Howdy all,

At the moment I'm in the process of redoing my car audio setup, i will be keeping my 2 amps:
800wrms pioneer monoblock
4x100wrms jaycar response amp

I currently have the 6.5" jaycar splits up front and back, but i'm looking to change back to co-axles.
I've been out of the car audio scene for years, whats the best 6x9 for your money and 6.5 inch (2,3 or 4 way these days?) for under $200 a set.

I'm also looking at replacing my 2 12" subs (250wrms ea) with a single dual VC 12", which will handle the monoblock i have nicely. What are peoples recommendations for around the $2-250 mark?

It would be preferable to buy all this gear at the same place, possibly getting a better discount?

Cheers,
Leigh

I would save your money by not purchasing rears, in fact remove the rears, get a decent set of Hertz, Focal, Etc splits and run them active off your 4 channel.

What do you think about doing that?

As for the subs i would save abit longer and get a very nice 12 or 15 inch sub.

What are you after in a system Sound Quality or Bass and Loud?

I would save your money by not purchasing rears, in fact remove the rears, get a decent set of Hertz, Focal, Etc splits and run them active off your 4 channel.

What do you think about doing that?

As for the subs i would save abit longer and get a very nice 12 or 15 inch sub.

What are you after in a system Sound Quality or Bass and Loud?

I'm after loud and clear, i'm not really interested in splits, i'm sick of playing with the tweeters trying to get them to sound right, really cbf anymore.

I prefer the surround sound (as i go to the drive in a fair bit too) I need the rears to be pretty decent. I'm not after anything ground breaking, something that can take 80-100wrms would be nice to utilize the amp i have.
The sub i could spend up to about 3-400 depending on what it was.

I'm after loud and clear, i'm not really interested in splits, i'm sick of playing with the tweeters trying to get them to sound right, really cbf anymore.


See that can be really difficult though, with less usable cone area on the mid bass due to housing a speaker and not being able to set xover slopes you cant achieve great clear sound with coaxils. Although i do recommend you look into some Focal Coaxils if you intent on going down that path, they also do 6x9's.

Otherwise i would probally just recommend you go into one of your local stores and just have a good listen, and try to get yourself a deal with them.

I have pioneer 6x9s that are about 1 & 1/2 years old and the sound is awesome. would highly reccomend pioneer.

I have pioneer 6x9s that are about 1 & 1/2 years old and the sound is awesome. would highly reccomend pioneer.

My JBL 6x9's are twice as old, would of cost half as much and sound just as good. Pioneer make overpriced.........overpriced things.

Do exactly what peaandham suggested and go into a store and have a listen, best thing to do.

I bought some Pioneer TS-A6982S 6*9's, 80W max rms. They were very decent for the price. This looks to be the next model: http://www.soundmaster.com.au/Pioneer-TS-A6983S-6x9inch-4-Way-Car-Speaker/TSA6983S.asp

Also have some Rockford Fosgate R1653 in the front, they sound nice but I wouldn't want to pump them too hard - wouldn't want to lose a leg.

;1335443']My JBL 6x9's are twice as old, would of cost half as much and sound just as good.

I have heard some JBL 6x9s i am unsure of the model but they actually sound pretty decent, had a nice kick to them too.

I have heard some JBL 6x9s i am unsure of the model but they actually sound pretty decent, had a nice kick to them too.

They are actually rebranded infinitys. at the time the infinity's was $330 for a pair or $130 a pair for the JBL's. Very good bang for buck. pioneer 6x9's I've never been a fan of for the price, people think "oh sick brew its pioneer it'll bring da chicks" and just buy up cause its pioneer. Anyway - yeah M4DDOG - I'd be looking at JBL's - they are my low range pick of the bunch.

;1335448']They are actually rebranded infinitys. at the time the infinity's was $330 for a pair or $130 a pair for the JBL's. Very good bang for buck. pioneer 6x9's I've never been a fan of for the price, people think "oh sick brew its pioneer it'll bring da chicks" and just buy up cause its pioneer. Anyway - yeah M4DDOG - I'd be looking at JBL's - they are my low range pick of the bunch.

I had a pair of jbl 6x9's awhile ago, had really decent bass but their treble was abit lacking, pretty sure they only had 30wrms though, so they may have been entry level.

Wheres the best place to get jbl gear, jb hi-fi?

