Components or Not?

Airplay355

I don't really know anything about car audio, or have any experience with car audio. How much better do component speakers sound then regular speakers?

I was thinking of getting either the Polk db525 5-1/4" 2-way car speaker or the Polk Audio db5250 5-1/4" component speaker system. The component system is about double the price. Is it worth it? They would be powered off a head unit.

How hard would it be to place the tweeters somewhere? Where would I stick them?

I have a '99 Mazda Protege ES. It has 6 speakers but I only want to have 4. two in the front door, two in the rear deck. I thought that would sound better then two in the front and two in the rear doors.

I'm a car audio ****, someone help me out.

MacLeod

Generally components sound quite a bit better than coaxials. Reasons are the tweeter is better as is the crossover network.

The biggest advantage to components is the ability to mount the tweeters where theyll work and sound best. Tweeters are ver directional and as such dont do too well in the door firing into your leg.

That being said, if youre just looking for some upgraded tunes to listen to on your daily commute and arent out for the best SQ, then the coaxials are a better choice and offer a "plug and play" benefit.

As for mounting the tweeter, it depends on where to put it. Too many variables to answer that with a "you stick them here". Theyre not had to mount tho, actually the surface mounts are extremely easy. Just drill 2 holes and slap em in there.

brettw22

I know about your retardation levels.......trust.

Components primarily give you full versatility so you can control crossover points and soundstage placement. I had a Maxima that I just used coax speakers and they worked fine. Just depends on what you want to spend ultimately.

Where are the 6 currently at? Are 2 of them up front tweeter locations and 2 in the door the mids?

Planning on powering this off a factory head unit or aftermarket? You can get by with the aftermarket, but off factory will be bleak.

First and foremost, as with HT, what's your budget?

audiobliss

Yes, if you're looking for good SQ, components are worth the difference in price. However, like Mac said, if you're just looking for something a little better than stock, then the coaxials will probably suit you just fine. Though, it's funny to see someone with MF gear in his home rig puttin' coaxials in his car!

As for powering them off the head unit, I'm just going to assume you mean an aftermarket head unit. If you mean the stock HU, then....well...nvm...

The coaxials will play alright off a HU, but of course an external amp really will make them sound better. Components practically necessitate an amp, 'cause it's just not right to push them with a HU.

I would seriously consider getting an amp. You can get a solid, reliable amplifier, such as this HiFonics amp for as little as $125.

I would also consider foregoing the rear speakers, because they'll just mess up the imaging and draw the soundstage to the back. However, if you carry passengers around a lot, then you may want to consider getting them. But if not, you might could swing components and an amp.

Just some things to think about.

Airplay355

Well yes I would be using an aftermarket head unit. Budget? Well I'd rather well I'm not sure. Components would be doable, but I'd have to save. I'm not really sure where in my car I could put them either. I don't know alot about cars.

My car has 6 speakers meaning two in the front doors, two in the rear doors, and 2 in the rear deck. The rear deck speakers are 6x9's and the rest are 5 1/4". I spend a fairly good amount of time in my car. I drive an hour to and from work every day, and I have a girlfriend that lives 30 minutes away. So I could easily kill 2 hours driving. Plus I have to drive from work to college and just stupid little crap like that.

Anyway, I want to start off with a head unit, this one actually http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6eyOyiVyY6K/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=500CDA9851&id=morephotos&a=&s=0&cc=01&g=300#morephotos
and get some nicer speakers. Either the coaxial or components. Then I'd like to get a sub to fill in the low end.

I just noticed I could get MOMO coaxials for the same price as the db components. Are MOMos that much better? Should I look into those?

Any suggestions on the head unit are welcome

98thumpin

the db speakers are great entry level speakers, the mmc speakers or momos are better speakers, and you cant beat the for the money either. they sound great for coaxis but if you can afford it go with components.

glowbug

I put the a pair of db 6750s in my car over the weekend, replacing some old Kenwood speakers I had. I have to say, they sound AWESOME! I think I'll probably always go with components from now on.

Airplay355

Ok, so db components and 6x9's it is...

You know the little piece of plastic by the side view mirror on each door? Thats where I see most tweeters for component systems. Would I be able to put my tweeters there? Is that a bad place for them? I figure even if they weren't pointed directly at me atleast its better then firing into my leg.

cam5860

It's easy to fix the firing into leg problem. Just pull your leg back to your seat to clear room for the mid.

