CL9 Upgrading stock speakers, help please

**8700s14** · 25-11-2010 08:31 AM

Hey, I have noticed that my front left door speaker has a bit of a vibration (not sure if its the speaker or something in the door yet) and its got me to thinking about upgrading the speakers.

My few questions are:

Front - If I buy a set of component type speakers and install the mid range in the doors and the tweeter in the factory position, will the ranges supplied to the speakers by the factory crossover/headunit be about right, or will I need to do more extensive modification and use the aftermarket crossovers?

Back Doors - Are these a coaxial type speaker with multiple ranges? Should I just replace these with a standard coaxial speaker, or would I be better off getting another set of component type speakers and using only the midrange speaker in the rear doors?

Parcel Shelf - I pressume these are 6x9?

I am not keen on upgrading to the extent of an aftermarket amplifier or subwoofer as I use ALL of my boot space from time to time, so replacement speakers driven by the factory system are my focus!

**BraXta** · 25-11-2010 06:35 PM

front doors i got 6.5 inch splits with 2 tweeters in that and its on a amp with a high range
i think your front door is more for the sound you will hear

back doors... mine were empty

Parcel tray 6x9 i got 6x9 4 ways with them running as a mid range on an amp too allowing little itty bitty bit of bass...

The Boot.... 2 12 inch Rockford fosgate punch P1s ... and they are my bass ... so they are on with no treble what so ever and a mono block amp =D

some people like that some people dont
but if you aint running a sub like i am 6x9 at the back popping more bass out doesnt hurt =D

hope that helps

**Speed_Rac3r** · 25-11-2010 09:52 PM

Yup..no sound coming from my CL9's back doors too. I think they're empty

not that we'd need them anyway..with good speakers hitting the mid range on the parcel tray, it'd be overkill IMHO.

SOme say you could even get away with stock tray speakers, and use your budget to get a sub instead. Really get the sound reproduction for the low range. At least thats that's how Im gonna set up mine before xmas.

BraXta, does 12" subs look alright in the boot? Do you get enough space for stuff?

**arverson** · 25-11-2010 10:35 PM

dunno why the above guys mention or suggest getting a subwoofer when you clearly stated you have no intention of getting one. granted you'll never get the low end subbass without one but it seems youre happy to take that compromise.

my advice. get the BEST fronts you can. give us a budget to work with so we can shortlist different brands/specific models. then from there its up to you to go and audition each to see which sounds best to you. my favorite ones might not be someones else cup of tea, that someone else might love this but you hate it, what you like i might not prefer. catch my drift? you've got to judge them yourself without anyone else's bias reasoning.

back doors.. theyre empty. i presume you get speakers in if theres was an audio upgrade option from the dealers but not sure if thats the case. either way its a rear speaker.. and one placed well below and behind you at that.. dont worry about em if you're main priority is pure sound quality. so basically forget about em.

parcel shelf, 6x9s from factory. although with a simple mdf spacer you could fit anything. again its a rear speaker.. your focus should be up front, where you're actually sitting. you COULD replace em with aftermarket 6x9s (or whatever size you want with the mdf spacers) but preferably you'd place a high-pass filter on em. this can be done thru an amp or a headunit with the capable crossovers.. but sounds like you dont wanna go that far so not worth the hassle.

in regards to the crossovers for your front splits/components, use the crossover that comes supplied in the bundle. dont use the stock crossover on your aftermarket splits as the crossover points & slopes may not suit the aftermarket drivers.

in short:
*give us a rough budget to work with
*focus on the fronts, which also includes ensuring a top installation with sound deadening

i know you didnt want an amp but i'd also suggest getting a small 2-channel amp for your fronts. you'd be suprised how much aftermarket crossovers soak up power and restrict/rob the drivers potential. just a 2 x 50ish RMS amp will do. so if its small enough you can place it under one of the front seats, and lose no boot room at all. win win situation.

again hard to advise the best route to take without a budget, so get back to us on that.

think ive covered everything you've wanted to know

**arverson** · 25-11-2010 10:44 PM

oh didnt answer your very 1st enquiry..

if you know how to take off the door trim then you could start locating the source of the vibration. it could be the flimsy door trim resonating, could be the lock rods, could be the door trim rattling against the metal inner skin, could be screws, could be the crappy thin weather shield, could be a range of things. alternatively take it to a pro and they should be able to fix (or at least reduce the amount of) the vibration

wheres abouts are you located?

