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Old 10-26-2010, 03:51 PM   #1
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Front Speaker Upgrade - Which is 'the' one?

Hey guys, I'm looking to upgrade the blown front speakers in my '98. I have Harvey's PnP rear speaker upgrade coupled with the M490 door speakers and a CDR-220. I think I'll soon get a 6 channel 996 amp as well. Is there a front speaker upgrade that is generally considered to be "the" upgrade? Reading the archives I see a lot of brands and models being thrown around the past few years and am wondering if now in late 2010 one particular model stands out from the crowd and matches well with the components I previously mentioned? Thanks!

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Old 10-27-2010, 06:25 AM   #2
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For what I saw all over forums, is that the car sounds crappy whatever money you put in, there is no 'the way' of doing it, but many suggest just getting rid of the stock amp+speaker and replacing it all with aftermarket..

If you want to order a Porsche 6chan amp, be sure to get one that is NOT DSP, or you will need an extra DSP HI-FI module to get it work..

Maybe that 6chan amp with new speakers all around would do a good job for you

Good Luck
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Old 10-27-2010, 10:26 AM   #3
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I used the polk audio DB401's in front. They sound WAY better than stock and are fairly cheap. I plan to do the DB521's in the doors but havent gotten around to it yet. The DB401's sound like they have way more power than the stock 5.25's in the doors, they blow them away. I have the 4x40 amp as well.
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Old 10-27-2010, 06:27 PM   #4
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Speaker upgrade

I replaced my fronts and doors with Memphis MC52's along with a Memphis amp. Previous speakers were Alpines and these just are cleaner crisper and with the top down are clear as a bell with no muddy sound. I also replaced radio with double din pioneer avic910.
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Old 10-29-2010, 07:47 AM   #5
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Another vote for the polks from me. I cut the stock speakers apart to make my own adapter plates and they sound great. I am powering them with a rockford amp i had around. It time to replace the doors now with something that can handle a little more power.
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Old 10-29-2010, 08:38 AM   #6
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Chalk up another to the polks

I also changed out the front with db401's and added db1001 to the existing rear speaker package. I also swapped out for the 6 channel HAES amp and not the 4 channel. I find the output more balanced.
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Old 10-29-2010, 06:43 PM   #7
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Are the Polk Audio db401s a direct replacement ?
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Old 11-01-2010, 11:28 AM   #8
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Porsche dash speakers

There are no "direct" replacements for the existing OEM speakes. This link on YouTube shows you how a user replaced the existing speakers with a standard coaxial speaker such as an Alpine (similar to the Polk's). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0LPyCoq5k8

I did this upgrade and it is an improvement from the stock speaker but no coaxial will have the sound quality of a good component speaker witt a separate crossover.

I eventually replaced the speakers upfront with MB Quart components, ran new speaker wires to the front trunk area, wired up a new amp and ran all this off a new headunit. The improvement in sound quality from this was far greater than the improvement from just the coaxial speakers.

From reading around the favored top of the line component speakers are Focal, Hertz, JL Audio and more. Separates like Scan Speak and Morel are even better. All require proper amplification and a clean signal to maximize their quality.

Sound performance, like mechanical performance is usually a series of steps that all add to each other.


Last edited by DennisW; 11-01-2010 at 11:28 AM. Reason: added link
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