polk vs. kenwood vs.boston vs. infinity..

[buckyboy]

ok...what can you all tell me about which speakers are the best...i want the best sound...without going nuts$..$200 a pair is about tops..

[duhtroll]

Whoa there. I can see about 15 different opinions coming your way on this. Just like "which oil is better," or "which blower package rocks harder."

We try to not pit one vs. another because all discussions like that have the tendency to turn into a pi$$ing contest. They don't always, because we have lots of mature people on this board (myself not counted in that lot). :baaa:

However, asking for opinions on people's setups is fine. Were I you I would do a search of the forums, shop around, then go listen to a few and make my own decision.

It's going to be your car, anyway. It's all personal preference so make your own choice.

Thanks,
-A

[Jaguar]

ok...what can you all tell me about which speakers are the best...i want the best sound...without going nuts$..$200 a pair is about tops..

Boston or Infinity I believe have a better rep among audio people.

They sell Polk and Kenwood (and maybe Infinity?) at Circuit City and Best Buy don't they? You can just go there and listen... assuming the display works, which it rarely does.

Also check out http://www.sounddomain.com/ and look at the speaker forum. Just use the search function, I'm sure most of your questions have already been asked and answered many times.

[FiveO]

Just talking home stereo...I've had Boston Acoustics and Infinity's....both are good but the Polks are my favorite.

I run Polk's all around in my home theatre, except sub which is a M&K...which is 9 years old and sounds as good today as the day I bought it.

If I ever have to replace my car speakers...I'd go Polk. My opinion of course.

[MI2QWK4U]

I will tell you, once you see the *****ty piece of crap speakers that came in your Marauder, ANYTHING is an improvment! Factory speakers are that paper mache brown paper single cone junk. Personally I enjoy my Kenwood Exceleron speakers, including the Kenwood subwoofer. I will be honest, it was what my buddy had in stock at the store at the time, and they do sound good. But you wont get an arguement from me as to whats best, like i said, just about any aftermarket speaker will be about a million times better than what you have now! You may need to add an amp to drive your 4 cabin speakers when you get good quality 3 or 4-way speakers which will consume more juice, leaving your system sounding flat untill you add an amp to make them sound better. You would do good to search old posts on speakers.

[buckyboy]

Its hard to go to stores to listen, they either dont work, or the salespeople dont know what they are talking about. I had a bose system in a audi a4, the best system i have ever heard. To bad you cant get bose aftermarket. Im leaning towards polk...
Whoa there. I can see about 15 different opinions coming your way on this. Just like "which oil is better," or "which blower package rocks harder."

We try to not pit one vs. another because all discussions like that have the tendency to turn into a pi$$ing contest. They don't always, because we have lots of mature people on this board (myself not counted in that lot). :baaa:

However, asking for opinions on people's setups is fine. Were I you I would do a search of the forums, shop around, then go listen to a few and make my own decision.

It's going to be your car, anyway. It's all personal preference so make your own choice.

Thanks,
-A

[buckyboy]

what difference have you noticed with the dyno pads?
I will tell you, once you see the *****ty piece of crap speakers that came in your Marauder, ANYTHING is an improvment! Factory speakers are that paper mache brown paper single cone junk. Personally I enjoy my Kenwood Exceleron speakers, including the Kenwood subwoofer. I will be honest, it was what my buddy had in stock at the store at the time, and they do sound good. But you wont get an arguement from me as to whats best, like i said, just about any aftermarket speaker will be about a million times better than what you have now! You may need to add an amp to drive your 4 cabin speakers when you get good quality 3 or 4-way speakers which will consume more juice, leaving your system sounding flat untill you add an amp to make them sound better. You would do good to search old posts on speakers.

[valleyman]

I would highly recommend any brand that that has a remote mounted tweeter for the front replacement. Mine are Infinity reference 6800cs and I couldn't be happier (Kenwood Excelons in rear). I mounted my tweeters in the sail panels. The difference is remarkable. When you think about it, you don't hear too well with your knees, and that's about where the front door configuration is firing the sound at in our cars.

