Looking for 6x8 speaker suggestions

Joined
Aug 10, 2010
Messages
1,415
Location
Charlotte, NC
I installed an Alpine receiver (UTE-73BT) and an Alpine amplifier (KTP-445A) in my Ford Focus. It REALLY woke up the stock speakers. It sounds great. The only real nitpick is the highs could be better. If the highs were a little bit better, I could literally keep the stock speakers.

With this being said, I had a new set of a set of 2XL-683 speakers (6x8) by PowerBass in storage that I bought a few years ago but never installed. I figured this would be icing on the cake. Well, after getting them out of storage and installing them, I am underwhelmed. In fact, this morning I am going to remove them and reinstall the stock speakers. I know speakers require a break-in period, but with how these speakers sound, I don't see how they can improve.

With this being said, what are some good 6x8 options to look into?
 
I upgraded my Chrysler 300 factory Alpine speakers with Kicker speakers that were actually an accessory directly from Mopar. The difference is amazing and they fit perfectly just like OE. I think Mopar spec’d them out specifically for my car because they reproduce such crisp sound.
That said, see if Ford has an upgrade kit of some sort or just go to Crutchfield and shop. Crutchfield has tech support to help you pick out something to suit your needs. I added a 10 inch powered subwoofer (in my trunk) to take care of the lows, this allowed me to turn down the bass on the head unit so my other speakers could concentrate on mids and highs. This made a HUGE difference.
 
Audio is very subjective, so if possible, I would suggest you go to a car audio retailer that carries multiple brands/lines and have a listen.

Personally, I have always found Infinity Reference series to have a balanced sound, and didn't have any fail on me in the several vehicles in which I've had them installed. I might just be convincing myself of this, but textile/"silk dome" tweeters sound smooth and pleasant to me, whereas "titanium"-type tweeters sound harsh. The latter aren't bad if you're into stuff like EDM where you really want sharp highs, but I don't like them for vocals.

 
Audio is very subjective, so if possible, I would suggest you go to a car audio retailer that carries multiple brands/lines and have a listen.

Personally, I have always found Infinity Reference series to have a balanced sound, and didn't have any fail on me in the several vehicles in which I've had them installed. I might just be convincing myself of this, but textile/"silk dome" tweeters sound smooth and pleasant to me, whereas "titanium"-type tweeters sound harsh. The latter aren't bad if you're into stuff like EDM where you really want sharp highs, but I don't like them for vocals.

I have to agree with this. I’ve gone and listened to speakers then put them in my car only to be disappointed. The acoustics in a car are a huge variable in my opinion. This is why I think the Kickers were “tuned” for my car.
However the Infinity’s are a good choice for clear and crisp mids/highs.
They say the best material for speakers is just good old paper 🤷🏻‍♂️.
 
I would go to Crutchfield's site and see what is available and they can offer a recommendation with your desires and budget in mind.
 
I tend to install aftermarket speakers/amps into all of my cars. Just can't commute without a better all around sound.

Did you mount the speaker sealed up against the door and door card(panel/cover) using an adapter? Did you verify speaker phase? seal speaker to door cut-out and door card(fastrings)? Front speaker replacement or back speaker replacement, or all 4?

https://powerbassusa.com/us/en/products/mobile-audio/2xl-683-6x8-full-range/ Not a brand that I care for but I would've given it some break-in.
I usually run a mp3/cd that exercises a speaker and breaks-it in much quicker for my speaker replacements. Sound can be drastic before/after break-in depending on speaker. I would've let, even the Powerbass, to break-in for 100hrs of driving. With my 12hrs commuting a week, I won't judge a speaker for at least 8 weeks after installing.

Problem with many vehicles is factory tuning. Seems like they cater to their interiors, even with entry level OE radios. Because of this, the whole swap out one piece or another is usually a hit or miss.

So, even though I like the pocket amp from Alpine, its one that I won't install. To tweak for the interior, you'll need an EQ or DSP.

