The subject says it all. What is your number one choice of speaker to replace those 4x10s in your dash?

I've got a couple of stipulations: it has to be a speaker that fits without any cutting or "permanent" modifications to the dash board; in other words, it's gotta fit in the hole as it is. I don't wanna hear your arguments about how it's better to modify the dash and throw 6x9s or something in. This thread is not about that. Just answer the question!

Include estimated cost, and a few specs, like RMS power, frequency response, your experience with the speaker, etc.

Another question to make it more interesting: is the sound quality of round speakers worth the cone area lost if you go with 4" round speakers (instead of, for example, 4x6s or 4x10s)? Also, is there a larger round speaker that can fit in the stock location without doing surgery on the dash?

My specific situation is this: I got a pair of Audiobahn 105 watts RMS (210 peak) ABF14T 4x10 speakers, and blew one, so I'm looking ideas. The rest of my system consists of the stock 4x6s (soon to be replaced, looking for suggestions on that too) and I'll have a 600 watt rms Resonant Engineering SE 10" sub installed in the center console soon. Do you think it would be a good idea to go with four of the same kind of speaker (two in dash and two in B pillars) all around? Also, with 600 watts (1200 peak)of subwoofer, how much total power would you all suggest for the mid and high end to balance it out properly? Another 600? More? Less? Personally, I love bass, but overkill is overkill.

Also, post what kind of fabricating and other special work (besides screwing the speakers in) must be done to mount the speakers you suggest.

Thanks!

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'86 5-Spd 2M4 Sport Coupe / 68k Miles - Borla Exhaust - PontiacSound.com Subwoofer Box Coming Soon!

'84 Auto 2M4 SE Parts Car

I purchased Pioneers and installed in a 88 I had and it sounded great. But then again I dont do the big Thump Thump like these Kids do.

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4.9 Caddy in Garage! Car in Driveway! ACK!

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http://home.cfl.rr.com/fierose
Central Florida Fieros
http://www.centralfloridafieros.org

Cool, somebody who knows about RE audio. Well if you know of them, then you might know of CDT audio. They make a great 5.25 component that should fit right in the factory location with a custom plate made. Right now I also have Audiobahns in the front, I think the highest line too, and I have not had troubles with them for over a year now. I have Pioneer 4X6 plate speakers in the rear. I have heard the CDT's, and they rival Rainbow, boston, Focal, and other $500+ speaker sets, deffinantly worth the money.

Here are the links to the CDT's and Pioneers

http://www.cdtaudio.com/convertible.htm
http://www.audiooutfitter.com/store/TS-P462.html

Don't look at the prices just yet, because that is MSRP on the CDT's, you can find them a lot cheaper. Also they come in either silk or aluminum dome tweeters, I prefer the silk my self, a lot smoother.

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[This message has been edited by Golden86 (edited 10-21-2004).]

subject has been brought up a few times (do a search) But unless your looking to stay stock. Get away from ovals!!!

5"1/4 rounds fit with a lil modding and cutting. But in the end they'll rock your pants off!! And you can still use the grills once you remove the legs on the covers (security, and the covers slide under your seat when off)

BTW, I got word from a worm I would of won the audio comp at Wheatstock had I not mentioned my loose rca wire under my center console (didn't want the judge to hit it, and goof the sound, Sigh) And all I have is these speakers and a 10" Vega behind the pass seat! Almost too loud!

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Ferrari 308 GTB rebody on a modified 86SE chasis Soon to have a highly hooped up 3800SC..Ohh yeah baby!!
Contacts _ AIM / Zildjianfx _ Yahoo / djdraggin
Remember, always brush your milk, drink your teeth, dont do sleep and get eight hours of drugs.

I have a JVC digifine composet with a seperate tweeter and a 4" mid/woofer. Peak is 150 watts and with the low frequencies cut off (those are routed to the sub) they really kick. Better than most 4x10's I guess...I mounted them on an MDF plate in the stock location, the stock speakergrills fit like normal. The crossover filters are hidden under the dash or behind the carpet.

check my post inthe mall 4x10 for sale. I use to install stereos and chose the Alpines because it requires no mods, and discussing with other installlers decided they were the best sounding. I listen to all tpes of music, acustic, hard rock, techno, and we tested out a few diffferent types in my car and sat and listened to the music, and all felt that it was the Alpines that were the best.

So am I hearing 5.25s will sound better then 4x10's? I thought more surface area = more bass. Unless the quality of the bass isn't as good? BTW, I have 4x10 Audiobahns as well. (AS41Q)

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http://www.decware.com/secrets.htm read this for starters . and yes rouns speakers provide"true" sound reproduction .componant speakers depending on the quality can be exceptionally clear unless they are under powered. and as well all know underpowering a set of speakers can be destructive . you can purchace new 6" bass drivers and make small boxes for them to fit under the dash of the passenger side . these are a good source of bass for your stereo and not there to provide "sub" levels do a search on fierosound in the archives . he knows quite a bit about this subject as well . my self --- i am leaveing the auto sound and security industry after being head installer for the past 4 years but will continue custom side jobs and fiberglassing at home

every 4x10 ive heard has sounded like crap. I used infitinity 4 in speakers in my dash. i modded my covers to use the grill that came with the speaker but they can fit without any mods i believe. If you have another source or bass then you can put bass blockers on the 4 in infinity references and they sound great for highs. I put 2 6x9 infinity kappas in as well, one where most people put a sub in the center console. and one under the pass side dash that only required some screws going through the bottom part of the dash after fabbing up a plate out of mdf board.

