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simons81

Question about component speakers

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I'm new to this forum and it's probably obvious, as I may be posting this in the wrong section.

Anyways, I'm looking to get some component speakers for my 99 Honda Civic LX. I'm sorta on a budget so I'm just replacing the stock front door speakers for now. I was thinking about getting a pair of Infinity Reference 6020cs as they have great reviews on Crutchfield. However, someone in another forum told me that I could get better for the same amount of money, and to perhaps direct my inquiry here.

Does anyone have any advice? I plan to use this with a Clarion DXZ585USB CD receiver without any type of amp for the time being...

Any advice would be great. I'm super poor and just want to get bang for my buck. If it matters, I have a cheap set of Pioneer 2x10" subs in a single sealed box in the trunk with a weak 150w amp powering them, and also plan on replacing the rear stock 6x9 speakers down the road...

Thanks for any advice...

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Right now, I wouldn't really worry about getting components if you will just be running them from the head unit, you wont notice much a difference. I ran my components from my HU for a couple months, then a few weeks ago I put a small amp on them, the difference is night and day, so, my suggestion would be to find another amp, and run your current speakers from it, as well as get some sound deadener and cover your outer door skin and the also the area behind the door panel, make sure to get all the access holes covered to make your doors act more like an enclosure rather than a free air system, then later get a nice component set when you have the money to spend on it, otherwise you will just be buying another set down the road

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As for speakers, Alpine Type S have great quality, 120$ a pair crutchfield. Sound great even with a low powered HU. Maybe find an amp of craigslist. I have a 1000 watt Crunch amp f/s obo 40$. Good luck

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LOL, so now I'm confused. First of all, thanks to both of you for the suggestions. Old_Skool_Noma, you are saying not to get component speakers while using only the head unit. For some reason I thought the highs would sound a million times better if they were more aimed towards my head a la tweeters installed in the door panel instead of using two-way speakers with the tweeter aimed at my feet, even if I am only using the head unit. And while I may end up getting an amp for my front speakers down the line, wouldn't it make sense to buy the front speakers right off the bat instead of just replacing my lousy stock speakers with a temporary solution that will only be money down the drain when I replace them? Certainly some decent component speakers will sound much better than the stock speakers, even if I'm only using the head unit, right?

F-150 Murphy, are these the speakers you're talking about? http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500SPS600C/Al...rch=alpine+type

Thanks again you guys, your input is very valuable to me.

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Yessir, I have the Speakers and they are amazing quality AND power. New speakers are 100x better then stock.

Edited by F-150 Murphy

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Awesome, I think I may just grab a pair of those instead. So here's another question. If I'm running a relatively weak 100w RMS Pioneer amplifier for my 2x10 sub, would it make sense down the line to use this amplifier for my front speakers and then power the subwoofer with a new 300w RMS amp instead? And while on the subject of amps for fronts, does this just make them louder without peeking?

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Awesome, I think I may just grab a pair of those instead. So here's another question. If I'm running a relatively weak 100w RMS Pioneer amplifier for my 2x10 sub, would it make sense down the line to use this amplifier for my front speakers and then power the subwoofer with a new 300w RMS amp instead? And while on the subject of amps for fronts, does this just make them louder without peeking?

if the amp is 2 channel, yes, and as for the what the amp will do for your signal, the HU power is incredibly dirty, lots of audible distortion, especially at higher volumes, a high enough powered amp will give you a clean signal up until its either fed a dirty signal or the speakers distort

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Awesome, I think I may just grab a pair of those instead. So here's another question. If I'm running a relatively weak 100w RMS Pioneer amplifier for my 2x10 sub, would it make sense down the line to use this amplifier for my front speakers and then power the subwoofer with a new 300w RMS amp instead? And while on the subject of amps for fronts, does this just make them louder without peeking?

Well what i would do if money wasnt a problem is i would buy an alpine head or some thing with more watts to boost your speakers and buy like a 500w amp to push the subs. If you buy alpine there is a wattage booster you can buy. But since money IS a problem i'd get a job haha just kidding but it would help, I would first buy new speakers and a new amp for your subs. And perhaps sell that amp to get some money for your speakers. And yes they will be louder and just peak higher. But your "Clarion DXZ585USB" has 21 watts rms at 4 chan so you would be fine with those alpine speakers without boosting them, you could just upgrade the speakers with more wattage later on.

