Im going crazy here!!! I started off just wanting to replace the factory speakers out of my C6. But after reading up, I have been convinced that I should upgrade and install great sounding speakers with a dedicated amp. But I have a few noob questions( i read the stickies but still cant figure it out)

So from what I understand, the DOORS have two speakers each???? One, a 10" woofer(wtf) and also a 3.5 speaker??? From what I understand, the 3.5 isnt a tweeter????

If this is correct, what exactly can I do(or whats the most popular method everyone uses)???


I dont know if this changes anything but I WILL be installing an aftermarket subwoofer with a dedicated amp. Probably a 10", possibly a 12".

Ive heard(read) some say each door has two 3.5 speakers? incorrect, right?

Ive also heard some people go to a 6.5" speaker??? If so, why is that??


Thanks to anyone who answers my questions, in advance...

PS: I will be changing the rear 5.25s. No problems there...

 

you really do not need to install rear speakers. you also do not need the center speaker. ditch those. you will not miss them.

the doors have a strange stock setup that includes a self-powered ten inch speaker and something people call a twiddler. you can replace the speakers in the door with component speakers that consist of a 6.5" speaker and a tweeter. you will need a speaker baffle which can be acquired from nakidparts or RaamAudio. you should also install a plate to cover up the hole in the door (it is covered with a rubber barrier, which is not stiff). while you are in the doors consider installing sound deadener and insulation. call Rick at RaamAudio, he can set you straight.

i wanted a stealth setup and installed arc audio amps in the passenger footwell and polk audio mm6501 components in the doors. i am pre-wired for a sub, just waiting for the right box to hit the market.

are you planning on replacing the head unit?

 

Here's what the factory Bose door speakers look like.

10" woofer on the bottom


Mid-high "twiddler" on top


After getting the adapter plates here's what I replaced them with

Polk component tweeter on top


Polk component Mid-range on bottom


10" sub in back


Amps in bin behind seats. One for doors and one for sub.




Still using factory Nav HU powering the rear speakers (but not really needed) and center speaker disconnected.

 

Wow, very insightful post. Thanks

As far as the rears go, I WILL be installing rears. I heard that once you suplly good power thru a good amp, they will sound 100x beter.

I will be disconnecting the center. I had an Acura TL with a center speaker. It sounded bad, as soon as I pulled it out, the door speakers sounded great

So since Im using a sub, the best way to go is component? a 6.5 and a 3.5?? May I also add extra tweeters?

Links to the baffle/ plate? Thanks

I will be keeping the stock Nav unit. Cant afford a new one now

Here in Houston, there is a company making a badass sub box for the coupes. I will post info later.

 

Evrose, thanks for the info. Seems we posted within seconds of each other lol. What polk speakers are those?? mm6501? What else did you need for that? Baffle?

 

The component set for the doors comes with a 6.5" mid/woofer and a 1" tweeter, the 'set' is all you need. The oem 3.5" is removed and you put the tweeter there on a new plate, the oem 10" is removed and you put the 6" there on a new plate.

In the doors you don't NEED the baffles or big cover plates, but they will improve the sound a bit if you have the cash.

To get the signal from the HU to new amps make the Add-GM24 (one of the top 5 links in C6 audio FAQ thread).

 

DB6501. All I needed was the adapter plates I got from a vendor here but I can't remember who it was.

 

you did pretty much exactly what i want to do, replace everything but the HU.. i like having the HUD feature... how is the sound quality? do you regret not changing the HU? i am using the non nav bose myself.. not that big on nav or touchscreen..

P.S. where to get the adapter plates?

 

I thought Dennis had them, but can't find it on his site

You can easily make your own for $5 out of a 2'x4' sheet of 1/4" MDF at Home Depot, or get them from a forum vendor here

 

I had forgotten where I got the adapter plates until I clicked on that link that Mark just posted. That's where I got them.
The sound quality is now far superior to the Bose amp/speakers and I'm only using 2 cheepy amps that I had left over from a previous install that came from Circuit City. I think they are 100w x2 for the front and 200 bridged for the sub. The HU puts out a clean signal so I don't really regret not changing it. I know an aftermarket one has a lot more features but I don't spend enough time in the car to warrant spending more money on one.

I altered the GMADD-24 harness to get signal from HU to the amps.

