Components -vs- Coaxles

[FullThrottle7 10+ year member]

Howdy guys. I'm a newbie and need to get a killer system so my car can blow away everyone at high school. After careful calculations, however, I have become aware that a top of the line setup might not fall within my budget. I've considered all possible options and decided to get a Kenwood receiver (KDC-MPV7019), a nice set of speakers, and a good 12" sub (Audiobahn AW1200Q) powered by a high quality amp. My problem lies in choosing the right speakers. My car is a 1981 Porsche 924, which is an extremely small hatchback, with factory 4x6 cutouts in the walls of the back seats (right behind both front seat headrests). Many people I know have just replaced their factory speakers with some decent coaxles, but every car enthusiast has recomended that I buy a strong set of components. The only thing holding me back from buying the components is some advice from a Car Toys salesman. He told me that unless I had an amp running to the components, they would probably blow. If anyone here knows if I could power a decent set of components (any set; 4"/5.25"/6.5") with a nice Kenwood deck (22w RMS x 4), please let me know. Otherwise, I will have to go with some nice coaxle speakers, or maybe a pair of plate 4x6. Also, if it is possible to drive components with the Kenwood receiver, could you leave any suggestions you have for nice sets to buy. Thanks for your help.

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[rco8786 10+ year member]

blow your components if they weren't amped? they won't blow, but you won't hear much from them. if your on a budget then components probably aren't the best bet, just get some nice coaxials

 

[FullThrottle7 10+ year member]

Thanks, that makes the decision much easier. Another question came after your responses, though: How close to the max RMS do I need to give the components to make them sound better than the coaxles with just the 4 channel receiver power?

 

[jjoven1225 10+ year member]

maybe he meant by blow is that it ***** or wont tell the difference.. as ur question.. 50x4 is good

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

a quality set of comps for me anyday, it is always worth the extra money

 

[KLH2004a 10+ year member]

Components are better. No excuse. I love them. Will not go any other way. even if you do not put an amp on them, but when you finally put the amp to them. OMG //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/drool.gif.b5e863e893038027711d4402f340dad0.gif

 

[sylvr 10+ year member]

Components are better. No excuse. I love them. Will not go any other way. even if you do not put an amp on them, but when you finally put the amp to them. OMG //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/drool.gif.b5e863e893038027711d4402f340dad0.gif

lies.

components are not always better than coaxials. i can guarantee you there are plenty of bad component sets out there and, at the very least, a handful of great coaxials-types that wont require any cutting up placement for tweeters etc.

it really depends on how much your looking to spend but try researching:

eclipse pointsource

infinity kappa

dls

morel

image dynamics

aura

cdt braxial

and others. although high end components properly placed and powered will most certainly beat out any coaxial, if atleast by versatility, dont give on sticking with the stock stealth look.

 

[EFFENDI 10+ year member]

I agree. In some cases, point-source coaxials, even in factory locations are better than components. It also depends upon the individual listeners tastes. For example, the factory mounting location in my moms ride, are 5.25" openings which are very high in the door panels. Additionally, the seats are low to the vehicles floor, so the mounting location is only about 10-12" from ear level. In this vehicle, I have tested about 4 different sets of speakers, 2 sets of components, and 2 sets of co-axials. With the components, the tweeters were placed either on the dash, a-pillar, and mounted in front of the woofer (on the grille). Based on my personal experiences, and experimenting with amplified/non-amplified speakers, the coaxials were not only better sounding to my ears in this case, but were more practical due to issues with limited available space. Obviously, if I was able to do a more custom installation the components probably would sound better, but in this instance, and after numerous trials, I found the coaxials to be the best choice for that vehicle.

SO to the original poster, I reccomend that you try both types, and make the decision for yourself. You can always return the speakers that you dont like or re-sell them here on the Used Car Audio Classifieds section of this forum, or some other marketplace.

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

n00B Alert !!! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cop.gif.57eb2cc10a7efd04d31083ca3c30d53c.gif

try reading the date smart guys //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[RattlinStratus 10+ year member]

Check out Ebay I have some Infinitys on ebay for under and those are kappas!

 

[FullThrottle7 10+ year member]

LOL!! Thanks for the posts, guys, but you're about 2 years too late... I was laughing my ass off when an email came to me about a new reply to a message I didn't remember posting... This was one of my first posts from back in the days of high school, but those are gone now //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/peace.gif.2db28b618ed8d1964ebbe2f5021d2c39.gif Anyways, I've moved past the low budget stuff. I just bought a RE SX/SE hybrid, which is sounding great in the back of my new Talon TSi, and I'm waiting for another month until I can afford the new RE components. So thanks again for the help, but I have since heard many more speakers and decided that when properly installed and amplified, components are the only way to go... Peace! -Tyler