What are some good car speakers?

[Chaotic42]

The speakers in my new car kind of suck. I guess they came with it. The stereo it has is ok, it's a Sony of some type. Flip down face and what not.

According to cardomain.com, my car has 6x8" speakers in the back, 6.5" speakers somewhere, and 5.25" speakers somewhere else. I guess the front.

I'm not looking to spend a whole lot of money, but I'd like to get something nice. I have 2x12" Cerwin Vega subwoofers, but I've never used them, and they'd probably be overkill for me. I mostly listen to classical music and rock (The Doors, LZ, etc).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Anubis]

infinity, alpine, pioneer......

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Anubis
infinity, alpine, pioneer......

Well, I was looking more for model numbers.

 

[Howard]

What car do you have?

Also, what is the highest amount of money you are willing to spend?

 

[oogabooga]

well, what sucks about what your asking is that you really can't get too much help

go to best buy, circuit city, and even good guys/fry's electronics (blech) to listen to the speakers. They should have displays setup so you can select different types of speakers. The sizes you mentioned don't seem too far off from normal, so you should be able to find speakers in your size

It sounds like any mid-range line of speakers will do the trick for you. Any pioneer, alpine, infinity speakers would be a good call. I like kenwood decks, but i'm a bit meh on their speaker products (Save eXceleon, rrRRrrrr).

I think dual 12's is excessive for what you want, but *shrugs* you may like it. I'd go with just a single 12, try to sell the other to pay for an amp for the subs (or, if you already have one, offset the cost of the speakers)

Shop around, and get speakers you'll be content with what you get.
Plus if you know someone who works retail stores or at the speaker companies, car audio discounts are near 50%. I bought my kenwood deck that retails for double the employee price, it's great.

 

[Howard]

Whatever you choose, CDT Audio CL-61a component speakers from thezeb.com are unbeatable for the performance that they bring to the table at $150.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: Howard
Whatever you choose, CDT Audio CL-61a component speakers from thezeb.com are unbeatable for the performance that they bring to the table at $150.

or spend more for some mb quartz component sets, but the cdt's are supposed to be a godsend 4 that price

MIKE

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1

Originally posted by: Howard
Whatever you choose, CDT Audio CL-61a component speakers from thezeb.com are unbeatable for the performance that they bring to the table at $150.

or spend more for some mb quartz component sets, but the cdt's are supposed to be a godsend 4 that price

MIKE

He's probably trying to spend the least for the most.

By the way, my brother still hasn't gotten around to installing the sub in his car.

 

[Chaotic42]

Hmm, I guess my price range is... $150? Does that sound reasonable?

I have a 1995 Mazda 626, which will have the best stuff in it, and I have a 1991 Ford Festiva, which gets picked clean.

The 626 came with a Sony CDX-CA700X stereo. The Festiva has a Pioneer DEH-15. Which one of those is better?

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1

Originally posted by: Howard
Whatever you choose, CDT Audio CL-61a component speakers from thezeb.com are unbeatable for the performance that they bring to the table at $150.

or spend more for some mb quartz component sets, but the cdt's are supposed to be a godsend 4 that price

MIKE

I'm not a fan of Quarts tweeters. I'd do CDT, Infinity or JL.

But, thats why it pays to audition the components you want. What one person recommends another may not care for.

 

[Chaotic42]

Ok, this may be a dumb question, but is there any point at all in shopping for speakers at Walmart?

I know less about car audio than George Washington knew about setting up an OpenBSD firewall.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Hmm, I guess my price range is... $150? Does that sound reasonable?

I have a 1995 Mazda 626, which will have the best stuff in it, and I have a 1991 Ford Festiva, which gets picked clean.

The 626 came with a Sony CDX-CA700X stereo. The Festiva has a Pioneer DEH-15. Which one of those is better?

If you like the Sony stereo, keep it. Reviews over at carreview.com give it about 4.3/5 IIRC, and I can't find anything for the DEH-15 (there is, however, a DEH-1500, which is rated 5/5 out of 2 reviews).

I still stand by my recommendation of getting the CL-61a, and if you don't drive people around in the backseat too often, you can just unpower the ones in the back (most car audio guys prefer front soundstage only). The CL-61a components are basically 2 3/4" tweeters (which can be mounted on the A-pillars or wherever you prfer), 2 6.5" woofers, and 2 crossover units (to split the audio signal into highs and lows for the respective drivers). 6.5" speaker mounts are usually in the door near the bottom.

To maximize the sound quality, you will need an external amplifier. But, 23W/channel isn't bad (from the Sony head unit), so you won't require one.

 

[murphy55d]

As a Wal-Mart employee, please don't buy speakers there.

I know nothing of the CDT speakers Howard recommends, my suggestion was going to be Infinity, but if there's a consensus on these other ones, try and go for them.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: Howard
Whatever you choose, CDT Audio CL-61a component speakers from thezeb.com are unbeatable for the performance that they bring to the table at $150.

BTW-those CL-61a are on sale right now for 15% off or $135 shipped for me.

Just bought a pair for the Z28, now I'll have to find a place to shoe horn an amp in somewhere.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: Shockwave

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1

Originally posted by: Howard
Whatever you choose, CDT Audio CL-61a component speakers from thezeb.com are unbeatable for the performance that they bring to the table at $150.

or spend more for some mb quartz component sets, but the cdt's are supposed to be a godsend 4 that price

MIKE

I'm not a fan of Quarts tweeters. I'd do CDT, Infinity or JL.

But, thats why it pays to audition the components you want. What one person recommends another may not care for.

id tell him to do DIY, but that takes a while, and requires custom X-overs.

damn you howard, tell your bro to install the bitch, im missing having bass in my car so much. i want to put something in, but cant justify having it for only a month.

MIKE

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
id tell him to do DIY, but that takes a while, and requires custom X-overs.

damn you howard, tell your bro to install the bitch, im missing having bass in my car so much. i want to put something in, but cant justify having it for only a month.

MIKE

:beer:

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Ok, this may be a dumb question, but is there any point at all in shopping for speakers at Walmart?

I know less about car audio than George Washington knew about setting up an OpenBSD firewall.

No, not at Wal-Mart. Can you swing the almost $150 for the CL-61a?

 

i'm a big fan of Polk

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Howard
No, not at Wal-Mart. Can you swing the almost $150 for the CL-61a?

Probably, but these are front-only speakers, correct?

 

[glen]

JL, Boston, MB Quart

 

[CraigRT]

Infinity, Alpine, JL, even JBL make some nice speaks

 

[EF9]

Polk audio,mb quarts,alpine if i were you, i would get 6x8 3way for the back and 2way 6.5 in the front.

 

[Ausm]

I got alpines totally in my vehicle. The only think I have in my vehicle that is not alpine are my dual polk Audio Momo Amps.

Your talking some ass kicki'in bass


Sysadmin

 

[Leejai]

Q-Series MB Quarts hands down if you want your ears to bleed from the highs (overall, i like their tweeters the best...most crisp)

oh, and moreso than the speakers, i found the x-overs to make the largest difference in performance.

 

[Apex]

Morel makes some great stuff too, but it's a little more pricey.

Morel USA

There's also Focal, Vifa, Scan Speak, etc.