Speaker size
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Hi, neighbor. I live "just down the road" from you in Canton.
The fronts are 6.5" and the rear are 4". Infinity and Sony X-plod are the ones I've heard of most often.
I used Infinity and they did a pretty fair job, probably as good as you can get with a speaker upgrade alone, but to really do it right you probably need a head unit and a subwoofer.
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Chuck
The fronts are 6.5" and the rear are 4". Infinity and Sony X-plod are the ones I've heard of most often.
I used Infinity and they did a pretty fair job, probably as good as you can get with a speaker upgrade alone, but to really do it right you probably need a head unit and a subwoofer.
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Chuck
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Keep in mind when you shop that there are no guarantees that all 6.5" and 4" speakers will fit. Though they should be standard enough to fit the mounting holes, some could be too deep, or have tweeters that stick out too much. Make sure you can return whatever you buy, or be prepared to do some minor/major cutting or drilling to get a proper fit. Crutchfield has a nice utility to see what fits in your car, but there are a lot of good brands they don't carry that may also work well.
I had some Infinity component speakers in a previous vehicle and they were very good. I put some Sony X-Plods (see previous thread this forum) in the doors of my Odyssey. They're a nice improvement from factory, but certainly nowhere near as good as some of the more expensive brands.
[This message has been edited by caviller (edited 02-20-2001).]
I had some Infinity component speakers in a previous vehicle and they were very good. I put some Sony X-Plods (see previous thread this forum) in the doors of my Odyssey. They're a nice improvement from factory, but certainly nowhere near as good as some of the more expensive brands.
[This message has been edited by caviller (edited 02-20-2001).]
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I have to revise my statement on the bang-for-the-buck I got from replacing the speakers in my Ody.
When I first installed the Infinitys, I adjusted the tweeters in the door speakers so they pointed toward the dash thinking it would help spread the highs around a little instead of being soaked up in the side of our legs.
I've been fairly happy with the results, but they were a little ho-hum. I just figured that was the best I was going to get without a head unit or sub.
Well, today I popped the grilles off and rotated the tweeters so they were pointed as directly as possible towards me and the passenger.
I just took a little drive for the first time since I made the changes, and wow, what a difference in integration of the whole presentation and soundstage. Much better highs and separation.
It's still not a concert hall, but now I'm really convinced it was worth the effort and expense to upgrade the speakers.
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Chuck
[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 02-20-2001).]
When I first installed the Infinitys, I adjusted the tweeters in the door speakers so they pointed toward the dash thinking it would help spread the highs around a little instead of being soaked up in the side of our legs.
I've been fairly happy with the results, but they were a little ho-hum. I just figured that was the best I was going to get without a head unit or sub.
Well, today I popped the grilles off and rotated the tweeters so they were pointed as directly as possible towards me and the passenger.
I just took a little drive for the first time since I made the changes, and wow, what a difference in integration of the whole presentation and soundstage. Much better highs and separation.
It's still not a concert hall, but now I'm really convinced it was worth the effort and expense to upgrade the speakers.
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Chuck
[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 02-20-2001).]
Chuck!, I recognized your user name from the Yahoo Ody Club. By the way, nice pics of your ody!
I went to Circuit City and the sales person wanted to sale me a pair of Polks 5 1/2 at $90 pair installed. I'm not familar with what are good speakers so I'm doing my research. So far, most people are recommending the Sony X-plod or Infinity.
What is the difference between the cloth and rubber surround material?
I went to Circuit City and the sales person wanted to sale me a pair of Polks 5 1/2 at $90 pair installed. I'm not familar with what are good speakers so I'm doing my research. So far, most people are recommending the Sony X-plod or Infinity.
What is the difference between the cloth and rubber surround material?
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Foam, cloth and rubber are the most common. "Audiophile" speakers will usually have a well-attached rubber surround. For those applications, I think the emphasis is on material properties like mechanical compliance, which is presumably better sonically. In a car door, rubber will probably last a bit longer and take more abuse.
In reality, I doubt the difference is really all that much. I generally try to avoid speakers with cheap construction for car use where you get extreme temps, splashing water and humidity. That usually means avoiding untreated paper cones or untreated cloth surrounds. I also prefer a true dome tweeter (mylar, aluminum, titanium, etc). These are generally have better dispersion so you dont have to be right on axis of the tweeter to hear it. Whizzer cones, paper film and metal film tweeters generally sound inferior.
Just my preferences, of course, speakers are mostly personal preference anyway.
Sthack,
You might also want to check the sensitivity level of those Polks as well as the size that they are trying to sell you. Sensitive speakers can have more efficient output with less power supplied to them. 90db to 93db is common, the higher the number, the more sensitive they are. I'm sure the Polks are good speakers but I think they are overpriced at that store. I've always been happy with Infinity speakers.
