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Car Stereo Speakers


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Btw, what year is your vette ? I'm not sure about the delco/bose systems, but in the volkswagens they used a separate amplifier module for each speaker in the car. This leads to lots of hassels and adapter harnesses unless you are willing to replace all the components and start fresh. Does your car have the style where the volume goes up as you speed up and down as you slow to a stop ? If so, then you have more issues. I'm not a hundred percent sure what type of system that is in your vette. Your best bet is to find a mecp certified installer in your area and talk to him about your needs. I'm sure that they have run into those hurdles before. If horns are your passion in the car, illusion audio also makes compression horns designed for under dash mounting. You also need to set a budget and work towards that with quality components that meet your needs.

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Hi Michael,

My Vette is a 2000 model. It comes with the Bose/Delco head unit that is integrated into the system computer for memory recall (different driver recall). The door panel has a 3 inch mid/tweet speaker as well as a sepately powered 8 inch subwoofer. The rear has 6.5 inch full range drivers. These drivers are all suppose to be have a rated impedence of 1 ohm! A year ago, I replaced the head unit with A Sony SE in dash. Everyone at the Vette forum stated that if the head unit is replaced then, the drivers will need to be also because of the speakers impendence. Well, I didn't listen and went ahead and installed it, interfacing to the Bose speakers. I tapped into the amp for the door 8 inch subwoofers with the subwoofer level output from the Sony head unit. So far, I havn't had any issues. The reason I think I can get away with it so far is because of the built in crossovers of the head unit. I have the speakers crossed at 150 hz. I think this stresses the amp of the head unit a lot less. The head unit swap alone made a huge difference. This is why I really have not looked into replacing the drivers. Only recently, I was introduced into the world of Klipsch. I bought a pair of Lascalas about 3 months ago and now I am hooked on that "live" sound that these produce. Needless to say, the Bose speakers in my car don't do it for me anymore...not that they ever did but the stereo was not that inportant to me because I like hearing the engine more than the stereo when I first got the car. Thats why I wanted to know which speakers satisfy the "Klipsch" crowd in thier car. No recently I got a set of some old Herseys that I am thinking I can build some custom enclosures to install the drivers into. I know it will have to be rear fill and wont have the proper stereo imaging but what the hell, if I can get something in my car that sounds like my Lascalas then I will be a happy man! Its all about fun when it comes to my car and my music!

Thx

Ernesto

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From my experience this is what I would recommend. . .

If your looking for precise reproduction of say "The 1812th Overture" and are willing to do some mods, Image Dynamics makes some killer mobile audio equipment for exactly that. But like Empire said, they're a pain do put in yourself and very $$$ (at least the horns). Look into the IDQ subs to fill out the bottom end.

But if you're looking just to replace the stock speakers in those locations, I'd go with Focal or MB Quart.

Of course you'll need a new head unit and external amps to get the SQ in the car anywhere close to at home (Clarion and Soundstream are my picks respectively).

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  • 4 years later...

I have always been in love with Klipsch speakers. So I have spent a lifetime in trick cars and car audio. The Mercedes was my next project. Becker makes nice radios, so I found a BE3302 and linked it with a fiberoptic amp they made in extreme limited production that can be programed with a laptop computer. With this fiberoptic line it was looped into the Becker CD changer. Now for the best part, finding speakers. Looking at the different Klipsch speakers (especially out door) I made my choice with Klipsch 8" woofers(1/2 inch birch base made to help , enhance the sound, 4 1/2" midrange, 1" Tractrix tweeters for the back custom installed in the rear packing shelf with hand crafted grills painted to match the interior. The front speakers were 4 1/2" for the dash speakers and the 1" Tractrix tweeters below the dash. Now there was speacial mounting plates made out of birch 1/8" plywood and ABS. Klipsch crossovers were also ordered and installed. It as if the car came from the factory with this system. WOW, man this is hot. What clear highs and great audiofile midrange and lows. Enjoy the rich Klipsch sound in your car, because the car audio world is just cheap thumping lows and tinny highs. It has been three years now and my daughter drives this vehicle impressing her friends. Try it, you will love the quality in your ride. PS: I am restoring a Kübelwagen now for 3 years so far. Off I go. Thanks...for listening. Filed under: Car Audio Viva La Klipsch [Edit Tags]

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The sources are endless. How are your installation skills? How will the speakers be ran (active or passive)? Do you want coaxials or separate components? If you are going active then I should ask your budget. If you want separate components then I would seriously look at this website diymobileaudio.com as there is a ton of valuable information there. As for my self I stay away from the off the shelf speaker systems. I would look at home audio drivers. I currently use an array of peerless. lpg and dayton audio speakers. As for asking someone what is a good speaker, that is opening a big can of worms as listening is very subjective. If you do purchase an off the shelf speaker system spend some time listening to them off axis as most likely that is the way they will be installed in your vehicle. Most car audio showrooms have the speakers pointed at your head so back up and get down low and listen. I have read a lot of references to infinity speakers here. Yes they are good speakers but they are very harsh on the high end and are lacking in midbass output in my opinion. If you want a good sounding system in your car then plan on spending some coin. I have close to 5k in my auto sound right now and it is still sitting in boxes waiting to be installed (weather has sucked lately). Don`t buy the first set you listen to and be subjective in listening. My 2 cents for what it is worth.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi everyone, I hope this is a little easier to understand than my original post. (My spell check is being...dyslexic, corrupted, or???) Sorry.

