Larry Dunlap

I want to keep the stock radio/cassete player in keeping with the general idea of keeping the whole car as stock as possible. The car is a 91 Z28. The stock speakers sound OK but if I turn the bass up much past halfway they begin to rumble in an unpleasant way, like they are broken or something. I just think they are old. What speaker would be good to put in the 4 stock locations. Hopefully they would just bolt right in and I would have better sound. I dont' want to put kick panels in or any amps or subwoofers, etc., just want better sound with the existing setup.
Any suggestions.
Larry

MotoGod

Most stock speakers are crappy paper cone speakers. You'll never get much bass otu of those things ;-)

Personally, I love the Rockford Fosgate stuff. It sounds awesome! If your going to hook them up to the stock deck alone though....they might require too much power.

Pioneer or Sony XPlod's might sound OK with a stock deck....but if you really MUST go with stock and no amp....don't expect miracles in the bass department. You need clean wattage/signal to get to the speaker to reproduce the low tones...neither of which is best suited to 6X9's....or stock decks ;-)

My advice would be to invest in an aftermarket head unit (keep the stocker in case you ever want to sell the car), and pick up a small amp. All depends on your goals....but that's the only way your going to get it sounding half decent. (depending on your definition of decent of course)

deadtrend1

iTrader: (1)

I have to agree with motogod, changing the speakers wont put a turn-around on your bass performance. The stock radio puts out liek 8 watts x 4 or something like that. I can't remember but its low. With the new speakers, you might get a bit performance int he highs, but the bass will still fuzz out.

4th gen radios might be a little more powerfull if your looking to keep it stock. I know they aren't factory, but it wont be too noticable to most people if you have a 4th gen head unit in it. Thats my opinion.
~Tim

TrueBlue91RS

If you really are dead-set on keeping the stock head unit and are desperately seeking volume/bass, then your best bet is to look for a speaker that has a very high sensitivity rating. The sensitivity rating tells you the output of the speaker at one watt of power. The higher the rating, the louder the speaker will play with less power. Since the factory deck does only give you around eight to ten watts per channel as deadtrend said, this rating will play a large role in how loud your speaker will go.

Generally, shopping for a speaker based on the sensitivity rating alone is not a good idea. It's more important to listen to what you think sounds the best. Unfortunately though, when you go to an audio store to listen to a speaker, you will be hearing it play with about two and a half times the power (aftermarket decks usually suply 22 watts per channel) that you will be supplying when you install them in your car. Hence, they won't sound as loud, as clear, or as deep.

So, in your particular case, pay close attention to the sensitivity of the speakers you are looking at in order to maximize the power that your deck will be providing. Of course, this is not a solution: what you really need is more power and a speaker designed to produce bass. But if the sensitivity of the speaker is low then you'll just run into the same problems as you found with the stock ones. Hope this help and good luck!

Larry Dunlap

I am not really into the heavy bass scenario, I'm 50 and do occasionally like a pretty loud Pink Floyd or ZZTop song. I just want the speakers to sound clean and not "fuzz out" when I turn up the bass a little. I will pay attention to the sensitivity as suggested. What size are the stock speakers, 4" I think. Will any 4" speaker just bolt on or will I have to adapt?

MotoGod

Front speakers are 4" X 6" and the rear's are 6" X 9" ;-) Good luck with it Larry...and let us know what you choose...and how they sound. Good stuff to know for the future...

camaro6spd

couldn't he hook up an external amp that is hidden somewhere.....they have to have amps that don't need RCA.....that way it looks stock but sounds way better.

MotoGod

Most amps will take low-level inputs (RCA's) or high-level inputs (speaker wire)...so yeah it could be done ;-)

TrueBlue91RS

Sounds like he wants a pretty simple setup though, so an amp is most likely out of the question. Since you're not going to be squeezing much bass out of the 4x6's (dash speakers), the 6x9's (sailpanel speakers) are going to be critical. A good 6x9 will determine how low and loud your music will go.

As for the "heavy bass" deal, yeah, I'm not exactly into mindlessly loud bass either. However, as bass is integral part of most music, it is important to try to reproduce it properly. All I'm saying is that 4x6's, 6x9's, 4", etc. speakers are just not made to produce bass. They are primarily mid/high range speakers. Asking them to make bass by turning up the bass **** may make them distort, that's just a fact. However, they will be a major improvement over stock, so that's something.

