hansvonaxion Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Hey, I've done quite a bit of reading recently but haven't found anything that covers what I'm after. I have a gen 2 wagon with an Eclipse AVN557HDTV head unit (JDM only model) and original speakers (as far as I know). The fronts are split, 6.5" (I believe) and tweeters on the doors. The in-door rears I don't know the size. Anyway, I was thinking of replacing the original speakers but I'm not very good with electronics and don't have tools or space to work. A couple of noob questions I have are; 1. Do the OEM splits have a crossover or are they full frequency to both mid-range and tweeter? 2. Could I replace just the door speaker and keep the tweeters as is? 3. Would that be a reasonable idea? 4. Would putting 2-ways in the door and keeping the OEM tweeters hooked up be a bad idea? 5. Is it possible to change the door speakers without soldering - do the OEM speakers/wires use plugs that would fit any aftermarket units? The reason for swapping is basically to try to improve the sound, mainly get some more bass, before thinking about a powered sub. Also one of the rear door speakers has started rattling, may be blown or on it's way out. I would probably get something used, like these for $50ish. Possibly do away with the rear door speakers depending on size, what's available, how much improvement I get from the fronts (assuming I can do it). Depending on the answers I get I could just leave it as is or wait a while and pay someone to install new mids, tweeters and possibly a powered sub down the line, but money's too tight to mention and isn't really a necessity in my life right now. Thanks for reading, any advice welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbo41610 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Hey bud, I don't have time for a detailed response but here is some answers. 1. Not sure, they are probably just full range with a very, VERY basic form of crossover. 2. NO! 3. NO! 4. YES! 5. Yes... sometimes. You would need to take the door card off and take a look. Those speakers you have linked to, look terrible, really terrible. They look like cheap Chinese rip off's that won't provide any improvement over the current setup (sorry, had to be blunt). I take it you aren't looking to spend a whole heaps. So I would suggest you look into the entry level speakers from the mainstream brands (Alpine, Pioneer, Soundstream, JVC etc etc etc). They are a good starting point for someone in your position. As for the rear speakers, leave the stock ones in place. You don't listen to them, and they provide no improvement to the overall sound. Basically, when you get your new speakers in, fade all the way to the front to give the new speakers as much power as possible and disconnect the rears. You can use the money you save from not buying rear speakers to buy better front speakers or to get some sound dampening, Dynamat etc. When it comes to installing the new front speakers, you will need to make a spacer/baffle out of mdf wood to utilise the OEM holes and give the new speakers a solid mounting point, and don't forget to seal the wooden baffles to avoid them soaking up moisture and rottting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansvonaxion Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Hey bud, I don't have time for a detailed response but here is some answers. 1. Not sure, they are probably just full range with a very, VERY basic form of crossover. 2. NO! 3. NO! 4. YES! 5. Yes... sometimes. You would need to take the door card off and take a look. Thanks. So would putting some half-decent co-axial 2-ways in the front doors give any improvement over the OEM splits? I don't like my chances of fitting tweeters and cross-overs and all, that's why I was considering swapping just the mids and keeping the OEM tweeters but if you're saying I should get rid of the tweeters then I'd have to remove them to disconnect them anyway. Also, forgot to ask, if anyone knows of an instructional/walkthrough for removing the door panels/speakers/tweeters specifically for a gen 2 I'd really appreciate a link. Those speakers you have linked to, look terrible, really terrible. They look like cheap Chinese rip off's that won't provide any improvement over the current setup (sorry, had to be blunt). I take it you aren't looking to spend a whole heaps. So I would suggest you look into the entry level speakers from the mainstream brands (Alpine, Pioneer, Soundstream, JVC etc etc etc). They are a good starting point for someone in your position. Actually the speakers I linked to were Alpines, STE-162J, I guess pretty similar to these from Nengun, STE-162C for $168. Here's some different examples, just depends what's available... Alpine, Eclipse, Carozzeria, Clarion. As for the rear speakers, leave the stock ones in place. You don't listen to them, and they provide no improvement to the overall sound. Basically, when you get your new speakers in, fade all the way to the front to give the new speakers as much power as possible and disconnect the rears. You can use the money you save from not buying rear speakers to buy better front speakers or to get some sound dampening, Dynamat etc. When it comes to installing the new front speakers, you will need to make a spacer/baffle out of mdf wood to utilise the OEM holes and give the new speakers a solid mounting point, and don't forget to seal the wooden baffles to avoid them soaking up moisture and rottting. As of now, I have the fader set to the front, but the kid and wife ride in the back so the rears may actually come in handy. Not really sure yet. I think I remember seeing pre-made spacers at autobacs. Will have to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbo41610 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Yes, decent co-axials will provide an overall better sound than the OEM splits. However, aftermarket splits will obviously yield better results. Why don't you like your chances of installing new splits??? You won't be mounting the new crossovers in the doors, you should be able to get away with using the factory positions. Perhaps put those Alpines in the rear for the kids and put something decent up front. I used to have a set of Infinity