[bcware]

I am looking to replace the front 6 3/4" and rear 6x9" speakers in my gls, but i was wondering how big the difference is between the number of tweeters in the speaker? Will i hear a noticable difference between a 2, 3, or 4-way speaker?

 

[04Elantra]

3-ways are good...definitely some better highs and mids than a two way.

4-ways are a bit much and from my experience, not much of a difference from 3-ways. If you plan on putting a sub and have 3-way speakers front and back, you should be set.

You definitely should consider speakers that come with passive crossovers (such as infinity Kappas) because they direct the proper frequencies to the specific drivers in the speaker...making cleaner sound and increasing your ability to make the speakers a little louder without distortion (compared to not having crossovers)

 

[SWortham]

Well that's a hard question to answer because there are some 2-ways that are crappy, and there are some that are considered top of the line and can outperform a 3-way.

Generally, when a 2-way speaker has a good 1" or 1 1/4" soft dome tweeter, it can cover all of the necessary frequencies with a flat response and minimal distortion. A 3-way design becomes more of a necessity when working with woofers larger than 6x9" or 8".

 

[southpawboston]

i agree with swortham. some of the best SQ systems a midbass and a tweeter. no off-the-shelf 3-way or 4-way speaker can compare with a quality 2-way component set with a dedicated high quality crossover. a 3-way or 4-way speaker is just a gimick. stick with a quality two-way speaker with dedicated crossover and you'll be happy. if you really need pounding bass, then add a sub to that equation.

 

[felixr]

south paw can you please give an example of brand/model and price range of a quality 2 way that you speak of? thanks

 

[SWortham]

I'll give you one. The Pioneer REV series is incredible. Unfortunately, the fronts won't fit in our cars because they're too deep, only the 6x9's would fit. I think you can expect to pay anywhere from $115 to $200 for a pair of those 6x9's.

 

[southpawboston]

this is a big debate, but IMHO it's better to spend twice as much money upgrading with front separates and keeping the stock rear 6x9's as rear fill than spending half your money on fronts and half on rears. most of your staging and imaging comes from the front. the more accurate your soundtage is, the better the overall sound. the rear does not need to be nearly as accurate. and unless you want serious pounding bass, the rear 6x9s are adequate. the following are my picks for various price ranges. these are just my opinions. also keep in mind that high end speakers usually like a lot of power in order to sound good. you will need to have a separate amp to power these, any head unit with built-in amp will be inadequate.

budget:

<$200: A/D/S 236is 6.5" separates, online from full-line-audio.com (best price on the net)
<$300: MBquart PCE (better) or RCE (cheaper) series 6.5" separates, various online dealers
<$400: several different varieties from JL audio, or dynaudio GT series

 

[SWortham]

That's true, I completely agree. The fronts are more important when it comes to achieving good sound quality and imaging. As for the rears, you could get some pretty cheap 6x9's with better bass response and longer excursion and be happy with them. My Pioneer 6x9 4-ways were only like $70 I think, and it got rid of the muddy sound in the car (compared to the crappy full-range stock drivers), and really improved bass response.