Replacement front speaker recommendations please

[White Lightning]

Firstly, apologies as I know there are quite a few threads about speakers but I am after some specific recommendations that meet my exact requirements - as I know we have a few ICE boffins on here :).

OK, I want to get some new front door speakers as the drivers side one is pretty much shot. At the moment, as far as I can tell, all the speakers in my Galant are the original Mitsi units. As far as I can tell, the front tweeters and the rear speakers are fine.

The headunit that I am running is a Panasonic CQ-C5303N WMA MP3 CD Player/Receiver. The power output from the headunit is 50W x 4.

I have no amplifier or subwoofer and I do not expect this to change in the near term, if ever.

I mostly listen to hard rock and heavy metal. Things like Kiss, Magnum, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Metallica etc.

My budget is up to £100 ... but ideally would rather not pay more than say £60-£70 for the pair of speakers. But, I am willing to pay a bit extra if it makes a lot of difference.

Oh, and I also want to get some speakers that 'will just fit' so that I don't have to cut away or modify the car and I can also return to standard should I ever wish to do so.

So, any recommendation please?

Thanks in advance.

[VR4Kaos]

rainbow's or genesis mate bit more than £100 think i paid £150 for my rainbows conponants for the front and £180 for my genesis gsp-1685 in the rears but the sound out of em is gawjus and money well spent

[wintertidenz]

Rainbow, Focal, Vifa, Orion... there are a lot of choices out there, it's best to go to a few stores where they have the higher end stuff and ask if you can play a CD or two so you can find the speakers that you like the best :)

[Gly]

bang for buck, powerbass http://www.powerbassusa.com/

these were highly rated as a GOOD CHEAP (by the users of nzice) option back when i was into audio,
3-4 years ago, they performed very well for the money you paid,

im still running the same PBX components(up front) and 2-ways(in the rear) i was 4 years ago.

i listen to a variety of music, and cant really fault them, only cost me $150nz(ish) for each pair

[Atik]

Rainbow, Focal, Vifa, Orion... there are a lot of choices out there, it's best to go to a few stores where they have the higher end stuff and ask if you can play a CD or two so you can find the speakers that you like the best :)
Thats true, but you will also find, that stores have test setups out in open air shop floor settings. The enclosed cabin in a car will make the exact same speakers sound totally different.

I am no audio boffin, but I'd suggest that for non-audiophiles, just an uprated speaker setup will give you better sound. As an example, with my current headunit, and when I had stock speakers, I could only turn the volume to about 22 (max 35) before the sound distorted. With the exact same sound settings and uprated FLI speakers, I can get it to about 32-33 before any distortion. I know music isnt just about loudness, but the sound quality is much better and as I have an amp and sub anyway, I've setup the door speakers for more high frequency sounds.

With a £60-70 budget, FLI speakers will do you plenty. If you start to look at the high end component stuff, you need to factor in changing the speaker wiring, amplifiers etc to make the most out of them.

[elnevio]

We really need a Can of Worms smiley! Just the sort of area that can be as subjective as tyres!


I bought a set of four Infinitys for the VR-4 two years ago, for about £110. Still very happy with them now. /yes

[Atik]

Hehe, can of worms smiley :p But yeah, its very subjective.

On Nev's comment, four speakers for £110 sound about right to budget for £60-ish for just the two fronts. Any mid-range brand can be had for that sort of price.

[elnevio]

Actually Wayne, you might want to replace all four anyway (and someone can correct me here if I'm way off the mark), but I think the stock speakers are usually a different impedance to most aftermarket ones, which I guess could cause problems with sound balance, uneven load, etc.?

[andydckent]

Focal ones fitted straight into the plasic holders for the original speakers. Just needed to for new holes for the screws.

[Spirit]

We really need a Can of Worms smiley!

How about this ?

[Turbo_Steve]

when I had stock speakers, I could only turn the volume to about 22 (max 35) before the sound distorted. With the exact same sound settings and uprated FLI speakers, I can get it to about 32-33 before any distortion.

That says more about your headunit than it does the speakers, TBH. Stock speakers have high sensitivity, so will sound louder, and better, for less wattage input. Most aftermarket speakers are actually a lower sensitivity, mainly to make them last longer.


Any speaker setup you buy needs to be components (i.e. tweeter and woofer combo) and without a sub in the car, you're never going to get any low-end bass. If you're into Iron Maiden and GnR or Pearl Jam, this will only show up as the bass drum sounding a bit thin compared to a live gig.

If you're into Rammstein or Evanescence etc then you're missing a lot more.

The difference between £60 and £100 speakers is pronounced, but (as Karl has mentioned) the difference between £60 and £160 speakers is truly Epic.
If you can stretch to the £160, then the Focals truly are something else.

The infinity's are rated highly, and with good reason: I've used these and been very satisfied with their performance for the price. I'd also reccomend Pheonix Gold at the same price.

Neither of these is going to bowl you over with their bass performance, though.

[The Vee]

Using Infinitys myself, have got the addition of the sub, which they do need as per T_S's comments. Overall sound is good - only extra amp is for the sub

[crazydriver81]

Firstly, if you listen to Rock and Metal, I recommend speakers with a hype in the Kick-bass area (60-200Hz). This will give you a bit of punch and gives a good sound experience.

Change only front woofers and keep the tweeters doesn't make sense, because there is no crossover between woofer and tweeter that splits the sound signal from the headunit.

I highly recommend to change front and rear speakers as the sound level will be different and you will most likely shoot your rear speakers in short time due to the different power handling.

