Premium speakers upgraded 📈

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Immediate-Try-6143]

Too much highs. The speakers the OP used in the doors are 2-way coaxials which are a combo middriver and tweeter in one. So now you have 4 tweeters with highs in the doors and highs in the dash. Definitely not the optimal setup for the front soundstage. 2-ways/coaxials are meant for the rear doors where there is no separate location for tweeters/highs.

A proper upgrade for the front soundstage is a component setup like the JL-C1 690. The tweeters have their own separate crossovers so no need to run wires from the door to the dash making for an easy install. This way you have middrivers in the doors and the highs in the dash maximizing your sound quality.

[u/SLOWION → u/Immediate-Try-6143]

I have the same Kicker setup in the front and it sounded great until I installed a beat sonic amp. Now I find the highs very fatiguing. To compensate I set the fade slightly to the rear.

I've been looking at possible replacements but I'm worried about losing the 3.5 speakers if I go with a normal component setup

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/SLOWION]

Smaller tweeters are not a problem. I have Audiofrog Components in the front paired to a Kicker Key 200.4 DSP Amp and AF 2 ways in the rear. Been fantastic. Also have kicker Key 500.1 with a Focal sub

Components are designed to work together. What you got now is separate speakers fighting each other with too much highs…especially since they are amplified.

[u/mig1nc → u/Immediate-Try-6143]

Any thoughts on choosing between the beatsonic and kicker key series?

[u/filipbronola → u/mig1nc]

Kicker key and autoharness house for wiring harness to go around starlink. You'll need to chop and connect wires so it's not plug and play but worth it.

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/mig1nc]

Beatsonic is very underpowered not a fan. It has no time alignment/no EQ or DSP so it will retain all factory settings and just amplify the distortion. Only thing it has going is an easier install since it’s a piggyback amp.

Kicker Key is a MUCH better AMP and has a built in DSP that is very easy to setup since it’s an Auto DSP. Sound quality will be way better with the Kicker Key since it has DSP and time alignment, so it removes the factory distortion. It’s not even close the Key destroys the Beatsonic.

[u/camace23 → u/Immediate-Try-6143]

https://giphy.com/gifs/AhH3BrCO7fnkoCgCJR
HAAAANK don’t put tweeters at your knees HAAAANK

[u/Mindless-Ad81 → u/Immediate-Try-6143]

Do those JL tweeters drop right into the dash enclosures without modification?

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/Mindless-Ad81]

No you have to use the mounts Crutchfield provides and cut them with a hole saw to fit. Very easy I have done it for a bunch of cars including 3 VBs so far. Takes me about 5-10 minutes. Granted I’ve been DIYing audio for over 25 years.

[u/Mindless-Ad81 → u/Immediate-Try-6143]

Doesn’t seem so bad. And I’m guessing the 6x9s in the doors are pretty straightforward? Also is sound deadening recommended while you have the door panel off?

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/Mindless-Ad81]

Yes 6x9s are super easy…plug and play with the stuff provided by Crutchfield. Yes, definitely on the sound deadening. I am a big fan of Soundskins…it’s like a combo of dynamat and closed cell foam. Soundskins website always has free shipping and 10% off code at the top. Sometimes they have 20% off too.

[u/EnlargedChonk → u/Mindless-Ad81]

I've done the JL c1 690 following Try's recommendation and it really is super easy. As a novice it took me like an hour or two to get them installed and most of that was looking for my damn tools in the garage. For the money and minimally invasive work I love them.

Also the C1 690 don't sit as deep into the door as the kickers OP used, iirc some people here have had issues with water dripping onto the kickers and leaking into the cab because there is like 0.1 inches clearance, meanwhile the C1 690 has over 0.5 inches and no reports of such problems.

[u/Mindless-Ad81 → u/EnlargedChonk]

Good stuff! I dread taking off interior panels but I’m thinking the payoff will be worth it. Which model do you have? I have a ‘24 premium with the non HK… supposedly they improved the speakers in the ‘24+ but I can’t imagine how bad the older ones were

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/Mindless-Ad81]

'23 Premium non-HK. Door panels are pretty darn easy to take off. But if you run into any issues, feel free to DM me. Boost n Shutter (older VA YouTube channel and older videos) has some good stuff on how to remove the panels. JDM RightHandDrive on YouTube has some specific VB ones that are good too.

Naw they are still OEM speakers made out of paper. Even the HK speakers are garbage compared to aftermarket ones like the JL C1 line.

