Well I went and purchased my new radio (Kenwood KVT512 w/ nav) today.


I am looking at the JL Audio vr525csi (i think model is right) 5 1/4 speakers. I would like to keep them all the same if possible. This speaker says it will fit all lcations inside the Ex with provided adaptors.


I am not an electronics guy by any means as far as subs/amps and the nine yards.

What is the purpose of the cross overs?

Why would I need a cross over on each set of speakers if I purchased the same JL audio ones?

Does anyone have any other suggestions instead of the JL Audio ones?

Thanks in advance.

Al

 

The crossover is a filter, what it does is basically filter the sound going to the speaker. The 525 is a component package meaning it has a midrange speaker and a tweeter. You supply the signal to the crossover and the crossover in turn routes the correct frequency to the corresponding speaker, the lower signal goes to the midrange, and the higher frequency gets supplied to the tweeter. In turn you dont blow out the tweeter with a low range signal pulse. As for other recommendations, its all about money, Jl is a good brand, but if you want something maybe a little cheaper, pioneer or infinity makes some decent low buck mid and full range speakers.

 

Take a look at Crutchfield: LCD TV, Car Audio, Home Theater, Speakers, Plasma TV fill out the vehicle information and they will show the speakers that they have that will fit. Its a good place to start and then you can shop around.

 

Dont buy from crutchfield though. Too overpriced and they cant compete with ebay. I know ebay is a crapshoot somtimes. But if your not one for warranty repair, then ebay works extremely well. Its good to use crutchfield if you want to know what to use, and with our trucks stock replacement is a 6x8 for all four doors. But you can get adapters to pretty much adapte anythign smaller into them. And also, if it means anything I love the boston acoustics mid line.

 

5x7/6x8s all around, if you're keeping a factory radio, stick with a lower cost speaker, you'll get better sound with less $$
Crutchfield has its advantages, as it'll be a plug and play vs cutting into wiring, plus the detailed vehicle info....

EDIT: a 5x7 and 6x8 are the same speaker, only thing different is the bolt hole pattern, which 95% will have both of anyway...

 

With the Curcuit City going out of business they have all there stuff on sale. I went in there today and saw that they have a "kicker" 5 1/4 speakers set KS525 and the kicker KS 680 (i think) 6x8 stlye speaker on sale. The sale is for 50% off. My gain for only having 9 days left open for business. So, I past for now wanting to check the crutchfield website to see if they fit. Everyone says that they will fit the openings.


I know 5 1/4 would have the adaptors. The website says they only fit in the rear doors. It doesn't say anything about the front or mid. Does anyone have these speakers?

50 % off is a great deal, even after the store mark up to make it seem like an even better deal. The empolyees there weren't very much help. I am a little confused with the conflicting info from here and crutchfield. I wanted to wait and see what people had to say.


Thanks in advance.

 

I ordered speakers today through Amazon after speaking to Crutchfield. What I was informed by their consultant is the front doors have a depth issue. They recommended Sony XSGT5726A because they are only 2- 5/16" deep top depth and 2-5/8" bottom depth. They said anything larger and the door panel will rub the speaker and cause a bulge in the trim panel. This was the only speaker Crutchfield had that they said would fit the front doors. I wanted a 6x8 though and also 3-way.

I decided to look elsewhere with depth being a priority. I found Eclipse SE8375 will work as they are 2-1/4" deep, Cartronix.com has them for only $51 a pair. I wound up finally choosing Clarion SRQ6830C which are 3-way and have a depth of 2 3/8" for $68.05 a pair. A big factor for me was speed of shipping and I trust Amazon. Don't know about some of these other retailers. See Amazon link below:

Amazon.com: Clarion SRQ6830C 6-Inch X 8-Inch 3-Way Multiaxial Speaker System: Electronics

I just don't want anyone to have clearance issues which I was unaware of till I spoke with Crutchfield.

There are alot of blogs online about the company handling Circuit City's liquidation marking stuff up to MSRP before taking their "clearance mark down". I would just research a price before purchasing. Also, all sales are final. Even if you open the box and find damaged component or the speaker is DOA when you hook it up.

 

I jusdt ordered some Pioneer 6881's for my X. They are last years model but have a wider range of sound 30-30K. Deep bass and rich highs, what I need in my X. All are 6x8's. Can hardle wait for them to come.

Checked on Crutchfield and something comparable was $99.00 + ship per pair. I got these (on ebay) for $34 &$36 incl ship and added wiring harnesses from CC on firesale for 7.XX. Sor for roughly $85.00, I just improved the sound with better fuller sounding speakers for less than 1 pair at C'field.

Im not cheap, but I looked around...Try it.

 

pioneers are a good solid sound and work well off factory power...good choice!

 

Yep, I was at CC looking at GPS's and they had a good deal on one I liked, I asked em to open it up and plug it in so I could see it power up before I bought due to the million signs saying all sales final. They refused so I walked out and found teh smae unit on amazon at another local retailer for less $ so I just went there the next day and saved even more $ and have a awesome store that backs their products standing behind it.

I'm not too impressed with how CC is running stuff. As you said they put up the big 50% stickers, but that is 50% of suggested retail price, a price that no one sells for. Many of the items are actually MORE then best buy now. Its all in marketing and the liquidator company trying to make max profits. Put up a sign saying store closing huge discounts and the sheep flock in.

 

It is unfortunate that the company is out of business. I went there today to see about the speakers again, and they have since been cleared out of stock.

I think I will be looking on ebay for the JL audios. I found them for $175 or there abouts.

Now if only UPS would deliver before the wifey gets home it would be great. .

I dont want it to be to over the top, But would it be recommended to put an amp for them. I will be installing the kenwood KVT 512 with nav.

 

I have basically a double din version of that kenwood (ddx512), and you definitely get an amp for them.. First off there's the matter of not having 6 channels to hook them up to on the receiver. You can get a little creative with the wiring, by wiring 2 sets in series, but for the headaches, i'd simply get a 6ch amp. The JL audio a6450 (6ch amp) is a beast, and will make your ears bleed. You can pick that up off ebay for under 300 bucks brand new, and for that I think it's a steal. My old(er) phoenix gold 800w mono amp with two 12" MTX 7500s can barely keep up with it; definitely need more bass amp now - and this is while it shakes the whole truck - the mids highs are just that much louder that it sounds like the bass is lacking...

Mine's pushing 3 different pairs of speakers (2 diff rockford fosgates and 1 JL) - had em all laying around and didn't feel like ordering new ones, since it takes 3 sets... took a bit longer to get it all dialed in, but worked out well in the end

I will be getting a JL 1000w amp sometime down the road, but dang those are expensive....

Good luck with it

 

funny i should run across this topic........

i'll be finalizing the trade for an Excursion on monday........ well out of my old truck, i made the deal to keep my old system. it's nothing special, but in my old truck (92 Z71) it sounds pretty good. now mid you the old z71's didn't have a ver high end system to start with, so this was a decent upgrade for me.

here's what i got SONY X-plode head unit 45wx4, it has the ipod port, that's the main reason i'm keeping it, and want to switch it out with the factory head unit. then i have 4 SONY X-plode speakers........ 2- 6.5" 2ways, and 2 6x9" 2 ways.

i've found the adapters for the 6x8's to 6.5's! bad thing is i can buy them pre made for less than i can make them at work if i buy the metal..... but any way, would that be a decent upgrade for an 02 EX with factory speakers? i'm not sure how many watts the oem head unit is, and i know sony is no where near the top of the line, but for the purpose it's been surving, it's been a great set up.