Actually for the price, these look really good:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/JBL-GTO938-6-x9-3-Way-COAXIAL-CAR-SPEAKER-pair-GTO-938-/190440237956?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c571f6b84

I had a pair of jbl 6x9's awhile ago, had really decent bass but their treble was abit lacking, pretty sure they only had 30wrms though, so they may have been entry level.
Wheres the best place to get jbl gear, jb hi-fi?

Do you have a strathfield near by? If so it would also be a good time to support a now small business facing hard times.

I used to run an Entry level JBL amp and it sounded amazing, and if i was to run any mainstream e/l gear ever again it would have to be some JBL gear.

Found the model i was talking about they are "JBL GTO 937" as seen in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzqYot-1cNs

Obviously i didnt take my experience of them from this video or from the guy in it who has a bad taste in music, but if the 938's are anything like this, they are a good contender.

;1335443']My JBL 6x9's are twice as old, would of cost half as much and sound just as good. Pioneer make overpriced.........overpriced things.
Agreed. The JBL 6x9's in the GTO series (correct me if I'm wrong Paul?) are fantastic for a cheaper 6x9. Focal and Digital Designs are the only other two 6x9"s I'd consider (I have the DD's), and they're both quite a bit more expensive than the JBL's, so its really down to your budget Leigh.

Grab ya self some Hertz HSK 165 or ESK 165 splits mate, you will love them. $160 on Ebay at the moment.

Best 6x9s i have ever heard were made by MTX. No idea of the model or anything. Huge bass and sweet highs.

I just got rid of all my Kicker gear, and got myself some Hertz splits. Very nice speakers. Up there with the best of them.

Closest strathfield to me is about 20 kms away, but its not too far from work, might have to check it out in my lunch break if I get the chance, otherwise jb is right around the corner, but not sure if they even sell jbl.

Ok so i'll probably go the GTO 938's in the rear, just need to find a comparable speaker in the front for around the 200 mark (3 way), any suggestions?

Let your ears decide when you go to look at the JBL's.

Maybe something from JB HI Fi in the Kicker range prehaps? Im not sure how their coaxils go though.

Let your eyes decide when you go to look at the JBL's.

Maybe something from JB HI Fi in the Kicker range prehaps? Im not sure how their coaxils go though.

Never trust your eyes.. trust your ears..

Never trust your eyes.. trust your ears..

:stoopid: who cares what they look like! JBL's arn't the most asthetically pleasing of all speakers in todays world but it's whats inside that counts :p

True that, i'd end up with a car full of fusion that sounded horrific lol.

I'll check out strathfield today, anywhere else that stock jbl?

OK guys i thought someone might have assumed it was a spelling error, and it was, now edited.

OK had a look/listen to some speakers at JB, the kicker speakers (KS and DS series) sounded really good, however may be a little underpowered? Unless they under rate them from factory, booklet said 65wrms for the KS600's and 50wrms for the DS600's, and 6x9's ks6930 were 100wrms, these sounded really awesome. The kicker KS6930's were $199 ticket price, ks600 were $200 and ds600 for $100.

The guy who I was talking to (was awesome help too) reckons the kicker gear is more suited for me because they are more of a mid-high speaker, whereas he reckons the jbl will sound similar to alpine type-r which is typically more mid-low, and as I have subs may not be the best setup for what I want.

Also after opening my boot today I noticed my monoblock is in actual fact 800w MAX, 360wrms @ 2ohm, which is why my subs sound so shit (mtx thunder 6000's i'm pretty sure are at least 250wrms EACH). I'm now thinking I might get another jaycar response amp to power those and see if they sound any better, even my jaycar runs 2x300wrms bridged, which would be perfect. I could then grab the 4x50wrms jaycar amp to power the cabin speakers, that should be enough? OR reckon get another jaycar 4x100?

*Confirmed they are 250wrms/500wmax MTX thunder 6000 T6124's, believe it or not they were louder on my 4x300wmax boss audio amp bridged to 2x(**** knows, 600 maybe?).

I also had a listen to the JL7 by kicker, freaking awesome sounding sub, for a single 12" it was louder and clearer than the dual setups they had there.

