To those who replaced the factory component speakers...

[HighLatency]

Do high quality component speakers really sound that much better than the factory setup?

I finished installing a new headunit and an Alpine PDX-4.100 amplifier and I was planning on replacing the factory speakers as well.

While I've been deciding what speakers I want to buy I've been driving around listening to music using the stock setup and it does not sound all that bad.

I'm thinking of going with a high end set of component speakers up front (Polk Audio SR6500's) and a good set of coaxial's in the rear (Polk Audio MMC650's) for rear fill and was curious if others felt spending the money on higher end components resulted in a much better listening experience and was worth the money.

Just curious to hear what you guys think... =)

[apodaca]

I share your feeling exactly. I decided to post pone the change of the front speakers for the very same reason. VW definately put a good speaker setup in the NBeetles. But on the other hand, I've heard from numberous people that changing the speakers was one of the best decisions they've made. I for one am very happy with the factory speakers. If you change them out your self, take plenty of pictures.

[nolongerhavebeetle]

I put Alpine speakers in the factory locations and they sounded way better than the stock ones. And the speakers were blue and matched the cars color!

[afinley]

speakers are a good investment if you dont have monsoon. honestly the monsoon speaker are pretty good. if youve already replaced your amp and have monsoon, get speakers like yesterday.

the best value for components are alpine type-x's, SPX-177r. Theyre pretty scarce right now outside of ebay, because theyve been superceded by what looks like a far crappier product.

the type-r's are good as well. actually, all speakers are good to different people. go to a specialist shop, not best buy, and listen to a cd you bring on all thier speakers. some people like aluminium tweeters, some like silk, some like paper cones, some like plastic. its all up to you, but for the most part theyre all good investments.

['01vwbeetle]

I put infinity compenents in the front and infinity 2 ways in rear. To me they sound way better than stock. Total for all 4 with shiping from ebay, it was around $160. I did not use the factory wiring though. i ran my own speaker wire. Only because I still have the monsoon amp installed and didn't want to mess with trying to get it out. I unhooked the wring harness from it so it wouldn't have power to it.

[HighLatency]

Yea I don't have any monsoon stuff, I've got a 98 2.0L GLS with the tweeters in the a-pillars.

I was initially considering the Alpine type x components, but am leaning more towards the Polk Audio SR6500's after doing some more research. I'm curious to see how the new 07 type x components would stack up, but they have not been released yet apparently.

I'm going to try to find a local car stereo shop that has some high end components including the SR6500's so I can bring a CD of music and compare speakers this weekend.

[El Subcomandante]

I installed same polks you talked about.. sounds great..

[mulligania]

The factory speakers are weak. change them out and it will sound much better. I agree that the Infinitys are a good quality speaker. I put Infinity Kappa components in the front and just installed Infinity Perfect components in the rear: sounds awesome. the rear needed a spacer to fit the woofer and a new tweeter port drilled-no problem.

[Pelican18TQA4]

I've got JL Audio 3-way components up front and JL Audio 2-way coaxs in the rear. The clarity and detail of the sound is unreal.

[NBTurboFreak]

It depends on what you are installing, how much of the system you are changing, what the majority type of music you will listen to.

In my first bug I went with RF FanX comps for the front and RF 6.5 2-ways for the rear and also changed the headunit and it sounded better than stock. In my 2nd bug I went all out and changed everything. You could also get the VW speaker upgrades and/or a system like the Landspeed Mikro system that is tuned to the Beetle.

[mdalex]

Originally Posted by HighLatency

Do high quality component speakers really sound that much better than the factory setup?

I finished installing a new headunit and an Alpine PDX-4.100 amplifier and I was planning on replacing the factory speakers as well.

While I've been deciding what speakers I want to buy I've been driving around listening to music using the stock setup and it does not sound all that bad.

I'm thinking of going with a high end set of component speakers up front (Polk Audio SR6500's) and a good set of coaxial's in the rear (Polk Audio MMC650's) for rear fill and was curious if others felt spending the money on higher end components resulted in a much better listening experience and was worth the money.

Just curious to hear what you guys think... =)

Take it from someone that has Polk Audio Signature Reference series in two of his own trucks and MOMO series in the wife's 2001 Beetle, You will be pleased with the performance! Yes, SR is a good bit more than the MOMO series, they are well worth it. I have a friend that wanted me to listen to his MOMO system in his truck. It sounded nice, but their was something missing. We took his cd and listed to the same track on my truck that has a set of SR6500 and a pair of MOMO 10" subs (simple system). My truck, with less gear, had an additional dimension that was not present with the MOMO series. That being said, my wife's 2001 beetle sounds so much better with the MMC6500 in the front and MMC650 in the rear. She just picked up a 2005 Beetle conv. 1.8 turbo this weekend. We are looking to scrap the Monsoon system and install Polk SR in it.

[HighLatency]

Originally Posted by mdalex

Take it from someone that has Polk Audio Signature Reference series in two of his own trucks and MOMO series in the wife's 2001 Beetle, You will be pleased with the performance!

Thanks for the feedback, that's what I was wanting to hear...

So I've decided I'm going to get a set of the SR6500's for the front, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rears.

Someone suggested that I ditch the rear coaxials and buy some 6.5" subs to run instead to get better stereo imaging, using two channels to drive the SR6500's and the other two for the subs.

I was looking at the new JL Audio 6W3V3 6.5" subs since I may be able to get them to fit behind the rear speaker trim, and they would work well with the 131 watts RMS per channel that my amp is putting out, but they won't be out until late October / early November.

I'm going to pick up a set of the SR6500's and install them up front, but should I wait for the release of the 6W3V3 subs and install them in place of the rear speakers, or should I do both front and rear speakers now and if I need more bass add another amp and a sub or subs?

[NBTurboFreak]

I went with the seperates in the rear.

[HighLatency]

Nice... I like the tweeter install location

[beetletdi]

Try looking at the Pioneer Premier TS-C720PRS components. www.diymobileaudio.com has many favorable reviews when you search. Favored over the Polk SR6500's. A link to a review can be found here: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pi...mag_eprint.pdf

You may want to consider mounting the rear speakers in the hatch cover. A sharp utility knife, patience and careful measurements will result in a clean install. You can use masonite on the underside of the cover to install machine screws to hold the speakers in place. Also, a couple of strips of 1-by affixed to the masonite with liquid nails to give a surface to attach the crossovers. You will have a 12-lb hatch cover, but the sound will be excellent.

These componenets can be had online for around $270/pair. Millionbuy.com is one source.


Good luck!

[HighLatency]

Yea, I've been considering the TS-C720PRS's also... I need to go out and listen to both sets to make my decision.

Had a question - what's the best way to go about installing the new tweeter? Should I mount the cross over in the dash or in the doors? If I mount the crossover in the dash how do I go about running speaker wires from the dash to the mid in the door where they will be hidden?

[NBTurboFreak]

I ran my front x-overs in the doors and hard wired the dash speakers. For the rear, they were hard wired with caps and inductors.

http://pic1.piczo.com/vwturbo/?g=30284910