skkiii_whhaattt
New member
is it neccessary for me to get an amp to install new speakers and tweeters in place of my stock ones? i went to bestbuy the other day and asked one of the workers there and he said that i dont need to get a new amp for it.
replacing stock speakers and tweeters
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duzuck
New member
Depends on your head unit. Technically, the dude at BestBuy is right, however, if you have a stock head unit, your new speakers probably wont sound all that better. You COULD amp the new speakers, but most people just buy a better deck. Even the worst and cheapest decks nowadays put out more power then most factory units. They are usually adequate to power modest coax speakers or components.
If you wanna leave the factory unit, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to amp the speakers, but doing that isn't common practice. Some would argue that underpowering speakers (subs, components, all the like) is incredibly hard on them, especially at high volumes. This would happen if you used the factory unit. At least when you overpower a speaker, you can HEAR when you're damaging the speaker.
This is all just my opinion, free advice is usually the price you pay. This is just what I've learned over the years, and after many installs.
For what it's worth, if I wanted to leave the factory HU in place, I'd leave the factory speakers as well. It's not worth the extra money, and our Yotas have decent setups from the factory.
If you wanna leave the factory unit, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to amp the speakers, but doing that isn't common practice. Some would argue that underpowering speakers (subs, components, all the like) is incredibly hard on them, especially at high volumes. This would happen if you used the factory unit. At least when you overpower a speaker, you can HEAR when you're damaging the speaker.
This is all just my opinion, free advice is usually the price you pay. This is just what I've learned over the years, and after many installs.
For what it's worth, if I wanted to leave the factory HU in place, I'd leave the factory speakers as well. It's not worth the extra money, and our Yotas have decent setups from the factory.
skkiii_whhaattt
New member
ok so my HU isnt stock. it is a alpine deck. so ill prolly leave out the amp jus to save some cash... and another thing. whats the difference between 2-way and 3-way speakers?
duzuck
New member
Perfect, I've got an Alpine as well. I think they give great sound quality. You really dont need to amp the speakers then, I'm sure you'll be happy wiring those up to the high-levels outputs.
There's more of a difference between component sets and co-ax speakers. Co-ax speakers come in a variety of styles, usually two-way, three-way, or even four-way setups. Basically, one signal wire is connected to the speaker right from the deck, and the speaker divides the frequency to the appropriate locations within itself. The three-way speakers will probably have two tweeters and a low, or a tweeter, mid and a low. A two-way will only have a tweeter and a low.
Component sets are different in that the signal wire initially goes to an EXTERNAL crossover, which then divides the frequencies up, and sends the appropriate signals to the different speakers (still a tweeter and a mid/low). Most people like components over co-axs because they tend to be adjustable and they do a nicer job of divinding the frequencies, thus a nicer sound.
The idea behind both setups is that you cant send low frequency signals to a tweeter, and tweeters handle high-frequencies better than a larger speaker would.
If you decide to get co-ax speakers, three ways will probably provide a better range of sound, because each component of the speaker can play the frequencies it excels at.
However, if you're gonna replace all of your speakers in your runner, and you use varying sizes, you could probably stick with two-way speakers. If you only have two speakers in your entire vehicle (like my old camaro) then three-ways make a little more sense. All of my speakers are two-ways (including the component set-up in the front). I have 5-1/4" components in the front, 4" in the rear doors, and now 6x9s in the rear. I'm happy with the sound quality. I get lots of highs, and enough lows, considering I dont have a sub.
I dont know if you're going to tackle the install yourself, or if you're gonna pay someone. But you should try to find a place where they dont mind explaining the stuff I've been trying to explain here. I've never dealt with Best Buy, or Future Shop, or any other chain store for my audio, only because I find I can never get the service I want. Just make sure the place you go is reputable, and if they dont wanna spend 10 minutes with you to help you decide what's best for you, like asking what kind of music you listen to, and what kind of car you drive, then walk away.
Good luck man
There's more of a difference between component sets and co-ax speakers. Co-ax speakers come in a variety of styles, usually two-way, three-way, or even four-way setups. Basically, one signal wire is connected to the speaker right from the deck, and the speaker divides the frequency to the appropriate locations within itself. The three-way speakers will probably have two tweeters and a low, or a tweeter, mid and a low. A two-way will only have a tweeter and a low.
Component sets are different in that the signal wire initially goes to an EXTERNAL crossover, which then divides the frequencies up, and sends the appropriate signals to the different speakers (still a tweeter and a mid/low). Most people like components over co-axs because they tend to be adjustable and they do a nicer job of divinding the frequencies, thus a nicer sound.
The idea behind both setups is that you cant send low frequency signals to a tweeter, and tweeters handle high-frequencies better than a larger speaker would.
If you decide to get co-ax speakers, three ways will probably provide a better range of sound, because each component of the speaker can play the frequencies it excels at.
However, if you're gonna replace all of your speakers in your runner, and you use varying sizes, you could probably stick with two-way speakers. If you only have two speakers in your entire vehicle (like my old camaro) then three-ways make a little more sense. All of my speakers are two-ways (including the component set-up in the front). I have 5-1/4" components in the front, 4" in the rear doors, and now 6x9s in the rear. I'm happy with the sound quality. I get lots of highs, and enough lows, considering I dont have a sub.
I dont know if you're going to tackle the install yourself, or if you're gonna pay someone. But you should try to find a place where they dont mind explaining the stuff I've been trying to explain here. I've never dealt with Best Buy, or Future Shop, or any other chain store for my audio, only because I find I can never get the service I want. Just make sure the place you go is reputable, and if they dont wanna spend 10 minutes with you to help you decide what's best for you, like asking what kind of music you listen to, and what kind of car you drive, then walk away.
Good luck man
skkiii_whhaattt
New member
ok sweet. thanks for the help and advice man. just one more thing. do i need to buy any extra wiring for the install? or do i jus need the speakers itself?
NIK0
New member
skkiii_whhaattt said:
I don't know what your intentions are but if you're taking off your panels to install new speakers than why not amplify them accordingly. You don't have to go crazy like some of the setups you may have seen but truth be known, the little amps inside the decks can only do so much, that and frying your cd's from all the heat they can produce when driving it a little louder.
Why don't you just go the extra mile and add a 5 channel amp. If you're not looking for a major stereo upgrade but are obviously dissapointed with the stock setup, then go with my suggestion.
You'll thank yourself for it......
You already have a head unit, I would recommend going with:
- An Alpine 5 Channel amplifier, their current line doesn't include a 5CH so you'll save money on buying last years model. Older V12 amps are built very well so you will be happy with even buying an 04 model. EBAY has super deals on them!
- 6.5 Components in the front
- 5 1/4 mids in the back
And that's it! The 5th channel could be reserved in case you ever want to throw in a small sub to add that extra bass if you ever need it. And because your amp is in the trunk, installing a sub is literally 2 minutes.
By the way, don't cheap out and buy "Best Buy" type audio equipment. I've seen decent decks but their speaker line up and amplifier lines are garbage. If you go to a shop that specializes in car audio, you probably find the same deals on better quality stuff.
My approach is do it right or don't do it at all. Feeling regret afterwards sucks!
lee
New member
i would say figure out a couple of higher end products you want (speakers, amp, sub maybe) and then once you have those model numbers use google/froogle and ebay to buy them.
thats what i did and it saved me a few hundred bucks.
also, look at sites like www.hookedontronics.com
good deals there most times.
thats what i did and it saved me a few hundred bucks.
also, look at sites like www.hookedontronics.com
good deals there most times.
