Interior Exterior
Q:
I recently read a number of stereo upgrade posts and decided to do something about the crappy speakers in my Elise. I decided on the Focals that someone spoke of. I searched the net first to get some ideas on price and availability without much luck. Not having messed with stereo equipment in a Looong time. I headed off to the electronics superstores looking. On my way I remembered there was a Tweeters store so stopped and had a look. I asked about the Focals but was told the ones used in a recent Etalk write up were no longer carried (CV100s and135s) but they did have the Fiberglass version in the correct sizes. $700.00 bucks for front and rears!!! Are you freakin kidding me!!! And they didn't sound much different than the Boston accoustics next to them for 1/3 the price. I must be getting old, or my hearing is going bad from the stage II. Don't get me wrong 700 is not gobs of money unless its for nothing. Any Ideas on a drop in speaker without tacky gas stove burner grills? Are the Boston acoustics worth a nickel?
HEEELLLP!!!!
A:
The polks are great for the money, and they are proven to work and fit. You are never going to get great sound out of Liz, especially with stage 2 ringing behind you. If you don't like the grills I'm sure it can't be hard to fit some more generic ones, perhaps even the Blau grills since the screw hole for the grill mounting rings are in the same spot. Focals are awesome from when I've heard them in some friends sound quality vehicles, but I wouldn't pay the price to put them in the Lotus. Then again, that's just me.
A:
I spent the extra $ to go with Infinity Kappa 4" front and 6.5" rear. They have compact neodymium magnets that keep the weight down, which helped to eliminate the buzz I got from the bulkhead panel when I had heavier Rockford Fosgate speakers installed. They are also 2 ohm speakers that are very efficient and get the most out of an amp or your head unit's internal amp.
The fronts are two way and rears are 3 way.
A:
I found the Focal's on a French site for roughly $200 total about a month ago. I tried to purchase but have not received a reply (I should have written comments, etc in French to get a response, I'm sure). The prices are not on the site now, so I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe the models were discontinued. Please let us know what set you go with and how your upgrade turns out.
A:
For a direct "drop in", I installed Infinity Reference 4012i (4" Round) in the front and Infinity Kappa 52.7i (5.25" Round) in the rear. Both are 2-way and the sound is significantly better even with the Bluajunk HU. www.cardomain.com has them pretty cheap.
A:
JLElise-
Thanks for adding this option. Did you compare them to the Polk "gas burners?" Were the front and backs a perfect fit? (no drilling, etc.)
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I put in diamond audio F+R in the stock sizes with no mods needed, not even new screw holes. the sound is much better for sure, but having the stock head unit and the crappy elise sound stage, it's still not much to talk about.
A:
JLElise-
Thanks for adding this option. Did you compare them to the Polk "gas burners?" Were the front and backs a perfect fit? (no drilling, etc.)
I listened to the Polk DB650 in a Circuit City sound room along side the Infinity and for me thought the Infinity's sounded clearer with a tad more bass. You can check out this thread.. , the Infinity 4012i and 52.7i are direct drop in, no drilling, no trimming, no dremmel...perfect fit, even the mounting holes line up. Only modification was to snip the wire connectors just a little bit so they would fit on the + side of the speaker terminal. I was able to install the rear passenger side without even removing the passenger seat. This tool kit came in very handy as well .
A:
For a direct "drop in", I installed Infinity Reference 4012i (4" Round) in the front and Infinity Kappa 52.7i (5.25" Round) in the rear. Both are 2-way and the sound is significantly better even with the Bluajunk HU. www.cardomain.com has them pretty cheap.
Just FYI, Blaupunkt only recommends 4 ohms or higher impedance speakers for use with the Acapulco head unit. Many amplifiers have problems with driving low impedance loads.
That is why I stayed away from the Infinity and used Kenwoods instead.
Cheers,
Claus
A:
Infinity 4012i and 52.7i are direct drop in, no drilling, no trimming, no dremmel...perfect fit, even the mounting holes line up.
Do the stock Blaupunkt grills go over these speakers?
Do you have any installed pictures?
Thanks!
A:
Do the stock Blaupunkt grills go over these speakers?
Do you have any installed pictures?
Thanks!
Didn't bother with the Blaupunkt grills since the 4012i grills are black and the 52.7i, although silver, are behind the seats and not distracting while driving.
Never took any pix, but I'll take some this weekend...gives me a reason to get in the car during the winter, like I really need a reason!!!
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Here's the pix of the Infinity 4012i and 52.7i. Some reflection, but the 4012i are black with a silver center and the 52.7i are all silver.
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Thanks for the pictures dude!
Mine should be here on Wednesday...
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They are also 2 ohm speakers that are very efficient and get the most out of an amp or your head unit's internal amp.
Yikes! Sounds like a good way to fry a headunit or any amp that is not 2-Ohm stable. That increased power comes at a price - heat.
A:
Yikes! Sounds like a good way to fry a headunit or any amp that is not 2-Ohm stable. That increased power comes at a price - heat.
OTOH, I can't imagine that too many people will lose sleep if their stock head unit fries...I know I won't
A:
Yikes! Sounds like a good way to fry a headunit or any amp that is not 2-Ohm stable. That increased power comes at a price - heat.
Yep. I'm using an Alpine 9833 that has an internal V Drive amp and have my rear speakers crossedover at 100hz and fronts at 160hz. Rockford Fosgate amp drives my subwoofer.
I shouldn't have any issues due to the crossover points and V Drive amp of the HU. HU power wire is 10 guage that's directly connected to the battery.
A:
I've bought both Focal and MB Quart speakers from www.speedsound.com. Their site shows the amazingly wide range (and price) of Focals. My experience has been really great; they went into the warehouse to confirm stock for me. They shipped the same day each time. I don't know how much "how do they sound compared to..." help you're going to get-I knew exactly what I wanted when I called.
A:
FYI Weights:
Stock 4 Blaupunkt speakers: 3 lbs. 6 oz.
Infinity Kappa 42.7i & 52.7i: 3 lbs. 3 oz. (complete with attached crossovers - I removed the cases and trimmed the wires)
BTW, the stock Blaupunkt grills weighs 1 oz less than the Infinity's - and looks less gaudy IMHO.
Therefore, I've achieved a net savings of 4 oz. by using the stock grills and the new Infinity speakers
So, with the addition of HID's and the new speakers the vehicle weigh has increased a new 1 lb. 6 oz... or 624 gms. Oh noes!
A:
David, what's your impression of the sound of the Infinities compared to the blue dots?
A:
I recently installed a set of Infinity reference speakers, 4012i front and 6012si in the rear. They're heavier than the Kappa's but a bit cheaper and the kappa grills are silver, not black like the reference series. The sound difference even with the stock head unit is huge! I was hoping it would be better but it really blew me away very crisp and clean. The base is still not great but I didn't expect much from 4" and 6" speakers. A very worth while addition in my book.
The infinity reference series speakers have a black grill with a silver inset around the tweeter. I almost painted the inner area black but skipped it not wanting to slop some paint onto the tweeter in the process. I can clearly see the silver inner ring reflected in the windshield and it drives me a little nuts, I may have to pull those front speakers and paint them anyway. I'm going to add a Kenwood KSC-SW1 removeable powered subwoofer in the future along with a Sony MEX-1GP head unit. I'll post the results once it's all in.