Speaker replacement

[simonp123]

Yes I know this has been covered LOADS, but I've seen very little from anyone who has kept the standard tweeters working and just fitted new bass/mid drivers.

To my ears it is the bass/mid driver that is seriously lacking in the Leon. At the end of teh day a cheap one of those is going to be more of a compromise than a cheap tweeter. Just wondered if anyone had had reasonable success doing this?

Replacing the stock tweeter looks such an arse of a job I just can't bring myslef to do it, so the options are putting co-axial dul cones in the doors and disconnecting the stock tweeter or keeping the tweeter and using a good bas/mid driver.

I need to do something as the stock setup is just awfull, piercing mid range and absolutely wooly as hell bass response. The knackered Pinoeer speakers in teh doors of the MX-5 sound WAY better and one of them has a split speaker surround!!

 

[mds1256]

I had after market pioneer 2 way coaxial front door speakers with original tweeters connected and was disapointed with them. they seemed to vibrate alot with the bass. So put standard speakers back in and fitted a FLI subwoofer to the standard radio. Now sounds much better as you can up the mid range in the speakers whilst keeping the bass down (stops distortion) as sub deals with that by upping the gain on the sub.

Thats what i would recommend

 

[simonp123]

I had after market pioneer 2 way coaxial front door speakers with original tweeters connected and was disapointed with them. they seemed to vibrate alot with the bass. So put standard speakers back in and fitted a FLI subwoofer to the standard radio. Now sounds much better as you can up the mid range in the speakers whilst keeping the bass down (stops distortion) as sub deals with that by upping the gain on the sub.

Thats what i would recommend

Trouble is I need the whole boot space for carrying guitars & amps, plus my mountain bike on occasion, so no chance of room for a subwoofer. I find the mid-rnage the most offensive bit of the standard drivers, so they have to go! I'm not into stuff that needs mega-bass, but would ate least like the bass to sound vaguely natural, a bass drum goes thump, not bwwahh

 

[DanielFaith]

get 12/16 inch subs and put them upside down on ur parcel shelf..
that way u lose no boot space..

 

[mds1256]

This is what mine looks like, also has a quick connector so can be taken out at any time

 

[DanielFaith]

thats basically whats in my boot cept mines is a mutant sub..

 

[simonp123]

This is what mine looks like, also has a quick connector so can be taken out at any time

By you or the local theives I guess

Still think a sub is a bit OTT for the sort of stuff I listen too to be honestm certainly not one that size.

 

[Wrighty]

i swapped the headunit in mine to a Becker mexico pro and fitted some SPL Dynamic mid range in place of the stock drivers, keeping the OE tweeters. and there is a noticable improvement. not too much in the way of additional vibration but the Autolead mounts are fitted nice and securely. A bit of dyanamat behind them would help reduce it.

2-ways in the bottom of the doors will sound awful as the staging/imaging will be all wrong.

 

[simonp123]

Did you add a crossover? I have noticed that the stock tweters seem to try and reproduce a lot of midrange too which is just wrong, makes me wonder if they don't even have the usual capacitr "crossover" fitted.

Found a big improvement in sound by pretty much having nothing out of the rear speakers!

 

[Stupra]

Here are my comments, from someone who has spent 25 years fitting car stereo's and installing top end domestic hi fi systems.
I fitted good quality co-axial speakers all round (Infinity 165mm.) I left the wiring standard, thus retaining the standard tweeters. You are right, the standard tweeters do produce alot of "high mid" for their size, but introducing a good quality co-ax in the doors (with a DOME tweeter, not a cone cause cone tweeters sound crap and can't reproduce detail like domes and dual cones are even worse) you will notice a vast difference. Try going into somewhere like Halfrauds & setting the dispaly unit up for 165mm speakers, flicking between various pairs until you find a set that sounds good to you. Once you have decided on a pair, stick with them. Once installed, with some sound deadenning around the plastic packers, bass will be clearer, mids wont "shout" and the soundstage will be "lifted" by retaining the standard tweets, thus giving a better separation (contrary to what Wrighty says above) Up to you though, your money, but just putting in a bass/ mid driver won't remove your problems. Matching speaker efficiencies of them to the tweeters and crossover roll off points will be introduced, causing more issues if you don't get it right first time. Head unit is quite capable of churning out a reasonable quality sounds, fine tune the tone controls and away you go...but the stock bass/mids are really quite shocking!!

 

[simonp123]

So, after all the umm-ing and ahh-ing I went for the "standard" set of Infinity Kappa speaker, the 652.9i.
Fitment was a piece of cake after I bought the correct adapters, first time round I bought the MK5 Golf ones not the MK4!

They are certainly a healthy improvement over the standard (plastics caged) speakers, and have far superior bass reproduction and clarity. I have at the moment kept the stock tweeters running, and have the -3dB switch on the Kappas in and the treble backed off on the head unit. I will try disconnecting the tweeters to see, but at the moment the sound is not too bad. I'm toying with the idea of connecting the stock tweeter to the tweeter output of the Kappa crossover (the extra loading shouldn't present a major problem) as I feel the stock ones have too much upper mid going through them really.

