You've convinced me. Four 6.5"-6.75" coax speakers + amp for $300?

[grayson73 10+ year member]

This is why I love this forum. You've convinced me to get an amp + speakers rather than letting my head unit power them.

Vitals:

1. Eclipse CD3402 head unit (13x4 RMS, 35x4 Peak)

2. Power wire will be the factory wire from the harness.

3. Amp will go under the front seat.

4. 1999 Toyota Corolla. Speaker size 6.5"-6.75". Mounting depth 2-3/8". I don't mind using a spacer ring as long as the front of the speaker is not hitting the door plastic.

5. I will not have a subwoofer.

6. Total budget: $300

Questions:

1. Since I won't have a sub, will the front doors provide enough bass? If not, wouldn't rear speakers help with bass since the entire trunk is the enclosure? I'd like rear speakers anyway for the rear passengers.

2. The front speakers will be mounted low and in the door. Should I get speakers where I can aim the tweeter up?

3. Should I get speakers of the same brand all around? In home audio, that is important for timbre matching. Is that important for car audio?

4. Should I get a 4 channel amp or a 2 channel amp for fronts and head unit to power the rears?

Please recommend front coaxs, rear coaxs, and 4 channel amp, total budget $300. Ebay is ok too.

Thanks in advance!

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[UNCchef 10+ year member]

If I had you budget I woul look around here for a good set of used components (coax are IMHO a waste of money unless you are using them for 8 speaker set-up like a SUV/VAN ) and a set of midbass for rear deck to cover the bass maybe CDT m6 or Lanzar opti mids something like this. I have a set of Fusion NV comps they pound pass they are 5.25's. I have given a lot of money over the year to Best Buy/Circuit City & the local installers- on this & other forums I have found better equipment/better quality than all those years. good luck w/ your install

 

[GearGuy2001 10+ year member]

Phoenix Gold RSD 6.5" comps $90 on ebay

Some Coaxs/midbass for Rear Fill (rear isnt that important and can steal from your front sound)

4 channel amp like a alpine mrpf450 or similiar (I like mine and it would power your setup well)

Youll need atleast 8awg for it but if you want to future proof for a sub Id go 4awg.

 

[LaserRed38 10+ year member]

Why no sub? Is it trunk space you're worried about? Idk who convinced you, but you would be a lot happier spending twice as much on a better set of front 6.5 components and no rear speakers, than dividing your budget in 2 for 2 pairs of coaxials. Basically spend $150 on one pair components rather than $75x2 on two pairs of coax.

If you can swing it, I think you would be much happier getting comps up front, a 8" sub in sealed box to save the most space (port it if you want more bass but take up a little more space) and a 4ch amp. Leave the stock rears in being powered by the head unit.

Also remember, you don't have to buy everything at once! Do it in stages so you can afford better stuff! KnuKonceptz.com sells complete 4ch/4g amp kits for like $25. As stated check the classifieds too. Lots of good deals in there.

I would buy in this order:

1) 6.5 components

2) wiring/deadener for front doors/rear deck at least

3) 4 ch amp

4) 8" sub and box (have someone on here build you one)

Then you can put all of it in at once. If it takes a month or two longer don't worry, you will be much happier. I've been without bass for months now, and without music for the past couple weeks. Before that I went without music for 3 months. It's all worth it in the end though! Good luck man! PM me if you need help...

 

[SocialStealth]

Generally speaking the only advantage components offer is slightly more cone area, and the ability to manipulate the vantage points of the front stage.

Typically components have better crossovers than coaxials.

However, your front stage will have multiple sources of sound.

unless your headunit has a time alignment feature, this could be a problem for you.

SHITTY coaxials do not compare to components.

Shitty coaxials are about 20$, while shitty components are about 60$

GOOD coaxials compare to components.

a GOOD pair of coaxials will have a QUALITY crossover.

AND it will have a single source for sound.

coaxials ain't bad.

people go from a pair of 20$ coaxils to a 300$ pair of components and say 'wow comps > coaxs'

 

[SocialStealth]

people usually dont have a rear stage if they're trying to create an opening from the trunk into the cabin, or if they're going active.

Your apparently not doing either of these.

A rear stage will add some pretty nice bass to your system.

I used to run 2 jl evolutions in my rear deck and infinity 6822cf references in the front doors, amped @ 75 rms via an eclipse EA4100.

If you like to feel the bass, get a subwoofer(s).

I'd say get a good pair of coaxils (good coaxils > shitty components for sure)

and a nice bang-for-the-buck sub or pair of subs.

kicker cvr's last long and hit hard for the price.

sundown refurb amps are good quality power, db-r.com sells them pretty cheap or check the classifieds section

 

[grayson73 10+ year member]

The car is a 1999 Corolla with 140k miles so I'm trying to be minimal with this. I'll get a true system when it dies and I replace it with a new vehicle

My goal is to get the best sound for $300 with minimal work. I just want to have something decent to tide me over.

That's the reason that I want to use the power wire from the harness (requiring drilling to the battery), why I don't want to get components (requiring tweeter install), and why I don't want to get a sub (requireing speaker wires to the trunk).

How about something like:

Amp: MB Quart DSC450 50x4 amp $91, Clarion APX4241 $110, Cadence amp on Ebay.

Front Speakers: Focal 165 CA1 $150, Rainbow SL 165 $190, CDT Audio CL-E61NEOX $120, Pioneer TS-D602P $85, Image Dynamics CTX65 $150

Rear Speaker: Pioneer TS-D602P $85, Polk DB651 $50, Boston Acoustics S65 $55, Boston Acoustics S65RC $70

Thanks again for the responses.

 

[kizz 10+ year member]

Pioneer D Series coax's are pretty nice. I say leave your rearfill stock. if you amp your front stage you wont hear the rears much anyway. and about your passengers in the back, they can hear a front stage thats amped no problem. don't worry about them. lol how much are people in the back of your car anyway, imo. Nice coax's amped and a small sub and you will be good to go

 

[grayson73 10+ year member]

Ok, I will spend all of my money on an amp and front stage. If I get a 2 channel amp, I can use the head unit to power the rear factory speakers.

I've been reading about comps that are convertible to coax like the PPI 356CS, CDT CL-60 and CL-61CV. Are these better than traditional coax speakers?

For amp, any suggestions for a good 2 channel amp? How are the Cadence TXA-3002, MB Quart DSC280, Phoenix Gold Ryval V1502?

 

[grayson73 10+ year member]

I bought the Precision Power 356CS from Sonicelectronix on Ebay for $121 shipped after 10% Bing Cashback. They are components that convert to Coax, which is how I'll run them.

Now I need a 4 channel amp to power these plus factory rears or bridged to power a sub, for around $100. Any suggestions? I know of Cadence CTA-3004 and MB Quart DSC450.