Speakers w/o subwoofer?

[caustik_bt]

Forgive my n00bishness, but whats the deal with comps and rear decks? I haven't seen a single mention of what to do with the rear deck if I get comps for the front. If I get nice comps in the front (with amp), should I not even bother with the rear deck? Or should I get some semi-decent coax's to replace the stock ones?

If someone could explain in detail that would be awwwwwwwsssome.

As for my budget, I hope to do less damage than $500 for speakers and sub. $200 for speakers and $300 for sub. I probably would greatly benefit from a 4 channel amp setup, but that requires me to take a much deeper plunge rather than doing speakers and sub upgrades separately.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

Forgive my n00bishness, but whats the deal with comps and rear decks? I haven't seen a single mention of what to do with the rear deck if I get comps for the front. If I get nice comps in the front (with amp), should I not even bother with the rear deck? Or should I get some semi-decent coax's to replace the stock ones?
If someone could explain in detail that would be awwwwwwwsssome.

Don't even worry about the rear deck. Having a good set of comps up front and a sub in back is all you will need for setting a better soundstage and imaging than just about any factory system could afford. In fact, having rear speakers usually deteriorates the listening experience once you get used to not having it (for me and many others here, anyway). But then again, it's all subjective. Some people prefer to have rear fill, others do not. I say start with no rear fill and then maybe hook up your factory speakers to the HU and see which you like better.

 

[caustik_bt]

Ok, so it sounds like for really good performance for the driver, disregard rear fill. So how does it end up sounding for other passengers? I'd like good sound for chillin with my friends filling up the car. Additionally, the most "critical" use of a good sound system for me would be driving to and from concerts, blasting metal. (ie: Its at those times that I really really desire good sound) Of course though, these reasons might not justify spending an extra $150.

Anyway, I just remembered another factor in my decisions. I don't plan on keeping the car for a long time, and investing in a $600 system that I can only scrap the sub and enclosure would probably not be of the wisest decisions. With that in mind, a component system is less attractive.

An alternative route from the 4 channel amp idea, would be to get the components with a cheap 2-ch amp. What are your thoughts on the cheap amps out there? (sub $75)

Phoenix Gold R2.5:2

Power Acoustik PS2-300

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

1. Ok, so it sounds like for really good performance for the driver, disregard rear fill. So how does it end up sounding for other passengers? I'd like good sound for chillin with my friends filling up the car. Additionally, the most "critical" use of a good sound system for me would be driving to and from concerts, blasting metal. (ie: Its at those times that I really really desire good sound) Of course though, these reasons might not justify spending an extra $150.

2. Anyway, I just remembered another factor in my decisions. I don't plan on keeping the car for a long time, and investing in a $600 system that I can only scrap the sub and enclosure would probably not be of the wisest decisions. With that in mind, a component system is less attractive.

3. An alternative route from the 4 channel amp idea, would be to get the components with a cheap 2-ch amp. What are your thoughts on the cheap amps out there? (sub $75)

Phoenix Gold R2.5:2

Power Acoustik PS2-300

1. If you image the fronts correctly, everyone will enjoy them without the need for rear fill.

2. Keep all the current equipment and put those back in when it's time to get rid of the car. If anything can't be reused in the replacement vehicle, eBay then or sell them here to recoup as much money as you can. You can buy rubber plugs in various sizes from a hardware store to fill in tweeter holes after the comps are removed.

3. PG isn't bad, check out Profile amps at millionbuy.com

 

[jomo]

.....so obviously not a component system......Preferably less than $100 per pair.......

But you can get good components for under $100......I installed these http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=5207 in our Mazda 3 last month and after about 10 hours of burn in, they sound really nice. Very "midrangey" the first few hours. Woofersetc.com actually send you CL-61a's. They have much more detail than stock and punchy, deep bass. I am running them off the HU amp as well. I doubt you will find much better sound for under $100 shipped.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

You can always look around the classifieds for a decent set of used ones. And, like was mentioned earlier, you'd benefit more from one set of good comps up front imaged correctly and stock or no rear fill. If you decide to spend all of your money on the fronts, it opens up a lot of options for you. There are TONS of decent comp sets out there in the $200 range. If you can spring for the extra dough, I've heard a lot of good stuff about THESE. At more than $400 less than retail, it's a pretty **** good deal. Otherwise, judt do asearch in this section. There are quite a few threads out there on $200 component sets.