Very confused about speakers...

[x Neo x]

I tried to get as much information as i can about speakers for the STi.It helped to some extent, with all the links to some highly recommended speakers.

Now that i went to those sites... i seriously am very confused as to which ones will give me the BEST sound and quality and hit. Like just for one brand, there are several different types of speakers, and under that there are many different models. You know what i mean?

I have about a little over $1,000 to spend for a deck unit (already picked one out) and for speakers for the front and back doors.

(I saw in my brothers WRX that its possible to have speakers behind the back seats, under the back window. So im considering getting a total of 6 speakers.)

I hear that FOCAL is a very good brand. Better Suggestions???

What im asking is that you guys put yourself in my position and make a list of speakers you would get if you were to get a set of 6 with maybe around $1,200 to spend that would fit the STi.

Thank you guys very much... obviously im not too bright in this area.

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[RichQY]

top of the line speakers like focal,, u need amps

madd power amps

and 1200 is not enough

try triple that if you need professional installation which you prolly do

[RichQY]

i was confused by the speaker size too

i heard the focals are really hunky. and relatively deeper than other speakers

people say they can make fit of the 6 1/2 in the front

[robmarch]

my audio world tops out at $400 head units and $250 6.5 components, sorry. If you were talking 1200 for the whole thing, we can talk.

400 head unit with high integral power (alpine 9813 is what I have)
250 6.5 front components (you pick)
leaving 550 for a Sub, amp, and wiring. (or 500, if you want $50 rear fill speakers)

I have the alpine 9813 head unit and polk 6.5 components and it sounds extremely clean and gets way louder than I need, cleanly. Adding a Sub and an amp would address the 20-50Hz range, which is really the only limitation of that system.


if you're into competition or audiophile component collecting, by all means, spend whatever you want on your hobby. But, if you're looking for a good sounding system on a medium budget (I consider ~1200 a pretty sizable budget for the average person), you have a lot of good choices.

[KoneKiller]

Rob and I have disagreed quite a bit before, but we are on the same page here!

Head:
Blaupunkt CD 72 San Francisco $549
In-Dash CD Changer:
Blaupunkt in silver
IDC-A09 $199

I never buy speakers with a brand name on them, I always buy raw OEM drivers and build my own systems (in the 80's I made my living designing speaker systems).

My fronts are 5.25" Peerless type 850517 for $70/pr

The tweeters are Peerless RDC 2000 for $25.60/pr

I used a 12db/octave x-over on the tweeters with a 2kHz inflection point and a 6db/octave on the midbass drivers at 2kHz. The components for this ran about 20 bucks.

Total cost: $863.60 plus my time and labor to build the adaptors for the door panels and build the xovers. Not bad.

The system is rather smooth and listenable but really needs either the 6.5" midbass units or a subwoofer. The current drivers make the door and headliner rattle, so I think I'll do the sub. The system has plenty of room to grow as my budget and desire allows.

I pulled the Alpine 8315 that the dealer installed because I really wanted the indash changer as well as the powerful sophisticated digital signal processing capabilities (including interior noise compensation) that the Blau could provide. Everyone who has heard it agrees that it sounds much better than the previous system.

It's a matter of opinion, but I find the ergonomics of the Blau to be MUCH better than the Alpine. The steering wheel mounted remote is wonderful.

The system looks very good with the dash of the STi, much less like an add-on than the Alpine. I'll post a photo if anyone is interested.

Take care!

[Eltharion]

If you're considering Focals, go actually listen to things that are that expensive...

Use the same source material, and listen to MB-Quart, Eclipse, Focal, and DynAudio.

Then, pick what you think sounds the best.

If you really want a nice system in your STi, don't buy all of the components online, go to a reputable brick & mortar car audio speciality shop and do quite a bit of listening for what you really want.


Personally, what I really like are the following:

DynAudio System 220MKII for your fronts.
Eclipse Pointsources for the rear fill.
Eclipse 10" Titanium Subs in the trunk.
Precision Power PCX-4125 to power the Dynes, and Pointsources.
Precision Power PCX-1500 for each sub.

I'd also use a pair of Crossfire 31 band 1/3rd octave mono EQs as the system EQ. The amplifiers all have crossovers on them, so no need for another external one. (In fact, the crossovers on the amplifiers are exceedingly high quality.)

I know, what I spec'd out here, is WAY more than you have available, but I like it.

[StiDreams]

What he said about listening to them at a store is the right thing to do. Then buy them on line.

[Jarvis]

Originally posted by KoneKiller
I pulled the Alpine 8315 that the dealer installed because I really wanted the indash changer as well as the powerful sophisticated digital signal processing capabilities (including interior noise compensation) that the Blau could provide. Everyone who has heard it agrees that it sounds much better than the previous system.

Check your PMs.

Jim

[x Neo x]

Thx for all your guys' help.

[essogas]

Originally posted by RichQY
top of the line speakers like focal,, u need amps

madd power amps

and 1200 is not enough

try triple that if you need professional installation which you prolly do

I agree with all of this except the focal are not "hunky" They fit perfectly and even go behind the stock mesh speaker covers. There are tons of other god brands as well like polk, JBL, rainbow, swiss audio, Hertz, to name but a few.

1000.00 isn't enough dough to put in focals and a headunit without having any amp to drive them. My system cost me 4 grand before taxes.

[cboggess]

Ok folks - what about just a normal plug-n-play system. Since a number of people have stated on various sites that the dealer installed radio is about $800, but you can do much better aftermarket for the same price here's the challenge.

