# Which company makes the best car speakers?



## basketball

I am curious to know which company you guys think make the best car speakers weather it be speakers bought as an option on youre new car or aftermarket ones bought on youre used car. 
  I know Audi has a $6000 Harmon/Kardon option. 
   
  What do you guys thin of:
  -mark leveinson
  -bose
  -Harmon/Kardon
  -JBL
   
  Or any other!


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## Swatcsi

Audi, also has a Bang & Olufsen option, which I'm sure is also good.
  Quote: 





basketball said:


> I am curious to know which company you guys think make the best car speakers weather it be speakers bought as an option on youre new car or aftermarket ones bought on youre used car.
> I know Audi has a $6000 Harmon/Kardon option.
> 
> What do you guys thin of:
> ...


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## basketball

I wonder how good those are then


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## Swatcsi

Well, I can tell you this... In my dad's car, he has Harmon Kardons. I honestly think they are god awful treble is so recessed, in my car I have Bose speakers, and I think they sound much better to my ears. I tried fiddling with the treble and bass options in both cars, and my car speaker sounds better. Either way they both don't really sound that good since its car speakers haha, its all the glass, and reflection that make cars a less than ideal listening enviornment.


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## roosta

car audio is a strange one, and one that people constantly do wrong. there are 4 main things to consider in car audio. quality speakers, quality amplification, quality source, and quality acoustic treatment, and its that last one people _always _ignore or forget, but its _the_ most important. 
   
  car audio is a crash course in diminishing returns. if you just replace the speakers, anything over $150 is pretty much wasted money. above that you will get a different sound, but not much improvement. add a subwoofer and you will get the low end response production cars struggle with, but will sound detached from the rest of the sound ie you will hear the music played by the spears and the music played by the subwoofer, not one nice even sound. 
  if you replace the head unit (the thing with the CD player and volume dial on it) _and _the speakers, you get another improvement, generally in clarity and dynamic range. more money = more features and slight increase in clarity. 
  if you add an amplifier, you get clearer sound, more dynamic range, and more volume (if thats your thing). more money, better sound, but the returns diminishes rapidly. 
  add acoustic dampening and you will get a whole new level of performance. your $150 speakers will sound better than $1000 speakers in a non treated car, clarity will increase no end, and your driving pleasure increases hugely because it feels like a luxury car, no matter what heap of junk you drive. the music will no longer be playing over the road noise, it will have replaced it. details previously lost in the background noise will become audible and enjoyable.  
   
   
  with the acoustics of a car. just like home audio, you can have the best speakers in the world but if your speaker enclosures are like shoeboxes or tin cans they will sound terrible. so dynamat/similar should be used and all sheet metal areas (floors, doors, boot/trunk lid, roof, firewall, footwells) then over that some "decoupling foam" then a layer of mass loaded vinyl (MLV) to dampen exterior noises, vibrations, rattles, and most important resonance. the dynamat adds mass to reduce the resonance of the metal panels, the mass loaded vinyl absorbs sound waves and the decoupling foam prevents transmission of vibration between the layers, absorbing the energy. also sandwiching some dynamat and foam between the metal body panels the speakers will decouple the speakers from the metal panels. 
  here is probably the most concise explanation of what the three main components of automotive sound deadening do, and also how to keep the costs down. (he calls dynamat by its proper name, constrained layer dampening or CLD)
http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi
   
  if you have never been in a properly sound deadened car you will probably not understand why it is worth the huge expense, but seriously, a well sound deadened car - no matter what car it is - Will instantly feel like a Bentley. once a car is deadened the sky is your limit to how good you want the sound to become. suddenly the rules of diminishing returns have gone from $150 to $1,500. any improvement is easy to hear and appreciate and you will really enjoy driving a quiet car. 
   
  generally for top quality you want to sound deaden, change head unit for a pioneer/kenwood/alpine with 2/3 RCA pre-outs (so you can add 3 amplifers, one for the front speakers, subwoofer and rear speakers (optional)) add a couple of amplifiers (1 2/4 channel amp for the speakers, plus one mono block per subwoofer).
  then change the speakers for something by JL, Focal, DLS, Diamond, Hertz, or Rainbow preferably 3 way component speakers with individual tweeters, midrange and a mid-bass speakers. top end audio installs generally install the midrange and tweeters into the A pillers (windscreen pillars) and/or the dashboard to give a frontal sound stage. the midbass then go in the sides of the footwells or the doors, preferably angled towards the listener. 
  a good install usually uses fibreglass to create custom enclosures for the speakers in the pillars, dash and footwells, then again for the subwoofers in the boot. 
   
   
   
  so, a basic, low effort and good value for money install would be to add dynamat to the doors to reduce resonance (dynamat does NOT block outside noise very well, this is what foam and MLV do), replace the stock speakers with 6.5" 2-way component speakers (tweeter and midrange) made by alpine (not the alpine type R speakers, they are terrible), DLS, Diamond, rainbow, hertz or focal, and replace the head unit with a decent alpine, kenwood or pioneer. keep an eye on sensitivity ratings of speakers as some NEED an amplifier to sound decent, other ones just sound better amped. 
   
  then from there you can add a subwoofer (or two!), amplifers, more sound deadening (floor, trunk, firewall, roof) all to whatever budget you have.
  generally 10" subs give a fast punchy sound, 12" subs a little slower.  ported subwoofers boxes are more efficient than sealed boxes and can produce lower frequencies, but again are slower and less punchy. using 2 subwoofers make them sound more effortless and a cleaner sound, but you lose the use of your boot/trunk. 
  avoid no-brand amplifers, and any amplifer that quotes 1000watts power for a cheap price, they lie! use RMS power quotes NOT the max power quotes, and look at THD values (no more than 1% THD. in car audio THD values are inherently higher than home hifi so less than 0.1% THD are quite rare in anything but top end stuff)
   
   
  hope some of this was useful or interesting.


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## basketball

Quote: 





roosta said:


> car audio is a strange one, and one that people constantly do wrong. there are 4 main things to consider in car audio. quality speakers, quality amplification, quality source, and quality acoustic treatment, and its that last one people _always _ignore or forget, but its _the_ most important.
> 
> car audio is a crash course in diminishing returns. if you just replace the speakers, anything over $150 is pretty much wasted money. above that you will get a different sound, but not much improvement. add a subwoofer and you will get the low end response production cars struggle with, but will sound detached from the rest of the sound ie you will hear the music played by the spears and the music played by the subwoofer, not one nice even sound.
> if you replace the head unit (the thing with the CD player and volume dial on it) _and _the speakers, you get another improvement, generally in clarity and dynamic range. more money = more features and slight increase in clarity.
> ...


 


  Thanks a lot for the info! I will definitely sound deaton my car more


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## music_man

high end cars are already insulated well. albeit usually not with dynamat. i will tell you having owned a lexus and currently owning ml home stuff the lexus system is a joke. as are pretty much all stock systems. even aftermarket systems if you think you can make a car sound like high end home equipment you are wasting your money. if boston still makes the "road" speakers those were good. amazingly bose seems to be the best car audio lol. take that for whatever it's worth. most new high end cars you cannot put in a new system at all/easily. so just get the harmon/ml/els or whatever option and be done. you couldn't do much better in the aftermarket anyways. now, if you want a boom system that is certainly possible haha. don't get me wrong, i have heard nice car systems. not even close to top end home equipment though. personally i feel it is not worth the money.


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## bdub77

^^ It all depends on your priorities.  I commute for 2 hours a day to and from work, and once at work I have the luxury of listening to headphones as I work.  At home I'm typically very busy with my 2 kids (newborn and toddler) and have very little time to listen to music.  So for me, I have higher end car and portable setups, and a more "consumer level" home setup.  That may (probably will) change as my lifestyle changes).
   