This is a followup to the above from prodj101.

I have a pair of R 5800c & live in SoCal, and would like to put them in my 1989 Mitsubishi B2200 extended cab truck, and am willing to sacrifice the interior for sound (if needed).

1.)Do you guys think it's worth doing, & if so what would should I use for an enclosure, decent amp, sub, sub amp cross freq, etc.

2.) Environment: I live in SoCal outside of LA.Do you guys think the heat / cold / humidity / etc conditions are too harsh? Is U.V. an issue? Ideas on viable solutions.

3.) Pros / cons / related info on completed like projects & results. *Sugesteed enclosure type, size, & viable design for the R 5800c would be awesome....

In short, I would just like to put a Klipsch audio system in my truck & have something loud yes, but worthy! You know, something that actually sounds nice & loud. Lol...

Thanks for your time guys.

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It has been a few years for me as well...I have a really nice sub box, amp, cap and processor sitting. I have talked to a few people and some seem to feel like they don't make them like they used to. I bet speakers are still doing better and with improvement in materials, but I would probably buy a used amp from some of the systems I have heard as of late. I have an old Phoneix Gold MS-2125 that I love...I still hear the old MS (mobile series) amps are still highly coveted. I also had some HiFonics American Warrier amps and Olympian Warrier subs. I now hear the phoneix gold and hifonics are mostly making garbage. I called PG tech on my amp when I got it to ask if it was 1 ohm stable...the tech at the company told me it was "ANY ohm stable" if you fed it enough voltage. I would guess nobody will give you that answer these days. Good luck...used stuff is around, and I am sure there are plenty of high quality new gear out...I am just not aware of it because my days of dropping a couple grand in my trunk are long gone. Now it holds strollers and diaper bags haha. ACE

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  • Klipsch Employees

Klipsch does not get in the car audio market because there are way too many lines there now.

Alpine still makes some good gear.

A Heresy in the car with no cabinet will be loud with no low end to speak of. That 12 just does not go that low.

As for horns in cars, I have done that for years. Most if not all the time it took a custom install to make it happen. No bolt in's there.

I was installing car audio when I got my job here at Klipsch. Did the car thing for about 20 years off and on. I can tell you the color code for most cars up to about 2000.

First install was about 1980, Mazda XR7.

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Here ya go: Klipsch KB 3.1 bookshelf speakers, driven with a 285 wpc Kenwood amp. Subs are Infinity Kappa Perfect 10.1 Dual Voice Coil, driven by a Kenwood 1000 watt amp (clean & clear). The audio in this video is terrible, but this song is as clear as a bell:

Posted Image

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There are several good brands around:
Infinity, Polk, Boston, MB Quart, etc. Stay away from manufacturers that dont make good home speakers such as pioneer, kennwood, sony,

I would have to disagree on the Pioneer car equipment. I have always had satisfying results using it, back to the 70s. In fact I had one of the first separates systems, where the pre or head unit was connected to the power amp with an umbilical. You could mount the power amp hidden out of the way.

The system I have in my 2000 Silverado is all Pioneer with the exception of one power amp driving two Kicker subs. It is a high-end system and could be considered audiophile gear. In many ways it is the best sounding system I own. I’m sure you could do better, but it sounds very, very nice. I think it has much to do with total system synergy. The truck cab, acoustics, speaker selection and placement, and electronics selection all play a role. And that is no different than most of our systems that we put together, no?

I really enjoy the sound; so much, in fact, that I am leery of getting another vehicle and not being able to duplicate the sound that I love. That, plus the fact the truck has been paid for five years and it still runs like a top at 170K miles! [Y]

Just my $.02

Rick

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  • 9 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I would look at where you can install speakers and amps first before you pick up any equipment. Make sure amps you pick out will fit somewhere they can breathe. Any good speakers can sound bad if installed wrong.  

 

How does your system sound now, image? Is it possible to just upgrade present speakers? I like 8 inch door mounted speakers unfortunately most stock ones are low powered junk. I would look into an upgrade there with sound deadening to keep doors from rattling.(shallow mount 8 inch) If you don't mind cutting maybe larger speakers to replace the 3 inch. This may not be needed with  good shallow mount 8's in the doors, just an upgrade for the 3 inch.  

I would go to some car stereo forums and come up with an install plan first then pick out equipment. Yes it's work but will save you headache's in the long run and your system will most likely sound much better.

 

I would not install a box speaker unless in a van or SUV.  Taking speakers out of box it's design is not good. Installing speaker from box would also be hard to mount.

 

Also I would not run tweeters or coaxial speakers in the rear for fill. Mid range is ok if not to loud, tweeters in the rear tend to bring sound stage towards back and ruin imaging.

 

1ohm load most likely designed into crossovers actual speakers are most likely 4 or 8 ohm.

 

Take your time, plan first and then install and you should come up with and  good system. Cls can be your friend if you don't mind used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Lbk
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22 hours ago, Lbk said:

 

Take your time, plan first and then install and you should come up with and  good system. Cls can be your friend if you don't mind used.

 

If this comment was directed to the original poster, they haven't visited the forum in over 14 years. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Klipsch makes a fantastic range of speakers these are a fantastic pair that delivers full rich sound with high fidelity, and no need for any receiver. It features wireless Bluetooth tech, digital optical inputs as well as analog RCA and USB.

Each speaker enclosure houses a square Tractrix horn and a copper spun IMG subwoofer which is shielded.

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