I've just bought a a 2002 SE. Great car...I'm very happy with! The sound system is lacking, though. It doesn't have the bose system - but, that's not such a bad thing from what I hear.

I'd like to upgrade my speakers to start with. I'll probably do a subwoofer at a later date. Any suggestions for good replacement speakers? I guess I should replace the tweeters and all four door speakers?

Thanks for any suggestions.

TMcD

 

JL audio makes awsome speakers. Infinity is a step down, but if you want awsome sound, go with the JL or something in its league. Subs, in my opinion, are more worth the money, cause even after replacing the stock stereo, bass is still lacking a lot. i dont know how the non-bose system sounds, cause i ahve the bose with aftermarket subs, but i assume that the difference isnt that noticable between regular speakers and Bose. so go with really good speakers, nothing inbetween, or just add subs

 

JL Audio makes good subwoofers, but lack in clarity when it comes to componets and two-way speaker systems. Infinity got them beat. I'd say Infinity componets around the car and JL Audio for the subwoofer.

 

I'm a Diamond Audio fan myself. Pearl96Max is your man here on the org. He's got awesome prices and does a great job of installation.

 

Woohoo, first post!

Anyway, of the speakers listed, JL, Infinity, DA Hex, they all sound different. It depends on what you like your music to sound like. From my personal experience (JL XR sets, Infinity Kappas, and DA Hex s600s) they all sound different. The JL's are, too me, the better all-around speaker. They offer great midbass (xr650csi), pretty good midrange, and an excellent tweeter (even for a metal dome). The Infinity Kappas were not my bag of tea. The tweet lack the clarity of the JL and the mids were not as strong in the midbass region. Now, the Hex's, these were my first "high dollar" set. The midbass is lacking on these. The midrange is outstanding. Of the three, these reproduce vocals with a clarity that the other can't touch. The tweet (I had the silks) were a little sibilant. The "s" sounds were harsh.

Overall, I'd go with the JL XR's, followed by the Hex's, and forget about the Infinity's.

My two cents and only my opinion

 

I have two sets of Infinity Kappa 6 1/2" with an amp. Sounds great.

 

Rockford Punch HX2 12"s... not the HE2's but the HX2's... hot as hellz

 

You REALLY need to go listen for yourself. My Diamonds have great bass and great midrange, but I agree the S's sometimes sound a little bright. I absolutely love the tweeters on the JL Audio components mentioned, but it's my opinion that the midrange on the JL's is horrible comparatively. I'm not saying the speakers sound horrible. I personally don't like the Infinity's at all. Speakers are so subjective that it doesn't help if we tell you what we like, because you may listen to all 3 and hate them all. I love MB Quart, but I refuse to pay the premium they demand nowadays.

 

I have been involved in car audio since the MTX Blue Thunder was an extreme competitor. The industry has changed and all of the above comments are acurate. I have heard all of these components in many vehicles. Diamond Audio's components are phenominal, one of the highest clarity, however are very pricy. I will make a suggestion to find people in your town who have comparable interior cabin areas. I did just that. The best speakers in my opinion are made byan Italian company called PHD. I have lost the brochure but I will contact the shop where I heard them and repost tomorrow. They were perfectly accurate throughout all tones. It honestly sounded like he had a sub, but didn't. Oh yeah, they are the company contracted to design and develop light wight high output speakers for Farrari. I'll get the info to you tomorrow. Hope this helps. One more thing the vehicle was a 2001 GS300, Alpine 4 channel amp, Alpine head unit, two pair of 6 1/2" components, 1" tweets. I picked this vehicle to demo due to the same speaker placments (in-car) as the Maxima.