  Back to the OP, prepping your car and install is everything!  After that, there's a whole range of choices and opinions, so I won't go into it too much.  I will say that if you can make yourself familiar with crossover design or are building an active system, you might want to look at raw drivers by companies like Seas, Dayton, or Tang Band.  If you're sticking to passive and want an all-in-one component set, check out Morel, Dynaudio, Hybrid Audio, and the other companies mentioned above.
   
  BTW, a great community for car audio is DIYmobileaudio.com.


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## roosta

Quote: 





music_man said:


> high end cars are already insulated well. albeit usually not with dynamat. i will tell you having owned a lexus and currently owning ml home stuff the lexus system is a joke. as are pretty much all stock systems. even aftermarket systems if you think you can make a car sound like high end home equipment you are wasting your money. if boston still makes the "road" speakers those were good. amazingly bose seems to be the best car audio lol. take that for whatever it's worth. most new high end cars you cannot put in a new system at all/easily. so just get the harmon/ml/els or whatever option and be done. you couldn't do much better in the aftermarket anyways. now, if you want a boom system that is certainly possible haha. don't get me wrong, i have heard nice car systems. not even close to top end home equipment though. personally i feel it is not worth the money.


 


  sure if you own a high end car you dont need as much after market sound deadening, to my knowledge lexus, jaguar _some _mercedes and _some _BMW's, have a decent amount of deadening, and removing sound deadening is a big NO-NO, add to it but dont remove it, its too expensive per gain to replace existing deadening. in the UK we drive tin cans with very little sound deadening so we have to do the whole car to get a nice car audio system. sound deadening is most effective in cars which sound loud whilst driving, or theres the classic "slam the door" test. a well deadened door will make a solid "thunk!" whereas a budget door with sound a bit more hollow and metalic. "knock testing" is another way. knock on the doors and panels like you would on a house door, if it sounds hollow it needs more deadening, but if it thunks it should be ok. if it tings you need to make it a priority.


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## basketball

Quote: 





bdub77 said:


> ^^ It all depends on your priorities.  I commute for 2 hours a day to and from work, and once at work I have the luxury of listening to headphones as I work.  At home I'm typically very busy with my 2 kids (newborn and toddler) and have very little time to listen to music.  So for me, I have higher end car and portable setups, and a more "consumer level" home setup.  That may (probably will) change as my lifestyle changes).
> 
> Back to the OP, prepping your car and install is everything!  After that, there's a whole range of choices and opinions, so I won't go into it too much.  I will say that if you can make yourself familiar with crossover design or are building an active system, you might want to look at raw drivers by companies like Seas, Dayton, or Tang Band.  If you're sticking to passive and want an all-in-one component set, check out Morel, Dynaudio, Hybrid Audio, and the other companies mentioned above.
> 
> BTW, a great community for car audio is DIYmobileaudio.com.


 

 I totally agree with you. It all depends on priorities. What model of luxury car do you drive?


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## alv4426

I really like the H/K system in my car. I think its like 10 speakers plus a passive sub all in a small convertible. Its not super loud (not that I want it to be) but clarity is probably the best Ive ever heard in a car and the music doesn't sound like its coming from the bottom corner of your door but from all around. Then again I think it was like a $1800 option at the dealer (I felt like someone walking out of a Bose store with a wave music system and happy about paying $600 for it afterward)


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## Swatcsi

Quote: 





alv4426 said:


> I really like the H/K system in my car. I think its like 10 speakers plus a passive sub all in a small convertible. Its not super loud (not that I want it to be) but clarity is probably the best Ive ever heard in a car and the music doesn't sound like its coming from the bottom corner of your door but from all around. Then again I think it was like a $1800 option at the dealer (I felt like someone walking out of a Bose store with a wave music system and happy about paying $600 for it afterward)


 

 Thats exactly my feeling when paying the money for the media packages and such.


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## IPodPJ

Having previously owned a very expensive car audio system, I can say that in my opinion Dynaudio and Focal make the best car speakers.... Equally good, different flavors.  I went with Dynaudio but if I had it to do over again I'm not sure what I'd choose now.  It all depends what gear your pairing with it, and car audio is a very different arena than home audio.  And there are several car audio speaker product lines from the aforementioned companies.  Focal makes an extremely expensive one, around $6,000 a pair I believe.  The Dynaudio I owned were about $1100 a pair, and this was 12 years ago.


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## bdub77

Quote: 





basketball said:


> I totally agree with you. It all depends on priorities. What model of luxury car do you drive?


 


  Lol, I definitely don't drive a luxury car.  It's a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT with 320 wHP.  It is all about passions and priorities - 2 of mine are audio and cars, why not combine them?


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## Roberacer

Let me start by saying that I work in sound as a record/mix guy. I work with high end audio daily. Over the years I have become so finicky about what I listen to that I actually have pro level studio monitors driven with studio amplification in my living room. Truth I just can't stand to listen to anything on what most people do. I guess it kinda makes me an audio snob. It is not personal!
  
  I came on here to get some opinions on what to put in my Soob (legacy Outback actually). It has to be good or I just won't turn it on! I can't, it drives me insane. To start with I want to respond to the folks who think that car audio can't be good. It is kinda like saying that rock concerts can't sound good. Actually folks you need to know you are absolutely out to lunch (on both accounts)! In fact car systems can sound absolutely breath taking but that only comes by way of knowledge and effort. Audio technology in the last 20 years has grown leaps and bounds. We have a saying. "No it isn't Rocket Science, It's Audio Science" which is equally as intricate. We have technology and applications thereof. Do you realize that some car stereos are coming with fully parametric eq's now? Time correction to compensate for differentials in distance. Active cross over networks! Are you kidding me, it's just a car! Rockford Fosgate bought up one of the top amplifier manufacturers in the biz in order to ad their amplifier technologies to the Rockford car amp aresenal. I am certain that the RF amps are now very detailed sounding in fact probably pretty clinical as Hafler amps had slew rates of up to 150 v/micro second. No, Bryston's only run around 50 and there are only a few manufacturers that have been able to pull of 75. Hafler was very unique in that regard. Their amps literally made us as operators hear every single error we made plain as day. By the way Hafler monitors were also some of the most sought after in the biz so I am certain RF speakers came a long way too. It is a serious biz with much scientific effort behind it. Harman International (Harmon Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Mark Levinson etc) have been putting a huge portion of their absolutely massive (biggest in the sound business) research and development efforts directly into car audio. Both Infinity and JBL make some very interesting products considering their target markets. Look online, they have both really turned heads in that regard. I would doubt they are on the level of what the discussion has been here but they are both impressive non the less I assure you. 
  
  Back to my Subaru. I need to get out of the factory ***** that is currently in it. I haven't had the chance to audition JL Audio C2,C3, C5 -650's or the Focal Access, Performance series (165's) speakers to hedge them against the highest end Infinity (which they should smoke). Some folks are going on about Alpine but I am largely unimpressed. We don't need to go on from there. I don't really want to spend over a grand on speakers for the car but I think I should have reasonable enough budget with that to get something that should approach my Tannoy (dual concentrics) in accuracy and intelligibility. Thoughts on JL Audio, Focal, Polk Audio?


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## Primergy

Canton makes / made (Pullman series) very decent stuff and they do not look like designers were on acid!
 Problem: Hard to find in the US. German Ebay is your best bet.
 For any aftermarket solutions, a car can be challenge to create decent sound, a good equalizer/processor can make a huge difference for little money.


