Hey guys, my wife is tired of her basic stereo in her clubman so it's time to upgrade. I have a kicker 10" and a 5 channel eclipse amp that will be going in her car, now i need to make a choice on speakers. I think we will end up putting an alpine deck into the secret dash compartment as others have done. As for speakers, I hear 6.5's will fit up front and the rears are 6x9's. I thought I heard something about some speakers not fitting due to mounting depth. I can get a deal through a friend on Rockford Fosgate speakers for 75 percent off retail. This is likely what I will do although I probably wouldn't have thought about RF before for speakers. The 5 channel amp we've got is 50x4 plus 300x1 so I was thinking about components in the front
( http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/product_details.asp?cat_id=3&item_id=91973&locale= en_US&p_status=current )
and these 3 way 6x9's in the rear
( http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/product_details.asp?cat_id=3&item_id=95103&locale= en_US&p_status=current )

So, what do you guys think about these as choices? Is 50 watts gonna be enough for these or should I be looking at some lower end speakers? Is RF crap and should I be looking at another brand?

 

Both your choices are good ones. I have heard these and IMHO they sound good, especially if you are getting them for a deal.

You should not have any problems with depth. I have Focal 165VR3 set in the front and the depth there is also 2.7" and there is a little room to spare.
As for the rear there is a lot of room for depth and any 6x9 should fit.

50 Watts of power is enough for those.

As for adding a head unit in the secrect compartment. My suggestion is to put int he speakers first no amp. You will be surprised how much better the sound is. If that then is not loud enough the add the amp. The head unit is actually very good and those that have gone the way of the seperate head unit have also lost functionality by doing so in some cases.

Again is suggest taking it a step at a time. That is what i have done and although I will be adding an amp this spring, it is a matter of i like the windows down on the highway and just need more volume. Well I actually don't like the sound of the OEM HiFi amp either.

 

So after reading some other replies, it looks like some people have fit 4 inch speakers in the upper door slot, where I was planning to use the tweeters from the components. Now I am thinking that maybe in addition to the components, i should get some 4 inch full ranges for the upper slot and figure out another place for the tweeters, or don't use them at all. Suggestions? How hard is it to run a 4 inch in the upper door? Would I be able to run it off the deck power of say a 50x4 alpine or pioneer and have it sound good or would i need these amped as well? Would this be just too many speakers if i used all of it? Would it sound better to use the 6.5 inch woofers and 4 inch full range and ditch the component tweeters? These are the 4 inch I am thinking about:
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/produ...n_US&p_status=

Also, one last thing, does anyone run the enclosure like cups behind their speakers? I forget what the brand is but it supposedly makes the speakers punchier, I have heard mixed reviews as to whether or not people like them. In the past, I have stuffed pillow stuffing behind speakers to make them sound better.

 

If you mean speaker baffles, I was told by an Infinity tech that they would kill the bass. This has been confirmed by several people here on NAM who tried them and had to remove them.

 

Baffles depend on the type of woofer... if its a free air design or not.. thats why people have different opinions.

Oh and as far as running an additional 4" coax in the front, dont bother you will ruin your sound stage in my opinion. Spend a little extra cash on your 2-way comp set or look into a 3-way setup.

 

I'd say go with straight up 2 way component and forget the 4" midrange. I just fit a set of 6.5" component Infiniti Kapas AND the crossovers (carefully) inside the door without any problems whatsoever, although I did have to come up with a mounting arangement for the tweeter since there wasnt anything straight bolt on. Take a look at the Infinity Kappa sizing for the 6.5" comps and you'll get a good idea of fitment if your target brand is slightly smaller.

 

Also watch your ohm ratings and such. The Kappas are 2Ohm speakers which happen to work well as replacements for the stock 5.25 and 4" non-hifi setup. The impedience is actually slightly higher than the stock 2 ways in paralell.

 

Interesting about the baffles, I thought those would help with bass, but the Alpines i put in certainly are completely devoid of any midbass. I'll have to try removing those. The windows actually rub them slightly as they come down too.

Installing in the upper door holes is perfectly easy. I made adapter plates to install the tweeters from the alpine set. Just trace out the stock [midranges] out on some thin masonite or MDF or ABS, cut out, and drill holes for your tweeters. I think there's pictures of something similar in the big FAQ thread.