 

I had the same crappy non-Bose system in my '03 SE, and I just re-did my entire system just recently. But since I had a system from my last car (Boston separates, Boston sub, MTX amps, Alpine non-amplified head unit, Alpine 12 disc changer), I decided to start with the very foundation and do it right. So, I had my entire car Dynamat'ed. And for the rear, I installed JL separates. Those damned 6.5"'s in the rear doors just don't give out any sound stage even with aftermarket speakers, so I had my installer do a custom install on the rear deck for the tweeters, and now I have two sets of separates. The result was just awesome! But the key there is the foundation - Dynamat. You don't have to go all out like I did, but start with the doors and trunk, and you'll definitely hear the difference. Also, just about any speakers and amps can sound awesome with a good processor (like the ones from Alpine). These things can tweak your system to sound just the way you want it to.

 

Not pricey when you have Pearl96Max. I won't give out the price, but I paid well under $400 for my 6.5 Hex components

 

i have mb quart components, by far some of the best i've heard. I like diamond audio also, and i owned a set of jl's but they weren't anywhere near my mq quart QSD's and PSD's... Personally i think my PSD's sound better than my QSD's and they are half the price....

 

I like MB Quarts too, I have MB's all around and 3 JL 10's in the trunk. They even put a small mid range and tweeter in my center AC vent and put a mid/tweeter combo in the hole where the Bose "sub" was. Sounds great!! Good clarity all around but they do distort if you push them too hard. I've used MB Quarts in my past 3 cars (since 1994). I was close to getting Infinity's but liked the sound of the Quarts better. Plus they have a good warranty if installed by a dealer.

 

MB Quarts are the way to go...

I have MB Quart 6.5" separates in front and 6.5" coaxial in back running on an Alpine V12 4x50 (super clean sound). For the sub I used an older Pioneer tube that I am running with a new Alpine V12 1x150. Nice sound all around.

Also, I would recommend using the PAC Oem-2 line-level adapter. They are very high quality.

 

I know you're a newbie and not to sound like a d*ck, just to let you know, there is a audio/electronics forum.

With that said, I also have the non-Bose system and replaced all four speakers with Pioneer REV Series Speakers.

http://pioneerelectronics.com/Pionee...,34218,00.html

They sound nice and also have built in crossovers and are a decent price.

 

I LOVE my Y3K MA Audio interiors!!! And also MA Audio Synergy subs!!!
You wont be disappointed!!!!

 

The site for those PHD's is www.phd.it The U.S. side is going through some restucturing. I heard them at Logans car stereo in Starke Fl. If anyone here is going to be at Spring Break Nationals in Daytona Beach Fl March 21-23. He will be at the Autotec booth and will have his H2 w/ 40 speakers on demo. All mids and highs are PHD. That is a steal on the Diamond Audio's, great job. Got any pics of install?

 

I would recommend Dynaudio or Focal. Nothing will even come close to the sound quality and tonal balance of these manufacturers.

 

damn !!! I had the HE2's (400 w each) but I switched to competition subs (visonics 600 w each). But damn HX2's ???? The max on those are 1000 watts !!! But yea, I gots 2 12's and they bump so hard, they made my side mirrors rumble and you can hear them a block away, but wish I had your subs....c'mon. Imagine having 2 HX2's !! Or 2 W7's. Good set up.

 

Didn't feel like reading through all the stuff but I'm thinkin of Pioneer's or Aline's for my Max.

 

I haven't heard Focals, but I can attest to the quality and tonal balance of the Dynaudios. They sound awesome. I've seen some other guys rave about MB Quarts, but overall, they're very bright speakers and you can't called them tonally balanced. But the Dynaudios are definitely balanced. Others that I personally like are Bostons and JL's, although Bostons tend to be a bit brighter than the JL's. What you really need to do, though, is to find a good installer/dealer who you can trust and go listen to all your choices, then, make a decision. Who knows, you just may like the brighter sounds.

 

I guess I can chip in.It matters not which brand you choose as long as you have the required source to push it.I had the non-bose in my 02-SE , gutted it for rockford fosgate(RF) 9300 head unit, 4-kicker k60, RF 750X AMP. and pioneer 15"vccs woofer. My **** rocks.I compete with it.