Audiophiles Unite! Help me with my S13 Sound.

[Bud Brown]

(Yes I searched.)

I'm looking for the best speakers that i could order from Crutchfield that will put out the most low end bass and least amount of distortion but will still fit in the factory locations in my '93 S13 Hatch.

I understand the space available isn't enough to let me get real nice lows, but i've had bad experiences before where i have had no low end at all and little if any mid range either.

They would be paired with this headunit:

Kenwood Excelon KDC-X791
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6R0UgmUeCaD/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113KDCX791


Would it be a good idea to get an amp to power the speakers?

thanks in advance, bud.

EDIT: would components be my best bet?

[TheTimanator]

components are always the way to go, however I have never heard a good sounding stereo in an S13... haha

I've replaced everything in mine and it still sounds like an AM radio....

[Bud Brown]

do these look decent?

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6R0UgmUeCaD/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=107MMC460

[s13rookie]

do these look decent?

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6R0UgmUeCaD/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=400&I=107MMC460

yeah, those would be decent, better than factory at least. Im not sure if they make them from the factory ( like q-logic) or you can make your own, but kickpanels would be the way to go. run either a 6 1/2 or a 5 1/4 in the kick with a nice tweet in the A-pillar . You would get the best imaging possible without totally modding the car.

It all depends what you are looking to acomplish. Are you looking to just improve the sound? or do you want to wake the neighbors? If you just want to improve the sound for a low price:

go with the above deck, do kickpanels, get a nice set of comp's, get a 4 channel amp & a nice svc single 10' or 12'' sub in a ported box. bridge 2 channels to power the sub, the other 2 to each of the kicks, and you can run the factory rears of the deck for fill.

If you want to wake the neighbors...well thats a lot more fun

[Bud Brown]

just better overall quality, should i order bass blockers for them?

[s13rookie]

no, bass blocker suck ass. if you are running them of the head unit you will lose too much power through them. if youre going to amp them, the amp should have its own hpf/lpf. actually, i had an deck similar to that and it had its own filters in it, i could actually select the speaker size off the deck and it would determine the cut-off points on its own- it still needed a bit of tweaking though.

you should go to tweeter or best buy, play around with some of their gear and then order it of ebay to save some money.


edit: to bad you were not looking a couple months ago, as i sold one of my systems http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=140462

[Tearlessj]

I havnt looked into my S13 sound system yet. The plan was to figure out a way to run a 5.25" speaker. I dont know if thats possible of not yet. I was going to run some Focals components in the front, But recently I have been looking at Rainbow audio and pretty sure I am going with those. Powered by a 750 watt 5 way Hifonics amp. Small FI audio 10" for the bass.

I dont know ur $$$ limit so I cant really say what to get. But thats what Im going to do and hopefully it sounds pretty good.

[EDacIouSX]

polk? I would suggest something like MB Quartz or infinity

[StevieRaySTL]

bass block = good 4 3in up front, rear Rockford Fosgate 6x9, BEST LOW END w/o amp & sub........... oldschool.............did that in my accord 10 yrss ago.....bulletproof..............

[ixfxi]

each brand has a unique sound. thats the main difference between brands. of course, some brands offer better quality - but when comparing good quality stuff like polk, boston, infinity, you'll notice that the main difference comes down to sound characteristics, not so much quality.

stock setup uses a 4x6, i ran a 5.75" - i dont believe you can install 6", but i may be wrong. the biggest problem is the raer magnet hitting the window. if you can get a flush speaker, then you're fine.

in EVERY application, whether its home or car - components are the way to go. this means separate mid, tweeters, woofer. or atleast 2-way, with mid-bass and tweeter.. then get a sub for the rear.

you'll need amps, probably 2: one for the separates, one for the sub.

[s13rookie]

each brand has a unique sound.

you'll need amps, probably 2: one for the separates, one for the sub.


Very true about each brand having its own sound. I have always liked the sound of boston acoustics and focal. I heard a few sets of rainbow's but wasnt too impressed, ecspecially at that price. Best way to judge for your self is to listen to a few sets with your own source material. If possible, listen to a set in a car, as they will sound much different than they do in a display wall


if you have the money, dedicated amps are def. the way to go. Go with a nice quality class A/B for the components and a raw power class D for the subs ( or a couple sub amps depending on your settup)

[delphis]

ya I have some infiniti 2 way 4.5 inch in the door and they sound slamming for little 4.5 with a tweeter but I also have 2 Rockford Subs in a sealed box in the trunk and I have each speaker wired individually to the amp which is a 5 channel. and it sounds quite good for paying hardly anything for it.

I would say you could go with a 5 3.4 but they do make the 6.5 inch adapter but you will need to have a low profile speaker like stated above.

[Okinawandrifter87]

You can run what size you like but for the brand go with the Infiniti Kappa's. Their the top of the line brand for Infiniti that crutchfield has. I have them in my coupe and man do they sound wonderful!! It sounds like i have 8in woofers in the rear. When its only 6x9's with no amp just a head unit. Well I wish you the best of luck and thats just my 2 cents.

[s13rookie]

It sounds like i have 8in woofers in the rear. When its only 6x9's.


Thats because 6x9's have the same cone area as a 8in

[Okinawandrifter87]

Your totally right s13rookie. But they do sound excellent. I have 6 and 1/2's in my daily sentra and sound just as great. They hit all the lows and highs. I guess my point I was trying to get across was they sound really great and even if you get smaller speakers the dont lose quality.

