Have you done this? I had a chance to hear some Audison's with the stock amp and they were better but still underwhelming.

 

I built a Focal system; sub-woofer, preamp, 3 set of speakers, in my 89 110 and it is incredible sounding! I would recommend these to anyone, a little harder to get in the US though.

 

Focal ES165KX2 upgrade suggestion. I hope they sound amazing at $1,299 for a pair.

 

i had a focal system many years ago when i was heavy into car audio. Prob the best money can buy.

you would need to build custom tweeter pods etc to get the most out of the system.

 

I’m into so many stupidly expensive and largely pointless hobbies that it’s really enjoyable to sit this one out and watch you people argue over unbelievably arcane fine points of music reproduction while I smugly revel in my total satisfaction with the meridian system and zero desire to change it!

 

I'm just baffled by anyone coveting French speakers. We might not build much here anymore but American speakers have always been the best on the planet.

Sorry France, take a couple shots of Citadel and get over it.

 

What would be some high quality American speaker brands to consider?

Thanks

Matt

 

I think a lot of that comes down to the music you love and the type of sound you prefer. Aside from a neutral set of studio monitors, speakers change the sound.

These aren't necessarily the "top" brands but, for example, a JBL speaker will typically have a very bright open sound with sharp highs and deep bass. They may not be the most accurate but they'll play loud and they do well with pop, rock, and other types of music that you just kinda want to turn up. This is why many concert venues use JBL arrays.

An Infinity speaker (owned by the same company that owns JBL) will usually be warmer, smoother, and more accurate. The highs aren't going to be as bright and the bass won't growl as much. If you've ever heard a great set of sealed cabinet bookshelf speakers, they're similar. Tight, punchy, and more neutral. They don't color the sound. Jazz, classical, and yatch rock might be the music and a more moderate volume suits the speaker.

Kicker, Rockford Fosgate, JL... If you love bass, loud, rap, R&B, these are great brands to check out.

The amplifier ends up being a lot more important than a lot of people realize. Wattage is an almost useless number in car audio. High current & discreet circuitry that's closer to analog than a chip amp is what matters. Amps don't provide volume as much as they provide control (lack of distortion). Think of it like torque and speakers are, in fact, motors that need that torque to stay accurate and clean.

The best thing to do is find a couple of good custom shops and go listen. Tell them the type of music you like and bring a disc or 2 to play so you can hear the same song on various speakers. I listen to all types of music from trap to classic jazz and everything in between. One of my favorite songs to use as a reference demo is with the conga/kick drum trigger in the beginning. Once you get used to a song like that, you'll hear how the speakers highlight or diminish parts of the sound, especially the bass. On a phone it sounds like half the band fell off the stage.

Your brain can't really walk away and remember how a set of speakers sounded a few minutes later but you can remember if it was a sound that made you happy. You'll remember how it changed the music for better or worse. Do this a few times and you'll find the right ones.

I realllly miss my days selling car audio. Find a sales person that loves music and it'll be a lot more fun.

 

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I would guess my music taste is similar to your (love that version of Hotel California). I'm looking forward to exploring the options for improving the audio in the truck.... once I have it

Thanks again

Matt

 

So…has anyone replaced theirs yet??