Thats what I do it's not the most comforable thing in the world but hey I got to have every ounce of sound quality I can get.

MacLeod

That doesnt work. True, youll hear some of the lowere frequencies better but not the highs. Those are very directional and the higher you get the worse the off axis response will be.

And Id rather have Momo coaxials than DB components. The Momos are a much better speaker than the DB's.

Airplay355

MOMOs are that much nicer then the DB? You really think the MOMOs would be nicer then the db series?

Crutchfield says that the momo components fit in my car but not the momo coaxials. Is that wrong? Is that weird? The coaxials should fit if the same size component fits right?

MacLeod

Yes, the Momos are the best speakers on the market dollar for dollar! If there were no SR's, Id have absolutely no problem competing with the Momo line.

Much cleaner and the most detailed speakers around. They have a very smooth top end and natural sounding midrange. I listen to heavy metal primarily and the Momos were a perfect fit.

audiobliss

I would think the MOMO coaxials would fit, especailly if the MOMO components will. However, no matter what Crutchfield says, it probably wouldn't take but a minimal amount of dremeling/fabbing to make the coaxials fit. However, I would go with the db6500's over the MOMO coaxials. Yeah, the MOMO's are of a better quality, but you get the tuning/tweaking capabilities that come only with components.

The plastic you're referring to inside the car opposite where the side mirror is mounted is called the sail panel. And yes, it's a very popular place to mount them, and to my knowledge a very good place to mount them.





I would personally pick out a different HU. It does have 3 sets or preouts, so that's nice, but they're only 2volts, which is lame. I'm disappointed in Alpine's latest HU's, 'cause they all have wimpy preouts.

I would whole-heartedly and enthusiastically recommend something from Eclipse. They are at the top of the tier of HU's under the $1000 mark or so. Unfortunately, most of their HU's are rather expensive ($450+). Fortunately for you, they've recently added some budget-priced HU's with great specs. This CD3000 has 3 pairs of 5.0V preouts for $250.

This Kenwood Excelon KDC-X589 should also make for a nice HU for $220. It has 3 pairs of 4.0V preouts and a wireless remote.

I found no suitable candidates from Alpine, Clarion, Panasonic, or Premier. I would personally choose the Eclipse, but the Kenwood would be a fine choice, too.

MacLeod

There are no good head units available at a reasonable price anymore. Im sooooo glad I got my Alpine 9855 when I did. Imagine, 4 volt preouts, 6 channel adjustable time alignment, good EQ and great, stealthy looks. Cant find that anymore unless you grab a $700 Eclipse CD7000.

Pioneer makes a decent one and their TA is somewhat adjustable although not very precise, plus theyre kinda fugly.

Clarion makes a good h/u. I wouldnt mind having one of their upper end units but youre getting into the $700 range again.

Airplay355

I want to spend around $250 for a HU and I HATE flashy ****. I like the simple look of Alpines and Clarions. That Eclipse HU is the ugliest thing I've seen.

HOWEVER, I am willing to sacrifice looks if it means getting a better product. That seems strange to me because in the home audio world the flashier the crap is the shittier it sounds. Hence my nice simple MF integrated.

So what is so important about the preouts? Why is 2v not enough?

cam5860

This is about the shittest year ive ever seen to buy a headunit. To get a decent headunit these days your going to have to spend 500 or more. If you want to get past the ipod **** to the sound quality features.

audiobliss

I am assuming that we have adequately convinced you to go with an external amplifier. If not, then the preouts don't mean a thing. You know that from HA.

I first read about preout voltages in CA and became acustomed to 4V+ preouts. The preouts on my Pioneer are 6.5V! Then when I started reading about HA and CDP's and I read that they usually have 2V or less preouts....:eek: It may be somewhat the same way with you, only in reverse.

The higher the voltage, the cleaner and purer the signal is going to be, and the better it will resist the effects of radiation and interference and such, which can be a big problem in a car.

cam5860

Im very disappointed with all the brands of headunits this year except eclipse stuff and like airplay said there ugly as **** unless you get the cd7000.

audiobliss

cam5860 wrote:

This is about the shittest year ive ever seen to buy a headunit. To get a decent headunit these days your going to have to spend 500 or more. If you want to get past the ipod **** to the sound quality features.

To quite the contrary, I think this is a great year for CA noobies to get a HU, soley because of Eclipse. They have two or three sub $500 HU's now. I mean, think about it: Awesome Eclipse for less than $500? I'm stoked!

