Hi all, I read in today's junk mail that Strathfield car audio have some Kenwood 7 x 10 speakers on sale for $99.

Now my question is will these bolt straight in to the rear parcel shelf of a 3rd gen, and replace the factory (ie. crap-sounding) 6 x 9's without any further modification?

If the answer is yes, my next question then is whether the stock KJ head unit can power these Kenwoods satisfactorily? Not after massive SPL or bass, just want a nice clean sound with decent clean mids & treble!

Specifically if anyone's actually done this to their car I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts

Thanks
Justin

dont think they'll fit in the stock position
your going to have to make some spacers up to raise them from the parcel shelf
i wouldn't recommend running these off the stock h/u

I would assume not, seeing they are 1" wider and 1" longer...:cool:

Dimensions (W x H x D) 269 x 198 x 110mm
Mounting Depth 82mm

True - very good point BlackAWD.

I realise that by producing a good audio signal (ie. through a new headunit), this is the first step to good sound.

However, I have the steering-wheel mounted audio controls (Verada xi) and would like to keep them, not because I use them that much, but more so just to keep the car stock!

Does there exist an aftermarket kit to retain the use of the steering wheel audio controls with, say, a Pioneer headunit?

From your question I assume you still have the stock head unit. If you are wanting cleaner sounding music, this is definitely what you need to replace first.

Replacing the speakers will not improve your sound quality a quarter as much as replacing the head unit (if you can measure these things :) ) I changed my head unit when I bought my car and was blown away by the difference - for 3 years. Only now am I upgrading the speakers and getting a sub and amp.

Edit - oops I deleted my original post cos I wasn't sure you had a stock headunit, till I read your question again...:redface:

I am really not sure about this, but I vaguely recall you can get aftermarket adapters for some headunits to interface with the stock controls...

I use a remote, which sits in the console - and I don't have steering wheel controls...

A quick Google brought this up which may help:
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Keep-Your-Steering-Wheel-Control-Functionality-Using-Adapters&id=367370

Apart from anything else I don't know why you'd want to get bigger speakers than 6x9"s in the rear? More mid-bass? Probably better off getting nice 6x9"/6"s with a sub.

As for the headunit. If you wanted you improve the sound without ditching the factory headunit (lets just say you want it to look stock) then you could get an amp which runs on high level in to power the speakers. That'd give you the best of both worlds, provided you can live without mp3.

Otherwise there's a few attachments that allow the wheel controls to be wired into the headunit. Pioneer, Alpine and Sony have these off the top of my head, probably plenty of others too :)

True - very good point BlackAWD.

I realise that by producing a good audio signal (ie. through a new headunit), this is the first step to good sound.

However, I have the steering-wheel mounted audio controls (Verada xi) and would like to keep them, not because I use them that much, but more so just to keep the car stock!

Does there exist an aftermarket kit to retain the use of the steering wheel audio controls with, say, a Pioneer headunit?

Im bias but i recommend Alpine HUs, they have a good range of units and can supply adaptors for the steering wheel controls. See your nearest specialty store (not JBHIFI)

Kieran

Yes they will fit, most 7x10 speakers come with 6x9 mounting brackets. Don't think they'll fit under your stock speaker covers though.

biggest issue with the rear speakers will be the mounting depth.

my old 6x9's were basically sitting on the torsion bars.

now i've got the 5"ers in there theres PLENTY of room, and they sound better too :P

The 7X10's are good for bass, but wont fit in the stock locations, and definitly wont work very well off the stock headunit - an amp is recommended. They have the same surface area as a 8" round IIRC.

No comments as to quality of kenwood, although they may have improved since I last looked at them - the retailer may give some clues as to quality though...

No comments as to quality of kenwood, although they may have improved since I last looked at them - the retailer may give some clues as to quality though...

Is this your subtle way of saying that you wouldn't touch Kenwood or their retailers with a barge pole? lol

i know you can get hardware that allows you to wire your steering wheel controls to your aftermarket h/u but from what i remember its pretty expensive.

but then again, how desperate are you for a good quality sound.