Holy crap rear speakers are hard to replace

Post by **tw2** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:42 pm

Just got a new JVC head unit which I like very much, USB is definitely the way to go. There was a shimmer of red from the doors when I first got my car so I am guessing there is some sony rubbish in there but I haven't looked yet. Backs were stock and sounded small and crap. Decided fronts can wait but the rears needed replacing. Way too much treble and not enough mid range from anywhere. Went with some 4" fusion components but decided not to install the tweeters as the fronts are already 3 way from what I can see.

Results... a really nice increase in mid range sound, really fills out nicely. I know some recommend not having anything in the rear but this really worked out well.

It was not a fun job though, there is so little space behind the seats and those annoying 3 point mounting speakers make it impossible to fit something in cleanly without doing some minor fabricating. Drilled 2 new holes for each speaker and made 2x 3mm alluminium spacers. Both speakers are extremely stable, you cannot move them at all except for the flex of the surrounding metal. Used only nuts and bolts, none of those are screws.

Wow looking great in there.... you can already see where the stock amplifiers made their exit.

Right side

Left side. You can see the edge of both cross overs behind the brace cable tied in place. Each speaker weighs more than all the stock speakers put together.

Post by **MR2BOY23** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:26 pm

Nice tidy job

I had a bit of trouble changing the rear speakers as well, but yeah it was worth it

Post by **tw2** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:03 pm

Cheers. I know I wont be able to help myself when it comes to the front and go through the same thing all over again with 6 1/2" items. MDF and jig saw here I come.

Does anyone have any recommendations for fronts that fit without too too much cutting, drilling etc, don't mind making spacers, drilling new holes but I don't want to have to seriously gut the doors out. I will only be running these 4" as well so the fronts probably have to be 2 or 3 ways as I do not want to mount separate tweeters. Fusion reactors? Infinity kappa's? preferably with crossovers. Looking for good value between $100-200.

Post by **matrox02** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:47 pm

yeah i know what you mean! they are a fugly job to do, tell me how you find them fusions, i put in Earthquake 4 inchers.. a bit hard to hear, so i set the fader in a little to the rear, and yes.. i love USB and the remote for the stereo just makes things soo easy!

Post by **tw2** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:40 am

I have only sit in the car in the driveway but they sound really good. The mid range really helps a lot and is certainly the one part the stock setup lacked. They are only encounters so they aren't exactly top of the range but I think fusion has lifted their game a bit in the last few years. They seem to be balanced really well with the fronts (we'll pretend they are sony) with no fade either way and are still fairly loud with similar volume levels. Crossovers were the only absolute necessity that I had and they seem to filter out all the treble and bass that would otherwise make them sound terrible. I should have taken a photo of the back but they are very chunky, there is a fair bit of weight in them almost as much as my 4" soundstream tarantula's.

Post by CJ » Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:46 am

3 way are going to be WAY to much treble, especially if dont have subs.
i bought components and then just wired the original tweeter into them.
next round im going to install 2x 6inch into each door.
If you feel you need them, then just go for 2 way, but a decent brand that will have a little punch.

Post by **iOnic** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:49 am

My front speakers are Infinity Reference (IIRC) I wouldn't recommend them unless you have a sub...the treble is quite piercing with these in an MR2. They fit in the stock location with no issues and I took the tweeter apart and fitted that into the stock tweeter holder as well without too much trouble. Doing the rear speakers is a lot easier if you pull the seat out

4 bolts save you a lot of grief

Post by **Tronic** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:31 am

Good timing I have a similar thread on the go. Looks like 4" will fit in the rear no problem but also 5.25" may fit also ? Not a chance my 6.5" are going to fit in the rear. Idealy you need some 2 to 3mm aluminium plate to mount the rear speaker to to completely eliminate the gap round the speaker. You loose bass if you have gaps. The stock speaker must be a midrange fill. Looks like some decent 6" component fronts would be the easiest to fit for the woofer but the tweeter may need a custom bracket looking at the stock set-up.

Post by **tw2** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:44 am

Do you think 2 way will be enough? I will have no other treble other than whatever I get with the door speakers. I wasn't planning on keeping whatever is in the "sail panel" but I guess I could go for components again for the door and put the new tweeters in the stock locations. I am not even sure the stock tweeters are hooked up.