coaxials in an old car and with deadened doors, they sounded great. Also, take a look into CDT, they make fantastic tweeters, and their midwoofers are pretty strong and can take a beating. Also, Digital Designs (used to, not sure about now) made brutal coaxials and splits in their entry levels. As a gag me and a friend on a project car put nearly 400w RMS into a set of splits and they went hard... I mean hard!!! The tweeters sounded like shite though but the mids were crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansvonaxion Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Why don't you like your chances of installing new splits??? You won't be mounting the new crossovers in the doors, you should be able to get away with using the factory positions. I'm a clutz with no tools, no space to work and no idea! Actually the factory splits just have a condenser on the tweeter and most of the entry stuff is the same so that would be easy I guess (so long as the tweeter fit in the stock cover/mount). If I got something with a separate crossover (like Carozerria) I'd have to mount it somewhere. Perhaps put those Alpines in the rear for the kids and put something decent up front. So I took the doors apart to see what I was dealing with and as I suspected, the mids are rooted, the paper's breaking up. So I bought some Kenwood mids from a component set to use with the factory tweeters (laugh all you want, it'll tide me over for a while). I bought some Alpine MDF adapters that cost more than the speakers but I can use those in future and I had to buy some wire strippers and connectors so I probably could have mounted tweeters too, but like I said, this is just a stop-gap so no biggie. Will see how it sounds when I hook it up tomorrow. Oh quick question; The wire with the stripe is positive, right? That's how I've always done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbo41610 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Stripe = trace (here in Oz). I always wire trace negative but as long as it's the same at both ends, there is no difference I suppose. Well done getting yourself a solution. A self installed stereo always brings more satisfaction than paying for one to be installed. You learn more too. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansvonaxion Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Stripe = trace (here in Oz). I always wire trace negative but as long as it's the same at both ends, there is no difference I suppose. Damn! I won't go into details but it was a pain in the arse getting them connected, now I have to swap them! (I checked the originals and there was a little wire left and the speakers were kindly stamped pos/neg) Maybe I should splurge $10 on a soldering iron and do them properly this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbo41610 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Do it right, do it once ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansvonaxion Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 If I crossed the wires all my music would play backwards, putting me under Satan's spell, correct? Well I did it dodgy this time. I'll keep an eye out for a cheap but good set of splits for the front on Yahoo auction and do it properly then, maybe put these in the back. I wouldn't mind a sub, just an under the seat one would do, but that requires running a power line from the battery and stuff so I might pay someone to do that. (first I need to fix the damn rattle in the dash!! it's driving me nuts) Originals. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/hansvonaxion/Legacy/speakerold1.jpg And after I got them out. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/hansvonaxion/Legacy/speakerold2.jpg New mids in place. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/hansvonaxion/Legacy/speakernew1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbo41610 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Looks good, well done. One thing I would suggest is putting in some thin foam weather stripping (like the kind you put on the bottoms of doors http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/caulks-sealants/foam-tape.jpg) between the baffle and the door frame and between the speaker and the baffle. Just to make the mounting a bit more air-tight and minimise rattles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansvonaxion Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Yeah I did that, thanks. When I screwed the first one in I popped the plastic lugs off the doors, they aren't very strong and the baffle + tape didn't leave much of the screws left so I was trying to make the most of it. Is there an alternative? Perhaps some type of anchor screw? Actually the speakers didn't need any spacing, they could have screwed straight into the door and cleared the window but the baffle made them easier to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbo41610 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 The baffle is definitely the way to go as it reduces rattles in the door. Are you referring to the plastic lugs in the door frame that you screw into or the plastic lugs on the door card that plug into the door frame??? Either way, I think you can get them and any auto store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansvonaxion Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 The ones in the door frame that the speakers screw into - I wanted the speakers held in tightly, obviously. Don't know if there are generic replacements, although I doubt it, and new ones probably wouldn't be much stronger than the old ones. Maybe I just got a little over zealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansvonaxion Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Damn online auctions are dangerous! I bid on some Focal, AVI and relatively unknown Japanese (95W nominal 190W max input with massive magnets) today. The Focals got away from me, should have bought them for the "buy now" price - kicking myself - it was only a few tens of dollars in the last few seconds. Ended up buying some Alpine splits but the in-line crossovers might not be included. Will have to see what gets delivered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.