Iceman

The sound in my '07 had gotten so muddy that I couldn't stand it any longer. Having some good earbuds for my iPhone probably had something to do with it. So I decided to swap out the speakers. I did this before with my '04, replacing the stock speakers with Alpine Type S's, and loved the results. With my '04, I bought the speakers (and Satellite Radio unit) from Best Buy and had them do the install. This was actually a fairly expensive way to go. For my '07, I decided to buy the speakers on-line and then shop around for an installer.

I bought the following speakers from Amazon Marketplace. There are cheaper places to buy this stuff, but I always think I am taking my life in my hands when I buy from eBay.

Front Doors: SPS-610c (includes separate tweeter replacements). Rear Doors: SPS-610 (no tweeters). Rear Deck: SPS-619 3-way 6x9's. Cost of speakers: $217. Cost of installation, by a reputable audio installer (Yelp is your friend!): $200.

End result: Really, really improved sound. The bass is good and strong, the tweeters are clear as a bell, everything sounds richer, I can hear the individual instruments playing. Music can be played louder than before with no distortion. I am playing music at a lower setting on the volume dial, which tells me the new speakers are more efficient than stock.

Now here's the part that surprises me. When I listen to FM radio, there really isn't much of an improvement. I mean, richer bass yes, clearer sound no. When I listen to satellite radio, the sound quality is much improved. When I listen to my CD's, the sound is ENORMOUSLY better. I am thinking now that I should consider upgraded my tuner to a unit that receives digital radio. And I am for sure going to connect my iPhone to the car's sound system. I have been holding off because the danged USB connection is buried in the bottom of the center compartment, but I think music played from my iPhone will sound better than my radio.

What I understand from my reading is, my speakers will probably sound different in a few months. The woofers will get louder, the tweeters will sound mellower. This is hard for me to imagine, as the bass is already pretty strong. I forsee turning the bass DOWN in a few months. I like it where it is, and I surely don't need bigger subwoofer, more power, etc etc. Alpine Type-S FTW!

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

uhhh wrong forum?

you want the 1G TSX crowd...

iSeeYouTwo

Still great info!

VortexBlueTSX

I switched mine to Alpine Rs and i could not be happier...listening to only Ipod and CDs....i am nothing but impressed, its amazing!

jeroplex

mine is in the shop right now getting JL audio c2 installed and 2 JL subs

Tannis

I'd never pay a shop to install my audio gear. What happened to the audio DIY crowd? Save the cash from the install charges and invest in some good speaker/hookup wire. Get some 15awg Cardas Litz wire from parts connexion and you'll realize what your speakers really can sound like. seriously. I rewire all my high-end home audio gear with this stuff and it takes the grain out of everything. For $200 you can get almost 50 feet of it. At least enough to do the fronts which are the most important. Speakers will only sound as good as the componenets before it.

ssjoeboe9

You're only strong as your weakest link.

Iceman

That's the classic money-for-time tradeoff. I'd rather play with my grandchildren and let the pros take care of the installs.

fiercetimbo17

Sorry but speaker wire is speaker wire. As long as you use stranded OFC wire you will be fine.

Tannis

It is your money.

Tannis

Negative Space Ghost. I rewired one of my MA PL200 and one of my older MA GS10 speakers with it and ran a comparison with their un-rewired twins. Absolutely made a difference. If your ears can't tell or you don't care and are fine with cheap $0.20/ft wire then fine. I couldn't care less. I was putting that out for the audiophile types that have not considered this as an option. And a very good bang for the buck considering the improvements. But like all things dealing with electronics, some speakers may not respond the same. However, I run Cardas extensively throughout my gear and have had no issues.

Tannis

Apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread. Wasn't trying to make this about something else. It is simply an inherent part of the audiophile chain of upgrades. Merely trying to give suggestions. My previous reply is there only because people should have the opportunity to explore other options and I will defend that against those that err on the cheap-is-best approach. Speaker wire is a science. Some work. Some don't. But people wouldn't spend $3k+ on wire if it didn't show a return. Just saying. Thanks.

fallacy

Aren't you going from 2ohm speakers to 4ohm speakers effectively cutting your output in half using a stock deck?

fiercetimbo17

Sorry but I work in very high end audio, Ive personally A/B with a $44,000 transparent and a run of regular 12/2 OFC copper speaker wire. No difference. If your hearing the difference your either listening with a scope or you justifying your purchase to yourself. I do not understand suggesting spending $200 for speaker wire when the speakers do not even cost 1/2 of that.
The last thing I would do is rewire the your cars current speaker wire. There are much better places to spend money. After your speakers an actual amp or better EQ would be the place to start. I can think of at least 15 things I would spend money on before I even gave my stock wiring upgrade a thought.

I will say I do like those monitor audios however.