So moving forward from here, i'm proposing the following setup:
Buying a 4x50wrms jaycar amp ($150 brand new), and running:
kicker 2 x DS 650's(50wrms) and 2 x DS 6390's(70wrms) (comes to about $2-250 from memory) off it.
Running my mtx thunders off my current jaycar 4x100 wrms amp, as 2x300wrms bridged.

OK had a look/listen to some speakers at JB, the kicker speakers (KS and DS series) sounded really good, however may be a little underpowered? Unless they under rate them from factory, booklet said 65wrms for the KS600's and 50wrms for the DS600's, and 6x9's ks6930 were 100wrms, these sounded really awesome. The kicker KS6930's were $199 ticket price, ks600 were $200 and ds600 for $100.

The guy who I was talking to (was awesome help too) reckons the kicker gear is more suited for me because they are more of a mid-high speaker, whereas he reckons the jbl will sound similar to alpine type-r which is typically more mid-low, and as I have subs may not be the best setup for what I want.

Also after opening my boot today I noticed my monoblock is in actual fact 800w MAX, 360wrms @ 2ohm, which is why my subs sound so shit (mtx thunder 6000's i'm pretty sure are at least 250wrms EACH). I'm now thinking I might get another jaycar response amp to power those and see if they sound any better, even my jaycar runs 2x300wrms bridged, which would be perfect. I could then grab the 4x50wrms jaycar amp to power the cabin speakers, that should be enough? OR reckon get another jaycar 4x100?

*Confirmed they are 250wrms/500wmax MTX thunder 6000 T6124's, believe it or not they were louder on my 4x300wmax boss audio amp bridged to 2x(**** knows, 600 maybe?).

I also had a listen to the JL7 by kicker, freaking awesome sounding sub, for a single 12" it was louder and clearer than the dual setups they had there.

So moving forward from here, i'm proposing the following setup:
Buying a 4x50wrms jaycar amp ($150 brand new), and running:
kicker 2 x DS 650's(50wrms) and 2 x DS 6390's(70wrms) (comes to about $2-250 from memory) off it.
Running my mtx thunders off my current jaycar 4x100 wrms amp, as 2x300wrms bridged.

Actually just found the specs on the jaycar, and they are impressive:
Power / channel @ 4ohm 14.4V: 130WRMS x 4
Power / channel @ 2ohm 14.4V: 190WRMS x 4
Power / bridged @ 4ohm 14.4V: 380WRMS x 2

May even be overkill for my subs.

Listen to the JBL's yourself... a Sales person can tell you all the crap in the world, Its YOU that has to decide.
Take your Favourite CD (not MP3 as the quality is a little less then CDA) Choose your favourite track and play it..
Your ears should be able to tell if the speakers are reproducing the same tones as what you are used to at home...

For me the JBL's were more of a Mid to High and the Kickers were more mid to low... Kickers are aimed more towards R&B then Techno.

In the end, its your ears that have to decide what is best for you.

The Golden rule is, if you can't hear them.. don't buy them..
I had the guy that I bought my Eclipse 4-ways from Install them into the board or I was not going to buy them.. Lucky for him he did.. as they sounded superb compared to all the other 6x9's he had...
The Eclipse 4-ways I have are more Mid range then anything else... Ideally suited to my Splits and Sub Combo...

Hmmm now that you mention it, he did only play r&b, and skipped through the techno tracks.
I just need to find someone that stocks the JBL to have a listen.

How would you guys rate soundstream gear?
Over in the US I can get some pretty damn good deals on soundstream because of our dollar being so strong, I can get these delivered for $320:
Soundstream PCT.653 6-1/2" 3-Way
Soundstream PCT.693 6"X9" 3-Way
Soundstream PCX4.360 4-Channel Class A/B Amplifier

They even have the Soundstream RW-12 12" Dual 4ohm for $100, not sure postage though.

The specs on all this gear looks really impressive.

Hmmm now that you mention it, he did only play r&b, and skipped through the techno tracks.
I just need to find someone that stocks the JBL to have a listen.

How would you guys rate soundstream gear?
Over in the US I can get some pretty damn good deals on soundstream because of our dollar being so strong, I can get these delivered for $320:
Soundstream PCT.653 6-1/2" 3-Way
Soundstream PCT.693 6"X9" 3-Way
Soundstream PCX4.360 4-Channel Class A/B Amplifier

They even have the Soundstream RW-12 12" Dual 4ohm for $100, not sure postage though.

