| whaleblue22 |
| Does anyone know for sure the size of the front non bose speakers and what their ohm rating is? Thanks. |
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| ZBoy |
6x9 up front. 6.5 in the rear.
However the 6.5s are like my Z. The woofer is actualy molded into a larger piece, so a typical 6.5 wont fit.
I actually cut the driver out of its molding with a dremel in order to mount the new 6.5"
They use crappy 2 dollar speakers. I ordered some exactly like it from parts express a while back for 5 bucks each.
Even if I dont return the speakers to stock when we resell it, I dont think for a second the purchaser will mind the better SQ. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Are the 6x9's pretty bad also. I'm guessing that they are just dual cones. I think a nice set of 6x9's in the front would really improve the sound. Not that it's bad now. Anybody know what they put in as a stock speaker? I want to make sure that the nissan stereo can power a decent set of alpines. |
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| ZBoy |
Its a cheap paper cone speaker with inverted foam surroungs and a paper "whizzer" cone - thats integrated into the woofer. Only one actualy driver on this, where as most aftermarket 6x9s have 3 drivers.
I replaced it with an infinity Reference. Howevere beware!
The head unit does not have enough power to really run this 6x9, and the sound does not improve dramatically just by changing the speakers.
You can do what I did, and install a small amp (I am running 50 watts to each from a 200 dollar Kicker). Or you can try and find the most efficient 6x9 you can. Preferably with only two drivers, not three, like the reference.
But lemme tell you, after the amp and the 6x9s, it sounds pretty awesome. Much cleaner, with smooth bass and nice clean highs. And it gets much louder as well.
So, if you have the means, I highly reocmmend an amp. |
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| ZBoy |
By the way, I also replaced the rears, which are 2 way 6/5" Ininfity references, and before I put the amp in, the rears sounded much much better than the new fronts.
This is because they are more efficeint (smaller and ligher). So if you can find a very efficient 6x9 you should be fine.
The fronts were pretty easy to swap out, unlike the rears which you had to tear up the speaker (or make your own mount from 3/4" MDF. But I didnt feel too bad tearing up the crappy old speaker) |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Thanks for the info. I was thinking about an amp. Where did they mount it and is there a line out of the nissan head unit to do so without modification? |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
Thanks for the info. I was thinking about an amp. Where did they mount it and is there a line out of the nissan head unit to do so without modification?
I mounted it myself. The kicker I chose http://www.cardomain.com/item/KIC04KX2004
KX200.4 has high level inputs, but I was getting serious engine noise with it.
I ran a pair of speaker wires (each wire being + and - ) to the front doors. One sire I attached to the speaker, the other I attached to the wire coming from the head unit.
Then I used a low level converter to change to RCAs, I grounded the converter, adjusted the gains, and voila!
All in all the isntall was easy, except running the power cord through the firewall!!! What a pain!
This weekend I am installing her sub.
I am pulling out the drivers side compartment in the wheel well and building a box similar in shape with the same hieght so the floor rests correctly, and I am dripping an 8" Polk dB sub in it.
It should rock and roll then.
My wife is very happy, and she doesnt care as much about audio as I do. |
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| ZBoy |
Oops, forgot to say, if you take off the side covers of the amp (dont need them) it is about 9" x 9" by 3" high. I installed it under the rear seat, but its so small you could find other places to mount it.
I like generators idea of mounting it under the rear cover.
All in all for my setup you are looking at about 500 bucks for parts: 75 for the sub, 175 for the speakers, 200 for the amp, and 60 for the speaker wire, but you could go cheaper... I used StreetWires here, 8 guage power, but it could be a generic brand (as long as its 8 guage or better). |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Found a nice set of 4ohm boston two ways rated at 92db. I wonder if there is enough power in the head unit to power them. |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
Found a nice set of 4ohm boston two ways rated at 92db. I wonder if there is enough power in the head unit to power them.
Oh... it'll run 'em, no doubt. At 92db you might even be surprised. Don't expect the same kind of volume you got from the factory speakers.... then again, you never know. The factory speakers could be terribly inefficient...... |
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| ZBoy |
| Boston makes good stuff.. its worth a try, and you can always add an amp later if you feel like it. |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by ZBoy
Boston makes good stuff.. its worth a try, and you can always add an amp later if you feel like it.
I wholeheartedly agree. I have a very picky ear, let me tell you. With speakers, it's no doubt a personal preference thing. My personal preference is that I really love a brilliant, bright midrange, crisp but not tinny or overpowering treble, and a hard, solid, feel-it-in-your-gut bass that is not boomy or sloppy. I recently "test drove" many home theater speaker systems. I found the Klipsch RF5 and RF7 systems to have a very bright upper-end, but the horn tweeters tend to over-exaggerate the treble. The bass was solid but not balanced well. I thought the Definitive Technologies BP7000 were a beautifully built system. The bass was unbelievably solid and clean and perfectly balanced. My only complaint was the midrange was a tad warm for my taste. I also listened to Polk Audio -- not a single one of thier products turned me on. Same with the Bose. The Energy Veritas and Connoisseur systems were very impressive, but the price was quite high. The most beautiful sounding speakers I heard were the MartinLogan electrostatics. They were also cost-prohibitive and suffered from a side-effect of having a very narrow sweet-spot. Not perfect for a multi-function living room/home theater area. Vienna Acoustics and B&W both blew me away with beautiful sound, and a whopping price tag to match. Then, on accident, I stumbled across a set of Boston Acoustics VR975s. What a gorgeous, clean, bright speaker with solid and well-balanced bass. And they were only $1800 each, literally thousands less than anything else that sounded that good. I was sold.
I have also installed Boston Acoustics car speakers in numerous vehicles and every time I am completely impressed with thier sound and quality. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| I also found a pair of eclipse rated at 98db which were really efficient next to the other speakers I demo'd. This may get me in the ballpark with the output of the factory speakers. Hopefully the factory speakers are 4ohm also and not 2ohm. Anyone know the answer to this? |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
I also found a pair of eclipse rated at 98db which were really efficient next to the other speakers I demo'd. This may get me in the ballpark with the output of the factory speakers. Hopefully the factory speakers are 4ohm also and not 2ohm. Anyone know the answer to this?
I can check this evening...
98dB is very good, my refs are 92 and did not sound good without an amp. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Thanks Z. I'd like to make sure before I put out any money. 98db is about the most efficient I've ever seen. A difference in 3db often will nearly double volume. Any idea what the factory stereo wattage rating is? I tested a highlander before I decided on the Murano and the nissan stereo sounded much better. I had a bose system in my mazda6 and I don't think it sounded much better than the factory stereo in the MO. I have an s model with the four speakers. Not bad. |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
Thanks Z. I'd like to make sure before I put out any money. 98db is about the most efficient I've ever seen. A difference in 3db often will nearly double volume. Any idea what the factory stereo wattage rating is? I tested a highlander before I decided on the Murano and the nissan stereo sounded much better. I had a bose system in my mazda6 and I don't think it sounded much better than the factory stereo in the MO. I have an s model with the four speakers. Not bad.
Its not much wattage at all, maybe 15 watts or so.
You know I was thinking, what I noticed (as did my wife) when I replaced the 6x9s and ran it off the head unit was that we actually lost bass. I attribute this to a less efficient driver. I dont think its due to higher speaker impedence because the rears were also replaced and sounded great!
But, it may be cheaper and more effective to run a tweeter and crossover inline with the front speakers. That way, you dont risk losing midbass/bass from them and you will definitly get more clarity...
Just an idea.
