Most rounded setup for clarity?

[drbrown 10+ year member]

My question is somewhat complex but you guys never cease to give great answer so hear goes. I am all about clarity and smooth sounds, not harsh and so loud you cant hear for 2 days later. I listen to everything from country to classical so my system cant be geared toward one sound.

Is powering interior speakers directly from a seperate amp a lot better than an aftermarket head unit?? I've heard aftermarket radios dont live up to their power ratings so I figure my Pioneer 55x4 is probably putting out 20w per channel at best. I have 3-ways in the front and rear but they are cheapos and have high RMS ratings. They are obviously underpowered. I have a 12" Infinity Kappa in a box that fits in the spare tire well and its more than enough for thump. I keep the sub turned way down most times. I am getting just a little distortion in the highs and lows but there's almost no mid range. I played with the built in equalizer in the HU but it still wasnt up to par. Im thinking its my choice in speakers.

So if you guys had a hatchback how many interior speakers would you use and what is ideal to power them with? Just my uneducated opinion says to use a 1-way 6.5" in the fronts, tweeters by the mirrors, 2-way 6x9's in the rear and keep the sub. Make sense to everyone else? Any ideas or opinions would be seriously appreciated because I dont know what to do next. Thanks -Dan

P.S. I have a new set of 6x9 Kenwoods just havent decided how to go about this yet. And Im not opposed to using tweeters.

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Is powering interior speakers directly from a seperate amp a lot better than an aftermarket head unit??

A night and day improvement.

So if you guys had a hatchback how many interior speakers would you use and what is ideal to power them with?

A powerful front stage - either two or three way components, and no rear fill.

 

[tplaya07 10+ year member]

Yeah. Look for some components and an amp. Even if you just pick up some of the Powerbass 6.5" Components from Ebay (like $35 shipped IIRC), and a little 50x2 amp, I think it would make a huge difference.

 

[drbrown 10+ year member]

I cant exactly put 6 speakers all on the front area, there isnt anywhere near enough room.

I actually have a 5-way amp that powers my Sub but I never got around to looking into it further. I think it puts out 200x4 when its bridged, so maybe 50x4 straight up. Im sure it could handle me powering the interior speakers. My problem is I only have the 2 RCA outputs . I will have to do some signal splitting since the head unit isnt setup for not powering speakers through the built in mofset. So how does this sound?

12" sub in hatch (powered by mono sub channel on amp)

6.5's in doors (50watts from channel 1 & 2 on amp)

6x9's in hatch cover (50watts from channel 3 & 4 on amp)

tweeters up front (powered by radio front signal)

 

[Savstyle 10+ year member]

I cant exactly put 6 speakers all on the front area, there isnt anywhere near enough room.
I actually have a 5-way amp that powers my Sub but I never got around to looking into it further. I think it puts out 200x4 when its bridged, so maybe 50x4 straight up. Im sure it could handle me powering the interior speakers. My problem is I only have the 2 RCA outputs . I will have to do some signal splitting since the head unit isnt setup for not powering speakers through the built in mofset. So how does this sound?

12" sub in hatch (powered by mono sub channel on amp)

6.5's in doors (50watts from channel 1 & 2 on amp)

6x9's in hatch cover (50watts from channel 3 & 4 on amp)

tweeters up front (powered by radio front signal)

leave out teh 6x9's, get a nice component set and get an amp for it. no need for rear fill if u get decent comps

 

[drbrown 10+ year member]

OK so your saying my problem of not having midrange is because I need more high's in the front??? This confuses me because all my 6.5's in the doors do is pierce my ears, how is having another 6.5" right next to the other 6.5 speaker going to add midrange?? I agree components are good to have but for someone with my situation Im just not sure I can swing that because w/out any 5x7 or 6x9 speakers I will have ZERO midrange. UNLESS the components have a more mellow tone?? I have never sat in a car with a truly good system so Im shooting in the dark here.

I read in crutchfield "Components allow you to direct the sound path to your ears..." but how can I direct a speaker at my ears unless its up around the window or in the dash? There isnt any room in this car at all. I could replace the fronts with the component set but thats not going to do much good either. :shrug: And I refuse to put the components in the kick panel area because they would get stepped on daily and winter is hardly mild around my area. I just dont know!

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

OK so your saying my problem of not having midrange is because I need more high's in the front??? This confuses me because all my 6.5's in the doors do is pierce my ears, how is having another 6.5" right next to the other 6.5 speaker going to add midrange?? I agree components are good to have but for someone with my situation Im just not sure I can swing that because w/out any 5x7 or 6x9 speakers I will have ZERO midrange. UNLESS the components have a more mellow tone?? I have never sat in a car with a truly good system so Im shooting in the dark here.
I read in crutchfield "Components allow you to direct the sound path to your ears..." but how can I direct a speaker at my ears unless its up around the window or in the dash? There isnt any room in this car at all. I could replace the fronts with the component set but thats not going to do much good either. :shrug: And I refuse to put the components in the kick panel area because they would get stepped on daily and winter is hardly mild around my area. I just dont know!

Speaker size doesn't make it better at repoducing midrange. In fact, a 6.5" speaker should, in theory, produce a much cleaner sound than its 5x7 or 6x9 counterpart. The reason you have no midrange right now is probobally because you have shitty, underpowered speakers. And you won't have to get 6 sets of speakers in the front. A single set of components will suffice. Put the mid in the stock location, and try to find a seperate mounting location for the tweeter.

 

[drbrown 10+ year member]

He hit the nail right on the head, cheap speakers being underpowered by the factory head unit claimed to put out 22wx4 RMS. Everyone I've talked to on and off here is pushing me to get a component set of speakers so I think thats the route I will go eventually. After research I realize why 2 speakers are better than the one 3-way.

That being said, I think the choice is clear that its the best route to go. But I do have some questions about what individual speakers do. For example, what is the difference in sound from a 4" and 6.5" speaker with all things being equal as far as brand, material, rms ratings etc? Just asr an example, a Pioneer 4" speaker is nearly identical in frequency and frequency range as their same model 6.5". If they are so similar in specs why ever use a smaller speaker?? This just confuses me to no end when Im thinking of adding 2 extra speaks on each side to the front of the car.

If I dont want to spend more than $300 on a set of comp's what should I look at?? This is just a car that will be used for mostly freeway cruising and I will not be competing or anyhting like that, just personal enjoyment. I hear people say good things about speakers Ive never heard of so I get lost on the brand names. I always assumed Infinity, Alpine and Kenwod were top nothc but everyone tells me the opposite. So I'd appreciate any help in deciding which components to use. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

I think you should talk to Dylan (OlogyAudio) here on the forums, hes got an awesome set of components (I'll be picking up some myself very soon) and theyre right in your price range ~$300.

 

[drbrown 10+ year member]

I think you should talk to Dylan (OlogyAudio) here on the forums, hes got an awesome set of components (I'll be picking up some myself very soon) and theyre right in your price range ~$300.

Is he a seller from a store or something or does he just have some extra stuff for sale? Just curious who I would be dealing with.