Which would you choose????

Hey guys, I know there been a lot of threads about swaping out the door speakers and so fort, which I am looking to do but don't know if I want a two way or a three way speaker. I know quite a few of you have gone with the ref. 6012si. I was doing a search and please if you can look at this site and let me know which you would choose and why. My biggest question is the WHY? I know we have a member that owns an audio shop and I would really like his input, sorry for not remember his name...

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-26XubFqgojz/cgi-bin/ProdComp.asp?g=400&c=3&s=0&cc=01&pt2=0&compareitems=130TSA1671&compareitems=1086012SI&compareitems=065S65RC&x=37&y=6

Another question was how much does it matter with the RMS power range, Peak Power Handling and the Frequency Response...

Help please...:(

Anyone.... Simple question Two way vs. Three way speakers and WHY?
And what about the tiny ones on the dash, CAN those also be REPLACED?

I am looking at the Infinity 6012SI or the Boston's also. I have the Boston's in the new company Laredo. Good speaker for highs and lows. I have not tested the Infinity 6012SI's. May head to Circuit city to see how they sound.

Also, the sale on the Crutchfield speakers is gone. They are back to full price.

I will wait for another sale, before buying.

Getting in and out of my 06 Laredo with Boston's and back to the Honda, the speakers are a big difference. The RL's are a muddier lower sound with no highs. Hopefully just a speaker changeout will work. Can't afford much more right now.

chuck

Did a bit of research today and found out that we should also consider the RMS power of the speaker as well. The guy at Crutchfield said this because since I am not using an ampifier and I am just swaping the speakers out, the output from the headunit is not high enough. So a lower RMS power range would actually perform better.
Can anyone verify this or at least let me know how true this is...
Guy at Crutchfield also recommended the Boston Acoustics S65RC over the Infinity Reference 6012si....

Caveat - just one person's opinion....

1. 3 way coaxes are stupid. A six inch speaker handles midrange very well and there is no need to stuff a 2 inch midrange and a tiny dome tweeter in front of the "woofer." No high end (Morel, Peerless, Audax, etc.) car coax speakers are 3 way. The crossovers on most coaxes are pitiful and even worse on 3 way coaxes.

2. Speakers with a higher RMS rating are not necessarily better or worse than speakers with lower ratings. It just means a speaker can handle more power and probably play ultimately louder. The Crutchfield guy might have been trying to say that you want a speaker with more sensitivity or efficiency to play louder with less amplifier.

3. I would buy Boston over Infinity simply because I think Boston is manufactured with higher quality. I know lots on this board like the Infinitys but part of that success is probably because they fit well and have been available at a good price.

Thanks Hoffam, Did you change your speakers out?

BTW, great color and where in Texas are you, I'm in and out of Webster a lot.

I have not yet changed out my speakers. I am acquiring equipment for an audio upgrade in the next few months. I plan to go with component speakers in the front doors. Woofers in the doors. Tweeters in the door pillar. General plan is:

- keep the head unit
- add AudioControl LC6 interface unit
- add AudioControl 3XS active crossover
- add a 4 channel amp for F/R
- add a small amp for tweeters
- keep rear speakers as is (maybe filter low frequencies out)
- build new subwoofer
- add subwoofer amp

My goal is clean, high quality sound, not boom.

Oh - I live in Austin.

Nice... How much $$$$... Did you say you are keeping the factory headunit... Cause I don't want a new unit as I have the Navi.

oh, how's the traffic...

I can be cheap so I attempt to buy stuff at varying places including ebay.

My component speakers are Vifa (a brand better known for home audio) and a reuse from another car.

I bought the 3XS on ebay. Looks like the LC6 will be $125 or so. I don't have any of the amps yet, but have been looking on ebay for nearly new 4x50-ish amps from Alpine, Kenwood, or Sony. I do not need earsplitting volume. The sub is TBD but I know I will NOT buy the typical autosound bling subs. Peerless makes a particularly good 10 inch autosound sub for about $150. I can build the box for $50 or so.

Traffic in Austin? Not too bad where I commute (from Lake Travis area). IH35 is a mess. Never go there unless tortured.

To all: Be verrrry careful when asking ANY salesperson about 'what they suggest' when you buy anything. I used to work in retail.

Not many know that quite often, it is quite legal for manufacturers to offer companies/salespeople what are known as "SPIF's" (Sales Person Incentive something or the other-forgot what the F stands for). These literally were checks (ie: bribes) to PUSH a certain TV, speaker, Radio, Fridge, etc. off to the customer. It usually wan't any 'better' than anything else, but if you wanted to make more money, you foisted it on the customer to up your pay check!

In return, they got an extra $20, $30, $50 in their paychecks!
Because I worked in the lousey housewares department, we didn't get any extra money. It was only in the electronics area that this happened.

I don't want to make you all paranoid; but be your own 'salesperson'...listen to the stuff, ask good people on the forums who 'know' or use Consumer Reports (or Audio Mag. recommendations) if so inclined.

One day, SPIF's may become 'illegal'...but I doupt it. Manufacturers are always figuring out ways to outwit/outplay their competition.
BEWARE asking any salesperson 'what they think is a good product'. There could be money behind their answer (or maybe not...)

So what do you recommend kahnartist?

Oh yeah I 35 is nasty even at midnight...