The specs on all this gear looks really impressive.

Soundstream +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1

I had some Soundstream Tarantula 6x9s, they were the best speakers I have ever owned.

OK I'm getting at least the above delivered for $350AU, and have asked for a quote on the sub, hopefully should only add about 50 bucks, so potentially for $500 AU delivered, I can get:
Soundstream PCT.693 6"X9" 3-Way:
# 6" x 9" Picasso Series 3-way Car Speakers
# Power Handling: Peak: 520 watts per set / 260 watts each side
# RMS: 260 watts per set / 130 watts each side

Soundstream PCT.653 6-1/2" 3-Way:
# 6-1/2" Picasso Series 2-way Car Speakers
# Power Handling: Peak: 360 watts per set / 180 watts each side
# RMS: 180 watts per set / 90 watts each side

Soundstream PX4.760 4-Channel
# Picasso Series 4-Channel Class AB Car Amplifier
# RMS Power Rating: 4 ohms: 120 watts x 4 chan.
# 2 ohms: 190 watts x 4 chan.
# Bridged, 4 ohms: 380 watts x 2 chan.

Soundstream RW-12 12" Dual 4ohm Reference Subwoofer:
# 12" Dual 4 ohm RW Reference Series Subwoofer
# Power Handling: Peak: 1200 watts
# RMS: 600 watts

I have heard a soundstream setup before (pretty sure my subs were originally running off a soundstream amp) and they go hard, this was a few years ago now. Plus love the look of the spiders.

+1 to soundstream.

Im going a full soundstream setup again (as per my thread a couple spots down.)
I also had a soundstream setup in my old commodore minus the sub that went fairly well

Hmmm now that you mention it, he did only play r&b, and skipped through the techno tracks.
I just need to find someone that stocks the JBL to have a listen.
.

Mate, I have JBL's front n rear n they go hard, and I'm very happy with sound quality, ur welcome to come n have a look n listen to it ;)

SoundStream are nice...

Are you really gonna show off the speakers ?
The Best sound system is one that is heard and not seen..

As long as you beef up your security system at the same time as your install... go for gold..

Standard security is enough, it's not ground breaking gear :P.

So i've ordered the 2 speaker set above as well as the PX4.760, the sub was too much for postage (for the price could pretty much buy one here for only a little more).
Getting the set delivered for $350 total, which is pretty damn good considering the amp alone retails for $699 here, the speakers can be bought here online for around the 1-150 mark each, so not a bad deal at all.

I have question that sorta isn't related to the thread, but some of you may know, is it possible to run a DVC 4-ohm off a 4 channel amp (2 x bridged outputs, but only 1 rca in split)? I know it's physically possible, but will it sound shit having essentially 2 different feeds going into the 1 output? I'd imagine the slightest ms out and it would sound horrible, think i'll stick to my current subs for now, they should sound pretty good off the jaycar.

I know it sounds silly, but after upgrading my head unit to a 2 din pioneer, the factory speakers sound far better. The amps make a huge difference

hey with that question - bad idea tried it - dont go there. BTW wen a channel is bridged doesn't turn into ONE channel its 2 channels working as ONE - bridging and using each bridged channel on each VC is a really bad idea.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the PXW1251 CLARION 12" 500W RMS sub - it sounds amazing - VERY punchy and also can pull out those really deep RNB 25hz vibrations.

Also very well priced.

I'd look into ditching the 6x9's if i was you

They are designed to be run in cars that do not have subwoofers fitted. The 6x9's create a great mid low sound but lack a little in clarity up top
IMO you would be MUCH better getting a nice set of 6 1/2" rears. These will outperform your 6x9's where it counts (up top and in clarity) as you will not hear any of the midbass the 6x9's create as it will be droned out by the subs

In a couple of competition cars i used to run we used to just run couple 2 way 6 1/2"s in the rears as fill and had these running off the head unit not the amp
Spend your money on best set of front splits you can possibly afford and run these off quality amp, you will not be dissappointed

The T595 JBL "decades" are probably the best 6x9 ever but not available anymore and those with them would probably not sell them.

Most people prefer splits as the sound is not coming from behind you but it comes to personal preference.

Sounds good

I work at JB hi fi in car sound, in process of doing my system re-using some gear from my old commodore.

