Just curious about this I have done a few searches and read a whole lot of threads but I havent seen the source of the reasoning that everyone went through to choose those speakers...?

Also I'm not partial on forcing a new component spot into my 01' I'm thinking more along the lines of mounting a coax or component with mounted tweeter in the stock position.

Are these Kappas good to run off the stock head unit? I was also considering a pair of Boston Acoustics.

I just cannot stand the stock speakers they are horrible but I'm not at the point where I want to put any real money into the stereo. Just make it sufferable.

Thanks!

 

because Dave's a pimp who gets a kickback from Infinity for telling everyone to get them...


no, seriously though -- they are a good speaker and can be had fairly affordably. you'll also find that Focal speakers are quite popular here as well, somewhat due to my influence and preference. Bostons and MBQuarts are also popular, with showings from a number of other manufacturers like JL, Alpine, Eclipse, Polk, Diamond, etc.

the best way for you to decide what speakers are best for you, is to go and listen to a variety of speakers at the shops in your area. none of us can tell you which speaker will sound best for you. but, if you tell us what kinds of music you like and what your budget is, we can make some suggestions for you.

 

, dave's the Kappa pimp

I wanted the focals more and me and phill were talking about the 165w's I think but the noise levels in the S ( especially with my exhaust) takes away all the adavantages of the focal speakers. I have listed to it due to recommendation from phill and dave and they sounded amazing.

Kappa's are basically best bang for the buck. They are nicely priced for a 100 Watts RMS component system.
Another reason was extreme pressure from dave (j/k) . I almost went with JL XR-CSI 650, but I think I am better off with infinty's

For your question, they are horrible for stock HU. If you re not going to amp them dont put them with the stock HU. I am not sure about the excat number but I think the stock HU puts out like what? 10 watts rms?
Kappas need minumum 35watts rms according the users manual and I am runnig them with 23 watts RMS thru my Alpine and ofcourse its not enough. It wil be really distorted and low volumed.
Let me put it this way, the magnet on the kappa is so big that the stock HU cant move the cone to create sound.
If you would like to see magnet difference here I took some pics before I installed mine.

http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=184365
That should give you an idea.

 

i think i can fairly say that there are NO aftermarket components that i would tie into the factory HU.

a good aftermarket HU? there are some that will be passable or even good... but you'll need to compare and watch the sensitivity of the speaker very carefully in order to get something that can perform reasonably w/ a 16-20 Wrms output (25 Wrms w/ the V-drive Alpines).
still, you will not get nearly the volume from them as you would with them amplified.

 

Well.....although I wish I got a kickback from Infinity, the answer is simple. They are pretty much the best bang for the buck....They can be found for 210 and lower, put out about 150RMS, and are good quality. They are "different" than Focal, MBQuart, etc.....one is not better than the other, they are different. They all punctuate different frequencies which sound better to some people and others sound better to others. Focals are rich, warm , and have great midbass. They are fantastic for unplugged cds, things of that nature. Infinitys are IMHO the best speakers for digital music. They also sound nice with acoustic and softer songs, but different. Its all a matter of personal taste. Kappas are brighter and "higher" than most speakers, especially at my settings (tweeters on +5db!!!) This is what I like. Others may hate it, but you know what......its my car, so I do what I want. Everyone chose a speaker because they heard it and loved the way it sounds. Some of us here are knowledgible, so we can give 100% satisfaction guaranteed advice from experience. I dont know everything about car audio, escpecially the numbers aspect, thats Phils department, but I have had TONS of install experience, as well as equipment experience. I know what it pure trash no matter what Car Audio magazine says, and what is worth money (no matter how crappy the shops say they are) I know most of the tricks shops use to get people to buy things (JL is #1 in that department ---highest commisions) and give honest advice. If you notice, most of us here push the same products over and over because they are tried and true.

Actually, most people on here dont have Kappas, I think only like 3 people do. We also go by value. MBQuart Q series speakers are nice (lower line MBQuarts are complete crap) but since a "deal" for them is about 499-550, they are crap, simple economics. There are better products for a lot less money.

The best advice you will get is listen to what you like and buy it. You can ask us for help on where to get it, if the price is reasonable, but its your ear, feed its needs not ours.

As far as coaxials vs. components....Phil was right....most good components, need at least 30WRMS to sound good. A head unit simply cannot provide the power. So if you dont want an amplifier, just get a set of nice coaxials and a pair of tweeters and youll be fine.

Good luck!

 

The Infinity Reference 6000 series is really a pretty decent lower power component set. They'll run at quite low power levels and with a sensitivity of 92 they'll still put out some good volume. They're not full, high end speakers that will sound as good as the best. But I have owned a set in a previous car and they are a surprisingly good mid-range speaker with nice mellow silk dome tweeters that can be bought for $150 and lower. And they can sound good with somewhat higher levels of amplification too.

ron

 

Thanks for the info guys. The stock cones are just horrible and any presence of mid-bass seems to distort the highs very quickly. I'm not concerned about great quality, or sound stage in my S, I just want something tolerable which I think I can get from just swapping out the stocks with something a bit better.

I drive to enjoy driving so my money is going into other parts of the car for a long while before I even look at doing something better with the stereo.

If you had to choose between the BA's and the Kappas which would you opt for?

Also what is a good price on these? I have been quoted 230$ on the BA's.

 

NO offense........but are you not paying attention,

You cant get Kappas for what you want. They will sound worse than stock. Get the Infinity Reference line. (1 line lower than the kappas) You should spend AT MOST 150 bucks for speakers.

 

This has always been my assumption as well. Has anyone ever tried it? It would be good to hear from them.

Just maybe the factory HU is powerful enough to drive an efficient component set (e.g., Focal 165K). Or would too much of the power be lost to the crossovers?

 

Since Andy put his kappas to his Alpine and they didnt sound good with no amp, imagine a stock HU that has a 1/3rd of the power.