I just installed the Infinity Kappa 63.7i 3-way speakers in the front doors. These far exceeded my expectations. I've seen bad things about infinities on the car audio forums but these things are great. I went to Fry's and was just glancing at the car audio section without intending to buy anything. When I saw these speakers on sale for $99 (normally $199) I had to try them. It took about an hour to install both sides and they were a direct bolt in.

Two things I always hear about the Kappas are lack of bass and harsh highs. I have two JL 12W6s in the trunk so bass is not an issue. They do sound a little weak without the subs on. The highs can be ear piercing but adjusting the treble down a little on the head unit totally fixes the problem. I honestly don't see what people are complaining about unless they just don't know how to turn the treble down.

On to my point, the clairity is awesome. It really shows the difference between a good factory system and the aftermarket. Vocals are much more pronounced and I hear sounds in music I didn't hear before. I really can't stress how much of a difference this made. I drove for an hour last night just trying out different CDs.

One very important thing to those debating on adding an amp to the mids/highs. Do speakers first! These things are MUCH louder than the factory speakers. I was thinking of adding an amp and now there's absolutely no need. Before I would listen to most of my music at around 25-30 on the volume. Now 25 is uncomfortable and most of my listening is around 10-15. I also had a hard time matching the sub level to the mids/highs. If I had the bass right for low volumes, it would drown out the factory speakers at high volumes. Now they seem to be much more linear. Now I'm off to buy the center and tweets.

 

Direct bolt in???

I have a set of Infinity Kappa 62.7i waiting to go in but read in another thread the plastic "basket" needed some modifications to make the speaker fit.

Did you use the plastic baskets??

Already did the tweets and center - a little speaker swapping really makes a difference.

 

I did forget there are 3 plastic tabs that need to be cut off with a razor knife. It takes a couple seconds at most. I used the stock baskets.

 

Are the Infinity tweeters on the 63.7s actually being fed high freqs or does the oem head unit block the highs via internal crossovers?

 

They come with a crossover.

 

Here's the thread I was referring to - did you have to modify the basket like this?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...inity+speakers

 

Saw the thread. It's not necessary. The Infinities come with two different mounting rings. If you look at it long enough you will find the right holes to use. Also have to use the right side up on the mounting rings (they're labled) or the speaker will sit too deep and you will have to cut to install. I didn't even pull the baskets out. Just cut the three little tabs and install.

 

That's good to know - I have been putting this off because I had to cut the baskets open or so I thought.

Thanks for the reply IHC that helps a lot!

 

If your factory speakers are 2 ohms then you cannot replace them with 4 ohm speakers. I have read that under powering speakers is the leading cause of blowing them. I know that my 05 TL had 2 ohm speakers and the factory amp would not properly drive 4 ohm replacement speakers.

I put a 4 channel JL Audio amp under the driver's seat and used a Navone LOC to connect them post factory amp.

 

The Infinities are 2 ohm.

 

Yup ^

 

i have an 07 type -s and think the speakers sound great, but i could be wrong. do they sound different then 04-06's? i don't want to get crazy loud but i would change speakers in a heart beat if the sound was that much more crisp and clear.

 

I think for a factory system they sound great. I added subs first and after turning the bass down and the treble up on the head unit, it sounded much better. It was a hard decision to upgrade being that the factory system was pretty good, not counting the stock sub. I got bored one day and found the Infinity Kappas at 1/2 price by accident and the upgrading began. Now that it's done, it's a night and day difference. Louder without adding aftermarket amps and much, much cleaner and brighter. If you have the money laying around, I would do it.

 

I know this is old but I have a question. Does th TL system deliver highs to the new speaker or does it internally process the signal and only sends the high freq to the component tweeters?

 

There is one amp output for each front left and right channel. That output is run in parallel to the midwoofer in the door and to the tweeter in the dash. The tweeter has a capacitor that performs the crossover function so the tweeter doesn't get blown out by the low frequencys.

 

Alpine makes direct Honda/acura speaker adapters the work with any 98-up honda/acura with out any modifications and will fit 90% of all aftermarket 6.5" speakers

 

Do you have the part number...and does anyone know how much watts is outputed per channel from the head unit (Nav)....thanks!

 

Kappas = Greatness.

