5 1/4" comps for ~300$

[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

Hey guys I'm looking to upgrade my front speakers to some components. They are 5 1/4" I'm currently looking at either Focal, Rainbow, Hertz, CDT or Alpine type X. Although I'm open to suggestions. I'm currently using a Alpine 4 channel amp that puts out 50 watts RMS or 150 bridged x2. I'm looking to spend around 300 maybe a little more. Just looking for some input for what you guys think I should get. 5 1/4" are more limited in selection which is frustrating me. I'm still fairly new to the car audio scene and the vast array of brands and models as well as possible fakes is making my head spin and any input would be appreciated

Thanks for reading,

Kevin

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[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

Ohh and I guess I forgot to mention I listen to mostly Heavy metal and I love mids and mid bass.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

To be honest I would only spend about $100 on components, and put that extra cash into deadening your doors. You won't notice much difference between the mid and high-end gear if you don't go through the appropriate steps to make it sound its best. In other words, don't dump the cash on amazing components if you can't make them operate at their full potential

 

[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

Well I have already used dynamat on my 2 front doors, although I hardly noticed a difference. My car was rather expensive new though at around 40,000$ in 1996, not sure if that matters but I heard more expensive cars have better deadening.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Well I have already used dynamat on my 2 front doors, although I hardly noticed a difference. My car was rather expensive new though at around 40,000$ in 1996, not sure if that matters but I heard more expensive cars have better deadening.

Factory deadening is usually there to help prevent road noise, not so much mid bass response. Deadening your door properly will seal up a lot of the holes in the door panel and help lower the resonance by adding mass. Of course, when you lower the resonance frequency, you increase mid bass, as mid bass is at a lower frequency..

To be fair, I think your best bet would be to either cut out a larger hole for a 6.5", or find someone who can do some fiberglass work and create a custom kick panel. I don't think you'll get the amount of mid bass you're looking for from just a 5 1/4

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

You're not going to get a ton of midbass out of pretty much any 5.25" speakers. Are you sure you can't mod your door to fit 6.5" mids?

 

[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

Honestly never considered modifying the doors, but it is a possibility. The car is a Volvo 850R 1996 It came with premium sound system which had 8 speakers and I believe 2 Amps, I currently have Coaxial speakers in the Front 5 1/4 (Alpine type S) And Rear Door 6 1/2 (Polk DB) and Rear Deck has 5x7 or 5x8 not sure they are stock and they are running off the head unit along with some tweeters I put in the dash but 4" would fit to my knowledge. I actually have a set of brand new Polk Db 4" but I never put them in because I figured they would put out bad mids anyways.

 

[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

Factory amps are bypassed and I have aftermarket head unit with subs as well.

 

[Gary S 10+ year member]

The problem with most of the companies you mentioned in your first post is that most of their lower end sets are just dumbed-down to hit a lower price point, and the top of the line models are above your budget. But from the ones you mentioned, I'd look at Focal K series. Or perhaps you can find Alpine SPX pro cheaper.

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

HAT Imagine's would be nice and under the budget...

 

[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

I've decided to bridge my 4 channel into 150rmsx2 What would you guys suggest for 5 1/4" that can handle 150rms. I saw a pair of Diamond Audio components that looked pretty legit.

 

[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

S500a was the model I believe

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

if you wanna be a baller you make your own set.. fyi

 

[Cowcrusader 10+ year member]

Haha no idea how i would do that.

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

madisound

partsexpress

are good places to start..