Mazda 3 Speaker Upgrade - My review/thoughts

[acid604]

Hey guys. I bought my 2011 Mazda 3 Sport back in April and have always considering upgrading speakers. I kept putting it off (school/work etc comes up) but recently I upgraded the front 2 speakers to Infinity's. These: http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/infinity-reference-6-x-8-5-x-7-2-way-car-speaker-6832cf/10121784.aspx?path=0f8c381f05da02c886c92645f486a6d 3en02

I'm posting this thread for reference for others. I did a lot of research before doing this (I'm very paranoid about my car lol). And I found there wasn't a ton of info on the net, so I'm just putting this out there in case other people are considering similar upgrades.

The Sound: Awesome. These speakers gave me a noticeable improvement. Keep in mind I made no changes to HeadUnit, no Amp, no Sub, nothing. Everything is stock and only the front 2 were changed. I played with the EQ settings a bit and adjusted the Fader for more sound to come out of the front speakers (the infinity's) and it sounds amazing. Much cleaner bass response, I wouldn't say it gives you more bass than the factory system - but its wayyy cleaner. I'm not a huge bass-head I'm more into quality/clarity and these speakers really shine in this department.

I see a lot of ppl online wanting to do speaker upgrades without headunit changes etc. and from my experience its totally worth it. Keep in mind the most expensive speakers are probably not gonna reach their true potential without an amp so find something accordingly.

I'm really tempted to change the back speakers also. Maybe Alpines (they usually have a little more bass response) that way the rear speakers would provide more 'umph' in my lower frequencies without a sub. But I'm also considering an amp to get these Infinity's to their potential...but I hate 'cosmetic' changes, I like the stock-look and don't wanna 'see' a sub lol.

---------------------
Review of the sound is over, I'm just gonna rant about my customer service experience:
I spent a lot of time in Future Shop and Visions before deciding which to go with. Maybe this isn't the place for it but I'm also gonna share my thoughts on their service quality because I couldn't find a ton of this regarding car audio either. Also - I'm from Vancouver BC so this may not be applicable to most people here.

Visions: really good customer service. These guys actually know and care about car audio. Much more detailed information about speakers and car audio knowledge. I didn't get the install at visions so can't say how that was. They were a bit pushy for the Alpines but they have good service and work with you on price too.

Future Shop: mostly crap service. The 2 guys I spoke with knew little about car audio. Very general answers to my questions. Ultimately I found more info regarding the Infinity speakers online so I went with them, and they had a better price. Originally I was going to get my install done at Visions but for boxing week I got 50% off the install so they won again lol.

The install (future shop): absolute shit. Like I said I'm very paranoid about my car and wanted to watch the install process. The installer basically kicked me out of the garage - I thought fine he has the right to work in private. When I came back he didn't explain anything, he asked me sign to some forms, he was texting on his phone the whole time, didn't even test out my system (just said: "you can test it if you want"). I understand installers are not hired for their social abilities but I'm sure there's better ppl they could hire lol. He also didn't wire my window up properly. My cars driver window has the one-touch express up/down and now I have to hold the button for the window to go up/down. I called him and he said he'd fix it, but thats another damn trip for me. He should've tested everything. I'm going back in a few days to fix this.

I'm not saying Visions is better. But next time I would definitely go with a small private shop where the installer will speak to me before doing the work.


Thats all. Any questions feel free to ask. These Infinity speakers are awesome, definitely recommend them. Might lack a tiny bit of bass but keep in mind these are fairly small but they will definitely give you a cleaner bass response then the stock system. :headbang:headbang:headbang

[sube]

Check your owners manual to fix the window. I believe you roll it up and hold the button for several seconds, then roll it down and hold the button for several seconds. Any time you unplug the harness from the switch or disconnect the battery the auto window needs to be reset.

Pat.

[acid604]

Check your owners manual to fix the window. I believe you roll it up and hold the button for several seconds, then roll it down and hold the button for several seconds. Any time you unplug the harness from the switch or disconnect the battery the auto window needs to be reset.

Pat.


Thanks for the response! Thats exactly how he fixed it. It was actually really simple lol.

[Aitch]

Check your owners manual to fix the window. I believe you roll it up and hold the button for several seconds, then roll it down and hold the button for several seconds. Any time you unplug the harness from the switch or disconnect the battery the auto window needs to be reset.

Pat.

Thanks for mentioning this, I wouldn't have known to check the owners manual for it. On my 07 I never had to rest the window, although it was only auto-down.

Sent from my phone using 1s, 0s, and radio waves.

[Default User]

Congrats on the purchase.

Personally, I would've gone with the Alpines. But the infinity reference series is an excellent entry level setup and has been an excellent 2nd choice to me.




auto-corrected by iPhone through tapatalk.

[visx]

Thanks for sharing your speaker upgrade experience. I have a 2012 Mazda 3 Sport (GS Sky). I think the speakers should be the same as the 2011s. Can it accept the ones you linked (Infinity Reference 6" x 8" / 5" x 7")? The speaker grills look circular to me. I thought it only accepts 6x6. In my old car (civic), I used to have Infinity speakers at the front. The Mazda 3 stock ones have more powerful bass. But the mid and high bass is not clear.

