Replacing Front Speakers

[AygoUgo]

Hi All,

Just replaced the front Speakers on Traceys Aygo with Soundstream 4" components - sounds much better. The magnets on the mid-woofers are much bigger than the original Speakers which causes major problems as there's not enough room in the dash to accommodate them. So just a wee tip to all thinking about this to check the magnet size on the Speakers you are looking to use. Otherwise some "trimming" of the dash behind the speakers with a dremel or similar will be required.

Also remember that 2 screw lugs need to be removed from the speakers as there is only room to use 2 of the four on the speaker - If you remove your grill then you'll see what the original speaker is like for this.

Sorry no pics but fitting these was enough of a pain for me not to think about taking bloomin photos too.

[kenkoi]

Thanks for the tip Kev!!

What's the depth of the original woofer and what would be the max depth without modifying the dash?

I've seen some focal 10 cm components with a mounting depth of only 39mm but they're quite pricey.

[AygoUgo]

Thanks for the tip Kev!!

What's the depth of the original woofer and what would be the max depth without modifying the dash?

I've seen some focal 10 cm components with a mounting depth of only 39mm but they're quite pricey.

The depth you can go for depends on the width of the magnet. I'd say there's not a lot between the actual depth of most 10cm Speakers so basically the wider the magnet the shallower they must be without the need to modify. The Focals are probably their Slimline range which are excellent speaker but a little expensive. If you are just changing the Speakers and not thinking about adding other amps or replacing the head unit then they are probably a bit too good for what you need. If keeping things simple and just replacing the Speakers then most speakers will sound better - the originals are worth about £2 whereas other cheap ones (£20 - £50) from Alpine, Blaupunkt, Pioneer, Sony will sound better. There's also the consideration if you have the 4 front speakers or just the 2. No need to upgrade to 4 if you have the 2 as you just buy decent coaxial speakers (these have the tweeter attached to the middle of the main woofer).

If you have the 4 speakers then ideally you replace them with another set of components which typically start around £60. This does involve cutting a new hole for the tweeter in the a-pillar trim and the new tweeter will have to be quite big (approx 1.25") to make sure it's big enough to cover the original holes.

There is basically so many options it's difficult to go into them all without knowing what you plan o do with the whole system and what you expect to get from the sounds. I have an amp from the front speakers and an active sub for some extra bass. The rear speakers will be run from the original head unit as Tracey wants to keep the standard look to the system. So over all I should have a system that gives nice full sound with reasonable bass that looks standard.

HTH

[kenkoi]

I have 4 Speakers in the front and the two in the rear. What i plan to do is replace the head unit with either an alpine or pioneer - both 50 watts x4, replace the fronts and add a compact sub under the seat (don't wanna sacrifice boot space)!! I'll probably leave the rears as they are or maybe change them at a later date.

Basically, I'm after full, quality sound but not booming bass. In my old car I had a pair of infinity 13.5 kappa components in the front, a pair of infinity 6x9's in the rear powered by a sony 50 watt head unit. (Generously included when I sold it for the aygo!!) i found that set-up perfect for my requirements.

Am i going in the right direction with my planned set-up? Problem is I can't seem to find a decent pair of 10 cm components at a reasonable price!!

With the compact amplified sub, I'm considering either the alpine SWD-1600 or the pioneer TS-WX22A.

Comments and advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[AygoUgo]

I have 4 speakers in the front and the two in the rear. What i plan to do is replace the head unit with either an alpine or pioneer - both 50 watts x4, replace the fronts and add a compact sub under the seat (don't wanna sacrifice boot space)!! I'll probably leave the rears as they are or maybe change them at a later date.

Basically, I'm after full, quality sound but not booming bass. In my old car I had a pair of infinity 13.5 kappa components in the front, a pair of infinity 6x9's in the rear powered by a sony 50 watt head unit. (Generously included when I sold it for the aygo!!) i found that set-up perfect for my requirements.

Am i going in the right direction with my planned set-up? Problem is I can't seem to find a decent pair of 10 cm components at a reasonable price!!

With the compact amplified sub, I'm considering either the alpine SWD-1600 or the pioneer TS-WX22A.

Comments and advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Sounds like you have similar ideas to me. I got the Alpine SWD-1600 from eBay at £56 ! Try www.cel-direct.co.uk for them at £90 plus P+P. Components will usually start around £60 even for tiddly 4 inchers. I was lucky to get a set of Soundstream again from eBay for only £40 and they are fantastic quality (Soundstream are highly regarding in car hifi circles). So keep and eye out on eBay but also try www.caraudiodirect.com, www.caraudiodiscount.co.uk. Even Halfords when they have discounted days. If you are changing the head unit then it may be worth seeing how the standard Speakers work with that and the sub (use some bass blockers on the front Speakers so they work more efficiently and save some money). You would be surprised at how good it will sound as the head unit is much better than the original one and bring out more from the filtered fronts leaving the sub to fill in the lows that the 4" Speakers can't reproduce.

Tracey didn't want to change the head unit so I'm having to do it slightly differently by using an extra amp to power the new fronts (a nice little Kicker from ebay surprise surprise!)

BTW the Alpine is just small enough to fit under the front seat but check if you can get the seat bolts loosened as I tried and found them very tight so will probably ask Mr T to loosen them so I don't round them off.

HTH

[kenkoi]

You've been lucky on eBay! I haven't even seen an alpine SWD-1600 for auction and the 4" components are quite rare.

Is installing the sub a relatively simple job? (apart from the bolts!) I was contemplating doing a DIY job with the Toyota manual for installing the under seat sub as a guide. If not, I might just call in people who know what they're doing. I think I can manage the head unit with no probs but when you say bass blockers do you mean crossovers? Can the head unit filter the frequencies to the Speakers?

Be great to see some pics of your install when its done!!

Cheers

[AygoUgo]

You've been lucky on ebay! I haven't even seen an alpine SWD-1600 for auction and the 4" components are quite rare.

Is installing the sub a relatively simple job? (apart from the bolts!) I was contemplating doing a DIY job with the Toyota manual for installing the under seat sub as a guide. If not, I might just call in people who know what they're doing. I think I can manage the head unit with no probs but when you say bass blockers do you mean crossovers? Can the head unit filter the frequencies to the speakers?

Be great to see some pics of your install when its done!!

Cheers

Yup I was lucky with the eBay stuff and was surprised no-one else bid on the components. :)

The bass blockers are crossovers that are used in line with the Speakers stopping any low frequencies going to the 4" compnents allowing them to just reproduced the mids to high frequencies that they are really design to do. This gives them greater power handling, make them more efficient and ultimately sound better.

I'll try to sort out some pics when the job is done.