in a 4 ohm load? And how is the filtering of the high frequencies to the tweeter and lower frequencies to the woofer handled? Is it done by a little outboard crossover? I'm just kind of curious how this combo gets wired up.

If I decide on either the infinitys or focals you mentioned will the tweeter usually have no problem fitting in the stock location?

Sorry for all of the questions, and again I appreciate the help.

 

It depends on the model but most coaxial sets out there let the woofer run full range and just have an in-line HP on the tweeter

 

When I installed my coaxial speakers I simply left the stock tweeters in place. They will not really harm the new tweeter sound and might add a little to it. Just be certain the phasing is the same.
Andy

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by usace
Thanks PJK3.

 

Thanks everyone for the help.

PJK3, thanks for the informative post. I figured you'd be able to shed some light on this subject based on your replies in other threads. As I'm scrolling through various topics I find myself stopping when I see one of your replies because I know it will contain some accurate, detailed information. And you always take the time to help everyone out. I've done some decent sized installs on my previous 2 vehicles, but just wanted to keep this one a little simpler....but if memory serves me right I think I said the same thing before performing either one of those installs. Not that I want to skimp on anything or take any shortcuts with the S...just wanted something a little simpler. Anyway, thanks again for the info and I'll have to do a little research on the speakers you've suggested.

 

flattery will get you everywhere....

seriously though, thank you for your kind words, and i'm glad to help, especially a fellow Mechanical Engineer... regretfully, i've forgotten a lot more than i like to admit as there was a time where audio (home and car) was my main hobby, and in my off time i travelled all over to shops just to demo new equipment and talk to factory reps, etc..... (sheesh, i was a dork. ) but then again, i had money to spend and was always looking for something better back then... eventually, in accordance with the law of diminishing returns, there came a point where i couldn't find anything better without spending lots more money, so i slowed down... and then came marriage, a home, kids, etc... and the money slowed down... but still at the end of the day, i go home to my main system and smile... i go demo at times, but i'm still quite happy and haven't found something 'better enough.'

i do admit that i look forward to getting a new car every 5-10 years, just so i can go out and have a good excuse to demo everything and buy some new gear... but in the end, i match budget to gear and put it all in and call it done for a few years.

but, my ramblings aside -- one of my main rules of thumb when setting up a system are -- demo, demo, demo. find the gear, listen to it, and make sure you keep a similar baseline from piece to piece (bass and treble set to 0/flat, loudness off).
another rule is to expect to spend more on speakers than you'd spend elsewhere... (depending on the complexity of the setup, somewhere around 40% or better should be speakers) they are the primary interface between gear and music. the subtle variances in amplifiers are impossible to hear on crappy speakers... and speakers are very personal.

if you'd like, i can try to help you in your selection process... what sort of music do you usually listen to? and how loud do you want it?

 

Sadly, I'm going to have to disagree

The biggest chunk of my budget would probably be for install for both parts and time.

Radio install parts
-harness
-plastic piece
-DCI
Amp install parts
-Amp rack
-RCA's
-Power and ground cable
-Fuses
-Terminals! (You'd be surprised how much of an improvement you'll see from a good grounding terminal compared to a bad grounding terminal)
Speaker install parts
-Crossover parts
-Weather stripping around the rims
-Deadening on the doors
-Kick panels
-Speaker wire
Subwoofer install parts
-More weather stripping
-Enclosure that can fit somewhere
-Carpetting
-Stuffing
-Deadening around the trunk
-Bigger speaker wire

And don't forget to add in whatever it is you guys need to make your stuff look pretty

Not me. Ugly works just fine for my ears