Tweeters and maybe a sub... seeking advice

[THRobinson 10+ year member]

I'm a low-end car audio kinda guy... that being said, until now I've never done more with my car than installing an aftermarket deck. I just got an '02 Impala, figured this time I'm going to do some minor upgrades, especially since the stock speakers were really muffled and flat.

I have a Sony deck (CDX-GT200), lasted me 8+yrs now, installed it today as well as a pair of new 6"x9" Sony 3-way XS-GT6937A's I got for for $35 for the rear deck. Trying to find the matching 6.5" XS-GT1627A's for the door... likely eBay since a discontinued model.

Looking to install some tweeters in the front, since the door speakers are 2-way and I like vocals/guitar so want some highs. I wondered if anyone had any first hand knowledge about some of the cheap $15-20 tweeters, stuff like the BOSS TW15B, Power Acoustik NB-2, Pyramid, Pyle, etc... small ones that have a flush mount option.

Also... piezo vs dome? built-in or external crossovers?

After that... I'm likely done... but, have been toying with the idea of a small sub mounted between the rear 6x9's on the back dash. Basically cut a hole and mount a small 6-8" 200-400w sub right in the middle. I don't play stuff massively loud, but, might like a bit of 'oompf' added in to help with some of the lows. I don't want a big box wasting space in my trunk, and hoping to avoid running wires/power to the rear for an amp, so, not certain if a sub would really help without a small amp anyways.

Well, any feedback would be appreciated... just looking for some cheap upgrades to a stock system, but, don't need anything competition worthy. Thanks.

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[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

For tight budgets I'd recommend the incriminator audio components at 120 bucks they are a heck of a steal

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Looking to install some tweeters in the front, since the door speakers are 2-way and I like vocals/guitar so want some highs. I wondered if anyone had any first hand knowledge about some of the cheap $15-20 tweeters, stuff like the BOSS TW15B, Power Acoustik NB-2, Pyramid, Pyle, etc... small ones that have a flush mount option.

Also... piezo vs dome? built-in or external crossovers?

no piezo, ever.

dome is fine.

avoid the brands you listed. you don't need to buy them to spend a little.

Tweeters in the Speaker Components Department at Parts Express | 17

look around on Parts Express, home audio stuff works just fine in a car.

then pick up some bass blockers for them and you're set.

this chart will help you choose the right capacitor (non-polarized)

Crossover Component Selection Guide at Parts Express

for example:

Tang Band 13-1761S 1/2" Silk Dome Tweeter Pair 264-841

with a pair of these

2.7uF 100V Non-Polarized Capacitor 027-326

those tweeters have a 4kHz low end response.

for 6dB/oct, i double the published frequency response and use that as the set point.

using the crossover chart linked we see that 4kHz is a 5uF cap. Half the cap size and you double the crossover point.

the 8 ohm tweeter will have a ~8kHz 6dB/oct high pass crossover with the 2.7uF cap.

total cost is $16.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

A better way would have been to install a component set instead of a bunch of coaxials and then try to match tweeters with them. A beginner mistake number 1 of car audio IMHO.

I'd recommend to take a look at MB Quart ONX components ($80 at souncelectronix as of this week). They're cheap and have good reviews.

 

[THRobinson 10+ year member]

For tight budgets I'd recommend the incriminator audio components at 120 bucks they are a heck of a steal

$120 is a BIG jump up from $15-20. :S

$80 a pair is also double what I paid for the Sony, plus already installed so not returning those now. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Speaker wise, I'm trying to keep under $100 for everything total. Just looking for something better than stock, but, not gonna buzz, hiss, etc.

Keep_Hope_Alive has the right idea... $16 sounds my speed... the reviews seem good for those as well, just trying to figure how they'd flush mount neatly. That's what caught my eye on eBay looking at the cheaper ones, was the nice flush mount ring that came with them. Drill and drop them in.

 

[THRobinson 10+ year member]

Gotta say, for a forum devoted to car audio, I was hoping to get more feedback/advice. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/ponder.gif.ec2527b23f1d287b60dcbba54f95edba.gif

Anyways... decided to combine what I was going to pay for 6.5" fronts and tweeters and hopefully find a set of Sony Xplōd XS-GTX1622S's online for cheap. Component set, with the crossover, wattage matches pretty close to my rear Sony's etc... so... hopefully find them or a similar older model. See a few on eBay for about $70 after shipping.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Unless you follow keep_hope_alive's suggestion you can't get good sounding speakers for $15. For car audio brands that's flea market garbage. A lot of people on here have done the same thing you're asking about and failed, hard, once they realized how bad the sound actually was.

 

[THRobinson 10+ year member]

Sony's are retailed for about $120, not $15. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif