Looking for 5x7/6x8 components with this set up. Opinions please.

Given the choice I like the Reference 6 X 8 components. I don't think there is a 6 X 8 component in the Kappa series. SQ means making sure the speakers have something really solid to mount to. Door sheet metal is one of the worst things people attach speakers to.

 

aS ALWAYS, LET your EARS DECIDE WHICH SOUNDS BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dont worry about power ratings or THD or even dampning factor....listen and decide, you are wanting a SQ system....not a freekin "shake the dishes out of the cabinets in the house" system.....Listen to some familiar music on your choices of speakers, then decide.

 

Is it best to reinforce the door sheet metal, or just find a new home? I always thought the placement was decent in a Ranger door, (off topic as far as vehicle, I know) but if it is not the hot ticket, is it better to move them?

 

Atleast in the Ford Ranger the speakers are mounted high compared with other cars. In my truck I use 2 layers of Dynomat and a baffle from a 89 T-Bird. This helps. But as with all speakers mounted in doors, the sound stage is toooooo wide. In my truck the problem was fixed with a center-channel speaker.

 

Thank you.

I will do my homework, and see what's next.

 

Many people make the mistake of just bolting speakers to the door sheet metal. Nearly half of the speakers capabilities are lost.

Dynomat (not seen ) and the baffle actually isolate the speaker from the door.



A little acoustic fill Never Hurts speaker performance.

Notice the factory connectors. Attension to detail seperates average from good

 

"Notice the factory connectors. Attention to detail seperates average from good"

Awesome work, and I agree.

Thank you for taking the time to spell it out.

 

did you "polybag" the polks?

 

You would be suprised how much this helps. With the sub amp temporarily dead, I really have not lost that much. With just the two 5 x 7's and the one 6-1/2 the RTA says I'm not down 3dB until 48Hz. Thats with loudness off and with all my controls set to flat.

I always find it amazing how concerned with brand everyone is. It make me realize that they have no clue. They should be much more concerned with mounting tecniques. I could take a 93 Chev Cavalier (my Son's car) with factory 3-1/2's in the front, factory ford 6 x 8 in an enclosure behind the console, and Pioneer 6 x 9's in the rear deck and make it sound better (MUCH Better) than people with Polk SR series speakers or Infinity Perfects or Focals. Currently the only amp is a Pioneer GM-H50 run tri-mode on the 3-1/2's and on the 6 x 8

I have got so many compliments on his car and suprised looks when I pull the front grill cover off, and they see factory speakers.

I see people all the time with $300 speakers and they really believe their car sounds good. Because they have no Idea what good sounds like. They wasted $300 dollars. It usually sounds a little better than Factory.

Viking, I've seen some of your posts, and you've said the same thing, over and over again. A poorly mounted great speaker will sound bad and a properly mounted factory speaker will sound great. Well ITS TRUE.

Now, I'm not familiar with the term "Poly Bag", but yes I have Acousta-Stuf behind the Polks, and Ford Baffles. 88 and 89 T-Birds with premium sound have these baffles on the rear speakers (others may also have them). This was the first audio mod done to the truck back in 95. These baffles alone considerably improved the sound. Dynomat was applied a couple of weeks later. The sound was phenomenal and the factory speakers were still in the car. Pioneer 6 x 8's were my first aftermarket speakers. At this point all I had was a Pioneer HU ( DEH 235 I think) and my truck sounded GREAT.

Ooppps I'm babbling must stop babbling

 

Well lay it around where the speaker mounting hole is...that will help a little...if you really want the best sound quality you can buy sound deadener in bulk and do the whole door.

I'm ordering some EDead V1SE2...about 50 square feet of it...its the same thing as Dynamat Extreme but a lot more afforable...the Dynamat Extreme is only .007" thicker and both are made of butyl.

36 square feet bulk pack of Dynamat is $150 online while 50 square feet of eDead is $100...which would you choose??

Edead
http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/product_info.php?t=2&products_id=52

vs. Dynamat
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=12655

 

Poly bagging is an old techique that is essentially what you are doing, cept that we used about 6 layers of heavy mill visqueen (plastic) to make an enclosure behind the speaker, then stuff it with polyfill, this was before foam baffles were available, same basic thing you are doing..... To further isolate the speaker from the door, one must also look at the screw that mount the frame to the surface.......one thing that I always wanted to try but never did was use rubber isolators, such as what is used on my R/C airplane motor mounts, to mount the speaks to the doors, That would, I am SURE, eliminate another 75% if not higher, resonance in the door panel........ something to think about! If your interested, i will show you what i am talking about......

 

I learn something new every day. Now I know what poly bagging is.

I could have used foam baffles but I wanted something alot more solid. That is why I elected to use Factory Type Baffles, they are solid.

Rubber isolators, now that is a really Intriguing Idea. I will have to give it some thought. Did you know that some really upper end home audio speakers stood slightly off the floor using legs that resembled spikes. The thought was that the less area that touched the floor meant that less vibration transfered to the floor. Thats one way of getting isolation.

 

Ah yes, the spikes!!! been around for years! I have never tried them, i have listened to some EXTREME high end speaks on them ( B&W 801's), they sound phucking awesome anyway, so not sure if the spikes helped...and they were on a carpeted concrete floor.......


The engine mounts are similiar to these, but not exactly......things have changed a bit, i will try and find EXACTLY what i was talking about, IF they are still available, I am sure you can see where I am going with this idea however.....

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCPB5&P=WR