Front speakers
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mk4_bandit
- Getting There!
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- Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 12:41 pm
- Location: amersham, bucks uk
Front speakers
Ive got a 99 polo 3door, and was just wondering what r the best speaker upgrade for the front and how much it will all cost?? ive heard if you get gd ones u mite have to get an amp?? and finally r they easy to fit and wire up ?? cheers 
If you want decent sound quality, you will need to replace both the head unit and the speakers. Preferably also get an amp (and sub!).
I have a preference for kit from Alpine and Focal, but its completely down to personal taste. Others on here will much prefer other makes.
The standard component speakers are actually not that bad with a decent head unit to power them and a sub to take the base off them. Its simply that the standard radio cant give them the power they need.
Before I got my focals, I had a reasonably nice setup by putting my alpine HU into 3 way mode and wiring the mids and tweeters into it seperately (combined with a sub) so that they had a proper cross-over rather than that little capacitor that comes as standard.
if your upgrading the door speakers, you ideally need to replace the cables as the standard ones will not cope. This is a little more difficult - Bring on the drill!!! - Advise on hand if needed.
I have a preference for kit from Alpine and Focal, but its completely down to personal taste. Others on here will much prefer other makes.
The standard component speakers are actually not that bad with a decent head unit to power them and a sub to take the base off them. Its simply that the standard radio cant give them the power they need.
Before I got my focals, I had a reasonably nice setup by putting my alpine HU into 3 way mode and wiring the mids and tweeters into it seperately (combined with a sub) so that they had a proper cross-over rather than that little capacitor that comes as standard.
if your upgrading the door speakers, you ideally need to replace the cables as the standard ones will not cope. This is a little more difficult - Bring on the drill!!! - Advise on hand if needed.
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mk4_bandit
- Getting There!
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 12:41 pm
- Location: amersham, bucks uk
Cheers for the advise, got a sub and amp so im half way their just need a decent head unit as i'm only running a tape player
at the moment. looking at getting apline head unit and type r or better speakers, but not sure yet because ive had mixed responses about the apline headunits? apparently they are complicated to use specially with an i'pod?? but i was looking at the jvc with the 3" screen.
Ive always had Alpine HUs and find them really easy to use. I do also really like the alpine type-r speakers. I used to have two sets of the type-r components in my old car (amped of course!) and they sounded perfect.
I decided to upgrade to focals when I got my polo, and to be honest I much preferred the sound of the alpine speakers. They are better and more clear at the lower volumes as well as when loud. I find with the focals that they only sound really nice when turned up to a decent volume.
Ive currently got a CDA-9855R (the one with the big screen etc) and used to have a CDA-9812RB of which is a lower down model, but is a lot more simple to use if your just getting into car audio and gives out pretty much just as good output, you just dont have all the fancy little extras
I decided to upgrade to focals when I got my polo, and to be honest I much preferred the sound of the alpine speakers. They are better and more clear at the lower volumes as well as when loud. I find with the focals that they only sound really nice when turned up to a decent volume.
Ive currently got a CDA-9855R (the one with the big screen etc) and used to have a CDA-9812RB of which is a lower down model, but is a lot more simple to use if your just getting into car audio and gives out pretty much just as good output, you just dont have all the fancy little extras
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mk4_bandit
- Getting There!
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 12:41 pm
- Location: amersham, bucks uk
No, you definitely do not do that!!!
You will need another 2 channel amp to power the front components. If your a little strapped for cash i would recommend getting something like an alpine MRP-T220 as they are not that expensive and should do the job perfectly. This is the amp I am using, as I prefer to keep amps and HUs the same make, although to be honest it probably doesn't make that much difference.
PS: I know the power rating for this amp is a little lower than the type-r speakers, but that is the minimum figure. All new alpine amps come with a testing certificate and you will find most have around an extra 5-10+ Watts RMS on top of the stated value.
For the time being, if you cant afford to buy a second amp, it will be fine just running the front components off of a high powered alpine HU
You will need another 2 channel amp to power the front components. If your a little strapped for cash i would recommend getting something like an alpine MRP-T220 as they are not that expensive and should do the job perfectly. This is the amp I am using, as I prefer to keep amps and HUs the same make, although to be honest it probably doesn't make that much difference.
PS: I know the power rating for this amp is a little lower than the type-r speakers, but that is the minimum figure. All new alpine amps come with a testing certificate and you will find most have around an extra 5-10+ Watts RMS on top of the stated value.
For the time being, if you cant afford to buy a second amp, it will be fine just running the front components off of a high powered alpine HU