Humpy Leftnut

Hey everyone, just read a ton, time to post.

I've switched out the speakers in my family's old 93 sable in the past, without too much fuss. Took a while for them to sound better than the factory did honestly, but it came around in the end.

I just bought my first car, a 1999 Mazda Millenia S, very happy with it so far (although the engine noise seemed weird at first, I guess it's the supercharger or whatever, and that I'm not used to 210hp!)

I thought the car sounded good by itself, but if I turn the volume up to half (which i pretty much need to do on the highway with the sunroof open let's say) I sometimes get some cracking/popping/skipping sounds, and it's not overly accurate. Apparently the car has 6x8's in the front, and 6x9's in the rear. The rears sound pretty good already, they're factory Pioneer's.

So I went to EHR today and the guy seemed to only recommend Hertz. My gut feeling told me that they probably made the most money on this model, sort of like the "chef's specials" at a restaurant.. I mean if I owned the shop that's probably what I'd do. Then again, I've rarely gone wrong asking for advice on sound stuff from sales people, as they usually care. I have a great pair of reference monitors from KRK I use as my PC speakers that I found this way.. Nice to have 60lbs of speakers on my desk, they pound.

Anyways, I figured I'd just jump in and grab them, so I bought a pair of 5x7's / 6x8's (he said these were the same???) for my fronts, coax, which cost me $300+ tax, including a 7" pair of Deflex pads for the deadening, and a 3 year warranty. They are the Hi Energy HCX 570 2 way.

My friend gave me his old Pioneer DEH-P7400MP head unit to use, and the mounting bracket from his Mazda, as my factory unit is DD sized.

I'd love to run an amp to the fronts, but I'll have to pace myself financially to afford the installation and whatnot.

OK so my QUESTIONS!

1> How do I get my factory deck out? I have the harness and whatnot.
2> I tried to get my door panels off, got about halfway, then felt I was forcing it too much and they panel didn't feel like it was loving the treatment.
Any advice there?
3> Next steps? Replace the factory rears with something nice, and add an amplifier for the rear 6x9's? That'd be real easy to wire.
4> What kind of amp should I get for the rears, and for the front, should I decide to get one? I want one, but the install costs are driving me away from that for now.

And did I make a good choice in 5x7 front speakers?

Humpy Leftnut

Found a door panel tutorial at the mazdaworld forums, ID 432. I don't know if it's kosher to post other boards here, but it's great info with pics, and I didn't find it in google.. So hopefully it helps someone else too. Will install the speakers tomorrow and see what the deal is.

Are the backs of the door speakers supposed to touch the Deflex pads btw?

Salvi

Can't help you with 1 and 2, but I'll comment on 3 and 4.

As you read more and more about car audio, you'll hear the term "rearfill" a lot. This is how we refer to rear speakers that are not subs. If it sounds uninportant its because it is.

In fact, most people on here and any audio forum will tell you that if you can, get rid of rear speakers all together, and if you must use them, use them for midbass only (you can fit some nice midbass drivers into your 6x9 slot, or even just use the ones you have and limit the mid/high freqs when you get your amp).

So, simply, your next step should be to get a good amp and add power to your setup. Since you don't have subs, the easy solution would be to get a nice 4-channel, and power all 4 speakers, fullrange fronts and bass rear.

You have the HCX570s? In any case, good speakers, even if they are coaxes (if you asked here before buying, most would recommend a component set instead).

Humpy Leftnut

Thanks... Hrmmm.. I actually went into the store yesterday to buy some component speakers, but the guy said they were only slightly better, and would be a lot more installation. He said I'd have to make some wood or plastic thing to go into the door bracket, that the speakers wouldn't just fit....

My thoughts were that I *really* wanted these Polk Audio $1,000 front components, but then obviously I'd have to amp them, run wires, and of course... wait. So I figured this would be a nice intermediary step. Also I don't really drive a lot, I work from home, so it's really a luxury purchase.

Maybe the right thing to do is take the plunge with a good amp that would work for both setups, and bite the bullet on the wiring/install?

He mentioned about $150 to install the component speakers, I'm guessing that's without running the wires to the amp in the trunk.

What's a good 4 channel amp that could grow with me here, and price range for it? And I guess Hertz is still a good choice for component 6x5's as well?

My friend also has 2 MTX 10" subs I think in a box sitting on his kitchen floor for me if I want it, I just hadn't assumed I'd invest in them. Having said that, I don't have a shortage of money, just trying to be responsible. Oh I listen to hip-hop almost exclusively, and smooth sounding voice/highs/mids without piercing my ears is most important to me.

The inside of my door will look like this:

kutchdawg

good choice on the fronts ... they will do just fine ... if i were you and he was gonna give you a good deal on those subs .. i'd get those instead of replacing the rear speakers .. especially if you listen to hip-hop

MR2NR

iTrader: (66)

You do need a mounting template (not mdf though) to mount a speaker other than a 5x7" (6x8") in the stock location. Eclipse makes a great pointsource/component 5x7" speaker that would fit here with no template. They are not on the same level as a high end speaker like a Morel or Focal but do a respectable job. If you are after serious sound, then a true dedicated component speaker is the #1 best way to go. I make my adaptor plates from 1/4" black abs (black so you do not see them through the factory grrill, abs so that moisture cannot warp them). They are cut for a 6.75" midbass driver. The tweeter mounts wherever you either may choose or want it installed. I would highly recommend the Morel line of speakers if you are after a high end component that is easy on the ears and are a pleasure to listen to every time you have the opportunity. Morel are custom built speakers from Israel, not a made in Singakoreachinatiawanapore seatchop type of speaker. Nothing but quality.

www.morelhifi.com

I like rear fill personally, if this were my car I would have a respectable coax speaker in the back. If I were a die hard SQ competitor, chances are I would have no rear speakers at all. As I am not and I want to enjoy my music, a good rear speaker is what I would use.

