New Speakers in Doors - Monsoon System

[digitalputty]

2003 GLS Monsoon System (tape deck).

Blew out my door speakers a few weeks ago. First the driver side then, the passenger side. YEAH!

I want to keep the head unit STOCK. Don't want people looking in there and seeing something after market (AND I HATE the look of after market head units).

Looking for something that sounds as good or better as the monsoon system speakers that came with my bug. My budget is $300 tops. Would prefer something that I can buy at Best Buy so I can use my 0% interest for 6 months card. My brother has offered to help me install them (oh dear gods) so, I don't need to worry about installation fees (allows me to get better speakers).

Keep responses as simple minded as possible. LOL ... I am NOT speaker/electronics literate.

So:

1. What speakers should I get (doors only) that work with existing Monsoon setup?
2. Do I need anything else (amp, new wires??)?
3. Where can I find a write up (with pictures) of how to take the door panels off, and install the speakers?
4. Anything else I am forgetting?

Thank you so much!

[Oh Randi]

As an installer at best buy, honestly your best bet would be to buy a replacement set of monsoon speakers. The amp is designed to work with those speakers. The speakers in the front doors are woofers, and it's hard to find a set of aftermarket woofers that will fit in the door without hitting the window. I haven't had any luck finding a woofer thin enough so I'm gonna have to cut out the amp entirely and just put in a nice set of components wired directly to the headunit. Hope that helps.. If anyone can find a link to woofers that will fit in the door, please post here!

There's a how to on here to remove the door panels but I'll just give you a little run down off the top of my head. There's 3 torx 20's on the bottom of the door, remove those. pop off the door handle with a flathead screwdriver or panel remover and remove the 2 regular screws in the handle. the rest is just held in by clips. lift the panel up a little to clear it from the lock thing and pull toward you. just make sure the window is all the way rolled down and it helps if the door is locked.

[digitalputty]

Thanks! Where can I find a NEW pair of stock Monsoon speakers?

And these (Alpine - 6-1/2" 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers with Poly-Mica Cones (Pair) - SPS-610) will hit the window? ??? Are they even what I would need? 0_o

[Stlbug]

I replaced my door speakers with a set of polks. sounds great and no window issues. Igot these at best buy installed for just under 100 bucks. I do suggest that you invstest some dynamat to improve the sound proofing. I think the polks are much better than the monsoons that were in there. Kickers are another option. You don't have to change out the speaker grill, nobody will know that you have after market speakers unless you take the door panel off.

[sean_fabanich]

door speakers have a big boot on them that transfer sound into the cabin and basically create an enclosure for the speaker. the second you replace them with anything aftermarket you will lose a significant amount of bass response. unless somehow you can find a way to transfer that boot...which i dont think is possible.

also...im not sure...but i think the front door speakers might be rated at 2 ohm. if you put in 4 ohm speakers (which most aftermarket speakers are) then youll probably overdrive the amp and eventually kill it. call up some junk yards and try to get factory replacements.

good luck

[Stlbug]

I believe last post has it backwards.( sean) A 2 ohm amp can drive any speaker on the shelf. how ever ' if you hook up a 2 ohm speaker to a 4 ohm amp , you will damage the amp. It is like trying to put a 4 inch diameter pole into a 2 inch diameter hole. The reverse is no problem. So if you run 4 ohm speakers off a 2 ohm output, should be no problem ,however, you will lose some volume and will have to turn the knob up alittle.Your amp will be happy. Sound quality will drop a bit, but for me not noticeable. Most car audio speaker sets come with a replacement tube so you dont lose bass. I chose not to replace the factory speakers because of price.You can order new ones form any vw dealership, they were rediculusly high I thought. So I trusted best buy to put new aftermarket speakers in my car. I have had yhem for over a year, no problems and I am happy. Talk to the techs and see what they say.

[Oldbugman]

I installed some Bose speakers I pirated out of Mazda 3. Don't have a Monsoon system but rather the stock radio setup. They fit well and no window interference. As far as the factory speaker boot, did'nt use it these speakers sound 100 times better than originals without the boot.

[Stlbug]

I agree about the radio head, I think replacement systems look like a fly in a bowl of milk. I didn't realize mazda used bose systems, which are a 2 ohm I think and would match well with the monsoon head and amp. Monsoon is more known for their PA and computer sound systems not car audio, thats why your bose speakers sound better than the monsoon. Expencive to buy I might add , most 2ohm speakers are.

[Oh Randi]

Originally Posted by digitalputty

Thanks! Where can I find a NEW pair of stock Monsoon speakers?

