Re: Car speakers !

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by txguitar, Sep 17, 2021.

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  1. txguitar

    txguitar Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Texas
    Hey everyone,

    Anyone on the forum that keeps up with modern car speakers (6”). I put some Rockford fosgate
    Speakers in my car and while they sound good, I m sure there are better. If anyone can recommend
    a. brand I would really appreciate it.

    Thanks and have a great week-end !!!!
     
  2. thxdave

    thxdave "One black, one white, one blonde"

    Dynaudio which replaced my much lamented a/d/s 320i system.
     
    sound chaser likes this.
  3. Rad Dudeski

    Rad Dudeski Forum Resident

    Location:
    -
    I used NOS Kenwood speakers in my old Honda. You know the ones that have a semi-heavy paper cone vs polypropylene, coated or more sophisticated cone materials. I like em, they seem to have better bass and a more flat frequency response. I tend to stray from newer aftermarket car speakers.
     
    2trackmind likes this.
  4. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    I can tell you the bad ones!

    Let me preface this by saying that I am not a car audio snob.

    I own two Nissan pickup trucks, and they both came (when I bought the trucks used) with stock 6" speakers made by Clarion (only identified on the speaker magnet, visible once removed). The first of the two trucks is one that I purchased - literally - from a deaf man, so he probably did not mind having the worst-sounding car stereo I could ever imagine. The second one was purchased from a used car dealer in Houston, and had the same gawd-awful, midrange-y, hollow-sounding Clarion speakers.

    In the first truck, I put in some 6.5" JVC coaxials, and in the second I installed 6.5" JBL with separate woofers and tweeters, and both are just MILES ahead of those unbelievably horrible "stock Nissan speakers" made by Clarion. I cannot express how awful they sounded. The JBLs sound pretty good, as expected. The JVCs (made by Kenwood, as I recall) perform well beyond their price point, IMO. Both are quite listenable, and my ears don't start weeping like they did with those stock Clarions. The sound was literally painfully bad.
     
    Damien DiAngelo likes this.
  5. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I'm gonna go on a limb and guess that you are using the stock radio, and not using and external amp. If that's the case, it's not gonna get any better. If I'm way outta line, then ignore my response..... :D
     
  6. scoutbb

    scoutbb Senior Member

    Location:
    LA
    I have never heard any stock system, even high end stock systems, that sound better than aftermarket systems. It can even be mid-priced head units, speakers, and external amps. I had a nice system (Sony/Kenwood/Polk Audio/JL Audio/Rockford) in my 99 Camry that blew away my cousins hi-end Mark Levinson system in his Lexus.
     
    Richard Austen and Bingo Bongo like this.
  7. rnranimal

    rnranimal Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    My current car setup is the only one I've ever been satisfied with. That's not to say it's perfect, but I really like listening to audio in my car. I have one of those glovebox Alpine amps bridged to a pair of 6" Alpine coaxial speakers (I don't like running backseat speakers) with a Kenwood HU and listen to lossless audio from an iPOD via USB. I'm sure it can get better but I like it so much that I never have the urge to try. I dread when this 160k mile vehicle dies and I have to lose this setup and end up with whatever crap the new vehicle I buy comes with. If it's anytime soon, I will definitely not be buying used and I'm not messing with replacing new audio systems with LCD screens and back-up cameras and whatnot.
     
    Finch Platte likes this.
  8. 2trackmind

    2trackmind Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA
    The problem with most aftermarket car audio speakers is that they are a lot less efficient than the factory speakers and usually require an external amplifier to really cook.

    Pioneer, Polk and JBL would be the brands I would look into if I had to go aftermarket and didn't want to have to deal with external amplification. Though I am not sure if Polk got out of the car audio market or not -- I couldn't find car audio products on their website the last time I looked.
     
    rnranimal likes this.
  9. Finch Platte

    Finch Platte Lettme Rundatt Bayou

    Location:
    NorCal
  10. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    Yes, I did this back in the 1990s - replaced the stock stereo with Alpine and Mordaunt Short speakers. When I move back to Canada I want to buy a car and was looking at Lexus and to get the Mark Levinson set-up it's like a $4,000 option which is kind of nuts.

    But the cars now seem so integrated like you can't just replace the car's LCD system with a drop-in head unit from Sony etc. Am I wrong? I hope so because some of these car systems have backup cameras and various other features. When I see car reviews from Savagegeese etc he notes that some carmakers like Hyundai and Kia make rather excellent user-friendly screens while Toyota and Lexus while better cars stink it up on these infotainment screens. I was thinking I'd rather have the best car and then just buy an aftermarket infotainment set-up (which obviously includes the audio system) - he also notes that the Toyota JBL set-up is rather piss poor sounding.

    I am leaning toward a Lexus but I am also looking at Miata and they have Bose in the headrests so not much can be done there. But a luxury car like and ES350 should have quality sound. Savage Geese did measure the ES 350 and noted it is one of the best in the industry - but being the best stock system doesn't really say much. Savagegeese is the only car reviewer who does measurements of the audio (or even seems to cover the audio) out there.

     
  11. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    You didn't like the a/d/s system? I had a/d/s speakers and amps in a number of cars and trucks in the 80's. A friend worked for Tweeter in Boston and quite often I'd go to the a/d/s headquarters in Wilmington, MA to pick up my stuff. I thought they were great sounding speakers and amps. I'd guess Dynaudio car speakers are quite expensive.

    My current car (2012 Toyota Prius) is the only new car I've ever owned that the factory stereo was not ripped out and replaced. It doesn't sound that great but do most of my critical listening at home these days.
     
    G E likes this.
  12. cdcollector87

    cdcollector87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    The one in my 2016 Camry isn't terrible. It's not the JBL system I don't think. Maybe Bluetooth just sucks, but I have to turn the volume up over halfway to really even hear it well. I never had to do that in my Volkswagen Jetta. So I don't know if it's just a weak amp or what. Have heard of other Toyotas having low volume too. When I hook up over a wired connection instead, it's not as bad, but I still have to turn it up quite a bit.
     
  13. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    Aftermarket mobile audio is a slippery slope and can be a rabbit hole. That said there are some very good speakers that will sound excellent for reasonable money without having to upgrade the electronics. These deliver very deep bass and excellent transparency and clarity.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. thxdave

    thxdave "One black, one white, one blonde"

    On the contrary, I LOVED my a/d/s system(s)!! I had several of their amps (PQ20, PH15 and later models) along with the 320i system, 300i plates and their subs. I had them so long that I found myself outliving their car audio line. When I went to replace them (after migrating them from car to car), I didn't like the sound of their later models. So, I went searching for an equivalent sound and Dynaudio seemed to be the best fit. I dabbled with Boston and Diamond a bit but Dyn had the best sound overall. Expensive as f*** but a VERY flexible system approach. I've run them bi- and tri-amped and been very happy. Eventually I ended up in a somewhat noisy vehicle and couldn't hear the subtleties that I used to seek so audio quality has sort of taken the back seat lately. So, most critical listening happens at home on my.....wait for it....a/d/s speakers!
     
    Bill Mac likes this.
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