Aftermarket Speakers with Stock Head Unit/Radio - Surprisingly Good

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Originally Posted by Duffyjr
Originally Posted by gathermewool
Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
Paper tweeters can be better than domes.

Maybe just cross then over at 4-5Khz.

its a "BOSE" reflecting setup anyway with comb filtering issues bouncing off the windscreen.


Yea, I'm worried I'll get a poor response from anything harder than a silk tweeter. The door speakers have silk domes. I'm also worried about stuffing a (relative) power hog of a speaker in there for the stock head unit.

The Crutchfield recommended 3.5" speakers have PEI (synthetic) tweeters and are only 20W RMS, with sensitivity of 86.5 dB and 3ohms impedance. Any thoughts?


If it sounds ok I would just leave them but I do think tonal balance is better if all the speakers match, adding the JBL's may not sound as good as what you have now. That being said I left my pillars in when I replaced all my speakers and it sounds just fine.


Thanks for the reply. I got another reply from Crutchfield and they said that their 60-day return policy covers me trying out the speakers and returning them for free if I don't like anything about them (or if they don't fit).

Here's a better picture of the stock speaker in the dash.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

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Nevermind! The stock dash speaker doesn't have the same connector as the door speakers and Crutchfield doesn't have a harness adapter. I'm not willing to butcher the wiring at this point.

I've got a set of Kicker tweeters on order for $99.72 that is a plug-and-play upgrade for Subies and Toyotas. That's about $20 more expensive than the JBLs, but it's plug n play and has great reviews on Amazon.
 
I put Bavsound plug and play midrange speakers in the Clubman. No complaints.
I wish the compulsion to upgrade my beater was curable.
smirk2.gif
 
Originally Posted by MCompact
I put Bavsound plug and play midrange speakers in the Clubman. No complaints.
I wish the compulsion to upgrade my beater was curable.
smirk2.gif



Ha!

How much did the upgrade set you back?

Nothing wrong with upgrades. It's the show, but no go stuff that I don't like spending money on. Others prefer bling. To each his or her own.
 
A decent set of paper tweets can be far better than a lot of the popular gear, aluminum, mylar, etc.. I wouldn't fret it if you decide to keep them. A lot of the current high-end consumer stuff isn't smooth at all, and highlights certain frequencies to "show off" in the show room, but when it comes to actually dialing it in, becomes very difficult. I know I'm a bit on the far end of the spectrum with professional music and PA experience in another life, but I do care about SQ and when I've decided to do it, I've learned a lot about deficiencies in car audio to include building compensation networks for component systems with very poor low/high matching. That said, paper tweets tend to be smooth and disappear into the mix, which is exactly what you'd want them to do.

How do you like the sound of the Audio Ordinance speakers? Any good?
 
If it were me, I'd just leave the stock paper cone tweeters in there if it sounds good now. Adding tweeters with no level control is a crap shoot. Will likely end up being too bright and shrill.
 
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Originally Posted by gathermewool
Originally Posted by MCompact
I put Bavsound plug and play midrange speakers in the Clubman. No complaints.
I wish the compulsion to upgrade my beater was curable.
smirk2.gif



Ha!

How much did the upgrade set you back?

Nothing wrong with upgrades. It's the show, but no go stuff that I don't like spending money on. Others prefer bling. To each his or her own.


$112 with shipping. I've found Bavsound speakers to be a bit more expensive, but they are high quality drivers and completely plug and play.
 
Originally Posted by meep
A decent set of paper tweets can be far better than a lot of the popular gear, aluminum, mylar, etc.. I wouldn't fret it if you decide to keep them. A lot of the current high-end consumer stuff isn't smooth at all, and highlights certain frequencies to "show off" in the show room, but when it comes to actually dialing it in, becomes very difficult. I know I'm a bit on the far end of the spectrum with professional music and PA experience in another life, but I do care about SQ and when I've decided to do it, I've learned a lot about deficiencies in car audio to include building compensation networks for component systems with very poor low/high matching. That said, paper tweets tend to be smooth and disappear into the mix, which is exactly what you'd want them to do.

How do you like the sound of the Audio Ordinance speakers? Any good?


Originally Posted by CaptainHazelwood
If it were me, I'd just leave the stock paper cone tweeters in there if it sounds good now. Adding tweeters with no level control is a crap shoot. Will likely end up being too bright and shrill.


You guys are bringing up the same concerns I have. At this point, if the Kicker plug-and-play tweeters don't sound great, like the reviews seem to indicate (subjective, I know), then I'll return them and stick with the stock papers

The Sound Ordnance speakers are pretty darned good, and I'm surprised to say that. I have always been of the impression that a bad input (from the stock head unit) would result in amplification and highlight of said bad parts from the stock head unit signal. I'm glad to be wrong in this case.

I'll compare them to the stock speakers:

Bass: just as loud but MUCH better frequency response. This likely has something to do with the fact that I upgraded in size, not just the quality of materials. I would say these are +2 or 3 out of 10 over stock. Again, a lot of points for quality over quantity of bass in this case.

Mids: Clearer and smoother than stock. Clearer, but not as dramatic a change as the low frequencies. +1 or maybe +2 over stock.

Highs: Same as mids. Voices are clearer or and silkier, but nothing crazy.

One thing that might be messing with my review of the mids and highs, and why I want to try the Kickers, is that I still have the stock dash speakers in. I'm going to upgrade those with Kicker OE tweeters, which should help.
 
I tend to do this when mine are 2 or 3 years old … used Infinity last time …
The built in tweeters are not bad in those …
I'll plan to put closed cell foam over the DynaMat
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
I tend to do this when mine are 2 or 3 years old … used Infinity last time …
The built in tweeters are not bad in those …
I'll plan to put closed cell foam over the DynaMat


I wonder what base model luxury speakers look like. No matter the make, it always seems that one universal truth, is that base model luxury sound systems always sound better than upgraded economy sound systems. I'm sure some of that has to do with better use of deadening and absorption techniques, but still.

I've thought about buying some closed-cell foam to shove into the door cavities, but I'd be concerned about corrosion within the door panel itself due to trapped moisture pockets.
 
Maybe everyone is clicking on your link, overwhelming the server, but I can't access the site you cited. I'll try again later.
 
How does closed cell foam collect water … I have done this on two vehicles and in over 10 years none of this happened … these vehicles even did low water crossings in the marsh sometimes a half mile long …

It's a 3M peel and stick that sticks directly to the DynaMat … they serve different functions … attenuation dampening and soundproofing …
 
You copy and pasted something … I cut and pasted 1/2" CCF over DynaMat and it worked …

Window ? really?

BTW … I have 1/2 inch of closed cell foam in my ears often … OSHA seems to think it works …
 
People could learn a lot from what OEMs do to make the interiors of their cars quiet without the use of products from the aisles of Home Depot. Look at the outer door skins of a new S-Class. They will have butyl damping, but it won't be lined with CCF.
 
That's for mass (DynaMat) the attenuation part … But its too expensive and heavy to keep adding layer after layer.
CCF excels at low frequency dampening = they work in concert
There are many, many commercial sound proofing products using both open (that's a water problem) and CCF.
 
If you think lining your doors with 1/2" CCF has blocked low frequencies then keep doing it, but that's scientifically impossible. The frequencies are too long to be blocked by 1/2" foam.

You also have a fundamental misunderstanding of what Dynamat does.
 
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We actually used a DB meter and did the work in stages … this is done commercially and in studio applications

What makes you an expert ?
 
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