upgrading my frontstage

[Wackzirth88 4]

So i decided to upgrade my frontstage and ordered a sundown sax 100.2 off db-r, it does 100w rms x 2 @ 4 ohm and 200x 2 @ 2 ohm. Now im looking for some component speakers. ive never looked into good door speakers. i just replaced my stock door speakers with cheap 6x8 3 way pioneer speakers from walmart and was fine with that for awhile. but now id like to get something thatll sound better and actually provide some midbass. any suggestions and recommendations are appreciated, i have no experience with upgrading my front stage so any input helps. my budget is around 200, i can spend a little more if i have to. i think i want to run them at 4 ohms

[bassahaulic 155]

Pioneer Premier D-series. Sound great, provide great mid bass, and are cheap.

[eggyhustles 33]

Image Dynamics ctx65

[mustangsub 1]

are you just doing the doors or all of your speakers. and im planning on getting rainbow components heard good things about them

[sandt38 448]

I love front stages. In my current daily driver I went through 6 comp sets and 4 amps in 2 years before I found the ideal setup. Each vehicle has it's own idiosyncrasies that we have to manipulate, overcome, or simply cannot get around.

So what kind of vehicle is this going in?

What sound do you like? Do you prefer a bright sound or laid back? Do you like strong or laid back midrange? Clearly you want a strong Midbass...

What are you going to do with regards to the install? Deaden the doors? Build baffles out of MDF to decouple them from the door? Where will the drivers be placed, exactly, and where will they be aiming?

Do you have any manufacturers you simply do not like, that you want to stay away from? Do you have any preconceived biases, weather as a personal disdain for a company, or maybe inherently from info on a forum? If you have biases, are they based on the company's CS, the dealer's CS (if either one of the 2, who in specific?), or maybe a reviewer's opinion and could you clarify the situation? I ask this because some people can get over preconceived biases if you work around the reason for these biases, you know through a different dealer, or source for the same/similar gear, or alternative positive reviews by well regarded members or reviewers.

[Wackzirth88 4]

The vechile is a 1999 ford contour.I don't have any experiance with component speakers so I don't really know what sound I like nor do I have any favoritism for a certain brand. I will be addin some sound deadener to the doors and will be putting the speakers in stock location. I think I'll just buy the 6x8 to 6.5 brackets off eBay cause they're only 12 bucks. Which brings me to another question. There was a brack on there that held the 6.5 driver and had a spot for the tweeter next to it. Would those work pretty well or should I put the tweeter somewhere else?I was searching around and came across thesehttp://www.vertexaudio.com/store/pc/CDT-Audio-COM-626-COX-622-Front-Rear-Package-65p174.htm

are these good? And would the cdt coaxils be better them my pioneer 6x8s in the back doors runnin off my alpine cda 9883 headunit?

[PHATBOi 38]

The vechile is a 1999 ford contour.I don't have any experiance with component speakers so I don't really know what sound I like nor do I have any favoritism for a certain brand. I will be addin some sound deadener to the doors and will be putting the speakers in stock location. I think I'll just buy the 6x8 to 6.5 brackets off eBay cause they're only 12 bucks. Which brings me to another question. There was a brack on there that held the 6.5 driver and had a spot for the tweeter next to it. Would those work pretty well or should I put the tweeter somewhere else?I was searching around and came across thesehttp://www.vertexaudio.com/store/pc/CDT-Audio-COM-626-COX-622-Front-Rear-Package-65p174.htm

are these good? And would the cdt coaxils be better them my pioneer 6x8s in the back doors runnin off my alpine cda 9883 headunit?

Components will almost always sound better than coaxials in the front or rear but in my opinion you don't need rear speakers so the 6x8's off the headunit should be fine. What is going to make a difference in your doors is deadener. You should deaden the backside of the outer skin of the door as well as the outside of the inner skin where the speaker will be mounted, This makes all the difference in the world. I would suggest these:

Crescendo Audio :: Component Speaker Systems :: CCX65

and use the other $100 dollars for some real good sound deadenner. Second Skin is the shit! The SPL tiles are awsome. Hope this helps.

