I like the stock Bose system during the cold months when I have the windows rolled up, but now that spring/summer is coming I want a little more sound. I know the majority will say to buy a new headunit (w/Navi/DVD, etc) and while I would like to, it just isn't in the budget to drop $1000+ on a stereo.

I was thinking of starting with a speakers - new 6x9s in the back and 6.5" in the doors. Will this make any difference at all over stock, or will I not notice anything until I add a more powerful amp?

My next question - if I do the amp first, can the Bose speakers handle the extra power, or will I need the speakers first?

Any speaker/amp recommendations?

 

do this... https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/alpine-type-s-speaker-upgrade-278849/ seemed to work for many people. Personally I prefer high power, high quality sound from my system.

 

if your lookin for more bass then i would suggest this KENWOOD KFC-WDA69RC 6 x 9 POWERED SUBWOOFER SYSTEM
i just got it installed and it kicks almost as much as 2 10inch subs

 

just don't make the mistake I did and buy a huge amp to run 4 speakers that don't need lots of watts. High power != high quality.

Believe it or not the thing that gives my system the kick is that stock sub in the back. I have a 12" in the trunk and have the stock sub setup with a crossover so that it only reproduces the frequency range that that gives the kick that my 12" lacks.

I'm not sure this helps at all really. Even just putting in new speakers requires quite a bit of work.. whether that's running new wires or bypassing the stock EQ. Luckily there's so much info here you should be able to figure out everything you need.

Another tip from my recent upgrade disaster.. don't buy speakers without listening to them first! No matter what the spec sheet says, the deal you can get, or what everyone else recommends, make sure you buy what sounds good to you!

 

haha right, two 10 inch subs... why would you even do a comparison like that?? what you meant to say is that it's much better than stock, but there is no way it will better than two 10" subs in a proper sealed or vented enclosure. I am not dissing the kenwoods it's just a really wrong comparison.

no comment

sundevil_CL,
if you're on a budget and you don't want to run any power wires and all that stuff, just get some efficient speakers like Alpine S and replace stock ones. Many people tried many people liked.

 

I like this suggestion for the Alpin Type S - will it be a clean simple install in a '03 CL? It seemed like the OP of that post put them in a TSX...

 

rear is fine, I personally fitted some Alpine type S in the rear deck and they fit quite good. The front components I couldn't tell you. Just PM those people in that thread who installed them.

 

Basslink, search on it. You can't add speakers to the stock CLS system cause the ohm load is too high for the stock amp. You won't get much volume. Only 1 vendor has the proper speakers. They are called avin car I think? Something like that. They are not cheap either.

 

......i would say buy a aftermarket HU, and get one or two subs.........now as for the factory speakers leave them in theres no need to change them, forget the bs about navi/dvd, look for a good HU, i suggest a pioneer.........and later on you change it for a tv...........i have 1 kicker L7 15" (2,000 watts of peak power).....in my trunk........runing off an audio bahn thats pushing 1,600 watts of constant power, and the factory speakers are still in the car and it sounds great all you have to do is tune it right..........and just so you know i spent less than $700 thats for the 15", the box, the amp, and all the wires, but i installed it my self and already had a HU in..............

 

Sounds like a nice setup but I really don't want to change the HU and I'm past the bumpin' bass phase. I really just want a clean sounding, factory looking radio that I can crank up w/o distortion.

 

As I said look into the basslink. I have the same needs & it suits me fine. Had one in 3 CL's.
Easy to install & under $300.

 

in terms of distortion if you change out your HU to a higher powered one there is gonna be some when you turn it up............it depends on the song, but there is still some distortion............i think if you want to keep the factory look and get more sound..............you should get a rca converter............(connects to the factory speaker wire and converts it for an output for rca cable)............and get something like a nice powered 10".........it will give a louder sound without being bass heavy.........something in the neighborhood of 400 to 600 watts.........sounds like alot but with the amount trunk space and how well sealed these cars are you'll be surprise how much sound you lose from a speaker

 

I think I will start with the suggested Alpine S-Type in the doors and rear deck. Is this a pretty easy job to accomplish myself or is it wise to have it done by a pro?

According to what I've read. that should clean up my sound and volume over stock. If it's not enough, I may look into replacing the stock amp with an aftermarket 4 channel - is this doable?

 

remove door panels and mirror sails, take out old speakers, see if the midbass speaker fits properly into the spacer, if not then modify the stock plastic spacer until it fits (I just used cutters and removed some plastic off the back), or make one yourself. Unscrew the stock tweeter from mirror sail (the grille piece pops off), fit the new tweeter, secure it with some silicone, place the grille back on. don't forget to connect the speaker wires of course, you can either splice into the wires or use some adapter connectors. For the rear you will need to remove the rear seat and rear panel (search and you will find a couple rear seat removal threads), remove old speakers and drop the new ones. That one is pretty straight forward. There is nothing too hard about this. Don't rush, take your time. make sure you have some screwdrivers, a metric ratchet set, some cutters.

if you don't like the sound still, put an amp in. Those Type S ones don't require tons of power to run. Good luck.

