best sound quality in stock locations

[niqnak 10+ year member]

I really want to redo my sound system, especially my front stage. My front stage currently consists of RE RE comps with the mids glassed into the kick panels and the tweeters in the stock pods in the a pillar. I am beginning to become unhappy with this setup and want to do something different, but I have a lot of requirements for my new install and need help on figuring out a setup that will work.

I do not want to make kick panels again as it has been a huge hassle driving a manual car with very little room to spare anyways. I want to reuse the stock locations for the midrange or midbass driver which is located in the kick panel with no tilt so it fires at the occupants' feet and will hold a 5.25 driver.

My options are:

1. 2 way passive set that will sound good enough in my stock locations (Rainbow? CDT ES, HD? Diamond Audio Hex?)

2. 3 way setup with a 5.25 midrange driver in the kick panel, soft dome midrange installed in the top left corner of the door panel, and tweeter in the stock a pillar corner pod (morel seems to be the only one i can find here...)

3. 2 way active setup in the stock locations

What would be the best option for sound quality and any speaker recommendations for it? I listen to rap/hip hop almost exclusively and cost really isn't an issue. If I have to throw down on a set of Morel Elate 5 3W's I will. I'm just looking for cost effectiveness. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a set of speakers that will end up sounding no better than another much cheaper set would have sounded in my particular install.

Right now I am leaning towards Dynaudio System 222's or the CDT HD-52's.

Thanks

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[Gary S 10+ year member]

For best speaker placement, I would try to keep all drivers in the kicks or as close as possible.

 

[krisfnbz 10+ year member]

I would keep your speakers in the stock locations, and just upgrade your speakers to better ones.

Look into boston Z6's and Rainbow Geraniums.

 

[///M5 10+ year member]

Two options:

Make a 6.5 fit in the stock locations.

or go active...

For the 5.25 either the Scan Speak Rev or Seas W16nx would be stellar options.

 

[MiniVanMan 10+ year member]

I don't want to spend a lot of money on a set of speakers that will end up sounding no better than another much cheaper set would have sounded in my particular install.

Excellent approach.

What are your options in your door? I'm assuming it's a 5.25" opening in your door?

If you decide to go active, what kind of processing do you have available?

What is your budget? Or better yet, what is the TOP end of what you're willing to spend, and what would you really like to keep it at?

For an active setup that is extremely affordable, the Dayton RS150-4, and the Seas Neo tweeter.

I'm going to keep the Seas Neo as the standard for all options from here on out when listing setups. So here goes in order of price.

Dayton RS150-4 (Excellent clarity, great midrange, decent midbass, EXCELLENT priced to performance ratio)

Seas L15RLY (Excellent clarity, great midrange, good midbass)

Seas W16NX (Superb clarity, superb midrange, very good midbass, costly)

ScanSpeak Rev 5.5" (Top notch distortion levels, clear, and clean through it's entire bandwidth. Excellent midbass, quite costly).

Those are for drivers that I've laid hands on that I can comment on (actually I'm going off the Scan 7", and Seas W18NX so take it for what it's worth.)

For a good passive set. For a door mounted system.

DLS Ultimate UR5s (and up).

Rainbow Profi Line (and above)

Those lines of speakers start in the $500-$600 range. When looking to go active take that into account, and if you're looking to do high end drivers, like the W16NX, then you might be better served going passive by the time you add in the cost of extra processing and extra amplification.

If you do something along the lines of the Dayton RS150 and Seas Neo tweeter, then going active becomes pretty affordable, as long as you're not running Arc amps or something like them (unless you already have them).

I'm not a fan of 3-ways that use a 5 1/4" midbass.

 

[niqnak 10+ year member]

MiniVanMan u have been extremely helpful in both of my threads and I cannot thank you enough. I have decided that I am not ready to tackle going active yet as I really don't have anyone to help me tune the system.

Now my issues are Rainbow Profi's or a DLS set (these are actually what i have already focused in on) and whether or not to stay with 5.25's or tackle modifying the stock hole to accept a 6.5. Will I really be losing that much going with 5.25's vs 6.5's? I am also going to be redoing my sub install and will basically be installing one 10 in each rear 'door' area in a coupe so will that be able to make up for the loss? The subs will most likely be soundsplinter RL-i's if u have any experience with how high they can be crossed...

 

[MiniVanMan 10+ year member]

If you can do the 6.5's then by all means do so. A lot of times it's just a matter of using a thick MDF baffle, given you have the space between the door frame, and the door panel.

I can't help you on either the DLS or the Rainbow sets. You won't be wrong with either one, and you'll always wonder if the other one sounds better.

Give 6spdcoupe a shout and see what he recommends as he's an authorized dealer for both.

As for running the 5 1/4", it will be fairly noticeable the difference in low end output between the 5 1/4" and the 6 1/2". Install will have a lot to do with it as well. Remember that no matter how good your equipment is, if it's not installed correctly it's pointless. Lot's of deadening, and a proper baffle go a long way.