Speaker upgrade for total beginners...

[SwissHeavy]

So I thought I'd make a contribution and show what I did to my car, it's nothing over the top and is ideal for people that don't want to go crazy in terms of sound and price.

So first off you need to start off with a decent head unit, something that'll enable you to have 4 speaker outputs.... mine was an alpine and has an inbuilt amp of 45w which is plenty for me. £100 will get u something lovely. I also have a 6 disc CD changer which I put behind the passenger seat, nice and tidy.



You then need to think about tieing some speakers in. I upgraded the door speakes with 17cm Ground Zero 50watt RMS (Always look at RMS not max output). These are dead easy to install but I need to fit some spacers in and the back of the speaker is much wider than I thought.

I still wanted a little more power and the acoustics of the car were such that it would benefit from some speakers at the back, rather than the current crappy 9cm ones. I opted for 6x9 speaker, 70watt RMS (i'll admit these won't be fully utilised by the 45watt amp, but it leaves me some flexibilty later on if I want to upgrade). They are nice and tidy three way speakers that give rich base and rounded treble. These were fitted into the shelves behind the seats. The pic below shows the passenger side one and the CD changer.



So whatabout wonga? Well I already had the headunit and changer in the car when I bought it. But I'd hazard £150 for that. The door speakers were £70 and the 6by9's were £75. So a tidy little package that really does justice to ur music collection. Ok, it isn't a LOUD, but it's ample for me whilst queuing in rush hour traffic.

Hope I've made sense to you as I knew nothing about ICE before now so thought I'd give my two penneth...

Josh

[Gaz6002]

did you just cut a hole right through your lid for the box then? im intrigued! i have some 6*9s that need fitting

[Rev2_mike]

Nice one josh - this is something ive been thinking of doing for a while now and dont really know where to start. Presumably you bypass the 2 amps already in the car and run everything just off the headunit?? Im in a similar position to the one you were in - nice headunit and a 6xcd changer -- would like some good speakers as the factory sub is a bit too boomy and crap for my liking, so i'd prefer to get decent speakers rather than a massive OTT sub and amps etc etc

[SwissHeavy]

That's right, I cut a hole through the panel, basically, it unclips off from the bulkhead so prize it off gently, it's dead easy. Cutting it was tricky as I was being a perfectionist....

Yes it just runs off the standard amp in the headunit, bypassing the old premium system the car had.

It really is quite loud considering it is only on a 45watt amp, the acoustics of the car really envelop the 6x9's!

A nice cost effective was of doing things, and isn't OTT for ppl who just want to hear music rather than show off to pedestrians!

[wizzer]

Just to add my 2p worth here, i've done the same(ish) this weekend. I've mounted a pair of 6x9s in the tops of the boxes behind the seats. I just roughly cut out the shape using a jigsaw (couldn't do it accurately lol). The speaker mounts underneath the hole and the grille goes on the top so you don't see my botched hole anyway. One thing that i had a little trouble with was that the lids are hinged at the back and once i'd fastened the speaker to the lid i stuggled to get the lids closed again because the bottom of the speaker was fouling against the front bit of the box, i just had to level it gently in. Now all i've got to do is sort out the power steering whining noise thats coming through all the speakers (see other post!!!)

[Rev2_mike]

Thanks for that josh! I may give that a go pretty soon when ive got a free weekend. What speakers did you use? Any recommendations? Did you just disable the rear speakers and put the new 6x9's through those channels and use the original fronts?

Wizzer you got any pics of that install?

[SwissHeavy]

Yeah I bypassed the old system and wired all the way back to the head unit cos old wires 'leak' and you get that fuzzy noise at high volume.

I bought some 'Ground Zero' ones, never heard of the brand, but they're wkd, good quality and still going strong, they are actually 70watts so my head unit isn't actually making the most of them lol!

[kanulondon]

Hi Swiss

Excellent post....I am going to do pretty much the same.

However how did you completely remove the Premium Sound kit?