Those Sony's will probably do the job just fine. I believe that speaker placement and aiming is very important. Chuck described his experience with it in his post. You'd probably get the best improvement in sound by adding tweeters to the dash if you don't already have them and spend a little less money on the door speakers.
This site might have some inexpensive speakers/tweeters that may work.
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=18
You might also want to check the sensitivity level of those Polks as well as the size that they are trying to sell you. Sensitive speakers can have more efficient output with less power supplied to them. 90db to 93db is common, the higher the number, the more sensitive they are. I'm sure the Polks are good speakers but I think they are overpriced at that store. I've always been happy with Infinity speakers.
Those Sony's will probably do the job just fine. I believe that speaker placement and aiming is very important. Chuck described his experience with it in his post. You'd probably get the best improvement in sound by adding tweeters to the dash if you don't already have them and spend a little less money on the door speakers.
This site might have some inexpensive speakers/tweeters that may work.
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=18
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Thanx for the kind words.
I dealt with Circuit City and they were very helpful, taking back and exchanging, etc., but I did the installs myself.
The Infinitys I used were a little on the high side at about $90 or so, but they were the highest sensitivity level I could find (at 93dB) and I'm VERY happy with the results. They perform quite well within the limitations of the stock head unit. BTW, they also add a rotatable tweeter for the 6.5 inch door speakers and much better, tighter bass than stock.
Caviller is right, I wouldn't worry about surround material, all else being equal.
One minor thing about the Infinitys, you either have to space them out a little bit, or cut the rain shield in the door to get them to fit flush. It's not really much trouble, and well worth it. Just cut a spacer out of 1/8' plywood if you are reluctant to cut the rainshield.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
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Chuck
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1,640 Posts
Note that for woofers, the rated sensitivity spec is pretty worthless to judge the amount of bass you'd get below 150 Hz or so. To get the true efficiency and sound pressure level limits, you need to know the box size and parameters. Some rated with high sensitivity will have poor efficiency in an enclosure size/type they weren't optimized for. Really requires software, and I think partexpress has a free program for it, too.
Midranges and tweeters should be closer to the rated tho.
I put a set of Infinity Reference 652i 6.5 inch speakers in the doors of my 01 EX. Total installation time was about 30-40 minutes. The speakers came with an adapter ring that mates them very well with the 3-bolt pattern in the Ody door. The only "hacking" needed was to take out the two plastic "locating pins" and cut out the plastic that is behind the OEM speakers. The pins go down easy with a sharp chisel and the plastic behind the speaker magnet is easily snipped with a wire cutter or equivalent. The plastic behind the OEM speakers may seem like a good idea to Honda (drip guard) but it is not really what you want behind a speaker anyway. All it can do is cause sound reflections and cause low/midrange frequency distortion.
The Results:
For the price ($100 including the wiring adapters) the upgrade is a good start. The tweeters on the Infinities are direction-adjustable which is nice since the passenger and driver's side tweeters do need to be aimed differently. The over all sound is still a little lacking in midrange and to "bright" for me. There is also some muddiness in the bass. The van still needs a subwoofer for any really tight bass. My plans are to put some sort of subwoofer in later.(possibly the Kelton...anyone heard it ??)
One interesting point about the Infinity speakers. As a DIY home theater/stereo speaker builder I was pleased to find the quality of the Infinity speakers to be pretty tolerable for "car audio" stuff. Car stereo stuff is usually really overpriced crap that is sold to unsuspecting kids :mad
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compared to the quality/price of speaker drivers available for home speakers) The Reference 652i's are still overpriced for what they really but the value (quality divided by price) is OK for car stuff. But the really nice thing is that the tweeter wiring is separate from the woofer. The tweeters wiring runs through the magnet pole-vent. Why this is nice is because it is easy to add a good quality crossover to these speakers without awkward re-wiring. For a few bucks of capacitors and inductors these speaker will sound even better. Once I get a sub I will probably block 80Hz and below from the doors and attenuate the tweeters a bit. Also, chuck those cheap OEM tweeter capacitors and put in some good Polypropylene capacitors. Ok Ok I’ve ranted enough but hopefully someone was interested in the story of how easily the 652I’s go in !!
Adobeman
01 GG EX
The Results:
For the price ($100 including the wiring adapters) the upgrade is a good start. The tweeters on the Infinities are direction-adjustable which is nice since the passenger and driver's side tweeters do need to be aimed differently. The over all sound is still a little lacking in midrange and to "bright" for me. There is also some muddiness in the bass. The van still needs a subwoofer for any really tight bass. My plans are to put some sort of subwoofer in later.(possibly the Kelton...anyone heard it ??)
