unimatrixechoes
Junior Member
Hello,
I'm hoping to get some help with whether I should take my car setup further. Currently I have a 2010 Subaru Forester with a Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X397 headunit and everything else in the car is factory, including the existing component speakers with the tweeters on the door pillars. I usually only turn that head unit up to 10 or 12 on the scale (I think that's less than 30% volume most of the time), not really a fan of listening super loud but I do like to hear the music over most road noise.
Here is a link to the head unit specs: Kenwood - KDC-X397
Currently I would like better quality of sound but not necessarily better range, the car has a factory component system (not sure on brand, it's whatever the car came with) and I'm satisfied with things like bass response etc. But I wonder if I wouldn't get better sound with other speakers or if I should stick with what I have.
I don't really want to buy an amplifier or sub (not really a fan of those really deep bass tones but I do like my mid-bass and a small amount of boom I can hear, but not boom I can feel). Some online have stated that factory speakers tend to muddy up the lower tones creating a bit more of that little boom that I like whereas if I buy nicer components I might lose that boom and end up needing a subwoofer to make up the difference. Are those people generally correct?
I'm currently considering these speakers from JL Audio as the local shop advised they were good "bang for the buck": C2-650 - Car Audio - Evolution® - C2 - Component Systems - JL Audio
My question then is, if I don't get an amplifier or a sub, is it worth replacing the factory speakers with something like that above? Would a different model of speaker be better for me since I'm not using an amp or sub?
I also wasn't sure if it didn't matter as I won't be changing the rear speakers so perhaps I could just have the lower tones go to those instead of up front.
Would appreciate any advice. Thank you.
-John
I'm hoping to get some help with whether I should take my car setup further. Currently I have a 2010 Subaru Forester with a Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X397 headunit and everything else in the car is factory, including the existing component speakers with the tweeters on the door pillars. I usually only turn that head unit up to 10 or 12 on the scale (I think that's less than 30% volume most of the time), not really a fan of listening super loud but I do like to hear the music over most road noise.
Here is a link to the head unit specs: Kenwood - KDC-X397
Currently I would like better quality of sound but not necessarily better range, the car has a factory component system (not sure on brand, it's whatever the car came with) and I'm satisfied with things like bass response etc. But I wonder if I wouldn't get better sound with other speakers or if I should stick with what I have.
I don't really want to buy an amplifier or sub (not really a fan of those really deep bass tones but I do like my mid-bass and a small amount of boom I can hear, but not boom I can feel). Some online have stated that factory speakers tend to muddy up the lower tones creating a bit more of that little boom that I like whereas if I buy nicer components I might lose that boom and end up needing a subwoofer to make up the difference. Are those people generally correct?
I'm currently considering these speakers from JL Audio as the local shop advised they were good "bang for the buck": C2-650 - Car Audio - Evolution® - C2 - Component Systems - JL Audio
My question then is, if I don't get an amplifier or a sub, is it worth replacing the factory speakers with something like that above? Would a different model of speaker be better for me since I'm not using an amp or sub?
I also wasn't sure if it didn't matter as I won't be changing the rear speakers so perhaps I could just have the lower tones go to those instead of up front.
Would appreciate any advice. Thank you.
-John
