What is the wattage of the speakers in a 97 grand am gt?

[neomaycry]

Hey, I have an after-market stereo that I need to install into my GA but I don't know if the speakers are right for it. It is only 200 Watts but I don't know a whole lot about how stereos work. Are the factory speakers enough to carry the 200 watt stereo?

[Nighthawk243]

They probably won't hold them very long. You can squeak by for a little bit, but expect your 4x6's in the doors to go out after a bit. Especially if you like to crank the radio. (My stocks lasted about a month after putting the new HU in)

You can get a decent set of aftermarket speakers for a nice price, and its not too difficult to install them.

[JeremiahCoffel]

Your headunit will only put out about 22WRMS to each channel, so your stock speakers won't last too awfully long. I have a set of Pioneer 4x6, and they can have 20WRMS to them. If you need new speakers, I would sell them to you for a very good price. (Sorry, I know this isn't a Want To Buy thread), but I thought I'd let you know.)

[Big Joe]

Yeah its probably best to change the speakers first. Or at the same time if money is permitting.

[nineteen88ga]

Its not going to be a true 200 watts to your factory speakers. Typically audio equipment advertises their peak power which is really meaningless. What you should be concernedabout is RMS power. Most aftermarket headunits aren't going to put out more than 25 watts RMS per channel. This will be fine for OEM speakers..that are in good shape and weren't previously sounding like crap.

[car audio dave]

the stock speakers probably take about 3-5 watts RMS. they can probably take up to about 15 watts RMS if they were brand new, but 10 year old speakers that have been getting that distorted signal for 10 years probably are on their way out, and all they need is a healthy dose of power to finish the job.

i say get the new deck in, but be prepared to replace the speakers. no need ot change the speakers before they blow, thats a waste of money IMO.

[MantaGreen97]

I don't think you'll damage the stock speakers at all, unless you drive the HU into distortion and have bass/bass boost/tone controls dialed in excessively.

First off the HU isn't going to do anywhere near 200W as people have mentioned.

Another thing, the stock rear 6x9s are 10 ohms in 96-98 cars, believe it or not, so they won't actually get that much power from the HU as it will be putting a lot less power into that impedance.

The fronts aren't too easy to blow either, particularly if you have the poly tweeters (sail panel mounted) separating some of the power from the 4x6 driver. You can do it, but I think overall you should be okay.

Personally I say ditch the stock speakers because they aren't very good, but if you're only worried about them handling the power from the HU, you shouldn't be all that worried.

[neomaycry]

Alright, I think I understand what everyone is saying. I've read around and I found out that Wal-Mart speakers don't have the best reputation for sound quality. However, they are much more affordable on my meager college budget and I'm just looking for something a little flashy on the outside that will carry my HU without too much trouble. After looking at the Wal-Mart catalogy thing in the auto department, I found that my model car (97 GAGT) requires two 4x6 fronts and two 6x9 backs. I found 200+ watt speakers for the backs with no problem. However, it was slightly more difficult to locate the front speakers. Infact, I was not able to locate 4x6 speakers with 200w at all. However, after reading back over this post I realize that I probably don't even need 200w speakers as my HU will never perform close to that anyway. Any suggestion on what wattage I should go for on a budget? Thanks.

[MantaGreen97]

Shannon, I would forget about using 4x6s up front. Yes they are the direct fit for the car, but you can easily fit 6.5" speakers up front either by buying adapters (the easiest way) or by making adapters yourself (the best way but requires some cutting of material with a hand-held jigsaw, but it's not that hard).

Unless you have people that are in the back seats a lot I would recommend you not bother upgrading the 6x9s at all (in fact personally I would disconnect them altogether).

The money you would put into upgrading the rears is much better spent on buying better front speakers--preferrably a component set.

I do realise you're on a set budget here, but it would help if you gave at least a ballpark of what you would be willing to spend on upgrading speakers...

