Speaker Strategy, suggestions

Looking into upgrades for my 2017 access cab (so will be doing front speakers only). Still considering the kicker door and kicker/subi dash upgrade but thinking I can do better for only slightly more dollars ($300-400). Want to keep the stock head unit (standard SR5) and speaker locations, front door and dash only, nothing in rear doors. Thinking of going with the Kicker Key amp and question is better speaker strategy; 3" coaxial in dash with 6x9 coaxial door, or component with 6x9 in door and tweeter in dash using the Kicker Key Bi-Amp feature for the components ? Pros/Cons which speaker strategy is better ? Trying to keep costs reasonable; about $200 for kicker key amp and under $200 for speakers. And yes I do know that I will need to rewire speakers going with either option - would something like ********* tweeter wire harness work ? Thanks.

 

I would do the Kicker KS 6x9 component set, ditch the included crossover, bi amp the Key, and run it 2 way active

 

Thanks for input. After some more reading/research, I was heading in same direction. Maybe a stupid question, but its new to me - when you tune amp/speakers using mic at driver headrest to optimize, what does this mean for passenger sound quality/imaging ? Since you can only optimize to only one location, assume best to just go with driver's seat or should you compromise in between driver/passenger ? Thanks. Another question - any real benefit of 6x9 over 6.75 speaker ? Thanks again.

 

So there are a few things that happen using the microphone.

The main two are tuning, and time alignment

The tune (setting the eq) will stay the same regardless of mic location.

The time alignment is what will change based on mic location. You can actually turn time alignment on and off once the setup is complete without having to re-do the process. It saves the time alignment, tune, etc so it can be turned on/off at your leisure. Very fun to turn it off to see the difference a good tune can make.

Even with time alignment set to the drivers position, it still won’t sound bad to the passenger. I would run the setup and let the amp do its thing

 

Got it, thanks for help !

 

you can get Audiofrog GS 690's and GS10 tweets for 500 on craigslist. Nothing...nothing will compare to them in that price range, or more up to about 1200 bucks. Run them active with 100 watts clean and youll love it.

 

Mic location definitely affects frequency response. No 2 locations in a vehicle will have the same frequency response. For the passenger it means they hear something different. It will most likely sound just fine to them - maybe even pretty good with better equipment, but the tuned seat is definitely the place to be.

Hard to find a good 6x9 + tweeter in that price range, but if it were me and I were trying to keep it around 200 clams, I'd do this:

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/sb-acoustics-woofers-6-7/sb-acoustics-sb17nrxc35-4-6.5-woofer/

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...stige-27tffnc/g-h1396-1-textile-dome-tweeter/

and either make some adapters or buy some from Mr. Marv. Not sure about the auto-setup crossover features on the Key - actually there's no way I'd trust it, but if you can do that manually, that might be the way to go.

edit, meant to post this one (poly cone - not the papyrus cone). Poly is probably a better choice for a vehicle.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c.../sb-acoustics-sb17mfc35-4-6-poly-cone-woofer/

 

While the auto-eq functionality in the Key is not to be compared with that of a manual eq like the DSR1 or Fix86, I have been very impressed with it for the 10-12 Key amps I have installed. For people that are spending in that price range, it is much better than the functionality you’ll get in any other amp.

Heck, it’s more functionality than I get in my $800 Kicker KXA800.5

Can you get better? Absolutely.
Can you get better without spending at least double? I’m not sure.

 

Thanks all for info/suggestions. Audio can be one of the worst rabbit-holes with costs easily going ballistic - I will be holding audio upgrade budget under $400 and KickerKey amp with sub-$200 component speakers best option for budget.

 

My personal take

If you plan on adding a subwoofer down the road, I’d go Kicker 44KSS6704. Can be had for $183 on sale right now

If you don’t plan on adding a subwoofer at any point, it go Alpine S-S69C. Goes for $150 regular price

Again, thats my personal take on speakers in that budget that I’ve installed and enjoyed.

 

I'll set it up with kicker key and components and see how it sounds, and can consider subwoofer later if at all. Also have space problem anyway... access cab with rear jump-seats removed for storage/dog platform - could fit it in access cab rear doors but small (and dogs probably wouldn't like it).

 

Yeah, for the coin that's pretty hard to beat. It's tough (err was until a few weeks ago) tough to find a decent processor for under that price - let alone power with it. The lack of manual tuning scares me, but for the target consumer it's likely a nice upgrade