Start here:

If you want better highs, just add a tweeter with passive crossover(bass blocker), and pick a frequency, that the tweeter tolerates, that is good for your ears. And, you could even block the highs from the factory OE speakers with a choke coil with a similar frequency rating.

Again, I would run the speakers for a least a few weeks of commuting to see if they loosen up and break-in a little. Speakers can go from boomy/muddy to quick, harsh to smooth, bright to soft,... all in 20-50hrs of breaking in. Be patient and wait a couple months.
 
I tend to install aftermarket speakers/amps into all of my cars. Just can't commute without a better all around sound.

Did you mount the speaker sealed up against the door and door card(panel/cover) using an adapter? Did you verify speaker phase? seal speaker to door cut-out and door card(fastrings)? Front speaker replacement or back speaker replacement, or all 4?

https://powerbassusa.com/us/en/products/mobile-audio/2xl-683-6x8-full-range/ Not a brand that I care for but I would've given it some break-in.
I usually run a mp3/cd that exercises a speaker and breaks-it in much quicker for my speaker replacements. Sound can be drastic before/after break-in depending on speaker. I would've let, even the Powerbass, to break-in for 100hrs of driving. With my 12hrs commuting a week, I won't judge a speaker for at least 8 weeks after installing.

Problem with many vehicles is factory tuning. Seems like they cater to their interiors, even with entry level OE radios. Because of this, the whole swap out one piece or another is usually a hit or miss.

So, even though I like the pocket amp from Alpine, its one that I won't install. To tweak for the interior, you'll need an EQ or DSP.

Start here:

If you want better highs, just add a tweeter with passive crossover(bass blocker), and pick a frequency, that the tweeter tolerates, that is good for your ears. And, you could even block the highs from the factory OE speakers with a choke coil with a similar frequency rating.

Again, I would run the speakers for a least a few weeks of commuting to see if they loosen up and break-in a little. Speakers can go from boomy/muddy to quick, harsh to smooth, bright to soft,... all in 20-50hrs of breaking in. Be patient and wait a couple months.
Great post but I do have a question; Do you think part of the “break-in” has to do with your hearing getting used to a particular speaker set up?
I ask because I put one of those compact Alpine amps in my Tacoma, with a new head unit and speakers all around in addition to an 8 inch under the seat powered sub. At first I was supremely disappointed (the acoustics in that truck are terrible to begin with) but with time I actually began to think it sounded very good. Then my daughter used the truck and came back saying the sound was incredible.
Maybe it’s in my head but I’m not so disappointed anymore.
 
Hearing getting used to it.... well, the threadstarter has 5 different cars in his profile. I don't see it as getting use to it. He is probably missing something heard in other vehicles. I tend to break-in speakers in the garage connected to a home receiver and simply change volume levels/stations/music types/talk radio.... several times over 48hrs before even installing them. Run a speaker exerciser CD for an hour and go from there. What is really sad is when speakers blow before I finish a break-in and its not because of an overly loud volume or excessive power.

I don't think I can get use to a specific sound. Threadstarter is missing highs and nothing prevents him from getting use to it. My wife had no real midrange solved with a different dash speaker and selective capacitor. For a couple years, I never heard her pull into the driveway... never. In go the Kenwood XR1800's in the front door. In go the the KFC-X183c in the back doors. Dash got stuffed with Faital 3FE22's with a polyprop cap. Few weeks later, I hear the headbanging woman pull into the driveway every day. She never got used to the factory speakers and never listened too loudly beyond a whisper. She didn't know about the speaker replacement either.

So, whether you break-in on the road or on the bench, imo and depending on the ear, I just don't see getting use to earbleed highs, muddy lows, harshness, missing clarity highs mids range....
 
Hearing getting used to it.... well, the threadstarter has 5 different cars in his profile. I don't see it as getting use to it. He is probably missing something heard in other vehicles. I tend to break-in speakers in the garage connected to a home receiver and simply change volume levels/stations/music types/talk radio.... several times over 48hrs before even installing them. Run a speaker exerciser CD for an hour and go from there. What is really sad is when speakers blow before I finish a break-in and its not because of an overly loud volume or excessive power.

