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Upgrade input and question

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  #1  
Old 11-27-2010, 12:27 PM
edgil1985's Avatar
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Default Upgrade input and question

I am looking to upgrade the factory speakers in my 2003 Honda Accord Coupe. I need to know what kind of RMS value I need to be looking into to get the speakers as close to factory radio output as possible, to not overpower or underpower. Also some suggestions on speakers. Not looking for components just coaxials. Thanks in advance.
 
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Old 11-28-2010, 09:25 AM
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the factory radio output power is very low - no more than 20W RMS. too low to properly drive an aftermarket speaker. factory speakers are designed with very high efficiency. you will underpower any aftermarket speaker you install. you want the highest efficiency rated speaker - JBL has some of the highest i've seen (above 92dB @ 1Watt at 1Meter

your car has factory components. putting aftermarket coaxials in the doors will make it sound worse. you should already have tweeters in the dash corners. your other concern is coaxials require a lot more top depth due to the protruding tweeters, and you're already limited with rear mount depth. will you disconnect the factory tweeters or let them remain powered by the head unit?

if you insist on coaxials in the doors powered by the head unit - buy whatever fits and has high efficiency. it's the lowest performance option you could do and may sound worse than stock. Crutchfield will tell you what fits and give you the speaker wire harness and mounting adapter. pick up some weatherstripping foam to seal the new speaker baffle against the factory door panel grill. not doing this will cause cancellation of midbass and lower - the factory speaker will have more bass than an unsealed aftermarket speaker.

to properly upgrade speakers you'd need components powered by an external amplifier. that may not be an option for you due to budget - but it should be your long term goal if you want it to sound much better than stock.
 
  #3  
Old 11-29-2010, 02:42 PM
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Originally Posted by keep_hope_alive
the factory radio output power is very low - no more than 20W RMS. too low to properly drive an aftermarket speaker. factory speakers are designed with very high efficiency. you will underpower any aftermarket speaker you install. you want the highest efficiency rated speaker - JBL has some of the highest i've seen (above 92dB @ 1Watt at 1Meter

your car has factory components. putting aftermarket coaxials in the doors will make it sound worse. you should already have tweeters in the dash corners. your other concern is coaxials require a lot more top depth due to the protruding tweeters, and you're already limited with rear mount depth. will you disconnect the factory tweeters or let them remain powered by the head unit?

if you insist on coaxials in the doors powered by the head unit - buy whatever fits and has high efficiency. it's the lowest performance option you could do and may sound worse than stock. Crutchfield will tell you what fits and give you the speaker wire harness and mounting adapter. pick up some weatherstripping foam to seal the new speaker baffle against the factory door panel grill. not doing this will cause cancellation of midbass and lower - the factory speaker will have more bass than an unsealed aftermarket speaker.

to properly upgrade speakers you'd need components powered by an external amplifier. that may not be an option for you due to budget - but it should be your long term goal if you want it to sound much better than stock.
I want to keep the factory radio. I have looked into getting the dash kit for the lower compartment to put an aftermarket radio in. If it would sound okay off the factory radio with a line converter or whatever I should use for the best possible results then I could do that later on.
 
  #4  
Old 11-29-2010, 10:05 PM
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a LOC to a decent amp would sound better than powering speakers off an aftermarket head unit. or you could get a nice amp with a high-level input.
 
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