Sl1dewaysSupra said:
Just wanted to get an idea of what some of you guys are running, or see what you guys would recomend...
Well, I must warn you here, I know I say this in every post, and am sounding like a broken record, but you asked
I recommend that you don't run rears, that you focus on just the front speakers. I know it sounds hard to believe, I had a really hard time understanding it myself at first, but ultimately, it saved me a lot of money that would have just gone to making my car sound worse. Rear speakers suceed at pulling the soundstage back behind you, which can confuse your brain, but more likely will just distort the sound, as it's coming from a lot more sources at once.
Do you have a subwoofer? If you don't, and want "more sound", and REALLY want to put something else back in the stock locations, only put something that's going to play some low tones, and completely stay away from the high range frequencies. If you have an aftermarket head unit, setting the rear output to a sub-out would work well crossed over about 80hz, provided your fronts are crossed over at 80 (or even 125, but you will have a gap between 80-125 that has a quieter output then everything else, but it won't distort your 4" speakers.).
I would rather you not do this though. I would suggest that you get a small amplifier for your front speakers, make sure they are crossed over properly so that they don't distort, which is very important to how your car sounds, as they are only 4" drivers. (You can fit some 6.5s in there if you make custom mounts, but let's assume you're happy with your current speakers.) If you try to run them too low, they will sound like crap, and limit your output. After that, get a subwoofer to fill in the low range.
Try turning the fader on your head unit to full front, and listen to it for a week, see if you like how it sounds.
I suggest this because I have listened to a lot of car stereos, put in quite a few into my own vehicles, and can tell you what I like. Currently, I run a set of components up front, which include a 6.5" midrange, and 1" soft dome tweeter. They are powered off of an old PG amp putting out about 75wpc. They are crossed over at 80hz with my sub, allowing them to play very cleanly even at high output. Anything lower then that, the sub deals with. As for rears, I have NO rear speakers. The stock speakers are still there, but the fader is never turned to anything other then full front. The sound is very very clear, and sounds like it's coming from the windshield, and surrounds you completely. I get tons of compliments on how clear the sound is, even from people in the back seat. The sound does "Surround" you, and the imaging is great, as is the stereo separation.
If I do turn on the rears, the sound just goes to crap. It becomes very difficult to work out where the sound is coming from. Stereo separation is next to nothing, as opposed to just the fronts. Sure you may filling the cabin with "more sound". but really, all you're doing is adding more noise.
Hope that helps a little bit
