Sound System help NEEDED?

[dodgeboy59td]

I have a friend that has two 6 x 9 jensin speakers. I don't know anyhting about sound systems. He told me that they were 180 watts each and wants 50 bucks for two. Are jensin speakers any good? Or should I pioneers?

Thanks

 

[dartos]

If he is a friend the he should let you hook em' up and see if you like them.

 

[Jeff H]

Four inch exhaust is a good sound system too.

 

[cdpsrjc]

go to www.crutchfield.com and read about speakers and car audio. Lots of good information on that site. I bought Infinity 6X9 new for +/- $100 and they sound great (not at crutchfield). Check ebay too! Local sound shops are your best source to actually hear the different speakers. Listen to several different brands and buy what YOUR ears tell you is best. PM me if I can help.



Richard

 

[TowPro]

All I can tell you is they will fit in your front doors. You may want to pick up a couple of those plastic things that hold the door panel on, A couple of them will become distorted when you try to remove them.



Be carefull with the electrical connections for the electric windows, I recall I broke on of those as well.



If you have the Infinity system from the factory, you will find there are amps monted onto the speakers. You could make mounts to move these amps to the new speakers, and wire them up if you want.



I have a set of 6X9 Jensons for the front, and a set of Kenwood with a tweeter setup for the rear I had in my 96. When I got the 98 with the infinity system I started to switch speakers, but the replacments sounded just like the infinity stuff so I left the stock stuff there.

Originally posted by dodgeboy59td

I have a friend that has two 6 x 9 jensin speakers. I don't know anyhting about sound systems. He told me that they were 180 watts each and wants 50 bucks for two. Are jensin speakers any good? Or should I pioneers?

Thanks

 

[CRSmith]

As a general rule I think Jensens are not much good. That is, after all, what they sell at WalMart. You probably won't be able to tell any difference from your stock speakers unless you get something like Boston Acoustic, JL Audio, or high end pioneers. Of course, you then need a new head unit to take advantage of the speakers, and probably an amp to drive them to their potential. 180W is their power handling capacity. If you don't have 180W to send to them, it really is of no consequence. I used to be into all the sound stuff when I had a ZR2 chevy. Now I got the Dodge and like to spend on going faster. If I were you I'd save my money and keep the stock stuff, or go all the way for a really good sound system. I just don't think you're going to gain much by installing jensens unless your stockers are blown.

 

[dodgeboy59td]

thanks guys. My truck has the basic sound system not the infinity and i am trying to get the equivalant to the infinity system with out spending much money. I too would rather spend my money on performance but i am tired of not having a cd player. The local sound shop here is going to install a Pioneer 50x4 watt CD player and a set of MTX tweeters with new door speakers. He is going to install all of this for about 300 bucks including the price of the radio, speakers, ect. I thought that was a pretty good price. I have always been told that pioneer is about the best you can get so i may look for a set of pioneer speakers. Thanks alot

 

[Cooker]

I agree I do not think the Jensens are all that great. I would recommend you go to the stereo shop and listen to a few of the different speakers they have to offer. Everyone music preference and listening taste are different so as far as speakers are concerned we all may not like that same things. Boston Acoustics, JL Audio, and MB Quart are just a few of the high end speaker manufactures and all have really nice offerings, but they can get a little spendy. As already mentioned to get the absolute best performance out of some of the high end speakers you will need an amp to drive them, so this may get a little too far out of the price range you are looking at.



IMHO $300 seem a little inexpensive for what you are getting. I would question the quality of speakers offered for that price and ask to hear them first. If you like the way they sound, then you are getting a pretty good deal, especially if that included installation.



IMHO

 

[Seed Guy]

As far as best you can get. Image Dynamics, MB Quart (excellent brand, germen engineering through and through).

 

[krabman]

If you like to turn it up you might want to consider spending a little more money. Speakers are only part of the equation, without an amp your speakers will be somewhat hobbled. Even a modest amp will greatly improve your sound. One thing to keep in mind is that too much power does not blow speakers, not enough does. The MB's in particular are easy to clip. If you do get an amp be sure it has a crossover that way if you add a sub later you can roll your speakers off and let the sub handle the bass.

 

[Chipstien]

Originally posted by krabman

One thing to keep in mind is that too much power does not blow speakers, not enough does.

If only more people realized this. I have 966 watts RMS running to four MB Quart 6. 5 and they have been as solid as a rock.

 

[Hohn]

Jensens are not worth it

Jensen is generally considered the J. C. Whitney of the stereo world. I wouldn't waste ANY money on their stuff.



For quite a while, MB Quart was considered THE standard for separates. A pair of 6. 5" component sets in the rear doors would sound fantastic with the tweeter mounted nearby.



I personally have also enjoyed the Polk, Infinity (don't get the cheap ones), and the Boston Acoustics. Separates. I really like the tweeters on the Eclipse sets.



Most GREAT-sounding speakers are not available in a 6x9 size, so I would run an adapter and use 6. 5" components up front.



