Best door speakers to get without upgrading stock bluetooth unit or adding an amp?

CJnum6

Member
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2015 CX-5 AWD Sport
I've read a few threads and some I see complaints with new speakers once they pass 30 on the volume.

Right now with stock everything I do sometimes go to 35 or 37, but it's not really THAT loud, usually when I'm on the highway etc. 29-31 though is where I sit normally.

I do a lot of my own work when it comes to replacing parts and whatnot, so I'm comfortable replacing the speakers, but no clue when it comes to calibrating for proper watts/amps or whatever is most important. I'm not looking to blow people out of the water with a system. I just want great sound while I drive around for myself.
Does anyone have some decent 6.5's that they've added that had no issues at that level?
I will add that new speakers may be louder anyways which may completely change where my normal volume level is, but I definitely don't want to get a speaker that the radio can't handle.


Thanks!
 
Aftermarket speakers can handle much more power then stock ones, so you should not have any problem installing an aftermarket speaker and having sound issues.
You have to be sure that you are installing it correctly, polarity is important and make sure that the speaker sits straight and the cage is not bent when bolted down.
 
Aftermarket speakers can handle much more power then stock ones, so you should not have any problem installing an aftermarket speaker and having sound issues.
You have to be sure that you are installing it correctly, polarity is important and make sure that the speaker sits straight and the cage is not bent when bolted down.

Ohhhhh okay, I must have been reading the other post wrong that made me worry.
They must have already had an amp or something and didn't have it configured properly for the new speakers.

So I should be fine at the same volume levels with the stock radio and new speakers regardless. Now I just need to make sure I don't waste my money on speakers that are TOO good for the stock deck. :)

Thanks!
 
The stock radio's amp is probably max. 22W RMS(-guessing here-aftermarket stereo's power is ~22W/channel). The speaker that I have installed, can take 85W RMS.
 
But the problem isn't over-powering the new speakers, just the opposite. A speaker designed for much higher wattage than the stock CX-5 head unit isn't going to sound its best (or possibly even very good) with 22 watts. The speaker's sensitivity is a measure of it's ability to produce a given sound level at a given input. A speaker intended for, say, 84 watts of power isn't going to perform well at all with a quarter of that. Bass, in particular, will suffer (which is typically the complaint people have when they upgrade the door speakers without at least adding an inline amp).

The stock speakers in the CX-5 might be mediocre at best, but at least they're matched to the stock head unit. If you want to proceed, make sure to look at sensitivity ratings and find something suitable.
 
I had these Infinity Primus installed and I was very happy with them.
Now, since I have installed amps, they sound much better.
I don't remember the volume level, with the stock radio, but I used it much higher then 30. It was close to the maximum.
 
But the problem isn't over-powering the new speakers, just the opposite. A speaker designed for much higher wattage than the stock CX-5 head unit isn't going to sound its best (or possibly even very good) with 22 watts. The speaker's sensitivity is a measure of it's ability to produce a given sound level at a given input. A speaker intended for, say, 84 watts of power isn't going to perform well at all with a quarter of that. Bass, in particular, will suffer (which is typically the complaint people have when they upgrade the door speakers without at least adding an inline amp).

The stock speakers in the CX-5 might be mediocre at best, but at least they're matched to the stock head unit. If you want to proceed, make sure to look at sensitivity ratings and find something suitable.
Your last sentence is completely correct. The first paragraph, however, not so much.

Speaker power (RMS ) ratings, just say how much power they can handle (basically how thick the wire is, plus other things). The speaker's Sensitivity is unrelated to its power rating, and defines how much sound (volume) will be generated for a given power input. The biggest problem folks experience is overdriving the amplifier(external, or the one in the head unit). That leads to the power signal clipping, distortion and gernerally sounding horrible. In fact, when an amp clips, it actually puts out far more actual power than it's normal RMS rating. THAT can exceed the speaker ratings and actually blow the speakers! Thus, yes, you can blow out 85W speakers with a 22 watt amp (given a certain set of amplifier|speakers) :).

But anyway, back to agreeing with you, unless you have a big (good) high-power external amp, you should very much consider speaker sensitivity ratings when buying your speakers - to get the best output from your limited head unit amp.
 
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Did far too much searching to see the exact wattage produced by the stock unit(just for reference sake), but I'll just go with what tibimakai said at 22w per channel.
I've also managed to fail at finding a proper reference to what would be a good sensitivity and rms for a 22w connection, so I'm just going to go mid way and try to hit in the middle of the min/max

So was looking at Polk Audio db651s's, they have a 6-55 rms, and 92 dB sensitivity. I know I've seen them used by others on the forum as well, but was unsure if they had an amp in addition.

I actually just ordered the stock tweeters from mazda since it's such an easy addition. I'm curious to see the improvement with the relatively low cost, and may look to install the polk 3.5's in the future, but that is the last of my updates I care about.
 
Did far too much searching to see the exact wattage produced by the stock unit(just for reference sake), but I'll just go with what tibimakai said at 22w per channel.
I've also managed to fail at finding a proper reference to what would be a good sensitivity and rms for a 22w connection, so I'm just going to go mid way and try to hit in the middle of the min/max

So was looking at Polk Audio db651s's, they have a 6-55 rms, and 92 dB sensitivity. I know I've seen them used by others on the forum as well, but was unsure if they had an amp in addition.

I actually just ordered the stock tweeters from mazda since it's such an easy addition. I'm curious to see the improvement with the relatively low cost, and may look to install the polk 3.5's in the future, but that is the last of my updates I care about.


