You seem like a knowledgeable lot in this forum , so...

I'm in the market for some component speakers, approximately 5" diameter (it's not an Impreza, and nothing much bigger will fit). I'd like something which sounds good and offers decent bass for the size as I won't (for now at least) be using a sub - anyone got any recommendations?

Now I know very little about this, but is the general consensus that rear speakers are needed only for "rear fill" (if at all), or is there an alternative train of thought? I'm not really interested in hanging around McDonald's car parks, so could the necessary bass be taken care of by some suitable rear speakers? I'm wondering whether a sub would be worthwhile given that there's a solid metal panel behind the seats.

Ideally, what I'll end up with is the components in the front, an amp of some description and rear speakers and/or a sub.

The head unit is at present a Sony CDX-5000 (with ultra-annoying graphics), but I'm hoping to get (I think) a Nakamichi MB-75. There'll probably be a sprinkling of Dynamat/Brown Bread-type stuff in there as well.

Any suggestions?

 

Butter us up, we work best when complimented...

5 inch speakers with a good bass response are quite hard to find due, as you already know, to the limitations of the amount of air that they can move.

I have practical experience of the Kenwood 205 setup, and CD Technologies CL51s. The kenwood, for the money, was good and provided "quite good" bass - certainly more than the 5 Pioneer coaxials that they replaced. The CD tech stuff was a lot better but needed a lot of running in as they seemed tight at first.

A sub would still work with solid metal behind the seats, but to keep it simple you may want to try something like a 6x9 for the rear with appropriate filtering (such as a simple inductor to get rid of frequencies over, ohh, 400Hz).


What's this going into out of interest, as proximity to those rears may affect advice...

Also what's your budget? Are you looking to do this in stages or one big hit? With an MB75 you're getting a quality source so you may want to keep that level throughout the system.

 

What car is it?? When you say solid metal, are the rear speakers vented to the boot, if so removing them would help the bass comethrough to the car, can you port a sub box through the shelf or ski hatch? You could allways mount an 8" sub in the footwell.. have seen this in some cars..

If you are getting a mb75 then dont get **** amps and speakers buy right and buy once... I've learnt the hardway... I personally would recommend a genesis amp maybe a four channel if you are not after volume... bridge one channel and run a 10" sub in a sealed box, possibly ported... depends on the type of music you listen to and how you want it to sound... ie sq or spl.. (even though you said you werent interested in spl... (volume))

As for speakers I like Rockford Fosgate... but others will have preferences... Have a listen to focal... they may still come in odd sizes though...

Oh yeah... If your fitting it yourself make sure you use decent cables signal and Power (remember to do ground cable as well...) but you can worry about all that after deciding on what you want.
Remember to listen to it first... dont go by my recommendations... ater all they are MY preferences.. and I quite like the harshness in rockford fosgate...

David

 

David - you mentioned RF - Adam M will open up a 6 pack of whupass on ya now...

 

Do I get the impression that he doesnt like rf??

I have 10 speakers, 3 amps and a few cables with their name against them!!! ooo I have some phoenix gold stuff do I get away with it now?

David

 

If you are looking for good quailty speakers in that size, I've got a set of 5.25" Boston Acoustic Rallye speakers!

They cost me £250 about 18 months ago, but I'm open to offers as they are in the loft!

 

Make an offer on Andy's stuff - I like boston in general! Nice, relaxed, neutral sound for an american brand

 

Thanks for the advice guys.

Chiark - was impressed by the reviews on CDT Audio's website - do you know of a UK stockist to check prices? Re the 6x9s, they're too big for the shelf without some big spacers or hacking - I think eventually a sub is the way to go. Initially just going for the components and amp.

David - the rear speakers holes do open into the boot, but I don't want the (considerable) exhaust noise to get any worse, so I'd rather not go down that route.

Anyone got recommendations for soundproofing - Dynamat or Brown Bread?

 

CDTechnologies used to be distributed by Icetronic, so any dealer that stocks them should do. Try Max at Maximum Impact on 0113 2441448. He's in Leeds, but I daresay he can tell you where to get 'em from.

I use dynamat, and have also tried accumat from Scosche, which is quite a bit easier to use.

Nick.