Help, what speakers for my C5 mk1

[waynedance]

Been looking at some speakers to replace my 6 year old Kenwoods, did not look into it much when I got the current speakers.

I know I need 16.5-17cm, my head unit is a 2010 kenwood bt60u unit which was the top model in its day and says 4 x 50 but not sure if this is peak or RMS.

Now is higher Sensitivity better, do I need 50w rms speakers or lower, what Frequency Response?

Seen these so far,
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-sxe-1725s
https://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/produc ... -27497.htm
http://www.incaremporium.com/audio-cito ... -2461.html
http://www.incaremporium.com/audio-citr ... -2468.html

Are these any good? or shall i spend more?
Someone did say add an amp but i think this would overkill fir me, i have a sub in the boot for bass.

Thank you.

[elma]

They are all prity basic speakers. If your after boom boom they'll be fine, if you love music you'll be upgrading again shortly. Have a look at focal and lanzer if you're after hi-fi sound, you will need amps and a new mortgage though. Matching impedance is important, car speakers vary. Check what your head unit likes and stick to it
50w from a head unit is RMS and will match speakers with 75w plus nicely. Dont go over about 150w or the head unit won't power them very well.
Frequency range in a car doesn't matter so much, there's a lot of extra noise. Humans hear approx 20hz to 20,000hz so your sub will cover the lower end fine. The tweeters want to get as close to 20khz as possible and the mid speakers should fill in the gap. Gaps on the middle really upset the sound, avoid them. If your setup only covers 25 to 18000hz for example it will sound better than a system that covers 20hz to 20khz but with a gap between 10khz and 11khz.

[waynedance]

Thanks for the info you know your stuff, the standard tweeters in the dash seem to be ok so just the 4 door speakers to change.

So 75w rms speakers is the idea speaker, some of those listed above are 40 or 50 rms. Is it best to go 2 way or 3 way considering the sub and dash tweeters?

Stereo specs found online,
Max output power 50w x 4
Output power (din 45324, +B=14.4V) 30w x 4
Speaker Impedance 4 - 8

Any recommendations without going amp route? (thinking about it!!!)
http://caraudiosecurity.com/165ac-16-5c ... akers-120w

[white exec]

Take a look at Pyle Pro speakers.
Google Pyle Pro Audio.
I've used several sets of their PDMW... series, including in our XM.
PDMW6 is 6.5"/17cm.
Coupled with dash tweeters, they sound excellent, and will easily cope with the power you list.
They're available at excellent price on Amazon.
Full spec and dimensions on the Pyle Pro site.

[elma]

They sound good. I'm not up to date on products but have always liked jbl and infinity for value/sound.
I wouldn't bother with the amp personally because a cars a rubbish environment for music. The money's better spent on hi-fi.
4 half decent speakers through the head unit and a sub should do nicely for driving music.
2 way are my preference, 3 way have an extra tweeter pointed outwards. If you've got separate tweeters use coaxial speakers instead. Generally cars have coaxial in the front and 2 or 3 way in the rear.

[waynedance]

http://caraudiosecurity.com/cs762-17cm- ... -135-watts

The JBL look a good speaker, looked at the PDMW6 as well.

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk

[waynedance]

Just removed a current speaker and they are Kenwood Kfc-E1762C, they are direct Citroen wiring loom fitment.

Impedance 4
Peak power 200W
Rated Power 35W

Can not make my mind up on what speakers to get, will the JBL I listed give a noticed improvement?

Or spend the extra on these http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/speaker ... al-speaker or are these no good to run of just the head unit.

[elma]

When I wrote co axial in my last post I meant component.
Coaxial are the ones with tweeters in the middle, as in 2 and 3 way speakers.
Component have the separate tweeter.
Those Focals would run nicely off a head unit, they're probably a nice option.

[waynedance]

I have the tweeters in the dash which seen to work ok.

Having the focal speakers which say nom power 60w would they be ok run on 30w from the stereo? Can you under power a speaker?

Just reading up on amps they have so many options and settings. [emoji30]


Oh and if I run 4 speakers of a 4 channel amp would you leave the active sub connected to the head unit?
Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk

[white exec]

Wattage: There are essentially three common ways of stating power handling in watts for audio devices...

RMS (Root mean square)
The only really meaningful power handling rating. It is an average figure for what is a constantly varying audio signal (just like the music), and states what the speakers will handle (or the amplifier will deliver) in use, eg 30W.
Music Power
Usually comes out as double the above figure (ie 60W), and is an advantageous marketing figure to make you think you're getting something more powerful.
Peak Power / Peak Music Power
Typically comes out as four times RMS (ie 120W). Calculated by taking the highest level of signal the item is likely to handle (momentary loud sound) and stating that as a misleading 'continuous' figure. If this power level (for a speaker) were maintained, the speaker would actually suffer damage and burn out.

So, if you read that an amp, or a speaker, is capable of 200W, you must ask what sort of watts are these, and compare like with like. Only RMS (or RMS continuous) is a dependable measure.

Also remember that the human ear hears logarithmically. For a sound to appear to be twice as loud, the power level needs to be 10 times higher. For three times as loud, the power delivered must be 1000 times higher. That is why a 1W radio achieves a quarter of the volume of a 100W power amplifier, and not 1% of it!

Physics lesson over.

[Paul-R]

Doesn't ten times the power equate to a perceived doubling of volume? And on hundred times the power equate to a fourfold volume increase? Turning that back to front a 1W amplifier would sound a quarter as loud as a 100W amp.

Fully agree with you about the RMS, music power and PMP nonsense. RMS is the only figure you should concern yourself with.

[white exec]

Quite right, Paul. Thanks. Have put it right.