Rear Fill vs. Rear Door Speakers

[SilkySmoove]

Hello all,

I am currently in the process of changing my setup a little bit. Thus far I have purchased an Image Dynamics component set for the front doors and I am probably just going to mount the tweeters in the dash again, unless there are any good suggestions on a decent set of 3.5" speakers that will do a better job in that spot.

On to my question..........should I replace my current set of 6x9's in the rear deck or get another component set for the rear doors????? My stock system was non-Bose so I do not currently have any speakers in the rear doors.

Thanks!!!!

[SilkySmoove]

Input........anyone????

[AppleBonker]

Personally, I would leave the rear speakers alone. Save your money. Unless you're sitting in the back seat, they wont help you out at all. The vast majority of enthusiasts out there (especially those focused on sound quality) do not have any rear fill. Music is recorded in two channels, so the most accurate reproduction is out of two channels.

The best place to mount tweeters would be in the doors (expensive to replace factory door panels) or in the A-Pillars (expensive or time consuming to fabricate custom parts). I have my tweets mounted in the dash (factory location), and with some tuning they can be made to image correctly. I would not look for a 3.5" speaker for up there. 3.5" is perfectly between the ideal tweeter size and the ideal midrange/midbass size. There is absolutely no benefit. Go with tweets in the dash and mids in the front doors.

If you feel you must upgrade the rears, just go with full-range 6x9s. Rear components is DEFINITELY overkill.

[rjdmmfl1]

Personally, I would leave the rear speakers alone. Save your money. Unless you're sitting in the back seat, they wont help you out at all. The vast majority of enthusiasts out there (especially those focused on sound quality) do not have any rear fill. Music is recorded in two channels, so the most accurate reproduction is out of two channels.

The best place to mount tweeters would be in the doors (expensive to replace factory door panels) or in the A-Pillars (expensive or time consuming to fabricate custom parts). I have my tweets mounted in the dash (factory location), and with some tuning they can be made to image correctly. I would not look for a 3.5" speaker for up there. 3.5" is perfectly between the ideal tweeter size and the ideal midrange/midbass size. There is absolutely no benefit. Go with tweets in the dash and mids in the front doors.

If you feel you must upgrade the rears, just go with full-range 6x9s. Rear components is DEFINITELY overkill.

I disagree somewhat... you have a Sedan, so you want good sound in the rear as well! I would go with a great set of components in the front, and a good set of components in the rear doors.. and a decent pair of 6x9's (soundstream SST9.9) in the rear deck...

[AppleBonker]

I disagree somewhat... you have a Sedan, so you want good sound in the rear as well!

To each his own, but I would argue that the rear passengers should still be able to hear the front speakers fine (generally it'll be quiet enough music to be able to talk, or your demoing a system and no one will hear anything but tunes). So I'd rather spend a bunch more on my front stage - just my two cents though.

[SilkySmoove]

Thanks for the input!!!! The plan for the long weekend, since I will have all of my stuff, is to take out my Infinity Kappa components up front and fully deaden the doors with some Second Skin Damp and Overkill and then install my Image Dynamics CTX65CS up front with the tweets in the dash like I currently have. I'm also going to remove my Infinity Kappa 6x9's from the rear deck and see what kind of sound I get with just the comp set up front.

However, from a rear seating perspective I am still thinking another comp set. Mids in the rear doors and tweets mounted head level in the pillar between the front and rear doors. What do you think about that vs 6x9's in the rear deck????

As a side note, along with deadening my doors I am also upgrading my power wire and ground from Rockford 2 gauge to Kicker Hyperflex 0 gauge and running 16 gauge speaker wire to my doors and tweets in dash instead of just jumping off of the speaker connects from the wiring harness.

[AppleBonker]

Listen for a while (maybe ~2 weeks) without the rear fill. At first it will sound weird, but pay attention to where the music is coming from (like where the singer's voice seems to be originating for example). Then, throw the rears back and see what you like better. All a matter of personal taste.

If you do plan on going with components in the rear (which should give good sound quality), I think the 6x9's would be overkill and would make things sound a lot worse. That would essentially give you 3 pairs of speakers all reproducing the same frequencies in the car (this just screams of problems with interference and each speaker adding their own "color" to the mix).

What would work a lot better than 6x9's would be adding a sub. You've got tons of trunk space, so it may be an option. Or, it is certainly possible to cut the 6x9 openings in the rear deck and mount a pair (or maybe just one) of 8" drivers. You'd have to be careful to get a speaker that functions well IB, but I've seen these setups and they work quite well (for not having to sacrifice any trunk space that is).

[rjdmmfl1]

Listen for a while (maybe ~2 weeks) without the rear fill. At first it will sound weird, but pay attention to where the music is coming from (like where the singer's voice seems to be originating for example). Then, throw the rears back and see what you like better. All a matter of personal taste.

If you do plan on going with components in the rear (which should give good sound quality), I think the 6x9's would be overkill and would make things sound a lot worse. That would essentially give you 3 pairs of speakers all reproducing the same frequencies in the car (this just screams of problems with interference and each speaker adding their own "color" to the mix).

What would work a lot better than 6x9's would be adding a sub. You've got tons of trunk space, so it may be an option. Or, it is certainly possible to cut the 6x9 openings in the rear deck and mount a pair (or maybe just one) of 8" drivers. You'd have to be careful to get a speaker that functions well IB, but I've seen these setups and they work quite well (for not having to sacrifice any trunk space that is).

If you get the rear components, I say get a nice 8" or 10" subwoofer just for some nice bass (you don't have to go crazy here) and then, leave the 6x9 openings clear so that some of that bass can get into the cabin... what do you think about going that route Apllebonker?

[SilkySmoove]

Sorry for not making note of the fact that I am already running a sub...........12" Ascendant Audio Havoc running off of a Sundown SAE-1200D in 2cubes @ 32Hz.

[AppleBonker]

Excellent (I like the choice of equipment too!). I definitely think 6x9's would be overkill for you then. I would probably do what Doc recommended and pull them out allowing for airflow to/from the trunk. This will improve sound quality by decreasing pressure buildup in the trunk (less body panel rattling). For speakers in the rear, one component set per door with no 6x9's is best (the 6x9s were really only there as "woofers" anyway, and I'm pretty sure your 12 will do the low freqs more justice than any 6x9s on the market).

[SilkySmoove]

I appreciate all of the input!!!! I will be deadening my front doors and installing my ID comp set tomorrow. I'll be sure to share my results.