Speaker set-up for my Saab?

[Wassobe]

Hey everyone, my first post here. I drive a 2001 Saab 9-3 SE... I know the SE model has components in the front, the tweeter is mounted on the dash near the bottom corners of the windshield. I think i need 6.5'' for the front and no idea about what size speakers I need for the rear.

As of right now, I just got my Pioneer Premier P880PRS headunit. I also have a dual 2ohm 12'' Alpine Type R in a ported box sub being powered by a Kenwood 9152 D amp( both which were previously in my Pathfinder). Nothing is installed yet.

I listen to a ton of rap and hip-hop, as well as a lot of techno/trance and occasionally rock, etc... My amp/sub give me the bass I am looking for, but I want to make sure I also have clean and clear high's for my hip-hop and techno music. Just for measure, I had Alpine Type S 6.5'' coax in my pathfinder and I was happy with those, but am just looking for something a bit nicer, with clean and clear highs.

I would like to get my speakers off the net, and am used to ordering off of Ebay to get the cheapest prices. I have an appointment with Tweeter the day after Christmas to install my system for me.

Now to the questions : Should I run components in the front, and coax in the back, or would it be easier to just run coax all around and run everything off of the headunit. If I have to, I can manage buying a set of components for the front as well as an amp, but I can't spend much. I'd like to spend less than $100 on an amp on ebay or somewhere else, and not much more on a set of components.

If I go with the components/amp set-up, I won't be able to afford rear speakers, is that going to be a problem for me, or just people in the backseat?

Will I get good sound from coax set-up all around, or is it not worth it to go that route? I can always get an amp/components somewhere down the road if I am not happy I guess.

If I do components in front w/ an amp, what would you reccomend for about $200-250 total off of ebay, or somewhere else on the internet.

If I do coax all around, what would you reccomend to run off of the stock headunit power ( 50x4 peak/ 22x4 rms ) for $150-175 total?

Also, does anyone know what size speakers I would need in the rear?

Sorry for the long post, it's my first post here, and I have a lot of questions I'd like to get answered before I order stuff. I need to order stuff and have it be here in time for Christmas, so i'm working with limited money as well as limited time here.

Thanks, I appreciate any answers you guys can give me.

-Andy

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[Wassobe]

Bump. I tried searching and read up on stuff for a few hours, but I still need help answering some of my questions, and am tight on time. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

Ok, let me take a stab at this.

1. Coaxial unamped - First off, if your going to be going coaxial all around, you need to realize where the sound will be coming from. Since the Coaxial speaker is the speaker that would sit where your midbass driver would be on a component set, you need to realize that if your current midbass driver is at your feet, then the coaxial is going to play music at the floor, and not at a good listening height. Subaru's have this issue, all the speakers are at the feet in the doors.

To stay under the budget for all coaxials, you would want to go with a baseline coaxial. For example, Alpines floor speaker coaxial is the Type-S. Polk it is DB-series, etc... These usually run between 25 watts RMS to 60 watts RMS. Since you'll be going unamped, anything over 20 RMS (nominal) watts will be fine.

Coaxials Amped - Is not worth it IMO. Once again, you'll probably be firing at your feet, which is bad for listening, and muffles the soundstage. Also, you'll probably go over budget a tad because you'll be looking into higher RMS rated speakers, such as the Alpine Type-R.

Components Amped - This is a great route for you, basically because the stock locations are already made for you. Also, components are a great idea for any car audio, even replacing an already factory component set.

Your best route for your budget is to find a desired component set withing your budget, and then find a good 2 channel that either matches the rated RMS handling of your speakers, or undershoots it by a tiny bit. If your good with car audio, you can overshoot for more tuning.

As far as purchasing for this set, just buy the front components, a 2-channel speaker amp, and the maybe a cheap set of coaxials for the rear.

To save money, do not amp the rear coaxials. Let the run off of the stock wiring from the wiring harness behind your head unit. Later on, if you want more OOMPH from your system, you can find a set of midbass drivers and plop them in there and amp them.

You can find a good set of components for roughly 125-175$ to suit your needs (online store such as Millionbuy.com, SOnicelectronix.com, etc...) and a cheap amp such as Power Acoustik, which is reviewed as a great amp for its' extremely cheap price, for roughly 100$ or a tiny bit more.

As far as fitments, go find a Saab forum.

~Levi

 

[Wassobe]

Thanks for all the info man, I appreciate it. I'm a member of a lot of Saab forums, just having trouble finding speaker sizes... I'll have to search a bit harder I guess.

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

Post up your total inarguable amount you wish to spend on the upgrade. If self installed.

Also tell us what you are looking for.

Either:

More sound quality

More bass

More of Both

If your worried about it being to harsh (bright) for your ears

etc.....

 

[Wassobe]

Post up your total inarguable amount you wish to spend on the upgrade. If self installed.
Also tell us what you are looking for.

Either:

More sound quality

More bass

More of Both

If your worried about it being to harsh (bright) for your ears

etc.....

I can spend up to $225 for a set of 6.5'' components and an amp to power them, on ebay or somewhere else on the internet. I know it's not that much, but that's all I can afford. I'd rather not go used... but I won't completely cancel that out as an option.

-I want my music to have good sound quality, I want it to be able to get loud while reminaing clear and crisp sounding.

-I am not at all concerned with more bass, my sub set-up gives me all the bass I am looking for.

-I listen to a lot of techno/trance etc so I want the high's to be as clear sounding as possible... but I don't want them to sound harsh/distorted at louder volumes.

I appreciate the help/advice, thanks.

 

[Wassobe]

bump, anyone have any component speaker reccomendations for what i posted?

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

I can spend up to $225 for a set of 6.5'' components and an amp to power them, on ebay or somewhere else on the internet. I know it's not that much, but that's all I can afford. I'd rather not go used... but I won't completely cancel that out as an option.
-I want my music to have good sound quality, I want it to be able to get loud while reminaing clear and crisp sounding.

-I am not at all concerned with more bass, my sub set-up gives me all the bass I am looking for.

-I listen to a lot of techno/trance etc so I want the high's to be as clear sounding as possible... but I don't want them to sound harsh/distorted at louder volumes.

I appreciate the help/advice, thanks.

Ok, For components for cheap and under a reliable name, I'd say go with something by Phoenix Gold. The Octane R components look like they are decent and are very cheap for theior specifications.

Their search name would be: Phoenix Gold R6.5, they are gonna be about 70$ shipped + tax.

Amps, that leaves you roughly 130$ before shipping an taxes on an amp.

That leaves some options:

JBL CS60.2

Kenwood KAC-6202

Kicker ZX 150.2

Phoenix Gold R 2.5;2

Zapco I-250

These are all around the 130$ mark. Some cheaper, and the Zapco is 139 or so. Zapco is an extremely respected name, same with the Kicker. These amps are usually underrated, so you get more power than stated. I believe Kicker sends a benchtest sheet telling you the actual RMS and peak power of the amp you actually recieve.

Either way, i would double check that these amps fit all of your needs. I'm not sure if all dual channel amps are able to work with full range or not, I've never had to buy that way.

~Levi

 

[EXD 10+ year member]

I didn't have time to read the whole post, but your Saab has:

3.5" in the dashboard

6.5" in the doors

6x9" in the rear (most of the 6x9" on the market has do be mounted from beneath to fit).

If you have any questions what so ever about your Saab, drop me a PM and I'll help ya!