[ZoomeeMagoomee]

Hi-

I have an 07 3s touring sedan and I want to replace the front speakers. I plan on installing a Pioneer Premiere 780mp as well. I want to keep the stock front tweeters as is, and use them with the replacement speakers, so it is important that the stock tweets and replacement speaker compliment each other so that I don't have a huge bump at 6khz for example(although I will have graphic EQ ability). I also plan on installing a sub, so more than likely I will be engaging a HP filter on the fronts probably at around 85 hz, so bass response from the fronts is not crucial. I am also looking for a speaker that will fit perfectly into the existing speaker mounts so that I don't need to cut anything away etc... Last, I am not looking to spend an arm and a leg. I know it's a tall order but are there any audiphiles on this board that have done this?

Ideas?

One more thing, if anyone can point me to the specs for the stock speakers and tweeters(including crossover points used) it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[skunk2]

why stick with the stock tweeters? if you buy a decent component set it will come with a tweeter better than the oem one. are you amping the fronts? how much power would you have available? how much do you want to spend?

 

[ZoomeeMagoomee]

[quote author=skunk2 link=topic=70605.msg1235765#msg1235765 date=1172585951]
why stick with the stock tweeters? if you buy a decent component set it will come with a tweeter better than the oem one. are you amping the fronts? how much power would you have available? how much do you want to spend?
[/quote]

Not replacing the tweets comes down to not wanting to spend a lot of money and not wanting to spend a lot of time doing this upgrade. It makes sense to replace the front tweets with a matched set of drivers. If replacing the tweets is easy, especially when I'm already inside the doors, I might change my mind. As for power, the deck has a MOSFET 50W x 4, and I don't plan on amping the fronts. I will be running a powered SUB in the rear. Next, I am not against replacing the tweets, but at the same time I know that with the deck(built in LPFs/HPFS, and 16 band graphic) and sub I have, I know I can make this system sound killer without replacing tweets. As for how much I want to spend, $150 tops. And no I don't mind ebay... to me speaker warranties are useless unless DOA, or unless you're a clown about how you treat them. Btw, I could give a crap what the speaker looks like or what it's made of. It's all about fidelity for me. I am looking for speakers that have smooth response and don't need a shitload of notching with the EQ. Please help. Thanks!

 

[skunk2]

you will not get full potential of this without an amp but it is a good start http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/product_info.php?t=2&products_id=49

 

[ZoomeeMagoomee]

[quote author=skunk2 link=topic=70605.msg1235847#msg1235847 date=1172588954]
you will not get full potential of this without an amp but it is a good start http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/product_info.php?t=2&products_id=49
[/quote]

Are these vehicle specific? I am definitely looking for a set of speakers that are made to fit right in with absolutely NO mods. Thanks!

 

[skunk2]

you'll just need to make an adapter, i believe you can buy those if you are not able to make them yourself. i can't suggest anything that will drop right in as I don't have any experience with those, a lot of folks on this boards have used direct replacements as well so somebody else can chime in for those.

 

[jomo]

Your best sounding front components will not fit in without any mods as they will be round speakers.

Saving the tweeter is a bad idea as the tweeter should be matched to the mid driver. The stock tweeter also has a simple capacitor (6 dB per octave) crossed at very high frequency which won't sound good with just about anything you try to match it with.

The HU you are looking at would output ~20W @ 1% distortion so keep this in mind. You can blow a tweeter much easier with underpowered amps (from distortion).

If you don't play too loud, I would recommend CDT for the price and sound quality you are looking for. I have CDT CL-61A components running off the Mazda HU amp (17W @ 1%) and the sound is a big step in the right direction (after some burn in). They were $99 from woofersetc.com as they were supplied when I ordered the CL-S60 speakers. Of course, you need to make a oval to round template to install.

 

[ZoomeeMagoomee]

[quote author=jomo link=topic=70605.msg1235988#msg1235988 date=1172592028]
Your best sounding front components will not fit in without any mods as they will be round speakers.

Saving the tweeter is a bad idea as the tweeter should be matched to the mid driver. The stock tweeter also has a simple capacitor (6 dB per octave) crossed at very high frequency which won't sound good with just about anything you try to match it with.

The HU you are looking at would output ~20W @ 1% distortion so keep this in mind. You can blow a tweeter much easier with underpowered amps (from distortion).

