Aftermarket Speakers???

And theres two 5 1/4 speakers ,,,they both have tweeters that are seperate...you could order component speakers but unless you have a high dollar head unit i doubt you'll hear the difference.

So I only have to buy 1 pair of 5 1/4's? By component, that means that they have the tweeter built in, like the ones I'm looking at right now? Also, installation is free so I will buy from bestbuy.

TonySmooth89 wrote:

And theres two 5 1/4 speakers ,,,they both have tweeters that are seperate...you could order component speakers but unless you have a high dollar head unit i doubt you'll hear the difference.

I swapped in coaxial 5.25 speakers up front, just inexpensive Pioneers from Walmart. Nothing fancy, but they sound much better than stock. Haven't looked into anything for the back yet. While the system could be much better, it actually is adequate for my needs and tastes.

IBx1 wrote:

So I only have to buy 1 pair of 5 1/4's? By component, that means that they have the tweeter built in, like the ones I'm looking at right now? Also, installation is free so I will buy from bestbuy.

No, component means separate unattached tweeters. Buy the combo style with the tweeter in the middle. Direct bolt in. You need 1 pair of speakers.

I don't need those, all I need to know is whether or not I need an amp. If I do, then I'll just deal with the OEM system until I can sum up some more money. If not, I'm not the one installing it anyway, so GeekSquad or whoever Best Buy uses will take care of it.

All I need to know is can I put those speakers in without an amp!

After looking around, I found I can save more than $100 on amazon.com, so I will buy there and have geeksquad or a professional audio store install them for around $80.

Yes, your choices should fit just fine. You can't know for sure until you put them in. Sometimes you need to drill a few holes, or there is a depth issue, but it can be made to work.

I would not use the OEM tweeter along with the 5 1/4" you buy, just use the 5 1/4".

Whether or not you do an amp depends on the speakers, and how loud you listen. It's up to you.

Good luck getting an installer to put in your own gear. I would think they would only offer install services with purchases from their store. You might find someone if you call around. Good luck.

Thanks, I think GS will do it on their own. I can always go back and put in an amp later if it's not loud enough, although I don't think that'll be a problem.

One last thing, how do I, or how do I tell them to, go about disconnecting the factory tweeter?

Just say to leave the tweeters mounted, but disconnect them. Send full range signal to the new drivers.

And a tip: remove the grills yourself before you take the car in.

If you use the Infinity Reference coaxials, you might get away with no amp. Otherwise, you'll probably need some added power. The stock head is weak, but the Infinity Refs are very efficient.

Great to hear about the Infinity's, I chose them because of the tweeter.

To sum it up, I'm getting one pair of these:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000MPDSBQ/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

And a pair of the Infinity 6x9's which have 2 tweeters, EACH. That's a 3-way 6x9.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000MPFJPY/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A2XRTPWXY8OB9E&v=glance

Also, how do I get the grille off?

With the door open, pull up and out on the bottom of the plastic. The lower part will pop free. Very gently work the other tabs loose until the entire panel comes off. You may need to rotate it slightly.

Try not to remove them all the time, and when installing, make sure all the tabs are lined up in the right holes. It simply pops on the same way it came off.

Yeah you should be happy with the infinitis...they sound great in my car...though it really makes you want an aftermarket head unit...bass is solid but not phenomenal... thats the same setup i got in my riv and i'm pretty happy. Volume is good but not great... i have a $150 sony unit that i'm waiting to install once i get the adapter to get the steering wheel controls to function with it.

If I keep the stock radio the way it is, should I run all four speakers off the amp, or just the 6x9's? Thanks!

Choice C... Run the front door speakers off the amp, not the 6x9"s.

And the stock radio will send enough power to the 6x9's? That's not a bad idea, except the car will have to be torn apart to wire it up that way.

Wouldn't be any more torn up than if you wired all 4 speakers to the amp.

If you really like music, resist the temptation to amplify the rears. When you listen to music at home, or at a concert, do you sit in the chair facing backwards?

Good point. I'll call up GS and see if they'll cover any damage that they do to the car. If they say they don't, then I'll look for other places that do. You know of any?

No, sorry I don't know of many good installers.

Car stereo install is one of those services where you have to be careful. A lot of installers out there are guys who took a tech course for certification, probably because A) they were obsessed with car stereos, as many Gen-Xers (myself included) were in the '80s/90s, or B) they needed a way to make money in a short period of time. A lot of younger installers I feel fall under B.

Problem is, even though these guys may know a lot about how amps and speakers work, they don't always understand cars, and they don't see any problem with taking shortcuts as long as everything works. Time is money. Doesn't mean your installation will work a year from now...

