Help needed picking possible speaker replacements

edee_em

CarAudio.com Newbie
10
1
Canada
My car has a separate tweeter and woofer set up in the front doors. Researching possible replacement of woofer speakers due to an issue with them. Thinking of keeping the tweeters as is and replace only the woofer. Can I replace the woofer with a coaxial speaker or will this interfere with the original tweeter?
 
Thanks JuiceTin. The speaker is a 6 1/2", jbl branded as Infinity (all under Harman Karden mothership). They refer to it as a woofer but it might have some mids in it as well. Pic attached.
 

Attachments

  • 20231010_115919.jpg
    20231010_115919.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 21
Thanks JuiceTin. The speaker is a 6 1/2", jbl branded as Infinity (all under Harman Karden mothership). They refer to it as a woofer but it might have some mids in it as well. Pic attached.
You should be able to throw coaxial 6.5, it would just mean you would have lots of highs, since that's a woofer I found throw a set of mid range 6.5s since you already got the tweeters

Were they wired together or separate?
 
You should be able to throw coaxial 6.5, it would just mean you would have lots of highs, since that's a woofer I found throw a set of mid range 6.5s since you already got the tweeters

Were they wired together or separate?
That's a good question but I don't know the answer. The one thing I did notice is that when the woofers were not working, the tweeters emitted sound but it seemed thin and weak. I don't know if that helps answer your question.
 
Have you considered replacing with a good set of coaxials and disconnecting the factory tweeters? Or replacing the speakers and tweeters with a better-quality product. Based on the photo of the speaker, the tweeters are also probably on their "last leg". Anything would be an improvement over the factory speakers you showed. I can recall pulling factory speakers and being shocked at the poor quality.
Good luck.
 
Have you considered replacing with a good set of coaxials and disconnecting the factory tweeters? Or replacing the speakers and tweeters with a better-quality product. Based on the photo of the speaker, the tweeters are also probably on their "last leg". Anything would be an improvement over the factory speakers you showed. I can recall pulling factory speakers and being shocked at the poor quality.
Good luck.
Those are all options I am considering. It probably doesn't make sense to replace woofers and leave old tweeters. My process is to start at what I think is the easiest and work my way along to what actually makes sense. You are correct about the "last leg"-edness of the speakers as they are 15 years old. I posted on another thread about having to repair the connectors as they snapped in two.
 
Nothing about that pic says JBL. That cone makes me think factory. What's on the backside?

What's the wattage going to it?
What vehicle is it in?
What's the ohm rating of the speaker?
Factory head unit, (and amp?)
Thanks HardofWhoring. They are factory but the car (2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited) has a "premium" audio system labeled as Infinity. The label on the speaker mentions JBL, Infinity and Harman-Kardon. There is also a factory amp and a subwoofer. I have replaced the head unit with a BOSS BV800acp (keeping costs down) but the original radio specs give some measurements that I have no clue on how to interpret. I've attached it for you that I hope answer the questions you raised. My system is the last column on the right/the one that includes XM.

1697078726527.jpeg
 
I'm reading the premium has 4ohm tweeters, &
(just to make sure does it have?) 4 mids, 2 in the front 2 in the back.
If so,
all four mids are 2 ohm getting about 20w RMS each. (that's nothing).

That amp (like most factory amps), puts out as much power as the cheapest aftermarket head units do. It's doing next to nothing.

If you want the absolute cheapest set of speakers you can find, don't need em to get loud, (as in you only listen to it with an inside voice volume), then you need some 2 ohm 6.5 mids that are 20w (or as close to that as you can find. For the rears you might have/want two-ways instead. I wouldn't be surprised if you can only find 30w, or a hair more.

If your head unit doesn't have GPS, I would guess you would be better off buying a new head unit. Hopefully you want an amp, with new speakers that are either rated at the amp or at the head unit, and running new wire either way. You will get more volume out of this with a head unit that does at least 50w x 4 RMS. You could still use those tweeters if you were dead set on it. Although you would want a crossover, and a better option would be a set of components and replace the tweeters.

The cheapest option, 2 ohm 6.5s as low wattage as you can find probably about $100 for two sets.

The next best budget option is a new head unit (if you don't have GPS) with new speakers, probably closer to $300, and with an amp you will get a lot more volume, (you are maybe getting half now what you would with just a small 100w x 2 or 4 amp), and that's about $400 or a little more (payin retail).
 
Last edited:
I'm reading the premium has 4ohm tweeters, &
(just to make sure does it have?) 4 mids, 2 in the front 2 in the back.
If so,
all four mids are 2 ohm getting about 20w RMS each. (that's nothing).

That amp (like most factory amps), puts out as much power as the cheapest aftermarket head units do. It's doing next to nothing.

If you want the absolute cheapest set of speakers you can find, don't need em to get loud, (as in you only listen to it with an inside voice volume), then you need some 2 ohm 6.5 mids that are 20w (or as close to that as you can find. For the rears you might have/want two-ways instead. I wouldn't be surprised if you can only find 30w, or a hair more.

If your head unit doesn't have GPS, I would guess you would be better off buying a new head unit. Hopefully you want an amp, with new speakers that are either rated at the amp or at the head unit, and running new wire either way. You will get more volume out of this with a head unit that does at least 50w x 4 RMS. You could still use those tweeters if you were dead set on it. Although you would want a crossover, and a better option would be a set of components and replace the tweeters.

The cheapest option, 2 ohm 6.5s as low wattage as you can find probably about $100 for two sets.

The next best budget option is a new head unit (if you don't have GPS) with new speakers, probably closer to $300, and with an amp you will get a lot more volume, (you are maybe getting half now what you would with just a small 100w x 2 or 4 amp), and that's about $400 or a little more (payin retail).
Thanks for this! Yes, there are 6.5 door speakers, front and back. I've heard them referred to as woofers but I'm sure their frequencies included mid range as well. The tweeters are only on the front doors.

My original goal, given it's a 15 year old car, was to add Bluetooth, apple and android car play and backup camera to modernize things a bit but keep most of what was already there, there, for budgetary reasons. I went to Crutchfield and picked up the BOSS BV850acp which included the things I needed at a friendly price. They made suggestions re harnesses and set up that would keep factory speakers, amp and sub. The BOSS has taken over as amp for main speakers.

When I ran a check after setup the front woofers did not work. I removed the left and found the metal connector where the wire leads from the speaker join had split apart: the metal had cracked in two! I found the right side speaker had the same issue. I was able to solder them up and they now work (see my other thread). The overall sound in the car meets our needs as it is now set up but my questions here are for the possibility that the repair on the speakers may not hold up. Thanks again!
 
Activity
No one is currently typing a reply...

Similar threads

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. The dsp is an afterthought. I haven't installed anything yet but I put a budget system together. I already...
2
396
Absolutely. I am always learning and think it's probably impossible to stop learning. I appreciate the advice and don't doubt for a second the...
56
3K
Yes, the power wires' colors don't match from the dash to the new harness. However, I tested them and the wire I'm treating as the constant 12v is...
9
1K

About this thread

edee_em

CarAudio.com Newbie
Thread starter
edee_em
Joined
Location
Canada
Start date
Participants
Who Replied
Replies
11
Views
1,272
Last reply date
Last reply from
edee_em
20221010_113336 (5).jpg

audiobaun

    Apr 27, 2024
  • 0
  • 0
20221010_113007 (5).jpg

audiobaun

    Apr 27, 2024
  • 0
  • 0

Latest topics

Top