Using only front speakers opinion please.

Is there anyone out there using just the front door and dash tweeters for speakers ? Just wonder about your thoughts on how it sounds vs using those speakers plus the ones in the rear doors. Thank you for any help/comments.

 

both my tacoma and brz are set up like that currently, though i haven't ran rear speakers for over 10 years at this point.. for me, it came down to amplifier channels and overall cost/complexity. i insist on keeping my setups full-active, with separate amplification channels for each driver. but also, all my vehicles in that time span have hadreally poor acoustics for the rear speakers. the brz has 3.5" rear speakers loosely mounted over an open cavity, and i went through the hassle of upgrading the tacoma rear speakers in part to dimension the speaker templates i published here, but was underwhelmed with the sound quality from them, both due to their location so far forward and down low, as well as the door acoustics limiting their response. i'm the primary driver on both, with my dog as passenger, so passenger comfort/quality doesn't matter to me--many others that insist on rear speakers tend to want an equal acoustic experience for all potential passenger seats.

for those requirements i can easily and cheaply install a 5-channel amp with a sub. if i really wanted the rear speakers, they don't make a ton of less-than-$1,000 7-channel amps with similar power, which means i'd need to install the 5-channel plus a 2-channel. of course, 2-channel amps with similar power levels as most 5-channels are almost dirt cheap, but then i need a larger power/ground, fused power splitters, smaller wire off the splitter, with space and access to the fused distributor, and space to physically mount 2 amps.

now, to be fair, with the aging of class-D amp design, the passage of time has allowed for much smaller and more compact designs, many of which can easily fit 4 fully-featured, very capable amps, in the space of many other single amps, something that hadn't been possible before. i do have plans for my tacoma to install 4-channel and 5-channel amp once i finish out some other projects. but the 4-channel is really only because it's gathering dust on a shelf from a previous install, and i want to do some tinkering with some audio concepts i've had for a very long time with adding tweeters above the rear window on an over-extended delay to boost the 'size' of the acoustic space, as well as some 'party speakers' i probably won't ever use in the rear doors for outside audio needs. if i was building/buying from scratch, i would definitely not be doing any more than a 5-channel amp to power front speakers/tweeters.

it really comes down to how you use the audio system, the effort it takes to install it, the level of post-install customization you're willing to deal with(install and be done, or do you want to be out in the garage every other weekend tinkering with it?), and overall cost.

 

I’ve got all channels in my truck amplified, but the rear channels are so incredibly useless in most scenarios. I keep them on because my kids are often with me. But if I faded it fully to the front, after about an hour, I’d forget it was faded and would be just fine. The only way I’d notice is if I faded I’d back to the middle and suddenly heard the rears again

rear speakers can give presence if you just simply want LOUD. But if you’re seeking clarity, they won’t really help or hurt. And for staging, they do hurt. Hard to sound like there’s a band on stage in front of you when there are speakers behind you.

I don’t know of anyone that has been disappointed by going front-only. I also don’t know anyone that regrets doing front and rear.

If you can save $150-200 on speakers and parts and put that towards a better front set or better amp, then you can’t go wrong.

 

@soundman98 - You give me lots to think about in regards to amps,,,thnx for teaching me a few things,,,after giving it some thought I am a "install and be done" kind of person,,

@destin_meeks - Today when I went to the store I did as you had mentioned and faded it only to the front,,, I like the sound,,,going to have to think about the back speakers and if I want them and what type they may be if I get them,,,

Thank you both for the education,,,,more research to be done !!!! I like research

 

The key is spending the same budget. If you’re going to spend a thousand dollars for everything, spend a thousand dollars on your front stage and amp.
You can always add rear speakers and another amp later.

 

I'm not the best example as I only have 2 doors, but I've never cared about having sound behind me in the almost 12 yrs of having my single cab. I do have my subwoofer box back there though haa

 

I've got the stock speakers still in the rear, but amped them with the idea of anyone's in the back they'd have them. Honestly i can't hear them up front and haven't really sat in the back and paid much attention to if they make a difference. Still a work in progress, and may end up ditching them all together...

 

As Chris said, get a quality amp & subwwoofer. Balance it out properly.

If you don't hear it, you'll feel it

 

Front-only for me. Well, except the sub, but I'd have that up front if I had the space. Front subs are the bee's knees. It's much easier to implement a sound-quality setup with only a front stage. If I were carrying a load people around all the time and trying to make them happy, it'd be a different answer.

 

My regular cab only has front speakers lol

 

Technically mine does too, though I have added subwoofers behind the seat (giggle)

 

I have a sub and the speakers amped it sounds great to me.