Stereo will consist of

Pioneer 7" double din screen (buying thru work)
Alpine 4ch 4 x 50rms (from old car)
Alpine monoblock 350rms (from old car)
Pioneer rear 6 x 9's (already came with car)
JL Audio Front splits (buying thru work)
Pioneer 400rms Single DVC sub in slot port box (buying thru work)
4 Gauge Wiring kit, Stinger RCA's

It does help working at JB and being able to test everything before i buy!


This should see me with some good sound, my current system in the commodore went really nice hence why im keeping the amps from it, i have twin subs in there too but i want to save room in the magna!

Hey Saffire, have you have had any of the jensen vm8022 returned?
Mines just started to randomly flicker/go blank and doing a google search shows i'm not alone :(.
Such a shame because it does everything I want it to do well and I only paid $240 for it.

Not sure if i'll be able to get a refund, or whether i'll have to suck it up and let them try to repair it (bye bye 6 weeks of waiting). Got it boxing day.

So i'm now potentially on the look out once again for a double din hu, this one from strathfield seems pretty damn good value:
http://www.strathfield.com.au/products.php?pagedisplaymode=0&productid=12053

Hey Saffire, have you have had any of the jensen vm8022 returned?
Mines just started to randomly flicker/go blank and doing a google search shows i'm not alone :(.
Such a shame because it does everything I want it to do well and I only paid $240 for it.

Not sure if i'll be able to get a refund, or whether i'll have to suck it up and let them try to repair it (bye bye 6 weeks of waiting). Got it boxing day.

So i'm now potentially on the look out once again for a double din hu, this one from strathfield seems pretty damn good value:
http://www.strathfield.com.au/products.php?pagedisplaymode=0&productid=12053

You should have a play around with the Xtrons one Mal and I have. See what you think.

You should have a play around with the Xtrons one Mal and I have. See what you think.

Whats the build quality like on the xtrons? I'm worried it's going to be cheap chinese brand which will die in 3 months of use :(.

M4DDOG you should be able to send back for repair or get a new one, i havn't had any come back as yet they are not too bad though from my experience, we just got a new 7" double din screen in no name JBS brand..they can be had for around $400 , it contains full touch screen, built in bluetooth etc..not too bad

Whats the build quality like on the xtrons? I'm worried it's going to be cheap chinese brand which will die in 3 months of use :(.

Actually decent for a cheap chinese brand - not a single issue in using it yet.

hey mate for 6.5" im running type S splits i got them for 140 bux at essondon dfo jb hifi but that was on offer around boxing day not sure how much they going for now, they r by far the clearest iv heard in mine our my mates cars lol highly recommend them..
http://www.jbhifi.com.au/car-sound-gps-navigation/speakers/ its the last speakers on that page forsure u will be able to get them around the 200 mark

M4DDOG you should be able to send back for repair or get a new one, i havn't had any come back as yet they are not too bad though from my experience, we just got a new 7" double din screen in no name JBS brand..they can be had for around $400 , it contains full touch screen, built in bluetooth etc..not too bad

I saw that in the shop yesterday actually.
Spoke to a guy and he reckons my only option is to send back for repair, could be waiting for weeks :(. It's a damn shame because the unit does everything I want it to, its just this damn screen flicker which really I don't use but I don't want it to be the start of the whole unit crapping out.

Hopefully I've just received a dud one and my next one replaced/repaired will be awesome.

As I don't need gps i'm currently in talks with Joe to get one of these:
http://www.xtrons.com/2-DIN-car-dvd/6-Digital-T-Screen-Bluetooth-Car-DVD-player-TD601.html

Looks promising for the price!

Took the headunit back to JB, have to get it sent away for repairs as I didn't get it installed through them.
Apparently mine was the first out of hundreds sold to be returned, so perhaps I was just unlucky.

And of course plugging it in at the shop it worked perfectly, sigh. Hopefully the repairer can find the fault or just send a new one.

Hi,

Im probably really late with this reply, and this could have already been written, but im going to answer the original question. I would highly recommend JL Audio subs and speakers, as i have used them in the past and have loved them with each install, Sub wise the W7AE or W6v2 would be more then enough to satisfy most people and anything in the JL Evolution series for speakers depending on budget will offer a good sound experience.

Sorry again if this is to no help at all

Take it easy