Posted this in 3rd Gen Audio section also, just seeing if you guys have an opinion also.

So I've been thinking of doing this for awhile now, but buying some fatmat for sound deadning has made me decied to just install everything at once. I really don't care to upgrade the factory amp. And I read through all these threads, and it seems the question has been asked many times but never answered. I know going to a 4ohm speaker, sound will decrease because of the load on the amp. So I would like to go with a 2 ohm speaker.......same as stock, but something that will just sound overall better than the stock speakers (more efficient). I've only found 2, 2 ohm speakers that look like they will fit the bill. The only problem I see with both of these is a clearance issue. Here are the options I've found:

Infinity Kappa 52.7i (front doors)
Infinity Kappa 62.7i (rear deck)

or

JBL GTO 527 (front)
JBL GTO 627 (rear)


My 2 part question would first consist of:

1) Have you used either of these speakers?

2) If you haven't, and have used another type. Did you have any
clearance issues with them. And what did you do to overcome this
issue?

Please don't tell me to upgrade the amp, because not matter what you say I'm not going to. I just want insight into this speaker upgrade. I know there are plenty of you out there who know 10 folds more than I. Also if you have a better speaker option please let me know.

 

Stick with 4 ohm speakers with the factory amp. A 2 ohm speaker will draw twice the current at the same voltage as a 4 ohm but is not more efficient. The only time you will realize an advantage using a 2 ohm over a 4 ohm is with an amp specifically designed to deliver the additional current into the 2 ohm load. What you will likely get with the stock amp is additional heat and distortion due to output current limiting. In fact the amp could actually deliver less into 2 ohm then it did into 4 ohm.

If you are looking for efficiency compare the SPL levels at 1 watt. The higher the number the loader it will play. A 3 dB increase in SPL is just like doubling your wattage.

Example
Speaker A has a 90 dB SPL at 1 watt and speaker B has a 93 dB SPL.

You would have to drive Speaker A with 2 watts to get the same SPL as B at 1 watt.


jeff

 

Also look into the CDT Audio brand. A little better priced and kick some serious thump. I just installed the 5.25 in my car and am very happy with the sound quality. I picked up the CL S50-A and at 110 watts rms you can't go wrong for the price. If you are looking at 6.5 check out the CL S60-A component set.

 

I'm using 2 ohm Kappas all around. It didn't kill my speakers driving them with the stock amp, and one reason I went with them was that I knew I will one day upgrade the stock amp to something different, so I kinda tried to future-proof myself with decent speakers. I still haven't replaced the stock amp, but its moving up my priority list.

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/now-running-infinity-kappas-340737/#post4885682

 

I'm confused..........

You say stick to 4ohm, but the stock speakers are 2ohm. That was kinda the point of keeping the same ohm rating as stock, so I could keep the stock amp. Like Reach said.......I might add an amp later on, but not for a long time.

Explain further. I assumed the opposite of what you said.

 

i suggest you go with infinity kappa series. they are really great sounding speakers

 

If the original factory speakers are labeled 2 ohms then by all means replace them with 2 ohm speakers. Only do this if you are sure, (the speaker is labeled). The rears in my TSX are labeled 4 ohms the door speakers are not labeled but it is safe to assume that they are also 4 ohms.

Designing an amp to drive 2 ohms is difficult and from what I have seen (in the case of the TSX) the factory amp is physically small and would have a hard time shedding the extra heat developed driving a 2 ohm load. Again, your gain if any would be marginal driving a 2 ohm speaker with amp designed for 4 ohm speakers.

I hope this clears it up a little.

jeff

 

Ok I see where your coming from. All 3rd gen TL's have 2 ohm speakers, not 4 ohm. It would be alot easier, and have a lot more options if it came with 4 ohm speakers.

 

You can replace 2 ohm speakers with 4's. Your peak sound output will be 3dB less than what it could be if you were to find the exact same speaker in a 2ohm version. However, if you find a speaker that is more efficient (higher SPL) than stock, you may be able to compensate fo this. Also, amps will typically increase in THD as the impedence of the load lowers. You will not get the same peak power out of the amp, but it could sound noticeable better.

If you can find a 4ohm with an SPL 3dB more than the 2ohm speakers you are looking at, you will be able to maintain the sound level and decrease THD. Most likely that will sound better, but it depends on the speakers you are comparing. Go with something that has the flattest response over the widest range. If the amp in your vehicle does not appear to have a power supply (I know the one in my TSX does not) than it's operating off a single 12V rail. This means that the amp could deliver no more than 36W peak to the speaker, and 18W RMS. No need to take additional power handling into consideration unless you plan to upgrade the amp.

 

* * * the 36W Peak / 18W RMS is PER CHANNEL based the single 12V rail and a 4ohm load only!!! @2 Ohms would be double, assuming the amp can handle it (thermally and otherwise)! * * *

 

If I were in your shoes I would forget about impedance and find a speaker that I liked for sound quality. The claims of doubling power by using a 2-ohm speaker in place of a 4-ohm are pure marketing department hype. In a pure theoretical sense this is true, but you have to ignore the power amps output impedance (and you can’t really do that). In other words if we had a perfect source amp with a zero ohm output impedance we would see a doubling of the output power from 4 to 2 ohms.

In reality your gain will be about half of what you would expect (say 10 watts 4 ohm and 15 watts at 2 ohm). The rest of the gain goes out as heat from the power amp. When you add possible instability of future amps at 2 ohms (I know you said you won’t change the amp, but if you did..) with the lack of selection I would find some sweat 4 ohm speakers and call it a day.

jeff

 

Infinity Kappa's are good speakers, but see if you can get the Kappa Perfect. I know they come in both 2 and 4 ohm loads.
Mercman is correct you should stick with the 4 ohm speakers, especially when using a factory amp.
Other speakers that have phenomonal sound is Kicker, Polk, and Alpine.

Keep in mind you probably have a component system in your car, so adding a regular 2 3 or 4 way speaker will sound like crap unless you rewire. You will need to add components to the speaker locations and all component speaker systems come with tweeters, therefore you can change them out as well.

As far as the depth, you have two options:
1. Add speaker spacers- this is the easiest way to go, any average joe could pull this off.
2. You can cut out the factory speaker grills and add the aftermarket ones. I personally like the look of this but it only looks good if the fact grille is the exact same size as the aftermarket one.

Let me know what you do or what you have already done.

 

Also you will never notice a difference between 2 and 4 ohm speakers.
The only time you will ever hear a difference is when you are talking subwoofers.
UNLESS, you are an expert or work with car audio daily.

 

You most definitely will notice the difference, no matter who you are!

I think you have a few things backwards:

Comparing 2 speakers with all other things equal besides impedance, you will notice that the 2 ohm speaker is a bit louder with the same amp and that the 4 ohm speaker will be a not quite as loud and noticeably better sounding. This is because most amps will more than double the THD+N each time you cut their load impedence in half. So expect an amp that is 1 ohm stable to be even noisier!

The THD+N difference is much more apparent with full range speakers than with subs!