# 2012 lt1 totaled...stock vs. upgraded speakers



## pntballer925 (Feb 27, 2011)

the speakers between the two are the same. the only thing the pioneer upgrade adds is 2 6x9s and the center channel speaker.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

You will be better off installing a dedicated sub than 6x9 subwoofers. I do not recommend running full range drivers in the rear deck.

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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your car. Steal the spare tire stuff out of it. You can sell it to an Eco owner. lol


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## pntballer925 (Feb 27, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> I do not recommend running full range drivers in the rear deck.


Why is that? just curious


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## gregh2000 (Oct 13, 2011)

I have a 2012 LTZ RS with the Pioneer speakers, I have to say they sound really good. I have heard better but for a built in factory system they are very decent. It is really a personal decision go test one out and see how it sounds to you. I find that FM radio irritates me so much the way they broadcast it seems to have a weird effect to it. Try the Pioneer with an mp3 cd, aux device, or xm it is way better. It doesn't hit like it would if you had a sub but it is still pretty good.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

thanks guys, the days with subs are over for me. i will have a new born any day now so that much bass and loss of trunk space are not an option lol. i too noticed how some songs on xm were good to very good in sound quality but the sound from my phone is better then fm through the car...pretty sad. i will post pics of the car and talk more of it after the dust is settled...


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

pntballer925 said:


> Why is that? just curious


3 reasons.

1. Reflections. Higher frequencies are not intended to reflect off of any surfaces. You're firing these speakers into the rear window and expecting to get a good response out of it. Why don't people just face speakers toward a wall into a diffuser of sorts? It just won't sound good. 

2. Off-axis response. If you ever listen to a speaker completely off-axis (60 degrees from dead center off to the side), you will notice the sound changes. The same thing happens here, only now you're 90 degrees or more off-axis. The result will be a poor frequency response reproduction. 

3. Dash pad. All of this sound has to go through a muffling dash pad that will absorb higher frequencies. 

You'll notice that the Pioneer upgraded system for the Cruze uses two 6x9" drivers, but they are designed to play only bass frequencies. 



jdubb11 said:


> thanks guys, the days with subs are over for me. i will have a new born any day now so that much bass and loss of trunk space are not an option lol. i too noticed how some songs on xm were good to very good in sound quality but the sound from my phone is better then fm through the car...pretty sad. i will post pics of the car and talk more of it after the dust is settled...


Since when did subs need to be large, loud, boomy, SPL monsters? I'd like to introduce you to the concept of a musical subwoofer. 

Alpine SWR-843D (SWR843D) 8" Dual 4 ohm Type-R Car Subwoofer/Sub

That's the best 8" SQ subwoofer money can buy for under $200. It's not designed to get loud, but it will support the lower frequency response that you need for music at moderate volumes. This fits in .5-.65 cubic feet net volume, which is in all reality a very small box and leaves an insignificant footprint in the trunk. One must understand that in order to faithfully reproduce a good recording, you will need to be able to play down to about 40hz cleanly and accurately, and you simply cannot do that without a subwoofer. Like I said, it doesn't have to be loud to sound good, but it does have to be there.


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## SkullCruzeRS (Nov 3, 2011)

pntballer925 said:


> the speakers between the two are the same. the only thing the pioneer upgrade adds is 2 6x9s and the center channel speaker.


Door speakers are not the same they are completely different between the pioneer and non-pioneer sound systems. Another member did a "how to" thread in removing the door panels and also snapped some pics of the pioneer speakers they are nothing like the speakers I removed for my 1LT with standard system.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I would love to get an in-cab frequency response measurement for someone with the Pioneer system. I took one with the base system (and posted it in my SQ how-to thread) and it was terrible, so it would be interesting to see how the upgraded system fares.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

SkullCruzeRS said:


> Door speakers are not the same they are completely different between the pioneer and non-pioneer sound systems. Another member did a "how to" thread in removing the door panels and also snapped some pics of the pioneer speakers they are nothing like the speakers I removed for my 1LT with standard system.


what did you replace the stock speakers with and did it help??


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

I just got my Cruze yesterday and only had about 20 minutes so far to listen to the audio system. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Pioneer system. A very small sub would round out the system nicely. The mids and highs are very good.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

cecaa850 said:


> I just got my Cruze yesterday and only had about 20 minutes so far to listen to the audio system. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Pioneer system. A very small sub would round out the system nicely. The mids and highs are very good.


I can put something together for you in the range of $375, including amp, sub, and box that would suit your purposes. 

Sub:
Alpine SWR-823D (SWR823D) 8" Dual 2 ohm Type-R Car Subwoofer/Sub

Amp:
Boston Acoustics GT-2125 (gt2125) GT Reference 2-Channel Amplifier

And the box, you could build yourself, or I could build it for you for $135 plus shipping. I wouldn't recommend a pre-fabricated box.

Let me know if you're interested.


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

Thanks for the offer Xtreme. Like you, I've built many boxes, ported, sealed and horn loaded. I put an IB in my livingroom wall with four 18's. Right now I'm in the middle of building a sub for my son's Neon. It's 18"x19.5"x48.5" and will sit across the back seat. I'm building this one as a variable tune (a first for me). The port will be removable (bolted in via flange) and replaceable. One port will tune the box to the Fs of his car (56Hz) and will be made out of 12" sonotube. This will be his SPL tune. The second flanged port will be made from 8" sonotube and be tuned to 35 Hz for his daily drive tune. We're using a Sundownaudio SA 15D2 (his choice) powered by a SAZ 1000D on stock electrical. I hope to have it making noise this weekend. It's relatively small compared to the 32 cu/ft beast with four 18" Ficaraudio drivers we stuffed in his minivan.


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

Here's a horn loaded sub with an 8" driver I built to accompany my Lascalas in my bedroom. Its msde of 1/2" baltic birch.


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## SkullCruzeRS (Nov 3, 2011)

jdubb11 said:


> what did you replace the stock speakers with and did it help??


I replaced them with Polk Audio MM series coaxial speakers. The mid range and highs are much better over stock and would probably be better yet if they were run on their own amp but they work for me. However, they are still lacking in bass which is why I am adding a sub exactly how xtreme recommended above except going with the dual 4 ohm alpine as the 2 ohm was out of stock.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Well then, we have someone else who knows what they're doing. Glad to see that! 56hz? Wow, lol. That might make my head hurt. The SA series subs are incredible. They pound very, very hard and are severely underrated as I'm sure you very well know. 

Not to sound like a snob, but car audio is my playground. It's where I laugh and do crazy things. When I settle down and put on my mad scientist hat, different things come out of my garage....


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

One of my last sub builds.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

cecaa850 said:


> One of my last sub builds.
> View attachment 5435


Haha, you're more nuts than I am! I don't suppose "group delay" is something you take into consideration with those kinds of boxes, lol. 

I've been dying to make a tapped horn for a while. Never got around to it though. I have two 10" subs that I'm making sub boxes for (IDQ10 V2s), for my home theater. I'm not sure if I could spare the space that some augmented output boxes require though. I kind of like needing less than a cubic foot.


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

When you play test tones through your receiver, the receiver actually adds the length from the mouth to the driver when setting the sub distance.


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