[Pams968]

Hi! I have a '94 968 coupe. When I was married my husband added 2 small speakers (tweeters?) in the doors, in addition to the stock 4 speaker system. I also have an Alpine amp mounted to back of rear seat. I've blown one of the speakers in the back seat and it's driving me crazy. When the speakers were "upgraded" about 6 years ago now, I know it was a problem finding speakers that fit as the space for them is pretty shallow. Has technology changed since then and are there GOOD speakers out there (set of 6) that will produce better sound in my car? I drive a lot and need to have good sound, but I don't want to lose the room in the hatch to a box. I have an old (crappy) Panasonic deck, as I've had 3 stereos stolen (more damage to my car when broken into), so tend to get an average deck. What are my options? Does anyone know a good customizer in the DFW (Texas) area? Thanks!! Pam

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[DaveN]

There is a big thread here if you search on 'Infinity'. We had a long discussion a few years ago. I replaced my 6 speakers with those as they fit the holes. I did have to modify the tweeter mounts to use the old Porsche ones. Hertz makes a good speaker as well. There is also a modification to create better speaker enclosures in the rear (much better bass).

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[tamathumper]

Here's the thread where I upgraded all my speakers, with model numbers included IIRC. Polk Audio, Kicker, and a Lanzar thin profile subwoofer for good measure (not required).



http://www.968forums.com/topic/10943-spe...ntry108570

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[flash]

infinity is not bad. polk is ok too. JL Audio is better, if you get the right ones. the woofers go lower and drive harder than the rest. i tested out a number of speakers to get to that decision.



also, do a search here on rear speaker enclosure modification. that will go a LONG way toward improving the sound in the car.



so will adding dynamat extreme on every internal sheet metal surface you can get to.

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[Pams968]

Thanks to all who've replied - good info, am excited to get some decent sound back in my baby!

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[flash]

it can be done. i've worked on a few hardtops now, and the dynamat and enclosure mod have made the biggest difference. getting the cabin "tuned" like that makes any speaker sound better, as it is no longer fighting the ambient noise, and the enclosure mod allows the speakers to produce the lower frequencies. open air speakers never reach as low as enclosed one.

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[Darryl]

Polk MM651 6.5" coaxial driver....check

B Quiet Extreme (poor man's Dynamat).....check

Big Gap Foam....check

flexible dryer hose....check

polyfill......check

old cassette based head unit and CD changer in rear cubby ripped out......check



having collected all of the pieces and parts, I'm anxious to do the system in the Coupe. I've been holding off waiting for crazy little things to quit breaking every time I drive it. Currently chasing a new buzz/rattle underneath which is easier to find without tunes, so I'll hold off just a little longer......



- Darryl

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[bombfactory]

I installed Polk separates front and rear (fairly inexpensive, decent quality), run from a 5-channel amp in the spare tire well. It took many weekends of fitting and panel modifications to get the speakers into the stock locations, but they fit and sound great ...with the engine off and the car stationary. Once the car is in motion, road and engine noise drowns everything out, leaving mostly harshness and noise, with little bass (even with the KLA cubby sub installed). I've done some dyna-matting, but will be doing more and also doing Flash's foam filler mod for the rear quarters.



Good luck with your install - for those of us who want good sound, the 968 is kind of a nightmare!

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[Darryl]

I'm very pleased with my Cab install. Fit Polks in all of the factory locations and added powered Kenwood subs behind each seat although I'm not using them as subs. I installed a passive crossover in the storage boxes and am running speaker level connections with the low side going to the Kenwoods and the high side going to the 4x6 plate speakers. A big problem in the Cabriolets is trying to get decent bass. You've got two strikes against you.....4x6 speaker and top down driving. I can run a very decent volume without any cone breakup since there is no low frequencies going to the 4x6's. I'm really looking forward to the Coupe since there is a 6.5" speaker back there. I had contemplated doing a sub but will try it without first.

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[bombfactory]

Darryl - You do get some bass from the rear 6.5's, but it's really boomy. Basically, the open area behind the speakers turns into a vibrating echo chamber and you just get mid-bass overkill slop. I'll report back once I do Flash's foam-fill mod. I'm sure it'll help tremendously.

