What to buy?

[RANDY]

MOD EDIT:

Decided to create a consolidated thread for everyone to voice their opinions and ideas here. From now on any one posting about opinions on the following items will have their threads merged into this one:

- what headunit to buy

- what speakers to get

- system setups

etc

Any other questions (eg problems, technical advice) will remain as they are. Topics asking for installers will generally be closed as they are a frequent topic.

Cheers,

Vijay

I'm looking to replace my rear speakers, as my current (and still new) JBL 3-ways are not handling the bass the way I want them to.

They run like they were designed for sealed/ported/bandpass enclosure, but my parcel-shelf is pretty much "free air".

I was going to use JayCar's 6.5" Kevlar woofers in the back, and then muck around with low pass and full range settings on my amp, but currently I have to run the JBL's on highpass, as the coil seems to fling all over the place and lose control. The same amp drives my clarion splits up front, and they pump like crazy.. even if I pull the pod out of the door, they don't lose their travel. That would suggest that they handle free air applications better, so I was almost considering buying another set, using the supplied crossover, but not running the tweeter... just mid and bass for rear fill.

So, three questions I guess:

What would you recommend for very bassy open air 6.5" speakers in the rear?

Is it worth trying JayCar's 6.5" kevlar woofers?

Would you use a split system, but only the woofer part so that the woofers are matched front and back?

Cheers guys!

Edited December 19, 2006 by raz0r$harP

[MsG_ChRiS]

if you want bass get a set of fusions two way 6.5"

[frx026]

Just as a side note Fusion do not make 6.5 inch 2 ways anymore. The set you saw would have been 2004 stock being flogged off through wow in qld or gcr in vic. They have now gone to a 6" design with different baskets and specs.

Trust me I know.

As for which 6" will deliver the most bass, it is a very open ended question, there are dedicated 6 and 6.5 mid woofer drivers that are desinged for mid bass and lower frequencies, these generally will not perform well at high frequencies as the have a build construction and dynamic that resembles a miniture sub. They are quite pricey, but if you are like me and money is not really a problem, i would suggest importing from the USA a set of USD 6.5 mid bass speakers. For memeory they are only $800 us each, but they will work a treat, oh, and remember you will need a few things to make them work properly. Such as

- custom mdf resin sealed mounts

- big amp that produces clean power

- head unit that produces clean signal

- Apexi charging stabiliser to ensure vehicle is charging at correct voltage

- 1 farad cap

- 8 Guage speaker wire ( just use power wire)

So, If that's a little out of the question, then go for something that has a high power handling capacity and is at least a USA based company. The US produce better quality speakers and generally they will produce more volume.

Suggested brands to stay away from ( mostly jap brands)

sony, kenwood, clarion, alpine, pioneer, cadence, boss, jaycar ( yuk) and most other cheap CRAP

Suggested brands to look at

Soundstream, rockford fosgate, orion, jl audio, mtx, kicker

( i know, i know i have left a heap out of both catagory's, but you get the picture right)

My personsal pick would be the Soundstream Tarantula sst6.5

Check it out at

http://www.soundstream.com/

[EvilINGT]

My personal preference is CDT audio speakers. Dont see too many people using them though, but i couldnt be happier with the sound, awesome midbass/bass. The installer i use, has put the CDTs in many utes with bazooka tubes and then taken out the tubes as bass output is better from the spilts. I have the classics up front, but will soon be moving those out back and putting a set of HDs in the front.

The classics cost me $450-$500, bought a whole bunch of gear at the same time.

http://cdtaudio.com/ have a look

hope that helps

Cheers

Evil

[RANDY]

ooh.... I might have to clarify what I call "reasonable money" =-]

And i'd rather stick with 6.5" (as I stated) rather than go down in cone size to 6".

Let's say... out of what I can readily buy from strathfield, jaycar, jb hifi etc, for a maximum of $200

eg: JayCar's 6.5" Kevlar woofers are $80 each. My clarion splits were RRP $200. Either of those i'm happy to use, but if there's something else out there, i'd like to know.

Also, i'm not worried about high end frequencies in the rear, I want to run the rear drivers as a woofer/sub only.

Thanks for the input thus far!

[siddr20]

Well my hertz coxials 6.5 inch will be installed next wednesday. But i bought them for rearfills. Since i already have Hertz spilts in the front and they do punch out a fair bit of bass (trust me on that one)

So these coxials are under 200. So i will let you know how the bass part goes. Im not concerned about rear speaker bass.

