I'm looking for recommendations on seperates for the front of a 5G- preferably something 6 or 6.5" but that doesn't require cutting steel to fit. I'm looking for something cheap, meaning in the sub-$300 range if possible. I've got to make this a swap for some other stuff I'm unloading.
I'm open to old/used stuff- I've got a set of Boston 5.2's I will be selling to help finance this...
The key here is good quality audio (Boston, Polk, etc.).
I just installed a set of Focal PolyGlass 160v2. It's a ~6.25" speaker that fits perfectly in the plastic door panel. You may be able to get those for around $300USD, and are cheaper then the equivalent Boston Pro 60's. The Focal's seemed bright to me at first, but I like the sound now. You do need to put some effort in the installation, but with enough dampening they sound pretty good.
Yes I have Focals too- the Polykevlar k2 power 165kf. They're about 5mm too big for the hole and you will need a spacer and dremel to get it in but it's very much worth the effort. The polykevlar might be a bit more than the 300USD but the polyglass and even access ranges are both very highly regarded also.
Focals are a bit bright but eventually you appreciate the accuracy of them. Also you can use the tweeter attenuation switch on the crossover to drop the highs a bit- it helps a great deal. The staging of them is brilliant- you won't find many car audio speakers that can do what the Focals do.
Focals are highly recommended. Other brands quite well renowned in that price range out this end are; Rainbow, DLS, and Alpine Type X series are all quite good.
Glaucus, can you provide any details on your setup? I would like to give something like that a shot. I'm half-deaf and thought the old Boston Neo Ti tweets that everyone else hated weren't bright enough. My real desire is for something with good low-end. I'd like to jam the biggest driver in there I can and still fit the OE grill over it (I'm OK with some modification to it).
Where did you guys put the tweets? Did you use any Dynamat or similar on the doors?
My tweets are just in their stock locations- they sound fine to me once they're angled right. I will be sound deadening my doors within the next two weeks or so. Apparently, once you seal up those access holes in your door, you will get much better mid-bass response as well as less vibration.
I bought myself the Focal PloyGlass 160v2, mostly because I knew it would fit right into the existing locations easily. Well, the woofer does fit into the door trim panel, and the stock speaker cover fits without issues. I did cut out the speaker baffle which makes it fit a little easier, but the spaekers are shallow enough that I don't think it's really necessary.
As for the tweeter, I initially tried to put it in the stock tweeter position. That didn't really work because the Focal tweeter is larger and it doesn't have a tapped hole in the back so that I could screw it in (if you know how the stock tweeter is held in place, then you'll know what I'm talking about). So what I did was remove the stock tweeter and it's bracket and used one of the installation pods that comes with the Focal speakers. This "pod" was screwed into the metal door frame just behind the opening for the tweeter on the door panel (which basically means the tweeter is pretty much in the same location but is physically attached to a different part of the door). Make sense? I then insert the tweeter into the pod, and the tweeter now points out through the little tweeter grill on the doors. This turns out to be fairly simply and sounds great.
As for sound dampening, I did two things. I pretty much covered the entire metal surface of the actual door with Brown Bread (like Dynomat but cheaper). I also surrounded the tweeter pod with thick foam to prevent waves bouncing off the metal frame and adding distortion. It turns out that this takes a huge bite out of the harshness of the tweeter, so perhaps you may want to skip this. I also attenuated the tweeter by 3db, you could instead boost it by 3db.
If you're having difficulty with the high-end, you could also play with the angle of the tweeter. I point mine as forward as the pods will let me, you could try to point them directly at you. Your passengers may not appreciate this as much, but that'll make it pretty darn bright. If that's still not enough, get a CD deck with a graphic equalizer and boost the the frequencies between 1K and 3K.
Bringing this back from the dead. I've got a blown drivers side driver and would like to take the opportunity to change them out. Are the 160s a Canada model? I'm finding 165s, but no 160s for the US.
It seems to be an international model. the only thing I've noticed is that the 160's are available only for the Polyglass. Perhaps you're looking at the K2 or Utopia series?
Any comment on the 165V1 vs 165Vslim vs 165V2S? Prices vary quite a bit... how about sound?
Is the mounting pretty similar on all of these? Would the 165 slim be a drop-in? The others require only a little basket cutting? New mounting holes needed?
I doubt any 165mm speaker will fit in the stock plastic molding. The 160mm woofer, however, fit very snug. Anything bigger and you'll probably have to mount it to the metal frame with spacer rings, etc. Which, btw, is probably the best way to go anyway.
Thanks a lot for the input. I want to keep the OE speaker cover and it looks like you can get a 6.5 to fit but not w/o a spacer which then violates the OE cover fitment.
I'm wanting the Focal 160v2 but it's a Japan-only model and the only place I can find to buy it from in the states has them at almost $400 shipped. I can get the Bostons a LOT cheaper... if they will fit.
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