reed

My factory speakers are pretty trashed. The foam has pretty much disintegrated and the paper is in poor shape. A friend who rebuilds high-end speakers for a living has agreed to breathe new life into my factory speakers.

I know the factory system was no great shakes even when new, but I don't feel like cutting, modifying and matching aftermarket speakers. He'll rebuild mine for a few beers and says they'll be better than new. I'd like to give it a shot.

The only problem is my car is missing one of the original Blaupunkt door 5-1/4" woofers. In its place is a really shabby RadioShack replacement. Does anyone have an original speaker that they would be willing to contribute to this project? I'd be willing to pay for your troubles and shipping. Thanks.

sml

I think it is very easy to find speakers that screw straight in with no cutting, modifying or matching.

Sounds like you want an easy solution but you are heading down the path of a hard solution.

I wanted larger speakers and wanted them fixed to a solid mounting location (ie straight into the door steel), but plenty of others just screw new speakers straight in.

altarchsa

Why would you rebuild a factory speaker when you can direct-bolt in one of today' s high tech speakers, like Infinity Kappa Perfects? (Other than the $250 cost of course) They are a direct replacement with no mod required.

Believe me, you will thank me if you put in speakers of this quality. I can't imagine that your friend can achieve the sound of this quality speaker in a factory frame.

Oracle

I bought Kenwood (front) and Alpine (rear) and fit perfectly. There is no difference with OEM, I kept the OEM grills that fit perfectly too.. There is no way you can tell my speakers are not OEM.
Still go and have the beer with your friend.. thou

John Boggiano

Oracle, which model numbers, please?

Jimjacqmx5

Factory speakers are TOTAL junk.
6" splits will go straight in the front and a good set of 4 x 6 in the rear shelf.
Some Alpine Type S are good value or spend a little more on some focals.
Get yourself a lovely little JL 4 channel digital amp ($299 from USA) and you will have a lovely sounding system without sending much $$$

sml

I didn't find the install that easy.

I initially tried leaving that black plastic surround in place, and then I tried about 7 or 8 different types of splits from about 6.5" to 5.X" splits and NONE of them worked ... kenwoods, alpine, pioneer, etc. - even supposed shallow mount options. They all clashed on that black plastic thing.

2 options:
a) get a specific speaker reference brand & model from someone here and buy that exact model
b) take off the door trim, remove the black plastic things, bolt to the speaker to the steel door, put the door trim OVER the speaker, enjoy great sound as you can fit larger speakers and they are fixed properly.

Rally Guy

Unless your pal is replacing the basket with a stronger one, replacing the magnet with a stronger one - replacing the voicecoil with a more heat resistant one, replacing the cone material with a stronger, lighter, less-resonant material, replacing the foam with a more supple, longer lasting version, and reegnineering the entire x-over for better fidelity (oh, while ensuring all those changes work together for in an harmonious fashion), I don't think they'll sound "better than new".

Please -for the sake of the musicians who played, the engineers who recorded and the sheer appreciation of music, REPLACE THE OEM SPEAKERS. Thanks,

RK

reed

Thanks for the replies. Okay, I get the message: Don't bother wasting time on the crappy original speakers. I don't really care about high fidelity in the car, just something to listen to when I get stuck in traffic. I'm leaving the original tuner, amp and crossovers in the car.

That said, can someone recommend speakers (brand and model), both front and rear, which will be direct bolt ins? I want to keep the original grills and mounting ring. Thanks.

beentherebaby

FWIW- After reading the above comments I went to Crutchfield's website to see what they offered as direct fit by model. It looks like they "may" have speakers that are a direct fit? They list the rear shelf speakers as 4" x 6" but the replacements speakers as 5 1/4" round, so they must require/include adapter plates?

altarchsa

Rears are 4x6 plate type. Others won't fit w/o mod or adapters, IIUC.

altarchsa

Great advice!

Factory = total junk.

I assume "splits" are the same as "coaxials"? (I thought they were 5 1/4", but maybe they were 6"). I put some pretty good Alpine coax's in the front, then immediately traded them out for Infinity Kappa Perfects "component" type speakers and there is NO comparison. (I assume "focals" are the same as "components"? midrange cone with some good bass response and a separate tweeter) Go for some really good component speakers. You be glad you spent the additional $150+/-.

Gotta go for a good quality 4 channel amp.

Or install a sub(s) and use a 5 channel amp like I did. Some of the best $$$ I've spent on my 964.