Hi everyone,

I just purchased my Evo MR after looking at the IS350 and love the car, but am starting to feel the sting of losing navigation and premium audio.

I ended up purchasing the Pioneer AVIC-N3 and am having it installed today. This takes care of my navigation wants which brings me to my next concern...

Now I'm looking for speakers to go along with my aftermarket head unit without having to purchase an additional aftermarket amplifier. Without spending too much money, I want something with decent sound quality considering the lack of external power. I was looking at these speakers (ordered by price for 2 pairs):

1. Alpine Type S (199.98 - Best Buy)
2. Pioneer REV TS-D161R (239.99 - Circuit City)
3. Polk DB6500 (299.99 - Circuit City)
4. Alpine Type R (331.98 - Best Buy)

Would some of these speakers be "too powerful" considering that I just want to stick to the built-in amp? (22W RMS, 50W Peak) Would it be good to stick with one type of speakers all the way around? or should I mix and match front and rear?

One last question (and thanks for bearing with me...) would it be a good idea to throw in a Bazooka powered sub? Again, I wanted something with minimal fuss, so the idea of a lightweight, self-powered sub-enclosure sounds appealing. I'm not looking to rattle windows here... but I am interested in being able to feel some of the bass of my music.

Thank you very much for your help guys. 'Tis greatly appreciated!

 

The front and rear speakers should be different in my opinion. The rear is free-air, usinfg the entire trunk as an enclosure and the the front speakers in the doors will exist in far less space. THis will affect how they sound.

You are concerned mostly with efficiency since you have very little power. Head units are rated with only one speaker playing to get a higher number. Once all four channels are driven the outpu will be lower because of power supply limitations. There is much more than a crappy amp going on inside that N3. The stock are probably the most efficient in that environment, that is why Mitsubishi chose them. Set the xovers to control their output and protect them from low frequencies they shouldn't be playing and add a sub to fill in that area. Any of the speakers you mentioned will have less output than the stock speakers unless properly powered, especially with external crossover networks that absorb lots of power. There are probably better options than Bazooka tubes in my opinion for add on sub solutions.

 

I actually found a couple amps from my first car... a 1998 Accord Coupe. These are all pretty crappy components... basically I got whatever was cheapest when I was working at Best Buy. I need to double check but I believe it is a 2/3/4 channel 500W Kenwood Amp and a 1000W 2 channel Kenwood Amp. I had the 500W powering 2 6.5 fronts and 2 6x9 rears and the 1000W powering the 2 12" subwoofers in the trunk.

Not exactly SQ focused... just total a total noob system in an attempt to maximize my discount...

Are any of these worth re-using? I'm leaning away from the subwoofers and the box they're in, considering the weight and space they take up.

 

your deck power will not be sufficient to run your new speaks. i would highly recommend at least a 4channel amp that puts out at least 50 watts RMS (NOT PEAK) & has the lowest THD (total harmonic distortion) u can find with also the widest frequency response. just so u know, the EVO stock speaker is a Euro-Din (7") so u will have to do some fanagling to get them to fit RIGHT. i fabbed brackets out of MDF for my 6.5" components (so my windows could roll down!!!) & then i had to trim the inside of the door panel so it would go back on.

on speakers, choose the set that has the highest continuous RMS power with the wiedst FR & u should be golden. if you wanted to keep the weight down, u could even throw in a 6 or 8" powered Bazooka sub for a lil more low end.

& BTW, do not shop at circuitcity or bestbuy for audio equipment period!!!!!! go to a competent car audio shop so u don't get shafted...

 

suggestion for something simple:
your N3 will be able to power some Type-S or speaker of something simular just fine.
the nice thing about the alpine's and infinity's are that they come w/ brackets to nicely mount the speakers in the oversized whole.

now as an audiophile, getting a nicer pair of speakers like, Focal or MBQ's and amplifying them would be choice. pop some speakers in and see how you like them, then go from there.

 

alpine

 

Go with the Polks

 

or, dont run component speakers with out a 4channel.

you will not be happy. you are better off with the Alpine Type-R coax over any of the components. If you've ever cranked up a non amped component, they make no power, distort, and just sound like plain junk...

 

Just got my IX and I am using Alpine HU and thinking about a bazooka, also. The factory spakers are painful to listen to!

Mike

 

I have used alpine type R'S and Polk and also the kicker SS , JL , and FOCAL components.

ALPINE TYPE R- good bass response very clear and little to no distortion. these are my favorite best for the money IMHO

Polk DB- descent bass they will distort

kicker ss- a lil more bass than the Type R's and they do have better highs, but also a bit more than the alpines.

JL-sound great but i wouldnt spend the money again.

Focal- same price range as the JL but i would choose them over JL.


with all that said I have never used them without an amp and I would say if you don't amp them you will be disappointed in the sound(as the others have said). why not just wait and use the stockers until you can afford a nice 4 channel like the alpine f450 I love it and it is perfect for my type R's pushes nice clean power and its a nice compact amp. also for your second question. im not a fan of the bazooka powered tubes. if you wanted a sub go with a little 8" jl w6 or w7. they will give you much more bass(you will feel it) but you upgrade stereo in steps just like a motor get the components and amp first, then go from there.

 

Why not just do a simple 4 channel to the factory speakers. Then later on swap them out if needed.

 

I got the "Polks". They sound very good from HU but not enough bass, so I added an 8 in sub and now it kicks hard.

 

Factory speaker on mine blew because of an aftermarket head unit(4 x 55 peak Kenwood). Just imagine what will happen if you do an aftermarket amp

 

They most likely blew due to the HU clipping.

 

Resonant Engineering XXX comps