Pondering replacing all speakers (not subwoofer)

[Droid]

I'm starting to be dissatisfied with the audio system in the Raptor. I have the Sony 700W system. I'm not sure what the "W" stands for, but I'm fairly certain it isn't watts. All kidding aside, I don't think the sub is the major concern.

Some music sounds pretty decent, other music sounds very flat and muddied. Kglesq (brother) has a similar opinion of his Raptor. The source is not the problem, the same music files sound great through my decent home stereo or my Klipsch computer speakers.

My first thought is to drop about $200 on a quality set of four new 6x8s or components and install them in the doors with existing wiring. Anyone think this will result in an improvement? Any recommendations on what to get?

Just browsing on Crutchfield these Bostons look decent: Boston Acoustics S85 6"x8" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com

Need to figure out what to do (if anything, or just disconnection) to pillar tweeters and/or center channel. Anyone know how the crossover is set up on the factory tweeters/woofers? If it's already cutting the highs from the woofers the 2-ways are a bad idea.

I *really* don't want to get into adding new wiring of any kind at this time. It just takes way too much time given my novice level of experience and desire for it to be perfect. I'd have it done but car stereo installers are trained monkeys until you start spending insane amounts of money to pay real professionals.

Any suggestions appreciated. If I can keep it simple and in the <$300 ballpark and not cut anything I won't be upset at the time/money loss if the improvement winds up only being minor.

 

[troycrna]

kind of off your subject but I heard the probox 10in woofer in their box that fits under the seat today in a guys crew fx4. He was running a fosgate t500 mono to the one sub and it was insane. That one 10 sounded better than any other 2 12 setup that Ive heard.

 

[xBX]

a sub isnt gonna make music louder.. just adds base which is okay, but you gotta have loud speakers to match... I personally hate when i see a car that doesnt have matching speakers. Looks cheap, id say go big or go home.. Sorry but if you dont wanna spend atleast 500 to replace all of the speakers i would just save the cash.

 

[Droid]

a sub isnt gonna make music louder.. just adds base which is okay, but you gotta have loud speakers to match... I personally hate when i see a car that doesnt have matching speakers. Looks cheap, id say go big or go home.. Sorry but if you dont wanna spend atleast 500 to replace all of the speakers i would just save the cash.

What would you recommend as far as speakers (retaining factory sub)? I didn't think most of the high-dollar speakers out there did anything special being driven by an OEM head unit's internal amp rather than a proper aftermarket amplifier.

 

[xBX]

If you lockpick or navtv you may be able to get a louder speaker because it removes the limiter or it did for my last car... someone who has either of the two or is familiar can chime in

 

[ThugHunter]

You are not gonna see much difference if you replace your speakers only. As a matter of fact, you may make it sound worse. You will need to add a GOOD aftermarket amp (not some Walmart $50 special) to supply good clean power to the speakers. And if you're adding an amp, you mine as well upgrade your sub. Buy yourself a 4 channel amp, bridge a sub and use the channels left over to power some aftermarket 5x7's in the rear doors and component 5.25" in the front doors. Good speakers need good clean power.

Don't put too much thought into how many watts a system has. Back in the day mid 90's, when Rockford Fosgate was king, you could power an entire system on a Punch 45 or 75 amp. I'm talking door speakers, rear speakers and two subs and the system would rock. Nowadays, some amps are rated at 1000w (company claims) and depending on the company, the system sounds like ass.

 

[Raptor Retrofit]

The weakest link in the system is definitely the sub. After that I would say the head unit. your not gonna see much difference by replacing just the door speakers.

 

[Droid]

You are not gonna see much difference if you replace your speakers only. As a matter of fact, you may make it sound worse. You will need to add a GOOD aftermarket amp (not some Walmart $50 special) to supply good clean power to the speakers. And if you're adding an amp, you mine as well upgrade your sub. Buy yourself a 4 channel amp, bridge a sub and use the channels left over to power some aftermarket 5x7's in the rear doors and component 5.25" in the front doors. Good speakers need good clean power.

Don't put too much thought into how many watts a system has. Back in the day mid 90's, when Rockford Fosgate was king, you could power an entire system on a Punch 45 or 75 amp. I'm talking door speakers, rear speakers and two subs and the system would rock. Nowadays, some amps are rated at 1000w (company claims) and depending on the company, the system sounds like ass.

The weakest link in the system is definitely the sub. After that I would say the head unit. your not gonna see much difference by replacing just the door speakers.

Thanks, appreciate the info!

I do feel right now that there is something "wrong" with the stock Sony setup. It's not an issue with my truck, unless kglesq has the same exact problem in his Raptor. So bear in mind I'm not approaching this from the idea that I'm going to upgrade a decent OEM system to a great system...I'm trying to make what appears to be a slightly broken system into a decent OEM system.

Whatever I do, I'm not trying to do it on the cheap...only reason I mention the $200 price point for replacement speakers is that's what they appeared to cost from a quick browsing of Crutchfield for what appeared to be a decent set of Bostons or Infinitys. If it winds up costing too much to achieve what I want I just won't do it.

On another note, curious if anyone knows how the crossover works on a factory system...specifically with regard to the a-pillar mounted tweeters. For instance, if I were attempting to replace the front doors and tweeters with an aftermarket component setup, can I just connect both directly and not use the aftermarket crossover?

 

[Baldwin09]

Ive always had good luck with Boston's have infinity's now not to impressed with those

 

[CineSLR]

I would start with an amp. 9 Times out of 10 your factory speakers will sound 100x better with proper power. You can tell the sony system is way underpowered because it sounds good at low volume but once you start going up it all goes to crap. I would ask around about local audio shops and see if you can't find one with a decent rep. I have one here that is very reasonable price wise and I find it worth every penny rather than diving in on my own.