My stereo sounds great and has good tight bass none of that overpowering thump that rattles your mirrors and makes the music sound like crap.

If you go for a speaker I would say Inifity and Alpine are probably the best damn equipment you can get.

I just purchased some 4x10 kickers. Sound good to me, but what the hell do I know?

As the audio engineer for the Fiero, I can tell you that we went with 4X10's to get some cone area for bass just to fill in the low-mid range. The I/P is not a great surface to generate deep bass as it will have too many buzzes and rattles. Also, the 4 ohm 4X10s were quite efficient in their day and gave a natural sound pressure level balance front to rear with the 4 ohm 4X6's we added in the B-pillars. (The headrest speakers always did suck for sound quality). The systems of today with more power would probably work best with 5 1/4s or 4X6s all around with separate tweeters and a subwoofer to fill in the low end.

I have a set of eclipse Speakers that are BRAND NEW in box im probably gonna sell...and if ya do your research eclipse is one of the top brands out there for speakers

Brad

I am using 4" component speakers all around.
If you want to know how it sounds, Ask Golden86

Here is my entire set-up:

http://www.polkaudio.com/car/installs/view.php?id=13

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.
ZZ4 Powered !!

go kappa's when you can you won't regret it.

4x6 peak power is 180 watts, I got tired of 4x10's up front went with kappa's up there too 330 watts peak. I know you didn't say nothing of 6x9's, I haven't heard it yet my friends helping me install them this weekend

quote Originally posted by Oreif: I am using 4" component speakers all around. If you want to know how it sounds, Ask Golden86 Here is my entire set-up: http://www.polkaudio.com/car/installs/view.php?id=13

I guess it sounds OK

But now with the V8, you don't even need speakers, isnt the sound of the exhaust enough?! Oh, and speaking of exhaust, the Borla you gave me is AMAZING sounding, I havn't even listened to my radio since I installed it. Thanks again.

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[This message has been edited by Golden86 (edited 10-22-2004).]

Well, here's my set up....4" mids by Peerless and Vifa tweeters. Custom made plate no cutting of any part of the car.

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[This message has been edited by kooljess (edited 10-22-2004).]

I tried the 4" speaker set up using expensive Bose components and it just didn't have the bass you'd want (sans subwoofer). I put in a set of 4"X10" Kenwoods and move the Bose speakers to the back. It's good, but not spectacular.

I went with twin Kapps... VERY little modification needed, just a dremel/5min , and a custom plate. They sound GREAT.

I am considering getting four of the Kappa 462.5CFP. Has anyone installed this particular speaker in the B pillars? I've heard mounting speakers there can be a hassle.

One other potential problem:

SE10 Sub: 600 watts RMS, 1200 watts peak
4x Kappas: 240 watts RMS, 720 watts peak

Let's say I cross the system over at 150Hz and amp all speakers and the sub to their full potential. Simple math (assuming an overall frequency response of 20Hz - 21KHz) concludes that the bottom .6% of frequencies would get around 65% of the system's power. I'm absolutely a bass fanatic, but would that sound like crap, with those proportions?

Does anyone know of speakers that might fill out the top ~20k frequencies better (keeping the stipulation that they must fit without any cutting)?

THe person that sold me my 84se had pulled the dash out to paitn it, so he put kenwood 6x9s under the holes for the speakers
makes a mega differnce in sound and works great.

quote Originally posted by timwdegner: I am considering getting four of the Kappa 462.5CFP. Has anyone installed this particular speaker in the B pillars? I've heard mounting speakers there can be a hassle.

installed those and yes it was a pain the magnets on aftermarkets are bigger I had to pound the crap outta the tabs and then mount them with 1 screw. I plan on fixing it up more next year, but they sound awesome there

quote Originally posted by FieroWannaBe: THe person that sold me my 84se had pulled the dash out to paitn it, so he put kenwood 6x9s under the holes for the speakers makes a mega differnce in sound and works great.

Oooh, I like the sound of this! Is there any cutting or much fabrication work done? Do you have any pictures?

quote Originally posted by LoW_KeY: installed those and yes it was a pain the magnets on aftermarkets are bigger I had to pound the crap outta the tabs and then mount them with 1 screw. I plan on fixing it up more next year, but they sound awesome there

Was this with the Kappa 462.5CFPs in particular or another speaker? Any idea of the mounting depth of your speaker and the available mounting depth in the pillars?

Thanks and plusses to all helping out!

Sorry, I'm looking for answers, and this got buried a few pages back, so bump!

