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Help me pick new front speakers

3K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  IanRTL 
#1 · (Edited)
this will go in my 11 RTL with Navi. no plans to ever add an amp or change the head unit. stock rears will remain as well as the sub. ive narrowed it down to these component speaker sets. if a set has in line X overs i will use the factory dash location, if they use large X overs that have to be connected to the woofer i will mount the tweeters in the door sail panel.

need opinions on these sets. or if there is a brand i should check out let me know

MBQUART RCM216 Reference Series Car Audio $80
Alpine SPS-610C 6-1/2" Component 2-Way Type-S Speaker System $80
Polk Audio DB6501 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component System $120
JL Audio TR650-CSi 6-1/2" Evolution TR Series 2-way Component Speakers System $112
Mb Quart Osc216 6.5" Component Car Speakers $65
 
#2 ·
#3 ·
Agree totally with coolbob. Tweeters made a giant difference in the OEM system. I was very happy with it for about 4 months but then chose to do what you are now doing.

Virtually any generally available 2-way speaker will improve on the OEM door unit. When I pulled the OEM out, I was amazed at how cheap and poorly built it was. Stick with a known brand, and do pay attention to the efficiency as the stock head unit does not push much power. Honda calls it a 160W system but that is divided among 4 speakers, a sub, and 2 tweets, and of course that is a MAX number, not a per channel, or continuous number.

Unless you plan to keep the truck a long time, or further improve the sound system in the future using what you put in now, I would suggest sticking to speakers that are under $100 a pair. Then if you trade it, you don't feel like you wasted your money and you don't need to put the OEM speakers back in. I actually modified the OEM speaker by removing the cone and guts and used the plastic frame to mount the new speakers. Most of the aftermarket units will require some adaptation to fit properly, it isn't a straight bolt-on fix.
 
#4 ·
I actually modified the OEM speaker by removing the cone and guts and used the plastic frame to mount the new speakers. Most of the aftermarket units will require some adaptation to fit properly, it isn't a straight bolt-on fix.
What a great idea. I have a spare OEM set and will have another set when I upgrade the '14. I think I will try that.

On my '11, I upgraded the dash tweeters with the JBL GTO18T's, I decided to try the JBL GT6-6, 6-3/4" 2 Way Speakers in the doors on the advice of Lazerguy as I didn't intend to add an amp. They worked out real good.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=633624&postcount=1
 
#5 ·
A lot of people recommend upgrading the tweeters, but I disagree. I upgraded the tweeters alone and didn't find it to make a huge difference. I used tweeters from the Polk set you linked to which are decent.

I say to upgrade the door speakers and disconnect the dash tweeters altogether. If you want even more front presence you can always add matching tweeters from the same line of coaxial speakers you put in the doors. Upgraded door speakers will improve midbass and bass as well as high frequencies. Since the stock tweeters are such junk, just dump them.
 
#6 ·
Some have said this works, but I have to disagree. A coaxial set in the doors will project sound at your feet - not great for imaging and sound stage. You need to get the higher frequencies directed at ear level in some way. Hence, the recommendation to replace the stock tweeters which I totally agree are junk. The stock door speakers may use very crappy materials, but you need to look at their ability. They're 6.5" mid bass drivers with a very light paper cone and a neodymium magnet. Their efficiency level is likely very high being that they have a strong magnet and a very light cone. Nevertheless, they can certainly be muddy when you try to get too much volume out of them. Being that the OP isn't going to be amplifying these speakers or even changing out the HU for a more powerful version, he's going to need the most efficient set of speakers he can possibly get. I'd recommend starting by replacing the tweeters. It's about $30-40 and not much of a time investment. Tune the system as best as you can, listen to it for at least a few weeks to let the tweets break in. If it still doesn't satisfy you, then you can think about upgrading to a full component set. As long as you keep the factory head unit with no external amplification, you're going to be very limited in what you can do to achieve "better" sound.
 
#8 ·
Components will need more power to perform better.

Under $ 100 it's a good choice to go with components

Having tweeters on the dash and coax on the doors, it's not such a bad thing, you are adding ambience to the sound coming from the doors or raising sound that will not be heard coming from the doors.
And it's a lot easier to pop some coax and some tweeters on factory locations rather than dealing with a crossovers extra wires or other tweeter mounting areas due to single large crossover sizes
 
#10 ·
^^ This has nothing to do with the topic of this thread (which is, by the way, over three years old).

Mods, please delete this comment.
 
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