And these (Alpine - 6-1/2" 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers with Poly-Mica Cones (Pair) - SPS-610) will hit the window? ??? Are they even what I would need? 0_o

I would advise against putting coaxial speakers in the front doors unless you completely bypass the amp.. I believe it is a woofer that needs to be there so the sound quality is terrible if you put coaxials in there. I don't like the type S anyway.. I had a set of type R's in there though and loved them (you WILL need spacers with the type R's, and probably with the type S's too..) I ended up replacing the type R's with a set of kickers which needed spacers also. Not too bad though.

Can someone confirm this for me, as it is not anywhere in my system at work? (assuming you want to continue to use the factory amp) :

Rear speakers - coaxials
Front door speakers - woofers
In dash - mid range and tweeter

[Supercharged98]

Ok, Monsoon speakers goes like this.....rears are 2 ohm, fronts are 4 ohm and are hooked up parallel to the 4 ohm speakers in the A pillar. When two 4 ohm speakers are paralleled together, it drops to 2 ohms. So to keep the door speakers at 4 ohms and they are connect to the A pillar speakers and it will be compatible with the Monsoon amp.

[sb_beetle]

Originally Posted by Stlbug

I replaced my door speakers with a set of polks. sounds great and no window issues. Igot these at best buy installed for just under 100 bucks. I do suggest that you invstest some dynamat to improve the sound proofing. I think the polks are much better than the monsoons that were in there. Kickers are another option. You don't have to change out the speaker grill, nobody will know that you have after market speakers unless you take the door panel off.

What model/series Polks?

[h_2_o]

sorry i've had a bad day so i gotta 110% disagree with best buy installer, they are pretty much all are complete idiots. the easiest way to tell the speakers is to pull one, if it has 4 wires it is a 2 ohm speaker, if it has 2 wires it is a 4 ohm system. Just make sure you get speakers that can handle it correctly and you will be fine. To make the speakers sit off a set of these works great and are only $10

FRYS.com*|*METRA

VW was a little strange on different models using 4 ohm speakers and 2 ohm speakers, some monsoon systems in their cars just used 2 ohm speakers in the back and some all the way around so just be careful and look at the wires.

[digitalputty]

WOW! Lots of info here.....
I will probably get the OEM speakers from the dealer (and have someone else install them - a friend). At least until I get some money. :\

[h_2_o]

if you are short on money just take your time and do it right. the oem ones will cost crazy more than anything else you would end up getting.

[snadam]

Originally Posted by h_2_o

the easiest way to tell the speakers is to pull one, if it has 4 wires it is a 2 ohm speaker, if it has 2 wires it is a 4 ohm system.

h_2_o, I'm going to politely point out that your statement is not completely accurate. I am in no way trying to start an argument, I just don't want people looking for advice to go down the wrong path. I suspect you are basing your statement on experience(s) you may have had with DVC (Dual Voice Coil) speakers which are usually larger sub-woofers. Those speakers are designed so that they can be wired either in series or in parallel in order to achieve impedance that match the design spec of a custom system.

For people trying to understand this maybe I can help, hopefully I won't increase the level of confusion. For simplicity sake consider impedance to be similar to resistance. Though in a speaker it's not a fixed value, it fluctuates due to a few factors including sound frequencies being produced and where the speaker's voice coil is within the magnetic flux. But don't worry about all that, here's what you need to know. The way you tell what a speaker's impedance is is by looking it up. You can't get an accurate reading with a simple volt / ohm meter. Once you know what the impedance is you can make a decision regarding whether it is suitable for your project.

An amplifier, internal to your headunit or external like in the Monsoon system or an aftermarket system is designed to operate properly with speakers of a certain range of impedance. If the speaker you want to use is within that range it will work. Roughly speaking, each time you half the impedance of the speaker the amp will deliver double the energy. The amp will also consume more energy, run hotter, and distortion will increase. Though, if the amp is designed for the load it's OK.

In the example given in this thread replacing a 2 ohm nominal (average) impedance load with a 4 ohm nominal (average) impedance load will result in the amp delivering half the power it did to the stock speaker. When wattage is cut by 50% the volume goes down by 3db. A 3db change is small but perceptible. The formula is dB = 10 x log (P1 ÷ P0).

Now all of this is just to give you a guideline so that you can make educated decisions, it will not tell you "will this speaker sound good in my car?" If the speaker physically fits and works within the system specs., it's up to you to decide if you like the sound. I read a study years ago where people felt new sounded better just because it's new and I guess that feels refreshing. Also, it has been demonstrated that louder (to a point) is perceived to sound better.

Finally, comments were made about the "boot", that rubber ring that directs sound into the car rather than letting it get mixed up with standing waves caught between the door box and the door trim panel. It does server a purpose and was installed based on testing by VW. If it wasn't doing a job they would not have installed it because that's how car companies keep costs manageable, they eliminate anything not necessary. That said, I'm sure with the right combination of speaker and listener you will find people that prefer the sound without it.

Good sound is in the ear of the beholder...


Adam