Stereo Questions

[Dark Carnival XC]

Hey guys, been a millenia since I posted. Still got my XC, and plan on keeping her (albeit wanting to get a new vehicle before). Anyway, got some stereo questions for the sound savvy in the house.

1. 6x9 is indeed the correct size for the speakers in my trunk? (my Ciera is an 88 if you need that info)
2. (a) I'm looking for decent bass, without having to get subs for my car. Would getting three way speakers for the rear solve that problem? (b) If I do get three ways, I just want to be sure that my head unit will be able to handle it, heres some specs:

Im looking at the Infinity Kappa 693.7i 6x9" 3 ways for my rear
now if I'm reading these specs right, each speaker needs 110 watts to work right, so if my Sony Xplod dishes out 154 per channel, I should be good right?

thanks for any help!

[Tonglebeak]

6x9 is right.

Those wattage values, are they RMS or peak? NEVER go by peak, go by the RMS value.

[LordDurock]

if you want more bass you going to need to lookthat "trow" ofthe speakers you put in. trow is the the full exseted range of diaram.......

[86euro]

I'm no stereo expert, but any half way decent 6X9 seems to sound good in the back of an a-body. In the coupe, I have a pair of scoshe (sp?) speakers that were given to me and I love them. Great sound quality and bass that can still be felt at freeway speeds.

[Tuddi]

Talking music... this is still within the framework of music... and it perfectly well explains why things don't sound as they did... or should :

http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2008/01/why-todays-cds-sound-like-crap.html

[Dark Carnival XC]

Wow, i was totally wrong about my head unit, its got 52 watts per channel....... See, I'm wondering if i'm going to need an amp to power these speakers, cuz they're really high quality and stuff... I'm confused :P

Anyway, Tongle, those watteges are RMS, not peak

Oh, and Tuddi, that was really interesting..... Was long, didn't read it all, but still, really interesting.

[Electra_T_Type]

Factory size is 5x7 btw. I have Roadmaster 6x9s hooked up to the factory 5-way eq deck, sounds great.

[86euro]

Factory size is 5x7 btw.

:confused: That's a ford/mazda size.

[Electra_T_Type]

:confused: That's a ford/mazda size.

The ones I pulled out of my car stock were smaller than the ones I put it, and smaller than the ones I pulled out of my Olds 98 with Concert Sound II (Factory 6x9s).

[a1veedubber]

I can say one thing...you will be happy with the Kappa series Infinities. They are excellent speakers and have a good sound. Also, they will take the power from your amp well, assuming that it is clean and undistorted. One thing to watch, make sure that your gains on your amp are set correctly. Most peeps tend to set them too high because its , well, louder. IIRC, when I set mine, I turned the volume to those channels up to about 3/4 of the way up then turned up the gain till I heard some distortion. I then backed it away an eighth of a turn. I did set them over 5 years ago though!
When it comes to speakers, you really get what you pay for. Cheap speaks have crappy sound and do not last too long. There are some good buys out there too, Sony for example. They do make some crap entry-level speakers, but their mid-high range stuff is nice and not too expensive. The 6x9's in my 86 coupe are Sony Mobile ES units I bought back in 1998 whan I got my car and they are still going strong!


Talking music... this is still within the framework of music... and it perfectly well explains why things don't sound as they did... or should :

http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2008/01/why-todays-cds-sound-like-crap.html

This was a very interesting read. Ive always wondered about many of those things. I have a very old (1950's era) vacuum tube-powered tv that also has a radio and turn table on it and my vinyl sounds FANTASTIC on it. Crisp, clear and beautiful. I really cant describe it. I can take the same record and throw it on mt turntable that is hooked up to my home theater and it loses something. Still sounds good, but it loses something. then I throw on a CD of the same recording and wow....it loses a LOT. Nobody believes me until I show them! I think I's gonna spin up a little Bjork Telegram action in your posts honor!

[Tuddi]

Ah... you have the LUXURY of having a working tube equipment.
It's simply the ONLY thing you want, once you have heard the clarity, the softness, the FULLNESS of the sound.

There is no comparison. None!

Why?

It's quite simple actually.

You have a sound wave, it goes up and it goes down. The tops and bottoms of it are rounded off. That's the description of REAL sound in REAL world environment. That is also the way a tube will represent the sound through the speakers. The FULL sound.

Then there are MOSFET amplifiers. Those are much better than the normal transistor amps, but a far cry from the tubes. The soundwaves are processed and have the tops and bottoms CUT OFF, but rather than leave the corners of the cuts squared, the MOSFET transistors compensate for the soundloss by rounding off the corners.... so the sound doesn't sound as if it is coming direcly from a tin-can... which is what a transistor does. There is so much difference in the full and soft and pure sound of a tube amp, that it's amazing. Glad that you have discovered it, and it always pleases me to hear from people who apreciate the real sound, rather than the ever present transistor noise.

I used to work as a studio technician, and sound was my life back then, what I learned back then will never wear off.... fortunately.

My father, 1 sister and 2 brothers are also musicians... so it's even more embedded in my ears than it might otherwise have been.

I wish it was possible to make tube sound with some cheap electronics, but it's not been possible until now... probably won't be for the next many years.

Totally off topic (I'm good at getting off topic... sorry!) Here is a recording of my Danish friend from years back. Recorded at my home "Bluesland" in Denmark back in 1998. The pictures were shot by me for my parent's brand name clothing in 2006 here in Peru. Youtube video link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSjXTx0cME0)

[LordDurock]

Talking music... this is still within the framework of music... and it perfectly well explains why things don't sound as they did... or should :

http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2008/01/why-todays-cds-sound-like-crap.html

intressting............this exsplains alot.

[mickstan_VR]

Tubes always sound better than digital. Isn't that crazy, old technology is better than new?

[Zaloryan]

If you're looking for decent bass without running a subwoofer, you don't need to spend a ton of money on Infinity Kappas. I'd stick with the Infinity Reference 9623 or Infinity Reference 9622. One's 3-way and the other is 2-way. One other thing. I'm running two 3.5 inch Infinity Reference 3022cf speakers in the dash. It get's loud enough for me, a seventeen year-old. I like the bass that the factory speakers dish out, but I want a touch more.

Another note, (lol...I'm sounding like a broken record) remember that Infinity Speakers are very inefficient. They take a lot of power to run without ruining your stereo if it's powering them. That's why if you go with Infinity, I wouldn't spend the extra money on a speaker my stereo couldn't handle. Then again, my Kenwood KRC-335 can't power Infinity Reference 6x9s to begin with...but go to www.crutchfield.com and read the reviews on the speakers and make your own decision. It's your money! :) If you want a touch more bass than highs, look at the Polk db series 6x9s...

[86euro]

This is unrelated, but seems like a good time and place to ask this... Where can I find a pair of low-profile 4inch speakers? I can't seem to find any.

[Zaloryan]

This is unrelated, but seems like a good time and place to ask this... Where can I find a pair of low-profile 4inch speakers? I can't seem to find any.

I swear I don't work for them... :o


http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Group/ProductMenu.aspx?g=51200&c=3&tp=102&avf=N

[LordDurock]

Tubes always sound better than digital. Isn't that crazy, old technology is better than new?

tubes are nice but it depends on the power suplly to them..............there is noughting worse the 60 cycle hum. ;). but an intressing thing i've found is hybred amps.......tube on the pre soild on the power. tend ot sound nicer. i dont know why but i think it becuase you able to crank them higher with out the power tubes saturating