 

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you couldn't just replace the speakers on 2nd gen stock CL & TL because the stock speakers are around 1 ohm . The amp is designed for that load. If you add regular 4 ohm car speakers, you won't have much power going to them because your cutting off the amp power with such a high ohm load. Hence they will sound like crap.

 

stockies are 2 ohms,both front and rear, I just measured.

 

I'd be interested to hear what the outcome of the Alpine's are in the CL. I've heard many mixed theories about replacing the stock speakers, w/o replacing the amp and head unit, and have never actually heard of anyone doing it.

 

so if you replace them will they have enough power? has anyone done it? i wanna go do it right now but i dont want to if they arent really gonna be loud.

 

I'd like to know the same thing. It seems like it's been done before, though I've never actually heard any comments from someone who's done it.

 

hey fuzzy02cls, I was reading through the thread and i went to check out those basslinks. they look pretty cool. can you post up pictures of your bass link setup? and is the sound comparable to an enclosed 10" sub/ amp set up. I don't want to add anything bigger then a 10 sub.

BTW, I bought my 2001 cl and it already had aftermarket Infinity speakers with the OEM head unit. I don't know about the amp status, but it sounds just fine. My bro has an 03TL and my system sounds alot better... alot more base and kick to it.

 

I have the basslink per fuzzy's recommendation and it's great! I was really missing some low end with my music and the basslink has really helped in that department. Though, I still feel the CLs stock speakers lack that mid-bass of the music I listen to the most, and have really been hoping someone would try these Alpine's out and give a little review. How do you feel about the Infinity's in yours? Do you notice the volume control needs to be higher in your CL compared to your brother's TL to be about the same output?

 

They actually out put more sound at a lower volume level, my bro has to turn it up higher to ge the same sound level. I just mainly noticed that they have alot more base to them, which I like. Do you have pics of your Basslink setup? and is it compareable to an enclosed 10" sub with a seperate amp? or is it much lower base out put?

 

Not sure about the bass output compared to a amp/sub combo, but it'll shake the interior pretty good if it's turned up all the way. I usually have it at about half way. Don't have any pics at work, but I can snap one later this evening.

 

Yeah, that would be cool I want to see how it actually looks when it's inside, and how big it really is. Did you install it yourself? if you did, what exactly does it hook up to, the HU?

 

Zvijer

I'll post a few also, but it may be a few days. It's dark when I get home.
Yeah it rattles the inside pretty good. Your not going to boom down the street though. I think it's comparable to the single 10" in a box with an amp. Maybe about 90% of what that would output.
You have to give up a little for the very small foot print, built in amp & ease of installation.

 

Zvijer

I'll post a few also, but it may be a few days. It's dark when I get home.
Yeah it rattles the inside pretty good. Your not going to boom down the street though. I think it's comparable to the single 10" in a box with an amp. Maybe about 90% of what that would output.
You have to give up a little for the very small foot print, built in amp & ease of installation.

 

Zvijer
Here you go....

 

fuzzy, did you just screw the feet into the trunk liner or is it all the way through to the body underneath it?

 

It's screwed into the trunk liner with sheet metal screws. Holds just fine as long as the screws are not over tightened. All 4 points. It's very secure. It does not move at all, even under harsh driver induced situations

 

good deal, same thing I did, cept mine is rotated 90degrees. It looks like your's gives you more trunk space, I might have to do that.

 

how did you guys wire it up to the headunit?

 

The basslink has a set of speaker level & line level(RCA) inputs. It actually includes a wire harness that plugs into the basslink & has the wire ends you splice into the rear speakers. I used this setup. It's very simple, & everything is labeled, & you don't need a turn on lead.
You can use the RCA's with a LOC but then you need a turn on lead as well.
Unless you have an aftermarket HU with RCA outs I see no reason with the basslink to use a LOC.

 

This is how I installed mine: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...sslink+install
Works very well.

 

Definetely listen to the speakers first to hear the sound quality. My personal recommendations are Kicker, Apline, Infinity, and Polk DB.
I have Kicker components all around and only one sub. It is a 12" Alpine Type R Powered by a 60 Watt Alpine amp in a sealed Q-Logic box.
If you want real bass I suggest you go to Best Buy and listen to this sub.
Let me know your thoughts.

 

Didn't your amp come with a crossover or frequency adjustment knob?
Why would you need to bypass the fact amp? Fact EQ? Aren't they the same thing?