coaxial or component aftermarket speakers?

[TRD604]

for those of you who have upgraded your stock speakers to aftermarket ones....
what did u guyz choose? coaxial or component speakers? and did u wire them to a amp or not????


thx guyz

[ragingpaseo]

haven't done it to the celica due to funding, but working on it, meanwhile did it for the paseo. i highly recommend component speakers, especially for the front. i had rockford fanatic x, then switched to infinity kappa powered by amp...the amp can provide more power than the HU can handle...

[2way]

Remember that in your stock GT-S... there are 6 speakers up front - 2 tweeters & 2 coaxials and that it already has a small separate amp.

[ragingpaseo]

Remember that in your stock GT-S... there are 6 speakers up front - 2 tweeters & 2 coaxials and that it already has a small separate amp.
6 up front??? are you sure???

[2way]

GT-S has an 8 speaker system... one of the differences between a GT & a GT-S.

[ragingpaseo]

right, i thought it's 2 pairs of components front and back. that make its 2 tweeters and 2 woofers up front, and 2 tweeters and 2 woofers in the rear...

[2way]

You could be correct... but I thought it was Tweeter, Mid, & Woofer up front w/a wide range or woofer in the rear. From the wiring print & what I recall from other threads... the difference between the GT & GT-S is all in the front doors. Honestly, I haven't looked.

[phillycheez]

i'd strongly recommend components in the front and coaxials in the back...aftermarket components should be powered by an amp...so i also recommend getting a 2 channel amp for ur components or a 4 channel amp to power all ur components and coaxials...or u can be lazy like me and get a 5 channel amp to power up all ur speakers and sub....

[TRD604]

i have a gts. i dont even know how many speakers i have..lol
i thought i only had 6 speakers. 2x front 2xrear 2x tweeter

i recently just bought a mono amp for my new subs. so im gonna have to get a 4ch amp for the speakers.

[ThePhobos]

GT-S' have an 8-speaker system. In the back there are 6.5" woofers. Up front there are a total of 6 speakers, three in each door. There is a 6.5" woofer, a 4" midrange driver, and a tweeter. The 4" midrange is the one that makes the system different from the GT.

As for components vs. coaxials, it's best to have components up front and coaxials in back. Coaxials are fine for the back since the tweeter on them is in the center and can usually be pointed, but you're just using the back speakers for a rear fill. Up front you'll want to be able to raise the sound stage so that it's higher up. Since you can place the tweeter separate from the woofer in a component set, it allows you to put the tweeter up high in the door like it normally is. Or, you could ignore that location and put it on the A-pillar like I've seen done. But by bringing the tweeter up higher it puts the sounds that you hear the most, the highs, up closer to your head. It really improves the audio quality.

It's kind of fun to try if you ever take your door off. Take the tweeter off and move it from down by your feet (which is where it would be if you had coaxials up front - the tweeter would be in the middle of the 6.5" woofer), then raise it up to the top of the door. Of course, make sure music is playing while you do this. It's amazing to hear the difference.

Hope that helps at all. :)

[00GTShope]

I don't know much about car audio. I am currently looking replace all the interior speakers. I already have subs and amps. I am looking at either Rockford Fosgate or JBL speakers but I heard the Celica comes with JBL already so there wouldn't be much point in puttin JBL in again. I have to buy from Best Buy cause a buddy is gonna get me a discount.

From what I've read here I should buy:
-4 x 6.5" woofers (2 door and 2 rear)
-2 x 4" mids
-2 tweeters (is a tweeter just a tweeter? no specific size?)
-an amp (multi channel I've read, any suggestions?)

Does this sound right and does anyone with knowledge in this have any suggestions in Wattage ratings etc that I will need to know. Thanks alot.

[ThePhobos]

From what I've read here I should buy:
-4 x 6.5" woofers (2 door and 2 rear)
-2 x 4" mids
-2 tweeters (is a tweeter just a tweeter? no specific size?)
-an amp (multi channel I've read, any suggestions?)

Does this sound right and does anyone with knowledge in this have any suggestions in Wattage ratings etc that I will need to know. Thanks alot.

