Getting ready to order

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Secondtyme

:
2006 Mazda5 Touring
The bits and pieces of my "system" for my 5. I have selected Polk db5251 5-1/4 for the front doors, Pioneer 6986r 6x9 4 ways for the rear, and a Pioneer GMD1004 45w x 4 amp to power same. This is all going to be connected to my existing Pioneer avh3100dvd HU which has served me very well. I'm thinking these components with this level of power should fulfill my desire to ruin my remaining hearing without killing my piggy bank. Lol sonicelectronix has everything for about 450 bucks shipped. Any of you guys have experience with these components or have recomendations i'm all ears...
 
Further digging (and reading) reveals that the Pioneer amp CAN be powered from the source line to the HU, as long as the HU has at least a 15amp fuse. Which means no separate power feed to the battery, or in cheap mans English, no amp wiring kit! I am a little leery of running the whole shebang off the power going to the HU though. Even though Pioneer endorses the practice, it seems a little Mickey Mouse...
 
Look ma! I'm a one man thread! Is it reasonable to assume that a professional shop could make 6x9 speakers fit in the rear cargo area where the factory 6x8 speakers are now? I really don't like the options available in 6x8 speakers, no 4 ways at all and a lot of the other coaxials are too cheap (29 bucks for speakers, sure those will last)
 
I have a pair of nice 6x9 and poked the fit.
It can work but there will be little material left at the outer edges of the metal bracket the speaker mounts to. Decided against it for that reason.
(If you can squeeze a 6x9 spacer in between bracket and cover, you may be lucky to drop in the bigger speaker and just drill holes in the bracket w/o filing and cutting.)
 
You can always cut an MDF spacer on your own- if you don't have a router and a vertical scroll cutter tool thingy, a jigsaw works in a pinch...

And "4-way" speakers are quite overrated. A good solid 2-way speaker with a good internal crossover will outperform mid-range 4-way speakers. Not that Pioneer TSA line stuff is bad- it's generally pretty good- but tossing in more drivers than 3 for car speakers is often just a gimmick. And there are some pretty good 6x8s on the market for under $100 a set.
 
Thanks for the info guys, I will have decide which way I want to go. The four way Pioneers drew me in because I had a set in another car and was pleased with them. Phunky, you are probably right, especially given that I am mainly using the rears as "fill" and spending the money for better stuff up front where it will have the most impact. While I can acknowledge that price isn't everything, I'm having a hard time getting my head around the idea of a good quality durable speaker that only costs 30-60 bucks! Hell the most expensive thing I could find was $120, compare and contrast with the 6x9s which can range up to almost $500 a set...I'm going to go ahead and get an amp install kit and have the amp wired direct to the battery with its own fuse, that way I won't have to worry about it going forward as well.
 
Could this be an alternative 6x8 solution?

Infinity Kappa 680.9CS
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)

Edit:
I agree on the 4-way Pioneer being a bit gimmicky. No crossover with this, could not even find a single high-frequency filter cap on the side.
The size difference between the in-cone drivers is marginal.
 
Last edited:
I run 6.5/6.75" components in the front 2-way coaxials in the rear with adapter plates. The Alpine Type R components came with the necessary speaker adapter plates.
 
Secondtyme said:
Thanks for the info guys, I will have decide which way I want to go. The four way Pioneers drew me in because I had a set in another car and was pleased with them. Phunky, you are probably right, especially given that I am mainly using the rears as "fill" and spending the money for better stuff up front where it will have the most impact. While I can acknowledge that price isn't everything, I'm having a hard time getting my head around the idea of a good quality durable speaker that only costs 30-60 bucks! Hell the most expensive thing I could find was $120, compare and contrast with the 6x9s which can range up to almost $500 a set...I'm going to go ahead and get an amp install kit and have the amp wired direct to the battery with its own fuse, that way I won't have to worry about it going forward as well.
Click to expand...

Try this first- play with the fader on your stereo now. Front only, then all speakers, then front only again. I'll bet that you'll hardly be able to hear any difference at all. To me, the rears in the 5 are really just filler, as in hole filler. You really can't hear them. Your car audio junkies will also mostly tell you that rear speakers screw up the stereo image, and that you should just run a really high quality set of fronts with a well blended sub stage and call it done. But try playing with the fader... then decide if you want to spend any decent cash on the back.

Primergy said:
Could this be an alternative 6x8 solution?

Infinity Kappa 680.9CS
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)

Edit:
I agree on the 4-way Pioneer being a bit gimmicky. No crossover with this, could not even find a single high-frequency filter cap on the side.
The size difference between the in-cone drivers is marginal.
Click to expand...

