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Ted

4 Inch Speaker Upgrade

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I have replaced my stock stereo in my 05 cdi with a Kenwood unit. Can somone advise if I can replace the 4inch speakers from under the dash( remove the felt ) or must I remove the dash?Thank you,Ted

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I'm guessing you don't have the factory upgraded sound. Changing the 4-inch drivers won't result in a noticeable improvement unfortunately. Depending on how much you like getting your hands dirty, it may be easier to buy and install door speaker pods (expensive, though) or install nice speakers in the trunk panel. The most work -- with a good pay-off -- is to remove the dash and install the factory bass bins along with new 5½-inch speakers. This will give good sound with really good staging and presence. Add a subwoofer under or behind the seat and you will have really good sound.

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I'm guessing you don't have the factory upgraded sound. Changing the 4-inch drivers won't result in a noticeable improvement unfortunately. Depending on how much you like getting your hands dirty, it may be easier to buy and install door speaker pods (expensive, though) or install nice speakers in the trunk panel. The most work -- with a good pay-off -- is to remove the dash and install the factory bass bins along with new 5½-inch speakers. This will give good sound with really good staging and presence. Add a subwoofer under or behind the seat and you will have really good sound.

Thanks for the reply SameGuy. I don't have the factory upgrade . Do door speaker pods exsist for a 450? I was told by the installer that door speakers would not be an option due to the electric windows and lack of room ( clearance ) I would love to place them in hatch but that would elimanate my cabriolet top rail storage. I was hoping to replace the 4inchers with good quality 4inchers but if this would not improve the sound I guess I will have to purchase the bass bins from Fast eddy and have the installer do it all as I'm technically challenged.Thanks again,Ted

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Yes, the door speaker pods replace the mesh pockets in the 450. They were available for some time here in North America, but I don't believe that to be the case anymore. A cursory search on eBay yielded these from the UK.

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My pure ( bare bones ) does not have mesh pockets but has plastic pockets. By the look of these they should fit. ( any ideas? ) It also looks like I could tackle this job on my own saving a few $s.Thanks for the info,Ted

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I have replaced my stock stereo in my 05 cdi with a Kenwood unit. Can somone advise if I can replace the 4inch speakers from under the dash( remove the felt ) or must I remove the dash?Thank you,Ted

This is funny because I just pulled my speakers out yesterday and bought new ones at Performance World in toronto. When you see the speakers that come stock in smarts, it is down right embarassing how small and cheap they are haha. With an aftermarket head unit (which you have), you should notice a very big difference in the sound quality. The aftermarket head units are amplified, and they will be able to push new speakers to a much better sound.The only problem I found with my setup is that the stock speakers sit flush under the dash. This makes a bit of a problem because my new speakers are two ways (has the regular speaker and a tweeter on top for highs), so I'm going to make a MDF ring that lowers the speaker enough to clear it.Here's the speakers that I purchased: Click HereI'll let you guys know how they sound once they're in. Also keep in mind that the stock speakers have 3 screws, and any aftermarket speakers will have 4. This MDF ring will also help in the offset screws, because I can attach the ring to the dash, and then the new speaker to the ring.Sorry for the lengthy response, but I hope it helped :)I'll be posting up a thread once I finish my audio upgrade, it's going to be pretty extensive :)Steven

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Thanks FastEddy, I will be purchasing the Sub woofer from you in the near future. I also look forward to meeting you at the 2010 Totem Rendezvous. This meet will give us all ideas and I'm sure lots of buisness your way.( and emptier pockets my way )Steven please let me know how the new speakers sound when installed. The Kenwood deck makes a great improvement.Where did you find your MDF ring? Sounds like I may need one? Looking forward to your postRegards,Ted

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I'm going to be making the rings :) and I'll let you know how it sounds as soon as they're installed. I also have a 1000w peak/500w rms amp sitting here that is dying to make some noise haha

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Door speakers are easy to make pods for that replace the storage nets/pockets - saw a car from the UK with homebuilt ones - basically trace the outline onto mdf - cut it out - finish the edges with a router and add a baffle across the top. Here is a link to some on our site - Serious door speakers DIY

And the source - Evilution Door Pocket Speakers

There are commercial ($) units as well - Schmart's Door Speakers

You can also do a quick and dirty install - cutting the inner door panels but this is somewhat irreversible.

Here is a link to fq101 with a good "how to take your dash completely apart - and hopefully get it back together again..." Sound Package install

Cheers,

Cameron

p.s. was considering making some door pods but got told that the storage nets stay in no uncertain terms! :lol:

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I'm guessing you don't have the factory upgraded sound. Changing the 4-inch drivers won't result in a noticeable improvement unfortunately. Depending on how much you like getting your hands dirty, it may be easier to buy and install door speaker pods (expensive, though) or install nice speakers in the trunk panel. The most work -- with a good pay-off -- is to remove the dash and install the factory bass bins along with new 5½-inch speakers. This will give good sound with really good staging and presence. Add a subwoofer under or behind the seat and you will have really good sound.

You might also consider the "headrest speaker mod"; I did this in my cabrio. Search this site for details.The rear channel of the aftermarket head unit powers the speakers set in the headrests. When I'm going "topless", I can boost the rear channel to compensate for increased road /wind noise :) Doesn't do much for the stereo imaging though as you obviously get alot of "left-channel" bias.MZ

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Yeah I remember seeing those headrest speakers, looks like a great mod. I think for the time it takes, I'm going to make a nice set of door pods and throw some decent quality speakers in there. Hopefully this summer my car will be a rolling sound system :P

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Anyone that goes into production making speaker door pockets and headrest speaker pockets within Canada would make a killing.I would be a customer!!Ted

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Anyone that goes into production making speaker door pockets and headrest speaker pockets within Canada would make a killing.I would be a customer!!Ted

I'm actually thinking of starting to do this with the door pockets, I'll keep ya posted :)

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Highly Recommended! More important than the speakers you choose. (imho and ymmv and whatever.. nono if you disagree you are wrong [imho])

Wait, those bins are not there stock? Even if you have the upgraded sound package? Edited by briand

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Thanks Huronlad. :) If the car has tweeters, is it safe to assume that it has the upgraded sound package?

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Factory sound upgrade includes the tweeters, bass bins and larger mid-woofers. Not just the tweeters.

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... is to remove the dash and install the factory bass bins along with new 5½-inch speakers..

The speaker bins allow for the fitting of a 5 1/4inch woofer without any sort of special spacer/adapter? I have the factory upgraded sound package but recently installed a new head unit:

Posted Image

New Stereo In-situ by briandewitt, on Flickr

Posted Image

Up close of my new stereo headunit by briandewitt, on Flickr

Of course, I would like better speakers to improve the sound. The head unit did improve it a bit but it sounds like the speakers are meeting their match. I just want to make sure that 5 1/4inch woofers fit without a problem (or minimal effort) before I take the dash off my daily driver. And since you (and others here) have done it, I'd much rather learn from your experience before I order some speakers. :)

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I want those bass bins, could you grind the opening out to hold a 6.5'' speaker??I just installed a 12'' subwoofer in my car, it's a Blaupunkt slim sub that is only 2 inches deep. The box is as wide as the trunk, right against the back seats, it's only 3 inches deep, and just 12 inches tall, I don't really lose any space at all. It hits ok, the amp I'm using is a POS so I'm gonna jam more power and see what it does.

Edited by GetSet

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