Car audio newb looking for some speakers.

[35g700]

Hi, I've got a 1995 Ford Escort Wagon it may not be the nicest car available but I figure I'm probably going to be driving it around for a while because it only has 22k miles and I'm in college and I can't really afford anything better.

I've upgraded the head unit in the vehicle from the stock setup to a Pioneer DEH-3300UB and the sound quality has improved quite a bit, bit I would like to get some new speakers for my car but I have no idea where to start. After doing some research I believe that the front door speakers are 6.5" and the rear speakers are 6"x8". The doors in my car don't allow for very tall speakers so the front ones are going to have to be small.

So I guess I need 2 6.5" speakers and 2 6"x8" but I have no idea what I should get. I was wondering if you guys could help point me in the right direction so I don't end up buying some garbage speakers that don't fit or something.

Thanks,

Richard

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[njknittle 10+ year member]

You get what you pay for in essence. Good starting speakers would be any of the Alpine series

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

ive got some 6.5 for sale pm me if interested ,you need slim line speakers and thats what i have.a set of coaxials and comps

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

You get what you pay for in essence. Good starting speakers would be any of the Alpine series

couldnt disagree with you more...

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

couldnt disagree with you more...

agree i wouldnt run any alpine speakers except the x series,but dont really like their speakers

 

[35g700]

Do you guys know any specific sets that would be good for me? I'm mainly looking for the best performance to cost ratio because dish washing isn't exactly a great moneymaker.

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

OP... we need a lil more info on what your looking for, like budget, what wattage (general amount), if their going to be amplified or ran of the H/U (i would highly recommend amplifying them)... that sort of stuff

also, with the 6x8's, i would run a 6x8 plate... which will take a 6.5 component set, and make it mountable in that same space

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

OP... we need a lil more info on what your looking for, like budget, what wattage (general amount), if their going to be amplified or ran of the H/U (i would highly recommend amplifying them)... that sort of stuff
also, with the 6x8's, i would run a 6x8 plate... which will take a 6.5 component set, and make it mountable in that same space

agree a nice little 4 channel and 6.5s all the way around.not a whole lot of choices that are decent for 6x8s

 

[MakeItGoBANG 10+ year member]

Well man I can tell you I am the very bottom of the expertise scale around here but more than a decade ago I bought my first pair of car speakers. They were 6x9 infinity reference 3-way speakers. They were 100w Rms 300 peak for about $150-$200.

As the more qualified poster suggested, your budge would be the key. I would target a power range after that. Once you know approximately how much you want to spend you can read reviews around here or other internet sources to get an idea of company quality. I've had kicker 5x7s and kenwood 5.25s all full range. I havent had enough different brands of the same size to really compare one comlany to another.

The best option is a component system but that gets a little more complicated. For a starter, I would recommend 2-way or 3-way full range speaker. These are basically sized woofers (5.25, 5x7, 6x8, 6x9, etc) with one (2way) or 2 (3way) other speakers mounted for highs/mids. These are easy to install (unplug factory speaker, plug in new speaker) . 100w Rms might be a good place to start but since your speakers are a little smaller 75 might be satisfying. I recommend getting subs and and a quality amp installed before you look at component systems for you doors/rear hatch. If you get a 75w-100w rms speaker you can reasonably get an amp connected to those at some point down the road which would make the transition to components easier after that.

If you want to "go big early" check out build logs around here. Otherwise, I think you'll be happy with something close to what I've described.

A component system woukd be higher quality but would involve more complicated wiring and tweeter-mounting.

 

[Dirtrider4eva 10+ year member]

dont rip on alpine type R's. their great rear fills //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/suave.gif.858fc102f7646e678ee8af7e1fbc41d1.gif

fronts are 3 way Diamond audio S600, my ears love them for the 170rms.

OP, i reccomend Diamond, their s600s are marvelous if you can find them for a good price.

I have dealt with alpine type s 6x9 and alpine type r 6.5s. the R's arent that bad.. i found a deal for 2 sets (coaxial and components for 100 bucks)

the type s's we jacked out of a eclipse in a salvage yard when they werent watching.

the r's lack mid-bass, but they can take good power. i was running about 100rms to each in the past, thats when a little more midbass opened up, but easily they begin to distort. they have an empty sound.

Look into Memphis, MB quarts, Audioque just came up with a pair, cadence.

im sure you can find something on here for the right price.

 

[35g700]

How hard is it to install an amplifier? I'll admit that I don't really know that much about cars so I'm not quite sure If I could do that...

As for budget I'd be willing to spend like $100ish on a set of four speakers but I can go above if need be. I'm not looking for top notch but I figure putting just $100 into the speaker system would sound a ton better than the stock speakers.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Another Mainer?

OP focus on your front stage, leave stocks in for the rear stage. Rear stage is just for fill (to give you "full" sound) and if you don't really know what youre doing, you can really mess up the sound by focusing too much on it. In other words, you sit in the front of the car, therefore you should pay attention to that.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

good luck youd need more unless you buy used ,as for the amp there are some self help tips on here

 

[MakeItGoBANG 10+ year member]

Amplifier installation is more complicated than replacig speakers. You have to attach a power wire (with fuse) to your battery and run that to the location you are going to put your amp (usually in the trunk or under a seat). Then you'll need to create a ground for the amp near the install location. Then, you'll have to run an RCA cable from your head unit to the amplifier which means you have to pull your radio out of the dash to get to the outputs in back. Finally, connect the speakers to the amplifier using speaker wire.

On that budget I highly recommend you just get some 2-way speakers of appropriate size and try to get at least 75w rms since your HU is probably pushing 50.

If you go used as suggested your options open up considerably. I would also recommend focusing on either rear or front. I feel you'll be better off with one set of quality speakers paired with factories than with 4 new low quality speakers.

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

If ur going to just power them off the deck then look for a set with the highest sens lvl. I say amp them or just keep them stock unless they are blown. $100 budget u sir need to locate a new hobby! With that budget grab some sony red cones and get silly!