YACAT: Advantage of component vs 2-way speakers?

[BigToque]

What are the advantages of using component sytems as opposed to using 2-way speakers in a car? (if there are any).

My car has four 6.5" mounts (doors plus 2 in rear). The easiest thing for me to do would be to get 4 new 2-way speakers.

What I'm asking is, is there any compelling reason to get a component system and take the time to make the modifications, when I'd probably mount the tweeter by the mid anyway.

EDIT: Tell me if you think this would be a good package to put in my car...

I want to replace all the speakers in my car (2002 Saturn SC2).

In the rear, all I can put in are 6.5" 2-way speakers without cutting through metal and I have no interest in that.

In the doors though, I'm more interested in getting a set of components. I shouldn't take nearly as much work to get them installed.

All of the speakers are going to be powered, I'm just not sure what amp I want to use or should use. ( Rockford Fosgate Punch P4002 maybe... )

I was looking at these speakers:

Infinity Kappa 60.7cs (doors)

Infinity Kappa 62.7i (rear)

The components take 90W RMS @ 2 ohm
The 2-ways take 75W RMS @ 2 ohm
The amp puts out 200W RMS @ 2 ohm

It seems like a good combo to me. What are your thoughts?

 

[Deeko]

Generally they are better speakers to begin with, but treble is very directional so it sounds much better to have them up higher.

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: Deeko
Generally they are better speakers to begin with, but treble is very directional so it sounds much better to have them up higher.

So if I had a set of components, do you think it would be better to mount the tweeters higher up in the car so they are closer to ear level?

 

[Deeko]

Yes. I have mine on the door around dashboard-level. It was easier for me cuz the car had factory components though, so putting in my own was a breeze.

 

[b0mbrman]

Technically, a component is a two-way.

In practice, when someone into car audio talks about "component speakers", they are referring to a setup that has a midbass and a tweeter and a complex crossover with HP on the tweeter, LP on the midbass, and some smoothing to make one not louder than the other. Component speakers usually require three mounting positions: one for the midbass, one for the tweeter, and one for the crossover.

When they talk about "two-way speakers" they are referring to a setup that has a midbass and a tweeter and may or may not have a simple crossover which at most contains a HP for the tweeter. The tweeter is almost always coaxially mounted to the front of the midbass.

The crossover determines nearly all the advantages/disadvantages when comparing the two

Advantages of 2-ways:
*More efficient, that is, require less power at every level of volume because the crossover swallows some power (important as it sounds like you're not adding an amp)
*Easier to mount because you don't need to find a spot to mount the crossover
*Cheaper because you're not paying for a crossover
*Positioning: Some people say that coaxial mounting (assuming cet par for crossovers and speaker quality) sounds better. Search google for more on the point source vs. line source debate

Advantages of components
*Presence of crossover allows designers higher potential quality...coaxials are 100% dependent on speaker quality and speaker matching. A good crossover can smooth out the frequency curve and match speaker volume
*Positioning: Offers more flexibility. You may like how coaxial mounting sounds (Personally, all of my installs with components have put the tweeter and mid as close to each other as possible) or you might like the tweeter on the A pillar. Mind you, there's nothing that would stop you from taking a two-way set, ripping the tweeter from its mount and putting it wherever in your car you feel like (You might need more speaker wire though )

Now...that said...without any more information about your power source, speaker choice, or listening preferences (all things more important than the inherent differences between comps and coax's), I would guess from your initial post that you would be better off with two-ways.

 

[NaOH]

Yes, components use a cross over ( sepereate circuit board) to seperate the high and low frequencies. This is achieved by using a hi and low pass filter. (my stock components came were hooked up to a damn capacitor. 2 ways use a capacitor to seperate the frequencies and this is not a good filter (sucky frequency response). Pretty much, you have two seperate speakers in a component system which are each specifically intended for a certain frequency range (hi and mid/lows). These are placed SEPERATELY not on top of each other like you would find in a 2 way setup. Then you have the cross over which has a superior frequency response to just a capacitor. Some crossovers also let you adjust how steep the roll off is depending on how "sharp" you want your music to sound I guess (2db, 3db etc).

If you are going to upgrade and could shell out the money. I advise to get components. Unless you are just looking to replace your speakers so that they would work.

 

[BigToque]

I want to replace all the speakers in my car (2002 Saturn SC2).

In the rear, all I can put in are 6.5" 2-way speakers without cutting through metal and I have no interest in that.

In the doors though, I'm more interested in getting a set of components. I shouldn't take nearly as much work to get them installed.

All of the speakers are going to be powered, I'm just not sure what amp I want to use or should use. ( Rockford Fosgate Punch P4002 maybe... )

I was looking at these speakers:

Infinity Kappa 60.7cs (doors)

Infinity Kappa 62.7i (rear)

The components take 90W RMS @ 2 ohm
The 2-ways take 75W RMS @ 2 ohm
The amp puts out 200W RMS @ 2 ohm

It seems like a good combo to me. What are your thoughts?

 

[Viper0329]

I find that the Kappa's are usually very bright. I, personally, prefer silk dome tweeter compared to metallic ones (such as titanium or aluminum). I got a pair of CDT's and have loved every minute of them. I ended up with the Classic 6.5's for about $140.

EDIT: Check WoofersETC for CDT stuff. They have the Classic set for ~$150 now

 

[Apex]

For about $190 per set, the Alpine SPX-177R components are supposed to be very good. I just picked up two pairs of them for myself. I always liked the way those Vifa XT19 concentric radiating ring neodymium tweeters sounded in home theater (and these are only slightly modified).

The XT19 also come on these $1500 per pair speakers, which I absolutely love:

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=23.1

The off-axis dispersion and upper end detail is supposed to be great.

The mid drivers are modified wood-pulp Vifa XT18 based. Crossover is supposed to be pretty competent as well.