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[flash]

bomb - you'll really notice the improvement.



the only problem i have with the polk is that they seem to be very optimistic in the lower frequency response spec. i've not found them to actually go down below about 65hz in the 6.5", if the chamber is open (i.e. the door). in the rear, if you do the enclosure mod, they might actually get down there. that would be very cool indeed, and for hardtop guys could be the "magic bullet".



if i could indeed get them to go down that low, then i could change out my fronts, and build an enclosure in the doors, and then eliminate the entire subwoofer setup. that would save me about 30# net weight, and give me even more space.



unfortunately i don't know that i could build a decent enclosure inside the door, and i'm about out of desire to go though that big of a hassle for what may not be as good as what i have now.

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[mbardeen]

I've been thinking about speakers and radios recently as well.. I think I've settled on Infinity Reference components. 6432cf 4x6s for the rear, 5030cs components for the underarm rests, and a JVC KD-X50BT media receiver.



However, while browsing around these small Alpine amps caught my eye -- http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/ktp-445u/



The interesting thing is their size -- 7-7/16” x 1-1/2” x 2-1/2”. I haven't had time/energy to take out my seats, but I thought they may be small enough to squeeze under the seats where the factory amps are in my car. Has anyone seen these and/or tried them out?

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[Darryl]

I've seen that and thought about using that. I think I'll have enough power in the head unit for my liking. I wanted/needed more power in the Cab for top down driving. This will fit in the glovebox and be easier to wire to that location. You only need one for all four channels.



For the OP in this thread, look for a head unit with a good RMS power rating. Unless you're trying to win the local stereo contest, some of the newer high powered head units will be all you need to comfortably power some speakers. Along those same lines, all speakers have efficiency ratings.....the higher the number, the louder they will be. You can pair a nice head unit with decent speakers, achieve decent sound and not blow the budget.

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[flash]

make sure you vent the glove box. it gets REALLY hot in there with an amp.

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[DaveN]

If you have the time installing the rear cubby sub is a great way to fill in the bass and overcome the muddy slop referred to in the an earlier post ;the rear speakers really don't do lows very well even with the enclosures mod. Better to leave the 80 Hz and under to a dedicated driver.

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[flash]

a lot of that depends on how well you do the enclosure mod, and the drivers you choose. i've had good success in getting bump out of them, but the drivers are key. the stock speakers only go so low.



2 6.5" drivers, if they are the right ones, and can reach down low enough, can actually punch harder than 1 8" driver. most 8" drivers don't go below 40hz (though there are a few that go lower, like the JLs i have). if you get the enclosure mod right, those polks spec out at 40hz. the JLs i have up front go down to 48hz, and that is open air, so it's real. i almost don't need my subs, and i'm in a cab. if i could add them in the rear, i would definitely not need the subs.



the 6.5" drivers in a hardtop are also up front more, which helps with more accurate sound. the rear wheel well application forces you to deal with the hatchback glass, which distorts the sound. it projects forward well enough, but not as accurately, and faking you into thinking that rumble is good bottom end. it's boomy back there, but it's not tight.



it all depends on what you want to hear, and how much you are willing to spend to hear it. i've got about $4k into my system, and i'm just about done. but, audio is a large part of what i do for a living, so it has to be right.

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[bombfactory]

I've installed a cubby sub with an 8" Polk speaker. IMHO It's completely inadequate. Flash has enlightened me that the volume of the enclosure - around half a cubic foot I think - is just too small to go low enough. After fiddling with the crossover point and the volume level, I couldn't get any thump out of it at all. Really just fills in the lower range down to around 60 hz, making it all a little warmer, but not providing any bass drum kick that I can feel, which is what I'm looking for.



Next step is to ditch the KLA box, seal up the cubby with dynamat and fab up a sealed top plate to hold the speaker (or should it be ported? Anyone?). Hopefully the increase in chamber volume will help the speaker go a little lower.



If that doesn't cut it I may have to ditch my 'I want everything to be out of sight' requirement and go with one of those bass tube things.

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[DaveN]

I agree that with this sub you CANNOT deliver Pizza <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> It does, however, fill in the are that the 6.5's struggle in. I just use it to round out the sound, none of the yo-yo, peace out, junk in the trunk, thump thump, that's for sure.

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[flash]

the volume on the KLA sub is .27cu ft. not nearly enough to support the low frequencies. that's what they had to do though to be able to fit in in the space. when you enclose the wheel well area back there, you will get about .5 cu ft.

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[bombfactory]

Thanks Flash - I knew there was a .5 cu/ft figure in there somewhere!

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