I hope this doesn't sound absurd, but I've heard from a few sources that rear speakers don't add much to the quality of sound to your car. I mean, don't you just hear the fronts and doesn't the sub drown out the rears? There's a better argument for this point but unfortunately I don't know it. What does everyone else think?

I ask this because I was planning on adding an Audio Control 3.1 and boston pros (front) but using only a 2ch amp.

 

i use the rear speakers for rear fill only. you are correct that most of the sound will be coming from the fronts. but IMO, it sounds really empty with out the rears. with the rears, you kinda add a 3 dimensional sound staging as compared to just having the fronts. again, that's my opinion. by the way, the boston pros are great!!! i think you'll like em!! i hvave them on my fronts.

 

The best sounding car stereos will project the sound stage in front of you. That being said, the front speakers are by far the most important and should produce the majority of the sound you hear.

The rears are important to giving the sound depth, but you will survive with less 'premium' speakers in the rear. If you can hear the difference when you switch out rear speakers, you probably have them set too loud for ideal imaging.

As long as you are not talking about extraordinary amounts of power for the front speakers, you can probably get away with leaving the back speakers running off the stock amp and running a 2 channel amp to your new front speakers.

 

"sound depth"...that's the word i was looking for!! thanks, mcdan!

 

What do you mean by extraordinary amounts of power for the fronts? Why does this matter?

The amp I was planning on getting is the JL 300/2. Other suggestions are welcome.

I'm also unfamiliar with the stock amp (is this part of the stock eq?). I'm not sure if this will be bypassed when the EQ is installed. I do know the EQ has a pre amp (of 20dB i think), which should compensate for the dB loss when the stock EQ is bypassed.

 

150w per channel for front speakers is a lot.

You might find that at high volumes, the rear speakers won't be audible, of course, you will probably be deaf too.

In my opinion, unless you are going to build a system that is going to enter sound pressure level competitions, 75w per channel on the front speakers will be plenty. This is still LOUD.

To put it in context, I had a 18 speaker system in an old accord that sounded INCREDIBLE and loud. And I was only running 75w to the front separates. That was enough power to balance out the 2 15'' woofers with 300w apiece on them. Not to mention the 2 8''s and various other smaller speakers scattered around.

I don't know if money is an issue for you, but I might buy a smaller amp for my front speakers and use that 300/2 on some subs. You need the extra power for the subs since they have to move so much more air to produce the same decibel level.

If you're talking about a CL and not a TL, there is no stock eq. Just a 4 channel amp in the trunk. I would think that you would have to install the 3.1 between the headunit and the stock amp. Since the headunit doesn't have any RCA-type plugs that come out of it, you will need to splice the line level wires coming out of the deck and put some RCA plugs on them. This can be done behind the deck in the dash, or in the trunk just before the input on the stock amp.

 

thanks mcdanjw. I was thinking the amp would be overkill as well but that was based on a friends recommendation. Even still, would running the 130w at a lower rating produce better quality?

I could probably opt for the JL 300/4 which costs ~$50 more. Or possibly an eclipse amp. I saw some on woofersetc that were in the 200-300 range and then another set from 300-400.

Also, I am talking about a TL-S 03, which is why I brought up the EQ discussion.

I will probably have the amps mounted underneath the seats as I would need a board mounted in the trunk... cuz there is no location to mount an amp.

 

You won't see any improvement in sound quality from turning down the gain on a high power amp.

If you got the 4 channel amp, you could use 2 channels to power your separates in the front, and bridge the rear channels to power a sub or a pair of subs. That way you would only have to deal with one amp. I just depends. You might get more flexibility on a smaller amp for the separates and another amp for the subs.

You just need to figure out what it will cost to do it the different ways and decide the cost/benefit of each.

But my advice is to buy the best quality components you can, even if you have to do your system in stages. It is well worth it in the end... I have 14 year old amps in my car now that sound just as good, if not better, than the stuff you can buy now.

 

In my experience the rear speakers make up for the mid bass- bass notes that the front 6.5 or components and the subs are lacking. For example i have my crossover set to 90 hz & up on my front components, 70hz & up for my 6x9s in rear and let the 12" sub handle evrything under those freq.

Of course my rears are at a lower gain setting on the amp.

I used to have an alpine MRV-T407 2 channl 45x2RMS running my compnents in the front and let the rear run off the radio and it sound ok. the rear speakers filled nicely giving it a more thumpy mid bass.

If u want a 2 channel amp i think you will be ok with it . something with around 45 watts is loud enough in my opinion. Bostons are pretty sensitive speakers and are also loud.

 

so many things to consider. Price is a factor of course. The JL 300/2 is in the $330 range. I believe I can get a 4x85W Eclipse (32430 or 32440... what's the difference?) for a comparable price, which leaves me the option for upgrading the rears at a later date.

I think the rears will be mostly to please the rear passengers... and I think to myself... do I really want to spend the money on them? hehe. It's been a long time since I've sat in the rear seat of a 4 dr with a nice audio system. If you're in the back are the front speakers that prominent or are the rear speakers doing the work?

 

if you are seated in the back seats, you'll be hearing the music coming out mostly from rear speakers. you can get a pair of 6x9 for about $100. not sure if the tl uses 6x9 or 6 1/2. i have the alpine set, cost me about $90, i think. it's not the best of quality but since i use it just for rear fill, it works for me. and it does the job nicely. when i'm testing out my system, i usually sit in the rear too just to make sure that everything sounds okay just incase i have passengers in the back, which i rarely do, but just in case. plus i don't want any distortion from any of my speakers and vibrating panels. i have the 300/4 powering both the boston pro components in the front and the alpines in the rear. i bought the 300/4 off ebay for $350. i would follow mcdan's advice and get a 4 channel amp. so, in the future, if you want to expand your system, it's much easier, i think.