Dash spreakers for VK/VL Calais

[vkberlina]

Hi,

Im after a set of replacement speakers for my VK Calais dash but I havent as yet found anything that will fit.

The original speakers are 3.5" yup good on you GMH to go for an odd size. Has anyone replaced theirs? If so what did you use?

No way in hell im cuttin holes in my door trims for speakers so I want to try and find something thats gunna fit.

cheers
Scott

[garfa]

well how about cutting a couple of small screw holes in the door trims and mounting a fiberglassed pod there?
really 3.5 inch speakers will sound crap on their own. you need a larger range of sizes.

[brohawk]

or take the dash out and size up the holes to fit 4" in there i think thats what happened with mine. coz mine are 4"

[Cane_It]

I did mine a while back, I shopped around and used a set of Blaupunkt ones 90W peak from memory, cant remember the details but if you're looking for something that will mate straight up to the plastic speaker grille, forget it.

I VERY CAREFULLY linished my speaker grilles back to get clearance between the speaker magnet and the firewall, its very tight in there. I had to glue the speaker to the plastic grille but found this to be unsatisfactory as certain plastics are very tricky to glue, esp perspex type ones. they had to glue up flush, there wasnt a male/female type lip to fit them.

Looking back I would have run some sort of device maybe a high pass filter that limits the power supplied to the front ones but still allows all the juice into the back ones and kept the front ones stock. AFAIK theres nothing that will go straight in without a bit of work and yes theyre a bitch of a size.

Be very wary of anyone in a carshop that tells you its easy, cos it bloody well isnt. good luck.

[Cane_It]

also I forgot to mention that linishing back the plastic mouldings will stop you using the metal clips that secure them into the dash...

[vkberlina]

Thanks for the info guys, Im not putting speakers in the doors, I have map pockets on the front part of the door trim, have paid alot of money for new door trims & I dont want to put any holes other than factory in them.

As for mounting speakers behind the crash pad, I measured up theres about 20mm room from the beck of the crash pad to the steel behind it.

If I can get some speakers that will fit inside the holes I will be happy I can glue some brackets to the back of the magnet. As for fitting the speaker grills worst case I could double sided tape them in.

I think I will end up fitting 6" splits in the Kick panels and the tweaters up where the original speakers were fitted. Unless I get any better suggestions or a reason not to.

cheers
Scott

[Tasmaniak]

Scott...first off whats more important to you? Not cutting into the dash or any part of your car or getting the best sound? Let me know and we can take it from there aye?

[vkberlina]

Scott...first off whats more important to you? Not cutting into the dash or any part of your car or getting the best sound? Let me know and we can take it from there aye?

Really I dont want to go cutting the car up, but hoping for the best sound I can get. I am totally green on the car audio side so please educate me.

Definitely not cutting the door trims, I have spent big $$$ getting brock trims redone and I cant bring myself to cut them.

Dash wise, I have a brand new VK Calais crash pad not a mark on it, I dont mind cutting it underneath but not up on top I want to try to keep the original speaker grilles.

Kick panels I dont give a crap about them, I have a spare pair I was going to cover & put the speakers in.

As for the Rest of the stereo (Please note none of which has been purchased yet)

I was going for a JVC KD-SH1000 head unit
Kenwood 7x10s mounted on a new 25mm MDF parcel shelf
Amp not yet decided but good enough to power front speakers & 7x10s
Subs - Nup im not going there hence the 7x10s.


Previously a few years ago I had
Pioneer headunit DEH-P646
Alpine DD 6" drives in the front doors
Kenwood 7x10s of the rear parcel shelf
Alpine Flex 4 (75w x4 channel amp)

any assistance will be much appreciated & taken on board I want to buy once and be happy with my purchase.

cheers
Scott

[semi]

If you're not going to cut your trims, then you're really not gonna get food sound without cutting substantially under the dash to get a 6 or 6.5" to fit

[Tasmaniak]

Scott.....heres a question for you.

