Hi all! First post in the audio section!

Little preface-
I currently have a Pioneer 4200nex that was installed shortly after I got my 08 C6z. Am realizing the poor quality of the Bose system and am looking to upgrade further.

I already have the head unit and a JL 10w6v3 that has been with me throughout various cars since 2012.

I am planning on getting a 5 channel amp (most likely the Pioneer GM-DX975).

Now for the meat and potatoes of question-
I am debating between replacing both front door speakers with components and rear coax with decent upgrades (like the morel maximo ultra series) and running all 5 channels

or

Scrapping the rear speakers entirely, getting some much nicer components (morel virtus or focal expert series) and running the 5 channel as a 3 channel which should boost output to properly drive the better speakers.


Not sure how much of a difference the rear speakers make in the overall sound. I am leaning more towards the better fronts and running it 3 channel. But Im an audio noob so opinions/input from Vette vets would be appreciated

 

Focus on the front door speakers. Run 3channel and keep the stock rears playing off the radio power.

 

I'd say scrap the rears.

I have a 5 channel (Rockford P1000x5) and decided to replace everything, 6.5" components up front and 5.25" coaxial in the rear. The staging in the car is pretty rough. The rear speakers are right by your head, so they easily overpower the fronts if you throw any power to them. I currently have the gains on the rear channel turned all the way down and still had to bump the balance towards the front a bit on the HU before it sounded right. I really like the way it turned out, but I'm betting it would be roughly the same experience if I lost the rears altogether and saved the money on the speakers.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either set up. Great choice on the subwoofer. I run one of those in my C6 and it sounds great.

 

Fantastic, thank you!

I hadn't thought about that, but logically makes sense.


Thank you it is a beast! Im more about accuracy than loudness, couldnt be happier



Seems like consensus is focus on the fronts, which is perfect as I can get much nicer speakers that way! Thank you all for your help/input!

 

And as we have been talking about for the last month..get it tuned at a shop with real tuning gear...
That radio has a 13 band parametric eq..which is impossible to tune without real gear..
You could do a rough time alignment with it though
Then when the focals are installed..get it tuned..
Best money you will spend
Check out youtube ..tuning parametric eq's...you will see

 

If you already have a sub, you already have 1 amp right? What amp are you running?

I don't agree with ditching the rears. I know some guys do...but when you get to the tuning phase, you'll understand why. You do NOT need a coaxial set back there though. just a 5.25" woofer. It DOES matter, especially when tuning. Recently, I'm a HUGE fan of JL VXi amps. They allow all the tuning in one small package. Powerful amp, 10 EQ per channel (so 80 band EQ). If you're wanting to rear on how I reached that conclusion, check out my install thread. I paid the price of this tuition so other won't have to.

Focals sound better than Morels, I've had both. Trust me, go with the Focals.

 

I had not thought about tuning in the equation- I have a good relationship with my local audio shop- will def f/u with them and watch those vids on youtube, thank you!

I do, its a JX500/1d. I had thought about keeping that and just getting a 4 or 2 channel for the speakers... but for simplicities sake, decided on 5 channel to have one dedicated amp instead of having to get two amps wired up. I had looked at the VXi and they look amazing- but are a little more than I was looking to spend. I know kind of silly considering I am looking at expensive *** speakers. If I do go with rears, would I need to get something comparable to the fronts?

 

As ronin has stated..the rears are just fill..and without tuning this will not be realized without tuning..
He convinced me to keep my rears and im going to get my system tuned once i have my new speakers set up...
I have jl c2 5.25 in the rear but will be installing focal components in the front...
And then of course ill be unhappy with the bass and get a sub..and then tune the whole thing
Read his install..best one yet

 

What kind of budget are you looking to spend? That should be the first question.

Also, never sleep on eBay, there are some great amps up for sale that are reasonably priced. Hell, I know a brand new VXi 800/8 with the DRC-205 for $1100. That's like $450 off retail. If I had to pick 1 amp that will last through the ages, it would be the VXi 700/5 or 1000/5 (depending solely on subwoofer choice.)