Edited by F-150 Murphy

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LOL, I have a job but I'm putting myself through college unfortunately. I just bought a 99 Honda with stock everything and figured I'd treat myself to a little upgrade in audio. I already have the 2x10" sub and amp from my last car, and Newegg had a special on the HU for $90 with free shipping, and while I'm not a Clarion fan, I was stoked about the front USB and iPod jack port for the price. I wanted to keep my spending at about $300 for now. So I dropped $90 on the HU already, leaving about $210. If I spend $130 on a pair of decent front component speakers, that leaves about $80 for a amp wiring kit and maybe a pair of baffles for the speakers to keep them dry (I live in Oregon... tons of rain). I dunno, I listen to mostly metal, sometimes a hair of rap and classical, but for the most part I don't need to bump, just lookin' for the full spectrum. And then maybe later down the line, buy a new amp to power the sub and a new pair of rear speakers as well. Bah, maybe I'm just expecting too much for too little. I guess another pair of questions: assuming the Clarion has great reviews on Newegg, is this a decent choice for a budget conscious buyer, despite the bad reputation Clarion has? And does this seem like a decent, upgradable path for me to spend the remaining money on?

Sorry, these are all dumb questions and I'm surprised I haven't got flamed yet. For what it's worth, I've tried researching this stuff on my own but there's always so many options...

Edited by simons81

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You're much better off spending more money on an amp, and less on speakers. What are you goals in purchasing the system? Do you want loud? OR do you want something geared more towards proper sound reproduction? You have to pick one. Or at least lean strongly in one direction.

I'm assuming you want the first one, in which case it really doesn't matter on what speakers you buy. Kicker, Alpine, Pioneer, Infinity. They are all going to sound similar. I used to run Infinities in my old car, and thought they sounded great back then. Looking back, they made my ears hurt, they were harsh, but sure as hell they got loud.

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LOL, I have a job but I'm putting myself through college unfortunately. I just bought a 99 Honda with stock everything and figured I'd treat myself to a little upgrade in audio. I already have the 2x10" sub and amp from my last car, and Newegg had a special on the HU for $90 with free shipping, and while I'm not a Clarion fan, I was stoked about the front USB and iPod jack port for the price. I wanted to keep my spending at about $300 for now. So I dropped $90 on the HU already, leaving about $210. If I spend $130 on a pair of decent front component speakers, that leaves about $80 for a amp wiring kit and maybe a pair of baffles for the speakers to keep them dry (I live in Oregon... tons of rain). I dunno, I listen to mostly metal, sometimes a hair of rap and classical, but for the most part I don't need to bump, just lookin' for the full spectrum. And then maybe later down the line, but a new amp to power the sub and a new pair of rear speakers as well. Bah, maybe I'm just expecting too much for too little.

thats what its sounding like to me, if you looks around you may be able to find a few used components for cheap, or on clearance, another thought would be to find some good coaxials (jbl cdt vifa and others of the sort) but i would definitely do the sound deadener, it will make a huge improvement, and then go from there, also, clarion is great quality stuff, although not always the most user friendly

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These aren't dumb questions, they are questions a lot of newbies ask. I would suggest saving your money and buying a quality product, rather than blowing your money on junk. It's hard, but it will be worth it.

I've been driving my car with only my rear speakers working (they are 16 years old btw) for almost 5 months now. It sucks, it really does. BUT I've been saving my money and trying to make a VERY educated decision on what I buy. I'm getting close, but I don't figure to have it done until the end of June. Do it once, do it right.