Do you LOVE good quality music or do you just need something to beat out the tunes at considerable volume? I'm guessing sound quality isn't that high on the list if your using 7x10s

If you just need something to beat out the tunes at volume then I would simply forget about getting some front speakers and disconnect the ones in the dash now.

That would be my thought. Anything that will fit in their will not be highpowered nor will it make a lot of noise.

[V-ahhh]

i went through this a little while ago and i ended up mounting doorpods as it's not worth the hassel putting speakers in the dash. u cant even tell the screw holes are there when the pod isnt mounted on. as for kick panels the computer is in the way on the passenger side but im guessing you dont have one there and also your not going 2 be able 2 hear it very well ethier if its down there.

[vkberlina]

Scott.....heres a question for you.

Do you LOVE good quality music or do you just need something to beat out the tunes at considerable volume? I'm guessing sound quality isn't that high on the list if your using 7x10s

I would prefer good quality music & quality sound output, Im certainly not listening to music loud enough for people several cars away to also hear.
The only reason for considering 7x10s was I was reasonably happy with the last ones, but if the grass will be greener on the other side of the fence with something different im certainly open to your recommendations you know what your talking about.

If you just need something to beat out the tunes at volume then I would simply forget about getting some front speakers and disconnect the ones in the dash now.

That would be my thought. Anything that will fit in their will not be highpowered nor will it make a lot of noise.

The only thing I really really dont want to do is cut holes, put screws through, glue to,interfer in any way is my door trims. As for the kick panels there is nothing behind them my aftermarket computer has been relocated as it wouldnt fit/give me the desired access for programming/monitoring.

thanks for your interest and suggestions so far.

[Tasmaniak]

Your not going to get great sound from ANY speaker in the kick panel withoutt spending extensive time and money to get "OK" sound out of it. Personally, I would take the money I was going to spend on front speakers and sink it into getting a nicer pair of 6x9s and a nicer amp to run the entire show.

My main reason for steering you away from the 7x10s is that you really aren't gaining that much. Infact you are losing a little bit of quality. You have HEAPS more options available when it comes to 6x9s and can get a pair that sound AWESOME when mated to the right amp.

I honestly don't thiink that using ANY front speakers in your scenario is really worth the effort. Does that make sense?

[vkberlina]

Your not going to get great sound from ANY speaker in the kick panel withoutt spending extensive time and money to get "OK" sound out of it. Personally, I would take the money I was going to spend on front speakers and sink it into getting a nicer pair of 6x9s and a nicer amp to run the entire show.

ok so whay sort of 6x9s should I be looking at?
Alpine SPR-69LP (http://www.alpine-europe.com/content...AY-SPEAKER.htm)
or
JL Audio TR690 TXI - http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_c...hp?comp_id=128

Or would I be best with another brand?
Should I be using a 2, 3 4 way speaker?

My main reason for steering you away from the 7x10s is that you really aren't gaining that much. Infact you are losing a little bit of quality. You have HEAPS more options available when it comes to 6x9s and can get a pair that sound AWESOME when mated to the right amp.

I honestly don't thiink that using ANY front speakers in your scenario is really worth the effort. Does that make sense?

Yeah I sort of understand basically its the doors or nothing to get a good sound.

Ok AMP time, what should I be looking at here?
I do have a Alpine Flex 4 (75wx4) amp which I used to have in the car. Im happy to buy a new amp if it wont be suitable. Or something newer like a Kicker ZX350.4 or ZX450.2 be more suitable to the task at hand?


thanks again for your responses I just want to make sure I buy once and buy right.

cheers
Scott

[Tasmaniak]

Generally for people buying 6x9s I suggest going with two ways and no more. In your case I would using 3ways. Perhaps even a pair with an external crossover? Now there is sound quality!

I cannot give you a recommendation and tell you that these will perform to what you need. What I do suggest is going into a reputable car audio store and saying that you need a high quality 6x9 3way that has a pretty flat frequency response curve. they will organise some sets for you to listen to.

Do you have any holes cut for 6x9s in there now? If you do perhaps you can ask for a test drive? Get them to place a differeent speaker in either side and then swing the balance control from left to right to help you narrow it down.