Hi there

Bought a TW ES last week and couldn't be happier with it, truely a pleasure to drive.
I'm not really going to mod this car at all, but something has to be done about the sound system, it's woefull.

I was going to start today by putting a good paid of 6x9's in the back, and put some splits up the front.
Drove down to JB to buy some speakers, but couldn't decide on what to purchase and the guy who "helped" me was useless (tried to sell me some JL audio speakers which I didn't want and had an attitude)

So, I'm after suggestions for some really good quality 6x9's that will slot into the parcel sheft with no worries and sound bloody good. One day I will be hooking them up to an amp but at this stage I don't plan on putting a sub in. Whats a good 6x9 that will deliver really sharp bass and great sound and splits to match.

Something between $200 and $300
I've heard focal is good?

Thanks guys

i would not buy rear speakers, just put your money into the best splits you can for the front.

Yes focal is good, i have their polyglass v2 splits in my te.

I'm guessing you have a stock deck?
If so then first thing I would buy is a new headunit as the stock one wont have enough power to driver aftermarket speakers properly

I currently have the stock deck but an planning on putting in a single DIN dvd with 7" screen

http://www.pioneer.com.au/Products/Car%20Entertainment/Visual%20Audio/AVH-%20P5250BT.aspx
this will be done in stages, rear speakers in first, splits and deck installed then, rear speakers run to an amp

TBH I wouldnt be doing it that way but thats my oppinion you can do it whatever way you want
If it was me I would do this

Headunit -> 4ch amp -> 6 1/2" Splits -> Rears

Trust me the new rear speakers you are getting will sound like crap on the stock deck as it only puts out like 4watts rms per channel
Where as most aftermarkets are 26watts rms

TBH I wouldnt be doing it that way but thats my oppinion you can do it whatever way you want
Headunit -> 4ch amp -> 6 1/2" Splits -> Rears


I know you said if it were YOU, but just for the OP i would recommend new speakers after the source but before the amp.

New Deck would be my first point of call... The Stock Deck is matched beautifully to the 15Watt Speakers..

IF JB is your preference look at Cadence, Kicker and MB Quart..

JL audio are fairly good... and I wouldn't say no if they were in a Package deal with the front and rears..

Here is the Killer... It has been noticed amongst several 3rd Gen owners that the Bass roll off from the back shelf is rather sharp..

If your after the Bass orientated sound the Kicker would be my personal choice.
(I went Clarion Splits up front and Eclipse 6x9's down the back and I am perfectly happy)..

Best thing you can do is go an Test drive the speakers your interested in...

Take in a CD with a Song you know that sounds good (Meaning you know how it is supposed to sound)
Test the speakers and see if they are as clear as you like them to be...

The reason of doing it in stages was because I was planning on putting in a dvd screen..... but they're slightly on the rich side and am now reconsidering this for a decent iphone compatible H/U (easily save $500) and do the lot at once.
I've had a look and a yarn with a few people and have been directed to this package:
Focal 690CVX 6x9's coupled to a
Focal SOLID 2 channel amp powers the 6x9's to 75rms
Focal 165VB splits - though the mounting depth req'd is 65mm, is this too deep to fit in the magna doors????

I can get the above installed for just over $1000
I'm a bit of an audio noob so am not 100% if this stuff is good, though I've heard good things about Focal

When I had the sub-less setup going I had Focal Polyglass 165VR splits up front, and Digital Designs DDCX6x9's in the rear. Focal speakers are very efficient and can be powered off the headunit if you please and still sound pretty impressive, but benefit greatly from a bit of power behind them. Forget Digital Designs unless you've got good clean power behind them. A lot of people didn't believe I didn't have a sub on a lot of music with this running.

Where abouts in Vic are you? I've still got this gear in the car, I can easily turn off the sub to provide a demo if you want an idea of what you can achieve without blowing out the budget.


Edit: Watch the 690CVX's, when I was looking at these from memory they weren't going to clear the torsion bar under the parcel shelf. Do your measurements before you buy.

You should be amping your splits, not your 6x9s. Rear speakers are only for 'fill' - as sound is directional (at least higher frequencies are anyway), you want the best sound pointed at you, the driver - which is your front speakers. If you want half-alright sounding 6x9s that's fair enough, but your front speakers should still be the dominant source of audio.

I can't really make a comment about the Focals, but the brand has a good reputation, and to put it simply you could be buying a lot worse.

The only other thing you should consider is whether or not you want a 4 channel amplifier so you can bridge two of the channels and run a subwoofer later. You could always add a monoblock later but depending on your install and your budget you may prefer a 4 channel instead.

The mounting depth req'd for the 690CVX's is 93mm
a rough measurement puts the standard speakers at 70-80mm, though there is a little room horizontally, providing the focal basket isn't much wider then the original speaker it "looks" as though it will fit....
hrm..
When buying I might ask the bloke for a tester speaker... install it and see how it fits....
I flatout refuse to have a spacer.... and i really want the original speaker grill to hide the focals too....

oh, I live in North Melbourne, close to Flemmington.

You should be amping your splits, not your 6x9s

I was thinking about getting the 4 Chnl, but the splits I was looking at are designed to run without an amp, thats the reason I was only going to amp the rears. Would powering up the splits make much of a noticable difference??
If I were to get the splits above, the 165VR's the mounting depth goes to 70mm (which I'm hesitant to go for as I've got no idea how deep the speaker pods in the front doors are, and spacers are out of the question)

Ideally I'd go the the better splits amped along with the rears, I just don't know if they'll fit.... I need a stealthy look setup with all standard magna grills still in place

unfortunately can't put a sub in the back as I'm driving up to NT in the next few months to get a job..... have to take all my worldly possessions with me :(

the splits I was looking at are designed to run without an amp, thats the reason I was only going to amp the rears. Would powering up the splits make much of a noticable difference??
Regardless of what is recommended, I always would ALWAYS be amping your front splits before your rear speakers. Like I said, your front splits are your 'dominant' speaker, so you really want them sounding the best.


If I were to get the splits above, the 165VR's the mounting depth goes to 70mm (which I'm hesitant to go for as I've got no idea how deep the speaker pods in the front doors are, and spacers are out of the question)
At a guess 70mm should be OK. My old Pioneers were 65mm and they went in without a drama. You could always get a spacer made up - I have one made out of 18mm MDF (only as a half-arsed ditch at improving sound quality), and while there was some issues with the back of the speaker grille rubbing on the speaker (can elaborate if you want), it looks 100% stock from sitting inside the cabin. A spacer out of, say, 9mm MDF would probably fit fine with 0 modification.


unfortunately can't put a sub in the back as I'm driving up to NT in the next few months to get a job..... have to take all my worldly possessions with me
I was living on college for a couple of years with a complete boot install. You could fit a surprising amount of stuff in the boot... but on the same note, my housemate's late-90s Corolla has a much bigger boot than me lol

I was thinking about getting the 4 Chnl, but the splits I was looking at are designed to run without an amp, thats the reason I was only going to amp the rears. Would powering up the splits make much of a noticable difference??
There's no such speaker that's designed to run without an amp. They all run off an amplifier of some description. Focal do advertise a lot of their speakers being so efficient they don't require a separate powered amplifier, but make no mistake, that doesn't mean they're not designed for one. They'll sound immensely better off an amplifier, I can tell you this from outright experience. If your not going to have a sub, you need to be powering front and rear. Alpine PDX is a good place to go if you need to fit it under the front seat.