Anyways, if you want bass, why not just buy 6*9s for the rear? make some pods for it.. Im sure that way you will get some 'bass'.

Or go into your nearest car audio store and ask them for some help.

[MsG_ChRiS]

didnt know that frx026 ...

its unlike fusion to make anything smaller ohhh well ...

i just thought they would suit perfect as they were only like $170 a set, and were bassy as ...

=(

maybe there is a set a old stock lying around somewhere ...

[MsG_ChRiS]

ohhh yeah 6' will fit much better as well they will drop straight in with no modz

just a thought

[funkymonkey]

got a pair of 6.5" kevlar's in the back of my ceffy... they're pretty good for their size and a great plug in OEM replacement.

DIY guide here:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=98021

[RANDY]

Well my hertz coxials 6.5 inch will be installed next wednesday. But i bought them for rearfills. Since i already have Hertz spilts in the front and they do punch out a fair bit of bass (trust me on that one)

So these coxials are under 200. So i will let you know how the bass part goes. Im not concerned about rear speaker bass.

Anyways, if you want bass, why not just buy 6*9s for the rear? make some pods for it.. Im sure that way you will get some 'bass'.

Or go into your nearest car audio store and ask them for some help.

Yep thanks! Please do let me know how they handle lower frequencies at volume.

I really want to stick with 6.5"... I don't want to change my parcel shelf or run any risers or pods... I don't want to see my speakers when i'm checking my rearview mirror. (already got a wing for an obstacle as it is!)

I *was* tossing up the idea of podding the JBL's on the inside of the boot, but there is not much clearance before the battery, and the enclosure would be too small to get the driver to reach its supposed resonance frequency. =-/

[RANDY]

And thanks, Funky. I have made my own parcel shelf and fitted these JBL's myself... rear seat and everything out... i'm not concerned about fitting new speakers, just how other speakers may sound.

I see that your JayCar kevlars are the coaxial model... how's the bass frequency and volume? Do they lose themselves or stay pretty rigid? Do they easily hit their maximum throw and distort?

Also, i'd like to take a poll... who mounts directly to the metal, like the stock Cefiro seems to, and who mounts to the parcel shelf masonite/MDF?

[Logikal]

was wondering if anybody has installed/auditioned these splits?

looking at getting them on the weekend at a discounted price

[Bliksem]

Probably best to go in there and get the store guy to play the same song on as many different splits as they have. See which ones you like from there and then decide which one suits your taste the best.

[siddr20]

no worries randy will deff let you know. I just hope it does arrive on wednesday.

But my hertz spilts in the fronts do put out fair bit of bass and low frequency to. Atm they arent amped or sound deadend and they still punch out bass.

Will let you know how i go.

[RANDY]

Good to hear! The doors act like a great enclosure as long as they don't rattle...

My Clarion splits are excellent for me in the front. If I had the same handling and bass in the rear, i'd be a happy camper. Unfortunately that model doesn't seem to be made anymore (identifying via pics, i'm not sure of the model number I actually have) SRsomething, with a purple/blue cone. I'd be VERY confident to buy another set of those and use them in the rear if I could source some.

Cheers all!

[rocketboy]

I think my materuns those speakers, or similar, maybe older version RF, but very similar higher end RF.

He runs then in a Carolla with custom pods and the tweets mounted low.

The sond very detailed and clear with nice punchy midbass. Depending how much you pay, I'd recomend them. You may have bought themalready, but I thought I'd let ya know my thoughts on them.

[Logikal]

Nah havent bought them yet. Thought I better upgrade my headunit first and got a JVC KD-AVX1, the rf splits may have to wait a while

[r32line]

As the topic title suggests, I was wondering what headunits people can recommend with a maximum of $500. I have everything else in my car jsut that my current head unit is creating a buzzing noise when the car is running, had a proffesional diagnose this, it came with car and is that cheap pioneer that plays mp3/wma with bright blue screen, think they were around $200.

I was thinking of the pioneer DEH-P5850 which jb can do for $400.. what you guys reckon??

[dezz]

ive had a few different pioneers in my cars...only had 2 cars, but had the HU stolen out of 1 of them....You can get yourself a decent HU for $500

i'll say pioneer, but others will have their own opinions....find a few you like the look of, then weigh up the different features they have, and work out what you're after

[**JaR**]

pioneeer 4sure. but im biased.