Speaker upgrade-Is it worth it?

I have been reading threads about speaker upgrades and setups, and have been toying with the idea of replacing my front door speakers with something a little better, however I do not want to add an amp to power them. So my question is, if I am not going to add an amp, is it really worth it to replace the stock speakers? Will new ones really make a noticeable difference if they are getting the same power as the stockers?

 

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

If you aren't going to run an amp it's a close call. Why not run an amp? What are you going to run your sub off?

Yes.... you can always add an amp later

 

 

aftermarket speaker will sound better because they are made of better materials and are more efficent (louder and clear at lower volumes on the stock HU)

to the untrained ear, aftermarket speakers are just about the same as the stock speakers. they are both being powered by the stock system anyway, so you won't notice a difference til you at least add an amp.

DrJayMixwell, I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

I started my stereo work by adding Boston Z6's to my front powered off of the stock stereo. I ran that way for a year.

 

While many would say the radio "wouldn't have enough power", sound quality was vastly improved.

 

Bottom line, the speaker is the MOST important component of your stereo, and will matter more than any other single component period.

 

PS. The Z6's I reference, are for sale, with mounting brackets for tweeter and woofer for bolt on install ease, as I have since upgraded. (Yes, I'm a but nuts about sound, but like I said, speakers are the MOST important component). PM me if you're interested, or just want some advice on what steps you should take for sound upgrades in which order.

If you aren't going to run an amp it's a close call. Why not run an amp? What are you going to run your sub off?

I don't think this is going to be my "long term" car, maybe a few more years and then upgrade to something nicer for the long haul. So I didn't want to get too involved right now. I have a 2 channel amp for my sub thats bridged to 240 rms. Also I am not a "sound nut", I just like the overall sound to be good, and sometimes it seems like the door speakers are just fading away. So I didn't know if that was due to a lack of power, or if they are just not that good. If the power is the issue, I am not too sure getting upgraded speakers will do much good if they aren't getting more juice.

 

I was very happy with the factory bose in my acura, but not sure what the output from the head unit was, so its hard to compare.

DrJayMixwell, I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

I started my stereo work by adding Boston Z6's to my front powered off of the stock stereo. I ran that way for a year.

 

While many would say the radio "wouldn't have enough power", sound quality was vastly improved.

 

Bottom line, the speaker is the MOST important component of your stereo, and will matter more than any other single component period.

 

PS. The Z6's I reference, are for sale, with mounting brackets for tweeter and woofer for bolt on install ease, as I have since upgraded. (Yes, I'm a but nuts about sound, but like I said, speakers are the MOST important component). PM me if you're interested, or just want some advice on what steps you should take for sound upgrades in which order.

 

true. the speaker is in fact the most important component of your stereo. and most aftermarket speakers will definitely sound better than stock speakers.

 

but on the same note, most of us here commenting in this forum have some sort of bias since we are doing research to see what best fits our needs. all i'm saying is that most people who have no knowledge about any sort of car audio will not hear that much of a difference between stock and aftermarket speakers being powered by the stock head unit.

Has anyone checked into replacing the with the 09 stock speakers? They are supposed to be better and seem to be made to work with a head unit that is similar if not the same to many of our stock head units. I think it was Kardon or someone who was putting their speakers in the 09/s they also use the mount behind the back seat under the rear window. I wonder if we could do that too?

 

Anthony

Some people on the forum have stated that you should look into sound deadening material before doing anything with the audio, unless you've done that already. I haven't done squat yet but sound deadening is on my list. Gotta' buy new tires first.

Stock speakers are flimsy yet efficient however, They are flawed primarily by the stock tweeter setup (which are pretty bad for imaging). My stock (for now) system was greatly improved with sound deadening and placement of My old trusty MB quart component Coax with the angled tweets firing at the opposite headrest. And yes I also disconnected the stock tweeters. Much better imaging and transients. Whatever you do get smaller magnet efficient speakers and avoid power hungry high wattage type speakers.

Between my 96 OB and the wifes 02 legacy wagon, there is a definite difference. She has all factory "base" stereo, where I re-used an all after market stereo from my old loyale. If you were to get into on then the other the sound difference is very noticible. My system is an eclipse HU, siganl sent to a 4 channel rockford fosgate amp. After the amp the signal goes out to Memphis audio 6.5 two ways in the rear doors and mephis componette system speakers up front. If the sound was any clearer you could hear the drum stick hit the drum head or symbol.

 

Just food for thought in setting up your system in your car. Althought the rental we had in AZ while on vacation had a very nice sounding system for factory..................it was a 08 outback wagon.

Where are you supposed to add the sound deadening material?? over the rear wheel arches?

ama0787, do a few searches, you'll find what you need. The big one that most people ignore is the big gap between your metal door frame and the interior door panel right above the woofer. Filling in that area helps a lot.

ama0787 when I did my old subaru I did the whole roof and the lower part of the rear hatch. I wanted to do the whole floor and more but never got to it. Now I'm wanting to do the roof in my outback just to make for a quieter ride in the rain.