I don't think I can get use to a specific sound. Threadstarter is missing highs and nothing prevents him from getting use to it. My wife had no real midrange solved with a different dash speaker and selective capacitor. For a couple years, I never heard her pull into the driveway... never. In go the Kenwood XR1800's in the front door. In go the the KFC-X183c in the back doors. Dash got stuffed with Faital 3FE22's with a polyprop cap. Few weeks later, I hear the headbanging woman pull into the driveway every day. She never got used to the factory speakers and never listened too loudly beyond a whisper. She didn't know about the speaker replacement either.

So, whether you break-in on the road or on the bench, imo and depending on the ear, I just don't see getting use to earbleed highs, muddy lows, harshness, missing clarity highs mids range....

With regards to the break-in, do you build a box for the speakers or what? How do you go about doing this? I have a receiver at home I can use.
 
I installed an Alpine receiver (UTE-73BT) and an Alpine amplifier (KTP-445A) in my Ford Focus. It REALLY woke up the stock speakers. It sounds great. The only real nitpick is the highs could be better. If the highs were a little bit better, I could literally keep the stock speakers.

With this being said, I had a new set of a set of 2XL-683 speakers (6x8) by PowerBass in storage that I bought a few years ago but never installed. I figured this would be icing on the cake. Well, after getting them out of storage and installing them, I am underwhelmed. In fact, this morning I am going to remove them and reinstall the stock speakers. I know speakers require a break-in period, but with how these speakers sound, I don't see how they can improve.

With this being said, what are some good 6x8 options to look into?
What kind of sound you looking for.. do you plan on adding a sub?

infinity kappa have a great sound usually crisp on the top end and buttery smooth mid-bass.

polk with soft dome tweets will have a similar sound to the kappa’s.. some polks are brighter on the top end.

hard dome such as metal or Mylar tweets will definitely be bright good for cutting through road noise.
 
What kind of sound you looking for.. do you plan on adding a sub?

infinity kappa have a great sound usually crisp on the top end and buttery smooth mid-bass.

polk with soft dome tweets will have a similar sound to the kappa’s.. some polks are brighter on the top end.

hard dome such as metal or Mylar tweets will definitely be bright good for cutting through road noise.

I do plan on adding a sub. The car came with a factory sub, but the previous owner removed it. I found an aftermarket sub box that fits in the stock location that I will eventually add, but I'm not in a rush at the moment to do so. It may be 6 months to year for that. I want to add it, but it's not a high priority (if that makes sense).

As for what type of sound...........I will try to describe as best as I can. I do love bass. Not nasty aimless bass, but clean bass that fills a car up with sound. Add a nice sparkling high to that that isn't harsh and that will get my attention. I have been kicking around the idea of shelling out the $$$ for Infinity Kappa and your description has gotten my attention. Just wondering if the receiver/amp setup has enough juice to push them. I have not done the research.
 
Last edited:
Not many good 6x8 options. I'd router out a mount from at least 3/8 plastic and use a good 6.5" speaker or component.

Installation matters 10x more than the quality of the speaker. In my car audio moonlighting days, I installed high end sound quality systems and I installed midrange systems. If the guy who paid me to install his $2,000 Focal speakers didn't pay me to deaden his doors, fabricate a solid mounting baffle to get the speaker as close to the grill as possible, and orient the tweeters just right... that expensive set of kit underimpressed.

If a guy who bought a midrange set of speakers paid me to do all that... he got all that he could out of those speakers and often it sounded better.

Also, if they're old enough PowerBass speakers, they're like rebranded Chinese Alibaba crap. PowerBass made a few aquisitions over the years that got them better quality stuff, but they've never been and never will be a "good" brand to go to for the best sound quality.

If you want to spend the least to get the most for the dollar, installed right, I'm a fan of Audiofrog. I also like Audison Voce speakers.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top