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## ProtegeManiac

Before buying speakers, I'll expound more on the points raised about installation and acoustic treatment. Aside from the latter, which is still a lot more than just putting Dynamat everywhere, you have to work with the speakers to get around the fact that 1) you're not sitting dead center and are too close to one side of speakers and 2) there's a bunch of things - steering wheel, center console, etc - sitting between each speaker.
  
 1) You have to angle the speakers, especially the tweeters (and midrange if it's a 3-way front+sub) to minimize reflections off its dispersion pattern on the windshield while putting the vocals as dead center as possible for both front seats. Fine tuning will be through electronics. Back in the early to mid-2000s there was a local autosound competitor using an Alpine F#1 Status receiver-processor (the one with the control panel that expands to 1.5 DIN when powered up) and $50 woofers and tweeters, and his system, properly installed and electronically tuned, actually won over others with better speakers.
  

  

  

  

  
  


 2) You need to get a receiver or processor with the following features if you really want to fine-tune the system : 3-way (2-way + sub) processing for time alignment and crossovers. Personally, forget the EQ specs, these are the most important. Right now the cheapest is the Pioneer 80PRS at $349; if you don't want to hack up the current styling of integrated audio systems, Alpine has an integration processor (uses speaker-level inputs) with the same features for around $600. The downside is you need to hook up a laptop to tune the settings.
  
 a. 3-way crossover means you can split the sound coming out of it to send a different signal to the tweeters, midwoofer, and sub.
 b. 3-way time alignment will only be really useful if you have a 3-way crossover network. Most receivers only delay Left vs Right and Front vs Sub - what you will need to do is delay the driver side tweeter, driver side midwoofer, passenger side tweeter, passenger side midwoofer, and subwoofer relative to each other. If all of them arrive at your ears at the same time (after installing/angling the drivers properly) then you can position the vocals dead center and have a relatively "normal" soundstage all across the dashboard. On the Toyota Vios/Yaris sedan, the flat, center-mounted hump allows for easier management of reflections off the dash,and I've listened to one car where the drums sound like they're on the hood.


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## PhiYama

I've heard Bang and Olufsen and they can be very sparkly with nice punchy bass. So far my favorite is my M-Audio package that came with some older bmws. Harmon Kardon is a very solid option in my opinion also

Sent from my C6602 using Tapatalk


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## ProtegeManiac

phiyama said:


> I've heard Bang and Olufsen and they can be very sparkly with nice punchy bass. So far my favorite is my M-Audio package that came with some older bmws. Harmon Kardon is a very solid option in my opinion also
> 
> Sent from my C6602 using Tapatalk


 
  
 I'm not really a fan of factory systems, although I have to admit I haven't heard any of the latest luxury cars and I'm hoping to one day listen to the XJ/XF with the B&W system. Past that though I'm kinda biased towards SEAS and Vifa raw drivers, followed by Focal. Hertz isn't bad as well, but compared to the lusher (but not exaggerated) Focals, the Hertz counterparts (the two lowest models anyway) seemed a bit plasticky in the lower mids. I suppose that can be corrected through EQ though.


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## PhiYama

protegemaniac said:


> phiyama said:
> 
> 
> > I've heard Bang and Olufsen and they can be very sparkly with nice punchy bass. So far my favorite is my M-Audio package that came with some older bmws. Harmon Kardon is a very solid option in my opinion also
> ...




Just walk into a Mercedes dealership and ask if they have the 2014 s class in the showroom. The burmeisster sound system in that thing is quite awesome... too bad it's waaayyyy out of my price range

Sent from my C6602 using Tapatalk


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## ProtegeManiac

phiyama said:


> Just walk into a Mercedes dealership and ask if they have the 2014 s class in the showroom. The burmeisster sound system in that thing is quite awesome... too bad it's waaayyyy out of my price range
> 
> Sent from my C6602 using Tapatalk


 
  
 TOTL models tend to not just be on the showroom floor over here. If anyone in the local car audio clubs has one though it's likely they'll bring it to a meet - that's how I got to listen to a lot of good factory systems in the past (in the end, those older ones are only really "good" in the sense that you wouldn't be itching to tear your car apart).
  
 And nearly though, the factory system in the FR-S is actually good, time alignment issues aside. Actually, even the balance control works well enough, and at least the tonality's neutral and treble reflections aren't all over the place.  It could be a bit more lush but I'd guess it has more to do with the receiver than the speakers - my brother just upgraded and he asked me how to get the "old" sound back. I haven't listened to it personally so I can't tell if his upgraded navi system (still a Pioneer) actually sounds worse, or if he really just prefers the "flatter" sound of the original (ie the TOTL receiver might sound a bit too lush or too detailed, which while likely closer to the "true" sound, the old receiver's sound basically worked in concert with the acoustics, but I don't think they actually planned _that_ far for a $30k car.


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## Muinarc

Most people in SQ (sound quality) competitions end up with Dynaudio front stages in the car. There are many good high end brands in the car audio world.


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## Clairvoyance

I found this website called www.ebestcarspeakers.com . On one place you can find the best companies,their best products with prices and specifications ....


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## ProtegeManiac

clairvoyance said:


> I found this website called www.e*best*carspeakers.com . On one place you can find the *best* companies,their *best products* with prices and specifications ....


 
  
 They have Pyle but no Focal, Dynaudio, DLS? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 (and if not mounting them in the doors so depth and the elements are not an issue, SEAS, Vifa, Dayton...)


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## kellosaybe

I tried fiddling with the treble and bass options in both cars, and my car speaker sounds better. Either way they both don't really sound that good since its car speakers haha, its all the glass, and reflection that make cars a less than ideal listening enviornment.


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## ProtegeManiac

kellosaybe said:


> I tried fiddling with the treble and bass options in both cars, and my car speaker sounds better. Either way they both don't really sound that good since its car speakers haha,* its all the glass, and reflection that make cars a less than ideal listening enviornment.*


 
  
 Which is why we have car audio SQ competition - seeing who can get around all these is where all the fun is. It's also a lot of fun when an Accord with a really good (at the time) Alpine receiver with all the gizmos (time alignment on each driver and crossover network, plus its amp has its own power line to the battery busting out a true, lower distortion 27w rms x 4) but using a set of $30 raw drivers kicks everyone's butt in the (Tight) Budget Class. All the money for the MSRP restriction is basically on his receiver. Cars with better speakers and amps had better PRAT and more exciting tonality but this car scored where a lot of the points are - imaging.


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## roosta

3 way components, a tight sub, lots of acoustic treatment and a decent headunit or mini PC and you can make an awesome sounding car. You really need the room correction software and 8-12 band/parametric equaliser though since car acoustics are such a pain at times. 

Sound deadening is so important when spending more than $500 though. Dynamat panel deadening, a decoupling layer and some mass loaded vinyl will sort most issues, then you just have to focus on speaker placement. Midbass in the kicks, midranges in the dash, tweeters in the front pillars. 

I love decent car audio. I spend 4 hours a day in my company car and I wish I could rip the stereo out and put something decent in. I'm still tempted to put some deadening in the floor even though I don't own the car! 

Brands I like: 
Speakers: Focal, DLS, Diamond, Rainbow (although not as much recently, quality seems to have gone downhill) Hertz (if you put the effort in. terrible/unforgiving out the box, fantastic with some tuning. need lots of power) 
Subs: Rockford Fosgate, Alpine (just not the Type R, their cheaper ones sound better) Diamond, Hertz, top end DLS (their budget ones were awful) 
Amps: JL, Kenwood (especially the older ones, holy hell they were sweet). 
Headunits: Pioneer, Kenwood, top end Alpine. 

You guys I the US seem to have other brands that we UK peeps do not have, so I cant talk for Polk etc. We seem to be stuck with some fairly mass produced brands.


