SurfnSoCal

Both choices include a 10" sub in the trunk (maybe two).

My buddy is trying to convince me that a front stage set up is all I need. But I can't help but think that NO speakers in the rear (except for the subs in the trunk) will leave it empty.

So which will sound better for my music? I primarily listen to Rock (Classic, New, Punk) but I do play the occasional 50 cent.

Don't worry about factoring in Amp and Speaker Brands. I am primarily trying to decide if I need rear speakers.

thanks!!

rex

mb-quart component speaker set

SurfnSoCal

Ok, yeah...that's the second option. My buddy has the same set up in his M3...but he has the 6.5" components...not a "three way set up". The second option would be wired to a 4 chann amp. Channels 1 and 2 powering the components (5.25" and 1") and Channels 3 and 4 powerng the low 6.5" speakers.

SurfnSoCal

bump

RRRoamer

Don't you love these decisions??? I'm sort of in the same boat. My GT should be here a few weeks and I have been giving a LOT of thought to the mods I want to do to it, including the stereo. So here is my thoughts:

1) The front 8" subs are very nice. Too bad the factory used such pooTY subs! But that 14 liter inclosure is PERFECT for a JL Audio 8W3V2 sub. This sub is the real deal and it will definitely improve the front bass. I wouldn't waste that space with a 6 1/2 speaker.

2) Modern higher end component 6 1/2 + tweeter speaker have a pretty good cross over as it is. I do not see the reason (and haven't really heard the reason) for using a 6.5 + 5.25 + tweeter combo. Especially when you have an 8" sub. So that gives you two choices here: 6.5 or 5.25 mid bass speaker. Me? I like the 6.5. They can play a bit lower cleaner and the sound is just better to MY ears. On the other hand, with the 8" sub brining up the bottom, the 5.25 speaker could be crossed over a bit higher (where it is happy) and you would still have a pretty good sound stage.

3) You might want to listen to the various tweeters yourself. I have found the 1" metal dome tweeters to be a bit harsh (MB Quart specifically) and I REALLY like the sound of the 1" silk dome tweeters (Polk Audio MMC6500). But again, that is my ears. I have very good high frequency hearing (tested to somewhere above 20kH when I was in high school. That was the limit of the machine! ), so I can see why the titanium dome might seem harsh to me. If you high frequency hearing is not as sharp, then the silk dome tweeter might sound a bit dull to you and the titanium one would be right on the money. It's your money and your ears, so YOU have to decide what sounds best.

4) Rear fill.... For me, the factory rear speakers will be "good enough" for quite a while. Why? Because I will have the balance set so far to the front that I will barely even be able to hear them. When you listen to a concert, the speakers are all in front of you. You only hear echos of the music from behind. (I'm sure at some concerts they put speakers all around the auditorium...) You only need the rear speakers for two things: prividing the slight rear fill and providing music to the back seat occupants. Given the seat size in these things, I REALLY don't think I am going to have too many occasions to turn the music up in the back. And the 10 years that DO fit back there can just deal with it and listen to the music from the front!

5) Finally, I would stay away from oval speakers if possible. They do not produce as clean a sound as a round cone can. That is pure physics, so it is REAL hard to get around. I much prefer a speaker that they don't have to TRY to get around.

Good luck bro! Let us know how it turns out. If you can wait a month or so, I'll have a report (with pics) of what it took to mount my 8W3V2s in the door. I know some fiberglass work is going to be required and I will have to fabricate some type of rear speaker support, but I don't think it will be that big of a deal.

SurfnSoCal

thanks man! sounds good (no pun intended).

I think I will go with the Jl sub, and 5.25" mb quart components.

SurfnSoCal

How do you think a setup with:

5.25" Components in the doors

8" JL 8w3v2 subs in the door

and a 10" subwoofer in the trunk would sound?

I could run the components on channels 1&2, the JL door woofers on Channels 3&4, and a subwoofer off of a dedicated mono amp. Thats 3 pre-outs right? FR, Rear (which would be the door woofers), and sub.

RRRoamer

That is going to be pretty close to what I do. I will have the Polk Audio MMC6500 (6.5") component up front bi-amped with about 75w RMS going to each driver (300w RMS total) and I will have the 8W3V2s where the factory subs are now driven by around something like 200w RMS each, but the gain will be turned down a bit to keep from overdriving them.

Eventually, I will have either one 12" or two 10" JL Audio subs in the rear fed by how ever much amp I can afford at the time. I still haven't decided if I like dual 10s better than a single 12. I'm sure I'll EVENTUALLY make up my mind!

As for the preouts, are you running an aftermarket headunit or the Shaker unit? The sub should have a dedicated output either way, or you can use signal pass through and the crossovers built into the amps.

