Decent cheap speaker setup for my '89 Saab 900. Prefer stock bolt-on fitment

[jaross 10+ year member]

I listen to hip hop, jazz/vocal, rock, and electronic mostly. I have had a "15 rockford fosgate punch running with stock speakers in different cars, at one point with 2,000 watts going through it. I am over the ridiculous "disconnected" sounding bass that you get from a sub so I do not plan to run one. On top of that, I could use to save the space and weight. I am thinking that some hitting rear deck speakers should be plenty for me. I don't have any budget yet but I am thinking I would like to spend no more then $100 for all 4 speakers. I am thinking I will buy the rears first to save money.

My car has "4 in front and 4x10 in rear stock. I am told that 6x9s are an easy fit and maybe better then the 4x10s in the rear.

I just purchased this:

Sony DSX-S200X Digital media receiver at Crutchfield.com

I also have an Eclipse 3650 amp, specs for which are:

5/4 channel power amp with channel flex crossover plus subsonic filter

40x4 at 4 ohm

120x1 at 4ohm

2ohm stable design

channel flex xover

Adjustable high-pass frequency (50-200hz for front)

high-pass frequency (120 for rear

Adjustable low-pass frequency (50-200hz for subwoofer)

The car is wired for an amp in the rear already, though the power wire is only like in between 1/4 and 1/2". I don't really want to put the effort into running wires back to the front from the amp so I was thinking of having the head unit power the 4" speakers in the front.

Can I bridge the Eclipse for 2 more powerful channels (*do I want to do such a thing?) to just power the rear speakers?

What speakers would you recommend that come in the sizes needed? I don't need anything super fancy. I don't want to spend a lot of money, but surely for $100 or less there should be something worth purchasing over the stock '80s speakers.

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[DoesDad 10+ year member]

I think if your sub sounds "disconnected" you're not doing something right. And what kind of Fosgate 15" were you running with 120 watts? A P1? I'd do your front stage speakers first. Screw the 4 x 10's for now. The front stage is mostly what you're hearing anyway.

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

ugh... for less than a hundred dollars for all 4 speakers you are better off leaving the stock in

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

I think if your sub sounds "disconnected" you're not doing something right. And what kind of Fosgate 15" were you running with 120 watts? A P1? I'd do your front stage speakers first. Screw the 4 x 10's for now. The front stage is mostly what you're hearing anyway.

So, is it worth the effort to wire the amp (in the trunk) to the front speakers of can the headunit provide adequate power for the 4"s? Hows this:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_065SE45/Boston-Acoustics-SE45.html?tp=102

or this http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500SPS410/Alpine-SPS-410.html?tp=102#customer-reviews-tab

disconnected as in a gap in the audio frequency range. the lows blew everything else away, and it sounded like the lows were coming from a different source (cause they were I suppose). I had the sub at a very low level when I was running only 120 watts through it. Just to add a small bit of kick to the stock speakers. Even with this, I don't like the idea of having the bass coming from a separate location with a separate power source. I am used to old school 2 channel home audio systems (which for the money I spend, I must say are very high quality vintage units).

Really, replace the 4" in front first? I was actually thinking of forgetting about them completely (not even hooking them up). Can one even get worth while sound out of a 4" speaker?

In any case, it looks like at this point I could do $100 for 2 speakers... the question is, what speakers???

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

Hmm yes there are 4 inch speakers out there when put into the car correctly (deadening, door work basically) will give you the sound you are probably looking for but depending on what kind of car you drive you should see if it is possible to maybe put a 5.25 up there

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

I don't think bigger will fit. These any good? Newegg.com - Infinity Kappa 42.9i 4&#34 150W 2 Way Car Audio Speakers

Is it worth it to wire the amp to the front for 4" speakers?

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

Those kapas will be decent for your budget they are pretty sensitive so they will get loud on less power. If you hook up just the rear speakers to the amp they will get louder than your fronts and it will not sound good

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

can't I adjust the gain on the amp, and the fader presumably on my headunit?

 

[skitzafit 10+ year member]

Aura 4000RPM 4" 2-way Coaxial Speaker Pair 269-178

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

apparently the rears are Kicker k410s. are these any good?

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

...

 

[big_ol_meat 10+ year member]

If it means enough for your to ponder this on a forum maybe it means enough you could drop a little more money into it.

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

I have home speaker that are worth maybe $200 but sound as good if not better then some $500-$1000 setups. I am of the belief that it can be done. They are vintage ADS speakers by the way...

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

the car audio bug bites again. from no hu and amp to an hu and amp. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

given the year, anything you put in the car will sound better than stock.

front 4" and rear 4x10"? Saab does not like music reproduction. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

i have the same recommendation for a budget 4" comp set

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/speakers/535666-4-speakers.html

just because people have gotten 6x9's to fit in the 4x10 hole doesn't mean you want to do it also - i.e. without airtight seals it doesn't help. start with the fronts and just run the kickers you have - you don't want to spend more than you have to.

browse Parts Express for some speakers to drop in - they are cheap but decent.

what makes a speaker sound good is a solid enclosure. your home speakers can easily sound good because airspace is controlled and your listening position can be ideal. a car is a tougher challenge. you certainly can buy raw drivers, passive crossovers, and piece together a budget system that sounds nice. it just requires more time/effort on your part - you trade money for time.

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

I see I see. Well just dropped in the headunit. Really sounds pretty good. Apparently the fronts are Focal Access 100s which are pretty **** nice. Amazon.com: Focal Access 100 CA1 4-Inch Coaxial Speaker Kit: Car Electronics

should have looked first. Looks like I am already set. I am looking at "8 subs on parts express to be powered with the 120 watt sub channel from the amp. There is a dayton for like $30, and a wedge shaped enclosure from ebay for about $20. would this work okay for a little extra mid bass?