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LOL, I have a job but I'm putting myself through college unfortunately. I just bought a 99 Honda with stock everything and figured I'd treat myself to a little upgrade in audio. I already have the 2x10" sub and amp from my last car, and Newegg had a special on the HU for $90 with free shipping, and while I'm not a Clarion fan, I was stoked about the front USB and iPod jack port for the price. I wanted to keep my spending at about $300 for now. So I dropped $90 on the HU already, leaving about $210. If I spend $130 on a pair of decent front component speakers, that leaves about $80 for a amp wiring kit and maybe a pair of baffles for the speakers to keep them dry (I live in Oregon... tons of rain). I dunno, I listen to mostly metal, sometimes a hair of rap and classical, but for the most part I don't need to bump, just lookin' for the full spectrum. And then maybe later down the line, but a new amp to power the sub and a new pair of rear speakers as well. Bah, maybe I'm just expecting too much for too little.

thats what its sounding like to me, if you looks around you may be able to find a few used components for cheap, or on clearance, another thought would be to find some good coaxials (jbl cdt vifa and others of the sort) but i would definitely do the sound deadener, it will make a huge improvement, and then go from there, also, clarion is great quality stuff, although not always the most user friendly

I think it's pointless to add sound deadener if he's going to run coaxials or something cheap. It will help, but will it make them sound 'good.' I doubt it.

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LOL, I have a job but I'm putting myself through college unfortunately. I just bought a 99 Honda with stock everything and figured I'd treat myself to a little upgrade in audio. I already have the 2x10" sub and amp from my last car, and Newegg had a special on the HU for $90 with free shipping, and while I'm not a Clarion fan, I was stoked about the front USB and iPod jack port for the price. I wanted to keep my spending at about $300 for now. So I dropped $90 on the HU already, leaving about $210. If I spend $130 on a pair of decent front component speakers, that leaves about $80 for a amp wiring kit and maybe a pair of baffles for the speakers to keep them dry (I live in Oregon... tons of rain). I dunno, I listen to mostly metal, sometimes a hair of rap and classical, but for the most part I don't need to bump, just lookin' for the full spectrum. And then maybe later down the line, but a new amp to power the sub and a new pair of rear speakers as well. Bah, maybe I'm just expecting too much for too little.

thats what its sounding like to me, if you looks around you may be able to find a few used components for cheap, or on clearance, another thought would be to find some good coaxials (jbl cdt vifa and others of the sort) but i would definitely do the sound deadener, it will make a huge improvement, and then go from there, also, clarion is great quality stuff, although not always the most user friendly

I think it's pointless to add sound deadener if he's going to run coaxials or something cheap. It will help, but will it make them sound 'good.' I doubt it.

i dont think its pointless at all, 1. it will cut down on road noise, 2. it will improve midbass response, ive even heard of people getting quite dramatic differences with stock speakers. for what hes wanting to do, a set of good coaxials may be the way to go for him as a good set of components can cost upwards of 150, and some coaxials of the same quality may only cost 80-100

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So I see a ton of sound deadener items on Crutchfield. Are there any recommendations? And I don't really wanna buy junk or anything... $130 component speakers are considered junk? I just opened a can of worms, haha, maybe I'll save my money and get that damn root canal I've been putting off instead. I'm not a super audio enthusiast and I don't even drive tons but I don't wanna buy junk.

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So I see a ton of sound deadener items on Crutchfield. Are there any recommendations? And I don't really wanna buy junk or anything... $130 component speakers are considered junk? I just opened a can of worms, haha, maybe I'll save my money and get that damn root canal I've been putting off instead. I'm not a super audio enthusiast and I don't even drive tons but I don't wanna buy junk.

a lot of lower cost component speakers dont have a very good low end response or the response may be peaky, it kind of hit and miss although you might find a good deal and get something on clearance that would normally be about 200.

as for sound deadener, make sure you get something butyl based, my personal preference in bang for your buck is RAAMmat, you can order it directly from raamaudio.com

also when looking for component/coaxial sets, find something with a decent sized cross over (not just a capacitor to filter out the lows going to the tweeter) 12 db/octave is generally a good sign, but most 6db x overs are fine, and make sure you find something with AT LEAST a 3/4 inch soft or silk dome tweeter, 1 or 1 1/8th is better, but the soft, silk, or textile dome is important otherwise you risk the tweets getting very harsh, ribbon/planar tweets are awesome, but are not forgiving at all with off axis response and need an 18db/octave high pass crossover to you dont destroy the ribbon