This is why I only do this kind of work myself. I have a friend who is a professional installer. I've used his help before, and I recommend him to some, but I don't let him do major work on my car. You have to find someone who demonstrates attention to detail, and most of the time that's you. I do think there are some good installers out there. Most of them are the older guys who truly loved the car stereo game when it was big 10-20 years ago. If you can't find someone like this, and you can't do it yourself, I'd use as large a company as possible. More likely that a large retail chain will help you if something goes wrong.

installing speakers is a cake walk.......... plus did you decide on a amp or not??? i would say just upgrade speakers you'll be VERY satisfied........... seriously tho i changed all mine out in lest than an hour..... BUT my subwoofers took 4 hours becuase i had no idea what i was doing......... Thankfully our batteries are in our backseats......... save yourself the installation money and do it yourself and then you can spend a little more on something else

You can remove the factory connectors from the old factory speakers and attach them to the new ones - then your speaker will plug right up to your wiring harnes & you don't have to cut up the harness wires. Then if you change aftermarket speakers, just move the connectors to the new speakers. That's what I did when I installed the Pioneer 4-ways in the back of my Riv. Use a dry cell (like a "D" battery) to make sure the polarity on the new speakers is same as old. Do this by connecting the battery to the speaker; the speaker cone will move one direction or the other, and pay attention to which terminal you connect the "+" to that makes the cone move out from the speaker frame. Connect the new speaker so the cone moves the same way when the connector is installed and you test it with the battery. Reason for this is that the physical orientation of the terminals on the new speaker may not be the same as that on the ones currently installed.

Albertj

I did the same way as Albert, using the factory connector, and I also used the factory wiring through the door. Then I tapped in under the dash and feed the long speaker wire runs to my amp in the trunk.

Using the 1.5v battery (can also use a C or AA) test, the cone will move out when positive side of battery is on the positive speaker terminal, and in when reversed. Better to know the correct polarity for sure than to trust they hooked it up right at the factory.

Here's the amp. I decided to get a powerful, 2 way amp over the 4 way I decided on before, because I'm only going to hook up the front 5 1/4" speakers. http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-GM5300T-2-Channel-760-Watt-Stereos/dp/B000LYCWME/ref=pd_bxgy__text_b?ie=UTF8&m=A3LJ5WMKNRFKQS


Anyway, the thing is I'd try and do it myself, but if something goes wrong I have to pay for it. Instead, if something goes wrong while a big store is working on it, they have to pay for it, and not me. I'm having trouble getting through to my local GS's auto audio dept. for now, but I gotta check how long their work is warranted for, and if they'll fix anything they break during installation.

IBx1 wrote:

Here's the amp. I decided to get a powerful, 2 way amp over the 4 way I decided on before, because I'm only going to hook up the front 5 1/4" speakers. http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-GM5300T-2-Channel-760-Watt-Stereos/dp/B000LYCWME/ref=pd_bxgy__text_b?ie=UTF8&m=A3LJ5WMKNRFKQS


.

Peak Music Power - 760-Watts
4 Ohm 125 Watts x 2 Output Power
4 Ohm Bridged 380 Watts x 1 Output Power
2 Ohm 190 Watts x 2 Output Power
(Im assuming all RMS)

ok, so 125watts each to the front speakers?! OVERKILL! You need maybe 50 watts RMS. Even bad ass aftermarket 6x9's dont need 125rms. That would be a good bass amp, for a solo sub.


i disagree with AA on ONLY amping the fronts.

ideally, every speaker in your car should be amped. You need a 4 channel amp, so you can turn the power down on the 6x9's so they dont overpower the front speakers.

if you only run the 6x9's off the head unit, their volume will suck, their quality will suck, and your bass will be severly limited. This will be even more obvious when the front speakers are booming away. The head unit cant push much of any speaker well, without distorting it. And we all know what distortion does to speakers.

even crappy paper stock speakers can surprise you if you tune them right...proper power, propery frequency range via a crossover, and proper mounting. Those variables are only managable via an aftermarket amp.

First instincts are usually best. I'm going back to this amp: http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-GM4300F-4-Channel-400-Watt-Stereos/dp/B000LYCWM4/ref=pd_bxgy__text_b?ie=UTF8&m=A3LJ5WMKNRFKQS

It's a 4 X 50, which you said should be fine. 400 watts are plenty for my Infinity speakers, right?

IBx1 wrote:

Great to hear about the Infinity's, I chose them because of the tweeter.

To sum it up, I'm getting one pair of these:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000MPDSBQ/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

And a pair of the Infinity 6x9's which have 2 tweeters, EACH. That's a 3-way 6x9.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000MPFJPY/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A2XRTPWXY8OB9E&v=glance

Also, how do I get the grille off?

I just installed a set of 6.5" 6022i speakers into my sons 96' Ford F-150 doors and they sounded damm good. I liked the adjustable tweeters as well. He has them powered by a Pioneer DEH-P6600. You can't go wrong for the price.