Need some opinions on speaker choice

[DavidPartay]

Hey All,

Just trying to make a decision in regards to what I upgrade my current speakers to.

I'm currently running the stock VX speakers off a Pioneer 6950. I have a 10" 500w RMS BOSS sub running off a Jaycar amp.

I'm on a pretty strict budget (ie. spend as little money as possible).

So I'm looking at three options:

Replace the front speakers (not worried about rears) and the sub with Pioneer 6.5" splits and a 10" Pioneer sub.

OR

Replace the fronts with 6.5" Jaycar Response splits, and a 10" sub from Jaycar

OR

Replace the fronts with 6.5" woofers, and with separate crossovers and tweeters but only if this is a higher quality sound option to the matched splits from Jaycar.


I'm not sure if I should actually replace the sub or not since I don't think there's actually anything bad about it apart from it being a BOSS. I've got it in a ported enclosure I got from Jaycar for $65. It's not really tuned to any particular frequency, although I'm thinking I should try and get the sweet spot to about 40hz.

Since I'm trying to spend as little money as possible, I am more than happy to get the Jaycar speakers even if they're only a little bit better than the stock speakers, although I've heard that's not a difficult achievement.

The other thing that makes the Jaycar options attractive is that I can get them through my employer at cost, or something like that.

I'm currently running the front and rear speakers off the head unit, but when I upgrade the fronts I'll run them off the amp.

Any thoughts?

[rcnugget]

run with the response 6.5 splits cut them off at 80hz HP via your amps then just save up for a decent sub/amp combo dont do it half assed or it will just cost you more in the future

[DavidPartay]

I'm not sure what you mean by doing it half arsed? Thanks for the tip on the speakers though.

I've been using the 10" BOSS sub for about 3 years now from the Response amp, running about 380w RMS bridged I think.

[apoc585]

yea run the splits n tweeters off ur amp as it'll make them sound way better. you should be able to tune ur system via the amp to sound pretty sweet as it is but if you want more then buy bigger n better. i had alpine splits and a 10" pioneer sub run off one amp and it was nuts enough for me.
best of luck

[rcnugget]

I'm not sure what you mean by doing it half arsed? Thanks for the tip on the speakers though.

I've been using the 10" BOSS sub for about 3 years now from the Response amp, running about 380w RMS bridged I think.

sorry to make it sound so blunt but what I was meaning was dont buy crappy gear when for 10% more you could get some pretty good gear 380 rms is a decent figure for your average sub to hum along to I would just spend the money on a good sub and splits for the front, then worry about upgrading the sub amp next time you have some dosh rather than buying a so so average sub and amp at once

[holdenboy]

Yep go with the Jaycar splits, just the standard kevlar ones and not the ones with the ribbon tweeter...they dont sound good at all.

As stated above, use the high pass (HP) filter setting on your amp to somewhere around 80hz, this means the low bass is cut from these speakers and left for the subwoofer to reproduce.

I have a set of the 6" models in the front of my car at the moment, im feeding them 150wrms each and they sound pretty good for the money....although honestly they do lack in midbass which has been one common complaint. But once again for the sort of money you'll be buying them for (i know as i have an account with Electus) you cant beat them.

[Joey_21]

jaycar are decent but can gnet ditorted when cranked loud i had JL's they pumped hard and neva let me down

[holdenboy]

Yes but for the price he will be paying the only way he's gonna get a brand name (alpine, pioneer, jl audio etc etc) set of splits is to buy second hand, and then sometimes you dont get all the tweeter mounting options and not to mention warranty.

All speakers will distort when cranked loud....the only difference is the level of volume when they distort...using an amplifier extends the volume before distortion.

[DavidPartay]

sorry to make it sound so blunt but what I was meaning was dont buy crappy gear when for 10% more you could get some pretty good gear 380 rms is a decent figure for your average sub to hum along to I would just spend the money on a good sub and splits for the front, then worry about upgrading the sub amp next time you have some dosh rather than buying a so so average sub and amp at once

Sorry - I may not have been clear. I wasn't planning on replacing the Jaycar amp (now or in the future) as I am VERY happy with it.

Do the Jaycar splits reproduce more mid-bass than the stock speakers? Because that's one of my issues, although I tend to have my bass centred at about 40hz because that gives the music I listen to more punch with no muddiness.

[holdenboy]

Midbass would be on par if not a little better than the stocks, but this depends on how much power you are planning to give them. Midbass reproduction requires more power than treble, so the more power you give them, the more midbass you will get (to an extent). I think im getting about 50% more midbass than the stocks at the moment.

Well seing as you have your bass centered at 40hz and they are running off the headunit...im assuming no HP filter? 6" speakers wont be able to reproduce 40hz with any type of volume.....theyre only good for 80hz plus. You'll find when you change the speakers and amplify them with HP filters you'll notice a HUGE difference in clarity, especially vocals and symbols etc. Midbass is the only drawback to the Jaycars, but as i said before....for the price they cant be beaten.