About the looks of the CD3000. I guess it does kinda look pretty busy with all the buttons and writing, but I actually think the Eclipse HU's look quite good in person. I certainly would never have a problem with one of 'em in my dash.

EDIT - Ahh, you came back and said except for Eclipse. OK, then I guess we agree, then, 'cause nobody else is doing anything good with their HU's.

Airplay355

I don't have an iPod. I don't want/need iPod features. I can just as easily burn a freakin MP3 cd with enough songs to keep me busy for a ride in the car. I do not subscribe to the iPod fad crap.

I also don't have 500 to spend on a HU. I need the best sounding thing I can get for around 200. If they will all sound the same, then I'd like something that looks simple and is not a mess of ugly colors.

I am thoroughly disappointed with all of this car stereo crap. For some reason people love flashing lights and stupid little graphic displays. I'm trying to drive, not watch some stupid 5 second clip of a car race on my head unit. I don't want changing colors, flashing lights, or ugly bright displays.

Arg this is frustrating.

I have XM radio so I don't think the eclipse is the way to go, especially because it's way too flashy for my taste.

Why are the HU's so bad? Do they sound ****?

Mac,
I'm sure you don't like all of that crap. What do you recommend?

MacLeod

The things youre going to be looking for is 3 sets of pre-outs (front, rear and sub) with as high a voltage as you can get. A decent EQ which at the $200 price range aint gonna be anything special but anything other than a simple treble/bass control. Now there are some units that have only treble/bass controls but they allow you to center the frequency to certain points and that is very helpful.

The best head unit out there for $200 is this Panasonic at Crutchfield. Not only do you have 3 sets of pre-outs but theyre 5 volt which is outstanding in this price point. Its also got a 7 band EQ (awesome!) and high pass filter (youll probably never use it but its cool to have just in case).

Its also a damn good looking unit as well! Actually its one of the best looking units on the market.



For $200 you aint gonna beat this. You could find better or cheaper on Ebay or something but this is brand new, straight from the factory and fully authorized. This is worth a serious look.

Airplay355

Mac,
I was just looking at that! I wasn't sure if Panasonic made anything nice.

MacLeod

They absolutely do! Theyre not as exotic as Eclipse or Alpine but I would have zero reservations on using them. If I hadnt needed time alignment I wouldve seriously considered using one of theirs if for no other reason than I like their looks.

I wouldnt buy any of their speakers tho but they know their electronics. I say jump on that one bro!

98thumpin

i love the looks of that hu and with a price u cant beat either

Airplay355

So you guys think it will sound just as nice as an Alpine?

audiobliss

As nice as an Alpine of similar price? Yes. Same as the Eclipse at $250? Maybe, maybe not.

Airplay355

Dude, I have XM. The Eclipse is setup for Sirius. So even if it wasn't digustingly ugly I still couldn't get it.

If I could afford the more expensive ones I might try an Eclipse one though.

How are their speakers? MOMO quality?

MacLeod

The Panasonic is better than an equally priced Alpine because it has better EQ's and tuning features plus higher voltage pre-outs.

Eclipse is like Alpine, pretty much everything they make is top notch but Id still put the Momos above em tho.

Airplay355

So why is Eclipse stuff so nice? Why would it be better then the Panasonic? I'm torn between the panny and the cd3000. I know I said it was ugly, but it would match my bright red car lol.

MacLeod

Its not that ALL Eclipse stuff is so nice, its just that they make high end head units and their upper end stuff has tons of audiophile features and such. Their lower end models arent much different than comparable models from Pioneer, Kenwood et al.

Other than features there really isnt any big differences between the Panny and Eclipse. Both will be well made and should be trouble free for years. The Panny does look better in my opinion though.

The CD3000 has 5 volt pre-outs as well as the Panny but the Panny's 7 band EQ versus the Eclipse's 3 band EQ added to the better looks of the Panasonic would put it over the top for me.

B3Nut

My wife has had an entry-level Panasonic HU in her Neon for years, driving stock speakers. The system sounds better than it has a right to (well, at least it did, one of the rear 6X9's is out of commission due to damage by a trunk full of dog food bags...broke the connector off) and has been trouble-free. It's not as easy-to-use as their current HU's though. And I agree about the "blingy" crap in car audio today...car head units are starting to resemble those horrible plastic shelf stereos, all flash and no substance.

Todd in Beerbratistan