Spec me some ICE

[Ev0]

6x9s are only good for adding volume. They're a complete waste of time for adding more bass.

Would strongly disagree as it totally depends on what you had in the first place!

Don't have them in the Clio anymore but when I did, and in my previous car, they provided a marked increase in bass and volume over the standard rear speakers.

I miss them now but got fed up with the parcel shelf I had to use with them in so back to the standard setup

I still maintain if you don't want a sub they aren't a bad thing, I just wouldn't have them as well as a sub (there'd be no point).

As said just make sure they are setup for just giving you some rear fill/bass rather than pumping out the mids and trebles too much as it will drag the sound behind you.

 

[MikeHunt79]

my kenwood bt8044u has some suprisingly sophisticated time delay functions built in. It's a shame it doesnt have an auto-setup though Those are the 6x9's id choose, listen to this man

I have yet to see any 6x9's that are better, going by specs at least. TangBand really need a UK dealer tho, they make lovely speakers but it's a PITA ordering from Germany...

It's quite amusing the number of posts saying 'get a sub'...

It's akin to someone starting a thread saying 'spec me a LCD tv' and someone else going 'get a projector', or even 'get a plasma'!

Nice to see headunits with DSP functions, as mounting a DSP is a major pain unless you're lucky enough to have double din.

Finally, I find ARTA beats auto-setup.

 

[BigglesPiP]

Doesn't show the harmonic functions of the instruments, and of vocals, which extend beyond our 22k hearing capability. The less of this you include, the more the instruments all sound the same.

You can't go without tweeters, and as I've been saying from the start, find room for a bass speaker too. The midrange is a piece of wee to achieve.

You also need to anchor the speakers properly, not just bolt them to the door cards like some OEMs, if you do this then the speaker's frame and the door card become a speaker pumping out the inverse noise, cancelling out the cone.

 

[Sparky]

For the record, I think I've just picked up one of these second hand, I'll let you know how I get on.

ahh the car stereo equivalent of a wet fart.

Seriously, good luck with it.

 

[BigglesPiP]

ahh the car stereo equivalent of a wet fart.

Seriously, good luck with it.

They are OK inside the cabin, which is where they're designed to fit really.

 

[Sparky]

They are OK inside the cabin, which is where they're designed to fit really.

Having spent 3 hours waiting for my car to be fitted with its setup, i had the chance to sit in and listen to a couple of cars with these fitted. They are no better than a good, amplified set of comps.

 

[Dup]

Surely you could fit a 'free air' designed sub to the shelf. This would obviously require modification to the shelf so if it's not replacable then it's probably ill advised. You could possibly get a generic sub woofer boxed in under the shelf but I don't know about the space implications there.

An amp with high level inputs from the OEM stereo connected to some decent components will be the best first step. The amp will depend on if you want to expand either a sub or rear speakers as adding an amp at a later date = the same faffing about removing the HU and routing wires etc.

There's never a really cheap solution and it depends if you just want more bass or want some fidelity. Adding an amp to the stock speakers might make all the difference seeing as you're dead set on keeping the headunit OEM and keep costs low. 6X9 speakers can add a noticable depth with some bass, but really need to be on top of a sealed compartment like in a hatchback and addign a sub underneath will cancel them out anyway. My friend added some to his stock Zetec S and I couldn't believe the difference they made ust chopped into his parcel shelf, but different cars will take it differently. A tinny Fiesta will probably amplify more bass than a solid BMW.

I'd find a decent installer locally and get their opinion. We have one up here and he had a demo Merc with some lead type material lining the doors for deadening, double din head unit and a sub woofer in a false floor in the boot. It was fitted very OEM style but sounded absolutely awesome with 5.1 etc. He then showed me a newish Astra with a basic sub amp and component install. The hardware wasn't expensive stuff, maybe not even mid range but becasue it was installed with proper deadening and baffles and set up by him, it sounded just as nice as the Merc to me.

 

[86JR]

Note you could get something like RE XXX comps or the CDT ES's (would really go for 6.5's though) and have a custom build for them. with the 9mm of xmax the XXX's have you dont really need a sub.

 

[86JR]

Surely you could fit a 'free air' designed sub to the shelf. This would obviously require modification to the shelf so if it's not replacable then it's probably ill advised. You could possibly get a generic sub woofer boxed in under the shelf but I don't know about the space implications there.

