# Door speaker upgrade W/amp



## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

I'm looking to get my old subs installed in my car again here shortly. I'm also looking to replace my door speakers with some descent component speakers and amplify them. I have no interest in touching the rear. 

I have a base MYlink system, 2014 ECO. Can anyone make some recommendations on descent component sets and an amplifier to run them? I'm not looking to spend insane money on speakers here. Just a descent set that can be amplified for a louder and clearer system. I was thinking around 150-ish for the set? I'm open to possibly spending more though. 

Thanks all!


----------



## giantsnation (Oct 11, 2012)

The best advice someone every offered me - http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/36-audio-electronics/11204-sq-car-audio-thread-v2.html


----------



## aestes89 (May 26, 2012)

I used these: (http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-DB...9&sr=8-1&keywords=polk+component+speakers+6.5) Obviously, everyone has different tastes. The product I enjoy some may hate. I love them and thought the price was fair. Less than $120, so I believe they fit your budget. Tweeters fill in the highs well without sounding too "tinny." I like a warmer high than a metallic one, personally. I actually posted a very small DIY on the tweeter installation awhile back for this set as well. To power them I used an Alpine 5 channel amp. I wanted to power four doors and a sub with a small amp and that fit the bill, but if you only care about the front doors with no sub or rear speaker upgrade, you could probably get along fine with just a 2 channel. If you want to know the exact amp I'm using I can post that for you, but it's a couple years old now. Never had a single problem with it, and you could probably get it cheap as **** on eBay, but it's not the lastest and greastest if that matters to you. Good luck!


----------



## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

aestes89 said:


> I used these: (http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-DB...9&sr=8-1&keywords=polk+component+speakers+6.5) Obviously, everyone has different tastes. The product I enjoy some may hate. I love them and thought the price was fair. Less than $120, so I believe they fit your budget. Tweeters fill in the highs well without sounding too "tinny." I like a warmer high than a metallic one, personally. I actually posted a very small DIY on the tweeter installation awhile back for this set as well. To power them I used an Alpine 5 channel amp. I wanted to power four doors and a sub with a small amp and that fit the bill, but if you only care about the front doors with no sub or rear speaker upgrade, you could probably get along fine with just a 2 channel. If you want to know the exact amp I'm using I can post that for you, but it's a couple years old now. Never had a single problem with it, and you could probably get it cheap as **** on eBay, but it's not the lastest and greastest if that matters to you. Good luck!


I actually do plan on installing a sub in the rear, although I already have an amp for the sub. I'm open to amplifying everything from one amp though. 

Could you please send links to your tweeter DIY and the link to the amp? It would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## aestes89 (May 26, 2012)

Of course! (http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/36-audio-electronics/35041-replacing-stock-tweeters.html) Here's a link to my page installing the tweeters. Like I said, it's not very big or good at all, but it's the only one I've ever done so I wasn't sure what I was doing  anywho, hot glue would probably be better than what I used. Also, be careful popping the pillars off. They come off easy, but there are some airbags under there. I was careful not to mess with them. I hid the +/- going to the passenger side tweeter up under the ceiling fabric. It tucks up there really nice, no tools needed. 

As far as the two crossovers, I used their screw holes and a couple big cables ties to hold them together in one big wire "chunk", and neatly tucked it all away back up behind the steering wheel/dash area with another couple cable ties. Easy to remove if I need to, but it's out of sight and I've never had an issue. Just make sure it's high enough your foot wont catch it or something. As far as the amp inputs, you have two ways to go. The line-out PAC converter thing on amazon, or tapping into the speaker-level inputs. The speaker wires are conveniently all located in a big bunch under the kick panel on the driver side door. BUT. This ended up costing me way more time and wire than I'd originally thought. Learn from my mistake, and use a line-out adapter instead. Unless you're really patient, good in small spaces, and good with a soldering iron, avoid the speaker inputs. By the time I bought enough wire for doing it this way, I really didn't save a dime vs. buying an adapter anyways. 

(Alpine MRX V70 Car Amp 793276011770 | eBay) This is the amp I used. It's never had a single problem, even with the obnoxious climate of Illinois. It's very small, and easy to hide under a seat, or mount to the back of the sub box. (I know, I know, never mount to the back of a sub box, you're doing the car thieves a favor, but IMO that's why I have comprehensive insurance.) The sub I used was (http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-KAPP...d=1425500493&sr=8-5&keywords=infinity+12"+sub) It's been reliable enough and looks nice. For the money, you could probably do better. Infinity subs, in my opinion sacrifice that "boom" for accuracy, but to each their own. I went with a nice tight sealed enclosure as I listen to mostly rock. I still have almost my entire trunk free, and the amp, mounted to the back of the sub box, is concealed along with all wiring between the box and the backseat. 

All-in-all, this install took me about a solid day. If you don't have a door panel removal tool, do yourself a favor and spend the $12 or so and get a nice sturdy one. Your car will thank you. OH, and you'll have to have these: (http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-SAGMH...5500835&sr=8-1&keywords=cruze+speaker+adapter) They allow you to use aftermarket speakers with the factory cut-out. Saves you from cutting and drilling. If I recall correctly, using these adapters = installation via a single bolt haha. I can't really think of anything else..If you don't have a soldering iron, consider investing $30 or so. Someday down the road, a wire will come loose somewhere along the line, and you'll be cussing at your self for using electrical tape because "it was what you had at the time" haha. (that's been my experience). Well, I can't really think of anything else you'd need off the top of my head. This setup won't blow the neighbors into their backyard, but it sounds clean, gets loud without distorting, and makes the morning commute and helluva lot more bearable. Hope this helps and good luck!

