Another "What Speaker" thread lol

[NineNails]

Me heads battered with it all
I've searched & read & searched more & read more but now I'm more confused than when I started
O.k, A4 b5 saloon. All I want is a relatively straight-forward speaker upgrade. I've bought front & rear adaptor rings from Here. Yes, yes I know they are supposed to be crap but I'm not set up to be making things from mdf so the rings are gonna have to do I'm afraid.
I'm not so bothered about the rear, I've a pair of old Infinity Kappa 6.5's that should go in ok. I don't even want new speaker wires if I can help it and plan to just trace the audio wires from the rear plugs and use those.
It's the fronts where I'm coming unstuck. I'm getting conflicting info as to what fits, I believe it's 5.25 with a depth of 55mm inc adapter, is this correct? Also I see folk running into trouble with the diaphragm rubber binding against the adaptor, so I can see speaker choice is going to be crucial!.
So, anyone recommend a speaker that fits the adaptors in the front? Ive looked at These Alpine SPE-17SF but I want to make sure they fit, I'm also assuming the tweeter will fit ok in the existing hole. I've got a budget of £100 for the front.
Also I've been doing a bit of research on this 'Dynamat' stuff and it appears to be nowt more than roofers flash banding and I can get that from B&Q 10m 6" wide for under a tenner so I plan on chucking some of that in the door panels.
I really would appreciate a definitive answer on some known to fit speakers please lads
Si.

 

[NineNails]

Just to add...Thinking about it, I'd really like to stick with Infinity speakers if possible. Is there anything in their range that would fit in the front?
Infinity website
Si.

 

[joost]

I've just fitted these to my B5 but I had to 'modify' the adapter rings a little as, you quite rightly stated, the diaphragm rubber fouls on the adaper rings because of the 'plus-one' design of the speakers. Depth wise, they were shallower tham the Votex speakers they replaced.

I still need to fiddle about with it properly to ensure a proper seat between the speakers and the adapters until I'm completely satisfied with it. Still sounds good, just not as good as I think it can.

 

[NineNails]

Cheers for the input fella. How have you modified the fit? with spacers between speaker & ring? Those crossovers look big, where have you fitted those? Do those tweeters fit in original hole? Sorry for the q's but I just wanna make sure stuff fits.
Cheers
Si.

 

[AndyMac]

The 2 ohm impedance on those infinitys will not go down well with the stock HU's internal amp (or any HU's internal amp), so I'm assuming you are running them off an aftermarket amp which is 2 ohm stable.
Having made a number of adapter rings for B5's the problem isn't actually depth, it's the bigger magnet on the bigger speaker that fouls on the inside door skin. So trimming the internal metalwork was needed to get my Rainbow 230slx's to fit. And as said if the adapter ring isn't 100% sealed then all that good work goes down the drain, so if you are using the plastic ones then be ready with some hotmelt glue to seal the baffle as best you can.
Even with a perfect fit, the SQ is drastically compromised by both the flimsy door card and the slack method it uses to attach to the door. So don't raise your expectations too much on how they will transform the sound in your B5.
The tweeters are no problem at all as long as they are 1" or smaller.

 

[NineNails]

Thanks for the reply Andy. I really can't get my head round all this Ohms business & feel like I'm getting bogged down in it all generally. I have an aftermarket Sony Hu (not the best, I know) it has a set of pre outs on the back and I hoope to run a small 10" sub off this at some point too. I'm not expecting audiophile quality sound, I know that's un-realistic.
Could you recommend a pair of speakers & tweeters for around the £100 mark? I have hot glue, silicone sealant, Dynamat equivalent, all at the ready
I just don't want too much titting about, well, as little as possible anyway.
Thanks
Si.

 

[AndyMac]

A small 10" sub? what an 8" sub you mean? Sorry couldn't resist....
That's the problem really, pretty much any 5.25" components will fit but titting around is needed to fit any of them. And the amount of titting around will be the same regardless of what you fit.
Ohms are just the resistance (or impedance to be technically correct) of the speaker. This is the load it presents to the amp i.e. Zero ohms is a short circuit across the amp, which it obviously doesn't like, 2 ohms is a low impedance speaker, used to suck more power from the amp (usually subs & Bose kit), which some amps can handle, but not any HU I know of, and 4 ohms is the normal impedance for car speakers. So for the same amp you can get nearly twice the power from it by using a 2ohm speaker, but only if the amp is stable at 2 ohms.
These Rainbows are pretty good:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/rainbow-slx230-p-3855.html
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/rainbow-slx230-deluxe-p-3854.html
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/rainbow-slc230-p-3851.html

Or these Hertz components:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/hertz-energy-1303-p-6296.html

 

[joost]

The 2 ohm impedance on those infinitys will not go down well with the stock HU's internal amp (or any HU's internal amp), so I'm assuming you are running them off an aftermarket amp which is 2 ohm stable.

Sorry, my bad - I've the 5010cs fitted (linky) - 4 ohm impedance driven by a Sony hu.

Cheers for the input fella. How have you modified the fit? with spacers between speaker & ring? Those crossovers look big, where have you fitted those? Do those tweeters fit in original hole? Sorry for the q's but I just wanna make sure stuff fits.
Cheers
Si.

I've bevelled the inside of the adapter ring slightly which gives a little more room for the diaphragm rubber to move. The crossovers are mounted towards the rear of the door behind the armrest recess - took ages to find somewhere they'd fit without fouling any moving parts or having to get jiggy with metalwork etc!

HTH

 

[joost]

If you really wanted to push the boat out, you could opt for some of these: link. Little bit pricey though!!

 

[AndyMac]

Any perceived or actual benefit of going with expensive components in an A4 will be far outweighed by the feeble mounting, bad positioning and loose baffle the B5 design presents. So a total waste of money without custom door builds.

 

[NineNails]

Thanks for the replies to this. Think I'll go for The Rainbows http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/rain...30-p-3855.html but wondering if the tweeters will fit in the original locations? The site gives diameter of 36mm http://195.243.203.21/rainbow/technical.aspx?pa=12111121&lan=ENG
Si.

 

[dualmono21]

Me heads battered with it all
I've searched & read & searched more & read more but now I'm more confused than when I started
O.k, A4 b5 saloon. All I want is a relatively straight-forward speaker upgrade. I've bought front & rear adaptor rings from Here. Yes, yes I know they are supposed to be crap but I'm not set up to be making things from mdf so the rings are gonna have to do I'm afraid.
I'm not so bothered about the rear, I've a pair of old Infinity Kappa 6.5's that should go in ok. I don't even want new speaker wires if I can help it and plan to just trace the audio wires from the rear plugs and use those.
It's the fronts where I'm coming unstuck. I'm getting conflicting info as to what fits, I believe it's 5.25 with a depth of 55mm inc adapter, is this correct? Also I see folk running into trouble with the diaphragm rubber binding against the adaptor, so I can see speaker choice is going to be crucial!.
So, anyone recommend a speaker that fits the adaptors in the front? Ive looked at These Alpine SPE-17SF but I want to make sure they fit, I'm also assuming the tweeter will fit ok in the existing hole. I've got a budget of £100 for the front.
Also I've been doing a bit of research on this 'Dynamat' stuff and it appears to be nowt more than roofers flash banding and I can get that from B&Q 10m 6" wide for under a tenner so I plan on chucking some of that in the door panels.
I really would appreciate a definitive answer on some known to fit speakers please lads
Si.

take my word for it dynamatt is nothing like builders flash band if you want to do your sund deadening on the cheap then by all means use it but it is nowhere near as effective
and please bear in mind any audio system is only as good as its installation