Recommendation needed for door speakers

[kretzj]

I need to install my RS door panels but I need to pick door speakers before I tackle this project. The panels do not have any holes in them so I can be creative with separates. Can anyone recommend a good speaker combination for my doors? Pictures would be very helpful.

Thanks,

Jon

[RoninLB]

this subject has been hit on a few times w/mucho info..do a search .........Ron

[kretzj]

I had a difficult time getting a consensus on which speaker to use from my search. It seems MB quarts are referenced the most. Are the RSC 216 6.5 component speakers any good? Some people sell these on ebay for $139.

Jon

[RoninLB]

6.5 is a home run...seems like MB Quart and Focal are the high end stuff..IMO, personal taste is deciding factor between one or the other..and you do need an amp/or don't bother w/good speakers............Ron

[bell]

ron hit the nail on the head, i'd stay away from the cheaper quarts though, the tweets aren't as durable as the mid-high end stuff. most manufacturers make "good-better-best" with their lines.
usually the "good" won't even touch the "better" as far as durability goes, and with loud cars like our 911's you don't want something that can't handle the abuse.
you can run "better/best" with a cheaper amp and be VERY happy.

[Fosgate911]

IMHO using component sets without an external amplifier is a waste of money. For starters the woofer is designed to take more power so it is heavier making it require more power to get it moving. Second most amplifiers have a built in X-cross over section in them this blocks the low end frequencies that causes the distortion in speakers this size. Third most component sets only X-cross over the signal to the tweeter and the woofer plays from 20 Hz to the cut-off point usually around 1.2 K or so. That is why a cheaper 3-way 6 1/2 will be louder than a component set when powered by the head unit. A good compromise that I suggest to my customers is to run one of the new Pioneer headunits with a built in Hi-pass filter to a component set that they can amplify at a later date.

[bell]

fosgate.....where/how long have you been in the business? there's a handfull of audio guys on this board. i've been in the business for a little over 11 years and until recently competed nationally in db drag and iasca (racing has taken over most of my spare time )

[Fosgate911]

Bell, I'm young guy at only 27 you've been in the business longer than I've been out of school. I'm in a partnership at a small retail store in Kansas.

[bell]

cool, i'm only 30 and got into the business when i got "fired" from a tech job at xerox when i was 19. welcome to the board too, you'll find this bbs to be a very helpfull community with your porsche (what do you have by the way?).

[Fosgate911]

Just got an 80 SC about a month or so ago. Mods so far are all audio (Go figure) RF 9300 Head ; 6 in Fanatic Q's in the doors powered by a Power 250a (had it laying around) equalized by Phoenix Gold 1/3 octave EQ. The sub-box is in the works still I'm gonna put a pair of ported 8's in the doors and move the 6 1/2 components to the rear deck (I hope it fits) and run a set of the new Fanatic 3-ways in the kicks.

[James_TX]

I did 6.5 Focals in the front. The sound is crisp and clear. When I get the $$ Ill do 6.5 in the rear and a small base tube in the trunk.


Good luck!

[88911coupe]

I have the MB Quart Separates up front but I had to modify the door panel. They vibrate a little some some techno music. Put a Bazooka 6" sub in back which is not all that great but it's movable. All powered by 4 X 75 watt Sony amp which is fine for me. The back two channels are bridged to the sub.
Later

[jyl]

Since we're talking speakers can I ask about two concepts that continue to intrigue me?

First, Moch-1 makes a cover panel for the underside of the dash that permits mounting a pair of 5 1/4" drivers and a pair of 1" tweeters, firing toward your feet / knees, at the extreme left and right ends of the dash. I guess you could angle the tweeters to point more horizontal, toward your belly-button.

http://www.moch-1.com/UNDERDASH.htm

Does it make sense to add more front channel drivers? Or maybe to add different ones, e.g. full-range in the doors and dedicated woofers in the under dash panel?

Second, Moch-1 makes a replacement rear deck that allows a pair of 8" woofers, firing forward.

http://www.moch-1.com/911woofer.html

Might this be a suitable subwoofer enclosure (if you can stand the Batmobile look)? I need the rear seats, so the footwell solution doesn't work for me.

