Door speakers

[Bill Rehm]

My stock audio speakers in the doors are in bad shape.Can anyone recommend
a reasonably priced speaker solution (fits the existing door panel
compartments) without any major surgery?

[Lindsay Vette]

Hi,

I replaced my original speakers with some Alpine speakers. I spent about $70
from memory. I think the speakers are 6.25 inches which is not a standard
size so there are not as many options available.

I had to drill holes as the standard speakers have three mounting screws,
the Alpines have four. The speakers I bought are component speakers with
separate tweeters, so I also had to find a location to mount these - I
screwed them onto the corner of the plastic portion of the speaker grill
using the angle mounts they came with.

A good car stereo shop should know what size speakers you need. I went to
Paul Money Hi Fi in Mt Eden, they even had "Suits MX5" on the price tag for
the speakers I bought.

Cheers,
Lindsay

[mx-5]

Mine bit the dust mere months after I purchased my car. I replaced them with
2nd hand factory speakers out of a Mazda RX7 Batman. They fit perfectly & no
extra drilling or holes or anything is required. They are quite meaty too &
give good sound.

Tj

[...]

[zorruno]

how major is major? there are a number of options if you don't mind
drilling a hole or two. Usually you have to spend more to get proper
replacement speakers with the correct hole locations.

I'd recommend 6.5" for size - they fit usually with minimal surgery
(depending on speaker), and bigger is almost always better for bass
response.

Also - get a polycone or other non-paper speaker if you can - the MX5 gets a
lot of water down in the doors and it is usually moisture that kills the
stock paper cone speakers.

how much is reasonably priced? $40 $100 $200 more?

[Bill Rehm]

Thx Howard:

I have some decent, nearly new 6 1/2" JVCs but given the size of the hole
in the door for the stock speakers my best positioning, even with a few
drilled holes would leave me with only 2 screws supporting the JVC speakers
on one side.

One thought I had was to cut the metal/plastic frame that holds the stock
speakers so the JVCs fit that, then figure out how to fasten the JVCs to
the stock metal/plastic speaker frame. There must be a simpler way. Any
ideas?

Thx Lindsay:
However I prefer not to "cut-up" the panels, etc.

[zorruno]

Bill, I'd probably have to see it. Email me off list if you're in Auckland.

I'm not sure what the stock mounting brackets look like. I didn't use any
mounting brackets for my 6.5"s and I drilled one hole in the door frame, 2
others lined up well. My previous speakers were aftermarket anyway however,
but fit the stock holes.

Drilling holes in the speaker's frame itself can be the best idea to get 3
perfectly aligned holes, but be very careful if you doing this if you are
using co-axials or speakers with tweeters etc in the centre. You can easily
get metal shavings or dust in between the voice coil and magnet (yes - it
was my fault Chic), which will usually make them unusable. Carefully mask
off the centre drivers with tape on the cone before drilling. Some speakers
do not have enough surrounding frame to let you drill holes in it though.

To get the correct hole spacing, I use a piece of overhead transparency,
tape it on the door and mark the holes on it with OHP pen. Then I tape it
to the front of the speaker, and punch the holes through with a nail or pin
so they dimple the speaker frame. Then drill (mask as above if open voice
coil)

And - I would not use the speakers with only two screws. Also, try not to
distort the speaker frame when screwing it to the door. Another good idea
is to use a thin rubber seal between the speaker and the door. Double sided
rubber or foam tape works well (although you can buy specially designed non
harding goo stuff). This helps with sealing for a better bass response,
gives less vibration, and acts like a compression washer to stop the screws
from loosening over time.

Lindsay, what was the model of the Alpines you bought from Paul Money?

[Lindsay Vette]

Howard,

I'll have to take a look at home and see if I still any of the documentation
available.

Regards,
Lindsay

[Lindsay Vette]

Howard,

The information is there if you know where to look. I didn't find any
documentation, it'll turn up when we're packing to move house in a few
weeks. I did find a photo I took of my cat sitting in the empty box though.

The speaker model is: Alpine SCS-1756

Here's a link to some details on it:
http://alpine1.com/html/De_n_267_n_n.html

Regards,
Lindsay


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