My Speaker Upgrade Install

[Lex Talionis]

Lex, are your kappas true 6x8 speakers?

 

The reason I'm asking is because they also say 5x7 on then. s.

 

not sure how to respond actually.. they are advertised as 6x8 so I never thought about it. Now, I Google and I find listings at both 6x8 and 5x7 and I even find one site that said, "6"x8" / 5"x7" 2-Way...."

 

so officially speaking, I think they are listed as 6x8 and so not sure where the 5x7 comes in to be honest. All I do know is that they fit my Edge and sound great

[akirby]

not sure how to respond actually.. they are advertised as 6x8 so I never thought about it. Now, I Google and I find listings at both 6x8 and 5x7 and I even find one site that said, "6"x8" / 5"x7" 2-Way...."

 

so officially speaking, I think they are listed as 6x8 and so not sure where the 5x7 comes in to be honest. All I do know is that they fit my Edge and sound great

 

5x7 and 6x8 are interchangeable (in Ford vehicles at least) so they're typically listed as both.

[jourabchid]

thanks for the replies.

 

from looking at the pictures, i can see the infinitys are a little larger than the polks i was looking at, at least the mounting area is a little bigger, so i wouldnt have an air gap..

 

Im having a crucial time pulling the trigger thats for sure...too many options for me.

[MrGame]

Would it be worthwhile to replace the headunit with my pioneer 5100DVD (number might be wrong) and some boston acoustics coaxials leaving the stock sub (i have the 'audiophile' system)? I have a Boston 10 inch but I don't know if I want to put it in because I like the commodious trunk space

[computerguy]

I think you'll find that most if not all speakers listed as 5x7 - 6x8 are actually 5x7 speakers with mounting plates that will bolt into either the 5x7 or 6x8 locations.

You will also find the speakers listed solely as 6x8 are indeed true 6x8 in size and will not fit the 5x7 location because 6x8 is too large to fit into a 5x7 opening.

[jourabchid]

i installed second skin audio damplifier light in and on my doors, followed by the infinitys, they sounds pretty good, and the cabin is a little quieter.

 

I do wish the speakers had a little more mid range, its kind of lacking in that department. the Metal tweets are also a little harsh i have the db -3 button on the tweet pushed in to bring it down..

 

it would be nice to find a better speaker that fit better, but i have not had luck with that..

[Tribby2001]

I just wanted to add info to my DLS MS6A 6-1/2'' speaker install in the front door.

 

These 5x7"/6x8" to 6-1/2'' speaker adapters are the best I have found: http://www.car-speaker-adapters.com/items.php?id=SAK006

 

I havn't had the opportunity to proceed with the speaker swap as the weather has been too nasty. So I can not provide details as of yet. However, spring must be near as the Cardinals arrived a few weeks ago.

Edited February 17, 2010 by Tribby2001

[Tribby2001]

DLS is a different league from Infinity, DLS is the same league as the top of the line speakers: Skan Speak, Dynaudio, Morel, Vifa, Focal, Seas, etc...Tome the DLS are as refined and as good sounding as a car speaker could be...I have tried other brands and they marginally an improvement, some of the stock speakers nowadays are amde by good manufacturers BTW...

I have had my DLS speakers installed now for only three days and I must say I am very impressed. This is my first set of DLS and my first set of audiophile class car speakers above Infinity Kappa level. IMO, the DLS rival some home speakers in sound quality and make Infinity's seem minor league. But indeed, the Infinity's are a good bang for the buck. But if you appreciate audiophile sound, are willing to spend a bit more and complete a professional like install then by all means go for the DLS seperates in the front and coaxials in rear doors as I have posted about earlier.

 

Gorgeous - Beautiful. I am simply in awe.

 

I am more than willing to entertain install questions. Especially concerning the front seperates.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Tribby2001

[MacLeod]

Try running front speakers only. That is the ideal set up from a pure sound quality stand point. Having the same frequencies coming at you from different distances, you have the same frequencies hitting your ears at different times which can cause cancellation and phase issues. The fewer speakers you have playing the better.

 

And I totally agree - DLS speakers are the shiznit! Team DLS have some of the best sounding cars in the competition lanes. Eddie DeJesus' S-10 is the best sounding car audio system Ive ever heard - he's running DLS Nobellium series speakers. If I could afford them Id be running them too. Id love to get a sponsorship, boy oh boy would I, but theyre very picky about who they hand those out to.

Edited April 8, 2010 by MacLeod

[Tribby2001]

I agree with most all of your audio advice. Including the tweeter positioning mentioned elsewhere.

 

It is hard for me to turn the rears off. Yes, they are that good. Certainly, imaging improves with only the MS6A+tweets up front.

You should know my home listening arraignment to understand my ears.