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## ProtegeManiac

roosta said:


> You guys I the US seem to have other brands that we UK peeps do not have, so I cant talk for Polk etc. We seem to be stuck with some fairly mass produced brands.


 
  
 A bunch of other brands less known outside of car audio circles too, like Zapco and Digital Designs. I use DD's C4 amp - solid monster of a Class A/B - pushes 75w x 2 + 150w x 2. Then there's also Asia - like Sands amplifiers from Thailand.


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## ProbablyProdigy

I work in a car audio store in my hometown and it all pretty much depends on how much your really wanting it. You can go to walmart and get a complete system for under 300 bucks however i highly disregard that haha. In my 1986 f150 i'm running 6 1/2" JL Audio C2-650 component speakers and C2 6x9 coaxial in the back. Along with that, i have a Kenwood KDC-X597 head unit and 2 JL Audio W0v3 10" subwoofers in angled truck box's that i built to exact specifications of the JL w0v3 specs. Those guys are running off of a JL Audio Slash 500 1/v2 amplifier that's actually under powering each sub by 50 watts but no big deal. The speakers i also have hooked up to a JL Audio jx360/4 which is a 4 channel amplifier. and last but not least im running a 4 gauge wiring kit thats made by Wirez, a canadian company that i stock in my store. As you can read my entire system other then my stereo is JL and i am a huge fan of JL's car audio. We also carry their marine, home and powersport product. My JL amp has been running for nearly 4 years now and had to return it only once in which case JL replaced it completely. My system estimates roughly around $1400 retail but sounds immaculent. Oh and my door panels are dynamated which is a sound deadening material to kill rattles and increase audio quality. (also makes it to where the vehicle seals sound in really good, you can barely hear a thing outside my truck).


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## ProtegeManiac

I'm planning on using JL Audio subwoofers in my next install too - a pair of 6.5" JL W8V3 on the floor under the front passengers' thighs in a crossover (RAV4 maybe), since they can each work off a 0.15cu in enclosure running off an XD300/1. This should remove nearly all time alignment issues with the subwoofer. Planning on using a Hi-Vi 6.5" midwoofer if I can get my hands on just the 4-ohm midwoofer (or buy used Focal midwoofers again) then use a 2" fullrange driver fiberglassed to the A-pillars, that way I can cut the crossover lower than any tweeters to raise the soundstage.


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## skinnygamer12

Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents here. I have yet to hear a truly impressive system from the manufacturer. The H&K in my mom's Mercedes is an overpriced joke. The frequency response is alright with some tuning but the clarity and imaging is nonexistant (And it doesn't help that the head unit sounds horribly compressed no matter the source). The "premium" Bose system that came with my '03 Pontiac was pretty awful, albeit much better than the stock systems in most cars. I've got Alpine Type R components running off a cheap Rockford amp in it now which are not too bad for the money, especially considering I had them put in the factory locations (absolutely horrible positioning). I'm soon getting a new car and will save up for a set of Focal Performance components, a JL amp, Alpine head unit, and JL sub. When I finally have that I'll let you all know how it sounds.


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## ProtegeManiac

If imaging matters, then get a four channel amp for the speakers, and a PXA-H100 processor (works off any newer Ai-Net head unit). That way you can apply custom time delay on each tweeter and midwoofer and sync all of them to the subwoofer.


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## k3m1c4l

In all honesty there isn't a "best" in car audio, there are so many companies out there producing some amazing audiophile level equipment.  So I will answer this question as what is my favorite and why.
  
 JL Audio is my pick by a long shot for everything, not just speakers but all products this company makes....  Unfortunately they don't make a head unit and that's only because they don't make one, otherwise I would pick that one as well.
  
 I wont go into the history of all the JL Audio equipment I've owned as I want to just answer the question and let you all do the research yourself into this amazing company.
  
 So the last system I bought is listed below.
  
 Honda S2000 - I realize this isn't the greatest car for a premium sound system... don't judge me >.> Best car I've ever owned too though. 
  
 Head unit:  JVC KD-AVX77 El Kameleon
  
 Components:  JL Audio ZR650-C Si  (Owned the C5-650's and it's hard to tell the difference really and you'll save about 400 bones)
 Amp for components:  JL Audio HD600/4
  
 Subwoofer:  JL Audio 12W7-3
 Amp for Sub:  JL Audio HD750/1


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## ProtegeManiac

k3m1c4l said:


> In all honesty there isn't a "best" in car audio, there are so many companies out there producing some amazing audiophile level equipment.


 
  
 Personally the  installation quality matters a lot more, and when some brands win more than others, it's really a matter of which brand can sponsor the best installers. That isn't absolute though - you can't just get a set of Pyle speakers and expect it to match Focal Utopias with the installation and EQ.
  
 Unfortunately regardless of what brand people tend to dismiss proper installation for a varieyt of reasons - (added) cost or time if DIY-ed, "destructive" to the interior (only if not done right, and also why I'd rather drive a five year old car than a new one), or they just don't understand the reality of what a car's interior looks like vs what a listening room at home looks like in the same sense that some people keep replacing their speakers at home without acknowledging or realizing that the room is the real problem.


----------



## BL33DnEaRs

One word.....Focal.  But recently they have released a entry level set of components which sux.  Hate it when a well known, high quality, high priced company does that just to get sales from those who cant afford the high priced stuff but still want their name.  Smart, but shameful really.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

bl33dnears said:


> One word.....Focal.  But recently they have released a entry level set of components which sux.  Hate it when a well known, high quality, high priced company does that just to get sales from those who cant afford the high priced stuff but still want their name.  Smart, but shameful really.


 
  
 DLS is good too but those damn basketball grills don't work in some cars. I couldn't get the MS6a tweets to image the vocals in the center properly, although I loved the tone. Percussion isn't as audible as Focals when the car is running though.


----------



## ralfcis

Great advice. I recently won gift certificates to 2 scrap yards. I didn't know how to spend the money so I got the idea to upgrade my car's sound system. I took a bunch of speakers that looked good from expensive cards and plugged them in one by one. I found huge differences. I tried Bose, Infinity, Clarion, Pioneer, harmon Kardon and others. Bose (2 sizes from Nissan Maximas) were the best, just blew me away with their rich sound, and Pioneer door speakers sounded amazing for their size (but I can't remember what car they came from). The Harmon Cardon I took from a 2002 Range Rover sounded really tinny. The Infinities were noisey and Clarion sounded cheap. I listened to the choices with another person and she evaluated them the same way I did because the differences were not subtle.  I also got a gigantic heavy speaker from a Lexus which was great but I don't know what to do with it. The best part is, they all cost $6 a piece and the bad ones were returnable.


----------



## SleathX1

Here's my two cents.
  
 JBL actually has the best mid-fi, affordable speakers and tweeters. I don't know about their subs, because most people who listen to that kind of music have no clue what Hi-Fi audio is.
  
 Infinity systems that come factory installed are kinda bad, but some aren't too shabby. (depending on your model.)
  
 Rockford Fosgate amps have some pretty good features, and their power handling is great. Apparently their subs are amazing, although I havent heard them.
  
 I have not been in any Harmon Kardon cars sadly, so I can't tell you there.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

sleathx1 said:


> JBL actually has the best mid-fi, affordable speakers and tweeters. I don't know about their subs, because most people who listen to that kind of music have no clue what Hi-Fi audio is.


 
  
 Low to Midrange in price, at least among the popular brands that one can find just about anywhere easily. But at some point the DLS MS6 came out and knocked off the Power series for roughly just $35 more over here; then the Hertz DSK came out for roguhly $45 more than the GTO and that one got knocked off its perch. Nowadays I think the HSK plus some other more obscure brands can beat JBL at any price range save for its TOTL speaker, at which point of course it's competing with the likes of the K2P.


