http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Refer...5872211&sr=8-1
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1086032...2cf.html?tp=95

How much better are these than stock? They are about the only 2ohm aftermarket speakers around. I would love to get some JL speakers and a new deck, but I just don't want to spend money. I am not a huge sound guy, but I want a little improvement while remaining stockish. I am not expecting to be blow away. Hopefully the weak point isn't the stock amp. If these are just a smidge better I think they are worth it for that price.. I still question if it is even worth bothering.. Opinions?

Also, why does crutchfield say the 6x9's don't fit the back? It only shows a few 6x9's that fit.

 

i would say go for it since its only 65$
after all they do look a lot better than stock by far




6x9s can be a pain to make fit because of the "basket" the speaker is in. my audiobahns didnt fit right because they were a little wider

 

Oh I see, thanks. Did you have to mod the area much to get them to fit? I can't really picture it because I haven't taken apart the rear deck. I assume I can just "make" them fit.

I have done some better searching on here and found that people have positive things to say about these. I just had to dig a little more. Better than stock anyway.

 

yes they will be a big improvement over stock. As far as why crutchfield says only a few 6X9s fit is because they are talking about a direct factory replacement, meaning holes line up and basket is the same size or smaller. In most cases either the holes don't line up 100% (like you can get 2 then drill out the other 2) or the basket is too big to fit "flush"

But in the end its all about how hard you try and what compromises your willing to make. ill tell you this ive never had someone bring me in a 6X9 or buy a 6X9 that i couldn't install

 

I have the compontent version of them in the front and the 3 ways in the back. They sound good and are better than stock. I would not say they sound awesome, but definately better. My only complaint is there is an audible hiss at low volumes. I think it is because of the amps, but am not sure.

I say for how much they are you cant go wrong.

 

I ordered them along with the 3-way 6x9's. The 3 ways were only 75 bucks through amazon.

Is it even worth trying these with the stock tweeter still on? Or should I not waste my time and just unplug them. I hate losing the positioning of the stock tweeter, but I don't think it will matter since they are so crappy.

 

I would keep the stock tweeter.

 

ya hiss is an issue with the amps. ground loop problem

 

The Kappa's will fit but it's an extremely tight fit in the rear lid. u may have to drill a little.

 

From reading around, it sounds like the Reference 6x9's are too big for the hole and would need a spacer... I peeked into the rear deck from the trunk. Is there even enough space to add a 1" spacer? It looks like the speakers are already really close to the deck to me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

 

1" spacer? i doubt it needs to be that thick...

 

if u need spacers, why do my kappas fit? .....bigger speaker than the references.....
it was just one screw didn't line up.

 

Actually Refs are bigger. Kappas are a better quality speakers but It doesn't mean they are bigger. According to Crutchfield's fitment guide and some people on here - Kappas will fit but References do not. The basket is too big is all it is, I think.

I am just going to try to find some ABS sheets or wood and make a spacer. I am still not sure what to expect though, I haven't actually found anyone explain how they got them in. I hope it goes well.

 

I guess i have an advatage with both an angle drill and an angle drill bit. But i bet i could make them fit without a spacer or cutting out the hole

i wouldnt nessicarily trust crutchfield in terms of what can and cant fit, again a little bit of elbow grease and you can make alot of **** work.

What i would do in ur situation is buy wood 1/2 in or whatever just in case (if your really that concerned they wont fit) and then take apart the back and try them first. Who knows they may just fit like nothing. and if not then you can make a spacer... Im pretty sure a 1in spacer would fit under the rear deck if need be but i seriously don't think that is necessary. I cant even count how many cobalts ive installed almost everything in and i have had no issues what so ever on speaker fitment (lol every one that comes thru the shop i work on by myself because im so much faster at them.... my record is taking out the whole back seat in a coupe in 32 seconds)

 

I bought a set of Memphis M-Class 6x9s. The basket wouldn't fit through the opening in the deck, so I popped the little clips out, put them back in from the other side, and mounted the speakers from inside the trunk. No spacers, no drilling.

 

Would you have to upgrade the amp if you went aftermarket on the sub?

 

You dont have to, but it will sound a good bit better if you do.

