| Which Infinity Kappas, 6 /12 or 6x9 for my '06 SL? - Click HERE for Original Thread |
| SliderJeff |
So here's a comparison link of the 4 Infinity Kappa series speakers I am considering for my MO.
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/...eItems=1086937I
Infinity's site isn't the greatest when it comes to describing the particular differences between the tweeter types and such, so I have to rely on you guys. I've decided that sticking my old Focal component set in the MO is too much of a PIA, so I am just going to straight up swap out the paper pieces of crap in there right now with one of the Kappa series. Other than frequency response of the 6x9 vs. the 6 1/2's on the low end, do I get anything else when going for the 6x9's? Is there a reason to choose one particular type over the other for the front vs. rear locations? My daughter tends to watch alot of movies in the car, and inevitably we play the audio through the car instead of the wireless headphones, so I'd like to be able to discern the audio, which I can't do at this point. My listening preference for music is heavy metal, though I occasionally through in a smooth jazz or fusion disc. Having conducted listening tests in car stereo shops before, I know that just because they sound like one thing in the shop, that doesn't mean they will sound that way once installed. So I am counting on you guys to sanity check me and give me your honest opinions on what you think the right way to go is. Cost isn't that big of a deal, since these speakers all seem to be reasonable on ebay... or even Crutchfield.
Thanks again,
Jeff |
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| BikerJohn |
Hi Jeff;
Any of those speakers are better than what you have.
Question; do you have the Bose system and will you be powering the Kappa's from OEM deck/amp?
I would need the above before I could really answer your question further.
BTW- what does PIA mean? Sorry to have to ask; I'm sure it would seem obvious to me after you tell me:D |
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| krush40 |
PIA = pain in the ass <--- I think
I agree with the above though, we will need more info before we can give you an honest opinion. |
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| SliderJeff |
Sorry guys, I forgot to mention that the power is all going to remain stock. I have a separate amp and Focal polykevlars from my old vehicle, but it's a supreme Pain In the Ass (PIA) for me to reinstall all that crap and try to figure out the wiring and such. Screw it. I'll spend alot less time, aggravation and money just popping the Infinity's in as direct replacements and leaving the stock (crap)-woofer in the back.
Thanks again and sorry for the lack of info.
Regs,
Jeff |
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| SliderJeff |
So, given that everything other than the speakers will remain stock, does that influence whether I should go with 2-ways vs. 3-ways or 6.5" vs. 6x9?
Thanks and happy holidays!
Regs,
Jeff |
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| BikerJohn |
Krush; thanks for the PIA decription....:D
Slider; It sounds like you do have the Bose system since you mentions the "c-woofer" in the rear. The front doors will accept the 6x9's. The Bose system comes with a 6.5" rounds mounted on a removable panel covering the 6x9 opening. The rear doors (from what I can remember) will only accept the 6.5" rounds without mod. You might try the 6x9's up front and see how that sounds. It may give you more bass so that you can then disconnect the c-woofer in the trunk completely.
Personally I would take the Focals over the Kappas and go that route but the Kappas would be a quick fix.
I think that over-all IMO; I would suggest putting the 6.5 rounds all around and leave the Bose tweeter in their dash position also and run the sub in the rear for the fullest/cleanest low-volume sound. Good luck and Happy Holidays!! |
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| Onarum |
As for "Pain In The Ass", I've always seen it as PITA.
As has been said, the front doors can accept 6x9 speakers. There's a removable panel which reveals the larger opening underneath. I have no idea what drilling/cutting it would take to actually install them once the panel has been removed. The rear doors can accept the 6.5's, but not the 6x9's.
I went for Infinity Kappa 63.7 (3-way speakers) in all 4 doors. Since I installed Kappa 10.7 tweeters in the dash, I defeated the tweeters in the front doors (there's a 0db - +3db push button on the front of the speaker), but left them at +3db on the rear doors.
While the sound is way far better than the Bose OEM POS (Piece Of Sh*t) speakers, I'm still not completely happy. There's still enough distortion and overtones that make me think that a different amplifier will help. But that's later after I add XM radio, iPod adapter, and a new subwoofer. |
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| krush40 |
| Most higher end speakers like the Kappas should be ran by an aftermarket amplifier. Your system can only be as strong as your weakest link. If you have speakers that run at 100 watts RMS, but are powering them with factory head unit you aren't getting anywhere near the speakers capability. And keep in mind that underpowering can be just as bad as overpowering. |
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| Onarum |
quote:
Originally posted by krush40
Most higher end speakers like the Kappas should be ran by an aftermarket amplifier. Your system can only be as strong as your weakest link. If you have speakers that run at 100 watts RMS, but are powering them with factory head unit you aren't getting anywhere near the speakers capability. And keep in mind that underpowering can be just as bad as overpowering.
But if I keep the head unit and just change to a better amp, what would you suggest? I notice you have Alpine equipment. If I just changed to an Alpine amp from the OEM one, how much of a difference would that make? |
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| krush40 |
quote:
Originally posted by Onarum
But if I keep the head unit and just change to a better amp, what would you suggest? I notice you have Alpine equipment. If I just changed to an Alpine amp from the OEM one, how much of a difference would that make?
It would make a huge improvement. You don't necessarily need to go Alpine, but a decent 4 channel will provide much better sound quality than an OEM system could ever dream of.
