Rear Speaker Opinions

[petechar]

I was planning to include rear speakers when I upgraded the sound system in my 2002 Boxster S, but the the fellow that that did the installation (new dash speakers, door speakers, amplifier, and a small, powered subwoofer under the passenger's seat) recommended against it. He said that he preferred the imaging without the rear speakers and did not use rear speakers in any of his cars. I had been referred to him as the best installation person in town so I went with his recommendation. I am very happy with the results. I can play the system loud with little distortion and it sounds great even with the top down. It is much better that the Harmon-Kardon system with rear speakers in my BMW. You might want to try upgrading your system without the rear speakers first and see if you are happy with it.

petechar

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by petechar

He said that he preferred the imaging without the rear speakers and did not use rear speakers in any of his cars.

That's a joke right?

[petechar]

No; he was not joking. I have been told that is the opinion of at least some audiophiles. I believe there was a similar opinion expressed in an earlier thread on this subject. I would be interested if anyone else has any information on this view.

As I mentioned in my earlier message, it was my original intention to install the non OEM rear speaker kit that many have described on this forum. The first fellow that I talked to at the installation shop had thought the rear speakers would be a good idea but the owner diagreed and I followed his advice. Regardless, I am very happy with the sound. From what others have said about the acoustics of convertibles, I didn't expect it to sound as good as it does.

petechar

[petechar]

Here is the quote from BMWM750 (January 26 2007):

"The factory speakers arent the worst we've seen, but are far from good. The whole idea of "rear speakers" makes any audiophile cringe. "


petechar

[larryshomework]

I discussed this with a local stereo shop yesterday and unsolicited the guy said he wouldn't bother with the rear speakers. Interesting.


Thoughts on Dynamat? He recommended it but sounded expensive (around $300 install).

[musicboy]

Rear speakers do degrade the stereo soundstage (except as part of a surround system), but if you like the sound, do what you prefer. I knew a guy who won one of the big national sound-off championships with just a left and right front speaker and a sub. Dynamat will keep the car panels from resonating to the frequencies generated by the speakers, thereby lowering distortion, but it also adds a lot of weight.

[Grizzly]

If you plan to install Dynamat, do yourself a favor and look up B-Quiet Ultimate. It's performance is almost identical to Dynamat Extreme, but it is thinner, lighter and half the price of Dynamat. I used it on every square inch of the interior of my Mach 1 and the thing is like a bank vault.