I installed Infinity ref-65021ix speakers in my front doors and they sound pretty good with the stock unit. i have the stock tweeters but im on the fence if to replace these with 3.5 infinity speakers. Not sure if the if the sound will improve with the aftermarket tweeters.

i have noticed that I sometimes still get that boomy bass even with new speakers. i think it must be just bad acoustics in the car.
 
I installed Infinity ref-65021ix speakers in my front doors and they sound pretty good with the stock unit. i have the stock tweeters but im on the fence if to replace these with 3.5 infinity speakers. Not sure if the if the sound will improve with the aftermarket tweeters.

i have noticed that I sometimes still get that boomy bass even with new speakers. i think it must be just bad acoustics in the car.

When you put the door speakers in did you use any dampening mats?
Once I get the urge to go through with replacing them I'm thinking of wrapping the stock plastic bracket to avoid that.
 
i just cut out the stock paper speakers and used the stock speaker brackets . i didnt use any sound deadening material.
 
I did the same thing as above.
That wattage, may be to optimistic too.
An aftermarket stereo, has a 4x22W RMS/50W peak power(Kenwood) amp.
We should see the amp IC in the stereo, to get the exact specs.
Between the factory tweeter and an aftermarket tweeter is a huge difference in sound. The factory sounds very muffled too, compared to an aftermarket one.
I have the component Infinity Primus speakers in the doors(front and back)and the Polk 3.5" in the dash and the highs are not to much. You can dial it down from the stereo, if it is for you.
 
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It's very unlikely that the factory head unit puts out ANYTHING like 22w per channel. Given a single-ended amplifier running at 12-14V (car voltage), it'll be closer to 6-10W RMS per channel useable.

You should remember that the maximum RMS audio power from a given voltage V is somewhat less than: Pmax = ( V / ( 2 x sqrt2 ) )^2 / R (where V is the battery voltage and R the speaker impedance). Thus for a 13.8V charging battery and a 4 ohm speaker, the max possible power is just over 5W RMS!! Probably the speakers are around 2ohms, though, so that would double it to an absolute max of 10W. Some better head units will use bridged amplifiers to double that again ~20W, but unlikely in a factory head unit.

Most (good) external amplifiers are actually mostly comprised of a big switching power supply to convert the 12V car supply to 40 or 50 (or more) volts. Getting that voltage up is what raises the maximum possible power to the speaker.

Anyway, having said all that, I replaced the speakers and the head unit in my car, but still have awful boomy sound. I've yet to add dampening in the doors, but that's definitely the next step, come the spring.
 
Most likely, you are right about the power, on the stock unit. I kow they are not 22W, for sure. Aftermarket stereos, have this spec. Most likely the fuse size would tell us more about the power of the stereo.
It has a fuse in the back?
I don't have the boomy sound anymore, maybe because of the amps?
 
Adding sound matts to the doors does very little to reducing the muddy boom bass from the car. But it does help cut down road noise and outside noise.

I found the best solution was to cross out all bass from the doors and feed it to the subwoofer. Around 100hz crossover is good.

The tech manual has the power rating of the speakers but I font have it ar hand right now.
 
Upgrade the speakers with the best speakers you can afford. Apline makes some decent sets. Install an Alpine power pack inline with the factory unit and you should have much improved sound. I have the Polk components up front and coaxial's in the rear. The tweeters for the components are too harsh so I'd stay away from them. I put cheap 3 way Poineer speakers in my 5 with no amplifier and they sound real clear with good highs. They don't have much bass but that's taken care of by the small sealed JL Audio sub hidden in the back. My Polks are amplified but at first they weren't and when I amplified them it made a very noticeable difference in SPL and SQ.
 
Okay, I am ready to upgrade the front dash speakers, and the front door speakers. The rears are not important, since the baby sits back there.
I would love SPECIFIC model suggestions...I will only be a doing a swap out, no amp upgrade, no sub. Hoping to get some of the muddy sound gone. I was looking at the Polk Audio DXi651s...seem like nice speakers for under $65...and crutchfield supplies the brackets needed (even though I can sacrifice the stock speakers if I need to...)
 
...and crutchfield supplies the brackets needed (even though I can sacrifice the stock speakers if I need to...)

Be careful to read the fine print on the supplied brackets. If you didn't see it says you'll need to re-drill the mounting screw holes. That's what turned me off to them. They also don't show a picture so I'm not sure if the supplied brackets lift the speaker to the same(or close) position as the factory does. There's enough room where the bracket sits that most speakers will probably fit, but without lifting it out of the door well you end up with the possibility of rain water hitting the back and killing it.
If anyone has used the supplied brackets it would be great to know for sure!

http://www.car-speaker-adapters.com/items.php?id=SAK102 has had good reviews on here. 60$ for 2 and the comfort in knowing you don't have to deal with extra crap like destroying your factory speakers.

I'm planning on getting the 651s's as well at some point once the weather gets warmer(no garage and I'm in the north east heh)
 
Those and the 3.5" Polks in the dash.
I went with components front and back and they were pretty cheap. Infinity Primus PR6500CS. I have also installed the Polks in the dash. Highs are slightly overkill, but can be turned down if needed.
I have posted a link, when it was the blackfiday sale going on.
 
How did you mount the tweeters for the components?
I haven't bought components ever due to thinking they always need a mounting spot that isn't already built in.
 
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