 

You do not have to use 2 ohm speakers. Speakers (usually just tweeters) are blown by clipping, not by being underpowered. Think about it. What does it mean to be underpowered? It means that when you want to play music at a certain volume, your amp can't deliver enough clean power to the speakers and clips. If you don't turn it so loud that it sounds distorted, you won't blow anything. You'd be surprised at how difficult it is to blow a speaker with the stock amp. BTW, going from 2 ohms to 4 ohms only loses you 3 dB, and that's assuming that your new speakers are exactly as efficient as the stock speakers, which most likely they're more efficient, so they would in fact sound louder wih less power. What you're saying is like telling someone that if their bedroom light had a 60 watt bulb in it, they couldn't replace it with anything other than a 60 watt bulb. See how that doesn't make any sense?

 

IHC, what speakers do u have in the rear deck?

 

Will these speakers work in a 2003 Type S? I want to keep my factory head unit with the iPod hookup, for the factory look. But my speakers are buzzing and I don't want to replace them with factory ones again. I was hoping to do something like this, and add an infinity basslink as well.
Thanks!

Oh, btw I'm new here. So Hello!

 

If this is true...and i don't doubt you...i will buy a set of these right now, would you say they are at least 20% or more louder? Is it pretty straight foward connecting the wires? and do i have to do too much customization? Thanks

 

You'll have to cut the ring around the inside of the door panel with a dremmel so that the infinity's will clear. no other modification needed. I'm getting these from an ebay store. All 4 for 110.00 before shipping. I'm also going to do dynamat to tighten up the midbass.

 

So are you saying those Infinity fit right in and they will sound great with the factory amp?

 

Haha, I found this old thread too when I was debating what to do. It's interesting to see IHC's original opinion and then see what he has to say now that he is in the world of Dynaudio and the like.

 

Yes but I'd also tell you to put Dynamat around every speaker you can to get as much mid-bass as you can. Also these speaker have switches on the tweeters 0db or +3db. Since the TL comes with nice tweeters and Infinity Speakers can be bright id put all the speakers your replacing in the doors and center channel at 0db and even the rear deck at 0db if you don't like bright highs. I enjoy my highs just as much as my bass but everything must be in balance. I'll be testing the tweeter levels a lot before i finally close everything up. Even if there is too much treble you can always just reduce it from the deck but I feel these or their brother JBL's (not as "bright" as Infinity's) are the best to drop-in because they are 2-ohm speakers just like stock. Drop-in 4-ohm speakers and you'll loose almost 8db of volume vs. the stock speakers.

 

Its a learning experience and its learning to wait and review a product until you have some listening time. The difference with the amp was night and day. The infinities over time wore me down with the highs being harsh, a lack of detail, and no midbass. Before I got into the high end world I started listening to some of the top sq cars and still doing so. By listening to the best of the best I know what I have now is in the top 1%. Any gains at this point will be from tuning. The infinites at first are impressive but over time I started finding more and more I didn't like while with the dyns they continue to surprise me almost everyday.

 

Ok, so I don't know much about audio, but I replaced the 4 6.5" speakers (2 front doors, and rear deck) with 4 ohm speakers. the 2 up front are Polk DB651s's, and the two in the back are some sony Xplod's that i decided on a whim to get while i was replacing the rear sub with a factory replacement. I figured why not replace them while im back here, so i drove to walmart and got some. Im planning on replacing them with 2 more Polk DB651s's though. I also replaced both dash tweeters with Rockford Fosgate Prime R1T-S's which are also 4 ohms. (But i think the stock tweeters might have been 4 ohms also, not sure though) Anyways, i feel a significant lack of power. I wont to be able to drive down the highway, windows open, and still here my music. At this point, i cannot. and i dont think it is good to have to turn it up to 30+ at all times. I have my iphone wired to the head unit. When i have it on the radio, it does seem louder for some reason. i Still have the stock amp, and thats why im here. i Want to know what kind of amp to get that will replace my stock amp, and provide power all the speakers. There is also not enough bass in my ride. I'm leaning towards a self powered bazooka tube, or infinity basslink (any opinions on those?). But since they are self powered, i won't consider them when deciding which amp to buy. Someone from crutchfield told me i could buy a 4 channel amp to power the 4 Polk DB651s's, and leave the stock amp hooked up to power the center speaker, both tweeters, and stock sub. would this work? i need advice.

 

You feel a loss in power because well you did exactly what I was explaining in my last post. Going from the stock 2-ohm speaker to 4-ohm speaker you reduced the power going to the speakers by half which reduces the volume of the radio which the ELS amp is 2-ohm. You want the power back? Buy 2-ohm speakers which only Infinity/JBL which are both own by Harmin make.