Q-forms makes kick panels for our truck, but they only hold a 5. 25 in setup. BUT, the kick panels will give you far superior imaging compared to door mount, because 1) the tweeters are pointed at you, and 2) the pathlength difference between left and right speakers it minimized, moving you closer to the "sweet spot".



if I were you, I would go with the kick panels and the smaller MB Quart components. They sound fantastic, and can handle volumes that are more than you can stand to listen to for a while.



PS-- My Bro and I used the MB Quarts when he won 3rd place in the 100-250 amateur class at the IASCA regionals in '93. He hit 135 DB with just two JL audio 12's. He also placed FIRST in sounds quality (thanks to MB Quart and a good installation)



Oh, don't skimp on the amp. These guys are right. You can almost never have TOO MUCH power to the speaker, only too little (the clipping is what blows speakers).



HOHN

(TDR wannabe audiophile)

 

[Cooker]

Re: Jensens are not worth it

Originally posted by Hohn

He hit 135 DB with just two JL audio 12's.

I was working at a car audio install shop back in 1993 and it's crazy to think of how far car audio has come. Back in '93, 135db out of a pair of 12's was a good number, now you gotta get more than that out of a pair of 12's to even raise an eyebrow.

 

[Morphious]

I just finished replacing my whole system, here is what I used:



JVC Head unit - plays CD's, CDR's, MP3's cost around 100 bucks on ebay



I put 4 6 1/2" Kicker 600i two way speakers in all the doors, these I bought from Crutchfield and they came with the mounting kit for the front doors and were a direct bolt in. I drilled a couple of new holes in the back doors to add more screws than the 2 stock ones. cost was around 70 bucks a pair.



I also added a set of Kicker Comp VR 8" subs under the rear seat with sealed boxes, cost was 25. 00 for the boxes as a pair and 108. 00 for the two subs. I installed an amp between the two subs (which I already had from a previous vehicle)



The system sounds great, crisp, clean and a good full range of notes. I think I put less than 500 bucks into the whole sounds system.



While I was installing this, I went through the interior of the truck and installed the B-Quiet Extreme sound deadening material to the floor and back of the cab, really made the truck where you can carry on a conversation if you want or if you want to hear the exhaust, just roll down the window.



Morph.

 

[Hohn]

Sweet, Morph!

Morph, that sounds like s SWEET system, I would love to give it a listen!



Cooker, you are right about the amazing progress that car stereo has made. I remember when if you had an AudioControl EQQ and an EQX on each channel, you were bombed to the max. Everyone back then was so in love with Rockford, PPI, HiFonics, and so on.



The backlash, of course, is that there is a lot of more budget-conscious CRAP on the market. Everyone seems to be coming out with a cheaper line of stuff, and a lot of the audio market is just plain gimmicky. The Sony Explod comes to mind (whatever). I must confess, I haven't heard any of their stuff, so it might be pretty good, but I am not a Sony fan.



I think that when I do a mild system for the CTD, I am going to go JL Audio with the separates. I KNOW that the MBQuart setups are proven, but I am just continually amazed at the quality of the JL Audio stuff, and I would drop the dough on their separates on name alone. They also seem to have some great crossovers built in (though they are passive). I don't want to spend all the $$ a true high end system requires, so I am thinking that just a clean head unit, 2 prs of quality separates, and a single sub 1=(10" or 12") would do it. Nothing more than 500W for the whole setup.



I have been out of the stereo game for almost 10 years, so who makes a good solid CLEAN amp? I don't need a whole lot of complexity, I am thinking one four channel amp for the seps and a brideable mono one for the sub (THAT would need a built in crossover).



How about CLEAN head units? I am all about that S/N. I like the Eclipse and Clarion (ProAudio only) heads I have heard.



Man, I kinda wish i would have stayed up with this.





By the way, am I the only one that hates systems that are all boom and no sound? I mean, these kids have like 8, 12" subs, with one tweeter for the rappers voice!! hahaha. . they SUCK!



BTW- JL makes a sub module that replaces the center console on our trucks, and it disappreas completely! You can't even tell it's not the regular seat!



HOHN

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by Jeff H

Four inch exhaust is a good sound system too.

I'm with Jeff on this one.

 

[D6Diesel]

I'm also considering the Q forms kick panels. Either MB quarts or focal speakers. Then drive them with a dedicated amp. Then to the amp I'm looking at a CD changer. The stock system stays put. Sounds kinda simple but it just may work... .

 

[Cooker]

I am not a big fan of mounting the speakers in the kick panels in our Dodges. I think you are far better off mounting the speakers in the doors. You will have a much better sound stage by doing this. BTW-Nice choice of speakers. I would pick the Focals over the Quarts, but everyones listening preference is different.

 

[D6Diesel]

yes, it might be a bit tight down by the clutch. The other angle I'm considering is having the rear speakers in boxes at the end of the rear bench seat. These could be movable onto the floor. With the Q- forms up front (with 5 1/2's ) and 7 's and tweeters behind, I could have Shania as my back seat driver. It's just a concept at this point and probably not too practical, but ... .