chrisbridge

I`m upgrading the stereo in a 93 classic saloon, what`s the best speaker setup to go for to get the best hi fi sound? what sizes front and rear, 2 way , 3 way etc and do i really need a sub? should i have a seperate amp? loads of questions.
cheers in advance.
chris.

jag_h

it all depends on your budget, and how far you want to take your sounds.

for the fronts, you will get 6.5" components in, and your better off amping them, as they can draw a lot of power which most HU will fail to deliver. due to the shallow depth in the doors, you will need to build some spacers from MDF (12-15mil) or use the Vauxhall Cosra plastic adaptors.

for front speakers, the kind of budget speakers i would reconmend is something from Pioneer, or Alpine E-Series. mid market, look at Focals, Boston, MB Quart, Infinty, DLS.... and more upmarket consider the higher range stuff from the mid market and also the likes of CDT, Crsytal, Genesis, Diamond, A/D/S....

Make sure when you do this, you apply some sound deadening to the doors too, it will make a world of difference.

Finally, if your not happy with how it sounds or your want more umph to the music, look into getting a sub. again, it depends on budget and the type of sound your looking for.... there is soo much choice, its really upto you.

take a look at http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/ to get an idea on prices etc...

SimonD

Sorry to hijack the thread but presumably it's not worth going far up that list of speakers without using a separate amp.
What would you recommend using the HU only? Presumably anything with a crossover is wasted but what about 2-way vs. 3-way?

messiah

The Infinity's are often recommended - just got a pair of 6x9's (9603?) from Halfords for £49.99 - they also do an adapter kit for Subaru's to fit the bigger front speakers too.

EddScott

I'm looking at doing the same shortly to mine. 6X9s in the back and 6.5 components up front. I'd more or less decided on getting JBL but a mate who is into his ICE said to get the infinity ones.

Also he said unless your spending over £100 (I was looking at £60 JBL ones) on the front components its not worth amping them. He said to just run the 6X9s and the components of the HU.

Also I though about a sub in the boot but some people have said it won't sound right if I have 6X9s in the shelf - mess up the "Sound staging" apparently!

/edit - anyone know which components have a tweeter that will fit behind the little grill in MY00 door cards?

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

for the rears go for 6.2 kickers! bloody fantastic sound, best ive ever heard, there expensive, but worth every penny.

jamo

messiah

Eddscott - The infinity's do 6800CS i think is the model no. around £75-80 online prices... - check out chiarks website, i think you'll be pleasantly surprised

jag_h

EddScott - just to let you know that JBL and Infinty are owned by the same parent company Harmon. The speakers are used to comply pretty much with the two main listening styles (SPL - getting it as loud as possible. Sound Presssure Level, or SQ - about getting a more pure, natural sound to your music. Sound Quality.) the Infinties are aimed more towards SQ whilst the JBLs tend to cater more for SPL. bare this in mind.

To be honest, you can run pretty much any set of speakers from the HU, but adding an amp will definately help get the most out of them.

The best thing to do is decide on what speakers you want. then if you want more, amp them, if you want more still, get a sub.

to answer the question about sound staging. any rear speakers could interfere with the soundstagin, its just a case of getting them balanced and tuned into the system correctly. if your goin to use them as full range speakers with no fade then yes, it will affect the sound stage. but if you fade right to the front, and tunes the system til they sound right, then slowly fade back til the rears just add a bit of ambience to the music, then your sound stage is still intact...

Eric Chadwick

Just gone through the stereo upgrade route on my Sti V. Finished (for now) at the weekend.

First step was the headunit - I got the Pioneer 77 with the aluminium look panel (£230). A generic maystar din E pocket fills the slot underneath for £5. This did improve the sound and gave more volume before distortion set in but the standard speakers were really not up to much. The new unit seems pretty lightweight compared to the original but does sound better.

Next step a set of focal access 165 components (£130) although most people seem to say that there isn't much point going that expensive without an amp these did sound pretty good just off the headunit. They don't look that substantial but do sound good. Dynamat in the front doors, threading new speaker cable and installing the speakers on 12mm spacers was all a real pain. It all fits behind the original trim in the standard locations. I put the crossovers inside the car each side behind the trim at the bottom of the A-pillar. You'll need to budget lots for sound-deadening stuff, cable, battery connectors and other bits and bobs. It certainly all adds up.

Finally I bought a s/h Alpine MRV1000 amp (150Wrmsx2) on ebay (£127) to run the Focals - at first in the driveway it didn't seem to have made much difference but the more I listen the better it seems (the focals are probably still running in too). I can now drown out road noise without distortion or apparent effort and you still get a decent soundstage on the motorway where before it would just turn into distorted shouting with no stereo effect. There is lots of bass standing still but once moving the road noise drowns out the deepest notes even now - turning the volume up obviously helps but I still need the loudness on it's lowest setting to get an acceptable level of bass. A small powered sub or the genesis 6x9 subs for the rear shelf might be an option later as might a 6cd stacker (saw this somewhere on the net for £90). It's all been a real pain to fit but hopefully now I can just sit back and enjoy the music.

EddScott

Might have a look in Halfords later for those infinity 6x9s. By looking at the metalwork under the rear shelf they seem pretty straight foward to fit. I know I should be upgrading wiring etc but will dedicate a whole weekend once I've got everything to do a "Proper job"

I'm not going to spend oodles on components say £60-70 so won't bother with an amp and maybe get a small amped sub for the boot later. Don't really want to lose any boot space as my hobby (RC car racing) takes up most of it.

PPPscooby

I bought the infinity 6000cs compnents recently from www.caraudiosecurity.com, they fitted straight in using no additional spacers, its as if they were made for the impreza, all the screw holes are in the same place etc...