 

SA-CDs played into five identical, properly spaced, full-range audiophile speakers plus a sub for 5.1 surround.

http://www.sa-cd.net/faq#playback19

 

Considering a car is probably the worst acoustics to "listen" to music the DLS's are the shiznit :party:

Too bad 5.1 surround SA-CD players for cars are rare.

[MacLeod]

Nothing wrong with keeping the rear speakers if you like em. Remember, in the end its all about YOUR ears. Youre the one paying for everything. :D

[Tribby2001]

The photos below are of the A-pillar tweeters, front door mid-range and rear door 2-way coaxial speakers from a 2010 Edge Limited which comes standard with a nine speaker (incl. subwoofer) Premium Audio system.

 

The tweeters were measured at 1-9/16"diameter.

All the door speakers are the typical 6x8/5x7" size.

The front door speakers appear to be single cone mid-range type.

The front door speakers integrate the A-pillar tweeter crossover electronics (see photo).

The rear door speakers are 2-way coaxial type.

The door speaker magnets are small and thin at just over 1/2" thick [ LOL].

The door speaker baskets are made entirely of plastic - very light.

 

The grills of the door speakers do not appear to be removable without damage.

I believe that it is the integrated grills on these door speakers which make them sound obscured, almost muffled.

IMO, there is no need for an integrated grill on the door speakers since there already is a grill molded into the door panels. The only purpose I can discern for the integrated speaker grill is to prevent damage during assembly at the factory.

 

I have noticed that the "keyed" side of the wiring harness connector on the door speakers are the Positive (+) side.

 

Speaker Wiring Color Code for my 2010 Edge Limited Premium Audio system (subwoofer not incl.):

 

Left A-pillar Tweeter:

GREEN w/Orange tracer = positive (+)

GRAY w/Orange tracer = negative (-)

 

Right A-pillar Tweeter:

PURPLE w/Orange tracer = positive (+)

YELLOW w/Orange tracer = negative (-)

 

Left Front Door Midrange:

WHITE = positive (+)

WHITE w/Brown tracer = negative (-)

 

Right Front Door Midrange:

WHITE w/Purple tracer = positive (+)

WHITE w/Orange tracer = negative (-)

 

Left Rear Door Coaxial:

TAN w/Yellow tracer = positive (+)

WHITE w/Green tracer = negative (-)

 

Right Rear Door Coaxial:

TAN w/White tracer = positive (+)

TAN w/Blue tracer = negative (-)

 

Front door trim panel removal diagram http://www.edge-central.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6#p8

Rear door trim panel removal diagram http://www.edge-central.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7#p9

Edited April 10, 2010 by Tribby2001

[Kanatronic]

The following photos are of the A-pillar tweeters, front door mid-range and rear door 2-way coaxial speakers from a 2010 Edge Limited which comes standard with a nine speaker (incl. subwoofer) Premium Audio system.

 

 

Definitely those speakers look better than the ones on my Edge, and SEL, they are indeed 6x9 or whatever, the ones on our Edge is round with a tweeter on top a combo...those are true coaxials...as per the tweeters I floored to see how good they are, it seems that auto manufacturers are taking audio into consideration lately, and probably those speakers are made by a good manufacturer, VIFA for example do not sell for a premium prices and the drivers are very good...

Another thing if you look they have a filter in the speaker not sure fi they are cutting the low freq to the mids or the high for the tweeters...if you tell me the values i could figure out what they are indeed....

[Tribby2001]

Another thing if you look they have a filter in the speaker not sure fi they are cutting the low freq to the mids or the high for the tweeters...if you tell me the values i could figure out what they are indeed....

 

The front door speaker contains the tweeter crossover filter.

 

If you look at the second photo of the door speakers (with fuchsia colored label) you will see the main wiring harness feed from the head unit located on the bottom of the speaker basket. The tweeter crossover filter electronics to the left of the fushia label/magnet and the tweeter wiring harness connector to the right of the fushia label/magnet .

 

There are two components wired to the positive side, and electrically in parallel, of the mid-range door speaker.

The first component is the light blue colored electrolytic capacitor with the value of 7uF, 50V, made by M.D.L. http://www.mdl.com.tw/

The second black colored component in series is not identified with any markings. It looks to be a coil of some type.

 

BTW, the cones of these speakers are made of paper. The speaker surrounds look to me to be made of a lightly rubberized foam.

(For representation purposes only, click link: http://www.speakerworks.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/surround_pic.gif )

The plastic speaker grill seems to be glued to the speaker surround. If you attempt to remove the speaker grill you will most likely permanently damage the paper speaker cone or the surround.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Tribby2001

[Kanatronic]

The front door speaker contains the tweeter crossover filter.

 

If you look at the second photo of the door speakers (with fuchsia colored label) you will see the main wiring harness feed from the head unit located on the bottom of the speaker basket. The tweeter crossover filter electronics to the left of the fushia label/magnet and the tweeter wiring harness connector to the right of the fushia label/magnet .

