[doughboyr6]

I know this forum is already littered with newbies asking questions, but i've searched and searched for 2 days on the internet without and success.

I'm completely new to caraudio and would not call myself an audiophile. I'm simply looking for an affordable upgrade from stock (No more than $500CDN for all speakers). I will not be adding amps/subs in the future. I just want a better quality/cleaner sound with a bit more bass.

With that said, i like to stick with quality brands as i love my car and don't want to put poor quality components in it. I understand even within a big brand name, there are several trim levels.

I'm new to this board. I drive a 2005 Mazda3 sedan. Recently a car audio store had its boxing day sale and i acted spontaneously and purchased 2 sets of speakers (front/back)

All this happened so fast that i didn't even get the chance to do my research before hand, the store owner advised me that i can buy them and have a 100% refund policy if i find that i don't like them before installing.

Stock OEM speaker size are 6x8" for front/back door and tweeters in the pillar (i have the S model)

I was sold (as this was what he had on sale/stock) 6.5" Component fronts and 5.25" 2-Way Coaxial in the rear.

I was sold MTX TX6001 thunder axe separates for the front

http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/speakers/separates.cfm

and MTX TDX5202 thunder dome-axials for the rear

http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/speakers/dome_axials.cfm


What my concern is, are these good speakers? I tried researching on the internet about these speakers and found very few consumer reviews/ratings on them. I know MTX is a reputable brand for amps/subs, but how are their speakers? Am i being sold and made to believe these are good as that is what the store had on sale? The backs are smaller than the fronts, is that ok? i've read the rears are just fillers.

I don't mind spending a little bit more for something better...but again, i don't want to get such nice high end speakers that i can't power off the stock HU and i don't want to add an amp.

I got all 4 speakers + adapters for $290CDN with install, so for that price have i gotten a good deal?

I've been also looking at MB Quart (Reference/Premium) and Infinity (Kappa), but not sure if i'd need an amp to power those.

Please suggest any other brands, I know a lot seem to like the Pioneer Rev series, but i'm not particular to pioneer products.

Thanx for you help.

 

[geewhizbang]

I got some mtx speakers on ebay at a huge discount, but I never installed them after I pretested them in a cardboard box with my home stereo driving them.

They were extremely bad, far worse than the $20 Pyle 4" 2-way coaxials I'd bought a few months ago for a friend's car. The main problem was that they had way too much midrange.

If you can, take yours back. There are lots of good speakers out there, but these are not one of them.

I have some Focal Access 165A 6.5" speakers. Mine are sufficiently efficient that I can just barely get away with not adding additional amplification or replacing the head unit.

I only replaced the fronts btw, and turned off the rears. If you can, it is really less expensive to go to a good stereo store that lets you listen to the speakers first. Paying list price is less expensive than getting stuck with bad speakers. With shipping, you are oinly going to save at most $40 on good speakers, which cost at least $200 anyway. And you don't have to wait a week when you buy them retail.

I will be adding a 12" sub today hopefully.

 

[doughboyr6]

thanx for your words...

just to be clear, i did buy mine locally from a car audio store because you referenced to buying online...

but i will rethink my purchase.

this was their boxing day blowout.....i got the 5.25 for $90(CANADIAN $) tax in including install and the 6.25 components for $180ish (CANADIAN $) tax in including install....so i thought that was decent pricing.

i'll try going to another car stereo store.

i tend to favor brands that specialize in one field/industry....ie. mb quart only make speakers i think, as well as polk audio, infinity...unlike sony who's making everything and some more...

QUESTION:
would i lose some base in my rears compared to my stock size as it is smaller? or the fact it is a better quality speaker offset that?

 

[doughboyr6]

PLEASE READ THIS AND OFFER HELP IF YOU CAN..

i just stumbled upon this thread from my local car forum today.

Installed new 6.5 inch speaker - sounds worse? - TorontoMazda3

and this person bought a pair of clarion speakers from the same vendor as i and after installation, he noticed the sound was of poorer quality than the stock speakers.

now its really worrying me that this vendor might of just sold us whatever he had in stock and not really take note of the compatibility with our stock HU.

I know nothing about peak power RMS and stuff. (and i did try to read the FAQ, but i didn't understand it, and i couldn't find the factory specs).

Will these speakers be ok for my factory HU? I don't want to be adding an amp or sub or changing my HU.

here are the link to the specs of the MTX, i got the 6001 components and 5202 coaxial.

MTX Thunder Separates

MTX Thunder Dome-Axials



Thank You in advance.

 

[operator]

As was posted on the other site. I would reccommend an amp if you want to run those speakers. Why are you against putting an amp in the car? If your just doing an amp you can do really good stealth jobs with it. Do you still have the option of a return?

 

[doughboyr6]

[quote author=Operator link=topic=65727.msg1127171#msg1127171 date=1167588427]
As was posted on the other site. I would reccommend an amp if you want to run those speakers. Why are you against putting an amp in the car? If your just doing an amp you can do really good stealth jobs with it. Do you still have the option of a return?
[/quote]

i just don't want to spend anymore $ on the audio components....i'm not that big of an audiophile and i thought the change in speakers alone should do the trick...but i guess i'm wrong....i'm more against adding a sub more so than an amp...but mainly because i need all the useable space i have...

i still have the option to return...you think these speakers are no good?

