Upgrade front speakers w/o adding an amplifier

[helloworld]

Hi, everyone! My first post here.

I'd like to hear your recommendations for front speakers that can be directly driven by the head unit for my 2003 Camry LE. I just installed an aftermarket head unit (JVC KW-R900BT), and the sound is much cleaner than the stock one. The head unit can output 20W RMS per speaker, and can do some DSP (timing adjustment, LPF/HPF, equalizer etc). To further improve the sound quality, I'd like to replace the front speakers. But to minimize the amount of work, I don't want to add an amplifier due to wiring hassle. Besides, I don't listen to music at high volume, and don't need a lot of bass, mostly classical, country and some soft rock.

A couple of questions:

1) Is a coaxial one sufficient such as Polk DB651s? This way I can install the speakers in the original position and don't need to worry about crossovers. And the coaxial speakers typically requires lower power to drive than a component set? I guess the main drawback would be less bass, lower sound stage and some blocked highs by the thigh because of the installation position. Can I hear any significant difference?

2) If the answer to (1) is "no, you better go component", then can you recommend some component sets? I'm interested in Alpine SPS-610C, which seems to have good low-power performance and potential to grow (power range 2-80W RMS). The budget is around $100 and definitely below $150.

3) Following (2), where do you recommend to mount the tweeters in my car? The stock "tweeters" are located at the far lower corners on the dash, and the sound is reflected from the windshield. Again, I prefer some simple solutions without much work.

Thank you for reading and please help me.

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[MANTI5 10+ year member]

I have used those Polks, both on just the head unit and amped, and they are pretty nice. No matter what you choose, they will never sound as good without an amp.

 

[peterpaul 10+ year member]

I have a similar model of Polks in my front and rear - Polk DXi650s in the fronts and Polk DB690s in the rear. I have run them off of the head unit, with just the rears amped through an old and underpowered Kenwood 4 channel, and now with all run through the Kenwood (hey, I work in sections in this economy!). Let me tell you something:

1. those polks get plenty of bass (I ended up putting a high pass filter setting on the front ones)

2. they get plenty loud off of a decent receiver/head unit - but they are not as loud and clear as they can be with a good amp.

3. buy it from amazon for a good price.

I have run everything from Pink Floyd to Mastadon to A Tribe Called Quest to Dizzie Gillepsie to Cults and HeartsRevolution through those speakers and they can take it all and still sound good...