 

EVRose, did you surface mount the tweeter to the baffle? did your baffle have a pre-cut hole? i am using the same one from nakidparts and had to enlarge the opening in the tweeter baffle to two inches in order to press fit the tweeter mount into the baffle. (the mm6501 has both mounts for the tweeters)

did you consider spray painting the baffles black? or covering them in ensolite?

after installing my after-market amps and using the add-gm-24 harness i got a bad squeal in the speakers. the squeal was eliminated by grounding the negative side of the speaker outputs to the chassis of the head unit. i still get a perceptible high pitch sound from my speakers (which my wife does not hear). i only get it when i have the antenna connected and grounding that did not help. i have an antenna isolator along with the adapters to fit a gm antenna with the smaller plug. i will install the isolator next time i tear open the console.

arc audio amps in the passenger footwell:
DSC01335.jpg?t=1307678934

negative side of speaker outputs grounded to chassis of head unit:


inside driver door with aluminum channels visible and approx. four inches apart with door skin covered in RaaMatt


small square of ensolite directly behind the 6.5 inch speaker:


alumalite panel covered in ensolite. small pieces of RaaMatt installed on door:


the crossovers attached with velcro. there is a large cavity directly above the plastic panel in the passenger footwell. you should see two crossovers here:


i have 14 gauge wire to the cross over and then 14 gauge to each 6.5" woofer and 16 gauge to each tweeter. the wiring runs through a plastic panel that had to be drilled (install grommet before pulling wire). you should see this panel along with a grommet in the picture above.

 

I couldn't get the tweet to fit that adapter plate either. I was tempted to cut the hole bigger but if you look at the picture of my door panel you can see I rigged it to work using the metal bracket that came with the speaker. I bent them straight and screwed them onto the back of the mounting cup.
I thought about painting the adapter plates but you really can see it when everything is back together so I didn't.
I had a lot of noise in the system at first too. A whine even when the engine wasn't running and a loud thump from the sub when I turned the system off. After trying different ground points didn't work I did all the tests that pointed to the RCA patch cables picking up noise between the HU and the amp. Instead of taking everything apart and either replacing or rerouting the cables I got lazy and got a pair of THESE and all the noise is completely gone.

 

AAARRRGGHHH!!! Is this guy confusing the word baffle with plate? Is he talking about spray painting the plate??? Now Im all confused

 

slow down buddy. trying to be clear and helpful. the things that the speakers connect to are called baffles. in some forums using any other word for this "plate" will get you flamed. nowhere in my post do i refer to the things that are used to mount the speakers to the doors as plates... and that's because they are baffles... spray paint them black, cover them in ensolite, or do nothing.

 

my amps are in the passenger footwell and i tried several ground points and could not eliminate the noise either! i tried a bolt in the passenger footwell, the negative battery post, the engine, and finally settled on the factory ground on passenger pillar. the solution for most of the noise was grounding the negative side of audio output to the chassis of the head unit (thanks pentavolvo!!!).

i tried two different ground loop isolators and could not totally eliminate the noise without adversely and significantly affecting sound quality. i still have a slight but perceptible high pitch noise, and will try the antenna isolator.

out of curiosity, do your ground loop isolators affect sound quality? did you lose any low end? what is the little wire on the rca side? a ground wire? did you connect it?

ultimately, replacing the head unit will likely eliminate ground loop issues.

 

To eliminate the engine whine, you might want to try grounding the head unit to the same location that the amps are grounded to. The reason they're called "ground loop" adapters is that engine whine is created by different audio components having different ground points, creating a "loop". although you can try different ground points for different components, the real cure (usually) is to have a single good ground point, and run sufficient wiring for the ground from each component to that point.

As for the rear speakers - while the speakers sound better with good power running them, the real problem (regardless of which speakers, or how much power) is the location of the speakers. Since the closest speaker is almost right behind your head (and not to the side), you hear the left speaker mostly with your right ear. You also hear the right speaker mostly with your right ear. This creates a very confusing image. Also, because you never get a direct line from the right speaker to your right ear, the frequency response will be limited. Instead of spending a lot of money on speakers and amplification for the rear channels, try going with a good front stage and subwoofer first, and just run the rears off the stock amp. My guess is you'll never miss them not being louder. If you do, you can always make that stage II of the upgrade.

 

Excellent post my friend. This will be exactly what I will do then. Thank you sir, and thanks to everyone who has chimed in. I will bump this up if I have further questions.

My last question for now is which fronts to go with?? I already have a good 2 channel amp. Just need to know exactly what speakers. Thanks

 

depends on budget. polk audio mm6501 component speakers, which cost $169 at amazon. these are the speakers that i am running and i am happy with them.

it appears that EVRose is running polk audio db6501 component speakers, which cost $107 at amazon.

 

thanks, but i have already tried that. grounding the rca's to the head unit chassis eliminated practically all whine / noise / squeal. if i unplug the antenna from the head unit then the remaining high pitch also goes away (but so does the radio). last time i removed the console i had an antenna isolator to install, but gm uses a smaller plug than is standard, so i acquired adapters and will try the isolator next. i did try grounding the antenna to a common ground and it made the problem worse.

 

ANyone tried the Kappa Perfects 6.1???? Ive always been a fan of the Kappa line by Infiniti.

If not, ill settle for the polks