EDIT: P.S., if you want to amplify everything, i'd maybe consider selling your current amp to fund the 5 channel, but that's just me


----------



## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

I've thought about that however most 5 channels appear to be quite expensive. The only viable one I've found is http://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KAC-7...1425507786&sr=8-1&keywords=Kenwood+KAC-7005PS. 

My current sub amp is nothing special, I could get maybe 50 bucks for it. 

I'm also thinking about doing this- Amazon.com: Rockford Fosgate P300-10 Punch Powered Loaded 10-Inch Subwoofer Enclosure: Car Electronics.


*ALSO* I'm highly considering doing what is proposed in the SQv2 thread. But all the wiring is what really scares me to be honest and setting up the DSP, etc. I'm only looking for 200-300 watts in a sub. Mine currently that is not hooked up is around 200? Don't wanna vary from that much. Only want a single 10" or 12" though.


----------



## aestes89 (May 26, 2012)

Well, the 5 channel I sent the link to you for is $250 on eBay. It may sound pricey up front, but if you consider the fact that you believe you could get $50 for your old sub, it would bring the cost down to be inline with the rockford. Rockford is a good brand from everything I've heard, but considering how close these two 5-channel amps are in price, the Alpine may be more what you want. I've included a picture of the two amps with their specs side-by-side for you to compare. As you can see, the Alpine amp provides more power to the speakers. At your typical 4ohm speaker setup, about 60w per channel, vs the Rockfords 40w. (To put this in perspective, your typical aftermarket headunit provides around 18-22w I believe) However, the Kenwood does appear to provide slightly more juice to the sub channel, by about 50w. Honestly, 50w isn't going to make or break a sub. The difference between 40w and 60w for speakers may be more noticeable. Remember, watts isn't all about that "boom", either. It goes a long way to prevent distortion! 

I can see your temptation with the Fosgate all-in-one enclosure. Personally, I've never used one of these. I know nothing about them. In terms of RMS, this unit would put out around 300w, 600w peak, which is comparable to the Alipine or Rockford amp. Upside to this setup, it's all-in-one convenience, and you don't have to buy the sub separately. The downside to this setup, it doesn't amplify the speakers at all. You'll likely end up with a lot of bass. In fact, I've heard that if you replace the Cruze stock speakers with aftermarket speakers, but don't amp them, they often sound WORSE than the stock speakers, due to the sensitivity difference. (I've never tried it out for myself though.) 

In the end, the 5 channel option is going to cost you more, due to the fact that you'll have to purchase a sub and sub box down the road at some point. (Remember, you can always get everything ready and buy the sub/box a few paychecks down the line. I did) With the all-in-one, you'll get instant bass, but you may wish you'd gone with a 5 channel that would give your sound stage room to "grow" with time, as you replace the rear speakers, swap things out, etc. Also, you may have to get creative with the all-in-one. It looks like it would tip over easy, so you'd have to fabricate something to attach it well. I completely understand a tight budget for this sort of thing, and at the end of the day, it's completely what YOU want, and what YOU think sounds good. Don't ever let some snob tell you your setup is **** because you use a pioneer speaker set, and he prefers the douchemaster 7000x series. If you plan on keeping the car for awhile, get something that you'll be happy with for a few years!

P.S. kudos to you for looking at the SQv2 thread! it's a great resource. those guys REALLY know their stuff. way more than i do. i'm just a low-level hobbyist. those guys are stereo gods. although, i don't think some things are always necessary, especially on a budget. for example, for what you're looking at, i wouldn't bother with the "big 3 upgrade". not unless you're getting really serious or bigger stuff, but that's just me. a lot of the quality stuff is common sense, too. (tweeters sound better aimed at the listener's ear, etc.) Good luck to you!


----------



## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

Thanks aestes89I really do like the set of polks you linked, they're actually some of the best rated and reviewed on amazon and a few other sites after some quick research. Do these components need a 2 channel or 4 channel to power just the speakers? 

I know from the stuff in the SQv2 thread you have to have a channel for each woofer and tweeter. If I go the "boxed component" route then I'll only need a 2 channel if I understand it correct, so I wouldn't need a 5 channel. So I guess I need to figure that out first LOL. Because I currently have a 2 channel amp that pushes [email protected] for my 2 12" subs that I have. 

In theory I could sell those subs. Use that amp to power the set you linked and then buy a single 10" or 12" sub and amp. Or buy that one I linked. I'm not a huge audio buff, but can appreciate a good sounding system as I have sensitive ears, drive a lot, and always have music on lol! 

Where did you mount your amp for your door speakers?


----------



## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

Anyone else?


----------



## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Now your fun begins you get to put it together for all your practical uses ..Experimentation will be involved so get creative and don't be shy with those questions .. we all have our own taste and have vast amounts of experience .

Good Luck with your build !


----------

