- 6.5" Components ...

[Zeke]

I know this is going to open a huge can-'o-worms - with almost everyone having a favorite "brand", etc. - but I am having such a hard time selecting what 6 1/2" components to run up front in my 2003 Chevy Monte Carlo SS. This is more-or-less a sound quality build ... My days of booomin' the sealed 12's in the trunk are over ... Now it is time to build them under the rear deck, & do it the right way ... (free air), ... etc. ...

I have looked closely at many:

Alpine Type S

Soundstream Reference Series (2-way set, NOT 3-way set)

Boston Acoustics SR60

Infinity - Kappa Component, Kappa Perfect, Kappa Reference

Polk db (I have had MANY Polk products in the past, & loved them all ...)

JL Audio

MTX

MB Quart

... And a few others ...

For various reasons, there are some brands I am not interested in, or for various reasons I have ruled out:

JBL

Pioneer

Kenwood

Sherwood

And, yeah, some others, ... BUT this does NOT mean I do not want to hear about 'em all. Whatever some of you have to offer, I will take the time to read 10 times over, ... promise.

Some rather important details:

I need at least a 1" tweeter, ... & then a 6.5" driver that can put out some amount of bass ... I understand there will not be a ton of bass no matter what, & I am going to be running two 12" subs, but I think I can find something out there.

I am able to install something "difficult" ... fiberglass, fab wood (mdf, bpw, metals, etc.) for the most part, or I can figure out how to do it. I have done some unique things in the past.

I want NO HOLES in the door skin ... everything needs to fit behind ... call it "stealth", if you will.

I crave great vocals ... Love to sing-along, but usually NOT in front of others!

They will be getting approximately 85-100 watts (per channel) of good, clean, capped power.

I do not know what more I can offer without rambling so much more that no one will make it much further, if they/you have made it here at all ...

FYI: Drivers will be well sealed, possibly in their own enclosures, if necessary, & the doors will be well-Dynamat'd. ... I am pretty sure I can answer anything else that may help lead to a great recommendation.

__________________

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Zeke

NY

'12

Click to read more...

 

[aztec 10+ year member]

Use 2 layers(maybe 1 layer in the inner door if you want, i did when i had my trailblazer) of dynamat extreme on your doors and you will be in good shape....

and get Dayton Audio RS150-4 6" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm 295-372 you cant beat that for 70.... , that if your on a budget, if not then dynaudio....

 

[aztec 10+ year member]

that if your running active, if not then

Boston Acoustics SR60

But you will have to dynamat your doors!!!!!! and if you can make a mdf baffle, if you can....

 

[zako 10+ year member]

I am running Hybrid Audio Imagine speakers in front, in bi-amp mode. I am running clean 4x80 watts to them. I thought my old Alpines Type-R had ok bass, but these are fantastic considering the size of the speaker, and ordinary mounting depth. 6mm one way linear xmax excursion. These woofers are quite special because despite of having decent bass extension, they are also usable up to over 5KHz and require no low pass crossover! Should handle >100watts running active easily. I think the woofers alone are worth the price. The passive crossover setup is quite primitive, with some people complaining that there is no tweeter attenuation, and this is why I think these should be run bi-amp or active. If you want something similar with good passive crossovers, consider Hybrid Audio Unity, which is the same woofer, only with a dust cap, a better tweeter and crossover box. Unfortunately, they do cost a lot more ($350 vs $250). Another option is to try to find a used set of Hybrid Audio Clarus speakers. This one should blow away practically anything for its price in bass department, and still sound good in the rest of the frequency range. +3inch mounting depth though.

 

[BnGRacing 10+ year member]

I'd look into Image Dynamics components. They're made well and have a bit of 'pop' to them that will give whatever free-air woofers you choose that snap that's often (mis)interpreted as a trait of a sealed subwoofer.

I've had a few IB systems in my day and of the speakers you're looking at, budget wise, I'd see if there's a shop where you can give those a listen. IMO, they sound very similar to Rainbow components, they're so close I don't think a person would be able to tell the difference unless it was a very quick A-B test. And even then, it'd be tough.

Besides the Boston & JL components, I'm not a fan of the speakers you've listed. And even then, those two are not known for having midbass despite them sounding quite clean.