If you don't play too loud, I would recommend CDT for the price and sound quality you are looking for. I have CDT CL-61A components running off the Mazda HU amp (17W @ 1%) and the sound is a big step in the right direction (after some burn in). They were $99 from woofersetc.com as they were supplied when I ordered the CL-S60 speakers. Of course, you need to make a oval to round template to install.
[/quote]

Thank you. Aside from the template, did you have to make any other mods to fit these speakers? What about the tweeters? Any mods needed there? As for the HU, I'm not worried about blowing the stock tweets with it. I had this deck in another car and rarely cranked it up past it's 80% point...and this HU was in a Protege. Stupidly loud is not my thing. Anyway, it's looking more and more like I should save the speaker replacement for later, after I have installed the HU, the steering wheel audio control interface, and sub, which I'll be doing Saturday.

 

[ZoomeeMagoomee]

Here's another question to run by you guys. Now I do know why you would want round speakers over oval speakers(physical design of oval is not condusive to the best audio), but I am not experienced enough in the car realm to understand how big of a difference this makes. I mean, what's wrong with going with a speaker like the Infinity Reference 6810cs for example? WOuldn't this still be a marked improvement over stock?

 

[skunk2]

audition a few speakers in a big box store so you can hear for yourself. then pick what you like.

 

[jomo]

[quote author=ZoomeeMagoomee link=topic=70605.msg1236048#msg1236048 date=1172593651]Aside from the template, did you have to make any other mods to fit these speakers? What about the tweeters? Any mods needed there? As for the HU, I'm not worried about blowing the stock tweets with it. I had this deck in another car and rarely cranked it up past it's 80% point...and this HU was in a Protege. Stupidly loud is not my thing. Anyway, it's looking more and more like I should save the speaker replacement for later, after I have installed the HU, the steering wheel audio control interface, and sub, which I'll be doing Saturday.
[/quote]

The template is about 75% of the work. As long as you get a 24-26mm tweeter, it should fit nicely in the stock location. You just use a little hot glue to secure it as shown in Vaboom's install. He installs CDT's in his write-up and the components I mention above use the same process. The only thing I found to be clumsy is screwing the new, round speaker to the template. I sort of glued speed nuts on the back of the template such that the screws would hold solid, but there should be a better way. I think for the money, you should be happy. Be forewarned that they need about 10 hours of break-in before they loosen up....

With regard to round vs. oval, there are a couple things that benefit the round speaker. Reduced stress in the cone which reduces distortion and can improve detail. An oval speaker does not distribute the force from the voice coil as evenly and can breakup earlier than a round cone. Another advantage of a round cone is better sound dispersion. This can enhance imaging. The only reason why you see oval speakers in cars is for space, not SQ.

 

[Rdk87]

As a completely off topic, I LOVE MY STOCK SPEAKERS they SOUND AMAZING, just put the Auto Amp to 3 and turn the bass to 3 and OMGOSH They sound wicked and can shake my entire car and sound great.

 

[turmionkatilot88]

Another set of speakers that will rock your socks off are these Kenwoods. they will fit in the front and the back doors http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=016&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=260089141856&rd=1&rd=1

 

[geewhizbang]

You have to replace the stock tweeter. It is part of the problem in the OEM system since it is much less efficient than the OEM speaker or almost anything else you would want to put in there. Of course, the other major problems are the utterly awful stock speaker and the buzzy metal frame of the doors which needs a liberal application of rubber damping material.

I vote for Focal 165A Access components, about $220. The Focals have really good bass response, even with the stock head unit. If this is too expensive for you, stick to speakers with really good efficiency and you can just barely get away without replacing the HU, but the Focals have sophisticated lightweight fiberglass cones that go down to at least 65 hz in the Mazda 3 doors. Most cheaper speakers roll off around 80 hz or more.

The very cheapest upgrade worth the money would cost at least $160 including the damping sheets (there is little point in replacing the speakers unless you get the buzzing solved). This assumes you would do the work yourself. It isn't really difficult, you just have to disassemble the door panels. I do recommend spending more than this. Just another $100 for the Focal components (or something else in the same class) gives a really superb result.

 

[geewhizbang]

Since the previous post mentioned the back doors, I have my usual recommendation for the rear speakers:
Turn them off!

