Stage I upgrade questions for C5...
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 860
Likes: 0
From: Jacksonville Florida
Stage I upgrade questions for C5...
Ok, guys looking for some input here to wrap up round one of modifications to my C5's audio system. Two questions I know I'll get right off the bat are "what budget are you working with" and "what kind of sound do you want out of this system" so I'll get to those first...
1. Budget: I already have the head unit (Alpine CDA-9851) and adaptor/wiring harness. Install plate for the 1.5 din opening I also have. This round I'm going with four speakers to replace the factory ones and no sub...that's for stage II. So for the remaining four speakers and possibly small amp I'm trying to keep it under $500 - $600.
2. Goals: For this stage I just want to lay the foundation with a decent HU, replace the factory speakers, strip out all the old Bose crap, and have a nice sound stage set for adding sub(s) and high-powered amp(s) in stage II.
So with that in mind, any suggestions? I want to swap out the front door speakers with a 6.5" component setup and the rears with coaxial 6.5" speakers (car is a coupe). Looking for nice highs and mid-bass leaving the "heavy thumping" for the sub down the road. Need help with brand, model, etc
Thanks in advance...
1. Budget: I already have the head unit (Alpine CDA-9851) and adaptor/wiring harness. Install plate for the 1.5 din opening I also have. This round I'm going with four speakers to replace the factory ones and no sub...that's for stage II. So for the remaining four speakers and possibly small amp I'm trying to keep it under $500 - $600.
2. Goals: For this stage I just want to lay the foundation with a decent HU, replace the factory speakers, strip out all the old Bose crap, and have a nice sound stage set for adding sub(s) and high-powered amp(s) in stage II.
So with that in mind, any suggestions? I want to swap out the front door speakers with a 6.5" component setup and the rears with coaxial 6.5" speakers (car is a coupe). Looking for nice highs and mid-bass leaving the "heavy thumping" for the sub down the road. Need help with brand, model, etc
Thanks in advance...
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 860
Likes: 0
From: Jacksonville Florida
Thanks for the quick responses guys...noticed some of the speakers suggested (focal) come in a 6 3/4" size. What is the max mounting depth I should be looking at to fit in the stock locations and for the amp what kind of wattage x 4 should I be looking for?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 860
Likes: 0
From: Jacksonville Florida
FRONT SPEAKERS: Polk DB6501 6.5" 2-way Component
REAR SPEAKERS: Polk DB651 6.5" Coaxial
AMPLIFIER: Power Acoustik BAMF 1200/4 (100wx4)
Is this the setup you were referring to? Total from Amazon comes in at about $300. Trust me, I love the price but am willing to spend a little more for a substantial jump in quality. Would another $100 or $200 make a significant difference as far as the speakers go? Or is that money better spent in sound deadening, high-quality cables, etc?
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
Likes: 6
From: Sacramento CA
Polk are damn decent for the money. Not quite as good as the Focals, of course.
I'd probably go for a better amp. Like an ARC KS300.4 as your 4 channel amp.
The biggest factor is install and mounting locations.
Depth is not so much something to worry about in a c5. Any speaker up to 8" made for automotive use short of a subwoofer is fine.
Rear speakers havea fairly shallow mounting depth. I don't recall exactly - 2.25"? But rear speakers also reduce the accuracy of your system, destroy imaging, and increase reflections and cancellation.
But if you like the ambiguous sound from everywhere, you will need them.
I'd probably go for a better amp. Like an ARC KS300.4 as your 4 channel amp.
The biggest factor is install and mounting locations.
Depth is not so much something to worry about in a c5. Any speaker up to 8" made for automotive use short of a subwoofer is fine.
Rear speakers havea fairly shallow mounting depth. I don't recall exactly - 2.25"? But rear speakers also reduce the accuracy of your system, destroy imaging, and increase reflections and cancellation.
But if you like the ambiguous sound from everywhere, you will need them.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 841
Likes: 0
From: Gettysburg PA
I just installed a BAMF 1600/4, but I decided to go with the MM series from polk over the db as they seemed to be just a bit better and not too much more, and I really wanted a good clear speaker!
Check out the MM6501's
Check out the MM6501's
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