KevinGross

Hey,

I am looking to replace the front speakers in my 87 944S. They seem to sit in a pretty standard 4 x 6" enclosure, although from memory I recall there were depth issues. Years ago, I put a set of Pyle Drivers in which fit without any hassle.

Yet Crutchfield tells me they have nothing that fits -- on their site and speaking with their call center. Can anyone recommend a speaker that fits? Anything from Polk, for example?

I'm also replacing the rears, have the panels off and old ones removed. Any concerns with fitting 4 x 6 or 6 x 6 speakers in the rear? Again, put a pair of Alpine 4 x 6 speakers there many years ago.

Kevin

Butters944

My new speakers don't fit, spacers aren't a big deal to make yourself...

catamax944

The Polk Db461 do fit in the front depth wise but you need late style mesh grilles to clear the tweeter.
I tested them when i installed my speakers last year but ended up using round 3.5" Polk Db351 in the front because i had to use the normal grilles in order to clear my manual window winders . With electric windows that's not a problem. I've put the Db461 in the back .The polks sound very very good , i also had new alpines before but they sound no where near as good .
You could get OE grilles but they have a tendancy to pop off the frame and are also expensive ,i prefer some aftermarket solution ,see the links. OE part numbers are 944.555.149.00.01C for the grille and 944.555.159.00 the frame .
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-BLACK-DE...16%26rk%3D1%26

Sentinelist

I just put in MB Quart 4x6 DKD series all around, but good luck finding any- they are discontinued and it took me 6 months per pair to hunt them down on eBay. You can invert the front spacers and remove the grills like I did to make them fit. They stand out several millimeters as a result but work fine. Had mine this way for several months now.

I'd go with the Polks if I did it all over again. ^

Butters944

I have a pair of perfect year old pioneer speakers that fit just fine in the holes. I can sell em to you if you'd like.

Cyberpunky

Depth is the biggest issue but its combined with the problem of not being able to build out too far due to speakers hitting dash edge. I fitted some Sounstream 4 x 6 speakers but had to remove the rubber boot around the magnet, and I also had to use 6mm MDF baffle and the SS grilles(due to tweeter extending too far to use factory grilles).

The SS speakers sound OK due to using a soft dome silk tweeter, where as all the other speakers I found in this size, used polyester tweeters, that sound crap IMO. By my standards my speakers still sound pretty ordinary but are the best a of a very limited bunch.

At some point down the track I will probably fit some real speakers and do a custom build out on the doors but have other priorities at the moment. Most ppl would probably be more than happy with my set up but as I was in car audio for over 30 years and at one point built the finest sounding car in the country, it isn't as good as I am used too.

Bottom line with any system is as long as it sounds good to you, jobs done
peace
Cyberpunky

catamax944

Just looked up the Soundstream sst4.6 ,they look great and can handle a lot of power and they are also cheap.They would go very nice in the back and with the Polk Db461 in the front would make a great combination while still keeping the stock look .
Polks have silk-polymer dome tweeters ,don't know what difference it makes but personally i really like how they sound.

dfwchris

I just put in Rockford Fosgate P1462 speakers in the front and back. They sound incredible along with the JL Audio Sub I added. They fit but there was a small amount of trimming to get them in. The metal on the right side of the speaker hole had to be cut.

Sentinelist

Ahhhhh! No, always timbre match!

catamax944

Lol .

There are some great speakers out there between all the crap , i wish we could put them against each other to see which is the very best for our cars.

Sentinelist

That would be interesting. And really, with as much road and engine noise as most cars have, it doesn't matter as much as it would in a proper home system. This is why I've never bothered to upgrade the BOSE system in my Audi- it's plenty good enough and not really worth improving.

KevinGross

Catalin, everyone else,

Thanks very much for the ideas and experiences. I'm going to try the Polk db461 front and back. Have a note into my parts guy to see whether the OE M651 covers and frames are still available -- I have the original grey-beige covers at present.

Cheers,

Kevin

Butters944

I just put in the exact same speakers earlier this month sound awesome, paired up with my P300-1 amp (hidden in tire well) and P3SD4-12 sub

Cyberpunky

really ? my ears don't change when I drive my car and still appreciate high fidelity sound. I am amazed peoples hearing alters with environment. I guess that's why Mc Donalds is OK if you get it served in under a minute, where as, if you got the same crap but had to wait half an hour for it you wouldn't be happy. It comes down to expectations.

I expect just as good a sound in the car as I do at home and am prepared to do the hard work to get it. Sure its harder than spending some cash and plonking yourself dead centre, and equidistant from a set of home speakers, but because my ears are the same at home and in the car, I choose to have great sound in both. In fact because I have to spend time in my car getting to work and back, my car systems actually get listened to a hell of lot more, than my home system and so provides better value on a dollar per hour listened basis.

I am glad you can settle for the mediocre Bose system in your car and can justify that based on road and engine noise, as I don't have that ability. I have been asked many times why I put such a great sounding system in such a cheap car(my old car), and my answer has always been that the car doesn't listen to it, I do. My expectations and enjoyment of high fidelity music reproduction are the same regardless of the environment I am in, so I have difficulty trying to comprehend why some people are so dismissive of the pursuit of faithful music reproduction in a car. It's not that hard to sound deaden a vehicle and have sufficient power to overcome any road or engine noise and enjoy great sound in a car.

We have the technology, and most of us spend a lot of time in our cars, that is often the only guilt free music listening time we get.
/end rant

Sorry but the whole car audio is a waste of time/money thing really annoys me
peace
Cyberpunky

Sentinelist

Not a waste of time, and there was even a time when I spent gobs of money on car audio. I see where you're coming from, and my ears obviously pick up the same quality at home or on the road as yours do. But you can't tell me your car - any car this side of a new Phantom - provides a better soundstage baseline than your home to make it worth a real audiophile damn. That's like saying I can juggle just as good standing still as I can while on a roller coaster. I'd like to see how. Yes, engine noise, road noise, the idiot in the Civic next to you, a semi truck, an ambulance (hell, the acoustics of the transmission tunnel that get in the way)... all challenges in a mobile environment. When someone honks a horn and interrupts the meticulous unplugged guitar blitz that Monty Montgomery is throwing down, THAT is time wasted to me. Because screw that horn guy. I save my focus for the living room when I can stare in amazement at my speakers in front of me and holding a single malt scotch.

That said, there's a reason I still splashed out for an MB Quart setup in my 951 and am looking at perhaps an a/d/s/ amp. But anything above that I believe it's wasted money on details I - and you - will never really hear in playback unless your idea of car audio is just sitting inside the thing in your garage at night (with the engine off obviously). And last I checked, it was difficult getting a vacuum tube amplifier and audiophile LP transport balanced and mounted properly in the passeger seat anyway.

To each their own- much respect for your interesting past accomplishments in this arena. I love the thought of hi-fi and cars, it's just never seemed like a 10/10ths idea that I wanted to personally invest more than several hundred bucks in.