Alphaman19

Installed a new HU (Kenwood DDX370) in my 98 GS400.
Bought new 6.5's component speakers for the front but kept the original 4" in the rear.
The original rear speakers still thump quite nicely while the newer front's barely get the job done.

If I had it to do all over again, I would've just kept the original front speakers as well (wishing I hadn't thrown them out now).

Why do folks always say you should upgrade the speakers when you get a new HU?
Are my ears just getting old?

fyi - Granted the factory sub is idle til Iamp it.
fyi - I don't care for max volume, just something close to original is enough for me.

chrcrou26

Door speakers aren't meant to "bump"......If you want bass get it from the subwoofer....There mids and highs not subs....As for volume did you modify the original baffle for you new speakers to fit or did you throw those out too?....door speakers always do better when there not infinite baffled inside of a door panel

Slammer1

Better question, do you have an amp on your door speakers? An aftermarket HU delivers about 15W RMS to the speakers. Installing an amp on the door speakers will make a bigger difference than you think. I play music in my car with the sub turned completely off and the amount of mid bass that I get from my 6.5s is amazing. I have two 6.5s, two tweeters and a 15" sub in my car and most people that listen to my car would swear that they are hearing a minimum of 8 speakers when they hear it.

chrcrou26

That really doesn't make any sense with what OP said.....He replaced his fronts and kept rears the same....stock doesn't put out much wattage either may 20 rms to each speaker stock.....He's today Carrey a bigger internal pre amp then what lexus stock radio does anyway most are 200 watts....so 25 watts per channel wouldn't produce the result he's speaking of......but improper installation would.....The cars built with a stock baffle for the door speakers for a reaon....They don't perform as well infinite baffle settings.....where more power does produce more sound you are right in that respect....efficient use of the power you get is more important.....The baffle gives the resistance needed to create a stronger sound wave

Japmand

Because they are FOS.

rxonmymind

You don't. All you need to do is add amplifiers for the amount of channels you need, sub with dedicated amp and something like a Helix DSP to tie it all together. That's it. Then it's all about tuning. In fact it's 80% tuning and 20% equipment. If a shop knows what their doing they can make a stock system sound stage pretty good by giving it depth, width and center. Not cheap but preferable over music that's all over the place.

wecopueo

The baffle gives the resistance needed to create a stronger sound wave

Leeroy

I am assuming that you used an amplifier interface component for your head unit replacement. The reason why the aftermarket speakers may not sound as good to you as the OEM ones is mainly due to a couple of factors. In many OEM applications that utilize an outboard amp to power the speakers, the OEM drivers will be a different sensitivity and a different impedance versus aftermarket options. So, if you use a speaker that is a higher impedance value, you will limit the output of the channels they are connected to by whatever factor of difference within the impedance change. You are compounding this limitation if you are using a speaker with a lower sensitivity versus the original OEM speakers.

aj289

Only reason I can think of is that most OEM speakers are very cheaply made with paper cones and foam surrounds. Some sound great when new but over time, they will get brittle and fall apart. I guess it depends when you do it and how old the car is.

On old cars, I always replace the speakers just because I've seen too many that crumble.

Mandrake

Alphaman19 what speakers did you install? It sounds like they're less sensitive than the originals and the ones in the rear. You'll need to adjust the fade forward more to compensate.


When you select the speakers, you want to keep in mind how much power your head unit can deliver and match the speaker to that. You want to get as high of a sensitivity as possible while still having a power rating that is matched to your head unit.