I am going to upgrade the speakers in my truck and there are quite a bit of options.

First off there are a lot of 6x8 speakers out there. there are two way and three way versions available. Which one is better?

Second there are adapter kits that allow you two install 5 and 1/4 in the stock locations and also use a second tweeter in the mount. Has anyone used these? And how do they stack up to the 6x8s?


Also a guy at a stereo shop told me that 5x7s fit the factory location and were better is that true.

The bottom line is that I want to spend my money the right way the first time. I have been to the stereo shops and they just try to sell me something, the down side of that is that they have not been able to answer these questions that I have listed here. Also most of them are low on inventory because they are waiting for 2010 speakers to come in.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

How much are you looking to spend?
How much of the install will you do yourself?

My goal was low budget audiophile.... Best sound for the buck if you will.
I went with Boston Acoustics SC60 up front. These are separates with a 6.5" midrange and 3/4" tweeter in pods. I did need to fabricate an adapter out of a piece of 1/8" masonite. The tweeters are mounted on top of the door panels at the front corners. Their frequency response just seems perfectly matched for this truck.

Then a set of R-F 6x9's in rear doors, and a 10" sub.
Fantastic sound quality - it blows away some multi thousand dollar set-ups I've heard.

 

I plan on doing the install myself. I am willing to spend what it takes to get sound out of the stock location speakers even a small amp if necessary. I cant do a lot of fab work but I am open to suggestions do you have any pics? Are you running an amplifier?

 

I got my adpater plates on ebay, I have 6.5 componenets up front with a 1" silk dome tweeter. It is crisp. And most 5x7 are listed as 6x8 also.

 

Yes, I have separate amps for fronts, rears, and sub. The sound quality and durability are just so much better with external amps. Fortunately, I had lots of stuff laying around from other projects so I didn't have to buy much!

No pics, sorry.

 

I plan on adding Subs down the road and just want to improve sound quality for now. BigRy are you only running front speakers? I have added a new pioneer HU and it rocks but makes the stock speakers kind of weak sounding.

Anyone have a set of these? BOSTON ACOUSTICS SR80 5X7" 6X8"CAR AUDIO STEREO SPEAKER - eBay (item 290341930607 end time Apr-17-10 17:09:11 PDT)

 

bump bump bump

 

What I have found to be a very useful resource is Crutchfield

Crutchfield: LCD TV, Car Stereo, Home Theater, Speakers, Plasma TV

On their home page under "Car Audio/Video and GPS" tab there is a link for "Outfit my Car" go there and enter your vehicle details and it will tell you what can and cannot be used in your vehicle. You can then narrow your choices by reading all the reviews and even chat with their installers. Once you have your choices made you can shop pricing on the net. If you go with Crutchfield, they even have free install on most things.

Hope this helps out.

 

1. 3 way will provide a wider freq range than 2 way. if you are shooting for sound quality, i would suggest a component system. this will include your door speakers, tweeters and crossovers.

2. where did you find these adapter kits? i have been looking for some. Unless you are going for competition level clarity, you'll probably not be able to tell the difference in sound between 6x8 and 5 1/4.

3. 5x7's are not a better speaker than 6x8's. he is bull****ting you. i have been told they will fit in the stock location. when you think about it, they are both an oval style speaker. the 6x8 just adds an inch to the speaker surface area of a 5x7.

check out these links.
Car Speakers: Car & Auto Speakers at Sonic Electronix

Car Speakers at OnlineCarStereo.com

If you are shooting for clarity, I would go with one of the following brands:
Focal, Boston Acoustic, JL Audio, CDT, Diamond Audio, Oz audio.

Alpine, Infinity, and Polk audio are good too.

Crutchfield is a great website as well. lot of great info and reviews on there. They are really great if you are buying a car stereo because they include all the goodies that go along with it. however, the sites above that i have listed will be much cheaper. they are "wholesaler's". this means that the products you get will bbe somewhat aged, and they won't have the newest thing newest speakers out on the market. but they have great products. i have ordered many things from both of them. amazon has some great deals too. i saved over $200 on my stereo there.

I would shoot for a component setup if i were you. You can get a nice set for $150-$200 on the websites i listed. good luck with your speakers!

 

clintusaf

6X9 TO 6.5 + TWEETER SPEAKER ADAPTER PLATE MID KIT 61/2 : eBay Motors (item 270513568505 end time Apr-10-10 21:41:07 PDT)
Here is the speaker adapter you were inquiring about they ones for with tweeters and without.

CDT, Diamond Audio, Oz audio focal where can you by these at?

I also have heard someone else mentioning MB quart any one have these?

If I go with a component set up where do you mount the tweeters? Any done this and if so do you have pictures?

I also was wondering about an appropriate amp to go with the door speaker upgrade. When I look at speakers how do now what power amplifier to use with them? Sorry for the dumb Questions? I just am new to this and I dont want to waste money either.

 

most of those brands should be at the sites i listed.

mb quart are nice too.

you can mount the tweeters where ever you like. i would suggest hooking up the tweeter and moving to a couple preferred mounting locations and turning it up to see which one you think sounds best. some people mount them in their doors, the mirror bolt cover, the windshield and numerous ither places. i know the diamond audio and a couple of other component setups have an option where you can just mount it on the midrange like normal.

are you wanting your new speakers to be really loud? you can get by with just using the stereo to power the speakers. i do have an amp for mine. anything that pushes 50-75 watts RMS per channel will do the job.

no dumb question here my friend. we all gotta learn sometime right? keep 'em comig. thanks for the link too.

 

another good site too.


Woofersetc.com the online car audio super store, the largest selection at the lowest prices!

 

X2
well put!

I have Focal component speakers in the front and rear of my truck and they sound great!

I will also add that the quality of sound will vary when using amplifiers...if you get a nice set of component speakers don't go cheap on the amp or you won't get the most out of those nice speakers you just bought.

Focal, Boston Acoustic, JL Audio, CDT, Diamond Audio, Oz audio,Alpine, Infinity, and Polk audio are all great brands.