Looking for some suggestions/help to upgrade system

[surgeandsettle]

how would I go about getting plates to put a 6.5" component speaker in the door where the 6x9's go?
is that something my installer can handle for me?
will a 4-channel amp handle the left 6.5" and left tweeter as one channel so that I can also power up the 6.5" speakers in the back?

is there really THAT big of a difference between using a 6x9 in the door and going with components for my front?

[no_escape]

He did say he didn't want to put subs in the trunk and 3 or 4way 6x9's will have more bass than 6.5. Although I do agree 6.5's all the way around sounds better.

[surgeandsettle]

that's what my concern is -- if I am not putting subs in, it appears that I am losing a lot of lows with components compared to a 2-way 6x9" that I was planning to purchase -- and the 2-way Alpines I am looking at [SPS-69C2] have the same ratings as the 3-way I considered [SPS-69C3]

when I look at a component setup. the speakers I would want to pair them with (keeping the sensitivity levels close and within the same brand's series) don't have much in the way of bass --- not that I expected much bass out of a 6.5", but the ones I'm looking at from Alpine [Alpine SPS-17C2 ] do have a freq response rating of 35-30,000 @ 92dB which looks pretty good --- thinking of pairing them with 2-way 6x9's [SPS-69C2 ] which have the exact same ratings as the 6.5" rears

man this is difficult ... hope it's worth my while

PS) thanks to all for your input and sharing your knowledge ... I really appreciate it!

[no_escape]

I had good luck with a cheap pair of walmart pioneer 3-way 6x9's when it comes to the lows. I'm more a fan of boston though. They have great 6.5's with tweeters mounted in the speaker... Which in my opinion is better sounding than having a twet mounted anywhere else.

[surgeandsettle]

I see that Pioneer has a 2-way component [TS-A1702C] that I might be able to use in the front that lists the response between 31-35000 @ 90dB and it handles about 50W RMS

could pair it with an equally responsive rear 6.5" [TS-D161R] that has even better range

the $64,000 question is whether or not this setup would sound better than the Alpine mix of a 6x9 front and 6.5" rear I was contemplating

[no_escape]

Yea, I'm not sure on the alpine speakers. I've never heard them and if I have, it's been years.

Is there a car audio place near you that sells the speakers? If so they should have a show room where you can listen to them and compare sound.

[surgeandsettle]

got a few around here ... just not sure I'll ever really know how it will sound until it's actually in the car

[no_escape]

Very true. hrmmm... hopefully someone who has had them or still has them will show up with some info.

[surgeandsettle]

I found a nice set of Polk Audio components for the front and 6.5" for the back --- sensitivity the same as the Alpine (92 dB) but the response is not as good for the lows AND the highs

too many friggin' decisions ...

[theprodigy79]

If you get hold of a good 8" sub or a decent shallow 10" you don't have to waste terribly much space...

The Alpine Type S speakers you're looking at are pretty nice... The 3-ways are going to be brighter than the 2-ways, and offer similar bass response. They like power, but can be run fine straight off the headunit.. I'd steer away from the Pioneer speakers... Bostons, as no_escape mentioned, are excellent as well. Any way around it, I'd be hard pressed to recommend running components straight off a deck, let alone a low-end factory deck...

6x9s will give you slightly more bass response than 6.5s, but they ain't gonna replace a sub... Also, they may be rated down to 30-35Hz, but you're never going to appreciate running them that low (and it will damage them if you're not careful).

[Aotoyota]

a 6x9 will give you a bit more bass but you might consider puttin an 8" in the hole. try image dynamics or search for them, only thing to consider is how much room you have behind the speaker. hopefully its got about 3-4 inches?

this is an option if you are running an amp, HU power is not gonna cut it ..

[surgeandsettle]

I ordered those Alpine S series speakers and got a deal on a Profile 1000w 4-channel amp --- will get them installed and look at adding an 8" or 10" sub down the road

I don't have the SLE seats, so I don't know where I would mount that sort of sub .... where do they typically go?

[Gadgetjq]

I don't have the SLE seats, so I don't know where I would mount that sort of sub .... where do they typically go?

SS,

Here's a picture showing where the woofer is mounted in the convertible




As posted earlier in this thread it doesn't have the 'boom' of a large speaker in a trunk mounted box but it has a very satisfying bass 'thump'.

Cheers

[surgeandsettle]

nice ... so you're saying that there's already a spot there to mount it [it was optional even though I do NOT have a JBL system in my SE] --- and it wouldn't take up any room in the back [other than additional amp space]

I am going to run the 6x9's and 6.5" pairs off the 4-channel amp, if I decided to add a sub to the system, is it safe to assume that I am going to need another amp to run the sub? at least I could pick up a mono amp for that ... assuming that will do the trick

I have a 2007 SE convertible --- is this schematic the same for my model? would hate to buy an 8" sub and find out there's not a space there for it! LOL

thanks again for everyone's help ... you guys are great

[no_escape]

Yes, you'll need a seperate amp for the sub. Alpine has a digital mono amp 400rms x1 at 2ohms. I don't know much about the digi amps or how hot they get.