I need some advice on what speakers i should get. I have a JL 300/4 amp pushing some 2001 model Infinity Kappa's now. I have the 6.5" components in the front and 2-way 6x9's in the rear. The Kappa's are nice, but I want to move up to the next level. I heard that the Focal polykevlar 165K2's and the CDT HD-62DT's sound real good, but I don't know which ones to get. No place around my house sells them, so I can't hear them in person without driving 6 hours. Also, what should I used as rear fill? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

I was considering Focal's . Any info on them?

 

Well, that's a tough call, as both are excellent speakers. I would lean more towards the Focals, as I like their bass response. Either way you go, you wouldn't go wrong. www.theautophile.com carries both brands. I would talk to the owner and ask him his opinion. Also go to www.teamamp.com to the forums section. Post your question there. You should get good knowlagable answers. As far as rear fill, I would either use the stock rear speakers or an inexpensive pair of dual cone speakers. ( No 2 way or 3 way designs.)

 

As far as rear fill, I would either use the stock rear speakers or an inexpensive pair of dual cone speakers. ( No 2 way or 3 way designs.) [/B][/QUOTE]



So, you would only use the Focals in the front? Why stock rear speakers?

 

Becuase you want the sound to come from in front of you. The rear spekaers will mainly give you a balance in the sound. The speakers you actually hear, and get musical details from is the front speakers. There's nothing wrong with putting matching speakers in the back, but you won't gain much from doing it. You will gain more buy spending the money you would have on the rear speakers on a better amp. if you aren't careful as to what you put in the rear if it has tweeters, it can lower the overall sound quality of the car. I have a pair of Kenwood dual cones running off my HU and my Dynaudios off the Tube Drivers, and my car sings. My suggestion is if you aren't sure, just do the front first, and listen to it. Then if you're happy with the sound, you've saved quite a bit of money that can go into a better amp or sub.

 

Tanks for all the advice, i have a question. You say leave the stock rear speakers and spend the money on good fronts and an amp. Now, would you conect the amps to the front and rear or to the front and subs?

 

Stock speakers couldnt handle an amp. They will do fine off the HU. Sooner or later I will be taking the Tube Driver I have on the sub and reconnecting it to one front door, the other Tube Driver to the other front door, (150 watts to each door ) and then buy a 3rd amp for the Sub with more wattage. I would suggest getting and amp for the ftonts, and an amp for your sub. It will be fine.

 

Since I posted this thread, I have been talked into the CDT's. Focals are great, but I've heard too much stuff better about the CDT's. As for rear fill, the stock Bose speakers are no good because they are separately amplified and the ohm level is too low to run off of a head unit other than the stock Bose stereo. I may just keep my Kappa 2-way 6x9's. Thanks for the feedback.

 

Well, like I said, both are good, and you cant go wrong, but Focal are in a higher league than CDT. I didn't realize you had the Bose. The kappas will be fine. If the sound comes across as bright or harsh from the back, just put a simple x0ver at the speaker to block the ultra high frequencies.

 

If I amp the front speakers and use the rear stocks as a fill, If I ad a Sub, should I use bass blockers on the front and rear?

P.s. I don't have the bose system

 

If you are going to have an amp on the fronts, why not the rears as well? Do you only have a 2-channel amp? Also, your amp should have a high/low pass filter on it that will block out the bass on high pass mode. If your amp does not have this, a X-over would be better than bass blockers although the bassblockers would work. Suggestion: If you only have a 2-channel amp with no built in X-over, get rid of it and get a 4-channel to push all your high's. Or, keep it and bridge it on your subs and get a new amp for your high's.

 

Well, you can amp all 4 speakers, but again, it's not nessesary. You will gain a small amount of volume, but again, money is better spent on a better amp to run the front channels, as you'll get a better sound quality than with a less expensive amp. I'm a big "Quality over quantity" guy myself. Yes, some type of x-over is needed on both the speakers and the sub. You can get a decent 2 way active x-over for $50-$75. For the rear speakers, a simple cap at the right value will work fine. Just deside where you want the x-over poit to be for the subs and speakers, ( lets say 80hz) set it on the electronic x-over and use a bass blocker made for the same frequency.

 

I thought the rear stock speakers would get too much power from an amp and could be run off the HU?

 

That's correct. The statement I made was if you have all 4 speakers upgraded. If they are stock, you cannot run them off of an amp.

 

Well, if I were you (and I'm not) I would dump the rear fill. I haven't been using any speakers in the rear for about 5 years now. It also makes for more bass (you can remove the factory rear speakers since you're not using them). If you have great speakers up front, you should not need rear speakers. The purpose of rear fill is to fill the car, and beleive me, when I crank it, the car is FILLED with music. You could at least try it and see if it suits you. As far as asking what brands people prefer, advice is good, but you should always go and listen with your own ears and decide which ones YOU Like best. I think I will always be partial to my Infinity Beta seperates . . .