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LOL, I have a job but I'm putting myself through college unfortunately. I just bought a 99 Honda with stock everything and figured I'd treat myself to a little upgrade in audio. I already have the 2x10" sub and amp from my last car, and Newegg had a special on the HU for $90 with free shipping, and while I'm not a Clarion fan, I was stoked about the front USB and iPod jack port for the price. I wanted to keep my spending at about $300 for now. So I dropped $90 on the HU already, leaving about $210. If I spend $130 on a pair of decent front component speakers, that leaves about $80 for a amp wiring kit and maybe a pair of baffles for the speakers to keep them dry (I live in Oregon... tons of rain). I dunno, I listen to mostly metal, sometimes a hair of rap and classical, but for the most part I don't need to bump, just lookin' for the full spectrum. And then maybe later down the line, but a new amp to power the sub and a new pair of rear speakers as well. Bah, maybe I'm just expecting too much for too little.

thats what its sounding like to me, if you looks around you may be able to find a few used components for cheap, or on clearance, another thought would be to find some good coaxials (jbl cdt vifa and others of the sort) but i would definitely do the sound deadener, it will make a huge improvement, and then go from there, also, clarion is great quality stuff, although not always the most user friendly

I think it's pointless to add sound deadener if he's going to run coaxials or something cheap. It will help, but will it make them sound 'good.' I doubt it.

i dont think its pointless at all, 1. it will cut down on road noise, 2. it will improve midbass response, ive even heard of people getting quite dramatic differences with stock speakers. for what hes wanting to do, a set of good coaxials may be the way to go for him as a good set of components can cost upwards of 150, and some coaxials of the same quality may only cost 80-100

I would much rather save the money towards speakers then deadener ive had my system for about a year and still no deadener. And what part of "stock speakers" would need to be deadened haha...

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With his budget he can only really pick two of the following 3. Deadener, speakers, or amplifier. Still at that budget, he can only do 2 of those 3 very sparingly.

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Hey, thank you guys for the advice. Sometimes I forget that a lot of money to me isn't necessarily a lot of money, lol. I think I will do the speakers mentioned earlier and possibly some deadening material to get the best of it. I feel like these speakers are low/mid grade as is my HU and sub. I don't mind having a low/mid grade system... anything's better than stock I imagine.

Thanks again.

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As for speakers, Alpine Type S have great quality, 120$ a pair crutchfield. Sound great even with a low powered HU. Maybe find an amp of craigslist. I have a 1000 watt Crunch amp f/s obo 40$. Good luck

DON'T buy that amp and don't buy those speakers without listening to them. They are nothing special and really overpriced, on the used market well fine.

I think it's pointless to add sound deadener if he's going to run coaxials or something cheap. It will help, but will it make them sound 'good.' I doubt it.

I would much rather save the money towards speakers then deadener ive had my system for about a year and still no deadener. And what part of "stock speakers" would need to be deadened haha...

Perhaps with your amazing experience you should "shut the eff up". Considering you have no deadener and then you propose that it does nothing? Nice.

I'd guarantee my stock piece of shit GM truck speakers in my fully deadened doors running sounded better than your Type S's. I am sure I had more midbass and probably better clarity across the board. Do remember that in this game installation is 90% and equipment 10%.

To the OP, I would go back and ignore pretty much everything that F-150 added to your thread. Sorry.

So to answer your question, I'd spend the money on used speakers, a used amplifier, and some deadener. Focus more on the installation and less on the equipment. Don't buy a shit amp though.

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LOL, I'm liking this forum more and more. While I'm certainly confused as hell at this point, there's a lot of character here, haha. I always fear buying used speakers because of how fragile they are, where they've been, what kinda juice has been pumped through them, if they've been rained on. Shiznit.... I work for a custom A/V company that specializes in home theater and house audio and I know our speakers are often heavily marked up. I'm guessing it's the same thing at Crutchfield. I wonder if I should buy a pair on eBay so I have something to fall back on if the speakers are blown or something? Craigslist is just too damn easy to get screwed on...

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i wouldnt go by reviews on crutchfield. most people who buy off there are not very knowledgeable people. try and go and listen to a few diffrent sets at local audio stores. take a note of the equipment you liked and what you dont like ie paper cones poly cones metal tweeters silk tweeters. peoples tastes differ if i like it you might not. once you know what you like and what about it you like then start asking about something in your budget that has similar sound. try not standing directly in front of the speakers when listening try having the speakers as close to in car as possible.

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