Does anyone have a recommendation for replacing the door speakers for my 95 F150? They're starting to sound a little bad and I don't have the cash to flip for an entire system at the moment, so I'm going to have to piece it together one component at a time. First are my door speakers. Any suggestions? I'd like a nice set that would complement a nice set of speakers, possibly a box or two with either 8 or 10" subs behind the seat. I've never really done a lot of investigation in stereo and accessories like amps and other odds and ends and don't want to enter into this blindly and I'd rather not let the kids at Best Buy who listen to gangsta rap design my system. I want it to be loud and clear, I don't want the rear view mirror to rattle off!
Any help would be greatly appreciated! What are the things I should look for? 2 channel amp vs 4 channel? Are Pioneer and Kenwood still the great names that they used to be 10 or more years ago? I've been burnt in the past, buying the name and not the performance!

Mike

PS, I'd like to that any and all who have answered my posts. It's been a long while since I've owned a Ford or a Ford truck, 93 was the last year I owned one, so I've gotten a little rusty
and forgotten most of what I'd learned, so I'm sure I'll have tons of questions for you guys. thanks for the patients and the help!

 

Hi Mike
At least you know what you want , That's a good start . I have all Alpine except for my sub so I am kind of biased but I will try to give you some guidelines. If you are trying to keep a somewhat stock look I would go for coaxial speakers .This means the tweeter is mounted in the center of the mid range and not a separate speaker as in component sets. Look for something that has all the info in a pamphlet and don't always take the salesmans/womans word for it. That being said Alpine is limiting the info in their pamphlets now and making the sales people earn their paycheque. Look for a company that has been around for a while (like Alpine or Pioneer (notice no Kenwood))because obviously they are doing something right or they wouldn't be here, and finally try to find a company that concentrates on the items you are looking for and doesn't also make things like outboard motors and saxiphones . Clear as mudd? Hope that helps.
tonka

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 25-Feb-01 AT 12:43 PM (EST)[/font][p]I myself don't like Yamaha. I prefer Sony. I have seen some very high output Yamahas in a home stereo(1500 watts) but they were treated paper, which didn't sound to great. Sony is expensive(?), but I think they have pleny of quality for me. I have heard of a company called Boston Acoustics, so far I have only seen them make speakers, so I'd bet they will make some good speakers(if you can afford them). What kind of speakers do you plan to put in? I would go for 3-ways, no need for sub-woofers if you have 3-ways(unless you want bass that will really shake your pick-up). Besides, it looks better haveing all your speakers mounted in one spot instead of a sub on the floor, midrange in the door, and tweeters on the dash. I plan to buy everything for my pick-up from http://www.discountcarstereo.com. I would suggest you look there, the selection isn't too great, but they have low prices on nice, new equipment. for my pick-up, I plan to get a Sony deck, and Sony or Pioneer speakers.

I'll admit I'm far from a professional for car stereos. But from all the systems I have seen I noticed one big mistake: A huge sub-woofer with a stellar out-put in back, and a mid-range and tweeter up front. I guess if you get the right sub that type of setup can be great, but with the wrong subs, all the base is in the back, and it sounds BAD. So, I would recomend 3-ways up front, from the site I wrote about since they have a decent selection of Pioneer speakers.

Logan

 

I forgot to mention as for 2 vs. 4 channel, if you have rear speakers I'd get 4 channel, I myself haven't actually seen very many 2 channel decks. Unless the only balance you care about is right/left, in whic case a 2 channel would work great.

Logan

 

Just a note, papercones are actually more efficient than poly because the are not as heavy. But they are also not as tough so they are not suitable for certain applications such as band pass.
tonka

 

Thanks for all the input!
I recently saw some of those Pioneer speakers that are specifically made for trucks. With a sub and what looks like a tweeter setting on the up side of the box. 8 or 10" sub in it. I would like to feel the base from it, but not be rattled out of the cab. Would I get the same sound by having those tweeters on the sub box without putting any 5" speakers in the doors? I'm not really in the know when it comes to building a stereo system.. I do appreciate all the info, that gives me some ammunition when I go out and start looking!

