Dash Speaker Replacement

[Disaster]

Replaced OEM Nokia dash speakers with Alpine SPS-410's (a speaker I've seen recommended on forums.) At lower volumes the stock Nokias are a little brighter. At high volumes the Alpines were a bit less muddy. Overall it wasn't worth the hassle, but, of course that would be different if the stock speakers were trashed. The ones on my '98 must not have been.

The Alpines have low sensitivity, similar to the stock Nokias. I'm going to try Infinity reference speakers next, which are several times more efficient. Hoping the lower energy requirements of the Infinitys are coupled with improved performance.

[Disaster]

Originally Posted by Disaster

Replaced OEM Nokia dash speakers with Alpine SPS-410's (a speaker I've seen recommended on forums.) At lower volumes the stock Nokias are a little brighter. At high volumes the Alpines were a bit less muddy. Overall it wasn't worth the hassle, but, of course that would be different if the stock speakers were trashed. The ones on my '98 must not have been.

The Alpines have low sensitivity, similar to the stock Nokias (very similar output level per volume setting.) I'm going to try Infinity reference speakers next, which are several times more efficient. Hoping the lower energy requirements of the Infinitys are coupled with improved performance.

Replaced Alpine SPS-410 with Infinity Reference 4002CFX. The Infinities are slightly lower rated for power (35 watt continuous vs. 45 for the Alpines) but have a much better sensitivity of 92db vs. the Alpine's 86db. That 6db difference equates to 4 times the volume at the same input power level. This means the amp doesn't have to be driven so hard to produce the sound.

The improvement in midrange is considerable. This really helps "fill out" the sound, from the rear speakers. Even at the highest volume level the Alpines could not produce the same amount of low/midrange as the Infinities do at half volume. The Infinities are rated at 75-21kHz. The Alpines at 97-22kHz.

One note, the Infinities are a slightly deeper speaker and magnet bottomed out on the passenger side (1 7/8" vs. 1 11/16".) It doesn't seem to cause any issues with output or vibration noise. If I were to do it again I'd look for a shallower 4" speaker with the similar efficiency and performance.

[Lapister]

When you mention speaker bottomed out, does it hit the bottom of the well? Is there any even a bit of space to cushion it with rubber or ?

[Disaster]

Originally Posted by Lapister

When you mention speaker bottomed out, does it hit the bottom of the well? Is there any even a bit of space to cushion it with rubber or ?

I need to investigate further. It is either the well or a screw sticking up inside well. Yesterday it picked up a buzz (only on really high volumes) so I'll need to go back in and see if I can make more room or insulate it like you suggest. Unfortunately I sold my box of sound deadener because I thought I wouldn't be using the rest of it.

One other thing re. Infiniy speakers. They have a switch to attentuate the treble by +3db (basically 2 times louder.) By default, it was set to the attenuated position. That is too brassy. Need to go back and turn that off.

[boxpriest]

@Disaster, I'm deciding between Alpine and Infinity Reference. Are IR still superior to Alpines considering I don't have door & rear speakers?

[JayG]

Originally Posted by boxpriest

@Disaster, I'm deciding between Alpine and Infinity Reference. Are IR still superior to Alpines considering I don't have door & rear speakers?

6 of one, 1/2 dozen of another

They are both far superior to the factory speakers

IIRC, the Infinity may be a a few db more efficient

[Gremlin]

Fwiw - I chose Helix speakers for the dash because they sounded better than any of the coax competitors. Fit perfectly.