KL

[Gaz6002]

fitted my 6*9s today! what a huge difference!!!!!
they are at least twice as loud as the factory ones even being sat behind the seat.
pics to follow, thanks for the idea!

[kanulondon]

Hi Gaz,

How did you wire up the 6x9's? Did you just remove the wires from the weak rear speakers and wire into the 6x9's?

Which speaker model did you get? I plan on doing the same next weekend! or whenever it stops raining!

KL

[Phil Dawson]

For anyone thats interested if you want to utilise the Toyota Sub with a setup such as above its really quiet simple with a little bit of wiring...

What i did was get rid of the Toyota Main amp, and just use the amp for the sub. (Sub-Amplifier)

Just PM me for details.

[mister_si23]

Hi I notice you fitted these speakers in the orignal plastic lids. I have recently put some in but made mdf lids. Does it sound alright thru the plastic I thought it was going to sound tinny. Did you feel the box with anything?

Cheers

[Tallbloke]

6x9's...... believing setero outputs...... oooh dear

[Gaz6002]

yeah basically i just wired the speaker straight off the rear speaker wire. some people say they get feedback problems but i dont get any so im happy!
tallbloke mate 6*9s are a perfect fit for the box behind the seat and fill the cabin of the mr2 very well, not just a speaker reserved for the parcel shelves of chavs in corsas!

[Tallbloke]

Not bothered about a perfect fit. Dude you can take a crap and ity'll be a perfect fit for those boxes. Doesn't mean your going to put it in there!


Lets look at the basics. Your ears are designed to pick up sound from in front of you & to the sides. So we up grade the fronts with some nice components. Next Base. As base is undirectional we can mount a sub anywhere. 6x9's are not subs, also they do not make as clear a sound as a standard round speaker. So by mounting them behind you & below you, you have wasted money. full stop end of discussion. Basic really isn't it.


Oh and to prove me wrong find me a competition winner sound install that usese 6x9's. Hang on I'll save you some time - there isn't any. I think that this means something.

[Rich]

Doesnt that make the CDs skip if it gets a bit on the bassy side? It did with mine, but then I have genesis P69 subs in there so its all bass lol.

Also, 17cm speakers in the doors? I struggled for ages making rings to fit my Genesis 16cm componants in the doors, how you manage to get 17s in?

Nice set up if you want a good quality sound I found is...

Genesis 16cm componants - replace tweeters & door speakers
Genesis 6x9 subs - cut in to cubbys (free air but work better if boxed)
Genesis profile 2 amp to run P69s
Decent h/u

Never heard a better quality system, ok so its not loud, but its crystal clear quality and does get the neighours moaning lol.

But that one costs around about £550 + headunit.

[Rich]

Lets look at the basics. Your ears are designed to pick up sound from in front of you & to the sides. So we up grade the fronts with some nice components. Next Base. As base is undirectional we can mount a sub anywhere. 6x9's are not subs, also they do not make as clear a sound as a standard round speaker. So by mounting them behind you & below you, you have wasted money. full stop end of discussion. Basic really isn't it.

genesis P69 They are 6x9s and they are subs!

Comp winner that uses 6x9s.... well what kind of comp? Bass comp use subs, obviously. but best all round sound thru the sound range use 6x9s (my mates R5GTT has won a comp and has 6x9s )

Just had to prove ya wrong lol

[Tallbloke]

best sound quality. You wont find 6x9's winning. they cannot produce the sound as well....

[Rich]

My mates R5GTT has them and has won sound comps!

I'll try and get some pics of his install with the trophy just to shut you up, i mean prove you wrong

[SwissHeavy]

As the post header said, this is for beginners, and for ppl who don't want to do wind up everyone else on the road/suburbs with noise and music they simply don't want to hear!

This mod is great for ppl who just want a little extra for when they're running along.

PS The changer doesn't skip but it is well 'cushioned' Plus, not sure if they are 17cm, they might be 15cm.... can't recall now.