2001 Grand Am

Demiurge

Hey guys....I'm from the home audio section of Polk, but since I got my new car i've been mulling over options I may have for my car. I picked up this deck:



What would be some good Polk speakers for my car? I don't listen to any bass heavy rap, but I listen to a lot of Indie/Alternative stuff. Some of it is bass heavy trip hop, ect....and I'm a fan of good bass, but I don't need it to dominate my system.

What would you guys reccommend? I think I have 2 - 6x9's in back and 2 - 5 1\8" (I think thats the dimmensions) in the front doors. It's a 2 door coupe model, if that matters.

I also already have a 12" 500w MTX sub in a bandpass box along with a Pioneer Amp. Remember this is from like 5 or 6 years ago....but I don't really want to put any money into a new amp and subs at this point. I have NO idea what kind of laughs that will get, but it suits me just fine. I know Polk is the way to go in that regards, just not time.

Let me know....

Thanks,
Dave

MTXMAN

the db's sound great, the momo's sound even better, for a good amp for the interior speakers w/o spending a lot of money you'll want to look at probably hifonics, if you're willing to spend a little more for better sq you'll want to look at something like us amps (for bout 500 you can pick up a 75x4 (most likely underrated) tube amp, being home audio and all i'm sure you know of the advantages of tubes) they also have less expensive solid state amps that would fit the bill quite nicely,

between the db's and the momo's the main reason to go with the db's are price and ease of installation, many people need to modify their speaker locations some because of the size of the momo's...

also with it being a pontiac be prepared that you're probably going to have to remove the rear seat completely to get at the rear deck to install the rear speakers, most of them are like that altough you may be lucky...


give us a price range for 4 speakers and an amp and we'll be better able to find something to suit your needs


btw, you also might want to look into getting an adaptor plate to convert the 6x9's into a 6.5 speaker or a 6.5 and tweeter component set, you'll get better sq from them and since you already have a sub you're bass needs (the only reason to opt for a 6x9 over a 6.5) will be taken care of...

also if you want to improve the quality of your bass you may want to consider simply making a new box, bandpass cuts out a lot of frequencies and is overall low on sq, sealed is much better but ported would work to, you could build your own for about 30 bucks and improve your sound quality...

exalted512

ive never heard of a 5 1/8" speaker
its probably a 5.25" or a 6.5"
www.crutchfield.com has a "Fit guide" for your specific car
i think www.polkaudio.com/car has something like it as well
im assuming you have 5 1/4" speakers up front
id go with some DB components up front
youd need to get an amp
something like a 75x2 @ 4ohms would be great
try Hifonics
you can find them on www.acaraudio.com or www.sounddomain.com for cheap
for the rear--
are you happy with the amount of bass you get?
if so, screw the 6x9s
www.crutchfield.com has some adapter plates thatll make 6x9 holes into 6.5" holes
i think crutchfield has a special on DB speakers...buy one get one half off or something...or maybe its sounddomain...i dunno
but anyway, just grab some DB 6.5" coaxials for the back and run them off your deck...and btw-is that the 9400?
sweet deck dude--good choice--no one would ever know you were an HT guy...:D j/k
i love pioneer
btw--i hate band pass boxes, youd get much better sound from a ported box and not compromise many DBs
sealed would sound even better, but you lose more DBs
ported is probably going to be a smaller box so itd free up some space in your trunk
sealed is the smallest and frees up even more space
hope this helps
-Cody

exalted512

wow, we agree on a lot of things and i didnt even see your post before i made mine....lol
-Cody

MTXMAN

lmao, great minds think alike

Demiurge

Interesting. What about the pioneer amp I already have? Wouldn't any amp, with a decent name behind it suffice? I know it's old, but it's powered my 12" well in the past. It's also a brand new amp. My old one crapped out on me and Best Buy replaced it like 2 years ago. I never installed it in my old car because of the neighborhood I was living in and the fact that the car sucked. I think it's a Pioneer GM-X522. As I said, rather old, but I think it would suit my needs fine. I just want to replace the door speakers and possibly the 6x9's since that's where I get the majority of distortion, obviously. I'll end up blowing them if I keep the stock speakers. Definitely need something that can handle a higher wattage and keep up with the sub.

Also...I have a box with 2 - 10" MTX woofers. It isn't ported at all, the speakers are just sitting in the box and wide open. No grill covers or anything either. Maybe those would work AND I could have the 12"!!!!! What do you think!?

Of course if I go that route i'm sure i'll need a new amp.

As far as speakers I think i'm willing to go around $300 or so total. I haven't even begun to price them yet, but i'm sure I can scour the web for deals.

Also...Bass blockers? Need those for the fronts?

I'll go over to Crutchfield.com and check out what they have.

Thanks for the replies.

exalted512

actually, polk doesnt make DBs in 5.25" component sets...
so youd have to the coaxials
in which case off of crutchield you can pick up those and the DB 6x9s for $200
-Cody

rodney

grand am's have 4x6s in the front doors, but there is a metra speaker adapter that will let you be able to go with 5.25's or 6.5's.

Demiurge

Originally posted by rodney
grand am's have 4x6s in the front doors, but there is a metra speaker adapter that will let you be able to go with 5.25's or 6.5's.

Thanks, to be honest I never looked. Just came right here.

exalted512

to get a 5.25" or 6.5" speaker probably requires cutting...
-Cody

Demiurge

Yeah, I'd rather not.

MTXMAN

if you're going with a 4x6 i'd get a plate speaker with seperate woofer and tweeter, also you don't want to put both the 10's and the 12 in the same car, mixing sub sizes just doesn't work well... that and placement to get them to work well with your box config would be a **** and a half. just go with one or the other and keep using the amp you have for now and pick up a decent little 4ch to power the db's you should be able to find something with enough power for around 130 or so.

Demiurge

Originally posted by MTXMAN
if you're going with a 4x6 i'd get a plate speaker with seperate woofer and tweeter, also you don't want to put both the 10's and the 12 in the same car, mixing sub sizes just doesn't work well... that and placement to get them to work well with your box config would be a **** and a half. just go with one or the other and keep using the amp you have for now and pick up a decent little 4ch to power the db's you should be able to find something with enough power for around 130 or so.

Sounds good. I'll do my searching and figure out exactly what i want. I think i'll go with the DBs. Sounds like a good plan. I'm a little tight on cash right now so when I get a little flow and get this stuff installed i'll post more.

exalted512

i hate to say this but id have to suggest cutting...4x6s are crap speakers, i dunno why GM puts them in their cars...
if you absolutely do not want to cut, although i highly recommend you do, its not that hard, id get the kenwood eXcelon 4x6s, theyre the best 4x6 out there for under 250 bucks, and theyre only 90-100 bucks
they sound better than any plate 4x6 ive ever heard
-Cody