Hi all, I'm new to the forum and just purchased a 2000 Olds Bravada SUV for my son to drive. I noticed that at least one of the speakers is rattling if you turn the bass past the mid point, or turn the volume up much. We prefer to only replace any speakers that are bad, and also to retain the stock head unit. The car has the base stereo, not the Bose system. The car has 6.5" speakers in all four doors, and 4x6" speakers up on the top of the dash. I think the right front door speaker is for sure rattling. So can anybody help me with a few questions: 1. How do you go about matching an aftermarket speaker to the remaining OE speakers as close as possible, in terms of sensitivity and impedance, so that volume levels will match? 2. How do you find out what the impedance and sensitivity of the OE speakers actually is? 3. I found out last time I replaced OE speakers(6x9s in the back of my daughter's Acura) that the OEs actually produced noticeably more and better bass than the replacements. I think that was because the OE had paper cones, which are very efficient and responsive. What popular brands approach the bass quality of OE speakers while using the stock head unit/amp? (I have been reading some user reviews of popular speaker brands on Circuit City web site which seem to confirm this phenomenon of the replacement speakers not having as much bass as OE.) Thanks much in advance for any advice!
some lower end speakers are sold as single's like at wal-mart.i would recomend replacing the speakers in pairs so if they are not an exact match a slight adjustment with the fader control will compensate for the new speakers. Remember...the larger the magnet on the speaker...the more power it will need. as always...just my opinion...good luck
i should also add.. if ones bad the rest arent too far behind. my friend with the 2000 silverado replaced his front door speakers cause the drivers side was distoring reallyu bad. so when we got to it,it was dry rotted. the passengers side sounded fine but it too was dry rotted.only 7 years old and the foam was gone.actually on all 4 speakers. so if you do one do them all.
Thanks for the replies. Yes, I'll need to check into all the speakers on the car to see what kind of shape they are in before I do anything. If all or most the OE speakers are shot or almost shot, I don't know if I want to try to replace them with OE. I imagine they will be pricey.
Wow, a happy(and cheap) resolution of the problem!! Upon inspection of the front door speakers, it turned out the drivers were not blown or torn at all. What had happened is that the perimeter of the paper cone(about a 1/8") had seperated from the round metal frame of the speaker. This was allowing that perimeter to rattle against the frame when ever the cone underwent any significant excursion. So, using some auto emblem adhesive applied to Q-tips, I was able to run the Q-tips on the underside of the perimeter of the drivers and press them up against the frame. I held them there for some time and then let it sit overnight. Sure enough, the next day, the speakers played fine with no rattling. I am not sure how long this fix will last, and we will not be cranking the volume real high, but getting back to the original factory setup was what I really wanted. I had actually already ordered the exact Bravada speakers from my local Buick, GMC, Ponticac dealer, but will not need them at this time. They priced out at $34 each.
