Stock Deck with Better Speakers

[Centropolis]

I want to upgrade the sound in my car but without changing the deck and adding a sub. So that leaves me changing of the four speakers and hope the sound will be better.

My question is, is it really worth my time and money to go pick up better speakers and install them and expect much improvement without adding an amp and with a stock deck? I could get an amp since a low-end model is not that expensive but I am definitely not changing the deck.

I want a bit of improvement on everything....highs...mids...bass. I read somewhere that usually better speakers don't produce much bass compared to the stock speakers?

Also, any recommended speakers that won't cost me an arm? I may even switch just the front two?!

[marchz24]

I asked this question a month ago when Audio Heaven had these nice Kenwood speakers on sale. Most people told me it wasn't worth just changing the speakers. You have to replace the head unit or have an amp. Lets see what they say this time. By the way. Do a search on Kenwood speakers and you will see the ones I'm talking about. They look nice!

[doughboyr6]

i'm following this route....i'm not much for a sub....i bought new speakers front/back + a 4 channel amp....i should be picking up my items this weekend, but dunno when i'll get around to installin them....when they are in, i'll report back.

[queens49]

It all depends on what you are looking for, sound quality or loudness. When I did my speaker upgrade, I first replaced the fronts with co-axial speakers from Kaption to test them out. The difference was night and day. The Kaptions were crisp and clear, while the stock speakers are muffled. I was hearing notes in the music that I wasn't hearing before. I have since completed the upgrade and put in Kaption components, and am very happy with the sound quality. With the components, the bass has improved, but it's not door rattling or anything. A sub would still be nice to fill out the sound even more. A minor issue with getting aftermarket speakers is that they will most likely be harder to drive, so you will have to turn up the volume to get the same loudness as with the stock paper speakers. Unless, you are trying to play music for the entire neighbourhood, then the stock HU is loud enough.

[Voodoo]

i changed 4 door-speakers and added a sub/amp. sound is clear with more highs, but i lose some mids due to the stock deck isnt power enough for those aftermarket speakers. im planning on adding a 4-chanels amp to power those speakers. and same as you, i want to keep the stock deck

[Centropolis]

It all depends on what you are looking for, sound quality or loudness. When I did my speaker upgrade, I first replaced the fronts with co-axial speakers from Kaption to test them out. The difference was night and day. The Kaptions were crisp and clear, while the stock speakers are muffled. I was hearing notes in the music that I wasn't hearing before. I have since completed the upgrade and put in Kaption components, and am very happy with the sound quality. With the components, the bass has improved, but it's not door rattling or anything. A sub would still be nice to fill out the sound even more. A minor issue with getting aftermarket speakers is that they will most likely be harder to drive, so you will have to turn up the volume to get the same loudness as with the stock paper speakers. Unless, you are trying to play music for the entire neighbourhood, then the stock HU is loud enough.


Thanks for the info. I think what I will end up doing is change the front the four speakers and get a simple 4 channel amp to help push them with my stock deck.

Speakers I can pick myself but I think I am very limited on a 4-channel amp if I don't want to spend more than $300 on it. Am I correct?

[Centropolis]

i changed 4 door-speakers and added a sub/amp. sound is clear with more highs, but i lose some mids due to the stock deck isnt power enough for those aftermarket speakers. im planning on adding a 4-chanels amp to power those speakers. and same as you, i want to keep the stock deck

Yeah, I've checked out some adaptor mounts for Mazda 3's when installing a aftermarket deck and they look pretty 'plasticky'......I don't like them. Lockdown apparently does a good job according to another thread but I couldn't load the pictures that were posted to see.

[doughboyr6]

i think lockdown just sells the metra kit plastic ones....i think most ppl prefer mdf, but i'm not sure how that would hold up in our climate.

do you have a link to that thread?

[WLS ZMZM]

This is a sticky situation and depends on what you are alooking for upgrading the speakers without adding an amp or an aftermarket HU will cause some frustration... bear in mind... most stock HU's put out about 20-30 watts of RMS power..... most after market speakers need about 40 - 65 watts of RMS power.... hence why you need to turn up the HU to get the most sound out of aftermarket speakers... installing a 4 channel amp will help the speakers... but again bare in mind... these amps are not "bass amps" and are not for subs.. so they don't really have bass capabilities.... with teh amp you are going to get incredible highs and decent mids. It is true you will hear new notes as the frequency range on the amp can be changed to your liking... the speakers will seem louder... as there is now more power going through them. At the same time however you will lose all bass capabilites.... unless you are installing a sub... I would recommend going aftermarket deck... with an amp and stock deck your system is going to sound very tinny and teh bass will sound very strange. As for the kits, they do look cheesy... but up close they are really not that bad.... as for MDF... thats not something you'd want on your dash... MDF is used for sub boxes... not really for dashes... unless your planning to fiberglass and then your talking serious $$$$

Besides for the amount of money your planning on spending for amp & wiring kit as well as speaker wire for the speakers... (this install isn't quite as easy as the sub install) you might as well invest in a nice aftermarket deck and keep the stock speakers if your not anticipating re-vamping the whole sound system!

[Sebi]

I just installed a set of Kenwood components in the front, the sound is much "cleaner", the tweeters make a huge difference in SQ. The volume almost the same as the stock speakers (99%), with a little bit of less bass. Also the price was really decent!

[sp3GT]

I would say it depends on what kind of music you generally listen to, I have just a sub and stock eveyrthing else cause thats all I wanted to spend and I generally listen to R&B or Rap. So it's Okay.

[selective sound]

This is a sticky situation and depends on what you are alooking for upgrading the speakers without adding an amp or an aftermarket HU will cause some frustration... bear in mind... most stock HU's put out about 20-30 watts of RMS power..... most after market speakers need about 40 - 65 watts of RMS power.... hence why you need to turn up the HU to get the most sound out of aftermarket speakers... installing a 4 channel amp will help the speakers... but again bare in mind... these amps are not "bass amps" and are not for subs.. so they don't really have bass capabilities.... with teh amp you are going to get incredible highs and decent mids. It is true you will hear new notes as the frequency range on the amp can be changed to your liking... the speakers will seem louder... as there is now more power going through them. At the same time however you will lose all bass capabilites.... unless you are installing a sub... I would recommend going aftermarket deck... with an amp and stock deck your system is going to sound very tinny and teh bass will sound very strange. As for the kits, they do look cheesy... but up close they are really not that bad.... as for MDF... thats not something you'd want on your dash... MDF is used for sub boxes... not really for dashes... unless your planning to fiberglass and then your talking serious $$$$

Besides for the amount of money your planning on spending for amp & wiring kit as well as speaker wire for the speakers... (this install isn't quite as easy as the sub install) you might as well invest in a nice aftermarket deck and keep the stock speakers if your not anticipating re-vamping the whole sound system!Actually mdf is stronger than the plastic and wrap in nice vinyl and you will get a much more oem look than using the plastic.

[doughboyr6]

good to see you posting davis...i'm gonna give you a call next week...

[Centropolis]

i think lockdown just sells the metra kit plastic ones....i think most ppl prefer mdf, but i'm not sure how that would hold up in our climate.

do you have a link to that thread?


http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=9940

I cannot see the images. They don't load. I want to see pictures of the installation of an aftermarket deck in the ashtray area. I heard that they can do it. And I can go back to stock if I want to sell the car afterwards.