An amp with high level inputs from the OEM stereo connected to some decent components will be the best first step. The amp will depend on if you want to expand either a sub or rear speakers as adding an amp at a later date = the same faffing about removing the HU and routing wires etc.

There's never a really cheap solution and it depends if you just want more bass or want some fidelity. Adding an amp to the stock speakers might make all the difference seeing as you're dead set on keeping the headunit OEM and keep costs low. 6X9 speakers can add a noticable depth with some bass, but really need to be on top of a sealed compartment like in a hatchback and addign a sub underneath will cancel them out anyway. My friend added some to his stock Zetec S and I couldn't believe the difference they made ust chopped into his parcel shelf, but different cars will take it differently. A tinny Fiesta will probably amplify more bass than a solid BMW.

I'd find a decent installer locally and get their opinion. We have one up here and he had a demo Merc with some lead type material lining the doors for deadening, double din head unit and a sub woofer in a false floor in the boot. It was fitted very OEM style but sounded absolutely awesome with 5.1 etc. He then showed me a newish Astra with a basic sub amp and component install. The hardware wasn't expensive stuff, maybe not even mid range but becasue it was installed with proper deadening and baffles and set up by him, it sounded just as nice as the Merc to me.

Its the other way round, tinny cars have less SD so theres more "holes" for the air to escape. Music = air

 

[Django x2]

Simples. I was doing ICE installs when ICE really was ICE.

You want, components up front (upgraded if you have them already, unlikely as BMW like to think you have seperate mids and tweets in the front, in reality you only have mids). You can tell this by placing your hand past the speaker so the sound is directed up to your ears then use your other hand over the tweeter grill and see if any difference is heard.

So, Components upfront, if you want awesome sound and clarity but need to stay with the Sony SOT then you want some Diamond Audio M3. If anyone says "Kappa" or "Infiniti", walk away as they have spent too long in the nearest McDonalds car park with Saxos and Novas. Infinity / Kappa make shocking speakers. You want it to sounds good whilst remaining OEM, you need a great speaker package which is where the DAs come in.

Now, 6x9s. Again, simples. Keep something semi decent here but "rear fill" them which provides a nice warm bass sound and keeps them from producing highs (which you don't really want in the back anyway).

 

[DRZ]

Doesn't show the harmonic functions of the instruments, and of vocals, which extend beyond our 22k hearing capability. The less of this you include, the more the instruments all sound the same.

You can't go without tweeters, and as I've been saying from the start, find room for a bass speaker too. The midrange is a piece of wee to achieve.

You also need to anchor the speakers properly, not just bolt them to the door cards like some OEMs, if you do this then the speaker's frame and the door card become a speaker pumping out the inverse noise, cancelling out the cone.

Yea, because the Nyquist limit of CD (or FM, or just about any kind of audio source you are likely to use in a car!) allows you to hear the harmonics above 22k that you cant hear anyway...

 

[Stormster]

I've only read the first 10 or so replys but 6*9's really are not as bad as everyone makes up. Only things you need to consider is they do use a lot of power. I doubt a standard HU would power some decent 6*9's very well and you'll find other bits cutting out. Also the mounting depth; your factory fitted 6*9's will be maybe a few cm deep, where as most of the ones you buy can be up to 10cm deep. You need to make sure you have the mounting depth to play with otherwise they simply won't fit.

.

They have massive power ratings but don't forget they're also some of the most efficient speakers you can buy for your car and thus can run well off low power in most cases.

Pioneers FIE capability is a kinda cool option as stated also to get the feeling of more bass than their actually is

Vibe amps are good also, their speakers generally aren't however.

 

[Fr0dders]

Oh wait .. wrong thread.

 

[BigglesPiP]

Yea, because the Nyquist limit of CD (or FM, or just about any kind of audio source you are likely to use in a car!) allows you to hear the harmonics above 22k that you cant hear anyway...

I wasn't saying you should buy speakers with a frequency response extending above anything you could hope to hear.

I was making my point about the importance of the higher frequencies we can hear, and also stating that most everything that makes noise, has harmonic components we can't hear. But it's the harmonic components we can hear that are important.

mp3 and FM radio can include audio up to 15KHz, CDs to 20Khz, and wma to 22kHz. I use all of these in my car. You need tweeters.

 

[Phil W]

Not scanned through the thread to see if anyone has already suggested this, but instead of 6x9s, what about a good set of components, and an under-seat sub?