I stopped by Circuit City on 183N. The Infinity 6012I (Not 6012SI) was in stock. Sound was good from Low-Mid-High. The 6012I's are thicker than the thinner 6012SI's everyone is installing. They did not have the 6012SI's in stock or on the self to listen to the sound. I imagine the thinner 6012SI's loose some of the low end. Some people have installed the Infinity 6012I's with some mods in the RL. Oh and the circuit city guy kept telling me, that I would have to bypass my amp and subwoofer in the RL. Yeah Right. He next wanted me to talk to the installer supervisor, who I met while he was yanking a Ford Expedition door panel off with a crowbar.

Next Best Buy: Rockford Fosgates only. Sound good, but high price and way to thick to fit in the door opening on the RL. Without some mods.

Tried to find the Boston S65RC 6.5's No luck. The Boston's are a good speaker in my 06 Grand Chrokee.

Whatever I get, I have to wait until they go on sale somewhere.

Traffic in Austin, has been bad for about 10 years. I35 Emergency only. Palmer, Loop 1, or 360 OK.

Have any of you guys tried any of the local audio shops in Austin, say Custom
Sounds etc. ??

I bought car audio in Austin from Audio Dimensions, which was bought by Custom Sounds several years ago. I specifically went with AD over Custom Sounds since they didn't constantly have loud rap playing in the store and the guys working there didn't look like they were always hung over. Their prices were equal to Crutchfield. Their shop was spotless and the owner took the time to show me a Lamborghini they were working on. AD did Jimmie Vaughan's Buick Riviera and their work was superb. I had AD do the stereo for my boat.

But I haven't paid anyone to do anything audio related in my vehicles for some time. I have no idea what Custom Sounds is like today.

I'm basically a DIY guy....

Choosing a speaker is a matter of personal preference. It all depends on what type of sound you like.

Bostons tend to be more smooth. Infinity's tend to be more bright.

Personally I like Infinity's better. I prefer a brighter sound. When comparing the two, the Bostons seem a little dull. But either one is a good choice.

If you can afford it, and don't mind drilling a hole in your door panel, I would recommend getting 2-way separates. They sound a LOT better than coaxial speakers. A lot of this has to do with the quality of the crossover. There are some sort of hybrids out there that use a separate crossover with a coaxial speaker design; these are somewhere inbetween sound quality-wise.

Has anyone here tried MB Quart? A friend introduced them to me and I just love them.

Has anyone here tried MB Quart? A friend introduced them to me and I just love them.

I tried them 10 years ago. I thought they were great, then I got outo f car audio when I realized how much money I was spending. I still like the sound of a good system just don't have the time to put one in and don't like spending money to have someone else do it for me.

djdj - I agree with the preference of separates over coaxes. It is more than the crossover (although I agree on this too). Separates also allow you to place the tweeter in a better location. The tweeters in most coaxes are really crappy. They are about $1 3/8 inch domes. The crossover on 95% of the coaxes is a single capacitor - to keep low frequencies from reaching the tweeter. There is nothing to remove high frequencies from the woofer.

Of course there are cheap separates too - like the factory speakers in the RTL.

So if someone was to put separates, where would you place the tweeter and what brand would you buy. And would it work with the RTL's head unit without having to put an amplifier? Thanks for any info on this matter.

I would choose the system that came with the truck. I think it sounds great. Geez, considering all the complaints I've been seeing on this forum regarding windshield noise, road noise and roof rack noise, this system covers all of it. Not only that, I just installed my new SIRIUS Sportster, and it helps to effectively hides all the noises - just turn up the volume - Howard Stern will melt your ears.

Need MORE treble !!! Have enough bass.

minihummer -

I am a bit out of the norm here on separates. I prefer to buy speaker components from companies that do not specialize in automotive stuff. So I wouldn't buy Rockford, or Sony, or Kenwood, or Infinity, etc. I know Infinity makes home speakers but Infinity is not a speaker component manufacturer. So I would buy an automotive tweeter from Vifa, Peerless, Focal, Morel or similar and install it on the door pillar. There is enough space to do it. These companies make speaker drivers widely used in top systems and also make automotive focused components. They usually are bling-free.

Unfortunately using this kind of tweeter to replace the factory tweeters in the dash requires more work. Who knows whether the new tweeter is louder than the original.

That is why I plan to use an active crossover to split high/low with a separate channel of amplification for the woofer and tweeter. These crossovers allow you to change the crossover frequency and the level of each.

Sir Hoffam,
But does this

(That is why I plan to use an active crossover to split high/low with a separate channel of amplification for the woofer and tweeter. These crossovers allow you to change the crossover frequency and the level of each.)

require an amp. or would the original head unit work.

Yes - it does.

Active crossovers work on line level signals only. Passive crossovers work on speaker level signals (not 100% true but probably 99% true). Passive crossovers are affected by the individual speakers and are difficult to tweak without changing capacitors and coils. That is why packaged component systems almost always include a specific passive crossover.

The general idea with my plan:

1. Keep RTL head unit
2. Disconnect existing speakers
3. Connect speaker cables to Audio Control LC6, which converts to line level
4. Connect active crossover, which splits signal to tweeter and woofer
5. Connect separate amp for woofer and tweeters to power component speakers in front doors.

I do not plan for now to do anything to the rear door speakers except filter the low frequencies, probably via the high pass crossovers built in to many amps.

Domo Arigato.... Thank you for answering the question, finally. Now I just have to decide whether or not to do it...