I might pull the door apart today, see exactly what is in there and how all the wiring works, might be a lot simpler than I am imagining it.

I don't think there is much need to fully insulate the rear speakers unless you have at least 5.25" in there and even then it will be very difficult to get a perfect seal, you would need to sandwich material all around the irregularities of the stock pillars. Even then there is another gap only 2" away for them to communicate. Props to you if you can pull it off though. The stock rear speaker is only 1" across, I found I got more treble than anything else out of it.

Haha I thought about removing the seats several times but thought I must almost be finished.

Post by CJ » Sun Sep 13, 2009 12:14 pm

iOnic wrote:My front speakers are Infinity Reference (IIRC) I wouldn't recommend them unless you have a sub...the treble is quite piercing with these in an MR2. They fit in the stock location with no issues and I took the tweeter apart and fitted that into the stock tweeter holder as well without too much trouble. Doing the rear speakers is a lot easier if you pull the seat out 4 bolts save you a lot of grief

+1 (much easier)

replace the tweeters if youre able, i found they were fine.
the components i mounted in the rear behind the seat, i used the tweeter up the top of the B pillar. then its near your ear and you can simply use the crossover or equalizer to adjust them. (if youre worried about not enough treble.)
Never been a fan of coaxial speakers, from experience, ive found each speaker has its own job and range of Hz to hit, using different speakers in the 1 set up that cant be adjusted gives a really "off" sound.
BUT depends how fussy you are with youre sound....

Post by **tw2** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:33 pm

Yay! sweet!

Check out this tip top wiring job, a professional has been in here.

I did some measurements of everything in there and I think I will stick to 5.25" for ease of fitment. The stock tweeters are not hooked up which is my only problem as I have no idea where or what was done to the wiring but I guess if I get components and stick the new tweeters where the stock ones went I don't need to worry about it.

Will a system with 2x4", 2x5.25" and 2xtweeters have the potential to be pretty good?

Post by CJ » Sun Sep 13, 2009 2:25 pm

depends on your amplifier..

Post by **tw2** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:04 pm

Not amplifying, running off head unit only. I want to keep it simple and light weight and I am willing to sacrifice some sound awsome-ness for it. Goals are to make it a lot better than stock without any major flaws in the setup.

Post by **Tronic** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:29 pm

tw2 wrote:Not amplifying, running off head unit only. I want to keep it simple and light weight and I am willing to sacrifice some sound awsome-ness for it. Goals are to make it a lot better than stock without any major flaws in the setup.

Same here, 50W x 4 and upgraded speakers should be at least as good as stock if not better. Never really had a problem with the sound quality with the stock set-up when it was working properly, the small cabin space of the MR2 means you don't need a whole lot of power anyway. Yeah I know the 50W is not RMS power but I very much doubt the stock amps are any better and that stock rear head mount speaker is REALLY small and if you get something half way decent in there then there are not many cars out there that allow you to get a speaker this close to your head.

The really important thing with these 50Wx4 headdecks is that you need to run a really decent wire direct to the battery. I just ran some cable rated at about 50Amps to the deck and if I decide to run an amp later I can just extend it. You cannot use the stock wiring for the main feed, there is too much voltage drop accross it when you crank up the volume.

Post by **tw2** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:52 pm

^ Exactly my thoughts. I have done the car audio thing with my old Honda Legend. It had a 4 channel fusion powerplant amp running two 350wrms 12" subs, a 5 channel amp running a collection of high end sony and soundstream speakers, a 3 farad capacitor and a whole lot of variations on all of those things. I kind of grew out of all that and now just look for a medium to highish quality well balanced system.

The gt4 has soundstream tarantula's 2 way 4" front, 3 way 6.5" rear, fusion 2 channel amp and 2x fusion 8" in the doors. I am tempted to remove the subs and amp in that too.

The mr2 cabin is small and space is definitely in short supply for things like subs and amps. I really value the space behind the seats and I do not want to have to remove a whole pile of crap to get the spare tyre or get at the battery.

I think I will go for fusion reactor 5.25" component's with cross overs. rrp is $200 but I have seen them on trademe and around the place for $150.