[Wackzirth88 4]

Thanks for the link. I emailed them about the specs since they're not on the site. Have you or anyone heard the cresendo components? If so what's your opinion on them?

I plan to order some sound deadener sometime this week. How about Polk Audio db6501 - 6-1/2" Component Systems - Sonic Electronix Are these good?

Edited July 3, 2010 by zack w

[Kanaworm$ 292]

If you can up your budget more you can get a real nice 2-way comp set and some dampening to treat your doors.

Best advice would be to to drive to as many car audio shops you can in your area and listen. If at all possible try to listen to some demo cars or even attend some competitions to see and hear more.

[sandt38 448]

The vechile is a 1999 ford contour.I don't have any experiance with component speakers so I don't really know what sound I like nor do I have any favoritism for a certain brand. I will be addin some sound deadener to the doors and will be putting the speakers in stock location. I think I'll just buy the 6x8 to 6.5 brackets off eBay cause they're only 12 bucks. Which brings me to another question. There was a brack on there that held the 6.5 driver and had a spot for the tweeter next to it. Would those work pretty well or should I put the tweeter somewhere else?I was searching around and came across thesehttp://www.vertexaudio.com/store/pc/CDT-Audio-COM-626-COX-622-Front-Rear-Package-65p174.htm

are these good? And would the cdt coaxils be better them my pioneer 6x8s in the back doors runnin off my alpine cda 9883 headunit?

Mike over there at Vertex is a good dude. I have bought a bunch of stuff from him, and sent many, many people his way. Tell him I sent you, maybe he will give you a bit of a break.

At $200 the CLs are a hell of a bargain:

CDT Audio CL-61i 6.5" Component Set - Vertex Audio

They have very strong midbass for the price. The midbass is smooth and silky, not fatiguing and overly aggressive. Midrange is pretty laid back, not the best, but really solid for the price. The tweeters are silk dome, laid back, not domineering. With 100 watts, I would cross these at 100Hz.

If you talk to him, you may be able to get into an upgrade for about the same price.

I saw eggycrates mention the Image Dynamics ctx65. This is a great set as well. Very similar overall to the CLs. It is a great set that I recommend frequently.

If you don't mind buying used, Pioneer Premier TS-C720PRS 6.5" Component Speakers - eBay (item 230492829531 end time Jul-07-10 09:28:37 PDT) you just cannot beat the TSC720s for that price... not the TSDs, the TSCs... they are discontinued but frikken incredible. Well worth $4-450 and I would jump on this deal quick.

Also of note, although not as nice IMO in this pricerange are the Alpine typeX refs (the pros are much nicer, but they will run $350)

Phatboi also said it right when he suggested that you don't need speakers in the rear. Like him I suggest a better component set up front, rather then limiting your front stage by getting rears as well.

As far as the adapters, they will work but they are flimsy. I recommend that you get some 1/2 or 3/4 MDF, and a jigsaw, and make your own. This helps to decouple the drivers from the door, improving sound and reducing vibration.

Location of the tweet is terribly important. While it is common to throw the tweet in the a-pilar IMO in most cases this is a bad place. They sit around a bunch of hard surfaces such as plastic dashes, plastic a-pillars, windshield and side view windows, which causes refraction which in turn makes the tweets brighter... harsh. Also creating multiple pointsources isn't really the best for a realistic image.... think about it, a guitar plays from ~100-~5500Hz. If you have a speaker in your door, and 1 in your a-pillar crossed at 3500Hz, some of his notes will come from the floor, and the rest come from eye level. Vocalists, particularly female vocalists, will do the same. We can localize sound in the midrange and the upper range, so it is best to keep the drivers close. I keep mine hung low, and I point the teeters just a shade in front of me, and point them to my right ear...

clickable image link

[Wackzirth88 4]

So how are the crescendo comps? They emailed me back on the specs but I'm curious to how they sound. Also I contacted don at sds about some cld tiles. He got back to be already so I'll pry be orderin the deadner Monday