Boost

Hi,
I am looking to upgrade standard Scooby Phillips unit to a Kenwood 5080R (4x45W) head unit essentially because I want to play CDs, I like the mask system, I have found it for a good price and Kenwood have a good name. Don't know that much about car stereo and was wondering if someone could recommend some speakers that will fit the Scoob with a minimum of faffing and will be well matched to the head unit. I don't intend to go for seperate amp or re-wiring at this stage. Any suggestions?
I know the what speakers fit question? has been asked a million times but the Search is down so please be forthcoming.

Laters
Boost

chiark

Infinity components drop in, as do JBL and a few others.

If you look at "Quick question" thread and the "infinity components" thread you'll see a few brands that are recommended there.

What's your budget?

Boost

Just changed my setting to "view all topics" and am working my way back at the mo. - lots of food for thought.

john banks

Can wholeheartedly recommend Infinity 605CS components £88

Boost

John,
Thanks for the offer I shall be sure to mail you if I get any probs.

Anyone,
Since for the moment I just want to get 'reasonable' sound quality and I intend to run the speakers direct from a head unit is it worth going the extra bit to get Infinity 605/JBL GT6 components over cheaper coaxial JBL GTO-603 etc. What advantages will I see to trade off against the fact that I am spending more and they will be a bit harder to install. Anyone know what 605's etc sound like run straight from headunit?? Will they get enough power at lower volumes??

Thanks again!

john banks

Boost, I'll give you a reply, but of course anyone else's opinion will also be valuable.

I would guess that the Infinity's would sound nice from the head unit. They quote sensitivity of 92dB/W which seems quite respectable for components (one of the reasons I bought then - they also have an oversized woofer which although slightly larger diameter is enough to give more than 10% larger area of cone so better bass and sensitivity claimed). To be frank, I wasted my money by trying to save a few bob on getting coax rather than comps and I paid the price in the end by changing them, demoting the original coax to the back. You may be happy with coax, but by going for components you will get a higher quality outboard crossover with better coils/caps rather than one single cap on the tweeter with most components. You will also benefit from a design of both woofer and tweeter that is not so compromised by having both in the same package. Many believe that comps are built to a higher standard as these are often an audiophiles choice in a car because of imaging, control etc. Others would argue that for imaging coax are better because the drivers are effectively coming from a point source. That's fine, but I don't think satisfactory in a Scoob as they point at your calf. With comps, at least you can point the tweets at your ear.

I would not have noticed the (slight) difference in volume between my Kenwood Coax and Infinity Comps unless I had tried the experiment of running them simultaneously off the same amp channels (at 2 ohm) and getting the impression of the soundstage being towards the back - this may have been accentuated because I had been used to listening over the previous few weeks to the system with the staging nearly all (and then completely all when I removed the factory rears) to the front.

With a decent head unit, I think you would be great for quality with a set of Infinity's, just don't expect really high volume - esp in a Scoob or you'll be disappointed. But I think you could say this about any non-amplified set up in a Scoob.

In terms of Infinity vs JBL you would have a debate. But I know of several folk who have tried both (I have not and have bought all my kit cheaply mail order without audition only on recommendation/review etc) and say the Infinity is much better in terms of quality. I think someone mentioned that they are both part of Harmann International and JBL is the SPL (Just Bloody Loud) orientated brand and Infinity the sound quality orientated brand. [Anyone feel free to correct if this is rubbish! I think ScoobyDoo555 said that JBL make some very high end studio equipment so it prob. is rubbish/hearsay etc - usual exclusions apply. E&OE. Past performance is no guarantee to future. You may get back less than you invested.]

IMHO - go for the 605's - you will not be disappointed, and they would be great for adding an amp to later +/- a sub. Fairly modest amps can be picked up quite cheaply and make a fantastic difference.

[This message has been edited by john banks (edited 03 December 2000).]

Chris L

Boost

I've got the JBL component speakers in the front and I think they are great value for money (about £90) - big improvement on the standard ones. I've also got JBLs in the back (I think they are the 603s) and I'm not so impressed with them. OK they were not that expensive but I've noticed some distortion with these already at not what I would call high volumes.

I am going to replace these. Anyone recommend the Infinity speakers that fit in the rear?

Cheers

Chris

ScoobyDoo555

Hi,
Yeh, JBL vs Infinity...hmm toughy....
If you've got the money, both manufacturers make the same type of equipment at the same price.

