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Originally Posted by caSStro18
Yeah, that’s a bit more than I want to spend. Are there other 6x9 speakers that sound considerably better than stock for less money? I know brands like Kicker, Pioneer, Kenwood, Infinity, and JBL, make good speakers. I just don’t want to spend a ton of money for small improvements in sound quality. I know you get what you pay for, but there must be a happy medium in there somewhere. Also, does changing out the door speakers do anything with the warranty?
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I get it. I would tell you, though, that the GS690s are more than a small improvement in sound quality, as well as a substantial improvement in low-frequency range. They are rated down to 42Hz, which covers the entire range of bass guitar and leaves out the bottom end of very few instruments and no voices. Not all 6x9s do. The other thing is that if you were to only spend $200 on a sub and amp, your system is going to sound a lot less good than this (to be blunt).
That said, it does occur to me that you probably have a separate amp in your trunk already, which means you may not need quite as sensitive speakers. This opens up options. Just perusing the Crutchfield site for a minute, I see that the
JL Audio C1-690 component set includes a 6x9 mid/woofer that is even more sensitive than the Audiofrogs and extends all the way down to 39Hz, for $159. You could get that and just install the 6x9s in the doors and leave the tweeter out altogether, or pull out the dash speakers (or just leave them if you can access their wires under the dash and cut the positive lead to each) and figure out a good surface mount strategy for the JL tweeter now or later.* This seems pretty compelling, given your goals.
Also, Kenwood has the
Excelon KFC-XP6902C, which comes with drop-in replacements for the door and dash speakers with an small crossover filter for $219. It extends down to 45Hz, and it's a lot less sensitive at only 84dB (but that may not matter much if you have a factory amp). I think they will be a significant upgrade in sound quality and extension for less than half the price of equivalent Audiofrogs.
To answer a couple other questions:
- I would not say it's hard to replace the dash speakers. It takes some time to pull the A-pillar trim and dash panel/grills, but you can do it with pretty basic tools. If you decide to go this route, there are a couple threads in here with links to videos that tell you a lot. And you can hit us up with questions, of course.
- Yep, the Metra 72-5600 fits the speaker connections for our door speakers. Apparently it's a popular connector in the industry. I don't know why they make it sound like a Ford-only connector, but it's for more than just Fords.
- You mentioned saving space in the trunk. In addition, you save adding significant weight with a sub, which was a big motivator for me (I autocross my car quite a bit). Finally, skipping sub keeps you from having to pull a bunch of trim to run wires back from the front kick panel.
*Expert advice is that the 2.5" mid/tweeters do well mounted in the dash and bouncing off the windshield, but smaller tweeters don't.