Wills98MaxSE

I was looking at some cool speakers earlier today at Best Buy and I came across these:

Sony X-Plod 2 & 3-way (forgot the model # that fits 98 Maximas)
Pioneer 2 & 3-way (also forgot model #)

I was impressed w/ how the Sony 3-ways sound since they sound almost like the Bose speakers, but the Pioneers sound just as good.

The guy told me at Best Buy that I could have the Sony's up front and the Pioneer's in the back, but I'm still not quite sure on what I want yet.

A few ?'s...

1) A friend of mine told me that I'll have electrical problems or rattles if I have Best Buy do the installation, is this true?
1A) Should I have Best Buy do the installation?
2) I want full range speakers all over, should I go w/ the 3-ways in both front and back or should I have 3-ways up front & 2-ways in back?
3) I also want to keep my factory CD/Cassette head unit, will this improve the performance of my head unit in not only AM/FM but when I play CD's?
4) If I actually go thru w/ this, should I stick w/ Sony's throughout or can I have both Sony's & Pioneer's?

MIXXMAX

iTrader: (1)

If I were you, you should do the install yourself. It's basically very simple. For the front, all you gotta do is take the door panel off to get to the speakers. For the back, it takes some time, because you have to remove the bottom back seat. Doing the install yourself protects your car from any possible damage from the installers. And, most probably, they are not going to tell you if they messed up your car. As far as your preference of what speakers to buy, go what sounds best to YOU, since you'll be listening in your car. I would put the 3 ways up front and the 2 ways in the rear. It is most preferred for the highs to be up in the front. With the 3 ways, the clarity will be much "cleaner" than the 2 ways. Since your keeping the head-unit stock, the only difference you're going to hear is a much "cleaner" sound as compared to the stock speakers. The reason for this is because the amp powering the speakers is still coming from the head unit. To get the most benefit of aftermarket speakers is to upgrade to a better head unit in hook up external amps. I hope this answers your questions.

Wills98MaxSE

Thanx for the help

1 ? ...

If I did buy the speakers, and to be on the safe side, could I have the dealer install the speakers?

MIXXMAX

iTrader: (1)

Yes, but make sure they fit for your car. Any modifications will cost you extra labor for the installers, meaning more money out of your pocket (and any extra parts, too).

JPMontoya

Dude!!
If you are going to buy speakers and planning on the install.....

1.) Go to ebay and search for the specific brand and model that you want, you can get them cheaper there.

2.) I would not suggest Sony, their quality has gone down within the past year.

3.) Make sure (absolutely sure) that you get the right size speakers, making custom mounts can get expensive with a professional install.

4.) I would recommend that you (if you want good sound quality) to upgrade the HU and wires (factory wires are crap guage), but this can get expensive and ugly (deciding which HU, doing the wiring, etc.).
Though I think you'll be satisfied to an extent of the sound improvement due to the speakers alone (also depends on how good your built-in amplifier is on the stock HU, output of your HU, and the digital to analog conversion of your HU, just to name a few).

Although three ways are reasonably good speakers, nothing beats components, but again it gets expensive.

I guess it matters on how much of an audio freak you are .

You might want to look at www.crutchfield.com
for price comparison purpose, but still suggest shopping at www.ebay.com.

Good luck and I'd like to see an update post on your decision.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

my .02: if you cant do the install yourself, have Best Buy do it. They guarantee all work. More than that, if you decide to sell your car and put stock speakers back (dont throw them away), there won't be any charges for labor...

As many suggest, dont go with Sony..although you can buy highly recommended extd wtty and buy whatever sounds good to you.

Did you check out their Rockford Fosgate selection?

crocabado

Yo, if you live in VA and you want the Springfield Best Buy to install it,......... think again bro. They suck. I know, I work there. I can do it for half the cost and better installation. And if you don't trust me than take it to Circut City or Meyer Emco (I think that's how you spell it). Good luck, don't **** up the Max bro.

Nismo

iTrader: (18)

I guess it all depends on the installer himself. The best buy around here is pretty good I just got my HU installed today and they got it done pretty quick with no problems and did a good job

Wills98MaxSE

Thanx for the advice on the Sony's, I'll prob. have to go back to Best Buy & listen to the Pioneers and the Rockford Fosgates again before making a final decision on speakers...might be time consuming but IMO it's better safe than sorry. They also have a computer there that suggests the recommended speaker size for Max's so I guess there's some assurance on that. I will keep every-1 updated on my decision.

slickwillie

i have installed infinity kappas in my car they may be expensive but trust me there worth the extra money.

crocabado

Slickwillie is right, I had Infinities in my Supra. Worth every dime I extracted from my 3 girlfriends I would rather you spend money on something worth while bro, it's a Max for christ sake! You want the best of: Boston Aucostic, Infinity, Momo (compitions) and Polk. That's the ticket, take heed and trust me, when your blasting David Hasollhoff's new CD, you will be impressed.

-C.Rock-

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

A few words...

Sorry if i am repeating stuff, just thats alot to read and....
based on my own experiences.
the Bose system provides much more and much better bass than my new system.
my new system is a kenwood deck and 4" alpines upfront and 6x9 infinity refrences in the rear. One thing i found is that sometimes installation departments will wire the speakers to amps and it makes them produce much better bass.

for the speakers, and others, you dont have to match brands, infact sometimes its worse to do that. it is false to say that sony speakers will work best with a sony deck or vice versa. fact is, in my own opinion atleast, sony's really arent that great of thumpers, they have pretty good highs and stuff but...
seriously check out the infinity refrences. they hit all the highs and lows really great along with mediums, I swear by these speakers and I am going to put some 6 1/2 in the font when i get some time/money.

also if someone could pass on some info on how they wired subs in theyre gen3 maxima. thanks
MrGone

SilverMax98

I was in the process of doing the same thing you are doing. I went down to Circuit City, and listened to the Infinity References and the Polk EX series. The Polk speakers made the Infinitys sound like stock. The references are very high high notes and very dull mid-bass. I bought the Polks because they sounded great ! I dont know what your budget is, but I bought the Polk components for $ 218.00, and I am going to get some Kenwood coaxials for the rear. But you cant go wrong with Polk !! Check them out

Wills98MaxSE

I was actually looking into the Infinity Kappa's since I ordered a catalog from Crutchfield.com, those seem like great speakers. If I do go thru w/ the Kappa's, I'm thinking of putting the 3-ways up front and the 2-ways in the rear deck & keeping my HU & Amp stock, & then having the dealer install the speakers (the car's out of warranty anyway) just to be safe so I don't screw anything up, does this sound like a good idea & will I get great sound from both the 2 & 3 way versions of the Infinity Kappa's?

max'n out

Sony xploid was named for what it does. It's a step down don't do it.

If you don't know how to hook it up don't try. Go to tweeter about half of the installers at those are ok. Mom/Pop shops are you best bet though.

There is no such thing as a "full range" speaker.

Factory head unit should go.

PrinzII

iTrader: (2)

Have you ever considered a set of Boston Acoustics Speakers? Those are leagues better than the Sonys or Pioneers you were looking at earlier. In fact, I had a set of FX6s in my '94 GXE and they sounded very nice with my Eclipse Head unit. Then on top of that, I went through maximadave and got a nice price for the speakers and had my local Tweeter do the install.

Other brands I would consider in your situation are:

Alpine
Infinity
JL Audio VR Series or TR Series
Eclipse (My original choice for my 1994 GXE was the 83941 3 Way 6x9 for the rear deck.)

tabridge5

i would go with boston acoustics myself