One interesting point about the Infinity speakers. As a DIY home theater/stereo speaker builder I was pleased to find the quality of the Infinity speakers to be pretty tolerable for "car audio" stuff. Car stereo stuff is usually really overpriced crap that is sold to unsuspecting kids :mad
Adobeman
01 GG EX
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Poor Man's subwoofer-
I am waiting to hear about the Honda Kelton sub. In the mean time, I decided to resurrect an old sub I made. Actually, it's a very nice 12" auto sub I built 7 or 8 years ago for a previous car. Unfortunately, all the electronics went with the car.
Well, I picked up a generic amp on ubid.com last week. A Phase Linear (actually built by Jensen I think) PL300 amp that has a built-in crossover, high level inputs and is bridgeable to 200W RMS into a single driver. All for $19. I figured it may not be the greatest, but all I have to do is mount it to my box. I already have nearby access to the accessory power outlet and high level inputs from the rear speakers, so installation should be a snap. Should also be easy to add/remove from the cargo well as needed. I'll be limited to 10 Amps with the power outlet, but I don't see that as a problem, since it's already overkill for my usual subject material which is news radio and Barney...
It will be interesting to see how it works once I get around to it.
I am waiting to hear about the Honda Kelton sub. In the mean time, I decided to resurrect an old sub I made. Actually, it's a very nice 12" auto sub I built 7 or 8 years ago for a previous car. Unfortunately, all the electronics went with the car.
Well, I picked up a generic amp on ubid.com last week. A Phase Linear (actually built by Jensen I think) PL300 amp that has a built-in crossover, high level inputs and is bridgeable to 200W RMS into a single driver. All for $19. I figured it may not be the greatest, but all I have to do is mount it to my box. I already have nearby access to the accessory power outlet and high level inputs from the rear speakers, so installation should be a snap. Should also be easy to add/remove from the cargo well as needed. I'll be limited to 10 Amps with the power outlet, but I don't see that as a problem, since it's already overkill for my usual subject material which is news radio and Barney...
It will be interesting to see how it works once I get around to it.
When I upgraded the speakers over a year ago, the Crutchfield salesman recommended and sold me the Polk 5-1/4's for the front, and Blaupunkt 4's for the rear. The Polk's sound pretty good, but since I haven't heard the Sonys or Infinitys I don't know how they compare. The Blaupunkts don't sound so great, the volome is much lower in the rear, but I doubt any 4" speaker will sound very good in that location without doung some kind of enclosure modification.
I just picked up a couple of pairs of these component Blaupunkts.bobf58 said:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-WKGjUxKgYbL/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=023TSC540&search=tsc540
Has anyone ever tried them? Crutchfield has them for 59/pair and throw in the adapter ring for the front and the interface cables. I have not seen any reviews on these and was curious how they sound in an Ody.
I just installed these in the wifes 02 Ody. I was able to mount the tweeters onto the grilles front and back so they are flush mounted. I would have rather installed a 6 1/2" speaker but Crutchfield has the 02 as a 1999 in their db and dont show the 6 1/2. I went ahead and mounted these anyways and they do need a sub (we have the kelton under the driver seat) and I am very pleased with the clarity it has added. I disconnected the dash-stock tweeters. I got them for 49.95 a pair and would recommend them if you want to mount seperates in an older Ody.CMasten said:
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Ok. I was readingt this and thinking about changing my speakers.
I just installed a kenwood Bluetooth usb cd receiver.
I was pretty impressed with the improvement, but I wanted to change out the rear speakers. For some depth to the sound experience.
when I installed the head of plug some RCA cables and length and the amplifier remote wire so that I could install a sub woofer without removing the unit again.
I'm looking at the wires and my power inverter and a lightbulb went on.
Why not use the powered sub that I have for my computer.
I don't want to shake the license plate,
I just want a fuller sound.
So I did it and it sounds darn good.
I turned the bass down on the head unit and the mid and treble up.
The sub sits between the seats and is about the size of a boot box.
Sound great!! especially since I did it with stuff laying around the house
I just installed a kenwood Bluetooth usb cd receiver.
I was pretty impressed with the improvement, but I wanted to change out the rear speakers. For some depth to the sound experience.
when I installed the head of plug some RCA cables and length and the amplifier remote wire so that I could install a sub woofer without removing the unit again.
I'm looking at the wires and my power inverter and a lightbulb went on.
Why not use the powered sub that I have for my computer.
I don't want to shake the license plate,
I just want a fuller sound.
So I did it and it sounds darn good.
I turned the bass down on the head unit and the mid and treble up.
The sub sits between the seats and is about the size of a boot box.
Sound great!! especially since I did it with stuff laying around the house
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