[sailsmen]

Which speakers sound best is mostly a subjective. All speakers color the sound and which color the sound is is a personal preference. Just like whcih color car is better.

Listen to different brands and look at the quality of construction, stamped vs cast, magnet and voice coil size, quality of diaphram material, etc.

Don't get caught up in the multiple way thing. I have a very expensive audiophile home system and my speakers are 2 way.

[RF Overlord]

^^^what sailsmen said...exactly^^^

[martyo]

Don't get caught up in the multiple way thing.

Exactly. Look at Todd. He goes both ways and no one likes listening to him. :eek:

[jrzygrl]

Don't get caught up in the multiple way thing.

Oh...... I thought you were referring to something else......... :D

[dwasson]

Not everyone makes speakers to fit the Marauder. I agree with Dave though. The stock speakers are lousy enough that most anything out there will seem great. To test speakers bring an acoustic music CD to listen to. Don't let the salesperson use electronic or hip hop music to compare speakers. Since you have no direct experience with what the synthesizer sounds like on that tune how can you tell if the speaker is accurate. I think that the best speaker test is a modern bluegrass recording with an upright bass. There is a lot of dynamic range and the upright bass will sound muddy unless the bass balance is correct. The hip hop kid's speakers can make a real bass unlistenable.

[woaface]

Hmm, someone should do a real sound test, because different speakers will sound differently in different cars. Not as in Kenwoods may sound better in another Marauder, but the cabin of a Marauder may enhance or distort what you hear in another vehicle.

Go with your ears as to what sounds absolutly better on several different tracks for speakers in your price range.:beer:

[buckyboy]

thanks all..for the thoughts...im gonna go today to check em all out!

[rookie1]

you owe it to yourself to listen to Diamond Audio, Precision Power, Soundstream, and MB Quart. These brands are EXPENSIVE in the stores and audio shops, but, can be had affordably on Ebay and elsewhere online.

Your speaker cut outs are 6x8", 5x7" will fit and 6x9" will fit in the rear without too much trouble.
Good luck, I went thru 3-4 different sets b4 I found the combination I liked.

[buckyboy]

what was the combo you ended up with? i listened to the mb quartz..but you need alot of power to run them right..o
you owe it to yourself to listen to Diamond Audio, Precision Power, Soundstream, and MB Quart. These brands are EXPENSIVE in the stores and audio shops, but, can be had affordably on Ebay and elsewhere online.

Your speaker cut outs are 6x8", 5x7" will fit and 6x9" will fit in the rear without too much trouble.
Good luck, I went thru 3-4 different sets b4 I found the combination I liked.

[duhtroll]

You see? You get yourself into these discussions and get a bunch of frisky guys around . . ..

I can't be held responsible for my actions in light of such tempatations!

:D

-A


Don't get caught up in the multiple way thing.

Oh...... I thought you were referring to something else......... :D

[rookie1]

what was the combo you ended up with? i listened to the mb quartz..but you need alot of power to run them right..o


For the fronts i installed and tried MB Quarts Discus series, Soundstream Tarantulas, Infinity Kappas,Kenwood Excelons, Planet Audio and Precision Power. Was a toss up between the Soundstream and Precision Power. I settled on Precision Power(PPI) but kept the Soundstreams in case I want to try them again.
For the rears I installed and tried pretty much all of the above and also Nakamichi, Boston Acoustics, Pioneer Rev, Soundstream SPLs, Memphis Audio, and Diamond Audio, all in 6x9" models bottom mounted. Again was a toss up between Nakamichi and Diamond Audio. I went with Diamond Audio due to slightly better midbass.
I also bottom mounted a 10" Infinity Kappa Perfect model subwoofer(Free Air model) to the rear deck replacing the factory set up and installed a Soundstream 5 channel amplifier to run it all and am adding an AudioControl crossover this week.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way any of the speakers sounded and they were all very high quality and crystal clear. It is all a matter of personal preference and totally subjective.


oops, 4got to mention the Polk MOMO models I tried and liked alot also.