All new speakers! Need help.

[Envy03]

I have some extra cash coming to me at the end of February and NEED to replace all the stock speakers in the 03 Vibe. Any "cost-wise" suggestions? Looking to get a sub as well. Nothing booming, but good enough to enjoy. My speakers have been running about 50% for 2 years now and I haven't had the chance to enjoy good sound for awhile.Envy

[audiovibe]

How much money are you looking to spend?Aron

[cptnsolo77]

Yes. How much are you looking to spend? I have been wanting to get some Polks for the Vibe for the longest. I had the chance to get them last week but had to buy a new starter....oh well. No sense in having new speakers if I cant start the car...LOL. They were just on sale at Cruntchfeild buy one get another for half off, sale is over though.They have them here for cheaper:http://www.sonicelectronix.com....htmlhttp://www.sonicelectronix.com....htmlThe DB651-S is shallow mount for the front. They are supposed to be awesome speakers for the price. Good luck with your search.

[Stockintoshockin]

I have a component alpine set up in the front and this coming week I will be installing Infinity Kappa 6x9s in a Custom box made to attach to my rear seats, cause those door speaker aint much for bass. I had Infinity Reference 6x9s in my last car and it was plenty of bass with a cheap deck, I was asked if i had subs more then once. I'll post some pics when I get it all set up and tell ya how it sounds by this next week end if your interested.

[audiovibe]

Quote, originally posted by Stockintoshockin »cause those door speaker aint much for bass.It is quite possible to get great bass from the doors. The stock 6.5 performs decent in the right situation. After I deadened my doors I put the stock 6.5s and moon-n-tunes amps to use and I was very surprised at the gain in the midbass region.Aron

[zdkaiser]

I put four 6.5 Polk db651 speakers in my doors, powered by a 17RMS Sony Xplode headunit, with an Infinity Basslink 10inch sub behind the driver's seat, and I cannot believe how good it sounds. I was stuck in traffic this morning and was just relishing the clarity, the separation of the instruments, the tight kick of the bass drum, etc. I am really impressed by this system I have pieced together.The Polks are nice. Got them at Crutchfield for $50 a pair. Quality speakers for cheap.The Basslink is great as well. Found it on Amazon for $170 (Crutchfield has it at $299, I believe). It really fills in the low end. A necessity, I think. And I am not one to pound your fillings out with heavy rattling bass. I just want to hear it.

[cptnsolo77]

Hey zdkaiser, did you have to modify your Polks in the front door panels to fit correctly? If so what did you do? I have read posts where the the speaker mount has to be slightly modified to fit so that the window doesnt hit the back of the speaker when its all the way down.

[zdkaiser]

To get them to fit was rather simple. First, I took the stock front speakers out. I peeled the foam (with adhesive on it) from back of the stock speakers. I then took the (free) speaker brackets supplied by Crutchfield, and put this sticky foam on them. Then I took a 2nd set of speaker brackets (from the polk box), and made a bracket/foam/bracket sandwich, which stuck together nicely because of the little bit of remaining adhesive on the foam. I lined up the screw holes and tightened it down into the door. It is nice and snug and provides just enough clearance for the window to go down all the way. i did have to drill one new hole in the door panel, but that is very simple.

[cptnsolo77]

Cool. So basically You created a spacer with the brackets to clear the window. My next question is, when you put the door panel back on did you have any clearance issues? Did the speaker grille from the door panel touch the top of the tweeter? Im I making sense? lolThe reason I ask is because. I would like to install both front/rear DB651 cause the DB651 has a bit more RMS wattage & better frequency respone than the shallow mounts (The shallow mounts always seem to be a little more too) Im trying to get the most I can since Im keeping the stock headunit. Thx for you reply.

[zdkaiser]

no clearance issues. i was expecting some, but to my surprise, i had no issues. i was planning on sawing a hole in the door grill, but didn't have to. i say go for it.

