Hello Ziners,

I'm looking for some recommendations for speakers in which I can buy to replace my front speakers. I am looking to get an improvement in sound quality and clarity. I would like to stay in the range of 150-200 maximum per set since I'll need another set for each front side.

I will be running a 4 channel amp to them, in case that will influence your recommendations. I'm just looking to see what other owners have used and had success with.

 

I thought you were looking for an improvement in volume without reducing clarity?

 

I have 6.5" Polk DB6501 Components in front and 6.5" Polk DB651s in the rear. They are being pushed by a Hifonics BRX5000.5. They are both getting 60w RMS. However, the DB6501 are rated at 100w RMS. Sound clarity is amazing. Much better than stock. I would recommend adding a sub though.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-94/mild-grade-fever-854353/

my budget build

 

You can try the Image Dynamics CTX65CS. They fall in to your price range and quite a few people have had success with them.

 

I'm running Infinity Kappa's all around on mine with a Rockford amplifier, love them

 

Infinity is great for those who like ear piercing highs and associate overly boosted screeching tweeters with clarity. I would only recommend infinity if you're wanting to stay with the stock amp.

The ID CTX65 are great for the price. I ran them for a year or two and really liked them. Prior to them I had infinities and it was a huge upgrade in midbass and a detailed tweeter that didn't kill my ears. JBL also makes some really good components in the $200 price range.

 

I want volume yes, but I also want better clarity also.

 

Read the first 2 pages totally and then skimmed the rest, I got lost in technical highly educated people talk. Which component set did you go with and how are they vs stock?

 

What are your thoughts on FOCAL as a brand versus those ID CTX65CS? I'm looking to consider something different that the "store brands" like Pioneer ect ect, to get a good quality product. I saw some good prices on ebay for the ID's but I always like to have more than 1 option.
I had a chat with Crutchfield and they told me I need some bracket for 9.99 in order to put a 6.5 speaker in the door, so I guess I'll get those in preparation.

 

ID, no comparison to stock with proper amplification. Focal like all brands makes some great stuff and not so great stuff. better values elsewhere

 

Is there anything else better than the ID CTX65CS.. or is this one of the best of the best in the price range? Should I stay away from ebay or has anyone bought from there with no issues?

 

I have concluded that I need more clarity and volume 100%. I have now found out the maximum volume on the headunit when listening to XM radio. for no reasons do I think I should have to need to turn the volume up to that point. I hope that with more power behind things I will not need to.

 

The stock speakers aren't great by any means, but I don't care what you put in, XM will never give you clarity. Especially in the top end. If that is what you are using for your reference you will be disappointed.

That said, go listen to speakers. I always tell people this. Find some in your price range and go listen. You wouldn't buy a painting without seeing it first, why buy speakers without hearing them?

I could tell you, "Oh I love (insert whatever speaker here). They are the best out there." What I failed to mention though, is that when I was 18 I worked construction in a blast zone and decided not to wear ear protection and now can't hear anything above 10kHz. So my opinion of what sounds good will vary quite a bit from yours.

For $150-$200 you can get nice stuff, especially used/clearance. In that range the thing I would say to look at is the type of x-over they come with. I like ones that have an actual x-over network vs. just a cap on the tweeter. Generally the ones w/ full networks will be a little smoother in response between the mid and tweet because they don't rely only on the natural response of the mid to limit it's upper end. A lot of the "cap on tweet" style tend to get pretty aggressive in the upper mid range which can get fatiguing.

Again, that is a generality. they are your ears, so in the end go with what sounds good to them.

 

Dynaudio Esotar speakers and a couple of JL HD 600/4s on the front stage gives incredible clarity at any volume. Probably not on XM though. Just saying....

 

I know that XM isnt the best quality signal, that just happened to be what I was listening to yesterday that I was riding with the windows down and I felt like I couldnt acheieve a good listening volume at the same time.

I know with CDs its better, but still not good enough. I do think I am going to listen to some speakers today if I can find a shop where I am. Music is too important to me, so I know i need to invest some money into getting it cleaner and more crisp. I just think I need to get away from the standard Pioneer JL Audio Alpine Kenwood brands for consideration for components and go to something more higher end I guess... which is why the IDs are being considered.

