Need help with selecting which kind of car speakers...

[MarkW]

I just bought a Pioneer DEH-7400mp cd player. Unfortunately, I still have stock speakers. What speakers (specifically, model number and all) would you reccomend? I want really good bass that I won't have to buy a sub for, and I guess that is where the 6.9's go in. But I want somethign that sounds *good*. I need a pair of 6x9's for the rear and a pair of 4x6's for the door speakers (I drive a 1994 Pontiac Grand Am if you needed to know). Also what is the difference between 2 way, 3 way, and 4 way speakers? My budget for this is about 300, maybe even a little bit more if it will be worth it, thanks!

 

[rootaxs]

I won't recommend a single brand given it's all up to you and what you'll like personally. Something that sounds awesome to me may sound dinky to you. Additionally car acoustics will determine just how good a set of speakers will do.

With that out of the way here's a generalized description of 2/3/4 ways.

2 way = Bass and Tweeter
3 way = Bass, Midbass and Tweeter
4 way = Bass, Midbass, Tweeter and Supertweeter

Having more drivers doesn't always mean better sound, so my suggestion is for you to go to your local car audio shop and audition some speakers.

I used to have Cerwin Vega (Stealth series) 6x9's 3-ways and 6.5" Coaxials (two-ways) powered by a Kenwood eXcelon X815 Headunit in my old Civic and that thing pounded pretty good. In fact i've had several people ask what type of sub i had. I didn't, but listening to it makes you think i had an 8" there hidden somewhere.

Currently i run a Harmann theme with Infinity Reference 605cs (Components) up front and 652i (coaxials) in the back. Both are 6.5" drivers. Sub is a Basslink.

 

[austin316]

stick with coaxials (two-ways). I personally find 3 and especially 4 way speakers way too harsh.

 

[Imdmn04]

3 way and 4 way speakers gives you a more distinct frequency response.
but really, if you have a high end pair of 2 way speakers, it shouldnt make that much of a difference.
as for which brand, infinity gives you the most bang for the money

 

[MarkW]

I was looking at the kicker i690's and the 460's, anybody ever used those before? comments? Is sticking to one brand throughout the car generally a good idea? I know that different manufacturers of speakers can sound different, and I can see why having only one brand of speakers can help.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

We'll since you already got yourself a nice HU, go get some Infinity Ref. 605cs Component speakers. These components will sound just fine of the HU and will offer much better sq than most comparatively priced speakers. I also suggest you ditch the rear speakers all together, or keep the stock ones in because rear speakers will adversely affect your soundstage if not properly setup. You want your rear speakers to provide ambient sound so you'll want to keep their levels very low.

 

[MarkW]

<< We'll since you already got yourself a nice HU, go get some Infinity Ref. 605cs Component speakers. These components will sound just fine of the HU and will offer much better sq than most comparatively priced speakers. I also suggest you ditch the rear speakers all together, or keep the stock ones in because rear speakers will adversely affect your soundstage if not properly setup. You want your rear speakers to provide ambient sound so you'll want to keep their levels very low. >>



I was reading some of the messages at forum.sounddomain.com and many people are saying that ditching the rear speakers is a good start... But do component speakers have good bass? I am not looking into buying a seperate amplifier and subwoofer because that will probably go over my limit. What is the difference between component and regular coaxial speakers? I know with the components you can move the tweeter to whereever you feel like, but I'm not sure what else is different from regular speakers. SoundDomain