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sorry but i had to chuckle at this post. America has never been known for high end speakers and the brands you listed are in no way considered hi fidelity audio.
Rockford, Kicker. seriously. those are the lowest and entry brand names in car audio. JL is a different story. They are much more known for their subs and wasn’t to a couple years back started making speakers. Their subs are amazing and home audio subs even better
Focals are amazing speakers. but they might be the sound your looking for on your music genres.
put enough clean power to any decent speaker and they will sound good. add some DAC and DSP and have a good source you will be happy
with my many years of toying in aftermarket car audio the Meridian Surround is plenty for me
Originally Posted by _Allegedly
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 Eagles Hotel California - the "Hell Freezes Over" acoustic version 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.
I replaced the meridian speakers with audison speakers, removed the woofer from the under the center console, added 2 x 10” subs under the cargo mat in the rear (removed the styrofoam and additional components), and added an additional amp for the sub’s. much better experience than the stock 700w system, but there’s room for improvement going the DSP and even higher end speaker route.
i might do sound deadening next, but that’s it. i’m happy with the “minimal” upgrade.
sorry but i had to chuckle at this post. America has never been known for high end speakers and the brands you listed are in no way considered hi fidelity audio.
Rockford, Kicker. seriously. those are the lowest and entry brand names in car audio. JL is a different story. They are much more known for their subs and wasn’t to a couple years back started making speakers. Their subs are amazing and home audio subs even better
Focals are amazing speakers. but they might be the sound your looking for on your music genres.
put enough clean power to any decent speaker and they will sound good. add some DAC and DSP and have a good source you will be happy
with my many years of toying in aftermarket car audio the Meridian Surround is plenty for me
The Meridian system has no presence. The soundstage is just bad. It's lifeless.
Well I did start all of that with "these may not be the "top" brands". I wasn't saying they're the best so I think the point was missed. These brands are accessable. They're easy to find for someone getting into shopping for speakers and they're major brands with kickbacks for displays so they'll be hooked up and ready for a demo. I tried to give some things to consider and look for. If he goes to a couple of good custom shops, he'll be walking in with a plan. It takes away the intimidation that a lot of people get shopping for hi-fi. The kid selling it (it's okay, car audio kids usually know what's good) will be thrilled because you have a couple of smart questions. He'll also show better stuff but he'll be compelled to actually tell you why and let you hear it.
Even still, those are generally good brands that would disappoint only a few people and they aren't outrageously priced like that French stuff. It costs very little to build speakers. They're so profitable that the sale of speakers literally carries most AV stores. TV's are $ losers, CD/DVD players are commodities. Better amps might carry 40% gross but lower/mid units are only 20% or so. Speakers are 50 to 80%+ profit at the retail level. Bose spent $36 to build a set of AM5 surround speakers with a passive base module. It sold for $1200 at retail. High priced speakers are not necessarily better.
We're just going to have to disagree about American hi-fi equipment. Stand in front of some Klipschorns with a pair of McIntosh amps and tell me you've ever heard anything like it. it's a very special experience. I was a commercial audio systems dealer of Klipsch for years (Klipsch is in almost every North American movie theater because they're legitimately exceptional speakers) and I still kick myself for not buying a set of Klipschorns. You know, kids, whatever.
Try a vintage Carver amp with some Magnepans and a Grado turntable with one of their hand-made needles. Like damn musical velvet.
Americans make the best hi&fi in the world. Try to argue against that at Cedia or CES and they'll laugh you out of the room like you just tried to say Bose sounds good.
We're just going to have to disagree about American hi-fi equipment. Stand in front of some Klipschorns with a pair of McIntosh amps and tell me you've ever heard anything like it. it's a very special experience. I was a commercial audio systems dealer of Klipsch for years (Klipsch is in almost every North American movie theater because they're legitimately exceptional speakers) and I still kick myself for not buying a set of Klipschorns. You know, kids, whatever.
LOL, I'm sitting in front a pair right now in my office (well, not 'horns; my 1986 college self couldn't afford those. I can't even remember what these are called, now, I've had them so long.)
LOL, I'm sitting in front a pair right now in my office (well, not 'horns; my 1986 college self couldn't afford those. I can't even remember what these are called, now, I've had them so long.)
Sweet KG4's. Not necessarily their claim to fame but they play loud as hell with the right amp. Something fun like this beauty from Sansui tube amp and an Akai tape deck.
I drove mine with a Yamaha 120w integrated amp for years, when they were my main in-home stereo.
Then they got moved to the TV room and paired with a big Denon 5.1 as the front speakers.
Now they are driven by a 120w Sony from BestBuy a lot of years ago -- literally the last 2-channel receiver in the store at the time.
These replaced a pair of JBL L100s back in the day, which I still have up on the top of two wire shelves in my garage. Reconed the 12" woofers about six years ago and they sound great again.
As for that amp, my best friend (since 2nd grade!) was my only audiophile friend back in HS and college and he still has his dad's Pioneer SX-1050, and uses it to run his in-ceiling Sonos speakers throughout the house. I keep trying to buy it from him but he won't sell.
But really, if I still cared about this stuff and wanted vintage I'd want Marantz; when you've gone gyro-touch tuning you just can't go back.
I drove mine with a Yamaha 120w integrated amp for years, when they were my main in-home stereo.
Then they got moved to the TV room and paired with a big Denon 5.1 as the front speakers.
Now they are driven by a 120w Sony from BestBuy a lot of years ago -- literally the last 2-channel receiver in the store at the time.
These replaced a pair of JBL L100s back in the day, which I still have up on the top of two wire shelves in my garage. Reconed the 12" woofers about six years ago and they sound great again.
Hell of a garage system! Take more current than that Sony can put out but those things scream. I wonder what they're worth. Has to be hell trying to find a buyer for big cabinet speakers these days. Sad really.
Can we go back to topic ?
Aftermarket set of 2ohm speakers for reasonable money , improvement of isolation , quality wiring.
Next step would be upgrading your amplifier.
03-01-2022, 05:24 PM