 

The JL C5 are just as high end if not better than most of ID's lineup. Some say the ZR line are even better but the highs were pretty sharp to me, bordering on harsh. I would definitely take a listen to the C5 or ZR components.

 

Pioneer, Alpine, and Kenwood aren't even in the parking lot of the ballpark of the JL lineup. The C5s are an absolutely fantastic speaker. The ZRs are a little bright for my liking, but are built very well. (I had ZRs in my GTO, I have C5 3 ways in my TL) The C5s are one of the more neutral speakers I have heard. Some people think they sound flat or dead, but I find them to be really uncolored and neutral.

Even the C2 line is a good speaker, especially for the money.

JL gets lumped into the group with a lot of the big car audio brands, but they are nothing like the big Japanese conglomo brands.

 

Agreed. I've always said if I had it to do over again and I wanted something that sounded very close to what I have now I would do the C5. I think they're one of the best sounding comp sets out there at any price and especially for the price.

Have you ever considered using the ZR800 as the midbass in your 3-way? I figured you might get bored like all of us and switch it up once in a while. Seeing how easy it is to put 8" and 9"' speakers in the TLs doors I figured it might have crossed your mind.

A little off topic but I would like your opinion.

I'm getting ready to enclose my 9s. It's strictly to eliminate the vibrations of the door panels that I finally give up on getting rid of. The buzzing is not noticeable exactly but it shows up as slower sounding transients and a fuzzy stage. When I run them with no door panels and pushing on the door hard so the door won't rattle too much, so much detail and pop is added. I want to keep them IB or close to it so it either means a large enclosure or venting it to atmosphere.

I'm thinking of enclosing the side door in the card with the enclosure to get as much volume as possible or even trying to vent it to atmosphere somehow. I don't know if it could be done through the wire look by removing the plastic connectors and ducted outside. I would only worry that it might act as a port. If I had to I might even cut holes in the front of the door if there's enough of a gap for airflow.

Ported 9s would also be interesting. Maybe a 65-70Hz tune.

 

I'm actually in the process of acquiring the parts to do just that. I have a line on a pair of ZR800s from our JL rep in exchange for building kick panels for his demo car. I'm also planning to finally go full active and run either a PS8 or BitOne. I have a set of ZR 5.25" mids left over from a project too, so I'm thinking ZR800 door and ZR525 w/ C5 tweeter in the kick full active off 1.5 HD600/4s.

I am also entertaining the idea of rear fill. I have a pair of C2 coaxs in the rear deck not connected right now. I want to play with the input signal and run them off an XD200/2 for rear fill w/ an independent level control. We'll see how that goes.

The only think I'd be careful of with enclosing the midbasses in the door is that most car mids are designed to be run IB so getting the enclosure right can be tricky in that space.

 

So I should consider going full JL? do the components from JL fall within an under 200 range or what are they priced at? Also what is a good coax speaker for the rears made by JL.?

 

The C5 based on a quick ebay search seems out of my budget range.... How are the C2?

 

Basically the same tweeter as the C5, basically the same mid as the TR with a x-over that is better than TR and not quite as ncie as C5.

Again. Go listen to them.

 

Im out of town so finding an audio shop to listen to anything at is hard. If the general response is that they are good. and they are better than stock speakers which I know just about anything aftermarket by a good brand will be, im not worried that I wont like them... I just want some choices before I start ordering online from ebay and amazon all the pieces.

 

Thread Revival - Going to go back and gather parts to upgrade my TL since I'm not going to get rid of it after all. So Im going back to revisit JL for components and coax for the rears, and Ill also look into the Image Dymanics also. The subset up will be JL and the custom box. Just looking into the power sources, probably 2 amps... 1 4 channel for all the insides and a dedicated for the sub... just not sure what power will work for this as far as 4 channel.

 

I would avoid coax in the rear that will cause problems. Save the money for better components and just use OEM rears for fill if desired.

 

But let me ask this, can the OEM rears handle being amplified? Im going to override the current amp and sub, so I dont want to power them, and then they blow thus causing me to go back in to replace them again.

 

The rears will be fine being amplified.

 

A better plan would be to maintain the OEM amp for center channel and rear fill. Bridge your 4 channel amp to power the components with the most power you can get

 

Why then would I not just run a 2 channel? Doing what you said makes sense for power gains but if I am only truly pushing the components why would I then need a 4 channel? Would the rears then not be on the stock amp and the sub also....