[s13rookie]

^^^The kappa's are nice speakers. I had a friend who ran the old green coned ones in his blazer back in high school. They are priced pretty well also. If you have them mounted in the rear deck, you may be able to improve their quality even more by mounting them in a sealed enclosure. Most speakers are a bit more efficient when they are in an enclosure compared to free air

[Nikeboy355]

I like the Cerwin Vegas... good price and they actually have bass to them...

[iwishiwas-all*]

I have the infinity 4x6 plate speakers all around, and I bypassed all the factory amps and ran the speakers off the headunit, It was ok for a while but there is NO BASS possible outa any 4x6,
great for highs and some mids, but I would recommend a small sub and u should be happy with the setup i think.

[TheTimanator]

Don't run 4x6 plates up front if you can help it. I have 5.25's (non components) and 4x6 plates in the back and there still is nothing below 200ish hz. Maybe put a pair 6x9's on the hatch cover instead of rear 4x6 plates.

[n2n2i]

When I had an s13 I used a speaker spacer (1/2" I think) and put a 5.25" in the front doors, put a sub in the back and called it a day. New radio helps too. I had ads speakers in the front and an alpine deck.

[3-240's-N-aMule]

components are always the way to go, however I have never heard a good sounding stereo in an S13... haha

I've replaced everything in mine and it still sounds like an AM radio....

Same here... my s13 audio always sounded like it was comin from a walkie talkie or something no matter wut speakers i put in. Maybe cuz it was a hatch. s14 has pimpin audio though.

[s13rookie]

^^it doesnt have anything to do with it being a hatch. The loudest and best sounding systems i have owned have been in hatch's. The probelm is that the s13 has small speakers in the doors (shitty positioning) to get good imaging, ideally the speakers would be equal length left to right from the driver-screw the passengers. thats why kickpanels sound so nice

The s14 sounds better due the fact most of them components from the factory with tweets in the A-pillar.

Also, when you go upgrade to a nice deck and speakers, i hope you replace the small guage shitty old wire that is stock. It only takes a few feet of wire and a few minutes to run, at least the front doors.

If you take a signal from a nice H/U to a nice set of speakers but send it through thin crappy wire.... It will sound like shit and you wasted your money

[CKAMC]

I myself being a former hatch owner will say this:

You can fit 6 1/2 component's up front. A bit of hack work/custom bracket but I got it to work. JBL components in fact. Place the tweaker where ever you wish to (on the door or on the pillar).

Rear, Well either upgrade the 4x6 or modify the braket and install a 5 1/2 inch speaker. its pretty hard to get bass out of the back speakers, don't install 6x9's into your rear hatch cover, it sounds like ass.

RUN NEW WIRES!!!! Wow with cars these old it makes a huge difference, especially if you have quality speakers.

I also ran a small 4 channel amp to help my head unit, if things didn't go to shit with my hatch I would have some subs and another amp for them in the car by now.

I was surprised how much bass I got out of the front 6 1/2's.... but the amp,wires, and quality speakers did make up a huge part of that.

Deck: get an eclipse or a pioneer, I had a alpine and it cut out ....

hope I was able to help some way.

[kandyflip445]

Don't use more than 1/2" thick board for the homemade adapters. In fact I would use 1/4". It may sound small but it works. 3/4" doesn't, I know from experience. The door panel will not clip back on with that thick of a plate. Use weather stripping to seal the back of the adapter to the door. Not silicone. The silicone gives off some fumes that can be harmfull to the voice coils in speakers. 6 1/2" mid's will fit in the door, provided the depth isn't crazy. I have 6 1/2" Kappa components with the tweeters mounted in the door. I used a hole saw to cut out the panels, I've heard of installers running them in reverse so they don't tear the cover material of the door panel but I just did mine like normal and there was no tearing.

I have an older Alpine and it's great. CDA-7894. Love the damn thing. Eclipse are damn good head units. But a lot of them are ugly IMO. They usually have higher voltage pre-amps too, so if you plan on running amps to subs or even components they should give you better sound.

Components are the way to go. Coaxials are alright if they're the higher quality companies, but Components will always sound better, provided they are set up right. Not aimed all stupid and the crossovers set at retarded frequencies. Mount the crossovers in the car and not in the door, don't ask why.....

I recently sold my subs cause I don't care about bass and don't even listen to my stereo that much unless I'm on the highway. That, and they weighed like a ton. I don't think I'd buy subs again for a car I plan on taking to racing events. It's completely counter-productive. If it was like a Lexus that I use to daily and highway drive I probably would.

IMO JL Audio makes the best amps. I bought a 500/1 years ago and it's still selling for the same amount now as it was then. They're under rated and they sound great, with a ton of adjustment on them.

[WA_Sileighty]

i have had 6.5" components in all of my 240s. Just make a plate from ABS plastic and seal her in where the factory 4x6 plate was. Tweeter in the upper door. Upgraded 4x6s in the rear and did a 4 channel to run them off my eclipse deck. Built a fiberglass sub box into the rear passenger corner of the hatch so its out of the way for my 10. Sounds great.

[s13rookie]

^^^how thick of a piece of ABS did you use to keep it from resonating?

[Liger]

http://www.mjmautoinnovations.com/sak240sxt65.htm

$15.48 shipped for a pair of 6.5 front speaker adapters...cheaper than the gas money used to run around and look for materials + trial and error fabricating + overall total time invested.....imo

if you do go with 6.5's, double check the depth of the speakers to ensure that they dont get in the way when you roll down the window.

im running speakers 71mm/2.49" deep. i used a 1/4" speaker adapter and two 1/4'' spacers to clear the glass and then shaved off some of the door panel and alil bit of the oem speaker cover