95_993

So I am looking at upgrading the pathetic door speakers to Focal 165's (6.5" Dia). I've searched and read several threads on the installing them and it appears the 6.5" Focal's will fit with not additional cutting. I will be using an aftermarket Kenwood head unit for now with now additional amp. So here it goes...

Are the Focal 165A1's any good compared to the 165 K2Ps, 165 Vrs, etc? Very big price range.

Thoughts...

black ice

I have the 165V2S Polyglas in front. Had to trim the door holes and the size of the tweeters makes fitting some work. There is a metal plate behind the factory tweeter, so your choices are to (a) grind it back, along with the inside of the tweeter housing, then glue in the new tweeter, or (b) cut off the metal plate and use the supplied tweeter mounts, which are kinda ugly. If you go with (a) the whole setup looks very stock; grinding the metal plates in place was not the greatest idea because it melted the door vinyl a bit right near the plate.

They really weren't that expensive (around $300 shipped), but I think the sound is mediocre. Not bad at all, just not great. I don't know if it's the speakers or if it's the speakers in this particular application, but they don't have the fullness I've heard with 6.5s in doors before. I have no additional baffling or barrier behind the speakers.

I had Boston Acoustics Pro 6.4s in the last few cars, which really sounded better. But they were more expensive. And the cars weren't as noisy 8^)

One other tip - if you install speakers with a crossover unit, I urge you not to put in the door. I have lost a couple of crossovers this way (in other cars) due to moisture/water. I ran the wires from each speaker to inside the cabin. The driver's side xover is high up behind that kick panel to the left of your foot (comes off with one screw if I remember correctly), while the pass side xover is sitting on top of the glovebox where it won't move around.

dave

95_993

Black Ice,

Thank you so much for the feedback. I've been on the fence as to which speakers. Appreciate the input on fitment as well.

delanobe

I have the Focal 165 K2 in my car without any cutting. Perfect fit and perfect sound.

95_993

I think the K2's have a smaller door opening requirement. I believe they retail for the $5-600 range here in the states. Was curious if they're worth the price and would a basic head unit have enough power to really drive them appropriately.

delanobe

The K2 are high end speakers so yes they are a lot better V2's. You can't even compare them in any way.

Of course they sound better with an amp but even with a good head unit (I have an Alpine with 4 x 50w) they have a very good sound.

Surj-993C2S

+1 on the K2s...

Hal

The PO of my 993 put a very nice Alpine head unit and 100w amp in the car but left the original speakers. So we have been thinking about upgrading the original speakers since the first time we turned on the radio. The Focal's are by far the most recommended replacement I have seen.

That said, here's a "Penny wise, Dollar Foolish" question: Is there a viable, less expensive alternative for the non-audiophile? At probably $700+ including installation, that is a lot of $$$. We were thinking half of that amount.

black ice

If you aren't a speaker snob there are a bunch of great speakers out there. I have had a few sets each of Pioneers, Alpines and Polks and have been pretty happy with most of them. All great values. One tough thing to find today is a speaker that doesn't have a purple glow-in-the-dark cone with a cover that looks like a shark's mouth.

I helped a friend put these in an old Altima and thought they sounded great. I know for this woofer you'd be trimming your door panel. It comes with a ring so you could probably avoid cutting (less mounting depth), but you'd have new holes in the door anyway (so why not just trim out the hole so you have less interference behind the speaker). You could probably get the tweeters into the factory housings with some mod.
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...neer/TS-D1720C

dave

jdistefa

I have a set of very gently used Focals (6.5s and a smaller pair as well) that I bought from another Rennlister who had them in his 996. I'm probably not going to end up using them. PM me if you want pics/specs and we can sort out pricing .