Speaker Upgrades

[TimG]

I'm looking for some opinions on some speaker upgrades. I've got a 98 Grand Am, so I'd be getting a set of 4x6s and 6x9s. Any ideas on which brand I should look at? I'm totally clueless when it comes to car audio. I've already got a 10" Kicker L7 but I would like to increase my highs, and I would like to be able to turn off my sub for certain music and still have a small ammount of bass from the 6x9s.

[nice96gt]

Get 5.25 or 6.5's...4x6's suck compared to them, and they are easily swapped in with mounting plates. As for brand, there is alot out there, I'll let others give you suggestions. I had a budget and within that budget listened to the different speakers and picked which ones had the best sound I was looking for (more bass, more treble, etc).

check this out http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50699

[TimG]

Can I buy these mounting plates anywere? Or do I have to make them myself?

[VanishingImage]

Ive got Pioneer 6x9's in the rear. They sound good but they weren't the best out when I got them so theres better Pioneer ones out. Stay with 2way speakers. 3way is pointless because if you get the door speakers the highs in the 6x9's will be cancelled out by the door ones since they are closer to your ears.

Id go 6.5's for the doors,they have nice woofers and good highs.

Or get a component set

[rainbowbriteboy]

You can buy them on eBay, or just make them yourself.

Dotn have a direct link right now but just look up grand am speaker adapters.

[dandragonrage]

You should never keep stock tweeters with aftermarket speakers without doing extra work to account for it. If you want a woofer to use the stock tweeter with, a great choice would be the Ascendant Audio 6.5" midrange, but you'd need a crossover for it to sound good. You'd need a crossover for anything you use with the stock tweeter to sound good, so either do that or use a 2-way and just leave the stock tweeter out of the circuit.

[RocketFast321]

I got some Infinity Reference 9612i from ebay for $75. They sound twice as good as factory. Me myself i did go with after market 4x6s, again better over facoty but nothing like 6.5.

[DFizzle]

I'm with the group about going with round speakers over 4x6's. You'll be far happier with 5.25's or 6.5's.

As far as the speaker adapters go, you can get them from Autozone and most other automotive parts stores as well as Crutchfield.com and ebay. To give you an idea, here's (http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43771&perpage=20&pagenumber=2) a page with pictures of an install on a 2004 GA. The plates would be similar (you may even be able to use the same ones depending on the clearance from the inner door to the door panel).

In terms of speaker brands though, it's always best to listen to as many speakers as you can, and always listen to whatever you plan on buying before you actually purchase them if at all possible. I know that's what everybody says but it really is important. All the advice in the word is worthless if the speakers sound like crap to you. Without knowing your budget it's tough to give advice on where to start looking but I run Polk Audio 5.25 components in the front and Alpine 6x9's in the back (both decent brands for the money). Others you may want to look at (or listen to) are Boston and Infinity. If you've got more money to spend then there are a bunch more options but those are all decent brands in my opinion.