----------



## Kylv

sleathx1 said:


> JBL actually has the best mid-fi, affordable speakers and tweeters. I don't know about their subs, because most people who listen to that kind of music have no clue what Hi-Fi audio is.


 
  I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to say here.  What "kind of music" are you referring to?  And are you saying that anyone that wants a subwoofer has "no clue what Hi-Fi audio is?"


----------



## SleathX1

what I meant was....
  
 JBL should just stay in the pro audio and live sound market, not go to into subwoofers so that you can blast out the windows of any house you pass in your car.
  
 Yes I was aiming that comment at genres like rap and today's top 40, but I didn't mean anything by it. Nothing personal. I just like music that has actual instruments and real talent. 


> And are you saying that anyone that wants a subwoofer has "no clue what Hi-Fi audio is?"


 
 No, not anyone who wants a subwoofer, just someone who puts 3 15's in their trunk.
  
  
 And I'll repeat, I really don't mean any harm by saying this.


----------



## Kylv

I wasn't offended, just confused.


----------



## SleathX1

All right


----------



## Mackyoudip

I know this is an old thread, but I figured I would put in my .02 
I have a 2014 550i BMW with whatever high end speaker option BMW has. (Not sure really what it is) and know the car to be pretty well sound deadend from the factory. It sounds good, but to this day, the best FACTORY system I have heard is in my 2014 GMC Sierra. It has the high end (for GMC) Bose system with all the nifty screens and USB ports. 
From the factory it has an 8" sub in the center console, and incredible mid bass speakers in the doors, the dash has 2 rather large speakers that I am assuming to be a midrange speaker. The new 2014 GMC Sierra is on par with new Lexus cars with sound deadening, less than the BMW 550 but much better than past trucks. There isn't too much Bass, IMO it is just right and you don't get that real ear piercing treble like you do in most poorly done aftermarket stereos with tweeters, not to mention the clarity is insane being a factory system, you can hear inhalation a of singers, fingers sliding on guitar strings, etc. Stuff I cannot hear in the BMW.. 
I'd consider myself a beginner on aftermarket stereos, and have only heard good things about focal. Just figured I'd put in my opinion on the two vehicles I own and their factory systems. I would love to take a Bose system out of a 14 GMC and put it in my old Bronco as well as a large amount of sound deadening


----------



## Motogp

I am currently using the 6.5 components with one JLW7 10" sub and have excellent results on somewhat of a tight budget,  Sound matt has been installed during the installation as well as high end cabling.   300 wpc channeled to the components, one 1000w mono-amp going to the sub.  In addition, one of pioneers head units installed that I believe is one of the true audiophile head units on the market with all sorts of roll off points, auto-setup with time lapse to provide that provides an excellent sound stage.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

furkan27 said:


> How do I create a thread? I just made anaccount


 
  
 You need to get to a certain number of post counts I think. Check in this section first, maybe you can make a thread there already.


----------



## Kyaku

So i just bought a Toyota Corolla 2014 LE, has the back up cam and full touchscreen etc on the HU. So in this scenario i prefer not to replace the HU since i dont want to lose the functionality of the back up cam etc... However i hate how the stock speakers sound so i would like to change the stock speakers and add an amp to power them. My question is have any of you heard of an adapter that would allow me to add the rca connects so i could add the amp and speakers? Also id like to add a small 8inch amp so i would need the RCA's for that as well.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

kyaku said:


> So i just bought a Toyota Corolla 2014 LE, has the back up cam and full touchscreen etc on the HU. So in this scenario i prefer not to replace the HU since i dont want to lose the functionality of the back up cam etc... However i hate how the stock speakers sound so i would like to change the stock speakers and add an amp to power them. My question is have any of you heard of an adapter that would allow me to add the rca connects so i could add the amp and speakers? Also id like to add a small 8inch amp so i would need the RCA's for that as well.


 
  
Get an "integration processor" like the Alpine PXE-H660 (I think this is no longer in production but you can easily find these on eBay; the H800 is too expensive). These were designed to take speaker amplifier output (like from the stock system) and then run it through its own ADC, then the digital signal is passed through the DSP where you can apply time correction, crossovers, and EQ, then back out through its DACs. It can go all the way up to a 2-way front fully active system plus a sub.
 
The best part is it comes with a reference disc, and you run that disc for the processor to get a baseline for the response of the system vs how it's supposed to sound then automatically apply the EQ correction as well as time alignment (note this only works properly for both tweets, both midwoofers, and the sub if you run them off one amp channel each, ie no passive crossovers). The automated time alignment is usually accurate enough, but of course YMMV since the ones I've heard of using these already installed the tweets (if not also the midwoofers) in a proper toe-in+up angle.


----------



## SleathX1

protegemaniac said:


> Get an "integration processor" like the Alpine PXE-H660 (I think this is no longer in production but you can easily find these on eBay; the H800 is too expensive). These were designed to take speaker amplifier output (like from the stock system) and then run it through its own ADC, then the digital signal is passed through the DSP where you can apply time correction, crossovers, and EQ, then back out through its DACs. It can go all the way up to a 2-way front fully active system plus a sub.
> 
> The best part is it comes with a reference disc, and you run that disc for the processor to get a baseline for the response of the system vs how it's supposed to sound then automatically apply the EQ correction as well as time alignment (note this only works properly for both tweets, both midwoofers, and the sub if you run them off one amp channel each, ie no passive crossovers). The automated time alignment is usually accurate enough, but of course YMMV since the ones I've heard of using these already installed the tweets (if not also the midwoofers) in a proper toe-in+up angle. 
 That's genius!! How come I've never heard of that! This seems like the perfect swap for a less-than-par stock system, I am interested and will remember this.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

sleathx1 said:


> That's genius!! How come I've never heard of that! This seems like the perfect swap for a less-than-par stock system, I am interested and will remember this.


 
  
Forgot to mention one thing though, the Audyssey mic (as in it looks exactly like what comes with Denon HT receivers) on the PXE-H660 is extremely sensitive and can pick up road noise as errors. Even in a quiet suburb driveway or inside your garage, a noisy enough car (like your local Fast and Furious kind) can screw it up.  Apart from that though having a reference disc for it to use is a great thing when using auto-EQ; better than guesswork with ears and more convenient than what we used to do (which is bust out a USB mic with a laptop and use an analyzer program).


----------



## blzr

# 01) The human ear can only hear so much. 
 #02)  There are a lot of good speakers out there, but my choice will be, HYBRID AUDIO.
           Good Luck!


----------



## switchride

I was actually thinking about going with hybrid audio myself in my ISF.  The installer also mentioned Hertz and a few others as being good options.  I wish I could hear them all before making a decision but there isn't really a good place to demo all the car audio brands together.


----------



## blzr

I forgot to mention since you can't hear the Hybrid Audio's, give them a call and shoot the breeze with them. Maybe they will give you some input.


----------



## switchride

Luckily the guy at the car shop in my are used to work for the owner of HAT so he had extensive experience with them.  Was able to give me pretty good suggestions on which line to go with if I wanted to go with the hybrids and some other alternatives if I wanted to save the cash.


----------



## captian73

Sorry to resurrect and old thread, however, the best sounding speakers are as follows:
  
*THE BIG FOUR, IN ORDER .....!!!! *​  
*1) Dynaudio ESOTAR*
  
*2) Morel* *Supremo* (speakers) *Ultimo* (Subwoofers) - I currently run Morel speakers. *Gary Summers 4 time oscar winning sound engineer for Star Wars and Lord of the rings won the biggest SQ comp with Morel!*
  
*3) Hybrid Audio Technologies* (HAT for short) of which I won a I6SW subwoofer as seen in video below. HAT is sweeping the U.S. SQ (sound Quality) competitions.
  
