upgrading speakers

[acrbill]

I made a thread awhile back asking about stereo upgrades to my base car.
Since then I have traded up to a premium with Shaker 500.

I love the functionality of the Shaker but it still sounds terrible.

For now I just want to upgrade the front speakers.

I was reading that you can fit 6.5" speakers in the factory spot with an adapter but using a coaxial speaker may lead to interference with the door panel because the adapter brings the speaker out further.

I have my eye on Alpine SPS-610C speakers which have the separate tweeter.

Here are my questions.

I took a quick look at my car and two spots stood out at me for tweeter locations. I am definitely the type of person who does not want to cut a hole into something that is not easily and cheaply replaced.

spot 1 is the power window switch panel. There is plenty of room there and the panel is probably cheap enough to replace if need be.

spot 2 is the a pillar. They would have to face the windshield but they would pretty much be invisible and I would not be concerned about leaving them there when I sell the car.

Or should I just go with a pair of speakers that will fit in the stock hole and not mess around.

From all the reading I have done it seems that speakers will improve the Shaker 500 but ultimately the headunit sucks. Replacing the headunit is not an option since I like the functionality.

Let me know what you guys think and if you have upgraded just the speakers let me know your combo and how you like it.

 

[Ray Lucca]

Click on Crutchfield, punch in your car and get lots of options. I did and bought the Polks for the F+R, for $ 200.00. I have much better, clearer, sound.

 

[Humboldt1498]

Check Amazon.com for speakers. They show fitment by car and are way cheaper then crutchfield. I upgraded my front speakers for under $50.

 

[Erich]

Is there a difference between the shaker 1000 and shaker 500-other than the subs and their amp?
I think the shaker 1000 sounds good but I would not mind more tweeter.
Erich

 

[acrbill]

I think its just the subs.

I bought my car off the lot and wish it had the Shaker 1000 instead of the ugly 19" wheels it came with.

 

[Strpperpolef150]

The a pillar is a great location for imaging in these cars.

Here are some pictures of my pillars

You can get good adapters here: http://car-speaker-adapters.com/items.php?id=SAK006
If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[acrbill]

Whats the deal with those tweeters? I was just thinking of flush mounting them so they faced the windshield.

 

[acrbill]

So I went ahead and bought those Alpines, the plate and wiring adapter. I was just looking at the door and I may just drill a hole in the grill area of the door.

 

[Strpperpolef150]

Whats the deal with those tweeters? I was just thinking of flush mounting them so they faced the windshield.

The tweeters are HiVi TN28 tweeters and come as a pod. I wanted them facing that way for imaging purposes. HiVi TN28 Fabric Dome Tweeter 297-409

You can flush mount them but that would require cutting a big whole. Another thing you can do is go to a hardware store and get 1 1/2" pvc pipe ends to use as pods. I tested out another pair of tweeters in these and it worked out well.

So I went ahead and bought those Alpines, the plate and wiring adapter. I was just looking at the door and I may just drill a hole in the grill area of the door.

You could do that but I don't see it looking that great.

 

[TheVikingRL]

Shaker 1000 is a waste of money for the quality of bass it actually produces. You could do WAY better for less with an amp and the JL stealthbox (or whatever they call it). I have this setup in my Dodge Ram and it produces much tighter and powerful bass off a single 10" sub.

I replaced the door speakers with JL C5-570x. They are much more acoustic but imaging is decidedly off center. Also a bit of a hassle finding space/mount for the crossover. Not sure what the preferred options are for tweeters but I'd agree the pillars are a good start.

Door subs are much bigger hassle with the 1.2 ohm dual vc subs and amp combo. Easy enough to replace everything but trying to keep the stock speaker grill (for a stealth look) won't be much fun. Still working on a good plan here.

 

[TheVikingRL]

I was just looking at the door and I may just drill a hole in the grill area of the door

Don't do that, you could easily fab up a mounting plate in the stock location for the woofer and tweeter and accomplish the same thing without drilling the door panel.

 

[five0three]

anyone done the jl cleansweep on one of these yet?

 

[Tispho]

I drilled a hole in the door, where the speaker grill is. I have no regrets.

 

[kyoshosp2]

Anybody know the speaker sizes front and rear on a base car??? Cause shops I contacted haven't done one and to busy to look for me. I know ford door panels suck the more u take them off and on so I wanna do it once lol I have a 4 channel amp . Need speakers the factory suck

 

[Laztug]

My shaker 500 sounds amazing....i do not know what you are talking about. :bored:

If you are serious about sound and really want an upgrade over stock, replace stock speakers with infinity kappas and run them off an aftermarket amp. They offer loud crisp clear sound. powered by an after market amp, you can customize the sound to your liking without having to change out the factory HU
If you enjoy lows, you can pick up a sub.
I would suggest a 10" /12" RE sex.
They sound amazing in sealed or ported applications.


The piece missing to the shaker 500 is the low end bass. The mids / highs are amazing for a stock setup.:rockon:

 

[acrbill]

stocks are 5x7 or 6x8 all around. Tispho, they look good in that spot. I will eye ball them on the pillar and see what they look like and then make a decision. I could put them on the adapter plate but would that degrade the sounds vs. putting them closer to ear level?

 

[TheVikingRL]

would that degrade the sounds vs. putting them closer to ear level?

All depends on the particular speakers. Some tweeters sound good on axis while others will sound shrill/harsh and are better mounted off axis to the listening position. Best thing to do is wire them up and try a few locations before permanently mounting them.

Also try to listen for the best imaging. In general you want the singer's voice in front of you (instruments will be in various locations) and not sound like it's coming directly from the speaker. Unfortunately tweeter setup won't always correct bad imaging but doesn't hurt to try.

 

[acrbill]

I just did some reading online and it seems as if mounting them on the adapter next to the woofer is the best bet.

 

[GTtoSVT]

I replaced my door speakers with some kicker kr68 speakers and it made a pretty significant difference. I am very happy and I have the shaker 500 system.

-Brian

 

[08geetee500]

I changed out my front speakers with a pair of JL Audio C2-570x's. The sound difference was night and day.
I was so disappointed with the muddy sound quality of the stock speakers in the shaker 500. Once I installed the JL's that all changed. It's not the best stereo, but for a stock unit it sounds so much better, which is good enough for me.
At a minimum, this upgrade should be on everyone's to do list for the interior. Those stock speakers are a joke.