Where are all the stock speakers located, and what are the dimensions of are all of them?

 

>>Where are all the stock speakers located, and what are the dimensions of are all of them?

Six speakers total.

Front doors-4 speakers, 2 in each door
Tweeter 3/4" near to door pull. Access by removing interior door pull cover and door panel.
Midrange/woofer 5.25" in bottom front of each door. Access by removing door panel

Rear quarter panels next to the rear seats- 2 speakers, one each side
6x9 on each side. Access by removing the whole interior panel.

Search for info on stereo and speaker installs that have been posted in the past- there are many.

Careful when you change speakers. The stock speakers don't look like much but they are efficient and the stock headunit is underpowered. Changing speakers alone will yield very limited improvement in sound. The better the speakers the more they need a good clean amp if you want better sound.

PM me if you want to discuss your options.
Have fun.

 

would a 1" MB Quart Q-Line tweeter fit in the front door?

 

The tweeters in the door are actually closer to 1". I replaced them with Infinity 1" tweeters which were a tiny bit larger than the stock tweeters so it took a little dremel work to get them to fit in the stock bracket.

You can also replace the 5.25" woofers with 6.5" woofers as long as you use a spacer to bring it out so it doesn't interfere with the window.

 

awesome :smile:

 

Cathode,
You do *not* have the HK upgrade do you? Replacing speakers with the HK system is not recommended ...

You can find pics of the HK speakers in this gallery - it will give some idea of what the stock speakers are like too.

 

nice post. nice pics.

 

no HK system
i was thinking about doing a total overhaul of the system, new headunit also probably a Clarion
for speakers i'm thinking of going MB Quart Q-Line 5-1/4" components in front, and also in the rear make plate that will fit into the stock 6x9 hole but put the same 5-1/4" components on it
for subwoofer that is undecided right now, but i'm leaning towards a single 10" Image Dynamics IDQ in a custom enclosure, i listen primarily to punk rock and i need a nice fast subwoofer, any recomendation?

was also looking at the Polk Audio db Series, they have a 6-1/2" component set that i'm sure i could make fit, they have nice grills also, and a very nice 3 way 6x9" both speakers have very good sensitivity ratings

just out of curiosity where is the extra 2 speakers in the HK system located?

 

FYI: Crutchfield sells adapter plates that will mount in the rear 6x9 opening and will give you a perfect opening to mount a 6.5" round coaxial or triaxial speaker. That's what I used to mount my rear inifinity kappas.

 

Also - for the best bass response make sure you seal up the rear speaker enclosures to be airtight. Click the link in my sig to see how I did it. Cheap and easy.

 

how do you like thoes Infinitiy's? in the past i havent been a very big fan of Infinity speakers because to be honest they wernt that great, and rather overpriced for what they were, but their newer stuff looks pretty promising.

 

I have the 6.5" Reference components in the front, and the 6.5" Kappas in the rear.

I like their sound very much. The rears actually put out a heck of a lot of bass, but you have to really seal up the enclosures to achieve that. I put a small self-powered sub under the passenger seat, but to be honest the bass from the rears would be good enough for me. Had I waited on the sub, I probably would have skipped it.

Otherwise, I would rate the Infinity's on the "bright" side. Fortunately that's the way I like my music: bright and clear, but with some bass punch.

If I recall correctly, I paid ~$100 for the front References, and ~$125 for the rear Kappas. I think they put out great sound for that price.

 

>>no HK system
>>i was thinking about doing a total overhaul of the system...

Just be aware this is a costly option but the final sound will be better than HK. Many of us spend $1500 to $2500 to do the full upgrade. Don't forget to do Dynamat extreme or some sort of sound deadening in the doors to help reduce vibration and road noise.

>>just out of curiosity where is the extra 2 speakers in the HK system located?
The Tweeters for the HK are really coaxial tweeter/ midrange speakers. The rear 6x9 and dual voice coil speakers.

As an alternative to your plan I wonder about an option to just add a good strong clean amp and subwoofer with cross overs (plus the Dynamat extreme) and leave all else alone in your case. Maybe a different head unit if you need additional features. The stock speakers are efficient. Maybe a little more clean power would help some. The trouble with aftermarket speakers is they will tend to be less efficient than the stock speakers so you will need to add decent amps to generate as much clean non distorted sound and that all costs more $$$.

Remember HK is only a $550 option and your stock audio came with the car for $0 extra.

 

>>>>no HK system
>>>>i was thinking about doing a total overhaul of the system...
>>
>>Just be aware this is a costly option but the final sound will be better than HK. Many of us spend $1500 to $2500 to do the full upgrade. Don't forget to do Dynamat extreme or some sort of sound deadening in the doors to help reduce vibration and road noise.
>>
>>>>just out of curiosity where is the extra 2 speakers in the HK system located?
>>The Tweeters for the HK are really coaxial tweeter/ midrange speakers. The rear 6x9 and dual voice coil speakers.
>>
>>As an alternative to your plan I wonder about an option to just add a good strong clean amp and subwoofer with cross overs (plus the Dynamat extreme) and leave all else alone in your case. Maybe a different head unit if you need additional features. The stock speakers are efficient. Maybe a little more clean power would help some. The trouble with aftermarket speakers is they will tend to be less efficient than the stock speakers so you will need to add decent amps to generate as much clean non distorted sound and that all costs more $$$.
>>
>>Remember HK is only a $550 option and your stock audio came with the car for $0 extra.

So are you saying, you can add an amp to both the HK system and the stock system to have a better sounding system?

 

>>>>As an alternative to your plan I wonder about an option to just add a good strong clean amp and subwoofer with cross overs (plus the Dynamat extreme) and leave all else alone in your case. Maybe a different head unit if you need additional features. The stock speakers are efficient. Maybe a little more clean power would help some. The trouble with aftermarket speakers is they will tend to be less efficient than the stock speakers so you will need to add decent amps to generate as much clean non distorted sound and that all costs more $$$.

>>So are you saying, you can add an amp to both the HK system and the stock system to have a better sounding system?
The Stock audio allows for a certain level of volume before distortion occurs. It lacks deep bass and bright highs.
The HK audio allows for a little more volume without distortion and alot more bass.
While you can add an amp to either the stock or the HK systems it would be to get slightly cleaner sound at higher volumes without as much distortion. So have you reached the limit of volume on your audio systems where you feel there is audible distortion but still not enough volume? If so then a better system or a more powerful amp might be helpful or adding a sub with amp with crossover would help not to overwork the smaller stock speakers so much and reduce distortion.

At lower to middle volume levels the better amp is not going to make much difference for the stock or HK systems. The performance you get is limited to the music source, speakers, road noise, your level of sound deadening and your head unit.

I would not expect that much high volume performance out of the stock audio or HK audio systems. If you have your sunroof and windows down then road and wind noise will overpower these.

 

I read in the audio section that you were thinking of chaning your head unit. Did you do that or are going to do that? If you are and have an 03 or 04 Mini I would like to know if you are interested in selling your original HU. Let me know and thanks!
MGear