*4) DLS* - Regular winners of SQ comps. _Scott Buwalda CEO of HAT_ used to be a DLS Dealer! I've owned DLS speakers, wonderful things
  
  
*BEST OF THE REST*​  
 Seas Lotus, Hertz Millie, Audison, Focal, and Audiofrog is coming into the game
  
 I would overlook the usual brand names, JL, JBL, Alpine. They have their place, however, Scanspeak were behind the Alpine F1 Status speakers, so you might as well cut out the middleman and just buy Scanspeak drivers instead. 
  
*Gary states that so-called high-end system in cars are "Hype"*. No-one in car audio wins an SQ competition with the likes of a Linn, Meridian, Naim, Mark Levinson, B&W system! Car Audio Enthusiasts take acoustics a bit more seriously, as the *'Just Imagine'* video below will show you. 
  

  
 Hybrid Audio I6Sw
  

  
 https://surfandsound.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/all-my-hybrid-audio-i6sw-subwoofer-transmission-line-build-pictures/ - my i6sw


----------



## ProtegeManiac

captian73 said:


> I would overlook the usual brand names, JL, JBL, Alpine. They have their place, however, Scanspeak were behind the Alpine F1 Status speakers, so you might as well cut out the middleman and just buy Scanspeak drivers instead.


 
  
They have their market: lazy people who will use passive crossovers, or people who can or want to get sponsored by such brands.
 
Outside of speakers of course we all have to buy Alpine and Pioneer for the processors.
  
   
 Quote:


captian73 said:


> *Gary states that so-called high-end system in cars are "Hype"*. No-one in car audio wins an SQ competition with the likes of a Linn, Meridian, Naim, Mark Levinson, B&W system! Car Audio Enthusiasts take acoustics a bit more seriously, as the *'Just Imagine'* video below will show you.


 
 
That's because in a car the main problem is the acoustics. Even in a quiet area with the engine off and you're running off a good battery there's still the problem that it isn't in a Maclaren F1. The processor is really the most important thing thanks to the time alignment, and even more important than the processor is installation, and my biggest frustration outside of car audio forums is that people think FLAC or CD is a lot more important. Nope. 
 
There was a car here that competed in the entry-level class, and they splurged the budget limit on an older Alpine receiver with 6-way tuning and a V-Drive amp. They spend the equivalent of $60 on Da1-Chi's Targa brand component speakers and a subwoofer. With proper installation, time alignment, and an RTA to tune the EQ, they blew away everybody who followed home audio maxims by blowing their money on midrange DLS and Focal lines but had serious T/A issues.


----------



## jodgey4

I'm thinking about a 10" or 12" _sealed _sub... good info in this thread. I like the idea of punchy bass, but sometimes I might want the fullness of a 12" just to show off . Leaning towards the 12".


----------



## ProtegeManiac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jodgey4* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> I'm thinking about a 10" or 12" _sealed _sub... good info in this thread. I like the idea of punchy bass, but sometimes I might want the fullness of a 12" just to show off . Leaning towards the 12". 
 
Either way the real problem in a car isn't what the bass sounds like which is determined by the enclosure design and gain levels, but the location of the sub and the imaging of the bass. A 12in or 10in means you'll be more dependent on time alignment to delay the output in front to sync with the sub just to image it, and even then, you'd still need to use at least a 6in midwoofer up front in order to be able to use a lower crossover point - the higher the crossover setting, the more directional the bass will be. A 10in or 12in _with proper imaging_ where you can hear the bass coming from the front really wouldn't be for more "punch," which is farther up the bass frequencies, but so you can get closer to the 20hz lower limit (assuming your music does to begin with).
 
Sitting on the driver's seat in my car back when I used a 12in with a huge enclosure and amp rack has the subwoofer barely audible, with people asking "I thought you had a sub?" Disable it on the processor and suddenly nearly all the bass is gone save for some bit of the "punch" up front, but without the low end reinforcing the notes, it sounds more like a snare drum stuffed with a pillow than a loud thump that seems to "pop" in the middle of the dashboard. My settings for that was a 50hz low pass at -18dB/octave, along with a 70hz high pass at -12dB/octave. RTA on it only showed a very minor bump at 65hz that I couldn't zero in on with the graphic EQ on my Pioneer.
 
What I'm more inclined to do nowadays actually is to find a way to mount an 8in or 10in shallow mount up front. Some factory-installed systems do this already, like the 8in sub mount on the dash of some Nissan crossovers and SUVs for the Bose subwoofer, but the regular version on some still comes with that panel that can be more easily popped out and modified to take an aftermarket sub, but of course you still need to disassemble the entire dash and make sure that you use a sealed and properly built enclosure so the cold A/C air won't allow for condensation. Less time alignment and higher crossover settings are possible then, so I'll be able to get a lot more of that bass drum kick without hearing it coming from the back, which is only possible if Mr.Fantastic joins AC/DC and then shows off by putting the bass drum behind the crowd.
 
Subwoofers for the past few years have been getting more and more compact, with flatter magnets and spiders (and yet the strength of the magnet isn't much lower than a conventional design), and now they're getting better mechanical components to handle longer X-Max. So now it's not a choice between one 8in or 2x6in subs mounted separately (JL used to have those; Mirage still uses them for their more lifestyle-inclined systems), and now a 10in shallow mount is easier to mount in the passenger footwell for example. They tend to need more air space in the box but that's a lot easier to manage than an additional 2in of depth, since you can just design the box to be wider.
 
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_13610TW3/JL-Audio-10TW3-D4.html


----------



## jodgey4

I've got a big ol' SUV ('99 Mistubishi Montero) so ya I gotta make some decisions on that front. Something to think about . I'm gonna do Dynamat in the doors first, and replace the front 6.5" speakers as the left one is blown out. They sound freaking amazing already... no clue why, haha.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jodgey4* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> I've got a big ol' SUV ('99 Mistubishi Montero) so ya I gotta make some decisions on that front. Something to think about . I'm gonna do Dynamat in the doors first, and replace the front 6.5" speakers as the left one is blown out. They sound freaking amazing already... no clue why, haha. 
 
If it's an SUV time alignment on the processor/receiver has one less hurdle - acoustics. The cabin is fully open, unlike in a sedan or in some coupes where subwoofer output hitting the back seat at certain angles can cause a lot of issues that even with reversed phase cannot be compensated for. Still, if you really want to feel a good "kick" to the bass drum but imaging is important, make sure you get a midwoofer that goes down low, and then make sure it's properly mounted. It's not just in applying Dynamat but make sure that the way you apply it, you can make a real baffle out of the door mount that isolates the front and back of the speaker cone from each other. Past that, wrap some dampening material around the door mechanisms so they don't rattle.
 
If you can find spare door parts at a local junkyard though what I'd do is modify one of those to have an external angle mount for the midwoofer (angled up so it helps with the imaging, but more importantly you isolate front and back sides of the cone) using fiberglass. Then strengthen the rest of the panel by laying down a few sheets of kitty hair with resin (fiberglass), just make sure it's not too thick and you don't get any on the mounting points. If you can still fit a sheet of dynamat on that inner panel go right ahead.
 
The end result will be that you can cut the midwoofer and the sub a little lower, and with more of the bass notes coming from the front, you allow for time alignment to work properly as it can't compensate for very directional notes coming farther than the other speakers and on top of which it's behind you.


