A Few Speaker Questions

[raneow 10+ year member]

Hi guys! I have a 2003 Ford Focus which I am going to get new speakers for. It currently has 5x7/6x8s, and I want a coaxial system of the same size for a simple installation. I am not going to be using an amp, but I never blast the speakers, so that's not a huge deal. I mainly listen to rock, and I don't care much about bass, just clarity. I don't want to spend anything over $150 a pair, but lower priced speaker recommendations are encouraged.

I've looked into many brands, starting with Pioneer. I've gotten very mixed reviews about them. Then I looked into Infinity, which gets good reviews most of the time. Question 1: If I were to get Infinits, should I get Kappas or Reference?

Later, someone recommended looking into some more expensive brands, such as Boston Acoustics and JL. I really liked there offerings, but not the price. Question 2: Are these expensive speakers worth it?

And then I found out about Alpine, which I also like very much, but don't know much about. They are also kind of expensive too.

As you can see, I'm very mixed up by this world of car audio, and I really just want to hear from you guys what you think the best speaker is for me. Thanks a lot in advance.

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[brandont 10+ year member]

Any brands mentioned are good. If you're not using an amp, look towards the lower lines of each brand. Any speaker should have a good amp, but the headunit amp is usually okay for lower lines of speakers. Are you going aftermarket on the headunit? I'm asking because when I sold car audio and people replaced their speakers, they usually didn't sound any better than stock. Aftermarket speakers are usually not as effecient as the stock ones. This is why most people who change out speakers go with aftermarket headunits later on.

 

[TwistedVisions 10+ year member]

I would go with the after market head unit first then buy the aftermarket speakers. I can speak from experiance on that because i bought new door speakers and rear speakers and they sounded terrible even worse then my stock speakers. So i had to listen to my hard earned 300 dollar speakers distort until i had money for an alpine head unit. Even still if i turn my volume up to loud they tend to distort(still not enough power) So i would look into spending at least 250 on a good head unit and make sure it has 3 pre outs and 4 volt atleast. Then far as brands go i can only speak for the polk db series and the infinity reference which both i think were worth the money. I have heard the alpine type S and they sounded really clear but less watts. For 150 dollars a pair I would look into Mb quartz i haven't heard them but i have done research on this forum and they only get good reviews and there in your price range. Boston accoustics are probally your most expensive and your going to be paying 300 for a set but are suppose to be top of the line. I would start out by going to circuit city and best buy to hear the lower end speakers for your car and if your not happy with the quality then check out http://www.mbquart.com and see if there is a dealer near you. Most likely a car radio shop will have both alpine and JL audio speakers in the same store,thats how it is at kens car tunes by my house atleast. Also goto http://www.crutchfield.com and goto "what will fit my car" then it will bring up all the speakers that will fit your car and prices. I just went there and it said you had 6x8's and 5.25 but then again i looked under just the 2003 focus sedan there was more than one model. Wish i could be more help on different brands but this should get your started,its really comes down to what you think sounds good thats why we have so many choices //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[raneow 10+ year member]

Thanks guys.

About the head unit: I am using the factory one, but in a way, it is better than others. It is made by Blaupunkt (and Ford) and seems to be much better than your average factory head unit. But I haven't been able to find any stats for it to prove that.

Your posts above lead to me a different question: At low volume, in which head unit power delivery isn't an issue, do more expensive speakers (within a brand) sound better than they're lower-priced equivalents?

 

[trungthiendo 10+ year member]

even though blaupunkt made the headunit, they made it for the focus sound system i think...and it still is stock head unit...

the first thing you should do is get a a new head unit that would be the first thing i would do

 

[raneow 10+ year member]

See, the problem is, I really don't want a new head unit. I love mine, it looks cool, and I really don't want to spend the money for a new one.

