NEED HELP figuring out my car audio situation! 6x9's or 1 10"

[zstill]

3 years ago I began this journey for car audio perfection and I still have yet to be satisfied. Thanks in advance for reading this and spending your time to help me out. Here's some info to start off on, I have a 2004 Pontiac Grad Prix and it has a pretty big trunk for a sedan. I installed a Kenwood KDC-348U head unit, Alpine PDX-F4 (4x100w) amp, Polk MM6501 components in the front and Kicker KS693 3 ways in the rear deck.

Here are some issues I am facing: In the grand prix, the speakers mount into a plastic housing that CLIPS into the body of the car. The front sounds great and I love the polks, they just lack a little on mid bass but I plan on fixing that with sound deadener and making a new mounting bracket. The back is my main problem. Since I installed the 6x9's, they buzzed whenever the bass hit but provided a relatively full sound. However I still have yet to experience the seat rumbling sound that I feel a $600 system should put out. I attribute the buzzing to the plastic housing the speakers mount in and the panel resonance of the rear deck.

Now, the kickers in the back have died. So my options are: put another pair of 6x9's in the rear with new housings and sound deaden the rear deck OR bridge two channels of the amp and run a 10" sub (200 watts in a sealed box). I listen to rock, alternative, indie, metal, electronic, some hip hop, everything under sun really. I'm looking for a full sound spectrum, from feeling the bass in my feet to the great highs that I know the polks put out up front. I'm going for sound quality but i wanna be able to feel and hear the 400 watts this amp is putting out. If i go with the sub i can always add the 6x9's down the line and use the head unit power for rear fill, but will the 10" give me enough low end that im looking for. Let me know what you guys think, any input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks again,

Zac

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[AndrewHD 10+ year member]

I tried a single 10 in my impala and was not impressed. These cars have big trunks, I would suggest a 12" ported or 15 sealed

 

[AndrewHD 10+ year member]

You can even do a 15 ported depending on the amount of output you are looking for

 

[zstill]

The issue is I only have 200 watts to power a sealed sub with, would it make more sense to just stick with fully powered 6x9's and fix the rear deck issues? I'm just going for some good solid bass, nothing crazy but preferably noticeable. Need it to emphasize kickdrums, bass guitars, bass drops, midbass, etc...

 

[AndrewHD 10+ year member]

I'd probably look into SSA Dcon or Sundown E series with that amount of power

 

[zstill]

So 12" sub over the 6x9's for midbass and rear fill? Thanks for your help! Anybody else have any thoughts?

 

[cfox10 10+ year member]

So 12" sub over the 6x9's for midbass and rear fill? Thanks for your help! Anybody else have any thoughts?

With a proper box... you could do decently well on 200w... what amp are you using exactly?

 

[zstill]

Listed above, Alpine PDX-F4. What do you mean by proper box?

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

I know the car well 200 watts in a sealed box isn't going to give you what you seek here. You'll need at least 500 plus watts for that. Just get some 6x9 subs for the rear deck and deaden the deck with new plates. You'll have better results Now if you do a ported box you will get a bit more bass but still 200 watts isn't much for the big trunk you have

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

Ok. Post a link to your Polk components. They are component right?

Now.

Let's ask some questions.

1. Are your polks component or coaxial?

2. Are your polks active or passive? If active, what crossover points and slopes are you using between mid and tweet.

3. If you're polks are active, what are relative volume levels between mid and tweet?

-You definitely need a sub to pick up the low end.

-You definitely need to properly seal and deaden those doors, add fiberglass batt in the cavity, and make a solid mdf baffle fur that mid.

-Your Polk mids may not be great for midbass, or SQ in general, i wouldn't know.But most times, a wise selection of the components will determine how good your system will sound

-I would not put 6x9s in until you get your front stage dialed in. Rear fill can cause big problems. Rear fill should be treated as a project in itself. Your front stage tuning is going to **** the life out of you already, wait until later to add rear fill into the headache.

Overall, if you can answer those questions, and in the meantime deaden those doors, we can helpl you.

Nice thread by the way

 

[zstill]

Component link: http://http://www.polkaudio.com/products/mm6501][/url]

http://http://www.polkaudio.com/products/mm6501

Yes they are components, I believe they are active and I think I set them to the -3db rating on the crossover. As for relative volume I don't quite know what you mean. I'm going to sound deaden those doors for sure.

 

[AndrewHD 10+ year member]

If you used the outboard crossovers that came with the speakers then you would have a passive setup. I still think we should know your budget because I would recommend running 2 amps (one for speakers in front and another for sub/subs). I would never run rear fill and just focus on the fronts. I would get another set of those components and do custom kick pods or door panels and hook the second component set up to your existing amp's rear channels. But before all this we need to know how much you are willing to spend.

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

You running them passive is part of the reason you can't tube your system

 

[zstill]

I'm only looking to spend $100-$150 to replace the 6x9's plus the sound deadening on the doors. And what do you mean by "tube" your system. Again I want some rumble to match those highs up front, just everything I'm seeing about buying another pair of 6x9's would just be dumb.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

There are some decent 6x9 subs, CDT for example, that don't need much power. You'll have to deal with the plastic rear deck buzzing, but given your options and what you're looking for I'd say that's your best bet.

I had a pair of 8's in a sealed box in my Buick with 250 watts and couldn't even hear them.