**8700s14** · 26-11-2010 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by arverson

dunno why the above guys mention or suggest getting a subwoofer when you clearly stated you have no intention of getting one. granted you'll never get the low end subbass without one but it seems youre happy to take that compromise.

my advice. get the BEST fronts you can. give us a budget to work with so we can shortlist different brands/specific models. then from there its up to you to go and audition each to see which sounds best to you. my favorite ones might not be someones else cup of tea, that someone else might love this but you hate it, what you like i might not prefer. catch my drift? you've got to judge them yourself without anyone else's bias reasoning.

back doors.. theyre empty. i presume you get speakers in if theres was an audio upgrade option from the dealers but not sure if thats the case. either way its a rear speaker.. and one placed well below and behind you at that.. dont worry about em if you're main priority is pure sound quality. so basically forget about em.

parcel shelf, 6x9s from factory. although with a simple mdf spacer you could fit anything. again its a rear speaker.. your focus should be up front, where you're actually sitting. you COULD replace em with aftermarket 6x9s (or whatever size you want with the mdf spacers) but preferably you'd place a high-pass filter on em. this can be done thru an amp or a headunit with the capable crossovers.. but sounds like you dont wanna go that far so not worth the hassle.

in regards to the crossovers for your front splits/components, use the crossover that comes supplied in the bundle. dont use the stock crossover on your aftermarket splits as the crossover points & slopes may not suit the aftermarket drivers.

in short:
*give us a rough budget to work with
*focus on the fronts, which also includes ensuring a top installation with sound deadening

i know you didnt want an amp but i'd also suggest getting a small 2-channel amp for your fronts. you'd be suprised how much aftermarket crossovers soak up power and restrict/rob the drivers potential. just a 2 x 50ish RMS amp will do. so if its small enough you can place it under one of the front seats, and lose no boot room at all. win win situation.

again hard to advise the best route to take without a budget, so get back to us on that.

think ive covered everything you've wanted to know

Thanks for that reply man. I really only want to spend a fairly minimal amount (<$200) for the front component set, then less on the rear (<$100). I don't want to go to the expense of buying an amplifier either.

Where is the signal processed in the stock setup to tell the front mid/tweeter what they are doing? Is there a physical crossover type unit or is this all built in to the headunit itself?

**arverson** · 29-11-2010 06:04 AM

your budget limits you to entry-level splits. imo, with under $300 you'd see better value and bang-for-your-buck if you spent $300 on the fronts alone or $200 on fronts and $100 on a door pack of sound deadening. focus on the fronts (and their install). speakers installed well will sound much better than cheap speakers just chucked into untreated doors with large air holes (the service holes) and leaky brackets/plastic spacers. if you went the crappy install route, and added in mediocre rears then its just a waste of your money. ill say it again, focus on the fronts (and their install).

i could name a bunch of brands/models but i dunno where you're located, so hard to suggest stores in your area -or even state- where you could audition speakers. thats why i asked for location.

in the stock setup, the front signal would be divided by a physical crossover. cant remember if it was a 'small box' type or simply resistors placed along the speaker wire but it doesnt matter, you wont be using them anyway. you'll be using the ones that come supplied with aftermarket drivers.

the stock head unit does not have crossover adjustment capabilities. do you have the stock head unit or an aftermarket one?

**white_ep3_civic** · 29-11-2010 08:27 PM

I just changed mine to a set of clarion splits. I got then very cheap and surprisingly they sound very good. I've always bought top line alpine gear before. These clarion's aren't as good as the alpine's but for $120 you can't complain. The stock speakers were just a resistor.

**8700s14** · 30-11-2010 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by white_ep3_civic

I just changed mine to a set of clarion splits. I got then very cheap and surprisingly they sound very good. I've always bought top line alpine gear before. These clarion's aren't as good as the alpine's but for $120 you can't complain. The stock speakers were just a resistor.

Where abouts was the resistor? Was it very near to the speaker itself?

Location : Tasmania (NW)

**white_ep3_civic** · 01-12-2010 09:41 AM

Actually there wasn't a cross over. They both just came from the head unit. There is a cap on the stock tweeter to eliminate bass going through it

**arverson** · 01-12-2010 04:20 PM

and that cap is the resistor, and is what is used as the physical crossover..

"to eliminate bass going through it" = high-pass filter = crossover

but really all this is a mute point.. 8700s14, when you go get your 2way aftermarket splits/components, in the box there will be 2x mid-woofers (left & right), 2x tweeters (left & right) and 2x crossovers (left & right). in the end, where & what the stock crossover is doesnt matter cus you wont be using them.