Speaker upgrade?

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naphthoylindole

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I want to upgrade the 4 speakers in my 2012 Impreza 2.0i. AFAIK they fit 6.5" speakers. No way in [censored] am I doing it myself, the car will probably light on fire just at the sight of me with a screwdriver.

Anyway, I want to keep my budget under $300 if possible. I'm probably going to get a ~$110 powered subwoofer along with 4 two or three way speakers (with tweeters in them). So that's probably at least $200 right there. But I have a few questions...

• Do I really need a 4 channel amp, or can I do with 2 channels since the front and back should be identical for their respective side?
• If I get the speakers installed by a professional, do they have all the wires and things they need or do I need to provide something non-monetary?
• What else should I know?

Edit: I hope this is in the right section.
 
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I don't know that much about car stereo systems, but some car manufacturer's wire their system that you might need a 4 channel amp. The installation place should have the wires.

One place that I found online when shopping for stuff was Crutchfield.com. They have an excellent support staff and regardless of who answered the phone, they all gave me complete and correct answers. Excellent prices also.
 
Crutchfield has discount codes you can find online + they have Black Friday sales.
 
What you should know is that the quality of the result, to a point, is dependent upon how much you spend. I'm not advocating to spend thousands, but to get all that stuff, installed at the $300 price point IMO forces you to some pretty lousy compromises.
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Crutchfield has discount codes you can find online + they have Black Friday sales.



Crutchfield is incredible to deal with. Support is great and they even include directions specific to your car with your purchase. I've been completely satisfied with every purchase I've made from them. Plus - even if you don't buy from them..their website and catalogs are very informative!

Man - you can do this yourself! It is not hard and in most all cases, the wiring can be plug n play with adapters/
 
My suggestion: scratch the rear speakers all together and get a decent set of components for the front.

On the high side, these would be awesome: LINK

On the low side, the would be less awesome, but really good:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_7755_Focal-165-A1.html

In terms of value, those Focals are hard to beat, and a smokin' deal. Then, I'd get a cheap serviceable amp with line-level inputs. Something like this: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_33121_Crunch-PZA1200.4.html

I checked out the 2012 Impreza. There's room to install tweeters in the dash, and the location looks pretty good. The doors have a ton of depth, though to install a 6 1/2, you need a spacer. Thing is, you'll want a spacer anyway. I can't stress this enough: the quality of the install is more important than the speaker. I could make a $129.00 set of components sound better than an improperly-installed $1,200 set. Mounting the speaker to a solid mounting ring and thoroughly sound-deadening the door will make a massive difference. While your tweeters are in different locations, this will give you an idea:

http://www.subaruaudio.net/installations/08-12-impreza/

As far as the rear speakers, it's a huge waste of time and money unless you're doing an incredibly fancy install and adding rear fill. It's not worth even talking about it unless you're a car audio geek. A good front sound stage will provide plenty of noise for the whole car.

I recommended the 4 channel amp because you could always bridge 2 of the channels and run a rear sub if you wanted to add on down the line. In the meantime, you can bridge it and run is as 2 channels.
 
It's going to be the difference between a $150 install and $600 install if I make them remove my entire dash and basically disassemble the car to install tweeters. I'm fine with the 4 (or I guess 2 now maybe?) speakers now, I can just get some components. Thanks for the suggestion though.
 
Originally Posted By: naphthoylindole
It's going to be the difference between a $150 install and $600 install if I make them remove my entire dash and basically disassemble the car to install tweeters. I'm fine with the 4 (or I guess 2 now maybe?) speakers now, I can just get some components. Thanks for the suggestion though.


You shouldn't need to disassemble the dash to access the tweeter location: http://techinfo.subaru.com/proxy/66335/pdf/066335-H631SFJ100ImprezaTweeters.pdf

Even if you don't have the factory tweeters mounted there, running wire to that location is no big deal at all.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: naphthoylindole
It's going to be the difference between a $150 install and $600 install if I make them remove my entire dash and basically disassemble the car to install tweeters. I'm fine with the 4 (or I guess 2 now maybe?) speakers now, I can just get some components. Thanks for the suggestion though.


You shouldn't need to disassemble the dash to access the tweeter location:

Even if you don't have the factory tweeters mounted there, running wire to that location is no big deal at all.

I still think it's a much cheaper option to just go with speakers that have a tweeter already on them. Unless you really think otherwise and can show me a pair of tweeters that fit and aren't too expensive (and then you need to show me regular speakers that compliment them only adding up to ~$90 total)

Honestly, I'm not going to spend $110 or $240 on a single speaker when it seems like the $50 pairs on amazon are good enough for most people. Just saying, no offense.
 
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Most are sold in pairs and component sets will include 2 woofers, 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers.
 
Originally Posted By: AVB
Most are sold in pairs and component sets will include 2 woofers, 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers.


What size tweeters fit in the dashboard then? (asking JOD unless you know)
 
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The Focals to which I linked earlier have everything included, 2 tweeters, 2 woofers and the x-overs, for $139.00. Sorry if that wasn't more clear. That, and a <$100.00 amp and you're in business. As far as the install, it's pretty straightforward to DIY, but I know that's not for everyone. Going with components will be a pretty significant upgrade, for sure.
 
Originally Posted By: naphthoylindole
Originally Posted By: AVB
Most are sold in pairs and component sets will include 2 woofers, 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers.


What size tweeters fit in the dashboard then? (asking JOD unless you know)


The tweeters have a mounting plate that bolts in. I don't know the exact dimensions, but any compact tweeter (car audio-style) will fit in there. As far as the mounting bracket, the Impreza is pretty new so I don't know if anything is available yet. Any installer could easily make one for cheap, or if you have a small, thin piece of MDF you could DIY. Even w/making the adapter, it'll be much cheaper than the Kicker tweeter sets I've seen, with a much higher-quality tweeter. Those things, just as most OEM speakers are kind of a rip.
 
Originally Posted By: naphthoylindole

Honestly, I'm not going to spend $110 or $240 on a single speaker when it seems like the $50 pairs on amazon are good enough for most people. Just saying, no offense.


Then you might as well leave the stock speakers in place. They will sound equal to those $50 Super Saver Specials.
 
Of the 3 components of a stereo system, speaker is most importance, then Amp then HU. Whatever you like to do, spend the most money in the speakers, they are the ones that produce the sound that you hear.

The Focals that JOD recommended is entry level and the price is fair. The high end Focals is much more expensive, couple with high quality Amp and HU you should think about $1500-2000 plus labor.
 
Great set of speakers for the money is JL audio. Be careful getting too hung up on any one kind, there are some amazing bargains out there.

Also, the previous post by JOD was spot on about the install. IMO this is far more important, as a good speaker in a [censored] install will still sound bad! Remember, sound is very subjective so don't get all hung up on specs. Just listen! If it sounds good, it is!

Too many variables to just say "buy these", you simply must either find a audio guy you trust or very carefully shop for a while.
 
Originally Posted By: Tim H.
Originally Posted By: naphthoylindole

Honestly, I'm not going to spend $110 or $240 on a single speaker when it seems like the $50 pairs on amazon are good enough for most people. Just saying, no offense.


Then you might as well leave the stock speakers in place. They will sound equal to those $50 Super Saver Specials.

So they're only really there for people that have absolute [censored] speakers in the first place?

OK I guess I can try 2 component speakers and an amp. What's a good website to look on?

Or rate these 1-10
http://goo.gl/tmL3J
http://goo.gl/ghbVW or http://goo.gl/eZYs1
 
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