My setup is as follows:
- Focal Access 165A1 (front - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/focal-access-165-a1.html)
- Focal Access 165CA1 (rear - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/focal-access-165-ca1.html)

I have silenced the doors with some sound deadening mats. (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/deadening/damping-mats.html) This important because the ratle in the door will leave you with less power from the speakers and a horrible rattle.

In the end of the day, I have a good punch from the speakers, i can turn the volume to max from the headunit w/o bad sound and I do not need a seperate woofer.


I know it's more than you'd like to spend but anything else is a compromise that would not satisfy you, I think.

[White Lightning]

Thanks for all the recommendations guys. I really do like the look of those Focal's, so I guess I need to start saving and see if I can find a local store that stocks them so that I can have a listen :)

[MarkSanne]

I had a Focal compo set in one of my 6G's. As some will know, there's only room for tiny 9/10cm 'woofers' in the front (dashboard). The Focal polyglass 100v2 composet (with dynamat sound deadening) made an incredible difference! I was very, very impressed to get so much sound out of such small speakers. They cost a bit, but worth every penny IMO!

I have sets of Hertz HSK 165 compo's in both the front door sets of the VR2 and the Legnum + Legnum rear doors (also recommended with dynamat/sound deadening material).

[Turbo_Steve]

What's all this "blowing the rear speakers" talk? When you fit your new cones, with their superior power handling, and massively reduced sensitivity, then you'll be fading it forward (as the rears will be deafeningly loud in comparison).

If you can find me a set of door speakers that respond well at 60Hz without compromising the rest of the frequency range for less than £300, please post up their infinite baffle frequency response curve, the make and model so that I can go and buy several pairs!

You can change the door speakers without changing the tweeters, as the woofer naturally rolls off at at the frequencies where the factory tweeter is crossed over (it's an inline capacitive crossover on the factory tweeter). However this is non-ideal as you're not matching crossover points as you would with a properly matched set of components and crossover. The other issue is that the factory tweeters are likely to be more responsive than the new setup (higher sensitivity) so will dominate the sound.

I would like to find a 3-way setup - 165mm woofer, 9cm mid and tweeter combo - ideal for cars like the RVR and the Evo.

[wintertidenz]

If you do want more bass in the doors, then you are going to need to seal up all the access holes and do the outside skin of the door with Dynamat. This makes a HUGE difference in bass response, as it is actually a semi-sealed enclosure rather than open.


The Focals are great, however I found the tweeters to be slightly harsh, but that is probably due to the way I have my tweeters set up.

Definitely change the fronts all at once, the stock tweeters will be getting a bit old too and the components sound best as a set anyway.

Rear speakers - no real need to bother, if you have a good front stage then the rears are just used as backfill for the rear passengers. Just get some cheaper speakers and chuck them in the rear, maybe some Pioneer 2-ways?

Sub - if you have good front speakers that are amplified and you have sealed the access points in the door/Dynamatted, then the sub will add the lower frequencies to give the kick. A good 10" sub will give you fast response in a sealed enclosure, and have enough low-end to give a real nice kick :) some low-profile 8's under the seat would be even better, but they just won't have that true low-end hitting bass.


TS - you would love the set I have in my closet then :) 8" woofer, 4" mids and 1" tweets. Haven't used them though!

[Johny]

the factory speakers in my galant were rated at 5 watts lol

[scottie2hotti]

Is it easy enough to get the door cards off to get to the speakers? or can you just get the grills off some how. i really hav'nt had a decent look and its all locked up in my garage ages from where i live. (really just 150m but hey)

[Turbo_Steve]

Door cards off and mounting "cups" come out. It's best to retain the mounting cups for your new speakers.

Tweeter crossover is an inline single order capacitive one - basic but effective.

Winter - yes please! And you are entirely correct. Wayne - it's probably an extra £25 for some dynamat sheets to go behind the speakers, but they will make a huge huge difference!

[scottie2hotti]

are they just a couple of screws and them clips all around? is it 6.5"s all round + 1" tweeters?

[Turbo_Steve]

Yup. And Yup. And please feel free to use the search function :)

[miller]

would dynamat make a big difference all on its own! This is something even i am capable of!

[White Lightning]

Thanks chaps. I am sold on the Focals (and the dynamat) for the fronts, just need to see if I can find a local place to have a listen before I consider parting with the hard earned ...

(I also need to decide whether or not I am following closely in Mike's footsteps before spending the hard earned ...!)

[Turbo_Steve]

DynaMat makes a difference, but you have to use it intelligently. Or just use it everywhere and end up with a car 6 tonnes heavier :)


Lining the inside and outside of the doors makes an epic difference to the bass response, and quietens the car down. It also makes your door slam nicer :)

It doesn't add too much weight either.

For truly ultimate results you need to remove the carpet and deaden some of the floorpan, but this is getting pretty hardcore. The difference is equally as epic, though.

[wintertidenz]

Another advantage of the Dynamat is that it seems to make the door less susceptible to dents :D

I would suggest doing the tailgate if you have a sub, and particularly the front doors. I wouldn't worry about the back doors as the speakers in there are just for the annoying people that want to be carted around everywhere :D

An easier way to deaden the floorpan is to put rubber mats under the floor carpet. This will help with the sound, and not add as much weight either.

[Turbo_Steve]

Ohh does that work?


Tailgate doesn't seem to bad on mine with the sub, dude, but then mine is just loud, and not "Epicly loud"

[White Lightning]

I wouldn't worry about the back doors as the speakers in there are just for the annoying people that want to be carted around everywhere :D

Unless you have a saloon of course, where the rear speakers are behind the rear seats, in the rear window/parcel shelf area.