[sirflinty]

Hi all,

My sound system is a uconnect satnav model, that came with a 10 inch kicker sub in the boot. While the sound quality is good, I just replaced it with a 400watt comp series kicker sub, with a 400watt soundstream amp. The bass is now alright, but the midrange sound needs improving. I have some nice Alpine 5 x 7 speakers I could fit in to the parcel shelf, replacing the factory 6 x 9 's. Won't cost me anything, and might also get a small treble improvement by doing so aswell.
Does anyone know if this will be ok to do, or cause any issues with the uconnect voice guidance, or factory amp or anything? Thankyou

 

[MADDOG]

What model Alpines do you have or do you have the specs on these (xx watts RMS @ xx ohms) which will determine if they will work OK with the stock amp. If they draw more power (lower ohms) the stock amp may be at risk.

Most of your treble and mid-bass comes from the dash speakers and door speakers respectively. The rear is mostly fill but improvement in this area can be heard.

I'd suggest you consider doing the front speakers as well as time and funds permit.

 

[Cool_V_300C]

What Maddog said.

Fortunately, both the boston and kicker amps in our cars is optimized for a 2 Ohm speaker.

I don't recall any Alpine 2 Ohm models, but it's been a while. Only thing I would caution is to make sure you use a spacer the creates a seal when you mount the 5x7s, otherwise you may gain treble and lose the midbass you have.

I think you'll find a better improvement also by upgrading the dash 3.5s. That should help your highs.

 

[sirflinty]

Thanks for the responses, the alpine are 300watt (75watt rms), 2 way with adjustable 1 inch tweeters. 4 ohms. Do you think they could go in the parcel shelf?

 

[MADDOG]

Yes, those will work. Not an optimum setup but they will work.

 

[sirflinty]

I just identified another set of speakers I have from my old car. I also have some Pioneer TS-C1625 splits that I could use. They are 220w max, 60w nominal, 4 ohms. 16cm (6 1/2inch) woofers, 27mm (1 1/8) tweeters. Do you think these might suit the factory wiring, and amp if I put them in the 6x9 holes with spacers? Would that damage the amp? Can anyone recommend quality tweeter models to replace the factory ones?

 

[MADDOG]

You will have to solder some connections for those, or the Alpines, to make the connections + clip the stock connectors off the factory wiring. But that's the case with almost any aftermarket speaker out there with the exception of the MOPAR Accessory Kicker replacements.

I really got a nice boost in highs with some Infinity Kappy 3.5" speakers in the dash location.

The stock amp will drive the Pioneers a bit better than the Alpines.

 

[Cool_V_300C]

You can skip the cutting part if you get the following adapters:

metra 71-050 front door/rear deck
metra 71-039 front dash

With those you just plug and play. No cutting necessary. Plug the factory harness into the adapter and slip the spade connector onto the speaker terminal. No muss, no fuss.

So you'd need the 71-050 for you planned upgrade to the rear deck speakers.

If/when you get new 3.5s for the dash, you'd use 71-039.

 

[jaminmon]

MADDOG - don't forget to tell him to remove the center dash speaker if there is one as it really does help with the separation of the music. I just did this after replacing the dash 3.5's as he is suggesting and the difference is really noticeable after each of these changes. Good luck and enjoy.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

[MADDOG]

Yeah, that is true, jaminmon. That center channel speaker tends to muddy up good stereo separation. It's been sooo long since my car even had one I had forgotten that!

 

[sirflinty]

Perhaps it is my model (2011 SRT8), but I can choose either surround or stereo sound. I have also found the centre speaker (surround sound mode) to be not suitable/as good for music. So I just choose stereo mode (which keeps the rear speakers on - it must be four channel stereo). It appears that infinity 3.5 speakers are too hard to get in Australia. I have found Rockford p132 20w, JBL gto329 25w, and Italian Hertz dcx87.3 30w rms. any advice on these? I might try the stock factory amp, and if not good I might get my pioneer 4 x 50 rms amp installed. Although hoping to not need it.