I have no problem with that, Id disconnect the stock sub, cause I see no point in it. Im just not trying to blow the rear speakers with an amp on em and then need to go back inside again in 2 months to replace it. I just need a pair of speakers above OEM quality that will give a good sound.

 

What are your thoughts on this as my entire setup:

Components:

Amplifiers:
Amazon.com : JL Audio JX360/4 4 Ch. Class A/B Full-Range Amplifier, 360 W : Vehicle Multi Channel Amplifiers : Car Electronics
http://tinyurl.com/oq4xrnu

Subwoofer: 10 or 12 inch 2 ohm
10W3v3-2 - Car Audio - Subwoofer Drivers - W3v3 - JL Audio

 

I am running ID's and enjoy them. What amp are u using for your sub? I am running a JL 700/5 that is bridged to components and sub channel to IB sub. Center and rear fill on OEM amp. Your correct that you could use a 2 channel amp for components and a mono amp for sub. I just wanted a single amp under the seat

 

Id ideally like 1 amp also... for space conservation but I can do the 360 4 channel for the insides... and the the 500x1 for the sub....

I wish you were closer so I can hear your car or anyones TL for that matter... Im curious about that UNCLD4 style box, just how a 10 sounds vs a 12. Im hoping 500 watt to a single sub will do what I want....

 

I'm sure you could find them for a lot less money, I would also reconsider getting amp for them,
Polk Audio db6501 6-1/2" component speaker system — also fit 6-3/4" openings at Crutchfield.com

I will post my build log on here once I get the chance to start doing my build of my TL, everything will be redone, I'm going with Ground Zero Plutonium 3 way active with Mosconi amps, Alpine H800 DSP and 11.6" Windows 8 Tablet, everything will need to be fabricated in the dash, also front doors will be sound bullet proof for sound quality.

Cant Wait to start my build.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/groun...98692750228911

Also I will have 1 sub solution and this is going to be a winner of most subs out there which is Illusion Audio C12XL
Carbon C12 XL | Illusion Audio

As for OP, i started by just adding some speakers to my car and than wanted an amp to add more power, as some of you know and dont know, car audio is very addicting hobby, once you get your hands on better gear and droll all over it, you want to get better and more advanced toys to you ride. i started with Polk Audio and ended up with Morel, Helix, Hertz, and now it will be Ground Zero.

You will be very impressed with Polk Audio, just make sure you add the proper power to them, I would say 150 w RMS per ch, dont be afraid to burn them, if you amplifier puts out more power @4 ohms, thats fine, you could always lower your gains down, but it never hurts to have the extra room just incase you want to upgrade down the road.

Think of it as having Toyota Supra, why have all the power under the hood when speed limit is 55 mph ? well it never hurts to have the extra hp under the hood when you need it.

 

I only want to go in 1 or 2 times and then put everything in... Im not going to be adjusting and changing unless what I buy is just totally terrible and im unhappy with it.

 

What is the problem with running something like this in the rears? Not asking to be combative, trying to understand why people are just saying to leave the rears stock
C2-650x - Car Audio - Evolution® - C2 - Coaxial Systems - JL Audio

 

Without massive processing the tweeters behind you will create problems with your soundstage.

 

And the tweeter is because its a coaxial setup. Do we not have tweeters in the rear now? there had to be an improved speaker that can just drop in in the rear to not create such issued. I'll have to read into speakers more and see... gotta be something out there... But what you are saying is no tweeters in the rear... which makes since...

 

Honestly, if you put a nice sub in the trunk and get a 4ch amp, you could run your front speakers from ch 1 and ch2, and bridged the ch3 and ch4 for the sub duty, it will improve your sound quality, and you just skip the rear speakers all together. I just don't know if that's what you wanna do. I know that front speakers they act as midbass, there is no tweeter on them, you have a tweeter on your dash.
Also I don't know if the stock amp that comes with Acura is a 8 ohm or 4 ohm, load.

Bottom line is this, if you put new speakers in to your doors, it might sound distorted or play a lot lower because of the out put on the stock Acura amp. Something to think about.

 

What I want to do is replace all the factory speakers... add a 4 channel... and then a 1 channel for the sub in the trunk...