g'd up

I want to improve the sound in my tl. I've got a $150 and am wondering which will improve sound more, an amp or new speakers. Looking for recomendations

hurricanevez

$150 doesnt leave many options. get the best set of 6 1/2" coaxials and put em in your front doors, dont even bother with an amp. id say get components but i dont know any for under 150. plus coaxials you can install very easily so you can order a better pair instead of going to a shop and buying them there. good luck
I'd still get it done at a shop if i could afford it.

SuperDave

I second hurricanevez's advice. Take a look at some of Polk Audio's 6.5 coaxials as they sound pretty good and have some good ratings. Check reviews at www.carreview.com to help you narrow down some speakers to listen to.

David

johnnyb_s

Quote:

$150 doesnt leave many options. get the best set of 6 1/2" coaxials and put em in your front doors, dont even bother with an amp.

Exactly

g'd up

so i should go with some good speakers with the cash i get together. I thought amps were suppose to help with the clarity of the music and added more bass.

g'd up

like these
Polk db6510

g'd up

Is it even worth getting an amp??

SuperDave

I would look at getting some coaxial speakers which have the tweeter in the middle. Just making sure since the picture you showed is of a midrange speaker. You should be able to hear some of the Polk Audio and Infiinity speakers at your nearest Best Buy, Circuit City, or similar electronics store. Try to listen to them off axis as that is how they will be mounted in the door unless you spend time and effort aiming them. By off axis I mean don't let them point directly at your ears, try to listen to them in the same orientation as they will be mounted in your doors.

DON'T SKIMP ON SPEAKERS AS THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS IN YOUR ENTIRE SYSTEM. Doesn't mean you have to spend alot, just means you better like the sound of whatever you buy. Speakers are also incredibly subjective so listen for yourself.

An amp should definitely be cleaner and give you more dynamics when you turn the volume up. I am making an assumption that most decent aftermarket amps would be better than the built-in Bose amps but this is my opinion.

David

g'd up

thanks for the advice man, anyone that has advice please tell

g'd up

so if i was to get a good pair of coaxial speakers and a fairly good amp, i wouldn't have to change any of the stock system except the front two speakers, i woudn't have to mess with the bose subwoofer thing. I could put the amp in the trunk is what i read at cruthfield.

Dont know much about car audio so please help

dimsumo

speakers

SuperDave

Take a look at this site for some good advice on choosing audio equipment and installing it.

http://www.caraudioheaven.com/

The question you asked is way too personal. It is up to you to determine what you want to change. Some people start at speakers and then replace the head unit while others start at the head unit. Some add/change the sub and others are satisfied with four 6.5 speakers. It is all up to you.

With that said, I would recommend changing the front speakers first with some decent coaxial speakers or components if you want to go a little higher end. You will always be able to upgrade other components later if you want.

Be careful. Many car audio enthusiasts start with a simple speaker change. Next thing you know they have amps, subwoofers, new deck, etc.

David

Austin519

hurricanevez:
I third all the advice here. A pair of JL XR650CX (highest model coaxials) are $150 on the dot. From where I get them. I'd do that. Then go for an aftermarket amp for them...then do your rear fill and rear fill amp after that.

Austin519

hurricanevez

g'd up
IMO speakers are the most important part of a system. no matter how big or clean your amps are (how good they sound) if your speakers sound like trash you get trashy sounding music. the bose speakers that come with the car are trash (relative of course), so the easiest way to get imediate better sound is with better speakers. once you have better speakers you can add an amp which will help clarify the sound and increase volume. and the higher quality of speaker you get now the easier and more cost efficient it ill be later on if you decide to add on to your system.

Now for choice of speaker, coaxials are good sounding speakers much better than stock and you can add an amp to them, seperates are better than coaxials because they deliver a fuller more dynamic sound especially when adding an amp and/or EQ. Seperates are also harder to install because they have more pieces and are also more expensive

As for brand name of speaker, its a toss up, whatever sounds best to you so listen to alot of them before you make your decision. and i have to agree with austin the JL's sound really good (hint hint). and when we reccomend brand names of speakers we are trying to give you the cream of the audio crop to help narrow your search so your not wasting your time listening to sony. I know superdave has been at this car audio thing awhile, and i assume austin has as well, they know their stuff and give sound advice. Keep us posted

Austin519

hurricanevez:
Actually I disagree with your speaker/amp thing. It is possible to overcome bad speakers with an EQ or other spectral wave modifying device a la Bose system. However, if you destroy, marr, or color the spectral wave (bad amps) then no matter how good your speakers are it will never help. Basically bad speakers can be somewhat compensated for...but bad amps cannot...

Austin519

Brewboy

I agree with hurricane as the speakers are the most important part of your system either car or home. The whole purpose of a sound system is to reproduce music as was recorded and intended by the artist. When you start using eq's and such to compensate for mediocre speakers, you have just changed what was recorded by the artist and the sonics have been altered no doubt for the worse. There is much more parity between amps than speakers. The whole idea of building an audio system is to make it as neutral as can be by carefully matching components to not take anything away or add to the recording. Less is better, IMO.

freewookie

Along the same lines as this thread....

I took my '99 TL in because of hissing at very low volumes. The dealer told me that this was normal for the Bose amp and proceeded to show me he could reproduce the same hissing in a '00.

I'm opting for a new amp first.

SuperDave

That's probably BS. I have a 2000 with the stock system still in it. If my system had hissing, it would have been replaced immediately as opposed to my current slow pace. If your car is still under warranty, I would go back and complain. Tell him if that 2000 is doing it then it probably needs to be replaced too. Unless others on this forum have complained about the hissing to a great degree, I call BS on the dealer. JMHO.

David