EmoneyRI

Hey everyone, I've been browsing the forums for a while now and have found tons of useful information. At first I wanted to keep my stock setup because even though my TL is a few years old, i've only had it for a little over and year and it's my baby...


That being said.. since i've been reading the forums, i'm now a braver person and I want to enhance my TL's audio

My question to the audio people is this: What would you suggest would be the best setup of 6.5" speakers?

For an amp, i'm using a Kenwood KAC-8402.. I can upgrade this but I would rather keep it because I am not really ready to drop $2000 on a system

I have an 05 TL and would like to spend under $500 for the 2 sets of speakers. I should also add that I want clean sound, clean > loud.. I would also like to go without a subwoofer in the trunk

Any help you guys could provide would be great, i've been reading forums so much my head hurts and everyone has different opinions, so I now come to the acurazine community for answers because I trust this community more than others, it seems people really put the time and effort into their TL's and people on other forums seem to half ass everything

EmoneyRI

I've been looking online and I found some Alpine SPR-17S component speakers at a good price, has anyone used these?

I hate cars

The best advice I can give is what everyone told me when I asked the same question back in '06. Save the money you were going to spend on the rears and put it into a better set of fronts. I really like my Image Dynamics CTX65cs for under $200 but it comes down to personal taste. The only thing you can do is listen to as many as you can and decide what you like. I've had some people love mine and some hate it worse than stock. The only thing I can tell you is if you like good midbass (as good as it gets from the little 6.5") and a detailed but not harsh tweeter, these are very good.

Adding an amp to the stock speakers will amaze you so you may do that before deciding to upgrade speakers.

EmoneyRI

I was reading your original post about the CTX65cs and have seen a few other reviews.. after this, I think i'm going to install my Pioneer head unit under the original and get the CTX65cs for the front. I can still use my old Inifinity Kappa's for the rear.. question is whether I use the 6.5 or 6x9

I'm just wondering if my original radio + my Pioneer deck will both work together, maybe somehow disabling the audio prefs in the stock? or just not using it

eggyhustles

Instead of a using a headunit, get a processor.

EmoneyRI

As I said before, I am a bit new to this, what benefits would I receive by installing a processor?

I'm on the fence whether or not I want to try doing this myself, I've heard all the places locally (Rhode Island) are absolutely terrible to deal with for installations.. and I have never even tried

TLmaster7

in my opinion, a nice 10 inch MTX thunder 8000 subwoofer, with a 1000 watt amplifer in the trunk is the way to go. mine sounds awesome, hits almost all notes!

Joe Foe from Buffalo

Eh "I hate cars" please tell more about the Image Dynamics CTX65cs
http://www.woofersetc.com/p6201/CTX6...ker-System.htm
and how you found out they are the best for you. I may get a pair for the fronts tonight with some cash burning a hole in my pocket. Also how are they to install (direct fit/easy to hide the cross overs....)?

Joe Foe from Buffalo

I see they are rated at 4 Ohms is that a non issue?

eggyhustles

won't have to hack up the dash
most processors cost a lil more than your average headunit but they're jam packed with features.

You could probably snatch up a rockford 3sixty.2 for <300 if you look around since the jbl ms8 is out.

Joe Foe from Buffalo

My $.02 says for a best bang for the buck processor is to get a JL Clean Sweep 441.
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_c...php?page_id=94
That's what I have with good results. Plus now that the JBL MS8 is available dealers are looking to discount the JL clean sweeps.

eggyhustles

can't really compare the cleansweep to the 3sixty.2

they're totally different animals

I'll take the 3sixty over the jl for the eq alone..ta helps too

I hate cars

The reason I liked them might be the reason why someone else may not like them....

I like to listen to it loud but I like SQ over loudness. My Infinities did not sound bad but the tweeters hurt my ears even with them turned way down and needless to say I could not listen to them very loud for long without my ears hurting.

The IDs have a silk dome tweeter that has good detail but it does not hurt the ears even at high volume. Originally I thought the bright tweets of the Infinites meant more detail but I found that to not be true. They have a very natural sound to them so if you like it very bright like many people do, you may not like these. FWIW, I have been able to make them sound too bright with some EQing but you have to purposely screw the tune up to do it.

The woofers sound ok. Midbass is great for such a small speaker. I would say SQ with the woofer to be better than average and midbass to be outstanding. There are better components out there but for the price I honestly don't think you will find anything better.

I have the crossovers in the trunk. They come with a removable cover and you can adjust the tweeters -3db, 0db, +3db. I have them at -3db in the dash.

They seem to require a little power so I don't recommend without an aftermarket amp.

I hate cars

I forgot, they have a fairly beefy magnet so you need to make the "D" opeining in the door sheetmetal into a circle. It's very easy to do. I also made some MDF rings to mount them on. I absolutely suck with wood working but the rings took maybe 5 minutes to make. It's literally a scrap piece of MDF that you can usually pick up for free and spend $2 on screws and use a jigsaw to cut. I couldn't find my jigsaw at one point and the local stereo shop said they would make two rings for $20. I drilled the rings and used long screws that went through into the sheet metal. I don't know if that's the preferred way to do it since it was my first time.

It's also a good idea to cut away the inside of the door panel that goes near the speaker. These have pretty high excursion and coupled with the ring the speaker would hit on the door panel. It was easy, just a razor knife, one bloody wound and 20 minutes later and I had both door panels cut.

Tweets are beyond easy. I took a unibit on the drill and used it to make a hole the size of the tweeter in the stock tweeter grills. With the mounting hardware you just pop the tweeter through the hole and screw the top on. The hardware will let the tweeter pivot in it's mount so you can aim it where you want. If you didn't know the TL well you would probably think it was OEM which is important since my car sits outside at night. Besides making the connections, the tweeters took about 10 minutes per side to mount in the dash and have it looking clean and professional. This was my first time and I took my time doing it so you should have no issues.

EmoneyRI

So the 3sixty.2 is basically plugged in to the factory head unit and the aftermarket speakers/amps connect to that? (sorry if its a dumb question)

eggyhustles

Yes

jda123

Keep the stock rear speakers unless you have a lot of experience and like the rears for more than just fill. You have to be pretty picky, in most cases, to be able to tell the difference with stock vs. aftermarket rears.

CTX are nice for a silk dome tweeter (softer highs even at volume). Focal 165v? are nice for a metal tweeter with great sound (crisp highs, but can get harsh after a long time with volume up high) - these will eat most of the budget but sound great. Both do well in mid-bass. I doubt that either will fit without some work. Both of these would be better than infinity or alpine IMO, but to each their own with components... they are so individual.

Oh, I really like Boston components too. If you could find some used/cheap Pro60s (new on ebay for $300), then you cannot go wrong with these either. Seems like most that I have ever met like the Bostons, or at least could live with them.

eggyhustles

Too bad you can't find a good installer or i would've recommended pro audio

EmoneyRI

The places around here are hit or miss

my old car had infinity kappas, took it to a mom and pop type place and they couldnt figure it out, had it fixed at bestbuy

went to another place that i heard was a lot more professional for a subwoofer install, it stopped working shortly after, brought it back and they wanted $100 just to figure out what was wrong, told me it was probably the amp - it started working later on, found out recently one of the wires was a few inches too short and was loose

Honestly the best place i've gone to so far is best buy... and thats sad