First, you've got one helluva pimp car. Very nice looking pic in your sig. ;)

Second, you are correct with what you need, granted that your current setup needs to be the GTS 8-speaker premium sound system. From your nickname it seems you have a GTS, so you should be in good shape (though I don't know if the 8 speaker system is standard or an option on GTS models).

My recommendation for speakers would be like my previous post. Two coaxials in the back, which will be a 6.5" woofer and a tweeter mounted in the center. Here's the pic of mine from the company that makes mine:

http://www.cdtaudio.com/cdt_new_0705/CL-6EX.gif

Notice the tweeter in the center. Often that tweeter can be pointed (within limits) so as to aim it where you want it.

The 4" mids I've heard are not a necessity, so talk to local shops or your buddies coworkers at Best Buy and see what they say.

For the fronts you'll want to get a component set, which is the kind with the tweeters separate from the woofer. You'll buy them as a set (two 6.5" woofers and two tweeters). Again, here's a pic of the set I have for reference:

http://www.cdtaudio.com/cdt_new_0104/EF-61CFi_25.gif

There is something in that picture that I would recommend you try to find (or something that you might be able to take into account when you set up the amp), and that is the crossover. That's the little boxes pictured in that last pic (has some yellow capacitors or something in it). Those control what frequencies go to the speakers. That way you're not trying to send low bass notes to the tweeters, which are designed to only play high notes. But like I said, you can often go without crossovers if you have an amp that will let you "cut out" a certain frequency, like blocking bass notes from going to the front speakers. But crossovers are very good to have, especially if they come with the component set, since they will then be tuned and designed for the set they come with. Makes it nice and easy.

As far as tweeters go, there are two standard sizes that I know of - one inch and 3/4 inch tweeters. They also come in different materials - titanium and silk are the two that come to mind. Silk tweeters will have a smoother sound and be less "tinny", where as titanium tweeters are more "tinny". One inch tweeters also aren't as high pitched as 3/4" tweeters are, so 3/4" tweeters are often called "super tweeters" since they hit the ultra high notes.

For an amp, you'll want an amp that can put out a decent amount of watts to each channel. I plan to run my rear speakers off of the radio, since it's just going to be rear fill, and then have an amp to run the front speakers. You want the RMS rating for each channel of the amp to be as close to the RMS rating for your speakers as possible. That way you're utilizing the speakers as best as you can. Or sometimes people like to play it conservative and not go so close to their RMS rating, that way if they play the speaker loud you won't be as close to blowing the speaker by hitting it's maximum wattage.

Best thing to do so far as picking out speakers is to listen to them with as many different styles of music as you can so you can hear how they play on different types. Whatever sounds best to you is what is best.

Whew. Sorry for such a long post. :) Hope it helped some.

[00GTShope]

^^^ That is the most helpful post to any question I have ever posted on the internet! Awesome, I appreciate alot. I am cuurently a broke student making just enough to pay off the car and my buddy is quitting in December so I am kinda rushed to make these purchases before he quits.

Thanks for the compliment, I like the way my car is now but next year is body kit and I want all this new audio before XMAS. Thanks for your help, I will get advice from the car audio guys at Best Buy if I can wihtout it being obvious that he is buying all that **** for me! lol.

[ThePhobos]

Glad I could be of some help (and that it made sense. I sometimes don't, lol).

The best thing I can suggest is to try try try everything you can. If it means you stand in front of the sound board at Best Buy for hours with a stack of your own cd's changing them out with every combination of speakers, then so be it. I went to three different audio stores testing out speakers and never even bought from them. ;) Everyone had a different opinion as to what is best, so I just picked their brains for ideas. lol

Be sure to tell us what you get when you get it. I'm always curious as to what other people get for their audio. Good luck!

[00GTShope]

thanks, good idea. One more question. Is there a way I would know if I have the 8 speaker system or the 6 without having to remove the door panel? I bought the car used so I'm not sure what it has. Also do you recommend a capacitor? If so what size would be best?

edit: How do the following items look to you? They fit my budget ok.

4" speakers. I'm not sure which of these is best suited for celica:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10062665&catid=11041

6.5" speakers. Do you just remove the tweeter from these and put it at the top of the door?
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10063258&catid=11043

6.5" two way speaker (is this what you would put in the rear?)
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10063658&catid=11043

4 channel amp:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10040349&catid=11032

Appreciate the help.