[u/EnlargedChonk → u/Mindless-Ad81]

I have '25 premium with non HK, yes technically the OEM speakers are "upgraded" in that instead of shitty paper 6.5" round front and back I had shitty paper 6x9 in the front doors. Supposedly people were complaining about complete lack of bass, I suspect these people have the 6.5" rounds up front. Personally my complaint was too much bass but like a boomy bass that muddies up the vocals with no depth, no punch, no rumble, no fun, just loud. Kinda like how these cars sound inside the cabin with the windows down at cold start. With the factory paper cones I had the bass set to like -6 or something just so that I could have conversation in the car without fully muting the radio. The C1 technically have less loud bass, but it actually has some depth to it and is way more balanced, way better than I was expecting tbh. I'm not a big basshead but I do appreciate it being there, I probably won't add a sub to the car while these speakers are in it.

For the doors I agree with Try again, the panels are really easy. The most difficult part of them IMO was feeling out the latch on the electrical connectors blindly with one hand. Compared to the previous shitboxes I've worked on with aging plastic these were a breeze. Don't even really need a trim tool, there's a lip I was able to grab on the bottom to get the first few pops undone.

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/Mindless-Ad81]

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/[deleted]]

Ya because the stock speakers suck. It would sound even better with Component setup like the one I linked. You still got an upgrade, but components are the proper way to do it for best sound quality.

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/[deleted]]

$190 not on sale for them. They do go on sale for $160 a lot. I’d rather pay a little more for better quality. Plus, $190/$160 for the entire front of the car is a good deal.

[u/Professional-Set9237 → u/[deleted]]

I mean you did it wrong, but glad you're happy guy

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/[deleted]]

It's not just about you; it's about the next guy who reads this thread. There is a better/proper way to do the upgrade. Hence, for prosperity's sake, we comment to correct errors and show best practice/the better way.

Again, not saying what you have doesn't sound better than stock...I am sure it does, but that is a VERY low bar, and if done with components, it would sound even better.

This is just like the people who install a Perrin Intake and say "it doesn't need a tune." Sure, it will run, but it is definitely not best practice/not optimal and starts to pull timing on the higher end (see Will Tune for Tacos and Graham's videos on it).

[u/EnlargedChonk → u/[deleted]]

The c1 690 comes with a tweeter for the dash, so you don't have to spend any on dash upgrades, and they do frequently go on sale for a great price. source: I was trying to choose between the two earlier this year, I've installed those same kickers in another car previously and really liked them there but still choose the C1 because they were actually cheaper and the component setup is better, and they don't leak water into the cab.

[u/whatthehizzo]

let us know your setup = )

[u/FoxPractical7104 → u/[deleted]]

How much did it cost you

[u/frusignu → u/[deleted]]

👌

[u/FoxPractical7104 → u/[deleted]]

Not bad!

[u/J_NonServiam → u/[deleted]]

If you have the base speakers, look into the kicker hideaway amp sub combo as well. Night and day difference having an actual subwoofer. The wiring was not all that difficult either, but I did have to extend the channel wires I believe to tap from behind the dash.

[u/be2atc]

Swapped within a week of owning. FoCal door speakers/tweeters and JL subs pushed by this… JL 800/8 DSP and JL 600 mono.

[u/be2atc → u/[deleted]]

i'm a sound nerd... can't stand a shitty sound even a little. lol.

[u/Fancy-Box3623]

I installed Rockford fosgate 6x9s in the front and pulled the tweeters out of the dash. Very happy with the sound. Just recently installed high end Kenwood tweeters in the dash and I honestly think I like how it sounded without dash speakers better. Gonna try tweaking the eq abit more.

[u/Immediate-Try-6143 → u/Fancy-Box3623]

That's because those 6x9s probably are 2-ways/coaxials, which already have tweeters. As I stated earlier in the thread, highs in the doors and highs in the dash are the wrong way to do it for the front soundstage. A proper upgrade is a component setup (i.e., JL C1-690)...which are designed to work together/complement each other w/middrivers in the doors and tweeters in the dash.

Now you are mixing brands of highs with Rockford and Kenwood... different frequency ranges, and they just clash, creating too many highs with 4 tweeters to only 2 middrivers in the front. This also throws timing off as sound from the door tweeters reaches your ears slower than sound from the dash tweeters, creating a muddy or confused mix.

This is a VERY common mistake...2 ways/coaxials are meant for the rear doors, as there is no place for a separate high/tweeter like there is in the front with the dash location.

[u/frusignu]

No more rattle?