Mike

 

What you talked about(pioneer speakers with sub and what looks like a tweeter) sounded like 2-way speakers, excpet all the 2-ways I have seen so far have a midrange and tweeter. I would strongly recomend you go with three ways, meaning a big bass speaker, smaller mid-range, and far smaller tweeter, with the tweeter and mid-range mounted "inside" the bass speaker. I saw one set of 4-way speakers, with a super-tweeter, but they were only in one sizve, and the 3 ways looked like a better idea (in my opinion). Just in my opinion, treated paper doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Why try to modify paper when you can re-design metals(I forgot exactly what is put in speakers besideds treated paper). I have heard Boston Acoustics make great speakers, I haven't yet heard a set of BAs, but I would bet for their price they should be pretty good.

I don't know exactly what a tweeter does, but I have heard it brings the sound out of your floor-boards, just listening to some systems, tweeters sound like a good idea to me. I think they just play high notes(I'm probbably very rong about that) in which case, I'd mount a mid-range with your sub. But I'm not about the quality of bass speakers in your average 3-way, to me they seem the very best way to go.

Logan

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 26-Feb-01 AT 09:18 PM (EST) by dust3 (moderator)[/font][p]* message deleted by forum moderator, soliciting on these message boards is not permitted*

 

Logan
You are right about the tweeter. This is basically how a system plays out:

Item Frequency responce directional
(ability to tell where
sound is coming from)

Sub +/- 20hz to as high as 700hz basically non
mid bass driver +/- 120hz to +/- 1khz somewhat
mid range +/-300hz to +/-3khz yes
tweeter +/-3khz 25-32khz very

as you go from your sub to your tweeter physical size decreases and speaker placement becomes more and more important. Also remember that more is not necessarilly better to have more if you are going for sound quality .Too many speakers with poor placement and your imaging goes out the window and too much of anything (eg. bass ,mid ,tweets) is just too much. Any way basically what I am saying is spend more on less for quality and you won't be sorry. And start with a good source ,head unit ,deck ,whatever because you can make poor speakers sound better from a good source than you can a good pair of speakers and a poor source. Distorted power makes distorted sound .
tonka

 

What about power? I plan to repalce all the stock speakers in my pcik-up with 3-ways, add a mini-disc for the head, and maybe add a CD changer(I would have loved to have found a one piece that would play a mini-disc and a cd, but I couldn't find anything, so I decided a CD changer in the glove box would be best). My pick-up is diesel(great choice hu? good sound, but diesel engine )so how long would be a good estimate for me to run my stereo just off of the batteries, so far I don't know what kind of output I plan for, and I'm not sure if I will get an amp.

Logan

 

Well, 2 days ago I purchased the basics for my truck system. With a limited budget and a new Sears card, I set out and for around $300 I got want I wanted. A Pioneer DEH-P4300 deck (got it for the price of a lesser model) with fold down face and wireless remote. I also bought a set of Pioneer 6x9 4-ways and stuffed them behind the seat in a pair of 6x9 boxes I bought from WalMart for about $24.00. Sounds really good and the remote is pretty awesome! Next will be a set of smaller speakers for the door mounts. Anybody have an idea of exactly what size speakers are in there? I hate taking the door panels off and I only want to do it once.
Thanks again all!
Mike

 

Logan
Ther are too many variables to how long you can run like size of battery , amp or not , size of amp , subs or not ( subs suck a lot of juice.

Mike
You probably have 5 1/4 in your doors but I would try to fit a set of 6 1/2s just for sound quality. If you have the money for the speakers I would just take off your door panels , take your measurements , pick up and install your speakers and the reinstall your door panel. When measuring for your speakers don't forget about mouning depth (with the window down)as weel as diameter.

tonka

 

i have pioneer 6 1/2"s in front, they are 3-way and sound nice. i also have an infinity kappa perfect 12" sub in back running off a jensen 400W amp (soon to be a rockford fosgate), and pioneer 6x8" 2-ways in back. i plan on using the jensen amp to power my speakers untill i find a rockfod fosgate. this is a good sounding stereo in a regular cab pickup. total investment is around $800 so far not including tha headunit which is a jensen mp3/cd player. not bad for a 17yr old

 

I bought a set of Pioneer 3-way speakers for my X that are specically (sp?) designed for Ford vehicles. They sound good and were around $100 for the pair.