Question about replacing component speakers

[jzwu]

Hi,

I have a 2001 Solara SLE convertible, which came with the JBL system and factory component speakers: tweeters, door/side panel speakers and a subwoofer.

Now I need to replace some of the speakers after 8 years. The subwoofer was blown long time ago and was since disconnected. I want to only replace the two front door speakers with Alpine SPS ones (they come with built in tweeters).

What do I do with the factory tweeters on the door? I don't want to use them anymore. What about the wiring to them? Should I rewire or disconnect?

Thanks!

[blaK]

Unclip them

[Duffman]

Disconnecting them should work just fine. As far as I recall (it's been almost four years since I put mine in), the wiring for the tweeters comes from the bottom of the door where the main speaker is.

[jzwu]

Thanks for the replies!

It occurs to me that if I disconnect the factory tweeters, how is the High signal going to the new speakers? Isn't there a crossover for components, meaning high/mid/low signals are routed to different speakers?

[hari-bhari]

yea you can't just plug in your full range speakers to the wires going to the old door woofer. my suggestion is to get a set of components, they will sound way better.

[jzwu]

You are probably right. I just installed the speakers and also left the factory tweeters connected. It sounded ok.

My fault not to think about this before I ordered the new speakers.

[TLMNICK]

It wont be as loud as it once was. The resistance on all the speakers in that car are different. The sub was useless even before it blew up.

I'd leave the stock tweeters connected since you wont get much highs from your Alpines. The reason for that is because the stock JBL amp has its own crossover inside it that only feeds mid-range frequencies to those speakers.

IMO when you start gettin into changing speakers on that JBL setup, its just better to go all the way and change everything.

[hari-bhari]

actually some coax speakers have two sets of inputs, one for the woofer and one for the tweeter. in that case you could just cut the tweeter wire and connect it. however, i would really just advise against aftermarket speakers on a stock HU. the power output is pretty low (even with the JBL amp) and factory speakers are usually highly sensitive (db/watt/meter) meaning they can get louder with less power, at the expense of sounding crappy of course. thats why in all of my experience, aftermarket speakers only sound decent when paired with an aftermarket amp driving them properly.

secondly, i have installed 4 pairs of front speakers in my car over the years, and one thing ive learned is that its all about mounting. if you take an aftermarket speaker and just bolt it into the door, it will sound WORSE than factory. at the very least buy an 1/2" MDF ring, some molding clay, and some egg crate foam to mount behind the speaker for some decent dampening and bass response.

here is what mine looks like, but you don't need to go as far as i did.






more pics: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... d=12801155


here is the tutorial i followed
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27

i followed all the steps in the tutorial and honestly the doors POUND now, not to mention they are 15 pounds heavier each. ive got so much bass out of the doors now that i switched my sub off