Alpine SPS610(C) results and install questions

[WRteXan]

Background info: I like a little bump in the trunk, so just after buying the car, I threw in an older kicker comp 10" powered by a kicker 150W RMS amp. Recently, I picked up an HCA double DIN setup. Since the HCA was so pricey, I just installed an older Alpine head unit, 50Wx4 peak, probably 18x4 or so RMS to feed the urge for now. Amazing difference! It brought the factory speakers alive, but it just wasn't as clear as I was looking for. I did a little research, and the Alpine SPS610C's were getting decent reviews, but obviously that is subjective. I figured for $200 I couldn't go too far wrong picking up a pair of 610C's and some 610's for the rear...

 

Or so I thought. I have only done the rear, but I am not impressed so far, to say the least. I did the rear because I don't have enough dynamat to do the WHOLE front AND rear doors. With that in mind, I figured it would be a quick and easy install that could be completed before my daughter's bedtime. Essentially, I just made a 2-3" dynamat speaker ring so that I could seal the real speaker ring to the door. I left the rest of the door alone. After installing one door, I sat in the middle of the back seat and cranked it up. Highs are nice, but there is absolutely no mid/mid-bass coming from the alpine side. I don't mean just a little, lyrics are barely audible (I listen to mostly male vocalist country). The driver's moving, but not really producing that much sound for the level I'm playing them at. Something has to be done, whether it is dynamat the whole door, return the speakers for a different model, etc. I have a couple of questions though.

 

Has anyone experienced this with these speakers? I know they're bottom tier for audiophiles, but shouldn't they at least be better than stock? If the dynamat makes as much of a difference on the LGT as it did on my WRX, I'm worried about nothing. I have polk momo components in all 4 doors on the WRX. They sounded like audiovox crapping on roadmaster until I dynamatted the doors. After, I could rattle the rearview with just the midbass coming from my doors. But on the WRX, the speakers sucked to begin with, the stock LGT speakers sound BETTER than the alpines at this point.

 

How did others install the speakers? I used the ring provided with the speakers and just made 2 new holes. It's not ideal, but with the dynamat absorbing the ridges, it finished out clean enough.

[Dbl_D718]

Aftermarket speakers are much less efficient than factory. Thus, it takes more power to drive them to the same volume level. So running on ~20 watts RMS, they're not going to get very loud, especially down low since producing those lower frequencies requires a lot more power.

 

I've never listened to those speakers, but they should have the potential to be plenty loud, just whether or not they sound good doing it or hit the lows with any authority I don't know. Finishing up your sound deadening and adding an amp should make them sound way better.

 

Do your front speakers first though, in terms of amping and deadening. They're way more important. I'm personally not installing rear speakers at all.

[WRteXan]

I don't plan on running an external amp to the door speakers. Too much work for what I'm looking to get out of this setup.

 

I never understood the fronts only thinking. I like a decent rear fill, and have not had a set of speakers in my 17 years of car ownership that could do that from the front only. I understand that some people don't need the rears, but I like them. I guess it's a good thing that most auto manufacturers agree with me. I'm sure the manufacturer could have saved a pretty penny by not including the brackets, grills, speakers, or wire in the back. And no, the rear speakers aren't for the rear passengers, I've driven 2 seaters with rear speakers, and I've driven SUV's with speakers mounted behind the rear seat from the factory.

 

I plan on finishing the job (at least 1 front door anyway) tonight. I'm really hoping that a well sealed/dampened door will put the mid and mid-bass back into my system. Worst case scenario, I have to find other speakers, but at least my door will sound less like a honda and more like a lexus.

[Dbl_D718]

To each his own haha, I won't get into a rear fill debate here.

 

If you're not running an aftermarket amp, expect to lose some low-end output with most aftermarket speakers. They're just not designed to reach their potential on 20 watts, especially down low where it takes much more power to produce much output.

 

If you shop for other speakers, pay attention the sensitivity rating. For a low-power install, you'll want that as high as you can get while still having decent quality speakers.

[Boulderguy]

The specs on those speakers aren't overwhelming -

 

Frequency Response: 70Hz - 22kHz

Sensitivity: 88dB (1W/1m)

 

But still they should be doing more than they are. Is it possible that they're out of phase? That would sound exactly like what you described.

 

Shift the balance & fader onto that one door with the new speaker - still sound bad?

[WRteXan]

Thanks for the replies. I have been out of town on short notice business. Everything is wired correctly. You are both correct, with an 88dB sensitivity, there just won't be that much without an amp. Unfortunately, the tweeter seems to be much more efficient than the woofer. I dynamatted the entire front doors on install of the SPS610Cs, and there is a bit more of a punch, but nothing to write home about. Fortunately, there's enough there to bring out the lyrics, which is what I was wanting from the beginning. I set the head unit's HPF at 80 Hz and plugged in the sub again. I was hoping for a little more, but am happy enough to leave them... especially for the price.