Most pleasing is that the horrible shrill mid response has gone so I now have the head unit mid back to centre.

I will also add in some sound deadening when I have more time.

Quite nice not to cringe everytime I fire up the stereo now

 

[Leon MK4]

How difficult is it to get to the door speakers? Im thinking of doing this to my car but looks like a faff getting the door cards off etc...?

 

[AndyG_TSi]

How difficult is it to get to the door speakers? Im thinking of doing this to my car but looks like a faff getting the door cards off etc...?

you dont have to remove the door cards at all.

the speaker grille's pop out so you can get at the speakers. you will need speaker adaptors though to fit aftermarket jobs

 

[Leon MK4]

you dont have to remove the door cards at all.

the speaker grille's pop out so you can get at the speakers. you will need speaker adaptors though to fit aftermarket jobs

Great, thanks alot for that - Now the critical Q - which speakers do i go for? Im not intending to run an amp or sub and am keeping the standard head unit and tweeters.

Do i go for a componant speaker or some 2 ways? will a componant give better mid/bass than a 2 way?

 

[AndyG_TSi]

you can get a replacement mid bass driver that will improve the sound quality no end, such as the phonocar range here:

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/phonocar-hi-tech-2-738-audiophile-midbass.html

quick tip though, especially if you want to go for 2-way spreaker replacements (tweeter & Mids)

if you get a set of speaker adaptors - you will get the wire adaptors too, i believe that if you cut one of the wires on the adaptor side, this cuts the signal to the original tweeter and keep the original wiring intact.

this means that you can fit 2-way or even 3-way after market speakers and keep the original tweeters & wiring.
when you come to sell up, just put the old speakers back and hey presto, back to normal with no fuss!

see here for the step by step guide including the adaptors you need etc:

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=123171

 

[Leon MK4]

Thanks again Andy - Those Phonocar speakers do look very nice. Are they a 2 way? What are the standard speakers in the Leon, componants or 2 way?

I was looking at the Infinity Kappas 652.9 2 way - would you say the ones in the above link are better than the Infinitys?

 

[AndyG_TSi]

Thanks again Andy - Those Phonocar speakers do look very nice. Are they a 2 way? What are the standard speakers in the Leon, componants or 2 way?

I was looking at the Infinity Kappas 652.9 2 way - would you say the ones in the above link are better than the Infinitys?

Mate,

The original Leon set up is a tweeter in the upper door and a mid/mid bass driver in the lower door the speaker in the lower door is not a dual cone.

The Phonocar speaker in the link is a mid/mid bass replacement to fit in the lower door behind the removable grille. (its not a 2-way as in tweeter & mid)
This will still be miles better than the original as a direct replacement and you will keep the original tweeter working.

You can opt for a replacement dual cone speaker (tweeter & Mid bass) for the lower door such as the infinity kappas you mention.
If you wanted to disable the original tweeter, without meddling/cutting the original wiring, you snip one of the wires on the adaptor wiring you get with the SAK-3103 speaker adaptor kit.

see the 2nd link i posted in my post above, its the full guide to replacing speakers etc

 

[Jmerrie]

This has to go on my list at some point!!
Subscribed so i can come back!!

 

[robthebubble]

Trouble is I need the whole boot space for carrying guitars & amps, plus my mountain bike on occasion, so no chance of room for a subwoofer. I find the mid-rnage the most offensive bit of the standard drivers, so they have to go! I'm not into stuff that needs mega-bass, but would ate least like the bass to sound vaguely natural, a bass drum goes thump, not bwwahh

I know you probably don't want a sub but how about either a very low profile one with a simple custome 'false' floor? I made a custome box which is fairly low (below boot lip) and the width of the single fold down seat. Still leaves loads of room in the boot...for the pram, wifes shopping etc.!

I also kept the standard door speakers but replaced the head unit with a simple JVC one as it had bluetooth, telephone intergration with seperate mic. The sound quality is really good and a good spec of bass.

I'm sure you will make the right choice whichever!

 

[Leon MK4]

Mate,

The original Leon set up is a tweeter in the upper door and a mid/mid bass driver in the lower door the speaker in the lower door is not a dual cone.

The Phonocar speaker in the link is a mid/mid bass replacement to fit in the lower door behind the removable grille. (its not a 2-way as in tweeter & mid)
This will still be miles better than the original as a direct replacement and you will keep the original tweeter working.

You can opt for a replacement dual cone speaker (tweeter & Mid bass) for the lower door such as the infinity kappas you mention.
If you wanted to disable the original tweeter, without meddling/cutting the original wiring, you snip one of the wires on the adaptor wiring you get with the SAK-3103 speaker adaptor kit.

see the 2nd link i posted in my post above, its the full guide to replacing speakers etc

Andy - Thanks for clearing that up for me - Can you tell I'm a complete novice?

1 more question if I may, as you seem to know what your talkign about.

Will I get a better sound with good bass by keepng the original tweeter in use and opting for a mid/bass driver replacement only - OR - go for a 2 way like the Infinity and disconnect the standard tweeter?

Am I right in assuming that a good mid/bass driver and a seperate tweeter will sound better than a 2 way that does both?