 

There are two components wired to the positive side, and electrically in parallel, of the mid-range door speaker.

The first component is the light blue colored electrolytic capacitor with the value of 7uF, 50V, made by M.D.L. http://www.mdl.com.tw/

The second black colored component in series is not identified with any markings. It looks to be a coil of some type.

 

BTW, the cones of these speakers are made of paper. The speaker surrounds look to me to be made of a lightly rubberized foam.

(For representation purposes only, click link: http://www.speakerworks.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/surround_pic.gif )

The plastic speaker grill seems to be glued to the speaker surround. If you attempt to remove the speaker grill you will most likely permanently damage the paper speaker cone or the surround.

 

 

7uF is definitely the crossover for the tweeter, as per paper cones, well in the audiophile world, paper cones are considered as top notch and natural sounding, along with silk tweeters, of course that is another of the myths, the best I have heard are aluminum, titanium, and solid wood (Vifa made some out of bamboo, that are really sweet sounding) and some made of polimers (Alesis has some wofers made out of polimers that were initially design for aeronautic industry, specially combat planes) that sound pretty good to me, the other component is probably a coil, or a windwire resistor, usually coils are placed in paralell, to remove high freq to reach the woofers, and if not in paralel it could be a windwire resistor to add a couple of ohms to the equation and tame a little bit the high freqs...but who knows how they designed the crossover

[Tribby2001]

7uF is definitely the crossover for the tweeter, ...the other component is probably a coil, or a windwire resistor, usually coils are placed in paralell, to remove high freq to reach the woofers, and if not in paralel it could be a windwire resistor to add a couple of ohms to the equation and tame a little bit the high freqs...but who knows how they designed the crossover

 

The unidentified black colored component is wired in series with the 7uF Cap. From its construction and shape and its purpose in the circuit I would guess, as you said, it is a wirewound resistor. Its measured DC resistance is zero.

 

I have read that paper cones are the lightest, most responsive material to use in a speaker. DLS does have higher end paper cones. But I don't know what new materials are better suited, if any. It is interesting never-the-less. My concerns about paper cones in the door of a car is its susceptibility to moisture.

Edited April 11, 2010 by Tribby2001

[swroll]

Hey guys,

 

Has anyone had any success with adding an aftermarket subwoofer to the factory 6 disk system ?(4 speakers, no sub)

 

If so, any advice on wiring harnesses?

 

I found a METRA harness #70-5522 that I think will plug into the back of the factory stereo and give me a set of pre-outs. (hope it works)

[Pacodog]

Resurrecting an old thread. This one has a lot of good info. I have a 2010 Edge Limited and was wanting to do the components in the front and Co-ax in the back. I am looking at Boston Accoustics SE60 in front and the SE85's in the back. Use the stock head unit.

 

The SE60's use a 6 1/2 " speaker. Crutchfield says the 5 1/4" is the biggest speaker that can go up front. One of the installers in this thread used 6 1/2" DSL's up front with no apparent issues. Of course speaker adapter plates are needed.

 

Anyone else try the BA's or used a 6 1/2 " speaker in the front door. Did it work okay?

[akirby]

Resurrecting an old thread. This one has a lot of good info. I have a 2010 Edge Limited and was wanting to do the components in the front and Co-ax in the back. I am looking at Boston Accoustics SE60 in front and the SE85's in the back. Use the stock head unit.

 

The SE60's use a 6 1/2 " speaker. Crutchfield says the 5 1/4" is the biggest speaker that can go up front. One of the installers in this thread used 6 1/2" DSL's up front with no apparent issues. Of course speaker adapter plates are needed.

 

Anyone else try the BA's or used a 6 1/2 " speaker in the front door. Did it work okay?

 

I used 5.25s in my Fusion but I've heard of several people using 6.5s.

[Pacodog]

I used 5.25s in my Fusion but I've heard of several people using 6.5s.

 

 

Did you change out your tweeters in the A pillars also? If so did you did you mount them inside like stock or do a surface mount?

[fishx65]

I put an old set of 6 1/2's (Infinity 652i) in the front doors of my 2011 without any problems.

[akirby]

Did you change out your tweeters in the A pillars also? If so did you did you mount them inside like stock or do a surface mount?

 

Yep. Inside, just like stock.

[Pacodog]

I got speakers installed, they sound pretty good. I still don't have the A pillars back on yet. How did you mount the tweeters inside the A pillars. The only way I can see of doing that is glue them into the existing tweeter holders. They actually fit in the stock holders pretty snug but would need glued in to stay there?

 

The alternative is the flush mount them. The speakers came with some nice flush mount hardware.

[Pacodog]

I ended up using double side tape to mount the tweeters. It worked great.

[gkfreeze]

Lex,

Would you be interested in selling one of your sub enclosures?

I have a 2012 edge limited with the Sony system and navi

 

Thank you

Gkfreeze@comcast.net