 

[TwistedVisions 10+ year member]

Well i went ahead and did some research on that blaupunkt that they put in the ford focus. It has a mp3 player which is nice and it puts out 80 watts peak which actually is only 40 watts rms if that for 4 channels. Which means your getting only 10 watts of rms per channel but i can't find exactly how many volts its putting out which is important on how good the quality is. Its up to wheather or not you get a new head unit i mean you could always buy the speakers first and if the quality is good enough with your stock cd player then your set(Although if you turn your volume up to loud your speakers will distort).Far as being able to tell the difference between the more expensive and lower end speakers with your factory head unit,the answer is no(only because either way you will be underpowering them actually i would think the more you underpower the speaker the worse it will sound but i dont' know for sure). Although i would keep in mind if you buy cheap speakers and your stock head unit doesn't give them enough power they will sound bad then your stuck with cheap speakers unless you get them at a stereo shop that will let you trade them in for better ones. Im curious to know how come you don't plan on getting an amp?

 

[tbrikner 10+ year member]

I put 5x7 Eclipse speakers in my daughters 2000 Focus running off an aftermarket Pioneer deck. They are the lower SE line and are very efficient. They sound good with the stock rear speakers which seem to have a good amount of bass for factory speakers and are not too low in the doors. I believe you can still find them on Ebay for around $55-$65.

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

Blaupunkt is very good qulity, my bottom of the like H/U pumps out 22w per channel RMS. it cost $116. thats a bargain. top of the line clarion is like 17wRMS.

 

[raneow 10+ year member]

ones. Im curious to know how come you don't plan on getting an amp?

A few reasons: I'm trying to keep costs down, I don't turn anything up to high volumes, and I didn't think I needed one.

As you can see in the pciture below, it would be quite difficult to install a new head unit due to the curved structure of the dash.

EDIT: Just had another thought: Would it make sense to just buy front speakers? That way, I could save money. I have heard that the stock ones actually have pretty good bass for rear fill.

 

[KTniel 10+ year member]

hi..

u used jL speacker right...into ur car ford focus...in my country Brunei..one of the person used same car..but the sound is so clear..if u use the kicker speaker RS6..that all for ur upgrade ur sound..

ok bye...c ya...

 

[TwistedVisions 10+ year member]

I understand about keeeping the cost down i really hate budgets myself //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif. You could buy just front speakers which would be your highs(for clarity) and your 6x8's are really there for bass its a good idea to have good 6x8's if you don't plan on getting a sub and like some kind of bass. Have you went to crutchfield and found out wheather you have 5x7's or actually 5 1/4's ?? The bigger the speaker the more its going to cost you but then again if your only buying front speakers you can get a good set for 150. I just remebered last night that circuit city sells those blaupunkt cd players so you can go up there and push the button to listen to that cd player and play different 5x7's and see if you like the quality. Hopefully they have those cd players there because its not on circuit citys webpage but it was in our local store here. If for some reason circuit city there in LA don't carry it you can go here http://www.blaupunktusa.com/BlaupunktUSA/ConsumerWarning/Dealer%20Zone.htm Then just type in your zip to find a dealer near you. The reason i say you should listen to your speakers from a blaupunkt cd player is because if you can find close to the same model thats how it is going to sound in your car(Maybe not as good because they have amps hooked up to them). Good luck.

 

[raneow 10+ year member]

Thanks. That's a good idea. And I'm positive that my car has 6x8s all the way around (like all Fords). For some reason, 5x7s also fit fine.

EDIT: Today I listened to Pioneers and Infinitis at Circuit City. The Infinitis sounded much better, so at least I have narrowed down one brand.

 

[raneow 10+ year member]

It's clear that I don't want to spend a lot of money. So I was thinking I could get only the front speakers, and get really nice ones. Obviously, I only sit in the front of my own car, so it sounds like a feasible idea. Would have the old crappy speakers in the rear bring down the overall quality in anyway? Do you think its a good idea to get just front speakers? Thanks.

 

[TwistedVisions 10+ year member]

Most people don't think its wise to spend money on good 6x9's if you plan on getting a sub. The reason being is because its just pointless i mean your sub can play the lows and the 6x9s are just to enjoy some bass until you save up more money(for your sub). It doesn't sound like a great idea to spend 300 on really nice front speakers that will need 125 watts rms a piece(which you can't give them off your hu) and have your stock speakers in the back. If i were in your situation I would goto either circuit city or best buy and look for there deals they run which they run alot which is buy one set of speakers(your 5x7's) then get the second pair for half off(6x8's) and save your money. Don't waste money on really nice speakers that you will underpower and won't sound good //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif