I purchased an A/D/S 345cs component set new for my last vehicle but never got around to installing them. They are 5.25" though (2.38" depth)...would you all just use a spacer/adapter for these and call it a day - or should I really try and sell them for something with an exact fit (6.5")?

Some say there will be very little improvement in overall sound/output with upgrading from 5.25" to 6.5" (I do have a sub), but what do you all think? Also, is it out of the question to run these off the stock Navi without a separate amp for a while until I can get something nice?

A few specs:

• Power handling: 20-100 watts
• Woofer depth: 2.38"
• Frequency response: 60-20kHz
• Tweeter 25mm polymer-damped silk
• Cone material: aluminum
• Sensitivity: 90db

Thanks for your input.

 

I dont think using 6.5" speakers will make much of a difference over your 5.25" speakers. You might hear a little more midbass but I doubt it would be much. I had the 320is seperates back in the day and I loved the tweeters on them.
Im not sure how much power the stock deck puts out but you'll hear a big difference when you upgrade to an amp. I was running off deck power for about a week before I installed the amp. Huge difference in sound with the amp!

 

ya i honestly doubt you be able to hear the difference...
just use spacers and you should be fine
sound deaden the door to get more midbass out of it also

 

Thanks for your input. I'm still on the fence on whether or not I'll trade these up for a 6.5" set. I really like that Alpine PDX5! Since it's 5 channel 75x4 + 300x1 = this could run my JL sub plus two or four door speakers, all with a very small form factor hidden under the drivers seat...nice!

Which Rainbow set did you go with again? Do they have massive crossovers like the A/D/S? If so where did your installed mount them? Just seems like a huge pain once you go component......although I suppose you could just back-pull all the new wiring using the existing crap.



This is pretty much to scale, BIG crossover, no?

 

1) Go with 6.5 inch. Noobs need not reply. You will notice the midbass including the typical output increase from 80hz-200hz. If aids in bringing the sub up in the front of the vehicle.
2) the PDX amps sound metallic and almost sterile at the same time because of the D-class design. Go for a Class AB amp.
3) Large crossovers with lots of components can mean the speakers aren't as good as they could have been if developed correctly and need lots of massaging from the components within the crossover. In other cases, it's just because they are some options within the crossover such as attenuation of the output of the tweeter, or a different roll off of the midrange. Bottom line is size isn't everything when it comes to crossovers. Use your best judgement.
4) Going with high quality coax's in the front and rear will yield a better right-left staging for both passengers in the vehicle (less side biasing where you don't hear the opposite side of the vehicle so well).

 

This is what I suspected to be the general consensus, lacking midbass right now with my stock Navi Bass set at -5.....

Thanks for the advice. I'm sure AB would sound superior to a discerning listener, but if I audition a nice D amp and can't hear a difference, I may jump if I can save a lot of money. I need to reevaluate my whole setup to determine what makes the most sense for my future needs. (ex. single 5 channel AB, or two separate amps, one AB, one D etc.) Honestly I usually go with whatever is easiest to install until the audio bug bites again in a few months and I upgrade. Most of my sound equipment at home and in the car mostly consist of a colorful patchwork of equipment I aquire as my budget allows.

One of my buddies is into car audio..he usually drools over anything with a huge crossover; thanks for sharing this info, will make me a better shopper.

Can you elaborate on this a bit? It was my understanding that component set up's are preferred for greatest SQ/output, guess I know little about the high end coax equipment offered. I need to also take into consideration the stock tweeter placement, and be sure anything I upgrade to could accomodate this.

Can you recommend any specific 6.5" sets that seem to stand out as the best bang for the buck? I'll likely need to start out with the fronts only, and unfortunately may need to wait a bit before I give them a seperte amp (if that's even feasable). Anything come to mind that fits this bill? Thanks.

 

Ideally components are usually better than coaxials. There are some coax's out there that are just like their Component counterparts. The biggest deal is "speaker location". When a tweeter gets separated in distance from it's mid-woofer like it does in most cars, you have a number of sound quality issues that begin to happen (phasing, freq rolloff,etc). Without starting a technical brief, lets just leave it at you want to keep the mid and tweet close together for best results for both occupants of the front seats. DO NOT put tweeters up high in the rear doors. I removed my rear door speakers all together. That way the sound stage in the front is at it's best.