That's why a subwoofer is the best solution for bass needs, not for the overblown, thumping, distorted noise that they are sometimes stigmatized by. They are made for the specific purpose of producing bass.

MotoGod

Come to think of it....your best bet *might* be to upgrade your stock speakers (to improve the mid/high) sounds...and buy a small bass tube. You can get a nice 8" Bazooka Bass tube for failry cheap. Doesn't take up my room...and you don't need an amp to power it. Just need to run speaker wire to it....which you can snag from one of the 6X9's and extend if you really don't want to run a new wire.

Just a thought....

Mike92RS

Keep in mind that some of the distortion that you're hearing may be your head unit overdriving, and not necessairly your speakers. Stock head units cant put out much bass at any volume, no matter what speakers you have. From my experience, a "fuzzy" sound is your amp (or head unit), being overdriven. Speaker's being overpowered sounds more like a "popping" noise.

- Mike

Larry Dunlap

The noise I am referring to sounds like the speakers themselves are torn. It is kind of a rattling. I guess it is more like a popping sound than a fuzzy sound. I first thought they were broken but i just turned the bass down to halway and it went away. I guess I could put in a small amp somewhere and get some good speakers, I really don't think I want a subwoofer. I could get some good speakers that would bolt right into the existing four positions. These wouldnt be seen so it would still look stock. Then the amp could be mounted somewhere (under the seat?) where you wouldn't see it and voila, rigiht? or am I still missing something?

MotoGod

That's a good start. It all depends on the level of bass your looking for. Most 6X9's and 4X6's just won't do a good job with it. It may stop popping, but if the bass is turned up...the mids/highs may start to distort as well.

A small 8" woofer would do you a world of good if your looking for decent sound. It's small...so it won't rattles the crap out of your windows....but it won't sound like crap either.

The other choce would be to replace the 6X9's with a 6.5" component set. That's got a seperate mid-bass driver and tweeter. That will be the closest you get to good bass reproduction without going to a woofer.

TrueBlue91RS

Going with a 6.5" and tweeter component set would, mean that you could not use the stock locations (except if you used the 6x9 location in the sailpanels for the 6.5", but having a tweeter play from behind you is counterproductive).

Amping the aftermarket 4x6's and 6x9's would make a significant difference in their sound quality. If you are open to the idea, then a small four channel amp would be an excellent way to go. There's a good chance that you could find a cheap, small amp that could be hidden somewhere. Maybe not under your seat, but there are several stealth options that would keep the amp hidden. Remember that you'd also be running a wire from your battery to the amp, wires from the head unit to the amp, and wires from the amp to your speakers. But with a good, simple plan and the right preparation you could keep the stock appearance of your car without a problem.

Mike92RS

From you description it sounds like you'd probably be satisfied with a good pair of amped 6x9's, and plates in the front (since you want to look factory). I'd look for a small amp, something like 50x4 (maybe less from a good name), and hide it somewhere like the locking box in the back. If you get an amp, look for one with crossovers, which will dramatically help your fronts from bottoming out.

- Mike

87kevroc

Larry,

I was where you are a while back. Same deal, I wanted an incremental upgrade over stock, which, once you upgrade, you’ll wonder how you ever lived with it. Here is what I would recommend: Boston Acoustics CX7 4x6’s in the dash, and Boston 6x9’s in the sail panels (I’m not familiar with the model numbers of the Boston 6x9’s).

I have the CX7’s in my dash now, they are a good speaker for the money, and very efficient, which is what you need with the stock radio. I ran mine with the stock radio for a while, it was 100% improvement over stock. Eventually I replaced the stock head unit with an Alpine and a few months later bought a separate amp. The CX7’s still sound good and can handle some additional power if you decide to add it in the future.

Upgrade the speakers first, they will improve your listening experience, and they drop right in the stock locations, which is what you want, at least to begin with.

Larry Dunlap

Well that sounds excellent. I think thats what Ill do. Then later if I get off the stock idea I can upgrad the deck and still use the speakers. thanks

ChevyLuva3

Whats a good aftermarket CD player head unit to buy while still using the stock speakers?

87kevroc

If you stay with the stock speakers, it won't matter much which head unit you use. The speakers are the weak link in the stock system, they should be upgraded first.