Car speakers

[crazedmonkey]

Does anyone know anything about car stereo speakers?

I've blown one of my car speakers...again! But it's not under warrenty anymore so I can't get it replaced with another standard speaker for nowt! So I thought I might as well replace them with something a bit better.

I don't really know what I'm looking for when it comes to speakers, I had a quick gander on ebay and seen these:

Ebay Link

The bit I'm concerned about is power/ampage/wattage etc or whatever! Those ones say they are 130 watts. Is this going to cause any problems power wise? As I imagine that standard Ford speakers aren't 130 watts - would there be enough power getting to them to make them work properly?

Simple terms for a simple person please

[Masterchief]

Standard ford head units (which i am assuming your still running mate) are pre-amped, 130 watts would be no problem, the reason the stock speakers blew is because the head unit is too powerful for them, front audio in a car is hardly ever run by a dedicated amp like 6x9's and bass drivers in hardcore installs

Ford use unbranded SPLX speakers (el cheapo brand) paper cones etc, your car will in fact take ANY 13 cm speaker (designed for car audio obviously), pioneer ent the best, and thats certainly not the best price, Vibe are all the rage at the minute, try these:

Vibe Slick 50 v2 5" Inch 13cm 2 Way 150w Car Speakers on eBay (end time 12-Mar-10 17:09:58 GMT)

I am 99% sure they will fit (the mounts are universally in the same place on all speakers of the same diameter, sometimes the speaker is slightly deeper than the door panel can take but from memory, fiesta doors are hunka chunka with loads of room).

These have built in splitter and 'tweeters' so sound quality will be far superior, i'll buy you a new set if you blow them!

OK to fit em or need to know how?

[Masterchief]

Vibes but tad cheaper:

Vibe Slick 50 v2 5" Inch 13cm 2 Way 150w Car Speakers on eBay (end time 19-Mar-10 22:43:53 GMT)

[Masterchief]

The Vibe Edge range is highly rated too, slick (the above speakers) are Vibes top end gear, Edge is their middle of the road stuff, still unmatched quality though and a better price

Edge ED205 5.25" Car Speakers 13cm by vibe co-axial on eBay (end time 09-Mar-10 20:33:53 GMT)

[Venger]

It's been many moons since I dabbled in separates hifi and car hifi but you will do far more damage to speakers with a lower rated amp than you will with an amp claiming a massive output.

It's perfectly feasible to drive a 100 watt pair of speakers with a 40 watt amp but if you're running the amp very high, it will eventually clip (distort) and small, attractive, pieces of speaker cone will be sprayed in your vacinity.

Running speakers with an amp rated higher in terms of watts is acceptable, personally most of the amp ratings are pointless anyway, 'peak music output' etc, etc, look for RMS it's supposed to be a much more accurate measure of output.

I have two pairs of Infinity speakers in my car and they're rather nice but like I say its been a while since I've dabbled.

If you're looking for someone to install them, I'd go to the Audiophile In Car at Bishops Stortford, reason I went there is that they had a 'proper' separates hifi shop first and applied the adage of 'musicality' not 'lots of bass' to the equipment they installed in cars.

[sapphirepuddycat]

I used to use a pair of Celestion Ditton 44's in my old van with a custom built 50 Watt RMS amplifier (running from it's own separate car battery). It kicked out so much power the sides of the van used to bulge. Three feet tall speakers did cut down on passenger space considerably, but nobody ever wanted to travel with me for some reason!

[RocketRev]

That's a blast from the past.... I remember Celestion Dittons - but not in vehicles!

[Masterchief]

Have a mate that runs 2 x 2500 watt Vibe black boxes powering 4 a 18" subs, the windows in his type-r have now been replaced with polycarbonate as a result

[RocketRev]

5kW....... that's some car heater. No worries for him on a frosty winter's day.

[ambientskies]

Don't forget it's "in-car entertainment"

WHAT!...