FTO AUSTRALIA

im planning to swap my front speakers though i dont noe whats good and when it comes to these sound systems i noe sh*t all. so thing is i want a pair of cheap stuff nothing too fancy just decent enough to play some good music, what are the sizes of the front speakers?
am i suppose to stay within that size limit?
and also are these any good?
http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/car-soun ... ail-button

they are six inch
maybe go for some 180w 3 way's like sony xplod or similar for good basic speaker

whats the difference between spilts and the 3 ways? , whats better?

Ok, splits are the main speaker (6" in our case) and a seperate tweeter (much smaller speaker, for the higher frequencies) which in out case, goes under the fabric on the dash where you can see a vent.

3 ways are speakers that have tweeters built into them. There are different types you can get for this case, the more common 2,3 and 4 ways. The number refers to how many tweeters are built into it ei. 2 way is one speaker plus the one tweeter built in, 3 ways are one speaker and 2 tweeters built in, and so on.

All depends on your budget. For me, I went splits as there is a spot for them in our car already.

Those Sony 6x9s are decent, but they are for your rears. Also, when looking for speakers, don't go by the max, or peak power as it won't be running at that level the whole time. It's what the speaker can handle in a short burst. Try and look on the box for the RMS power, this is what it will be running at all the time.

Robbie wrote:seperate tweeter (much smaller speaker, for the higher frequencies) which in out case, goes under the fabric on the dash where you can see a vent.

I bought a pair of Alpine type S splits recently and they come with a seperate tweeter. Not exactly sure where they're meant to go, but from your post Robbie "under the fabric on the dash" is it? Any chance someone can post a photo of where it's meant to go? thanks

Under the fabric is where it goes. If you push gently you should see a circular indentation. I believe the hole thing can be pulled out, but I'm not 100%.

Thin screwdriver between the dask plastic and the fabric to lever it out helps, but yeah, pulls straight out. Mine had wires there already as well.

Don't put them underneath the cloth covered panels in the dash.

High end frequencies are best directed at you, due to the nature of the sound. Place the tweeter in a position that is facing you, ie. the small plastic triangle panel found where the A pillar meets the door. The tweeters in a set of splits will always come with one or two mounting pods, making it a very easy installation.

Placing the tweeters in the dash, facing updwards, will stifle the volume of them.

Sony make a fairly sub-par speaker, in my opinion. If you're on a tight budget, but still crave a little bit of quality, have a look at the entry level Kenwood range. The KFCMP6932A (6x9 inch, 3 way, rated at 75W RMS) is a good little speaker for the price. They can be found for under $90 in the right places.

Wouldn't it bounce off the window? It's got the perfect curve for it. Mine sounds awesome.

I guarantee they'll sound better on top of the doors.

Cheers for the replies and advice guys, I'll install them this weekend most likely.

Will try Pete's way first (my friends have told me something more or less what he said) but if it doesn't seem right I'll put it under the fabric I guess.

Keep in mind you will have holes in the frame. Maybe try it the other way around first.

Old thread, but thought I'd offer my two cents...

Having previous experience in the automotive industry, I can safely say that you'll end up with a far better sounding system if you mount the tweeters in the factory FTO position/at the base of the windscreen.

The reason behind this is exactly what Robbie mentioned... The sound 'bounces' off the windscreen. With the particular angle that it sits at, this provides a great spread of sound and doesn't feel as much like a left speaker vs right speaker arrangement, but rather a more immersive sound.

Yea but tweets have a more direct sound wave then a mid base the best place would be the triangle near the mirror
Stock placement for speakers are sh*t weather the car costed 10k or 100k they don't design the car around the sound system they just make the sound system fit in empty spots


at the end of the day placement and type of speakers is all personal preference just depends how you like your music but any thing you do will prob be a upgrade over stock

Sorry mate, forgot you were an expert...

gotboost? wrote:Sorry mate, forgot you were an expert...

New guys...

bduffman has a point. They don't design car cabins for perfect speaker acoustics so placement is just a case of where it will fit and give reasonably good sound.

High frequencies are directional and are reflected off hard surfaces so of course the window will still allow you to hear the tweeters well enough.

tweeter > windscreen > ear.
tweeter > ear.

It's a personal taste. What sounds "good" to me may not be your opinion of "good".

No need to attack people over it

I agree with the idea that it's personal preference. I mean, who am I to go and tell people how they must set up their audio systems? However, having experience as a salesperson, installer and then sales manager in the car audio industry, I'd thought it only appropriate to offer advice that was passed onto me by industry professionals such as those who worked for the R&D team at Focal... These guys HIGHLY recommended the aforementioned mounting position. Don't want to seem like I'm wanking on, but I do actually know what I'm talking about.

If your willing to spend some money... You can get what i got...

Rockford 6'5 splits Punch series(or for about $100 more you can get the power series(the better ones)) You will find these at lifestyle

Google search life style if your interested.

I believe it does matter if its a car thats 10k or 100k

You can tell the difference in sound quality in the GTO compared to FTO easily, because they were built with pods in the door etc etc.