For $800 bucks, no cutting of doors or stock speaker screens, capable of playing MP3s, and having a sub output (no need to spec in the sub on this - save that for later) what would you get?

Basically, it boils down to the fact that I have not installed a stereo in a car in something like 12 years, and I want something I can slap in in an afternoon and still get decent tunes.

[KoneKiller]

Originally posted by cboggess


For $800 bucks, no cutting of doors or stock speaker screens, capable of playing MP3s, and having a sub output (no need to spec in the sub on this - save that for later) what would you get?

Basically, it boils down to the fact that I have not installed a stereo in a car in something like 12 years, and I want something I can slap in in an afternoon and still get decent tunes.

I'm going to get flamed for this but.....

Buy the Subaru factory premium speaker kit. Get both the woofers and the tweeters like THESE. Price: $198

They are really good quality parts, made by the same OEM manufacturers that make the 'boutique' speakers. The crossovers on them are a bit lacking, but that's 20 bucks you can add later!

As for the head unit, get something with serious built-in power but also with outputs for external amplifiers. I have a preference for Blaupunkt, they are built well and look good in the Subie dash, but it's hard to go wrong with any of the top line head units.

Try this one:
The Blaupunkt Los Angeles for $479.99.

For another $150 you can add an indash CD changer, the IDCa09. It's all available HERE.

You can install that in an afternoon and have excellent sound. Later you can add to it, if you wish.

[robmarch]

Originally posted by cboggess
Ok folks - what about just a normal plug-n-play system. Since a number of people have stated on various sites that the dealer installed radio is about $800, but you can do much better aftermarket for the same price here's the challenge.

For $800 bucks, no cutting of doors or stock speaker screens, capable of playing MP3s, and having a sub output (no need to spec in the sub on this - save that for later) what would you get?

Basically, it boils down to the fact that I have not installed a stereo in a car in something like 12 years, and I want something I can slap in in an afternoon and still get decent tunes.

my system was 600.

400 - high power Alpine head unit
150 - Polk 6.5 components
50 - Infinity rear 4"
-50 - crutchfield discount for buying a head and 4 speakers
~50 - amp wiring kit, shipping, and misc. spacer material, etc.

This head unit has a lot of clean power, and gives you a lot of flexibility with your subwoofer choice. I won't argue with Konekiller about head units, since his choice was pretty nice too.

components are all about personal preference. There are some nice ones available at 150-200. My rear 4" for fill are optional, if you prefer no rear fill. again, KoneKiller and I have different preferences, but the message is the same. I'd rather spend the $200 on polk and infinity, but if konekiller prefers the factory stuff for the same price, that's his preference.

The way I see it, these are two good starting points, depending on how much you prefer in-dash changer, or high head unit power, etc.


ps...including fabrication of the spacers, this probably will take an entire afternoon. If you can work in an air conditioned garage, you're in much better shape.

have fun, and good luck!

[KoneKiller]

Rob and I have had this debate before and while I'm recommending the factory upgrade to you, that's not what I did personally on my new Subie

I have two subies, the OLD one with the factory upgrade kit installed at the dealer and the other (STi) with very nice aftermarket speakers. The factory system sounded like JUNK until I gave it 100 watts/ch versus the 12.3 that the factory system had. After that, it sounded pretty darn good.

The aftermarket system sounds better, but not so much better that I would say the installation hassles were 100% worth it. Maybe only 98% worth it.

I have a complete shop with all the tools I needed to fabricate the baffles for the speakers and I enjoyed the challenge (no regrets at all). Mr Boggess, do you have the time, inclination and tools to do this?

If not, I think you'll find the factory speakers to be an excellent and minor compromise!

[MTMS4]

I agree with all of this except the focal are not "hunky" They fit perfectly and even go behind the stock mesh speaker covers. There are tons of other god brands as well like polk, JBL, rainbow, swiss audio, Hertz, to name but a few.

Essogas,

Depends which Focals you're talking about ? I've read several threads where people are having real problems fittng the 165 Poly-Ks and Utopias into the front (even with spacers). The new 165 and 130 V2 "Slims" should drop in pretty easily with a 0.5" spacer. If you're having the installation done professionally I'm sure they can custom-fit most things (at a price). I listened to the old Focal 130 Polyglass speakers hooked up to an Alpine 9815 HU (no external amp) in my local store and it sounded pretty good TO ME.

Sound quality is a relative and very personal thing. My local shop questioned the need for top-of-the-range Utopias, unless you listen to certain genres of music where they excel ( I had no intention of buying Utopias I just wanted to know whether these $$$$$$$ speakers are really worth it). I'm not an audiophile and also don't want a thumping sound system and my intention (after professional advice) is to install a decent HU (probably one of the Pioneer Premier series) and the new V2 Focal "Slims" with no external amp (but possibly a small Zapco amp if I think I really need one). Without the amp we're talking around around $1000 USD installed.

Cars aren't perfect sound stages and I'm sure the STi isn't ideal because of the amount of tire/transmission/engine noise it generates........I personally think you can get a decent-sounding system for around $1000 USD.

[JT-KGY]

Does adding an amp to your sound system mean you cannot
use the stock wiring anymore?

[robmarch]

Originally posted by JT-KGY
Does adding an amp to your sound system mean you cannot
use the stock wiring anymore?

it would be extremely tough. If you can do everything that's required in installing an amp, running the speaker wires to the doors should be pretty tame.