----------



## Bedphones

I think car audio all depends on the vehicle, tbh. I have the upgraded sound package in my 2011 Mini Cooper, and the speakers are H/K. They sound legit, better than any standard sound system, and most likely, better than any post-manufacturing upgrades I could install myself. Then again, I doubt my Mini would require nearly as much audio capability as a bigger vehicle, an SUV for example. The upgraded H/K system sounds great in a mini, but might not sound as good in a bigger vehicle.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bedphones* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> I think car audio all depends on the vehicle, tbh. I have the upgraded sound package in my 2011 Mini Cooper, and the speakers are H/K. They sound legit, better than any standard sound system, and most likely, better than any post-manufacturing upgrades I could install myself. Then again, I doubt my Mini would require nearly as much audio capability as a bigger vehicle, an SUV for example. The upgraded H/K system sounds great in a mini, but might not sound as good in a bigger vehicle. 
 
They won't because that system likely comes with its own DSP unit that is customized to work in only the Mini. Custom systems have the advantage of not being restrained by manufacturer specs like aesthetics, where even a properly done fiberglass tweeter pod isn't desirable if it doesn't maintain the flatness of the A-pillars for example, which is almost always the case since you have to introduce a toe-in angle to  the tweeters such that you minimize reflections off the windshield but without making the driver's side tweeter too direct to the driver that it pulls the soundstage to that side anyway. At worst, if you're competing in EMMA or IASCA, you will have to take into account certain parameters, like making sure the tweeter pod is not going to extend beyond the front of the A-pillar (see below) nor get in the way of the mirrors. Other paremeters can be how manufacturers save on cost or weight and make the door mounts even less ideal as speaker enclosures, on top of cancellations if the front and rear sides of the cone aren't isolated, and then  to round it all up (or, without passive crossovers, to even get it all working properly in the first place) you'll need a DSP with the right crossover and time alignment features.
 
_This is something you shouldn't do if your goal is to not lose points here and there._

 
 
 
At the same time if you're upgrading a system you really have to know enough of what you're doing. You can't just replace speakers, you have to mount them properly, otherwise you'll just have more expensive speakers dealing with the same kinds of acoustic issues. And then it's necessary to know how to work a DSP so you can really set it up to simulate sitting at home smack between two speakers.


----------



## Noviet

No a single company will make the best car speakers because we all look for our version of "next level" sound. Whats your goals?


----------



## jodgey4

jodgey4 said:


> I've got a big ol' SUV ('99 Mistubishi Montero) so ya I gotta make some decisions on that front. Something to think about . I'm gonna do Dynamat in the doors first, and replace the front 6.5" speakers as the left one is blown out. They sound freaking amazing already... no clue why, haha.


 
 My big guy has some serious work that needs to be done so I'm looking at a new car now... hatchback like a ~2010 Mazda 3 or VW Golf/GTI... I hope the sound system in there is alright 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





. I came back to check out this thread again just *** and to try and remember how everything works, and wanted to thank y'all for the great insight. Who knows, I might be back asking more questions soon . The idea of adding dampening and maybe some more changes down the line are still appealing. I'm willing to do the electrical work, though fiberglass etc. sounds outside of what I can handle. Anyways. Y'all are cool.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jodgey4* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> My big guy has some serious work that needs to be done so I'm looking at a new car now... hatchback like a ~2010 Mazda 3 or VW Golf/GTI... I hope the sound system in there is alright
> 
> 
> ... 
 
The Mazda 3 needs a lot of work on the speaker mounting. At minimum, you'll need a converter if you get new speakers, because AFAIK the stock speakers are oval. Second, they're mounted on the plastic interior panel, instead of a metal frame that's part of the actual door. On one hand that means less cancellation as the grill is really mounted like a grill should be, but the downside is that this plastic panel is the opposite of a stable baffle.
 
That said, if you're buying a used car, that won't be a problem since you're going to have less apprehensions about modifying it. Also, depending on where you are, you can probably pick up a new panel from a scrapyard, as long as it doesn't smell funny, and then practice on that and use it if you don't mess it up. Turn it over, then mount a wood baffle (angle it out and upwards and just use the speaker grill that comes with the speakers if you want), and then layer on fiberglass throughout the entire panel, just make sure that you don't do so in such a way that they don't interfere with how they mount back onto the door. After that put on a layer of Dynamat to help reinforce it, and then another layer of Dynamat on the inside of the door, mounted on to the sheet metal of the door.


----------



## jodgey4

Awesome info. I'm going to look at a '12 tomorrow, actually. I think it has the 9? speaker Bose system, which might make things more complicated, but who knows. Sadly I don't have the luxury of choosing a car for its audio system. I'm looking at the hatchback btw. I might shoot ya a PM as I think any questions I'd like to ask you would detract from this thread, if that's okay .


----------



## ProtegeManiac

jodgey4 said:


> Awesome info. I'm going to look at a '12 tomorrow, actually. I think it has the 9? speaker Bose system, which might make things more complicated, but who knows.


 
  
 Unless it's something more like the B&W system in Jaguars, I would always prefer building my own system into a car. Some stock systems use acceptable speakers otherwise but apart from very expensive cars there's no time alignment DSP, which is the most important feature of a car since you have to synchronize the arrival of soundwaves coming from speakers that are not mounted in such a way that they are equidistant to you.
  
 If anything, if that Bose system is like the one on the Nissan Rogue, that means the subwoofer is mounted on the dash. That means less acoustic issues with the bass since in some cases as much as TA DSP can sync the sub in the back, reflections are still there to mess up the perceptin of where the bass is coming from. If it's in the front, then it'll be easier to hear the bass coming from the front, even without time alignment, which in such a scenario will jsut make the bass have a more solid "thump" when your ears hear the output from the midwoofers and that sub with virtually no effective phase issue.
  
 Oh and I don't really use rear speakers - those just mess up the soundstage, and none of my rear passengers ever complained about how they can't hear the music, if I even have any rear passengers.
  


jodgey4 said:


> I might shoot ya a PM as I think any questions I'd like to ask you would detract from this thread, if that's okay .


 
  
 No problem


----------



## Letmebefrank

The factory Boston 8 speaker system in my 300c probably sounded great to your average person but to me it just wasn't enough. The first thing I did was replace the 3x 3.5" speakers in the dash and the 2 6x9"s in the rear deck with 2ohm infinity speakers. This allowed me to keep the factory amplifier which is somewhere around 400watts RMS. The factory speakers had no tweets so just getting 5 tweeters in the car was like a ray of heaven. The car also has 6x9s in the front doors and an 8" sub in the rear deck. Since the doors don't get frequencies below 300hz I didn't replace those, and the factory sub only plays under 80hz. Once I replaced the head unit with a pioneer and put in a harness to keep the factory amp/steering wheel controls it sounds really nice in there. Since it's a C it has really good noise dampening from the factory and all the speakers are baffled. When my friends ride in my car they are blown away, my one buddy has a BW system in his car and he says it sounds much better than that, and all I did was essentially replace the speakers.


----------



## jodgey4

How did you add tweeters? I ended up with a 2016 Mazda 3 (stock audio), and it could really use some help with the treble. Mids get pretty cloudy, and the bass boost is in that bloated range down low so I'm playing with my Android Noozy DSP to dial that all in but you can't fix tweeters not existing.


----------



## Letmebefrank

jodgey4 said:


> How did you add tweeters? I ended up with a 2016 Mazda 3 (stock audio), and it could really use some help with the treble. Mids get pretty cloudy, and the bass boost is in that bloated range down low so I'm playing with my Android Noozy DSP to dial that all in but you can't fix tweeters not existing.


 
 The stock speakers didnt have any tweeters, they had the weird double cone woofer. The second cone sticks up from the first one and resonates the high frequencies. The new Infinity's are 2-way and they have actual 1" tweeters in the middle.


