Newbie is buying new speakers. Help

So i want some new speakers for my DC taco. I have the 6disk changer, and i dont really need it to get much louder than it already is i just want it to sound better the louder it gets, maybe a little bass would be nice.

I went to crutchfield and checked out the website and from what i could get from them, replace the door speakers with 6 1/2 component would do what i wanted. The whole speaker thing is gibberish to me.

Is that the correct size for the doors? How big are the factory tweeters?

 

From what little I've read on the DC speaker fitments, it seems like you can do a pair of 2-way 6.5" in the fronts, then do some 2-way 5.25" in the rears (it looks like 6.5" might fit in the rear as well? anyone?).

With the improved performance of aftermarket speakers, you might want to just leave the factory tweeters. The built-in tweets from the 6.5" would more than make up IMHO. This is what route I'm going on my DC.

Now I just need to settle on what brand I want to go with. I put some Polk dB series in my Vette and I'm very happy with the bump in performance over factory. I may just go with them again.

EDIT: If you decide to go with component speakers, know that you will need to do some extra wiring for the separate components. Regular 2-way speakers are going to be more a "bolt-in" type of thing, only requiring a speaker adapter bracket.

 

So what is the difference between a component and a 2 or 3 way? It sucks because i want to go out and look at this stuff but im in iraq and am just going to order it and have it wait for me haha.

Ive never heard of Boston till i started looking and the reviews look good for them. Im leaning towards some Kenwood Excelon KFC x1730P, i had always heard good things about Kenwood

 

no matter what aftermarket speakers you run, you will have to have a set of baffles/adapters so they can bolt to the doors. this means that you can use anything that is the factory size or smaller. i replaced my fronts with these 6x9s http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Infinity+-+6%22+x+9%22+2-Way+Car+Speakers+with+Plus+One+Cones+(Pair)/8228955.p?id=1167444900148&skuId=8228955
they are fantastic, and a huge improvement over stock. like you though, i still wanted a little more bass, but i didn't watn to add an amp and full sized sub. so in the rear, i went with a set of kicker 6.5 inch components. with the tweeter not placed in the middle of the speaker like the infinitys i linked to, it's essentially a 6.5 in sub. to tell you the truth, i wasn't expecting much out of them becasue they were fairly inexpensive, but they are AMAZING. for such a small speaker, they produce some major bass. it is very crisp too, they actually get loud enough to hurt my ears before they even start to distort. here's a link http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Kicker+...air)/9892233.p?id=1218190733465&skuId=9892233

just some additional info: i still have the factory tweeters up front, and in addition to the speakers, i have an aftermarket head unit, but I am not running an amp.

so if you're just looking for a some imbroved sound quality, and a little more bass, you can get a pretty good setup for about $400-$500 (that's including a new head unit).
good luck with your search.....i'm sure some of the real audio guys will chime in soon and give you some better imput than i can

 

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but components separate the tweeter from the main speaker and use the crossover (those little boxes) to separate the highs and lows and sent the signals out the the speakers acordingly. 2 and 3 way speakers have the tweeter in the center of the speaker. if you look at the links in my previous post, the 6x9s are a 2 way, and the 6.5s are components.

 

I concur. Seeing as how the OP is a self-described n00b, you may want to avoid the components. But honestly, it isn't that hard to do. I'm rethinking what I want to do now.

ColinB has exactly what I'm looking for I think. Some improved clairy and added bass, without adding amp and sub. Good stuff. Thanks.

 

glad i could help


and yeah, the components aren't hard to hook up whatsoever. i thought the difficult part (which still wasn't that bad) was figuring out where to put the crossovers....3m double side foam tape is your friend.

 

Components separate the Midbass from the tweeter, using a passive crossover. Meaning, you run your signal to the crossover, and then each individual speaker is also wired to the correct point on the crossover. This sends only the "correct" (Read: Manufacturer decided) frequencies to the correct drivers.

2 way and 3 way have different meanings, you'll have to be more specific.

A Generic 2 and 3 way coaxial speaker has either 2, or 3 speakers, ran by a built in crossover generally of less quality. These speakers do not allow for reposition of midbass or tweeters, and are generally always on-axis.

A 2 or 3 way active setup is a whole different animal.

2 way active setups are ran with tweeters and midbasses, minus a passive crossover box. The crossover is done either at the amp, or at an active capable head unit. Meaning that you can control the crossover point, generally by high pass filter, low pass filter, or bandpass filter, and the slope at which you cross over. This provides more control to the end user, and allows for a much more refined installation. In a 2 way active setup, one generally bandpasses a Midbass, from say 63 hz to 3khz, with the tweeter High passed at 3khz. That's a rough example, and it's much more in depth than that, but it was just to make the point.

3 way active setups are ran in the same way that 2 way active setups are ran, with the exception of the added speaker. 3 way actives are generally a Tweeter, a midrange, and a midbass. In your typical 3 way setup, you'll have a subwoofer taking care of the really low end stuff, a dedicated midbass to pick up to around 500hz or so, a midbass to play up to where your tweeter takes the rest. It's an incredibly detailed setup, but also the most rewarding to get right (at least rewarding in the pride sense).

There's tons of different ways to go about an install, and depending on what type of music you listen to and your overall goals, they vary on a large degree.

If you'd like any more information or for me to elaborate further, send me a pm.

~Joey

 

Thanks guys for the help, Im not a noob on working on stuff im just a complete noob for speakers and wiring them. Im sure i could figure it out and i have a buddy that i know can help.

So on the component speakers, the tweeter that has to be relocated can go where the stock ones are right?

 

yes, BUT, you will need a mount for it. i used the stock tweeter and cut out the speaker and used that. worked good, pretty easy to do.

 

You have a PM colinb.

 

^^^ pm relied

for kramer, woody, and anyone else wondering, i'll post up a picture of how i mounted tweeters in the rear doors later tonight

 

Thanks, that would be awesome. That is probably the last thing im confused about and thats where to put the tweets.

 

alright, finally got a chance to take some pictures of the kicker setup.....

here is a picture of the kit that i started with. it came with everything in the picture, plus some hardware and some different fittings to help mount the tweeters.


here's a close-up of the tweeter. to make it look nice and mount flush, i used a little plastic trim pieve that it came with. (it is the outer ring around the tweeter)


for asthetics, i mounted it in a similar location on the door as the front tweeters are located. it actually turned out to be a great spot, because there is a lot of open space behind that part of the door since it curves out at that location


I was planning on mounting the crossovers behind the door panels. but the Kicker crossovers have a 0db, +3db, and +6db setting, so i ended up making sure i had access to that switch in case i ever wanted to play around with it.


here's how i ran the wires to it


let me know if yall have any more questions, i can always take more pictures.

 

Hey that looks good. How do they sound?

Thanks for the pics.

 

they sound better than i could have asked for...i've always had my stereo ballance either at zero, or more to the front of the cab, but with the kickers in the back, i've actually set the ballance at "rear 4" (it can go to 15 in either direction). the bass is great, and you don't lose the highs becasue of the new tweeters.