 

[operator]

I think you can do better for the around the same price. But I'd really suggest adding a amp you can do it and keep your space.

 

[geewhizbang]

Save some money, just replace the front speakers. Turn off the rear speakers (just fade them out) they are not necessary at all. You don't need 4 speakers in a home stereo, and it doesn't change in a car.

I think the only reason why 4 speakers got popular in cars was early car speakers had rather low output. You needed 4 speakers just to get enough volume. That is not the case with any decent component speaker. You will get plenty of sound and a more accurate stereo image from just two speakers.

That will free up some money to buy some decent components. Your $500 budget doesn't allow enough for a sub, so you may as well buy an ok two-channel sub amp (about $90 including shipping) and some good components, about $180-250. That would leave about $200 to install this, or if you are doing this yourself, you would be money ahead.

If you still want a sub, I have a bazooka tube sub that I'll sell the first taker for $50. It cost about 200 new. It would cost about $30 to ship. But it is pretty close to why bother, so I am not exactly serious about this, even though I would be glad to be rid of it.

 

[doughboyr6]

[quote author=Operator link=topic=65727.msg1127198#msg1127198 date=1167590375]
I think you can do better for the around the same price. But I'd really suggest adding a amp you can do it and keep your space.
[/quote]

really? i thought those prices were really good....just so we are clear

this was their boxing day blowout.....i got the 5.25" for $90(CANADIAN $) tax in including install and the 6.25" components for $180ish (CANADIAN $) tax in including install....so i thought that was decent pricing.

i'll go back to the store and see how much an amp would cost....

 

[operator]

I'm just not crazy about MTX speakers. But to make this clear that's just my opinion. If you don't mind ebay you can find alot of other options. Or I can give you various online stores.

 

[doughboyr6]

if i decide to get an amp...

would a 2 channel be ok? just to power these 4 speakers? no subs

i was thinking about this one

http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/amplifiers/TC2002.cfm

as its cheap....

 

[operator]

Yes you could get that amp and just power the front 2 with it or you could get a 4 chanel and power all four. Some peolpe say you can do without amping your rears some say you can do without them completly. I'm not one of them. I've got a 4 channel amp amping all 4 of my speakers. Everyone has their own opinion. Once again though any reason you looked at an MTX amp. Are you getting special deals on them?

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=40202.0

 

[wanta3]

Just to reinforce what other said, I also briefly owned a set of MTX separates which I returned after doing a temporary setup. I also listened so some similarly priced Clarions among others on trip to Tweeter -- I thought they were the worst sounding speakers I'd ever heard, and not just because I was comparing them to JL, Focal and Boston sets, of which I liked the Boston z6 the best

The Infinity Kappas seem well liked but I didn't care for them.

I did score a pair of MB Quart 5x7s at a flea market for $30 that aren't bad -- I'll probably move them to the back when/if I get something really good for the front

 

[doughboyr6]

[quote author=Operator link=topic=65727.msg1127791#msg1127791 date=1167620800]
Yes you could get that amp and just power the front 2 with it or you could get a 4 chanel and power all four. Some peolpe say you can do without amping your rears some say you can do without them completly. I'm not one of them. I've got a 4 channel amp amping all 4 of my speakers. Everyone has their own opinion. Once again though any reason you looked at an MTX amp. Are you getting special deals on them?

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=40202.0
[/quote]

like i mentioned before, i'm tend to prefer brands that are known in a specialized field. like for example, i dont generally like sony products because they spread their research/development in so many areas from TVs, to Cameras, to Car Audio....etc. I know my argument is unfounded but its just a preference of mine.

And i know MTX does strictly audio also....as well as some other brands....like infinity/boston accoustics...etc.

i don't get any special deals for hookups, but i also like to keep brands the same for all parts, its another weird quirk of mine.

if i had found some other type of speakers first other than the MTX, i probably would've went that route and got everything of that brand...only problem is, i have no idea how to install these components and when i found those prices (MTX) included installation, that seemed like a good deal to me, so i jumped on it and went with MTX.

 

[operator]

Infinity does speakers and amps.
Same with JL Audio
Same with Elemental Designs
Same with Alpine
Just giving you options.

 

[doughboyr6]

thanx...

i was just looking at that on my 2nd browser...i was looking at an all PG set up....the prices i found on ebay are cheaper than my MTX stuff...

i know PG is a well known brand for amps, how are their speakers?

 

[operator]

Can't say I know any one with PG comps. The brands I listed are known good quality both amps and speakers wise. Did you check out that link I posted?

 

[doughboyr6]

[quote author=Operator link=topic=65727.msg1128011#msg1128011 date=1167667856]
Can't say I know any one with PG comps. The brands I listed are known good quality both amps and speakers wise. Did you check out that link I posted?
[/quote]

yes, i've had a look at the FAQ before i even made this thread....it didn't answer some of the questions i had previously...but still a very good read....some of it was too technical for me to understand.

 

[operator]

Check here for the Infinity Reference Series under car audio and then check out their speakers and amps. And then check ebay to see if your getting a good deal.

 

[doughboyr6]

wow, i've been warned about buying from ebay as no warranties and busted parts....but prices are cheap...

i can get the infinity kappa series for less than my MTX....

this again is very tempting, but bare in mind that i can't install these items and if i buy separately and have them installed, it would probably end up costing more, especially now that i have to buy an amp too....

its new yrs, i'll give them a call tomorrow and see what they say