Ive done a little bit of searching on this subject and none of the entries I have found meet my criteria.

First off a disclaimer:
I have absolutely no idea about speaker systems.

With that out of the way, I currently have an AVIC-Z1 in my base 1LT 2007 I want to upgrade my speakers, no subwoofers, with a budget of 2500$ or so speakers and amplifier(s).

What would you guys recommend within that budget?

Thanks Everyone!!!


Max

 

A few questions/comments so we can start to narrow this down....

Will you be doing the install yourself? $2500 goes alot farther if we're talking just equipment but the recommendations change if you need to include labor in that.

What kind of music do you listen to and how do you listen?

Go to a decent audio store (NOT Best Buy/Circuit City) and listen to the speakers to get an idea of what you like. Different brands have different sounds (bright, warm, forward, laid back, etc) and you need to figure out what sounds good to YOU. Take a few CD's with you so you're listening to YOUR music on them. It won't be representative of how it will sound in your car, but at least everything will be relative.

Beyond that, figure on a 2-way component system and an amp that's somewhere around 100W per channel or more. Check out www.edesignaudio.com. Their 6500 component speakers and NINe.x amplifiers are well thought of around here.

 

Before we start talking high end speakers -

How likely are you to tell a great difference between a high end speaker, and a mid end speaker? Can you tell a huge difference, for example, between 128, 192, 256 mp3?

How willing are you to seriously modify your interior?


I mean honestly, if you are going to just throw things in stock locations, and don't 'know anything about speakers' I think you might be wasting your cash on the $300+ speakers.

 

My purist friend Sprkboy would likely agree with you on this, but I don't. There are definitely diminishing returns without spending some time on positioning to get the most of the speakers, but I'll tell ya right now even in stock positions a $300 set of Focal polyglass are gonna sound better than a $100 or whatever set of Kickers or CDT or Phoenix Gold.

That's why I always recommend to go LISTEN.. only your ears can tell you if it's worth spending the time, energy and money.

 

Maybe. Maybe not.

What if the $300 set of Polyglass has just _terrible_ off axis response?

Let me explain,

Off axis, in "stock location type install" (60-90' off axis) my $300 pair of Dynaudio tweeters kind of suck. They are hissy, and have no response over 10k or so.

In fact, my $60 pair of Seas Neos absolutely stomp all over them, no questions asked. Especially at 90' off axis. (typical stock location door install.)

Yet close to on axis, (30') its a completely different story.

Mids can suffer the same fate.

In addition, a Mid with too MUCH midbass response, and someone not wanting to go to the trouble of deadening the door.. .this can be much worse sounding than a cheaper mid with mediocre midbass.


Another example, the Focal TN51. This thing can downright SUCK if not installed right. I know this from much experience when I was 'new' to high end. My Focal Utopia set sounded worse in my 86 than my Infinity 6.5s + Pioneer 6x9s because of install issues. higher end sets tend to be much less forgiving.

Or taking it one step further - What if the OP is like my wife when it comes to speakers? The only difference she can tell from my Dynaudio 3 way set + idmaxand the Bose is ... and I quote: "Now it has too much bass and I hate it"

She can't even tell Dynaudio from Bose, and I'm not sure you can get much different. I think this is more common that most people think... And then people get talked into these $800 speakers that, quite honestly, dont sound better to them than a $150 set of CDTs, for example.





I think we sometimes get carried away with suggesting uber-expensive speaker sets. I'm very guilty of that. You are dead on with the demo comment.

But also, my suggestion when auditioning speakers is to NOT stand in the dead center. Stand off the side, so the speakers are 90' from you. this might give you a better idea, though they still could sound completely different in the car.

 

Not arguing the theory Kale, because I understand and agree entirely. However I am arguing your application of it in this context. Throwing out blanket statements like "you might be wasting your cash on the $300+ speakers." For those that don't understand the nuances you're discussing that's practically like saying "good speakers are a waste of money." That's really my point.

 

Well... what I'm trying to say, I guess is... "expensive speakers might be a waste of money."

 

Aside from the wonderful dissertation here on the lack of proper speaker locations in our cars, maybe this will help...

The common theme on C6's is 6 1/2's in the door, Ed (pipedreams on the forum) sells a "kit" to mount those size speakers in your doors, 5.25 is the size of the rear locations. Any good quality speaker you like such as Eclipse, Alpine, Boston Acoustics etc... will sound really nice in those locations. The bottom line is to install the speakers you prefer, not us!!!

Amps, there are several that are liked here, Alpine, JL, etc... again, they are all pretty good, fit the channels / flexibility / power / size you are looking for and get it. They all sound good, in a vette, there is just not enough "quiet" to hear nuances in a day to day driver.

