Opinions on running aftermarket speakers on factory headunit

[mp91]

Alright guys I have the factory 6-disc in dash head unit. I love it, I had probably 3-4 aftermarket decks in my ranger but never had the convenience of 6 discs in the dash! So I would love to stick with this unit. Another bonus to it is I personally believe most theives would look at the factory unit and never think I had a system. I so far have a sub+amp hooked up to it. To the question I have: do you think that putting aftermarket speakers in will sound any better? Reason I ask is I am concerned with the head unit not producing enough power for them. Maybe it wouldn't sound bad, but at the same time it won't sound better. Also if you think its worth it, I have heard you can use 5x7 or 6.5" speakers in the doors. Ok I assume (FORD/MERC/LINCOLN/MAZDA/ETC) the speakers are standard at 5x7. To use 6.5's does it require modifications. When I put 6.5"s in my ranger I had to fabricate a baffle for them to fit in. Just curious on all the opinions out there.

Thanks,
Marc

[JamesAteWorld]

From what I have experienced, replacing the speakers without replacing the head unit gives you little improvement. That isn't to say that you won't hear an improvement, but getting a new head unit will give you a cleaner sound. I have heard people say this before on here, and I agree...It's always smarter to start with a new head unit and work your way back.

As for the theft part of things.....not much you can do. What you say is probably true. A stock headunit isn't something that many thieves would find tempting, but then again, my brother drives a 10 year old eclipse that had a 5 year old crappy head unit and some guy smashed a window and destroyed his entire dash trying to get it ( thanks to my clever install job he was unsuccessful... so instead of the head unit, he took off with jumper cables. ha ha ha)

Anyway. If you are going for sound quality, I would really suggest you go for the new head unit. It makes a world of a difference. And now about fitting 6.5" speakers...It can be done. I got some adapters from www.sounddomail.com and they worked wonderfully. And if i remember correctly, it was like 6 bucks or so.

Hope that helps you at all. Take it easy.

[mp91]

Hey thanks alot for the information. I decided to get speakers. Great idea to sell these adapter plates :) So I placed an order through Sounddomain. Question though... it states:

"The SA68 adapter fits aftermarket 5 1/4" and 6 1/2" in 6 x 8" factory openings and is "convertable" to accomodate a tweeter provision if necessary. 6 1/2" speakers require cutting the adapters and may require cutting the factory speaker openings."

What do they mean? They are mainly for 5 1/4" applications? If you don't mind, what speakers did you use in the doors?

Thanks

[JamesAteWorld]

In the rear i have some infinity Kappa 3 way's that are 6.5", and in the front i have Infinity Perfect 5.5" component woofers. I know I used the plates on the rear speakers for sure, and I think I remember using them on the front as well. (When I ordered a set, they sent me 2 by accident)

I didn't need to cut anything. All I did was screw the speakers into the plate, then screwed the plate into the speaker hole. I don't know how possible it would be to get 6x8's in the holes. It would be very tight. But then again, I have heard people here say that they think the stock speakers are 5x7's that have enough of a frame to make them as big as 6x8's.

I think it is possible, but don't take my word for it. Hope that answers some questions.

Take it easy.

[USNCOUGAR]

The stock speakers are actually 6x8 all the way around, but when it comes to speakers, 5x7 and 6x8 are virtually identical. But here's a thought... why not just get 6x8 speakers?

[JamesAteWorld]

Yeah, if the stock size is 6x8, then you might as well just go with that. Although, in my opinion, my 6.5" Kappas sounded way better than the 6x8's. The 6x8's seemed to put out a little bit too much bass. They were nice to have in the rear of my Tempo because they sounded close to a small sub, but I dont know what I would have thought if they would have been in the front too. Don't take my word for it though...maybe that is just the way Infinity is. If you want to keep it easy, just do 6x8 since you know they will fit now.

Take it easy.