What sort of eclipse 6x9s are those? Eclipse makes good stuff. Their point source ones get LOUD. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| se8493. 4way 6x9. Hmmm, a tweeter with the factory speakers may be nice. Where are the tweeters mounted in the MO. I'm guessing the dash. Wonder what size will retrofit. Thanks for all the info. |
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| ZBoy |
In the Bose they are in the dash AFAIK. But in the S, well who knows if the wiring is there or not.
The advantage of putting in your own tweets is you can put them wherever you want them!
If you go that route, hook up the tweets temporararily and place them in several locations to find where they sound best.
I recommend you consider what I did, order a new set of the plastic kick panels (I am sure there is a dealer you can find thru nissanmurano.org that would have them for like 15 bucks), and drill a hole in the new ones. Mount the new tweets in those holes, and most tweets you can angle towards you.
That should get you the best imaging. But do a temp mount first because the H.U. may not have anough juice to really push those tweets (although it should).
Also, I highly recommend a full crossover (one with a low pass for the 6x9s) so that you dont end up dropping the impedence siginificantly in the high range and toasting the H.U. (although that may be unlikley anyhow...) |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Lot of options here. Thanks. Let me know if you find out the factory impedence. Thanks again. |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
Lot of options here. Thanks. Let me know if you find out the factory impedence. Thanks again.
No prob... options are what its all about. Although I still have to recommend an aftermarket amp. The difference is like night and day, even though the amp only puts out 50 watts per speaker... |
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| ZBoy |
Doh... Im really sorry, but my wife threw the OEM speakers out after I told her to, and I forgot I told her to. Sorry bout that!
Crud. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| No problem. I'm sure they are 4ohm. The only 2ohm speakers I've ever seen are the bose speakers. Thanks. |
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| vfr |
| I was told by a guy at circuit city they are 4 ohm(non bose). Have also ordered three way infinity speakers As their rating started at 2 watts(2-100 I believe) and the sensitivity was better than most. Will follow through and get a low powered amp to drive them also I suppose. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Hey Z, I noticed that you said you lost considerable bass when running the 6x9"s off the head unit. Did you recoup it when you installed an amp? Thanks. |
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| vfr |
Ok OK, I had coincidentally ordered a pair of Infinity three ways when I found this topic. The sandard speakers are Panasonic 4 Ohm 6X9,s 40 watt.
Being concerned about the Infinity's improvement with the base amp i hooked up only the right speaker to compare with the stock left by playing with the balance. Using a Gloria Estafan CD(you can tell my age) There is a definite improvement in clarity and crispness with the Infinity. I did notice a little less bass but got it back and more by increasing base to the Infinity by "3". The volume is OK for me as I do not need windows shaking.Oh yea, I positioned myself over the center while checking sound.
Bottom line is-I may not bother with an amp unless installing the second speaker draws the power down considerably |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Keep us posted on the final results. |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
Hey Z, I noticed that you said you lost considerable bass when running the 6x9"s off the head unit. Did you recoup it when you installed an amp? Thanks.
Sorry bout the late response.
The answer is an astounding YES!
The 6x9s off of an amp had a great deal of bass.
I would suspect that it rivals the Bose in terms of output. But, the 6x9s didnt get really low like a good subwoofer can. But if you are happy with the Bose, I am sure you would be happy with the 6x9s amped. |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by vfr
Ok OK, I had coincidentally ordered a pair of Infinity three ways when I found this topic. The sandard speakers are Panasonic 4 Ohm 6X9,s 40 watt.
Being concerned about the Infinity's improvement with the base amp i hooked up only the right speaker to compare with the stock left by playing with the balance. Using a Gloria Estafan CD(you can tell my age) There is a definite improvement in clarity and crispness with the Infinity. I did notice a little less bass but got it back and more by increasing base to the Infinity by "3". The volume is OK for me as I do not need windows shaking.Oh yea, I positioned myself over the center while checking sound.
Bottom line is-I may not bother with an amp unless installing the second speaker draws the power down considerably
True true.