I guess I'm just trying to find any feedback on either the products or the concepts. I've found no-one who's used or even seen the Moch-1 stuff.

I was, incidentally, looking at a disassembled Bose "Wave" desktop radio and was interested in the "waveguide" idea. I was thinking maybe a handy guy (may not describe me) could do something like this in a rear deck enclosure, and thus get a useful rear deck subwoofer enclosure without the Batmobile humps.

[pbs911]

Jon, do the RS door panels have the backing cut out for speakers? If so, you don't need to cut the fabric to install the speakers. I mounted my 6.5" speakers in the door and then the RS panels over the speaker. This makes the speaker installation invisible. As long as the thick backing material is cut out the thin material does not detract from the sound too much. Much cleaner install.

[Fosgate911]

Aiming the mids and highs to your feet is a bad idea. Ideally you want all the speakers aimed at the dead center of the roof between the front seats. This isn't always possible of course so you have to almost always compromise. The signals that those sizes of speakers are designed to reproduce are very directional and where you aim them affects the overall effect greatly (volume, sound stage, etc.).

[bell]

Originally posted by Fosgate911
Aiming the mids and highs to your feet is a bad idea. Ideally you want all the speakers aimed at the dead center of the roof between the front seats. This isn't always possible of course so you have to almost always compromise. The signals that those sizes of speakers are designed to reproduce are very directional and where you aim them affects the overall effect greatly (volume, sound stage, etc.).

firing the speakers down is at your feet is a no-no....you are correct there. but different speakers have different "personalities" (on-axis/off-axis, tweeter more than the mids) and the ideal placement is as far forward as feasable, unfortunately in a 911 this isn't possible with the way the kick panel areas are.
you can use tuning to achive a killer soundstage (crossover points and equalization), ron and i had a long discusion about that when he was here.
if you're not looking to add a sub, then having a nice solid baffle is a must to get decent bass response.
spend your money on a good single pair of speakers for the front instead of multiple pairs, you'll have better control of the sound this way and it won't take away from the purity of your 911.
remember......99% of the time, simpler is better.

[jyl]

Okay, so the under dash cover is not looking so good.

Any thoughts on the Batmobile parcel shelf? I could add the twin rows of chrome pipes sticking out from the engine lid to complete the effect.

[bell]

anyone see the drew carey show when he won the batmobile? i love that one
i wouldn't mess with the rears, i don't even have rears in mine. the rears get "naturally amplified" by the rear window and almost always seem to overpower the fronts....so i say don't use them.
you can't miss with the focals or the better quarts, then find a decent name brand 2 channel amp (50wx2 minimum) and go from there, once you have that installed it'll give you a better idea as to what you need to do to get your soundstage dialed in.

as far as cutting holes in your door panels i would use a razor and cut the vinyl/leather to the size of hole you need (triple check your placement so you dont have to cut any metal) then carefully cut the panel itself to the needed hole, this will prevent you from destroying the vinyl/leather if your cutting tool of choice grabs the material.

time for beer and ladies though.......gotta go

[Want to be]

JBL 6 1/2 are an excellent speaker for the money.

eclipse rear european speaker is also a nice match to the factory orginal.

I can't remember the size.

Cheers

jpc

[Ray 911s]

I'm installing the Quart Referenz 6.5s in my doors. A word of caution when you begin measuring and cutting! On my 77 911s, the cut-out in the door panel was not concentric with the cut-out in the door!

Also, to avoid rattles, seal all edges and cut-outs in the door panels with insulating strips before re-installing. You may also want to pad the rod from the rotary door lock knob to the actual lock - this is a source of very annoying rattles when the music volume is up. Mount the speaker frame through the panel and directly to the door.

I'm not in the business, just passing along some advice learned by experience in my installation.

BTW, I'm using 2 a/d/s Powerplate 100 amps, a Blaupunkt Tokyo head unit (wanted the all-black look), no subs. Just a flat 6 to round out the lows.