 

Well, I'm sure that 4-ohm speakers with an amp that can handle them sound better than using the stock amp with 2-ohm. Maybe if i hadn't done anything yet i would consider just using stock amp, and buying some new 2 ohm speakers. But since I've already bought 2 4 ohm speakers, i might as well buy the other 2, and get an amp that will power them.

So, back to my question: will that work to keep the stock amp to power the center speaker, stock sub, and 2 tweeters, and buy a 4 channel amp, connect it somehow to the stock amp, and have it power the four 4 ohm Polk speakers.

 

Kinda pointless to get a 4-channel amp, but to answer your question..yes

 

Why is it pointless? Is there an aftermarket amp that will power everything (both tweeters, center, 4 mids, and stock sub)? An 8 channel amp? What do you think I should do? I'm open for suggestions. That's why I'm here.

 

You could do yourself some good by searching around here. More important than the impedance of the speaker is the efficiency. If you have one that's at 85db 1w1m and 2 ohms and one that's 89db and 4 ohms, the 4ohm is going to be louder.

The front mids and tweeters are on one channel per side. You need 6 channels of amplification if you want to amplify every stock speaker in the car.

Hopefully your aftermarket tweeters came with a cap or a crossover on them because you removed the stock cap when you removed the stock tweeter.

The center is barely used for CDs and radio, if you don't have navi it's not worth amping or even using the center.

You don't hook an aftermarket amp to the stock amp.

No self powered sub is going to give you good bass. You will be happier with a traditional sub in a box powered by an external amp.

Your best bet is a 5 channel amp to run your fronts and rears and sub or a 6 channel to power the center as well if you have to. You have to decide how you want to pull the signal for the aftermarket amp. You can get it after the factory amp or before the factory amp. You can run it straight to the aftermarket amp or to a processor and then an aftermarket amp. It would take way too much time to write up the whys or hows of where to get signal from and what to do with it but there are a ton of threads on pre and post stock amp and processors in this section.

Most people do not amp the rears or even replace the rears. The money is better spent in other areas.

 

you are? well you sure shut me down with mine and I know what I'm talking about but I'd make my own thread vs. taking the op thread to get your info. Doing a 4-ch amp is pointless because then you'll over power all the other speakers that aren't getting 50watts x 4 so you won't hear the center fill which handles all the voice and the tweeters. Put it like this. Our stereos are 5.1 DTS surround sound just like your home theater system in your house. That system wound sound right if certain speakers got more power than others. The sound would be out of balance. And swapping out your stock ELS speakers for Sony explodes from Walmart, you really expected an upgrade in sound? Really?

 

Wow, i did not know that the front mids and tweeters were on the same channel. So what you're saying is that i could completely replace the factory amp with a 4 channel amp, and have it powering all 4 mids, and both tweeters? If the center is only used for navi (which i dont have) then i really dont need to mess with powering it i guess. And whether i get a self powered sub, or if i take your advice and get a mono amp and a real sub, either way, i wouldnt really need the crappy stock sub, right?

So in all reality, i could get by with one 4 channel amp to power all of my speakers? thats awesome, but correct me if i'm not catching something. Are there any other negative sides to removing the factory amp? (i still have stock head unit by the way, and plan on keeping it that way)

And, i kinda already replaced the rears with crappy sony xplod's and one of them "xploded", so i kinda have to replace them again. I still have the factories, but i already cut the clip connector off the wire, so i might as well get 2 more polk's (thats what i have up front).

Also, im not sure if my tweeters came with a cap or crossover. They are the Rockford Fosgate Prime R1T-S.

...Wait, i just reread the last part of your post. You say "You have to decide how you want to pull the signal for the aftermarket amp. You can get it after the factory amp or before the factory amp". Are you saying i have to keep the factory amp installed? I cant remove it altogether?

(this is really helping me btw, i appreciate it.)

 

I meant its pointless to run a 4-channel if you were just going to power the mids and leave everything else on stock amp. Here's what I'd do...

Find an amp to power a set of front components and a sub. Rears will be fine off stock amp if you want to keep them. I wouldn't lol, but that's up to your ears. Can you post up a budget??

Also, I didn't see you got new tweeters...are they on caps or their own crossover?? I would assume they are or they'd be puffing the magic dragon VERY quickly.