SurfnSoCal

I will be using an aftermarket Alpine headunit (CDA-9855)

Eric

You have the right ideas, and obviously know what you're talking about. Replacing factory components in the front doors with components is a little tight, though, more so if you have to mount crossovers. Sheesh, even my 5 1/4" coaxes with crossovers are tight. There is some room, though, as long as you're careful that the door panel will go back on (however, just getting the door panel back over the right bottom corner is quite a feat even without any mods). Anyway, bigger than 5 1/4" components is unnecessary as a good sub will cover up to 250Hz and a 5 1/4" mid should pick up from 70Hz or slightly less. Subs in the front that don't respond down to 20Hz are redundant, since low bass response isn't at all directional (and I doubt that the stock Shaker subs even come close to that mark). A decently powered sub in completion, even if only 10" in the trunk, will cover the entire frequency spectrum (OMG-sounds like even I know what I'm talking about!). Same applies to rear deck speakers, if/when replaced. Keep up the posts, as I'm going through the same process. Thanks.

RRRoamer

Eric,

That's what fiberglass is for!!! You would be amazed what you can fit if you don't mind removing/replacing bits and pieces as needed....

Of course, I say that BEFORE my new car arrives!!!! I am going to do my best to fit the 6.5" woofer as I just prefer how it sounds compared to the 5.25" driver. And that includes listening to them with standalone subs providing the low bass and playing with the various cross overs settings to try to optimize them the best I could in the limited time I had.

On the other hand, when my car gets here and I start taking solid measurements, I might find that I would be INSANE to try to fit the 6.5" driver and go ahead and use the 5.25" driver instead.

Mounting the crossover network is going to be a pain. Worse case, I SHOULD be able to mount them under the dash and run the wires through the factory wiring harness to the doors. That would be a pain, but it should be do-able.

Keep us updated on what you do. And when you have the doors apart, TAKE PICTURES!!! We need as many pictures of these doors as possible. Especially with fitted aftermarket componenets.

SurfnSoCal

will do. I think I am going to go with 5.25" MB quart components with JL 8w3v2 subs in trhe doors. Powered by Alpine's New Big 4 channel amp. Now I just need to find a place in SoCal to do custom fiberglass.

Anyone think the doors are going to rattle like crazy with those JL's in there? My buddy thinks so...

acadian

Hard to tell. There were already subs in the doors from the factory, so you would think Ford made the doors rattle-resistant. I think any door might rattle if you put enough thump in it. But at least this car had subs there so you might be better off than most.

SurfnSoCal

true....but those "subs" (if you can call them that) are very weak. the JL's RMS at 125w.

zeebo

every car I have heard sounds amazing with two 10s...

I think 12s are more appropriate in a bigger car that needs more... but 12s do produce cleaner low sounds than 10s, but 10s will hit hard enough for anyone in a mustang if set up right

Eric

RRRoamer, I've had this hangup that I've always believed I should return the car to original factory condition when I go to sell it, and have always tried to avoid anything that isn't reversible. Maybe I just don't believe this one's mine yet! Anyway, the driver's door is done (after disassembling and reassembling again yesterday to add spacers between the coax and the door - turns out the speaker depth caused it to rub against the window and slow it down or obstruct). Live and learn. Passenger side will be much, much simpler now and I'll take pix as I go, but will have to wait for better weather (I'm now watching 6 - 12" of snow pile up...yuck). I've driven it all winter with Blizzak snows on rear and a bag of sand close to each wheel in the trunk: no trouble.

RRRoamer

There is your problem Eric!!! I don't have any plans on selling it. None.

I currently drive a 1981 Ford F100. I've owned it for 11 years and it has been my daily driver the whole time. I replaced the worn out 302 with a 351W I built (and installed) myself, then me and my brother yanked the C-6 tranny and rebuilt it (my first try at digging into an automatic tranny). I've worked on various other parts on this truck as time and money allowed (or the truck demanded it!).

Heck, when gas prices started going up, I tried to show that I could save money (or at least not loose too much) by buying a VW Golf TDI (what can I say???). With my math, I found that gas would have to hit $4 a gallon before the TDI cost me less per month than my truck did. So I was happy driving my F100 for another 11 years. Then I test drove an 05 GT... Strangle enough, my math was no longer focusing on "what is the break even point", but instead was focused on "can I squeeze this thing in to my budged???" But that is another story!

So, as I plan on keeping it a good long time, I plan on doing what ever I feel like to the car. That includes cutting metal or plastic. I am going to keep to the minium required, but...

The one consession to that is I will keep EVERYTHING I take off the car. Probably vacuum bag the small stuff and find someplace to store them (and yes, that includes the crappy factory speakers!). My cousin has had a 69 Mach 1 (Red with white hounds tooth interior and a 428CJ under the hood). He hopped it up a lot when he was younger. I can never forget him telling me his tale of woah of spending years and eventually $1500 buying a NOS smog pump to replace the one he tossed in the trash when he was a teen!!! By the way, that Mustang is a concourse class car now. After cubic time and cubic dollars.