Car speakers - 2way, 3way, speakers splits. what does it all mean??

[Heffer_Slayer]

Hey everyone i am in need a new set of speakers for my VT commodore. I plan at the moment to only get the front done.

Now i am confused in what to get! What does 3way, 2 way, splits and speakers all mean! I can understand the wattage and rms but everything else is a blur to me!
I have a 4 channel amp and i will be amping the front two, and maybe the back 2 depending on weather i get some or not. not sure if it is nesscary

So my question is what sort of information do i look at to get a decent pair of front speakers?
And what is the difference between 3way, 2way, speakers and splits!

[VH commodore]

3 way means there is usually the main large speaker, then a much smaller mid range, and a smaller tweeter. 2 way would be the larger speaker with just 1 tweeter.

now splits mean the main speaker and the tweeter are split so u can put the tweeter up in the corners of the dash or somewhere like that...this would be the best option however u pay extra for this.

just ask 4 help when u go buy em and they can fill u in further...hope i helped a bit.

[VH commodore]

also the best front speakers i've heard are alpine type R's but they will cost u

[Heffer_Slayer]

So are splits actually worth the extra money?
Or should i just go with a three way??
Also a stock VT commodore speaker mount is 6 inch isn't it??

Also what are Crossovers?

[azzfox]

crossovers divide the signal into high and low frequencies. the highs get sent to the tweeter and the lows to the woofer (main speaker).

it usually is a little box with about 6-8 terminals on it.

[garfa]

So are splits actually worth the extra money?
Or should i just go with a three way??
Also a stock VT commodore speaker mount is 6 inch isn't it??

Also what are Crossovers?

mate i should just define this better for you.
a 2-way / 3-way / 4-way ect only describes the number of speakers connected via the same output from the amplifier. 2way = 2 speakers ect... as described before.

next there is a split design or coaxial design. this is how the speakers are arranged. split obviously means that the drivers are seperate and can be mounted individually. a coaxial (common axial) is there the speakers are mounted litterally ontop on each other as in the above photo.

generally a split design speakes system is superior because you can aim the tweeter right at you.
coaxial are usually at the lower end of the quality spectrum.
how many hi-fi systems do you see with coaxial speakers?

[joshtaylor87]

Yeah I would definitely go the splits over coaxial anyday. They are a little more expensive, a little harder/time consuming to install (obviously as there is 2 (or three) speakers to install per side instead of just one speaker either side with everything built in. At the end of the day you will have a much better sounding setup using splits. Coaxial's are great for rear fill as it doesn't matter so much what it sounds like in the back as you will be up front driving so you want the best possible sound up front for you to hear!

[Torquative]

while we're at it ...

what do the 2x tweeters do that are mounted in the dash of every Commodore? I noticed when I had the amp running the 4 door speakers and it overheated the tweeters in the dash (still connected to the standard plug) had a very low volume. Obviously they add to the effect but how??

Im looking at doing the Front doors and adding 6x9's on the parcel shelf of the VZ so I'm sussing it all out myself too. Would love to spend the money and get it done properly but if I dont do it myself to help cut costs I know it will never get done

[garfa]

they are just the same as any other tweeter, high frequencies.

[Heffer_Slayer]

while we are on speakers,
I have my sub connected to a bridged two channel amp. Now it has 3 modes for the filters, off, low pass, and high pass.

I have had it to off because my headunit has a subpreout and i figured it would just filter it automatically?
The headunit is a Pioneer 7950UB.

Do sub preouts automatically do this or should i still adjust the gains via the amp on the low pass?

[StoneX]

The sub outputs on that head unit do filter the high frequencies out and the frequency is adjustable in the audio settings of the head unit. I prefer to still set the amp's low pass filter to 100Hz or so and use the head unit's filter at 60-80Hz depending on the music.

[Heffer_Slayer]

The sub outputs on that head unit do filter the high frequencies out and the frequency is adjustable in the audio settings of the head unit. I prefer to still set the amp's low pass filter to 100Hz or so and use the head unit's filter at 60-80Hz depending on the music.

Yer well at the moment i have a sub and stock speakers, ive set the headunit with a highpass filter for my speakers so they actually go pretty loud for stockies!
Although i cannot wait to get some decent ones and amp them

I guess it all comes down to personal preference and what sounds good hey...

[Torquative]

explain something to do the dumb ... highpass filter?

Im going to setup my 4 speakers to an amp (obviously). Would a highpass filter help as well or not? Like everyone Im searching for clearer sound and a bit of bass without the muddy sound.

Next will be to setup a 12" sub but thats later on down the track

[Heffer_Slayer]

explain something to do the dumb ... highpass filter?

Im going to setup my 4 speakers to an amp (obviously). Would a highpass filter help as well or not? Like everyone Im searching for clearer sound and a bit of bass without the muddy sound.

Next will be to setup a 12" sub but thats later on down the track

If you have JUST speakers you do not want to filter out any sounds.

Filters are useful in sub setups because you can make it so the speakers only play the higher notes past a certain frequency while a sub will play the lower notes past a certain frequency.

[HoldenManDan]

matt while you're at it you'd probably wanna look at 6" for the rear... as a general rule if you're going to run a sub or subs, there's not as much need for 6x9's in the rear shelf. Plus theyre a fair bit more stuffing around than replacing the stocko 6" with better 6", obviously. And you retain the smooth stock look of the parcel shelf, because 6x9's will probably need spacers. If you get stuck i'm sure glenn will be able to help ya

[Torquative]

I dunno, Ive heard theres advantages to the 6x9 parcel shelf thus why Calais use it because it sits much higher then the door speakers it supposidly projects the sound better. I did once start to do it to the VX and agree, its alot of stuffing around, then again so can feeding the new speaker wire through the little rubber hose thing between the doors.

Im still tossing it up whether to just replace and amp all 4 door speakers, or just replace and amp the front speaker, add parcel shelf speakers, and just leave the rear door speakers alone. At least if anything happens to the amp like it overheats or gets bounced around a bit too much I can still hear music through the rear door speakers.

Im just concerned coz I was in a car thats had thousands spent on its audio system and the damn amp overheated 5 mins into the journey. Boring ride after that and I figured I might need a plan B in my car ...

[barbs]

I dunno, Ive heard theres advantages to the 6x9 parcel shelf thus why Calais use it because it sits much higher then the door speakers it supposidly projects the sound better. I did once start to do it to the VX and agree, its alot of stuffing around, then again so can feeding the new speaker wire through the little rubber hose thing between the doors.

i don't know what model calais your talking about but mine had 6inch subs and so does the monaro

if it was me, ill be getting some high quality splits and 6inchs in the back, i dont see how 6x9s are worth it.

[garfa]

ok there is some not so correct stuff being said here.

you need filters for the plain reason to protect the speaker and to let it only play the frequencies it can accurately reproduce. so filters should be set even when there is no sub.

a 6x9 is not as good as a round cone at reproducing sound. there is no advantage to having speakers in the shelf compared to the door because the rears should have a very limited frequency range and are usually only there for either rear passengers or because the front speakers dont 'fill' the whole car with sound.

[Torquative]

ooohhh interesting!!!

barbs I always thought the rear shelves were a 6x9 oval? I know the lower end cars that have the cutouts not yet cutout are a 6x9 shape

garfa, thanks for the info. In that case I might as well just amp the rear door speakers as well.

Im not going for competition audio here thus why Im modding the head unit rather then buying a new one, I just want the damn thing to not go muddy and have a little bit of bass when I turn up a good song

Im hoping by amping a decent set of door speakers I'll be right