89 Civic question

[Haserfauld]

Hello all,

I'm new here. I have an 88 Civic...and everything in it was stock. Making me NUTS, so I just got a new deck for it. Stock speakers are worthless, obviously, so I am looking to upgrade them.

To the best of my knowledge, my car has no rear speakers. Is that normal? Should I put speakers there? I just checked in the trunk and it looks like it has places to mount speakers, along with what appears to be +/- wiring, but there are no speakers there. I'm a fairly electrical guy (build PCs, wired my new stereo harness and such), but I know almost nothing about installing speakers.

Here's my question: If I want to upgrade my system in my car, what should I get? Here are a few parameters.

I'm not going to keep this car too long, and I don't have the money or desire to pimp out the sound system. I'm just looking for good sound, no amps needed, in the $200 +/- range.

Some of you might cringe at the idea of upgrading a sound system without amps and subs and all that, but I'm just a college kid with a small paycheck and a car he's not gonna keep too long.

Also, any input on where to get them would be greatly appreciated. Online might be cheaper, but local places actually install the speakers, don't they? Installation would be nice....but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Thanks,

Greg

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[harveyy 10+ year member]

Regardless of 2 dr or 4 dr, there are holes for back speakers. Just look. With the 4 dr, this may require cutting the rear deck cover, but the frame work is pre-cut. The car should also be pre-wired for front and back speakers. Depending on the depth of the speaker you choose, you may have to add a spacer to prevent obstruction from the window. I wouldn't recommend paying for install, it's so easy to do it yourself.

Many different brands to choose from, depends on the type of sound that appeals to you. Go have a listen to as many brands as possible, then you can focus on which brands to get.

Most people would not recommend back speakers, due to sound issues.

 

[Haserfauld]

The speakers I'm currently looking at are 6 1/2 " Oz Audio Coaxials, or DLS 226's (recommended by tplaya07). Would it be smarter to guy with the more expensive DLS speakers, but only get one set for the front?

I'm running a Pioneer 7700MP HU, btw.

Thanks for the input!

 

[OlogyAudio 10+ year member]

The speakers I'm currently looking at are 6 1/2 " Oz Audio Coaxials, or DLS 226's (recommended by tplaya07). Would it be smarter to guy with the more expensive DLS speakers, but only get one set for the front?
I'm running a Pioneer 7700MP HU, btw.

Thanks for the input!

Most everyone here will say it is better to spend more money on the front components and not have rears (or if you do have cheaper ones... given less power, or just have midbass drivers or less sensitive full range drivers)

Check your PM box btw for another option...

 

[Haserfauld]

Thanks for all the input and PMs everyone--

At this point, I'm probably leaning towards one set of more expensive front speakers. Ology, I'd probably go with yours if I had another month or so to throw money into the kitty for this, but driving an hour every day with speakers that buzz when listening to ANYTHING (even talk shows on AM *shudder*)...I can't deal with this anymore.

Anyone have any more recommendations in the $150 +/- price range? (for 1 set)

 

[Haserfauld]

Hey guys, just an update:

There are physically no rear speakers. The factory wiring is in the trunk, and there are just two sets of + / - terminals. I've put some pictures up here to help ya'll see.

First -- Behind the headrests, a little plastic plug on each side that, when removed, looks through a little treaded metal hole into the trunk.

Second -- Right rear speaker mount, as viewed from the trunk. The aforementioned threaded hole is pointed out with the arrow. Factory wiring is visible.

Third -- Same thing, only left side.

Fourth -- Left rear door, and obviously no place to put a speaker there.

Fifth -- Front door speaker area. Easy to remove that plate, install speaker, and put it back in?

So if I just got 4 nice 6 1/2 inchers, no amps, subs, or seperate tweeters, would that be an easy install job?

 

[OlogyAudio 10+ year member]

Get 2x 6-7" speakers... a sub and an amp... it will sound worlds better -- especially if you can increase the budget a bit //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif -- But ya cant -- so I would suggest getting 2 nicer fronts instead of 4 lower quality speakers... unless you just want louder //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif -- in which case 4 lower quality speakers is fine... Subs make a VERY REAL improvement...

 

[Haserfauld]

Only thing is, I've always grown up in / had cars with rear speakers...and when I get in my car with no rear speakers....it seriously sounds like something is missing with no sound from behind me. It just seems lacking, plus I like to channel the balance to the rear sometimes, but I guess that's not too important. I've also always grown up in / had cars with factory speakers //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif ...so I think no matter what, I'm going to be blown away.

I'd go with the sub and amp, but my budget is indeed limited to $150-200ish. I need tinting desperately, in addition to taking it in for a checkup i'm just SURE is gonna reveal some expensive problem, haha.