 

if you kept the stock amp you sub would have to be a dual 2

 

I kinda figured that

 

I installed my 2-way References... they sound good by themselves.. BUT it sounds like ass because of the stock tweeters, which makes 2 sets of tweeters in the front. Too many highs are mixing together and the pioneers are harsh. I don't want to unplug the stock ones because the imaging is off and it just doesn't sound right.

I guess I will have to get the Reference components.. How should I go about installing them? Does the factory have a built in crossover? is it in the speakers? Should I install the aftermarket crossover on the 6.5 wires and connect it to the tweet with new wire? or can I just splice the mid and tweet to the factory wires with no cross over?

 

install xover on the 6.5 wires and then run mid and tweet. but if you already have the co-ax i would just buy a pair of stand alone tweeters and install them in place of the factory ones. Still splice the 6.5 wires thou

 

Oh ok, that makes a little more sense and save some money... I didn't even think of that. The cross over would just cut the highs from going to the coax? Because two sets of highs seems a little too much when it gets loud...


My only confusion is about the crossover.. I would need a crossover for mid and highs... but it seems 2ohm infinity's (1030t) only come with an xover to filter highs? I would need a 2-way crossover and by the time I get that, I might as well have purchased the components for $100 on amazon. ugh!

I am still new to car audio lol, thanks for the help...

 

well no if you get a pair of stand alone tweeters you the x-over that comes with them is just for that tweeter and would only filter out the lows for that tweeter. If you run the coax you would want it running full range so the tweeter does play.

Right now ur using 2 pairs of tweeters by running the factory and infinity tweeter so changing to the infinity on the top would be more of a quality change then a volume change. Yes it could get louder but if you turn the tweeter on the coax to 0db from +3 (assuming you have it that way) it should be fine. and if not you can always eq the treble down.

By buying the tweeter only you are basically replicating what you have now you wouldnt need a 2 way x-over or any of that jazz. If you bought the component it would have less tweet then the above scenario and possibly sound better but in the end it you're probably not going to notice a huge difference. So yes buying a component is the "correct" route but IMO it would be wasteful money wise for little gain. I would bet money that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you herd them both side by side (on the stock amp)

 

I would like to do it right, because right now I have the treble down and the coax set to 0db.. and it just sounds awful if it gets very loud. The coaxes sound awesome if you turn off the stock tweets and lean your head down a little.

I want to do it right and just get the components. It is the only way I will be satisfied. I can sell these coaxes to a friend. I just didn't think much about it before I ordered them... After reading I certainly know a lot more about car audio..

I tapped the rear sub line yesterday and installed a JL W1 in the stock box with a 250.1 amp. Sounds awesome, hits hard and puts out a lot of bass for a little guy.

One last silly question, I swear.. Will the components be getting less power since they are going off of the same channel wire? With the tweeter channel unplugged, will the amp be able to handle the load better? It worries me a little that the wattage is higher on the components compared to the coax..


P.S. Emperor, you were right about the rear 6x9's.. They were easy... They were a bit large but they came with a half inch plastic spacer to fit in a standard 6x9 hole. Everyone made this sound way too complicated, the rear deck came of in a couple minutes. Every cobalt forum makes the rear deck sound like a nightmare. I didn't have to do the 20 steps that all the how to's have.... I think what confuses people is the rear clips, they just need to pop them and pull.. The most time consuming part is taking off the headrest, which takes like 30 seconds.

 

if you added just the tweeters then you would turn off the stock tweets and not have to lean your head down a little.

well yes and no. a component is inherently less efficent. They just require more power most of the time because the drivers are normally bigger and beefier and the passive crossover wastes power as well. The main reason i suggest not using the stock 6.5 and tweeter wire is for one the xover point on that tweeter is probably too high and for 2 there's really no guarantee on anything so last thing you want to do is blow that tweeter because the stock system had something weird going on.

about the rear deck. yes but everyone does things differently and has different levels of experience. Ive also noticed some cobalts have the c pillar taped to the quarter panel piece. Which is stupid but not surprising considering the immense random differences in our cars. hence why i was saying don't worry about putting the 6X9s in that's really the easy part. even if they didn't have the spacer making them fit isn't very difficult just requires a drill and a bit of creativity