JD NC

My stock speakers are shot, and I'm taking this as an opportunity to upgrade. The question is what percentages of my budget should go to speakers and amp? One possible setup is a pair of Polk DB6501 component speakers (~$110) and the alpine KTP-445 power pack (~$150). My HU is an Alpine CDE-133BT, which I'm happy with, and I don't need a sub. Anyone have this or a similar setup?

The speakers and power pack are both considered very easy to install, which is a big plus, and they're within my combined budget. However, the rule of thumb in home audio is to spend a much larger percentage of your budget on speakers. Does the same rule hold true for car audio, ie, am I better off with $200 speakers and a $50 traditional 2-channel amp? If the improvement is only marginal, I'd rather have the easier install, but I don't mind performing a little surgery if I can get much better results for the same money.

cvjoint

Even more important to put the bulk of the cash in speakers in a car. The reason is that you can't just buy any size speaker you want. In home audio even 10 watts can sound like a large concert hall with the right speakers. With stock speaker sizes you are really going to have a hard time making improvements. Either mount a beefy 6.5" in the door or add a sub. Adding a sub and amp and high passing the front oem speakers is probably your best bet.

JD NC

Thanks for the advice. When you say "beefy," what do you recommend in the ~$200 range? How do they compare to the Polks? Anything that fits without cutting the stock basket?

If I skip the sub, do I still need an amp, or will the HU have enough power? The 133BT puts out about 18 watts RMS, which I've found to be plenty for driving the OEM speakers, but that may not be the case if the new speakers are harder to drive. OTOH, if I can get away with just replacing the stock speakers with the Polks for $110 can calling it a day, all the better.

cvjoint

These were my favorite: My link

They require some extensive modification to the doors, but not the actual door panel. 400w is the saturation point, anymore than that and no 6.5" could handle it even during transients. I listed the most able one out of the 6.5"s out there.

No high quality speaker is going to be compatible with that oem basket. High quality speakers need throw, and depth is required to achieve great excursion levels.

I had the Polk DBs a decade ago as my first speaker set. Mild improvement over stock, but noticeable.

Utah S2K

What year is the car you are trying to upgrade?

Utah

JD NC

MY05: tweeters in the doors, no rear speakers. Only upgrades so far are the Alpine HU and Modifry DCI.

etang789

With about $250 I would focus to get better speakers for now, such as Hybrid Audio Technologies Imagine Series. My friend had great results with just the speaker upgrade.

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/837...1-2-installed/

JD NC

Very tempting. The one thing that worries me is that they look very deep. Can I mount these in the stock baskets (with the back cut out obviously) and still clear the window? If I need an extra spacer, will I be able to get the stock grille back on?

There's also a bit of discussion on whether to mount them as component or coaxial. The argument for coax is that the tweeters are too loud in the S2K tweeter location and sound better mounted lower. What's your experience? Coax would certainly simplify the install, since I could just leave the stock tweeters disconnected in place.

etang789

I wouldnt waste time in cutting up the stock speaker baskets, buying a pre-made speaker spacer from ebay is too cheap and much easier to install. And of course the stock grill can be put back on.

My experience is mounting coax is better placing at the AP2 OEM tweeter location.

JD NC

OK, I think I'm closing in on a good upgrade path. I'm closing in on the HAT Mirus 6.5" coaxials. I saw you recommended these elsewhere in the forum and they look like a good middle ground between the HAT Imagine and the Polks. Although my total budget is around $250, I had planned on going in stages, so the $170 price of the Mirus is a little easier sell to my better half

Thanks for the help!