It really is VERY subjective, I personally like JBLs due to them appearing 'warmer' than the more audiophile-orientated Inifinities. My only arguement is that with the sound of the boxer engine, audiophile goes out the window!!! (IMHO!!!!!)

Try Kenwood, Sony (bit harsh though) and Pioneer - all are good, just different.....

For what it's worth, I've got JBLs in the front and Kenwoods in the back.

Any other opinions?

Boost

OK Guys, thanks for the suggestions so far.

I will go for the components principally because I don't like the speakers positioned down by my feet as I'm quite tall and have the seat full back. I'm sure i'm not going to notice a huge difference between the Infinity 605cs and the JBL GT6.0c mk11 so it comes down to the fitting. I gather both should go in quite easily, but is it simply a matter of unscrewing old ones, replacing with new ones and then sticking in the tweeters. I have no idea what it is you get up to with mdf and foam. Apart from screwdriver and wire cutters and soldering iron will I need anything else? Please patronise me rather than miss things out as I have done a few DIY jobs recently that have taken days rather than hours because I am not properly prepared and have to keep buggering off to the shops. Any other tips to make sure I do a good job? I have read on another thread that the JBL's use an unusual attatchment - what's that all about? I have found a good set of instructions to get the door trim off but thats as far as my confidence goes.

John / Chris L did any probs arise when you were doing yours??

Cheers again

PS I just bought in cars magazine - hopefully I can restrain myself - there is some very cool stuff I did not even know existed!. Sadly I had forgotten about a suit and some other stuff I bought on the credit card last month so the speakers may have to wait until after crimbo but I shall send for the CD player soon.

Chris L

Boost

I fitted the component speakers quite easily. This was the first time I had fitted my own speakers and there were no problems. The JBLs will fit into the standard speaker holes in the door. The actual speakers are attached using an adaptor that is supplied by JBL. This is quite tough (needs to be to ensure a good fit), but no big deal.

Two things to consider are 1)where do you put the passive crossover and 2)how to attach the tweeter speakers by the door handles?
The crossover can be attached with tape inside the door frame (it's very light) and you can use a suitable plastic glue to attach the tweeters. I'm sure there are more professional ways of doing this, but it worked for me

Chris

chiark

I don't know if this is any use, but it's an opinion... I preferred the Infinity after an audition, but this was in two different cars so isn't really much use. The treble on the Infinity seemed marginally better to me, but that could/would be down to the installation, especially as the JBL tweeters were mounted in a position that could have been causing nasty reflections from hard plastic surfaces.

Impossible, innit? I'd tend towards the infinity myself, but that's probably because a friend got excellent results using them (in competition - admittedly SPL, but always got top marks for the sound quality bit)

john banks

I agree with Chris L about fitting the speakers - exactly same applies to Infinity 605. Old speaker out, screw in a supplied metal plate to the factory spacer then screw in new speaker. Tweeter stuck on with blu-tak although I might attach the adjustable direction thingy if I get round to it. Tools you mentioned are all you need. You will need a few bits of speaker wire - the wire on the Infinity tweeter is not long enough to reach where I mounted the crossover - you could extend it or solder new wire directly - don't hold the iron on the tweeter connections too long orplastic will melt! I used another piece of wire to solder one end to the woofer. The Infinity's have screw terminals on the crossover - again mine is wedged in with blutak. You will not need MDF for these speakers. 1" foam is useful in the doors to reduce rattles further after soundproofing - a bit of hssle but worth it.

Chris L - when looking at the JBL GT6.0c manual I thought they had an inline crossover on the tweeter only - do you have a separate box?

Scooby Doc

Yes

Save your money

Martin

Chris L

John

More likely to be my limited grasp of the technical side of car stereo equipment and its description, rather than a difference in the equipment supplied

Anyone got recommendations for Infinity speakers to go in the back ?

Chris

john banks

I agree - don't put anything in the back except a sub - I tried it and it sounds crap.

Well, by anything, I mean except the factory rears. I have some Kenwood 160cm in the back after they were demoted from the front to make way for the vastly superior components. But they're only there because I installed them and they would be doing nothing otherwise. They are at low level from the headunit and sound best kept that way. I don't think I would notice if someone nicked them and (neatly) resinstalled the factory rears.