Keep in mind all, I am 26 years old, and I have a 12 inch subwoofe in my tiny Z, with 1000 watts RMS feeding it.
I can rock a block party with this thing, so what is bass heavy to you may be nothing to me.
But you will get more clarity with 6x9s off the head unit.
you will get further clarity and much more bass than before if you amp the 6x9s
you will get lower bass extension and a smoother response if you install an amped sub.
I have tried all three combinations. |
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| vfr |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
Keep us posted on the final results.
The second Infinity 3 way speaker is in and I am happy enough with the results that I do not think another amp is in order. I am surprised with the power of the base system with this setup, but I am sure it will not compare with Zboy's 1000W Sub. Keep in mind that I am well into my forties so I will settle for a little more clarity.
Hey Zboy, this is a little off topic but how is that merlot wearing on you. I passed that color up for Glacier P., but it seems that its missing excitement. White seems that it will hide scratches and dings though. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Did the install of the infinity 6x9's require you to take out the white plastic mounting ring or did they drop right in? Thanks. |
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| vfr |
quote:
Originally posted by whaleblue22
Did the install of the infinity 6x9's require you to take out the white plastic mounting ring or did they drop right in? Thanks.
Yes, I then hacked part of the lower circular/conical section so the infinity's would drop in the plastic basket(after removal of course). Also, only two of the four mounting locations lined up with the white basket so I predrilled two more screw holes using the speaker mounting locations as a guide. the new holes are almost breaking into the original but It works.
I didn't feel great about the bastardizing but they are out of sight and the sound is much cleaner especially with CD's.
When I faded to the rears, they sounded muffled in comparison so I ordered a pair of 6.5 2 way Kappas and will attempt to install them this weekend- I am that happy with the results. I agonized over choosing the rear reference vs Kappas because although the kappas are rated higher they appear to be a little less efficient 92 v 90 Db. As i said before, I want clarity not volume so we will see how that works |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by vfr
The second Infinity 3 way speaker is in and I am happy enough with the results that I do not think another amp is in order. I am surprised with the power of the base system with this setup, but I am sure it will not compare with Zboy's 1000W Sub. Keep in mind that I am well into my forties so I will settle for a little more clarity.
Hey Zboy, this is a little off topic but how is that merlot wearing on you. I passed that color up for Glacier P., but it seems that its missing excitement. White seems that it will hide scratches and dings though.
We love the Merlot.
Nissans paints sucks, and we were beginning to get swirl marks, but I switched to a wool glove for washing and Mr Clean Autodry and havent had a problem since. My Blue Z however probably needs a good polishing :( Damned swirls :(. |
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| whaleblue22 |
| Finally after a lot of searching had a set of Boston Acoustics sl95 6x9's installed in the front doors this weekend. The speakers went right in with no mods. Sound really good with no bass loss from the factory speakers. Will order the 6.5's for the back. Not sure if I'll go the amp route as the speakers sound great run off the factory stereo. Have my eye on an audiobahn rated at 75x4. Should sound great if I go that way. |
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| MOpar |
| Can anyone who has worked on the front door speakers tell me if there were any filters (caps) on the factory speakers. |
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| ZBoy |
quote:
Originally posted by MOpar
Can anyone who has worked on the front door speakers tell me if there were any filters (caps) on the factory speakers.
Not on the non-Bose 6x9s. Just a woofer. |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by MOpar
Can anyone who has worked on the front door speakers tell me if there were any filters (caps) on the factory speakers.
I'm curious as well, but about the Bose front speakers rather than the non-Bose, so I suppose this doesn't really belong in this thread. I would guess there's probably a low-pass (inductor) filter on the Bose front speakers, either that or they are just really really crappy speakers, or the amplifier is terribly over-equalizing -- because the sound out of the front speakers is very muddy and bass-heavy. |
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| MOpar |
| I should have said the factory Bose speakers. |
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