Hi all, when it comes to ICE I haven't really much knowledge. I'm looking at adding another two speakers into my Mk 2 plus I will be needing an amp of some sort to power the extra speakers. Currently I have a Kenwood KRC 778R headunit that has given good service over the years mated to some MB Quart speakers in the dash and some 6x4 JBL's in the rear. This was better than the original setup but compared to my Pug, it's a bit tinny. I'm after good clean sound with some decent bass. I don't want a sub or large speakers over the place blowing my head off! I have purchased some grilles to replace the door bins, so I have been looking at getting some of these to go under the grilles and locate the tweeters elsewhere. What are your thoughts and what sort of amp will I require, two or four channel?
You have the MB quartz in the Dash, You want to add components in the doors and keep the 6x9s on the rear shelf? so 6 speakers in total? I'd suggest just having components upfront and the 6x9s on the rear shelf. If you run these off a good separate amp it will sound good. The truth is, the front speakers are what is important for SQ, you get very little from the rear speakers except some midbass fill. Then if you fit a sub, you would get your bass from that. Trying to get bass without a sub will be tricky. Components up front is defo a good route, not heard those speakers in the flesh but the specs are ok for the price. It states the speakers run at 2 Ohms, this is good if you get an amp that is 2 Ohm stable, but, it means at 4 Ohms the speakers will be running at lower power... Basically it means you won't get the best out of them running them off the Head Unit. If you are gonna run those speakers upfront and keep the 6x9 on the shelf then You will need a 4 channel Amp. The sad truth is, you will never get any depth of sound or bass from this set up without a sub, If I were you I would consider it. I'd also get some sound deadening to stick to the door as it does improve SQ. I have listed below some examples of what I would buy if on a tight budget. The things I was looking were SN ratio (signal to noise.. basically how clean the signal is, so how good the SQ will be) and price. The HU and the Amp are both good SQ for the money. The speakers I have suggested are a bit more expensive than the JBL ones you were looking at but they are much much better. I installed some DSK165s 2 days ago in my car. They are amazing for the money, they are very efficient speakers and work well off an HU or off an amplifier. They use the same tweeters as the DSK130s and are very clear without being harsh. They also have inline crossovers making fitting very easy and come with good instructions. The active sub tube I have listed is just a thought, at this price most subs are pretty similar, they give some bass but are nothing special. This active bass tube is relatively small and can use the signal from your rear speakers making fitting quite easy. If you spend more money you can get better, but on the tightest of budgets, the HU, Amp and Speakers i have listed would sound good. CarAudioDirect is a good seller, you should check them out too.. they often have some good deals and get free delivery... prob cheaper than caraudiosecurity because CAS charge delivery.. HU 89.99 http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/5761.html Amp 4 Channel 119.99 http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/5626.html Front 13cm Components 79.99 http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/8399.html Active Sub 79.99 http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/10200.html
I have 6x4 speakers at the rear and I realise that they won't be all that great. I have been thinking about wiring the rears and a set of components up to the amp and run the dash speakers off the headunit. If I were to purchase those components, would that amp be man enough for my requirements? I don't get all this 4ohms 4x40w and stuff. Would those Hertz speakers be drawing off too much current from the amp with my existing rear speakers?
If you insist on having rear speakers. Just wire them to the head unit. Sound is meant to come from the front. Get the best components you can afford. Some components are so good they don't need a sub. But they need installing well. ie solid mounts and sound deadening etc. Whats your budget??
To clear a point up. Normally the dashboard and the front door speakers are actually 1 set of front speakers. The Mid (woofer) is in the door, and the tweeter is in the dashboard. You could power the new fronts and the existing rears off the 4 channel Amp I suggested. It would deffinately be man enough to power those speakers. each channel is more than twice as powerful as the best HU in built amp. As Tshirt said, fitting properly is important. Those Hertz speakers are best SQ for the money you are likely to get unless u find a good offer on some more expensive ones. Get something similar to the Hertz and and a 4 channel amp and try to stretch your budget to a couple of bits of sound matting to put on the door panel behind the speaker. :-)