I digress...lets find some gear that works for you and your budget needs and try and hit your target. Also, it's not so much about speaker choice as it is about the ability to dial it all in. I bag on Morel a lot because they sounded shitty in my car, but that was also before I got a DSP and tuning ability. Hell, I probably could've made the Bose sound at least average with the DSP.

 

Knowing myself, this could easily escalate way out of control (originally started with plans just to plug and play some polks fr/r). Want to do my best to keep things at $1,000 but would do $1,500 if necessary. Brining the rears back into the equation, was thinking of downgrading to focal access series components front and coax rear with either a rf punch 1000x5 or jl rd900/5. That would put me around $1,200. Fronts are 60rms and rears 50rms so feel the 75rms by either amp would be suitable? 500rms should be perfect for the sub as well.

 

We can work with that. So I would definitely go with the RD 900/5. Great amp. Speakers I would start with these in the front: Front Speakers Rears: Rear speakers (That's a freaking STEAL!!! Those are what I run.) Then you need this stuff to finish her out. (Use that to hold your crossovers in the doors) The door is usually where I put the X-overs, but if you ever drive in the rain, you might want to mount them inside the passenger compartment somewhere.
(I use these to keep water off the speaker. They also help mid-bass out. You will need to cut the back off of them. Easy stuff.
Amp - $600
Front speakers - $110
Rear speakers - $300
Adapters $21
RCAs - $22
Velcro - $15
Speaker baffles - $20
Total - $1088

And this will be a decent start to a solid system. If you're willing to spend any more money, I would recommend deadening material. You WILL notice how loud the cabin of the C6 is when you start down this road. You will never need new rear speakers as those are near flagship Focal units. You have plenty of room to grow with that amp. If you ever want "more" consider making the switch to 2 ohm speakers. Some will say you don't need to spend that much on the rears especially if you can remove them all together and use that money for deadening. Sure, you can. But without deadening, you need MORE speaker output. So when you upgrade the system in the future, and find a killer front set (or go active with a DSP) those killer rear speakers will pay their dividends.

 

HOLY COW thank you for this! Those rears look amazing! I am thinking I may stretch the budget a bit to keep the front speakers of higher quality. Would you say the 165KR components are of good quality/are they comparable to the 165F or 165V1. Will definitely plan the DSP as a future upgrade once I get everything else sorted.

 

My ps 165 f's are coming soon..will report how they sound..but that wont be until at least next week

 

Awesome! Im about a month out from buying at this point so would love to hear how you like the F’s

 

Funny thing..i put jl c2 3.5 in the doors and dod not like them..changed the HU frtom an alpine 175bt to a 149..which is a much better one with time correction and a parametric eq..and a better DAC
Niw that the speakers have broken in..it sound a hundred times better..
At this point i probably would have spent the money on a sub..but the focals are coming..and then ill pop for a sub..will be interesting to hear the difference with the bose woofers removed and the focals in place

 

The 165KR are a great speaker. It's the set I run in my truck and have had them for years. They still sound great. However, I don't know where you'll find them since they are obsolete. Maybe eBay you'll get lucky.

The flax series sounds AWESOME! Literally hard to tell the difference between them and K2s. You wont be disappointed.

 

Awesome!! If I dont find an open box deal on the flax, will go k2 so i have match set. Will re update post after everything is purchased and then installed

 

BTW, I know where you can get an XD 700/5 shipped for $300 right now. It's used but in great shape. If you want, that will free up some big scratch to go towards your speakers and still be everything you're looking for. Let me know quick though. I'll have to get it for you as it's a "members only" type deal.

 

Oh man! Thank you for the offer, that is quite a deal! Unfortunately, I just started my new job today and wont be getting my first pay till early September so I wont be able to take you up on it .