----------



## ProtegeManiac

jodgey4 said:


> How did you add tweeters? I ended up with a 2016 Mazda 3 (stock audio), and it could really use some help with the treble. Mids get pretty cloudy, and the bass boost is in that bloated range down low so I'm playing with my Android Noozy DSP to dial that all in but you can't fix tweeters not existing.


 
  
First, it's not going to be simple - not just simply adding the tweeter so you don't blow them, but so the changes to the entire system actually works rather than just adding more high frequencies and have a different kind of problem with the treble.
 
Easiest route is to buy a new component system, that way it comes with a passive crossover, tweeter, and midwoofer. You need to install them properly - that means dampening in the doors and the mounting point for the midwoofer, and then for the tweeter, you need to figure out where to install them first, and use a temporary install method just to figure out how to aim them properly so that the soundstage isn't pulled down, the vocals are as centered as possible (as much as you can without an active system DSP that has individual time alignment profiles for each tweeter and midwoofer to sync with each other and the sub), _but _without getting too many reflections off the windshield or the dashboard (the more centered it is, the less reflections). Then comes the harder part: fabrication. Buy spare panels, like the interior A-pillar panel, from a junkyard, mark how the tweets will be mounted in terms of location and angle, then you drill it for the mounting and also to run the cable. You then make a fiberglass mounting point for the tweeters.
 
More info here:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMJ0YZmc1Bc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42bHOMjhJaA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFJl3pHAUx0
http://honda-tech.com/audio-security-video-27/diy-custom-speaker-pods-tweeter-mounts-my-sr6500-components-2341790/
http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forums/fabrication-/12715-diy-build-fiberglass-kick-pods.html


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## ProtegeManiac

Quote: 





niloy said:


> PIONEER, JBL, POLK, KICKER and ROCKFORD FOSGATE are the best car speaker manufacturers in the market today.


 

 ​What? No Focal, DLS, Hertz, Dynaudio?


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## Muinarc

protegemaniac said:


> ​What? No Focal, DLS, Hertz, Dynaudio?


 
  
 Pretty sure Pyle makes the best automotive and marine speakers.


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## WhiteKnite

muinarc said:


> Pretty sure Pyle makes the best automotive and marine speakers.


 
 Nope, raw drivers are by far the best, but take some know-how to install.  I built a Logic 7 based automotive system using SB Satori drivers and a Morel Ultimo sub. Sounds absolutely amazing.  Normally not a fan of using center channels and Logic 7 from something like my MS8 for processing but it is the best, easiest solution for the confines of car-fi unfortunately.


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## saloona

JBL GTO. This is what you can get if you’re willing to shell out a few extra bucks.It’s one of the highest quality set of speakers you can buy.


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## Narayan23

saloona said:


> JBL GTO. This is what you can get if you’re willing to shell out a few extra bucks.It’s one of the highest quality set of speakers you can buy.


 
 Have you been able to compare them to other brands? I´m interested in your experience, thanks.


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## ProtegeManiac

saloona said:


> JBL GTO. This is what you can get if you’re willing to shell out a few extra bucks.It’s one of the highest quality set of speakers you can buy.


 


narayan23 said:


> Have you been able to compare them to other brands? I´m interested in your experience, thanks.


 
  
 I'd add a bit more and spend my money on Focal instead.


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## Ra97oR

Briefly looked in into car audio not by choice but was due my front speakers dying. Swapped them out for some Focal PC165 and was happy with how they sound.

However I am glad that my car really doesn't allow for going deeper into another moneypit. No one with the right mind would add the weight back to a semi stripped out factory track ready car just to hear some music when stuck in traffic. Good for my wallet I guess.


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## Muinarc

Ra97oR said:


> Briefly looked in into car audio not by choice but was due my front speakers dying. Swapped them out for some Focal PC165 and was happy with how they sound.
> 
> However I am glad that my car really doesn't allow for going deeper into another moneypit. No one with the right mind would add the weight back to a semi stripped out factory track ready car just to hear some music when stuck in traffic. Good for my wallet I guess.



You just aren't hardcore enough! You need to add all that weight and offset it with MOAR horsepower.


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## Platinum777

focal is very very good


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## johnsnowkornar

basketball said:


> I am curious to know which company you guys think make the best car speakers weather it be speakers bought as an option on youre new car or aftermarket ones bought on youre used car.
> I know Audi has a $6000 Harmon/Kardon option.
> 
> What do you guys thin of:
> ...


Does this speaker has a combined maximum power handling capability of 420 Wattages??


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## Whitigir

Focal ?  The thing to think about is the cost though


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## lpd2

Whitigir said:


> Focal ?  The thing to think about is the cost though


anyone heard focal BE?


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## IPodPJ (Jul 3, 2020)

Back in 2000, I put over $17K into a system in my 2000 Toyota Solara car (which was stupid, I’ll never do that again because the only time I could truly enjoy it was when I wasn’t driving).  I had a custom built $1100 alternator from an older gentleman who did Alpine’s show cars.  It put out 292 amps hot and 269 amps cold.  It was a beast and needed new diodes every year.

I had Dynaudio 3-ways in the front (7” woofer handling up to 700W, 4” mid handling up to 300W, and a 1.1” tweeter handling up to 100W), Dynaudio 2-ways (7” woofer/mids and a 1.1” tweeter) in the rear doors, 2 Polk Audio Signature coaxial 3-way 6x9s by the main rear window, on the panel over the trunk (I forgot what model) that blended nicely, and 2 JL Audio W10 subs in the trunk along with three large Precision Power “Power Class Series” amps and 1 medium sized one of the same type; when all routed provided 4200W RMS into 4 ohms.  Dynamat was in the doors, and I had very high quality wiring.  I also had a very nice 16 channel active crossover (I forget the brand).  I also had a huge capacitor.  I only wanted 200W for each sub (which I ran in stereo) because I didn’t want a thumping car.  I had dual Alpine head units in the double DIN dash of those days.  The top controller unit was a retractable (7” or larger?) touch screen display (i didn’t add the CD navigation system) and CD player.  The bottom unit (also a controller unit) was an awesome DSP/Parametric 16-band EQ/Time Alignment, etc. processor.

I wanted balanced sound which I actually tuned poorly and eventually led me to get back into my headphone journey (started in 1994 with the Sony MDR-CD3000) and retrain my brain to prefer a natural, balanced, neutral tonality.  The Dynaudio right tweeter distorted on two occasions and I could feel my right eardrum tearing, and to this day I have 2 small scars on my eardrum (and a mild case of TTTS in my right ear, which I posted about a long time ago on this forum and got messages from over 40 people worldwide with the same symptoms, which finally led to a better understanding of the problem by ENT doctors, who previously said it was all in our imagination) which fortunately still gives me 95% of the frequency range as my left ear; just slightly less very high treble.  (I can still distinguish a 0.25dB imbalance between channels.)


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## IPodPJ (Jul 3, 2020)

lpd2 said:


> anyone heard focal BE?



Yes.  The Focal Be car audio speaker systems with their own passive crossovers are ever so slightly better than the Dynaudio system speakers (when volume matched) with their own passive crossovers, but Focal’s are 4-5x the price now; they used to be 3-4x the price.


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## stephenlee2801

I second Focal. I think spending that little extra to get a Focal system in your car is a worthwhile investment (I think turning to the second hand market is also an option). As an aside, I would also be sure to invest in some sound isolation depending on your car.


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## kadinh (Sep 10, 2021)

I have heard excellent things about Focal car speakers too.

I have Infinity Kappa speakers, Pioneer head unit, and 2 RF subwoofers in my 4Runner. I enjoy it. I also put a different brand of Dynamat ("Noico" I think) on my front doors to stop them from resonating, havent had the time to put the MLV or whatever its called Mass Loaded Vinyl and Closed Cell Foam over the Noico to dampen outside noise.


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