Car deck help

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DaedalCipher

Member
Sep 15, 2004
144
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So in a month or so I am planning on replacing the stock radio and speakers in my '99 Toyota Corolla. I am not, and let's be clear please, someone who is looking for insane bass that threatens to shake my heart to pieces. I am merely looking for high quality sound for a reasonable price.

The back has 6x9s, and the front is something like 4 1/2 rounds. The 6x9s are more important to me when spending money, but if someone has some great rounds they would recommend I'll get them too.

I am planning on spending around $200 on a deck somewhere like onlinecarstereo.com or a place like that so I don't get screwed over at best buy, and so my money goes further. For the speakers, I would like to spend around $150 max.

I know that RMS is what really matters when talking about decks. What range should I be shooting for with this budget? I think around 22 RMS is about the most I'll be able to get, but is that going to provide decent sound? What do stock radios run at anyway, just so I can compare them when I listen?

So let's break it down:

Who makes great 6x9s?

Who makes the best decks to run the 6x9s for that price with no separate amp?

Thank you in advance for any help.
 
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cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
13,518
42
86
As speakers go, cheap and good don't usually go together. Sounds like you're not interested in separate amps, so that divides the product range in half. My experience, of the speakers that can run off the head unit, infinity kappas are the only ones that give you any kind of good strong bass, though their tweeters are extremely bright. If only Infinity had used a silk tweeter... Anyways, look at the RMS watts range on the speakers and the low end needs to be 2 watts, any with higher requires external amps to sound good.

The problem when trying to seek out speaker reviews online, nearly all are one of two types:
(1) the simpletons who just compare the after-market speakers to the stock speakers, and give everything 5 stars
(2) the elitists who compare the budget lines to high-end lines, and give everything 1 or 2 stars.


For the head unit, I personally went one with a faceplate & buttons that I felt are easiest to use, not necessarily what gives the absolute best audio for a price range, so I'm probably not much help here. If this is your first after-market car stereo purchase, I'd suggest ordering from Crutchfield, they provide full installation instructions and wiring harnesses for your vehicle, and a 30-day full money-back guarantee. If you're not happy with the sound, they'll take it all back.
 
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nobb

Senior member
May 22, 2005
237
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It seems that you are concerned more about your rear speakers than your fronts. That seems a bit strange because most of the sound should be coming from the front, not the rear. If you are on a budget and want the best sound, you probably should spend your money on getting good fronts first. But its personal preference I guess. I think 150 might be able to even get you a set of components in the front, which would be the best in terms of sound quality. I was initially planning on sticking with some high quality coaxials, but after going with some components, I dont think I want to go back. Since you are running them off your deck and not an amp, you might also want to look at the sensitivity rating of the speakers because you want to make the most out of the little power that the decks can provide. Also, in terms of the headunit, I think the best choice would be Pioneer or Alpine. For a given price, Pioneer packs a ton of features, while Alpine sacrifices features yet seems to have a nicer build and closer attention to small details (eg. I like how alpine gives you a case for your faceplate and how it slowly increases the volume on the music when you turn it on).
 
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DaedalCipher

Member
Sep 15, 2004
144
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0
I have always been under the impression that six by nines give much more sound for the buck than anything i could fit in the front of my corolla, which is why i figured I would spend the money on them first and then whatever is left over on something better than what the front stock speakers are. That said, does anyone know who makes really good six by nines? other than, of course, the infinity kappas already suggested?

You're gonna have to be more specific about the differences between component speakers and coax speakers- i have no idea what you're talking about. I'm assuming it has something to do with how they process the sound?

As for the head unit, am I gonna be able to find a pioneer or alpine that gives me 22 or 27 rms for a not ridiculous price (200 or under)? Model suggestions?
 
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cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
13,518
42
86
hmmm, Crutchfield has the '99 Corolla with 6.5" round front, and 6.75" round rear. They're usually spot on with factory speakers. :confused:
 
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cheesehead

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
10,079
0
0
I would reccomend going off the beaten path a bit in your choice of new speakers for your car.
At $25 a pair, the Audax VP130Z2 is a pretty decent little coaxial driver. It's not perfect (the frequency response chart shows a bit of a dip around 1khz), but it's as good as you're going to get for $25. They're also a mite small - you'll need to make some sort of spacer ring for them.

http://www.madisound.com/catal...o.php?products_id=1587

Of course, like most car audio drivers, the VP130Z2 has absolutely zero bass. And I mean none.

On the plus side, if you don't care much about bass....don't spend much on the sub. The Dayton SD215-88 8" subwoofer, placed properly in your car, will give adequate bass, and because it's a dual-voice-coil sub, you can use it with a passive crossover - just one amp for the sub, mids, and tweeters!

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe...fm?&Partnumber=295-480
 
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DaedalCipher

Member
Sep 15, 2004
144
0
0
it seems that you are right. I guess I justassumed they would be 6x9s, but it looks like I can still get some good infinity 6.5inches for around 100 bucks
 
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