 

I didnt shut you down, i just said i think 4 ohm speakers are better than 2 ohms, assuming you have an amp that can handle them. I hate cars said the center is pointless, your're saying it is important. Also, the front mids and tweeters run on the same channel, so wouldnt they be getting the same amount of power? And, i didn't necessarily expect to get BETTER sound, but after removing the rear seats and everything to replace the factory sub, i figured why not replace them while im back here, because they are like 8 years old, so they are gonna blow sooner or later. trust me, i regret it. But what do you think i should do if i have all 4 mids be the polk 4 ohm speakers. How should i amp everything?

 

What I would do at this point is do not buy more rears. If you still want good rear speakers, swap your polks from the front to the rear. You don't want tweeters in the rear anyway.

Buy a component set that includes the mid and the tweeter for the front. From what I can see, the tweeters you bought don't have any sort of a crossover. It will make them sound harsh and you will blow them quickly with any kind of power. If all they had was a wire without any sort of a "box" or basically just straight wires directly to the tweeter with no "hump" or component soldered in, they will eventually blow. They are also VERY inefficient.

A front component set will have a crossover for the mid and for the tweeter. This will divide the lower frequencies to the mid and the higher frequencies to the tweeter. The stock setup sends the full signal to the mids which does not sound good and will probably sound even worse on an aftermarket speaker.

You will have to run an additional wire from the crossover to the tweeter. With the stock setup, the mid/tweeter wire comes off of the stock amp in the passenger kick panel and splits into two wires on to the tweeter and one to the mid in a block behind the glovebox.

The simplest way of doing this is to locate the front right and front left wire coming off of the stock amp. Tap into these wires with a LOC and send the signal to your aftermarket amp.

For the sub, take the signal from the stock sub wire in the trunk, send it to a LOC as well and to your aftermarket amp. This will allow you to still control the aftermarket sub with the stock headunit.

I suggest using a 5 channel amp for everything. It's less wiring to run and probably cheaper as well.

As for before or after the stock amp, that's a decision you'll have to make. Leaving the stock amp in place and taking the signal from that is the easiest way. I ran mine like that for years. It works well but you will have a little hiss especially with the volume turned down. It only requires a LOC to lower the voltage coming from the stock amp going into the aftermarket amp. With some aftermarket amps you don't even need to lower the signal voltage, you can run it straight from the stock amp to the aftermarket amp.

If you go before the stock amp, straight from the headunit, you have the potential to make it sound better but it's also easier to screw up. If done wrong you will get a lot of ignition and alternator noise. If done right it will be very clean with none of the hiss of the stock amp. It will probably require a line driver to boost the signal because it's very low voltage.

For now you could go after the stock amp which is very easy to do especially if it's your first time. If you're not happy with it you can always remove the stock amp and go pre-amp with a little more work. I had no problems going after the stock amp until I started getting into the higher end stuff with the intention of competing.

 

Still, why is that pointless? Wouldnt it be giving more power to the 4 speakers that matter most? (I got this idea from a crutchfield representative, so maybe they dont know what they're talking about over there.) Well, the tweeters are on the same channel as the front mids as i hate cars said, so the only things that wouldnt be getting power would be the center and rear sub, right? and i dont need the rear sub since im either getting a self powered, or maybe i'll be convinced to get a box and traditional sub. and the center doesnt seem to do much anyways.

Im not sure if the tweeters are on caps or their own crossover. I didnt do anything special to them, just wired them up. So i guess if that would have required some extra steps, then no they are not, because i didnt do anything extra. I didnt know . But maybe its a built in thing. they are the Rockford Fosgate Prime R1T-S.

 

The center is very important if you're playing 5.1 surround DVD-A disks. If this format was not dead I would still be using it. It sounds VERY nice but the disks just aren't being made anymore.

For regular 2 channel stereo which is 99.9% of everything you listen to, the center is doing little to nothing.

If you do the rears again, I would literally use stock speakers in there before I would put the Sonys back in. I amped my rear speakers with 75w each and they didn't sound bad at all. I didn't push them hard but they really woke up.

For best sound quality the rears are rarely used. They tend to mess up the sound stage. Only if you're using a processor like the MS8 that has 7.1 surround would you worry about doing the rears or if you always have passengers back there and you care about them lol. It doesn't hurt to put a set back there, you can always shut them off but if your budget is limited it's a place you can save money.