 

[Cool_V_300C]

The jbl's may be the closest to optimal because of impedence you need. The only question is height meaning clearance between the tweeter and the grille.

I'd suggest trying the jbl's. You shouldn't need an aftermarket amp for them.

Edit: If you choose to add your pioneer, it opens up many other options as well. We have advice for this as well. You'd need a good LOC to get the signal to the pioneer, but there are many options for that.

 

[sirflinty]

What's a LOC?

 

[MADDOG]

LOC = Line Out Converter

When I upgraded to an aftermarket amp and speakers, I used an AudioControl LC6i LOC.

The unit is used to provide the RCA connections needed to integrate an aftermarket amp. Here's an explanation:

Line Output Converters

 

[errubi]

Hi all! Following you guys posts , especially Maddog and CoolV300.. . I started with replacing the dash speakers, I put in Infinity 3032cf.. The improvement in highs is great , But a bit too "hissy"? Or bright ? In the highs .... Is this normal or maybe an issue with the new speakers ? Thank you

 

[MADDOG]

I believe those 2 ohm tweeters have what they call the "edge driven" textile dome so I expect they will be a bit "bright". They may settle in a bit but I doubt very much they will totally mellow out.

Some of the CF line have a tweeter level adjustment located on the front of the speaker and can be set at the reference level of 0dB. If the speakers are located low in the doors or if you are looking for a brighter sound you would set the switch to +3dB. Check and see if you have this feature and check the setting.

In my case it didn't matter what tweeter was placed in the dash. They all sounded too bright and a bit harsh. Then I realized why...they are bouncing the sound off the glass windshield. That's gotta scatter some electrons and break up a coherent sound wave a bit. I moved my tweeters to the upper door panel and am very happy with the result.

 

[TheKrell]

I put in Infinity 3032cf.. The improvement in highs is great , But a bit too "hissy"? Or bright ? In the highs .... Is this normal or maybe an issue with the new speakers?

I thought those speakers were discontinued! Anyhow, I put a pair of Infinity Reference X REF-3002cfx (the 3032cf replacement?) in my 300, and at least in my base model 300, it was way too bright. Even the midrange was too loud. I attribute this to the greater efficiency as compared to the stock 3.5" speakers. I fixed this by using our super deluxe 3-band graphic equalizer. I lowered both the midrange and highs considerably. Now it's fairly well balanced.

 

[Cool_V_300C]

Part of the reason for the brightness has to do with the reflection off the windshield as Maddog suggested. I noticed the angle of the windshield is different between the 1st and 2nd gen cars, but not enough to have a significant effect on the treble.

One thing you have to do as Krell suggested is adjust the car's tone controls. Remember, the stock speakers have NO tweeter, so the system is calibrated to compensate for this, so you would have to cut the mids/highs since the replacement is a true full range speaker with a much higher sensitivity.

 

[Cool_V_300C]

I believe those 2 ohm tweeters have what they call the "edge driven" textile dome so I expect they will be a bit "bright". They may settle in a bit but I doubt very much they will totally mellow out.

Some of the CF line have a tweeter level adjustment located on the front of the speaker and can be set at the reference level of 0dB. If the speakers are located low in the doors or if you are looking for a brighter sound you would set the switch to +3dB. Check and see if you have this feature and check the setting.

In my case it didn't matter what tweeter was placed in the dash. They all sounded too bright and a bit harsh. Then I realized why...they are bouncing the sound off the glass windshield. That's gotta scatter some electrons and break up a coherent sound wave a bit. I moved my tweeters to the upper door panel and am very happy with the result.

Very true, but the textile dome is still less bright than the metal domes. I wouldn't expect them to mellow out. Unfortunately the 3.5 inch CF doesn't have the tweeter level adjustment. I would have been helpful.

I put my tweeters where the dash speakers mounted, but I had them on a metal strap that allowed me to play with the angle a bit and use the slope of the windshield to my advantage.

 

[MADDOG]

Yeah...I had those Infinity tweets in my dash and they were wayyy too bright. When I went to the Hertz units it was just as bad but then I decided to move them, resolving that issue.