I could make some speaker recommendations, but I'm really biased just to warn you. What is your price point?

 

From what I read there are a few component sets which are designed to allow the tweeters to be installed a bit further away than usual (ex. GE Fit - tweeters near windshield on the dash), so any set that can accommodate this would be preferred. I compiled a list of a few popular choices from the Fit forums (see below). I may be more inclined to shop from the mid-budget category below to ensure I get a set which could be comparable to the high dollar stuff.

I'm guessing most of the low budget examples below do not require a separate amp which is appealing at first - but I think it may be time I step up to something of a bit higher quality (mid budget stuff below). The only catch it I would need a processor of some kind to keep my stock Navi (I would rather spend $200 on this than $800-$1200 on a new Navi unit) - plus the cost of a decent amp...but again I am assuming this is all worth it with the sound quality achieved with a mid level component set.

I have seen the Focal 165V1 set recommended many, many times - if this is the best budget set to compare with the big dogs, I may be willing to stretch my budget to accomodate, if not I would like to keep the front set under $200 shipped. If anything below jumps out as the top picks for each catagory, feel free to call em' out and we can narrow this selection down to help future upgraders choose from a "short list" for the best of the best! I'm sure there are a few dark horse candidates I missed, and other stuff, so feel free to add to the list etc.

Low Budget:
Polk Audio db651s (these have integrated tweeters??) $70
Alpine Type SPS600 coaxial $70
Infinity Kappa 62.9is $75

Mid Budget:
Infinity Kappa 60.7cs $138
CDT Audio CL-61A/TW-24 - $149
Elemental Designs e3.65i - $150
RAINBOW SLX 265 DELUXE $179
JL Audio VR600-CSi $180
Focal 165V1 $225

High Budget:
Boston Acoustics Pro60 $330

Processors:
RF 3sixty.1 $215

Spacer:
Metra part # 82-7803

(these are eBay prices NIB shipped)

 

some other brand you might want to look into...
diamond audio
arc audio
hertz

put the 5.25 in a good enclosure and i gurantee you can get the same good midbass from a 6.5 =)

and yes i have seen an enclosure built into the door for speakers
it was pretty bad ass and had tons of midbass

also build your own spacer...it will be better...and sound better than those metra....

 

JL Audio, Hertz, Focal are at the top of the list for me. Rainbow does make some really good stuff, Arc is nice, but only has one model. You don't need to bi-amp the component set. One amp with two channels for those is fine. You could consider a good 4 ch amp with the rear channels being bridged on a sub.
Your Low Budget I would consider No Budget, Mid B is Low B and the $330 price point is where you just get it going.
The RF 360 is not for you. Most installers wouldn't know how to set that up.
Are you keeping the stock Nav, or going aftermarket?

 

I was going to attempt to keep the stock Navi in an effort to expand my budget to allow for more expensive speakers. I figured the 3Sixty.1 was the way to go here...? I am leaning towards JL or Focal. Anyone have experience with the Focal 165V1 vs JL Audio VR600-CSi?

 

after market unit with cheaper speaker > stock unit with expensive speaker

if you get a proessor with an equalizer..you can play with it more.....and have more options....atleast that what i think...makes sense....

 

Those two models are about equal. Good either way.

 

In an ideal situation, you want the two speakers as close as possible. But our cars' interiors are far from ideal. Before my installer installed the rear components, he had me listen to the setup and then slowly faded in the rear speakers (stock). In my opinion, the sound was "fuller" with just a little bit of rear faded in. Its not much, and on my deck I think its only two "clicks" but it made a difference.
It sounds like you disagree with the placement of my rear tweeters but it really was the best place. The Rainbow tweeters arent very "bright" so the high location doesnt make it seem like the sound is coming from the back. The soundstage is clearly in the front. Im not sure but I think the Focal tweeters are metal dome tweeters which are very bright. Putting those in the high location probably wont sound good. Too much highs coming from the rear will ruin the soundstage. The Focals were on my short list of speakers when I auditioned both. There was actually a very good sounding Pioneer model but I went with the Rainbows. I never would have thought Pioneer made good speakers.
Again this is just my opinion and everybody likes different sounds. What sounds good to me may not sound good to others.