A amplifier will totally depend on your budget. On the higher end for power, the Eclipse XA4000 is a B&O designed amplifier with it's ICEpower class D design. It is rated at 125w rms x 4 and indeed produces more power than is advertised. It would be a stellar choice for a person who is after a great amp that is not of the usual suspects.

A little cheaper and using the same basic ICEpower design is the Pioneer Premiere PRSD4100F, it will shave a couple of hundred $ of the price and is rated up around the 75w x 4 mark. Personally I like the Eclipse, it is a niiiiiice amplifier.

Find out what the voice coil config of your friends MTX subs are, dvc4 ohm, svc 4 ohm etc. before a sub amp can be recommended.

A good install is definitely a must, you have been around the block a couple of times from how I read your posts. Make the investment and do it right the first time.

.ben

iTrader: (1)

i would definatly recoomend adding subs and a mono amp to power them....

i like some rear fill although not much so i would say instll the speakers you bought.

as for a 4 chanel....i dont currently have one so im not the expert on this topic but you could check out the buy/sell section if you dont want to spend more than you have to,,,,

Salvi

Humpy, its odd and exciting to meet a hip-pop lover that actually loves the craft. Perhaps its a stereotype, but I have learned to expect hip-pop lovers asking about adding 100" subs and a million watts, and not giving a hoot about mid or highrange, lol. Obviously not really hip-pop lovers after all!

The only important thing when deciding on the 4-channel amp is the company. If you buy a quality amp, anything from 4x50wrms@4ohm will be sufficient for your front stage.

Regardless of the music you love, I still have to recommend subwoofers. Now, there really is no need to go with anything big here, a few 8" or a couple 10" will do the job perfectly. Nice tight and accurate bass for an amazing music experience. No, you will not rattle windows in the local coffee shop, but inside the car, the sound will leave the listener mesmerised.

Just keep some general rules as commandments and you cannot go wrong.

Amplify every speaker in the system (never connect anything to the headunit).

Buy quality over quantity. A quality 200W amp is a much better buy then even a 1000W crap amp. Similarily, one quality component set is far superior then two or even three low-end sets.

As far as your setup, start simple, then add more as you see fit.

Here is my suggestion. Get yourself a good 4-channel amp, the ones recommended by posters above will be just fine, I will recommend some as well. You already have your front stage, or if you like, get components like we recommended. Get yourself two 8" or 10" subs in a sealed box (pro built). Run the fronts stereo with the front two channels of the 4-ch amp, and run the subs with rear channels. Don't be tempted to run rearfill with the headunit or anything, just do this and see. If you buy all quality which I know you will, you may be completely satisfied just with this setup, in fact, I am sure you'll be blown away by it (both in quality and the depth/loudness (kick-factor)).

Since I've always been a Fosgate fan, and still am (they are not hand-built in the USA anymore, but they still always produce well above advertised and very clean power), I will recommend their 4-channel solution. They have 4 to choose from, and any one of them will do.

When you're ready (if ever!) to upgrade, the 4-channel becomes your dedicated frontstage amp, and you add a mono amp for the subs, with sub/speaker additions/replacements as you see fit.

Enjoy.

Humpy Leftnut

Thanks everyone, some great ideas here! I started listening to music from my dad at a very young age, mostly classic rock, blues, jazz, etc. While I still love that music, and throw it on sometimes, there just isn't a lot of new classic rock y'know? I even like experimental jazz like Sun-Ra stuff, even digging some of this Buckethead.

But yeah, I'm a big collector, and while I do buy a lot of CD's, I also collect lots of rare and unavailable hiphop through MP3's. My collection is nothing short of ridiculous.

My business partner has a nice system in his car, what is it.. 2 JL 12" subs in a ported box I think, clarion up front, tweeters mounted on the doors, and the Pioneer touch screen nav headunit. It's sounding real nice now, but too bright for me up front at his settings.

Anyways back to my car, I like your idea of adding the sub and the single 4 channel amp, but one question - is rearfill more important in a larger sedan like I have?

I just put in the fronts yesterday, sounds about similar, but I haven't changed the deck yet. Seems like the popping and mild skipping at higher volumes is coming from the deck more than it was the speakers. And obviously as everyone says here, I need an amp.

Any recommendations on a shop in the GTA to get the wiring done right to the amp in the trunk? I don't want visible wires running along my floor. Futureshop said they'd do it for $50 (401/weston location) but who knows wtf they're planning to do.

Salvi

Your speakers will come alive when you give them power, there is no question about that.

About rearfill, there is no reason as far as the drivers/passenger's listening experience is concerned to add full/midrange reaffill, however your rear passengers may find the sound a bit distant, but unless you amp the rearfill, do not use it, the deck powering the rearfill with your new amped HQ setup will only add distortion (comparatively speaking). That being said, midbass only amped rearfill (my fav here is a 6.5" driver, juts like for the front midrange) will not mess with your stage, but will be enough to make the rear passengers experience closer to yours.

I am sure Future Shop has qualified installers, but I tend to think that if an installer is good, he wouldn't work in a big chain store. You can buy your equipment there if you find the prices cheaper, otherwise try to support the little guy, the warranty is the same, and they will do what it takes to make/keep you happy.

Have any amps cought your eye yet? I suggest you get a mid/high end amp as it will not only give you better sound right away, but also be sufficient when you decide to upgrade.