I'm just looking for the most power in speakers without any permanent mods, so... help! =P

quote Originally posted by timwdegner: Was this with the Kappa 462.5CFPs in particular or another speaker? Any idea of the mounting depth of your speaker and the available mounting depth in the pillars? Thanks and plusses to all helping out!

it was the 462.5CFP kappa's I don't know all the info, I plan on redoing the setup, I was happy at first then was getting aggrivated at the time. I thought it was a direct drop in and when I saw it wasn't my jaw hit the ground and I said oh crap.

I might be possibly doing it tomorrow and if I do I can get some measurements and pictures.

[This message has been edited by LoW_KeY (edited 10-23-2004).]

quote Originally posted by LoW_KeY: it was the 462.5CFP kappa's I don't know all the info, I plan on redoing the setup, I was happy at first then was getting aggrivated at the time. I thought it was a direct drop in and when I saw it wasn't my jaw hit the ground and I said oh crap. I might be possibly doing it tomorrow and if I do I can get some measurements and pictures.

Yes, pretty please on the pics!!

my 6x9 setup isnt hard just pull the dash out, no pics though
the're just in there, not held done by much becuase the fit is tight enough were they dont much but are squished no pics digital camera ist here. imagine a 6x9 underneeth the 4x10 hole, good bass and good mid/high sounds nice i just need to do something about my headrest speakers.

Tim....This site has 11 different models of 4 x 10's

http://www.thecarstereo.com/product/list.php?cc=SP40&dc=1&br=

quote Originally posted by Frizlefrak: Tim....This site has 11 different models of 4 x 10's http://www.thecarstereo.com/product/list.php?cc=SP40&dc=1&br=

Wow, cool! Thanks a lot, I'm looking through them now.

There's a Performance Teknique brand model that boasts a peak power of 500 watts... must look into this. I'm having trouble finding an RMS power handling number anywhere, though... Has anyone tried these? I've never heard of them before.

I installed some 4x6 pioneers up front... and they sound like CRAP. I also installed a new cd player at the same time, so that may be related. Right now though it sounds very 'tinny', even with the bass turned up on the cd player. <sigh>

btw - if anyone has any ideas on how to correct this, send me a PM...

98% sure I have these up front:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14939&item=5727418006&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[This message has been edited by ryan.hess (edited 10-24-2004).]

<beep>

quote Originally posted by Frizlefrak: Tim....This site has 11 different models of 4 x 10's http://www.thecarstereo.com/product/list.php?cc=SP40&dc=1&br=

Theres no Eclipse on that list. The Eclipse sounded the best of the all the "walls" I visited. A bit expensive but the best sound from a 4x10.

Seperates done right are still the way to go.

I suprised nobody mentioned the Sony Explodes

The 4x10 and 4x6 are direct bolt-in replacements and sound much better than the OEM 18 year old speakers.

You can usually find them online for about $100. (all 4 with shipping)

quote Originally posted by Skybax: I suprised nobody mentioned the Sony Explodes The 4x10 and 4x6 are direct bolt-in replacements and sound much better than the OEM 18 year old speakers. You can usually find them online for about $100. (all 4 with shipping)

Yea, I noticed those - I've never been fond of Sony (though I try not to discriminate based on brand alone), but I've never heard the Explode 4x10s. I have no doubt that they sound good compaired to the 18-year old OEM speakers - about anything would, I think - the question is, how do they stack up against their current competition?

Those Eclipses do sound good. I don't have much info on them, though - anyone have a link?

sony speaker do what they are called mainly because of underpowering done do it man run away kappas are nice but pricey jbl and pioneer are good as well

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modding one day at a time .critique me dont critisize . try to be objective dont troll

I've had 3 different sets of 4X10 speakers in my Fiero over the years, and they all sound like crap. Right now I've got a pair of Audiobahns. They're decent, but I'm giving up on them. I've got an old set of 6.5" Boston Pro component speakers I'm going to put in there. Should sound a whole lot better!

I swapped 5.25" MB Quart midranges, with the smaller 4" ones I had in the dash location.

Sounds pretty good so far. Excellent midbass and the front soundstage is higher up with the larger midranges.
I'll be leaving it as is for a couple weeks, so the OZ midbasses can break in. It'll then be time to RTA and retune the system. Should be excellent after that!!

More on what I did here https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20041015-1-042070.html

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3.4L S/C 87 GT www.fierosound.com
2002/2003/2004 World of Wheels Winner &
Multiple IASCA Stereo Award Winner

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 10-26-2004).]

Where are you putting those 6.5"components, turbo86se?

Fierosound: that looks great! In the top picture, is that a 4" speaker on the left and a tweeter on the right? And then on the bottom pic, a 5.25" on the left and tweeter on the right? Do you have a crossover/bass blocker for your dash speakers? Is there any rattling in your dash?

Do you think I could fit a 5.25" and 4" side by side in each dash speaker mounting location? It looks like it would work just fine. Right now, doing that and then putting either 4" round or 4x6 Kappas in the back sounds best to me. But I'm learning and getting new ideas as I hear from you all, so please keep it coming! I think this thread will be helpful to people in the future, too.

What frequency range is considered midbass?

Thanks everyone! I'm about to go on a rating spree, and I'm feeling grateful; you people responding are getting +s.