Yeah. I drive with the top down, so I only hear the rears if it starts to rain. That's why I went with cheap: Rockford Fosgate R1525X2. The Crutchfield rep spent quite a lot of time with me. The Rockfords were $40/pr, included the Metra harness and free shipping.
It rained the day after I installed them and they sound good to me.

 

So what did you wind up using in the doors if I might ask? Dave

 

Well, it's a long story. The Crutchfield rep couldn't find any 4 ohm coaxial speakers that would clear the grilles in the door. So I checked Amazon. I have my car listed there and looked through speakers available on Prime, with free returns, that said "will fit your car."
My receiver is a Pioneer and I found some Pio speakers that met the criteria: TS-A878 at $37/pair. We'll see if they DO fit and I'll report back.
I should add that I don't expect my car system or ANY car system to provide fantastic sound. Between the speaker placement and ambient noise I don't believe it's possible. I have some great sound systems at home and am a hi-fi hobbyist and audiophile. But for the car? I want good sound and convenience.

 

Thanks, interested to hear how they work out. I just had a new Sony head unit put in but think the 4 "twidlers" need to get replaced! Dave

 

Yes, I suppose they do. The original Bose speakers are good, but I think coaxial speakers will work better in a car environment. My suggestion is to check the specs of your Sony hu and see what kind of impedance it is rated for. If it can handle 2 ohm speakers those JBLs are very nice. But if, like my Pio, it is only rated for 4 ohm speakers don't use speakers that are less than 4 ohm impedance. Looking at the current Sony models, I checked the manual for the Sony XAV-AX5000. The manual states "Speaker impedance: 4 Ω – 8 Ω ".

 

I believe no aftermarket HU is rated for 2 ohm..they All are rated fir about 20 watts at 4 ohms..if you want to stick with an aftermarket Hu and just use its amp..you need very efficient speakers ..over 90 sensitivity
The original Bose HU can handle 2 ohm speakers..but still doesnt have much power.

 

MFI: so what "brand" of 4 ohm speakers would you suggest for replacing the 4 twidlers? (01 Vert) Thanks, Dave

 

I bought jl audi
But going to replace the whole front setup with a component set..i judt dont like the bose woofers and the 3.5 's cant handle much
Im looking at focals...expensive.
If you just want to change the twids..ill be putting mine up for sale soon...

 

The Pioneer TS-A878 door speakers went in today ($37/pair). Very nice. Great price. They're 4 ohm so they'll play nicely with the Pio head unit and they're plug n play: Unlike the JBLs, but like the original Bose, the wide lug is positive, so just unplug the Bose and plug in the Pio. Of course I had previously changed the connectors to accept the JBLs so I had to re-wire again but it was an easy job and everything sounds good.

 

So update me after a bit and let me know how you like the sound of all 4 speakers you installed. The Sony I had put in is better than the OEM Head unit but I think 4 new speakers could make it sound better!! Thanks, Dave

 

OK but a couple of thoughts:

• Pioneer makes a 5-1/4" rear speaker: TS-G1320S. Amazon has these for $28/pair. Think I would have preferred to get these to use with my Pio 2500 HU and the Pio fronts
• The coaxial design is an improvement over the twiddlers because the speaker placement is not optimal.
• I have a 'vert. Ride with the top down so I really can't hear the rears.
• Listened with the top up so I could adjust the fader and EQ. I think this sounds great for a car stereo but a car stereo will never reproduce music the way my home system does so this is "good enough."

 

Thanks J.Kent!! Dave

 

Do your HU's have any type of sound controls,eq..time alignment?
Just doing a time alignment made a world of difference.
And let the speakers break in for a few weeks before you decide if they sound good

 

PS
If you get the rears from Crutchfield they include the Metra harness. If you buy elsewhere you'll need to buy the wiring harness.

 

Yes have noticed that too. The Pioneers you DID not get for the rears don't have the greatest reviews and/or fitment size either. Think I need 4 speakers all the same brand but what I don't know; maybe I will talk to my installer about it. Dave

 

The Sony I got does have a 10 band equalizer so that is a help I guess, Dave

 

EQ is not the same as time alignment. Check your manual and see if there is time alignment in your Sony. The Pio has it.
Thanks for the heads up on the Pio rears. And IMHO the front and rear speakers do not have to be the same brand. If they are name-brand and decent quality they should play together fine. Just be sure they are all in phase.
As mentioned, I have Rockford Fosgates in the back and HAD JBLs in front. Now I have Pioneers in front. Both combinations sounded fine.
FWIW, my home surround system uses different brand speakers. They are all of the acoustic suspension design (except the subwoofer) and the fronts are bigger than the rears, rears are bigger than the sides and the wide and high speakers are the smallest. I use the Audyssey system to balance all of the levels. Sounds awesome.

 

The time alignment if you have it can be done roughly by yourself...that 10 band eq.not so much. Take Ronin's advice and once everything is in place and broken in..get it tuned at a shop..best money you will spend. Look up parametric eqs on youtube and you will see what I mean.
I put JL c2 3.5 in the front and now that they have broken in sound Ok , also put the c2 5.25 in the rear and they are just fill..and are not cheap. But if you just want to change the fronts I think the JL's are pretty good. And i'll be selling them soon. Paid 119 so 75 bucks for the pair .
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-G8gJKN...hoCNEYQAvD_BwE

 

For anyone wondering, the jbl gx502 5 1/4 inch speakers DID NOT fit in the back of my 03 z06 or i should say did not fit well. The driver side went in ok, the passenger side the speaker magnet sticks out just a tad too far and the corner of it pushes hard against the curve of the body behind the speaker hole. You can still screw it down however it does not sit even on the speaker hole and the hole is a bit exposed on the left side (toward front of the car) due to the magnet pushing against the body and not allowing you to line the speaker up properly. I would imagine since the corner of the speaker magnet is pushing so hard against the body and it seems the body is some sort of composite plastic or such behind the speaker it will eventually cause it to crack. I did get a chance to listen to them though and they do sound much better then the stock speakers.
With the stock speakers i had to turn the treble way up to get some highs and even then it wasn't as clear and crisp as these with the treble on normal now.
I did some research and it seems the club series speakers (which are just updated versions of the gx series) mentioned earlier in this post have a shorter mounting depth and should give enough clearance (i hope) so im waiting on those to arrive now, while the back of my z06 is left apart so i don't have to take it all apart again. I will update once i get the new speakers.
Update: The club 5020 speakers fit perfect and gave the extra bit of clearance needed. I could already see rub marks where the gx502s were digging into the body when i removed them on both sides.

 

I did speaker upgrades (twiddlers and rears) in my FRC. The rears are a bit "tinny" and I think going with a 2-way design did not help.....