C5Z Looking for advice on front speakers
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 24
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From: San Dimas CA
C5Z Looking for advice on front speakers
I'm looking for advice on replacing the front speakers in a 2001 z06. So far I've added a subwoofer and a 4 channel amp with two channels bridged for the sub. This leaves me two for the front speakers.
From what I read so far, it seems I could have a better sounding system for less money by putting together my own components using drivers from Madisound, or parts express. Rather than buying a set from an auto sound company. Does anybody have any recommendations on what would be a good choice? Also what should I use for crossovers? I saw that Madisound can make custom crossovers. Is that something I should look into?
I would like the sound to be accurate and detailed.
Thanks.
From what I read so far, it seems I could have a better sounding system for less money by putting together my own components using drivers from Madisound, or parts express. Rather than buying a set from an auto sound company. Does anybody have any recommendations on what would be a good choice? Also what should I use for crossovers? I saw that Madisound can make custom crossovers. Is that something I should look into?
I would like the sound to be accurate and detailed.
Thanks.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 7,201
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From: DP(oh you know where) IL
St. Jude Donor '06
building your own crossover is harder than it looks, unless they are the prebuilt ones or you know what you want. Your better off using ones that are supplied with a component set. invest in a good set of 6.5" components and you'll be good to go. look at polk, focal if you want to spend the extra dough. focal will be the better speaker
Pro
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 744
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From: WayTooCloseToNY Northeast PA
From what I read so far, it seems I could have a better sounding system for less money by putting together my own components using drivers from Madisound, or parts express. Rather than buying a set from an auto sound company. Does anybody have any recommendations on what would be a good choice? Also what should I use for crossovers? I saw that Madisound can make custom crossovers. Is that something I should look into?
I would like the sound to be accurate and detailed.
I would like the sound to be accurate and detailed.
Really the best solution is this: get help from an experienced person in selecting good value and high quality OEM drivers like those at Madisound. Then use an active crossover with 4 channels of amplification (a small 4 x 50 run active will perform better than a 2x100 into garden-variety passives) to the front stage. Nineteen times in twenty, this will sound better than anything you can buy in a box for car audio. It comes down to good driver choices.
Ultimately, this takes a tad more effort than buying a boxed set of components, but it's one of only two paths to getting better sound.
Feel free to PM or IM me if you need a little guidance.
Rob
Pro
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 744
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From: WayTooCloseToNY Northeast PA
If you want to eliminate passive components and go active all around, then extra channels of amplification are necessary in all circumstances.
Drivers I would recommend will depend on your design goals, mounting locations and musical tastes.
Drivers I would recommend will depend on your design goals, mounting locations and musical tastes.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: San Dimas CA
I actually have already done this. I found Lots of good info, especially your link to zaphaudio. But I’m still a little unsure on what would be a good combo. And how to match a tweeter with a midrange.
Pro
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 744
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From: WayTooCloseToNY Northeast PA
We share a lot of musical tastes. I can say that over the years I've developed a fondness for Vifa and Seas. My appreciation for Focal is waning of late. High-dollar drivers like Scan-Speak or Accuton are completely unnecessary. Drivers to avoid would include pretty much anything built by Morel or much from Hi-Vi. There's no reason to spend more than $75 per mid or $50 per tweeter, and you will find there are many candidates for considerably less than that.
If you grasp many of the concepts on Zaph's site, keep reading. There's a ton of useful information there. His driver measurements are spot-on.
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Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: San Dimas CA
Therein lies the key. You should look for a midrange / tweeter combination that has significant response overlap. The more range they share, the more flexible your crossover settings can be. Pay particular attention to the behaviors of each driver in that region as well, as a peaky response indicates some distortion that will hamper your pursuits. Conversely, drivers with smooth rolloffs will be easier to integrate. Obviously driver physical size will play a role in selection too. Smoothness is far more important than ultra-flat response. That smoothness allows you to avoid most if not all passive components.
We share a lot of musical tastes. I can say that over the years I've developed a fondness for Vifa and Seas. My appreciation for Focal is waning of late. High-dollar drivers like Scan-Speak or Accuton are completely unnecessary. Drivers to avoid would include pretty much anything built by Morel or much from Hi-Vi. There's no reason to spend more than $75 per mid or $50 per tweeter, and you will find there are many candidates for considerably less than that.
If you grasp many of the concepts on Zaph's site, keep reading. There's a ton of useful information there. His driver measurements are spot-on.
We share a lot of musical tastes. I can say that over the years I've developed a fondness for Vifa and Seas. My appreciation for Focal is waning of late. High-dollar drivers like Scan-Speak or Accuton are completely unnecessary. Drivers to avoid would include pretty much anything built by Morel or much from Hi-Vi. There's no reason to spend more than $75 per mid or $50 per tweeter, and you will find there are many candidates for considerably less than that.
If you grasp many of the concepts on Zaph's site, keep reading. There's a ton of useful information there. His driver measurements are spot-on.
Thanks For all the advice! I really appreciate it. I’ll have to update this in the future and share what I come up with.
Thanks again,
Eric