My system is probably overkill for most people but I like it. Its not over the top with like 10 subs or anything, but it sounds clean, mainly because all components are compatible powerwise and it is tuned right. None of the pieces of my system are super high end or super expensive but you wouldnt know that by listening to it. Nobody believes me that I only have 1 sub. A proper amp and box will make almost anything sound good.
As for price, my friend and I did all the work so I didnt have to pay any labor. Plus I already had fuse holders, power and speaker wire, etc. |
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| Onarum |
quote:
Originally posted by krush40
It would make a huge improvement. You don't necessarily need to go Alpine, but a decent 4 channel will provide much better sound quality than an OEM system could ever dream of.
My system is probably overkill for most people but I like it. Its not over the top with like 10 subs or anything, but it sounds clean, mainly because all components are compatible powerwise and it is tuned right. None of the pieces of my system are super high end or super expensive but you wouldnt know that by listening to it. Nobody believes me that I only have 1 sub. A proper amp and box will make almost anything sound good.
As for price, my friend and I did all the work so I didnt have to pay any labor. Plus I already had fuse holders, power and speaker wire, etc.
Thanks a lot for your advice!! And if I decided to dump the OEM subwoofer and add something else, is it better to get a 5 channel amp, or a 4 channel amp with a mono amp for the sub, or go with a self-powered sub? I see you have a mono for the sub. |
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| krush40 |
quote:
Originally posted by Onarum
Thanks a lot for your advice!! And if I decided to dump the OEM subwoofer and add something else, is it better to get a 5 channel amp, or a 4 channel amp with a mono amp for the sub, or go with a self-powered sub? I see you have a mono for the sub.
Depends on what you need it to power. Different types of amps exist for different reasons. It all comes down to what ohm and power ratings your speakers and sub are. How much you want to spend also plays a big factor on which way you can go. |
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| SliderJeff |
BikerJohn,
Yep, once again I forgot to mention that little tidbit of info about have the "Blose" system.
So it sounds like doing the 6x9, 3-ways for the front and 6.5 three ways for the back is the right thing to do. Plus perhaps stick the 10.7T tweets in the dash location and I should be good to go using the stock power and caca-woofer.
Thanks again,
Jeff |
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| BikerJohn |
Slider;
I think you'll find a great improvement with that setup.
BTW-The factory speakers are connected using plastic connectors; so you can either unsolder it from your factory speakers and use the connectors or cut the line in front of the connectors and splice into it. If you cut them; leave a few inches in case you decide to put the factory speakers back in(for any reason....). You'll see what I mean when you go "in". Same goes for the tweeters.....
Good luck; let us know how it turns out. |
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| Jude |
IMO I think you should save the money and get the 2ways. Though I dont know every aspect of car audio but since the tweeters are down by your feet you (or at least I) wouldnt really hear the high frequencies anyways.
Try going to a car audio shop or electronics store and test out the 2way speakers and the 3way. I highly doubt you'd be able to tell the difference. |
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| SliderJeff |
Many thanks for the replies.
Jude, with regards to the tweets being in the doors near your knees/feet. They are aimable. Basically you aim the left side tweeter at the passenger seat and the right side tweeter at the driver's head location. In addition, I will be adding the 10.7T tweeters into the stock location in the dash to replace the $0.10 tweeters located there currently. So my imaging and high end should be pretty good.
BikerJohn, Thanks for the heads up on the connections needing to be cut or unsoldered. I'll probably opt for unsoldering, but we'll see once I get in there. It's probably going to be a month or two before I get a chance to order the parts and then it'll be a few days or weekends to get the install done since the wife probably won't let me off watching the kids duty on the weekends to go "play with your car" as she puts it. :)
Thanks again. I may try to find and Infinity dealer that carries the Kappas, as Best Buy does not from what I can tell... just to see what these suckers sound like compared against one another.
Regards,
Jeff |
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| Onarum |
In the end, I got all my speakers on Ebay, saving about 50 percent over retail. Crutchfield was nowhere close to the Ebay prices.
For connecting the speakers, I cut the original connectors off completely and crimped on male and female spade connectors, the kind with the plastic covering completely both connectors so there was nothing exposed and no chance of a short. The connection was very easy to do and is solidly connected. |
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| BikerJohn |
Ebay is a great place to purchase items at a great price. You do have to know what you are buying and who you are dealing with on eBay.
For anyone new; it may look intimidating. For those; I would suggest starting small and work your way into it.
I've been buying and selling(mostly selling) on eBay for about 7 years now and would gladly help answer any questions regarding it.
Happy shopping:D |
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| SliderJeff |
Yep, thanks again. It's a foregone conclusion that I'll be using ebay to snag the gear I need. I've done that for all my car audio stuff over the years. I'll try to check out the 3-way vs. 2-way at a dealer if I can. If not, I'll let my wallet decide on ebay. :)
Thanks again,
Jeff |
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| Livin |
quote:
Originally posted by Jude
IMO I think you should save the money and get the 2ways. Though I dont know every aspect of car audio but since the tweeters are down by your feet you (or at least I) wouldnt really hear the high frequencies anyways.
Try going to a car audio shop or electronics store and test out the 2way speakers and the 3way. I highly doubt you'd be able to tell the difference.
Actually there are typically HUGE differences between 2x and 3x speakers. They tend to have a lot more on the high frequencies since they are usually adding a super tweeter but sometimes they add a mid.
This is not necessarily "better" when down at your feet but it greatly depends on the speaker. The extra highs might be needed since they are down o low... if you can get one that allows aiming of the tweet, even better.
Always try to listen to them off-axis, which is not easy at most places as they mount the flat in front of you. |
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