Car Audio Questions...

DeVitaf

DeVitaf

Go Pats!!!
Apr 15, 2002
103
0
0
50
N. Providence, RI
Hello All,

I remeber there being some car audio experts here :p. I was hoping one of you might help me out...

I was driving to work today and was going out of my mind stuck in traffic (for two hours) so I switched from my normal morning talk radio and started blasting a CD I made for just these occasions. While blasting "Ride of the Valkeries" I noticed that my sound was really crappy and staticy when I trun it up loud.

I would like to replace my speakers. I have a head unit that followed me from my last car it is a nice pioneer that does 50W a channel. I figure that this is most likely more than my stock minivan speakers can handle.

So I went out to Crutchfield.com, entered my car type and looked over the selection they had.... and my head almost exploded from the options.

I don't want to power an amp or run a sub woofer. I would like full sound from a decent 4 speaker system. From what I hear 50wx4 is pretty good from a head unit.

So here are my questions...

1) What is a 2-Way speaker vs. a 3-way speaker?
2) What do i want for a minimum peak wattage?
3) Any brands to avoid?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Does sound degrade on a radio station? If not, I'd check the CD on another stereo. Sometimes burned CD's have lower quality than the original. No point in replacing the speakers if it's the source that's a problem.
 
peak wattage is a marketing number, not a real life number. RMS numbers are far more realistic, though there is still some bloat depending on the manufacturer.

I dont know what head unit you have, but it probably has around 20 watts RMS per channel. So you want to find speakers that are around that level.

A higher sensitivity speaker means it will be louder with the given power, which is important when your talking about low power systems like yours.

2-way speakers have a woofer and a tweeter, 3-way have a woofer, midrange, and tweeter. Realistically, they dont make enough of a difference. More marketing than anything.

As for brands, well crutchfield doesnt really sell alot of high quality speakers. Alpine, Boston, and Infinity are the best they sell. Any of them would be a significant improvement over stock. There are significantly better speakers out there for not a whole lot more money, but that choice is up to you.
 
Crutchfield is waaayyy overpriced. Their catalog is nice on the eyes, but no way am I going to pay their mark-ups...


(not enough time to post more --- off to work I go... )
 
slipknottin said:
peak wattage is a marketing number, not a real life number. RMS numbers are far more realistic, .. .... ..
As for brands, well crutchfield doesnt really sell alot of high quality speakers. Alpine, Boston, and Infinity are the best they sell. Any of them would be a significant improvement over stock. ....
Click to expand...
Those speakers mentioned would work much better than what came with your vehicle. Know that you can do much better on prices than what Crutchfield lists.

For nice sound, at moderate to loud volumes, you need a separate ampifier. A separate subwoofer is not needed.

I should Snopes this, but I hear there's a new contest out for who has the coolest "buzzing license plate"! This effect is achieved through the over-use of subwoofers...
 
Imo and Ime you are better off getting a small amp to run the speakers, b/c most head units ,even after market ones do not have enough power to run the speakers for what they are rated at. A small two channel amp would do wonders with some after market speakers.
 
ashdavid said:
I... A small two channel amp would do wonders with some after market speakers.
Click to expand...
But, I think he wants to run 4 speakers..

It won't cost much for 4 channels either. Just a thought....
 
125gJoe said:
But, I think he wants to run 4 speakers..

It won't cost much for 4 channels either. Just a thought....
Click to expand...

Whoops I missed that, and I agree with you Joe 4 channel amp won't cost much more and for the quality of sound that an amp with good speakers will produce, its well worth the dollars.
 
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