NeverTwoOld wrote:Agreed. I hadn't planned on replacing the speakers as they seem to be working just fine but... having heard the improvement from the h.u. alone I can only imagine what a speaker upgrade will do. Now I just have to practice my rationalizations in front of the mirror to be ready to explain to my wife
Haha, I hear ya. I have a hard time convincing myself that it's worth doing half of the stuff I do. I can't imagine having to convince someone else.
If you do end up replacing the speakers, you should try to hold on to the factory speaker brackets. This is one area where the Crutchfield kits fall short. They are next to useless. I ended up buying some mounts that were modeled after the factory kit because the Crutchfield mounts just weren't doing it for me (thin, flimsy, didn't line up very well). I've seen a lot of people having success with gutting the old speaker and putting in a new one.
If you feel like going with a component set, the Image Dynamics that I have (CTX-65CSor something; my signature has the correct model number) are fantastic for the price. They're pretty deep but they don't interfere with my front windows going down in the least. They won't fit in the factory brackets but it's not too hard to use a rotary tool (we have a Dremel with a sawtooth cutting blade that was quick and easy) to cut out the mount enough to accommodate the width.
Many of us also have come to like the Polk Audio db651s because they're affordable and don't require modification to install. They're a great speaker if you don't want to spend much. I used to have them in my fronts (they're still in my rears). I'm extremely happy with my upgrade to Image Dynamics but the db651s are no slouches. They offer a great price:performance value. They aren't incredibly strong in the lower frequencies so, if you're into that, adding a subwoofer is a good idea. They seemed weaker than the factory speakers in bass but more than made up for it with improved mids and highs. They just benefit from something to reinforce and round out the low end.
You've got to be careful with car audio; it can lead you down a costly path. Between the head unit, speakers, amps, subs, and sound deadening, there will always be something else you want to install.
It's a lot of fun, though, so it's hard to complain. It's also worth noting that there are some excellent budget-friendly choices for just about everything so you can end up with a great system at a moderately low cost, should you choose to go all out.