They are totally unnecessary. Don't waste yer money.

 

[ZoomeeMagoomee]

[quote author=geewhizbang link=topic=70605.msg1239453#msg1239453 date=1172697105]
Since the previous post mentioned the back doors, I have my usual recommendation for the rear speakers:
Turn them off!

They are totally unnecessary. Don't waste yer money.
[/quote]

I appreciate all the advice...and I'm sure that the Focals sound great, but at the same time I am sure that I can get a great sounding speaker for less. $220 is out of my league, and while getting 65hz out of the doors would be nice, it won't be necessary once I put in the SUB. I run a HPF on my fronts at 80hz anyway when I have a SUB installed, because most door speakers run more efficiently when they aren't being overburdened by low end. I'm sure that you can spend a lot of money on speakers that can handle anything, but my gig is all about getting the most out of low-mid priced stuff. For now I am going to replace the factory HU and install a SUB this weekend and see where I'm at.

Interesting thing is I saw your previous posts in other threads about turning the rear speakers off, and I'd have to say that I agree with you. With my Pioneer Premiere, which has Time Alignment/the ability to move the tailor the stereo mix to any particular passenger in the vehicle, I usually set it to "FRONT", or to the driver's seat only when I'm alone....which is similar to what you are talking about with having all the sound up front.

 

[defski2004]

if you are not going to amp the front I wouldnt bother replacing them at all, you wont get the full benefit out of any replacement unless they are blown just put in the sub and call it a day. another idea since car audio is so cheap these days is to do a decent 4 channel and run half to the sub and half to new fronts. this would give you better sound quality. In that case Id reccomend any decent set of components less than 200 easy to find infinity, polk something like that. The pioneer is a good deck. I have an older 7000 series one with the 4 channel mtx amp polk ex comps up front . rears set as midbass uning the pionner fie function.and a bazooka 8" rs series sub. It rocks. If you do decide to replace them I have a few extra sets of DEI neo 5x7 components sitting around i never used id sell pretty cheap.

 

[plazma]

I would never do just front speakers... you dont get a full sound out of the system.. if you say the backs dont make a difference, then you havent set the system up from the get go... stop buying those shitty Kenwoods and Sony speakers.. get a decent pair that adds to the full spectrum of sound. Unless you are just going for a bass buggy.... 2000 watts in the rear and 50watts in the front... which is totally ghetto.
Hell, getting the cheapest entry level JL Audios would sound better than a set of Kenwoods.

Dont know why you are in a rush to get through an install of speakers... even a set of Pioneer Premier speakers wouldnt be too bad, the ones with the yellow cones.

Look at TC sounds for a sub.. they have them on sale right now at their website. beefy ass subs for half the price of what the big boys want.

 

[ZoomeeMagoomee]

[quote author=defski2004 link=topic=70605.msg1240271#msg1240271 date=1172720348]
if you are not going to amp the front I wouldnt bother replacing them at all, you wont get the full benefit out of any replacement unless they are blown just put in the sub and call it a day. [/quote]

If "full" benefit means having the ability to crank my stereo to 130db then you're right, I'll never get the full benefit out of a replacement. The fact is I don't need a new amp. The amp in the Premiere is clean, plenty loud for me, and the D/A convertors they use in their decks are the best in the business. I don't need volume, I need fidelity.

 

[plazma]

[quote author=ZoomeeMagoomee link=topic=70605.msg1241037#msg1241037 date=1172759470]
[quote author=defski2004 link=topic=70605.msg1240271#msg1240271 date=1172720348]
if you are not going to amp the front I wouldnt bother replacing them at all, you wont get the full benefit out of any replacement unless they are blown just put in the sub and call it a day. [/quote]

If "full" benefit means having the ability to crank my stereo to 130db then you're right, I'll never get the full benefit out of a replacement. The fact is I don't need a new amp. The amp in the Premiere is clean, plenty loud for me, and the D/A convertors they use in their decks are the best in the business. I don't need volume, I need fidelity.
[/quote]

You dont make sense at all... you say you want fidelity but you are thinking ghetto in the way you are wanting to set up your system.. like keeping the stock tweeters, i wouldnt even consider that at all... good tweeters play a pivtol role in how a system sounds from clarity to imaging.

Just do the system right the first time instead of doing some back alley ghetto special.