[DavidPartay]

Funnily enough, I'm centreing the frequency at 40hz in my work car -a Getz - with the stock speakers and they do a seriously impressive job. No sub at all, and it doesn't need one. I'm very happy with the sound. They're running off a new Pioneer DEH3050.

That extra 50% of midbass (I know it's approximate) is good enough for me .

I'm not using the HP filter at the moment on the HU as I don't have the sub tuned properly. The sub itself I think is playing everything from about 300hz downward, but I haven't looked at the dial on the amp in a while.

I'll be having a go at tuning the sub to about 50hz tomorrow. I've used a sine wave generator to create a CD with various frequencies from 25hz - 20khz to help me nail it.

[holdenboy]

Great idea, i would tune the subs' low pass filter to around 80hz, that way when you set the high pass to 80hz on the fronts they each do their own job frequency wise.

[bezz]

if you want to put in the effort sound deadening and sealing your doors would do wonders for your midbass.

As for the speaker choice, like everyone else (who counts :-P) is saying, I reckon you can't beat those jaycar splits in the ~$150 price range.
btw wouldnt 40Hz be classed as sub bass?

[holdenboy]

Yeah they cant be ebaten for that price, but remember he's paying wholesale for them, so i can tell you its considerably lower than that.

[DavidPartay]

Ok well I did the tuning today. The enclosure came with two-part ports, all I did was take off the sliding part and they were at the perfect length to get the 40-50hz range perfect. Then I tweaked the EQ on the head unit and it sounds awesome now!

I set the high pass filter to 80 on the head unit, and I think it's set to about 200-250 on the amp itself as that seems to give it plenty of room to breathe.

I've thought about sound deadening but I'm not really that worried about it. Maybe one day when I drive the car more often (my wife usually drives it) and if I have more spare time. I'm just too busy to worry about doing really cool stuff with the car anymore .

Thanks for everyone's advice though. I'm not going to bother changing the sub speaker as the BOSS is still going hard . I'm going to hopefully check them out tomorrow and have a look at their latest catalogue as I might still look into spending a bit extra and buying separate speakers and cross them over seperately if I think it's worth the money.

[DavidPartay]

Ok - another couple of questions.

I don't have the diagram in front of me and I hate pulling out the stereo when I don't have to.

I've currently got the RCA leads for the sub connected using right angle RCA plugs, and I have a feeling that the fronts are also attached to the main body of the HU rather than hanging from leads like the rears are.

So has anyone had any success in using right angle connectors for both the front and sub RCA connectors? Or do I need to try and find some really short straight connectors and hope for the best?

It turns out I still have the cable back from when I had the rear speakers in my old VN connected to the amp, but they've got straight RCA connectors on each end. I'm thinking I'll need to change the connectors as I'm sure there isn't enough in the back for straight ones, but I haven't tested it.

The other question I have is where is the best place to disconnect the direct connection from the head unit to the front speakers? I've soldered an adapter wiring loom connector to the head unit connector, I'm thinking I should cut the wires from there and tape off the ends.

[DavidPartay]

Never mind, I had time to check it (and run the cable) and it turns out that there is plenty of room for straight connectors into the RCA sockets!

[DavidPartay]

Ok I picked up the Jaycar catalogue today. I had forgotten that they had the Venom speakers.

How do they compare to the Response speakers? You can get a set of the Venom 6" splits for $139.95 which is the same price as the Response 6" speakers, but they're claiming 85w RMS for the Venoms in comparison to 55w for the Response speakers.

My amp is putting out 130w RMS per channel, and while I won't be overdriving the speakers by any means I would much prefer to have the speakers with a closer match for the power handling capability. Are the Venom speakers a better choice? They're both listed as 4 ohms.

[cewing]

i dont know much about the jaycar range, but i can vouch for the mb quartz 6.5" discus speakers, very clear, big sound

[VrWagz1]

I hadsome venom 8" subs a while back. They are ok i spose, but the aint no pioneer or alpine. If you want somthing good go elswhere other than jaycar.

[DavidPartay]

At this point it looks like I'm definitely going with the Jaycar speakers but I want to find out if the Venom speakers are better than the Response speakers. I've only been able to find peoples' opinions on the subs though.

[holdenboy]

I havent installed a set of the Venom 6.5" splits yet...but have been interested to hear them in a car. Seeing as they are cheaper i would imagine the kevlar versions are better. But i dont know for sure, if you want you could buy a set and let us know how they go.....ive installed many of the 6.5" 3 way versions and i dont think they sound that good.

[DavidPartay]

Well I am still leaning more towards the Response kevlar 6" speakers as I know they have a good reputation. If the venoms aren't receiving any reviews then people mustn't be buying them for a reason.

[holdenboy]

Yeah, i would agree with that.....go with the kevlars mate

[Torquative]

the new Kevlar seems to be okay, I have them in the VZ, problem is I brought a Response Amp and it shat itself so Im waiting for it to come back so for now its back to standard audio

On the plus side it'll give me time to propely mount the 6.5" speakers to the pod thingos that hold them to the door. I got told how easy it is to modify them on the VT-VZ to fit 6.5" speakers, yeh freakin right