As I said, you really don't have to upgrade the stock speakers at all (they should handle the aftermarket HU no prob) but if you do want to upgrade the stock fronts, a price range would be of help so we can have a better idea of what to recommend :)

[GreenGA98]

i still have the stock speakers in all around, with an aftermarket headunit..........and i have the music cranked up pretty loud


im surprised i havent blown them yet:lol:



also not to be mean or anything.........if you don't know that much about stereos, should u really be installing your headunit?:(
i would have a shop do it or something

[Nighthawk243]

Originally posted by GreenGA98


also not to be mean or anything.........if you don't know that much about stereos, should u really be installing your headunit?:(
i would have a shop do it or something

Its not difficult to put a HU in. It's monkeyplay. Basically get the HU, and the necessary adapters (GM harness for the pre 01's, and the antenna adapter). Once you have that, wire the GM radio harness to the HU, and basically its just plug and play afterward. The hardest part is just removing the interior panels (Which is very difficult on the 1992-1995's if you're not trained in Yoga).


Anyways, about the 6x9 disconnect comment above, thats mainly personal preference. I personally hate the abscence of sound behind me, and I like the extra bass that the 6x9's put out as opposed to the smaller front speakers. Again, personal preference.

[car audio dave]

i would rather you save your money then waste it on walmart stuff. if your stock speakers arent blown then dont replace them (unless you want high end sound,but thats not available through walmart).

Mantagreen knows what hes talking about. ifhe says that the stock speakers can handel a new deck, then thats more than likely the case. ive just seen too many 10 year old cars where the speakers were dry rotting, or were about to blow because fo so many years of abuse.

[cardude007617]

look on ebay too, what i would do is go to best buy and pick some out that you like and see if ebay has em. i picked up my 5.25s infinity references off ebay for like 40 bucks shipped NEW. and 40 bucks is still less than the crap at walmart i do beleive

[kuecker_dj09]

heres a tip for ya....since the average "200 Watt" Headunit puts out around 20 watt RMS for 4 speakers, you should be looking for speakers that can handle that 20 watts RMS. If you must go with Wal-Mart at least get Pioneer....its the prolly the best brand they offer.....even though it is extremely low end.

i would reccomend saving your money just try to keep the volume low until you have at least 200 or more to get a great set of speakers. but cardude is right...ebay is your friend..and you cant go wrong w/ infinity

[neomaycry]

Thanks for all the replies. I believe $50 - 100 is my price range for front speakers. After reading everything in here, I've pretty much decided on keeping the stock rear speakers to save on money and simply replacing the fronts. Also, here is a link to the HU I have in case it helps in speaker selection:

http://www.dualav.com/receivers/xdm7510.html

I don't really see anything on there mentioning RMS but I may be overlooking it. Also, I would prefer using the 4x6 speakers as they require the least amount of effort on my part, but I could go with the 6.5 speakers if I was sure about the advantage. Does the larger size offer better sound quality or is the size simply an aesthetic thing?

[cardude007617]

oh no, how long have you had the head unit? if not long, trade it for a similiar priced pioneer or alpine.
you can get a 2 pairs of infinity's off of ebay for 100 bucks :)

[kuecker_dj09]

jeez anything BUT Dual! im sorry its just that everyone thinks that radio is SOOO cool since it opens up....god any Mid-Level Alpine or Pioneer could kick that radios ass in features alone. Can you control the iPod at full speed? No! 3-7 Band EQs? Nope....see my point yet?

im not saying its horrible, but it could be upgraded....to something nicer....and they make motorized ones like that. and it will be alot easier to control

55 Watts Peak divided by 2= ~27.5 RMS....but that is probably way high.

[pontiac3100]

umm yall forgeting the optional speakers.

well i dunno if it was optional.
but all of my speakers are 4 ohms.

the fronts has 4x6's with a big magnet and tweeters (witch i moved to the sail panel).

and the rear 6x9 are two ways....i think the little tweeters did'nt work(replaced em').
had the cd player w/ eq option and damn that thing bumped!

now i have a pioneer hu and i left the fronts and oem rear tweeters.

and they still work.