[zdkaiser]

i think if you add a small sub to the equation the sound is perfect. i have a small 10 inch that really hits the low end nicely. the polks do have bass, but nothing incredible. the mid bass is tight and accurate, and the highs are at times a bit shrill. maybe i just wasn't used to accurate treble. the four tweeters is intense at times. after i listened to the speakers for 50 hours or so, they have settled down a bit. they are definitely burned it. now, with the sub, there is good clarity. plenty of separation in the instruments, and it definitely has a more "live" feel to it.

[cptnsolo77]

Thx zdkaiser. Hope I didnt hijack the thread Envy03.

[SmAshley]

Quote, originally posted by Envy03 »I have some extra cash coming to me at the end of February and NEED to replace all the stock speakers in the 03 Vibe. Any "cost-wise" suggestions? Looking to get a sub as well. Nothing booming, but good enough to enjoy. My speakers have been running about 50% for 2 years now and I haven't had the chance to enjoy good sound for awhile.EnvyGrabbed some 6.5 Infinity Reference in the front 5.25 in the rear , $99 a pair (Futureshop had them on sale Rockford rf-x1t Tweeters 10" DVC Clarion sub sunk in the spare tire "bucket". I based my custom box off of the threads I searched with my own variationshttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=38669I used MDF instead of the stock cover due to way to much rattling, I used a bit of cotton batten to insulate and stuffed into where the jack sits just in case. If you need any help let me know I can give you how to pics a bit more, I have more but didn't load them all. Simple yet effective I did it all in my Apt parking lot in 5 hours I think with food breaks and troublshooting on the fly.

Attached files

[SmAshley]

Heres the next one.. sorry i suck at posting pics my bad

Attached files

[tribalman]

if you do get aftermarket speakers, check how the new bracket fits. the one i've got in mine suck. doesn't really fit in the holes right and because of this sometimes the bracket slips and the speaker contacts the door and then sounds like trash. i'm planning on making a new set this year. sick of these from when i got it installed (sorry audiovibe, i was a newbie at the time and didn't want to ruin my new car)

[SmAshley]

Quote, originally posted by tribalman »if you do get aftermarket speakers, check how the new bracket fits. the one i've got in mine suck. doesn't really fit in the holes right and because of this sometimes the bracket slips and the speaker contacts the door and then sounds like trash. i'm planning on making a new set this year. sick of these from when i got it installed this is what I did with my "brackets" http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=785 But i know there are proper brackets available, eBay was a good place for them.. I was just to impatient to wait for them so I made them

[chromelampshade]

I have some extra cash coming to me at the end of February and NEED to replace all the stock speakers in the 03 Vibe. Any "cost-wise" suggestions? Looking to get a sub as well. Nothing booming, but good enough to enjoy. My speakers have been running about 50% for 2 years now and I haven't had the chance to enjoy good sound for awhile.Envy

depending on budget and what your going for, theres a lot of factors at play.
I ran kicker DS 5.25 coax on all around and it was quite impressive for stock factory amp.
from looking around here the factory vibe amplifier is 200x4 @2ohm (most midranges are 4ohm!!, you wont get rated power from factory amp unless you wire down to 2ohm, but your better off looking into a new midrange amplifier that does rated power at 4ohm. (if your after better sound quality)
shop from crutchfield and they'll include mounting brackets etc..
Not only should you be checking RMS power rating (stay in ~50 - 60wrms range if you do not plan on upgrading amp), but also look out for "sensitivity ratings," one speaker could be louder then the other off of 1w (speaker sensitivity)
my rear kicker coax are 60wrms iirc 80db sensitivity, whereas my alpine s65c upfront is 80wrms 88db sensitivity. Tweeters are 90DB! sensitivity, they get very loud.
Do what brand you like, or if you're unsure, take some advice from others. Stay away from Boss audio at all costs!

Skaraudio makes amazing kits for daily use, I am currently on 800w amp & SDR 10in subwoofer, my whole car rattles. haha

Do note, if your upgrading speakers, be careful with how your headunit is tuned (bass EQ) I did use a oscope yesterday to check the signal coming off factory amp and might i say its very very dirty. soft clipping at 22/40 with my headunit.