So Alpines are better? Any specific model you can recommend? I am planning to only changing the 4 speakers and keeping everything else stock.

One more question regarding the 2 stock tweeters at the front doors: after upgrading the speakers, do the tweeters generally be disconnected? Or do they stay as connected? Thanks!

[missourimazda17]

Thanks for sharing your speaker upgrade experience. I have a 2012 Mazda 3 Sport (GS Sky). I think the speakers should be the same as the 2011s. Can it accept the ones you linked (Infinity Reference 6" x 8" / 5" x 7")? The speaker grills look circular to me. I thought it only accepts 6x6. In my old car (civic), I used to have Infinity speakers at the front. The Mazda 3 stock ones have more powerful bass. But the mid and high bass is not clear.

So Alpines are better? Any specific model you can recommend? I am planning to only changing the 4 speakers and keeping everything else stock.

One more question regarding the 2 stock tweeters at the front doors: after upgrading the speakers, do the tweeters generally be disconnected? Or do they stay as connected? Thanks!

If you are only changing the speakers and aren't changing the head unit or don't have one installed already, then you would get coaxial speakers and you would most likely want some that are very sensitive with a wide response range. You need them to be sensitive since you are only giving them the power from the stock head unit. I like Alpine, Infinity, Rockford Fosgate, and Boston, but in the end it's up to you.

[acid604]

Thanks for sharing your speaker upgrade experience. I have a 2012 Mazda 3 Sport (GS Sky). I think the speakers should be the same as the 2011s. Can it accept the ones you linked (Infinity Reference 6" x 8" / 5" x 7")? The speaker grills look circular to me. I thought it only accepts 6x6. In my old car (civic), I used to have Infinity speakers at the front. The Mazda 3 stock ones have more powerful bass. But the mid and high bass is not clear.

So Alpines are better? Any specific model you can recommend? I am planning to only changing the 4 speakers and keeping everything else stock.

One more question regarding the 2 stock tweeters at the front doors: after upgrading the speakers, do the tweeters generally be disconnected? Or do they stay as connected? Thanks!

I listened to Alpine spr68 at Visioins. They sound great in store. But I think ultimately its personal choice. There's only so much you can do with 'just speaker' upgrade.
It seems like Alpines might be better if you wanted a BIT more bass from stock. Infinitys are great 'all-around.' Very clean bass, great mids and highs.

You could get a speaker set which includes tweeters and replace your stock tweeters. That system will sound great. Mine was the base model with 4 speakers no tweeters.

[visx]

Alright. So what size of speakers will fix the 3? And any shop you recommended in GTA?

[visx]

Sorry, I mean what size will "fit" the 3?

[aris]

Sorry, I mean what size will "fit" the 3?

6x8 / 5x7

[acid604]

Alright. So what size of speakers will fix the 3? And any shop you recommended in GTA?

Can't say anything about local shops in the GTA (I'm in BC). But based on my experience, if your going with a big box retailer (best buy, FutureShop, Visions etc) I'd recommend communicating with the installer before he gets to work. Most small shops usually would place priority on customer service.

I'm sure others on this site can recommend some great shops in your local area.

[Default User]

6x8 / 5x7

+1

I believe the Original size is 5x7
But a 6.5 and a 6x8 will fit with the use of adapters

[Jackal]

6x8 / 5x7

Is that front/rear?

[Default User]

Is that front/rear?

both

[aris]

+1

I believe the Original size is 5x7
But a 6.5 and a 6x8 will fit with the use of adapters

6x8 and 5x7 do not need a adapter.... Their actualy same size.

[visx]

Thanks guys! Is larger size (6x8) generally better?

[aris]

Thanks guys! Is larger size (6x8) generally better?

I've read in other threads that 6.5 has better sound.

I my self have Alpines 5x7 (6x8) and 100x better then the factory speakers..in other words i'm extremly happy with them

[visx]

Would 4 Ohms impedance be too much for the stock head unit? Most Alpines are 4 Ohms. Some Infinitys are 2 Ohms.

[acid604]

Would 4 Ohms impedance be too much for the stock head unit? Most Alpines are 4 Ohms. Some Infinitys are 2 Ohms.

Thats a good question. My inifinitys are 2ohms, and I was wondering the same thing because the Alpines I might get are 4 ohms. Even with an amp I dont know if its a good idea to mix 2/4 ohms in the same car.

[visx]

Thats a good question. My inifinitys are 2ohms, and I was wondering the same thing because the Alpines I might get are 4 ohms. Even with an amp I dont know if its a good idea to mix 2/4 ohms in the same car.

I think mixing 2 and 4 Ohms will result in having the 2 Ohms ones louder. Then you can use the sound system setup to do Fade and Balance to balance them out. According to Alpine's US page, the Type S should be good for stock head unit.

Question: How much should I expect to pay for installation if:
a) just replace the main 4 spearks
b) also replace the tweeters with new ones (component system)

Thanks!

[acid604]

Usually its $60 a pair for speakers (component or otherwise). So it'd be $120 for your entire car.
Thats the price at Best Buy, FutureShop, Visions.

FS and Visions are commission staff so you may be able to get a better deal if your buying your speakers from them. I wouldn't expect it on the install but worth a shot. But for boxing week I got it for $30 lol should've done entire car.