I would highly suggest you consider a subwoofer like the JL Stealth or similar setup, it will truly round out the system for you.

For that kind of money, you could easily get ALL of the above installed with a 5 channel amp and have an extremely nice usable system and still have plenty of room left in your car... And likely money as well...

Good luck!

 

I have a 2007 A8L with the Bang & Olufsen audio system in it, and there is a night and day difference in the sound quality to the normal bose, albeit its a 7000$ option on the car, i knew I had to have it.

I am an audiophile and can easily tell the difference when MP3's are played at different bit rates (128/256/392) and lossless audio. What I meant to say, is that I have no idea about aftermarket car audio systems. I wanted something that was high quality and the stores I have seen just want to work one over on me. 2500 was a base idea cost w/o installation. That was a rough idea and maybe am willing to do 3500 or so.

A forum buddy told me today to look at: Rainbow 3-ways, Alpine F1-Status 3 ways and Focal Audio. What do you all think of those?

I am willing to do any modification to the car as the warranty went out the door the day I bought the car.

I have a JL 12W7 and a 1000/1 amp for it. that will get installed oneday.

Thanks for the feedback guys, the advice here is invaluable

Max

 

Still need to know the kind of stuff you're likely to listen to in order to make some recommendations. Those brands all have their place (though I'm not a big fan of Alpine speakers, but that's all in the ear of the listener) but they also have different characteristics. Finding one that sounds good to you is the key.

 

Max, that is great news.

I'll depart from TheKomoman here's question... A good set of speakers sound fantastic with any kind of music. Be it rap to celtic traditional, to speed metal.

What I will ask is...

How do you like your music?
Bright and forward? Soft and laid back, yet detailed? Moderate, realistic midbass, or pounding midbass?

You're probably going to want to do sound deadening. At the very least, on the doors.

I like Focal. They are bright, and somewhat aggressive.

I would go with a 3 way set, with the biggest midbass you can find. Example: Dynaudio system 362. 8" midbass, 3" dome midrange (can go anywhere) and a fat tweeter.

I hear Rainbow Profi Kick 3 ways have excellent midbass for a 6.5 driver.

How much room are you willing to give up?

 

I listen to a lot of classical music Tchaikovsky Mozart ect. None of the stores I can find have really high end stuff expensive you can listen to...

I suppose I like bright music

What do you mean room?

 

Max

I have done a system in my C5. JL speakers and amp with Alpine HU. I will be at the Block of Orange in August, if you want to hear a with the speakers placed in the stock locations. This will give you an idea of how a system could sound in your C6.

Gary

 

Want to fill up your entire hatch area with amps and stufF? That W7 is going to rock with classical music.

I'm thinking Focal K2P series might be a good choice for you.

Two ways will be a LOT less complicated/invasive than 3 ways, but will have less midbass.

 

I have to say I sort of agree with Kale and Komo, but I also disagree with some points. Good speakers tend to be exceptional with quality material, and VERY unforgiving with poor material. Compressed rock and rap usually get exposed for what they are. Classical and intimate club jazz can be near a religious experience.

If you enjoy classical, I strongly suggest the Focal Polyglass series and a little install care I've used them and find them to be among the best all-around car speakers right out of the box with little setup aggravation. You can certainly buy better or pay more attention to the install, but to get going quickly and effectively, there are few better systems, especially at that price.

Try some reasonable steps before going crazy. Sometimes small steps help you change direction more effectively.

 

I'll echo the recommendations for Focal. PG's are certainly more forgiving, Kevlar more detailed. If you have an installer that you trust to spend the time to get the right balance from the system then I'd lean towards Kevlar. But for install & go, the PG's are definitley hard to beat for their price.

 

Ill give up the trunk for this

I have someone I trust to install with care, So I think im going to go for the K2P series speaker. Which particular ones do I need? the 165 K2P?

As far a power goes for them what amplifiers do you recommend?

Thanks!!
Max

This is one of our forum bretheren. I like his set up, but not the particular units themselves. I just need another W7 and amp to go with it.

 

165k2p with something around 150watts rms to power it.

 

In the same sense that high quality speakers can be unforgiving to certain music, the same holds true for their tolerance of amplifiers. By choosing K2P, you will have to choose an amplifier carefully if you expect the speakers to perform. Garden variety will not be suitable if you expect to reproduce classical.

 

since you already have a JL amp, might as well get another one. They are a bit expensive for their performance, but definitely quality amps. And you won't have a frankenstein install.

Spkrboy, why haven't you taken Richard Clark's $10,000 yet?