The Kappas aren't bad at all. Never ended up getting a set for myself though.

tuanies said:
I run 6.5/6.75" components in the front 2-way coaxials in the rear with adapter plates. The Alpine Type R components came with the necessary speaker adapter plates.
Click to expand...

I made my own adapters from MDF for my truck- quite easy once you get past the "I'm cutting my own stuff" scare.
 
Oh, i already did that. A LOT lol without the rear "fill" my stock fronts dissolve into a muddy mess of middle frequency sound. Im listening to a lot of thrash right now, Sylosis, Death Angel, Lazarus AD, etc which the stock speakers can handle until i want to really crank it up. I ordered the Polks for the front, the Pioneer amp, and 6886r Pioneers for the back. The rears are a 6x8 3 way, good for 100watts RMS, so i think im good
 
Secondtyme said:
Oh, i already did that. A LOT lol without the rear "fill" my stock fronts dissolve into a muddy mess of middle frequency sound. Im listening to a lot of thrash right now, Sylosis, Death Angel, Lazarus AD, etc which the stock speakers can handle until i want to really crank it up. I ordered the Polks for the front, the Pioneer amp, and 6886r Pioneers for the back. The rears are a 6x8 3 way, good for 100watts RMS, so i think im good
Click to expand...

Sounds good then. :)
 
We will find out, one way or the other. Now I gotta be patient and save up the money for the install. I COULD do it myself, but don't really care to. I really appreciate the input/help, it helped me to see thing a little more clearly...
 
Just installed a Sony HU with a built in 40 watt RMS x 4 class D amplifier built into the unit. Originally replaced the stock 6*8 speakers with Pioneer TS-A874M 3-way 6*8 speakers all around running off the head unit and they sounded decent. Installed a JL Audio Bass Wedge CS110-WXv2 run off an older Alpine 150 watt RMS mono amplifier, which really made some nice lows. The sound quality of the Pioneer 6*8 speakers is now much improved with the Sony HU and class D amp. I had to run separate power and ground for the Sony HU though as recommended by Sony because of the built in class D amplifier.

Secondtyme, you will most likely starve that amp if you do not run separate power and grounds of at least 10 AWG. Even my mono amplifier has its own separate power and ground cables of 10 AWG.

Looking to bring the sound stage up a little by adding some tweeters to the front sail panels but not sure which to buy yet.
 
Mmh, just looked up that Sony HU. That is a pretty neat solution and beats installing a standalone 4-channel amp with all the wiring!
I'm just a bit wary of running that wattage through the factory 'bell-wire', used for the speakers. No,nothing will catch on fire... I just like beefy cables for added watts & fidelity.
 
Primergy said:
Mmh, just looked up that Sony HU. That is a pretty neat solution and beats installing a standalone 4-channel amp with all the wiring!
I'm just a bit wary of running that wattage through the factory 'bell-wire', used for the speakers. No,nothing will catch on fire... I just like beefy cables for added watts & fidelity.
Click to expand...
Well, its pretty easy to run a 10 gage cable to the battery from the dash location. With the savings from not having to buy an amp, you could get a cheap 10 gage wire kit and still save money. I ran mine through the white plastic thing in the fire wall and siliconed it to seal it. I ran the ground to the common ground under the drivers side left dash near where the hood pull is. I have to say, the sound quality upgrade from the stock radio is significant, and I really like the way this radio looks and feels. it has more adjustability than radios that cost twice as much too and 5 volt pre-outputs is really nice if you do run an amp like I have for a subwoofer. Sony clearly states that you have to run separate 10 gage power and ground to supply enough amperage for the amp to work properly.

I would consider the Pioneer TS-A6886R 6*8 4 way speakers for your Mazda 5. With an amplifier they might have enough bass for you that you may be happy without a subwoofer. When I played my 3-way versions (no longer sold) on the Sony HU with a bass heavy song and no sub, my wife thought the sub was making the bass notes. Of course the sub does a better job with accurately handling the lower notes, but these speakers are really decent. You could always add a set of tweeters to the sail panels to help bring up the imaging; the stock tweeters are crap.
 
I just wanted better sound and went the 6x8 4 way Pioneers all around. Open Box special at Best Buy, under $100 for 4 speakers and another $20 for the adapters on Amazon. No amp, still sounds much better than factory speakers. I have a GT with the door tweeters and I just dialed the treble back a bit. The last vehicle I replaced speakers on was an 01 Ford Focus and I was really reminded of that car doing the Mazda. I think they were the same speakers but with Mazda stamped on the back!
 
Hasn't even been a month since I got the stuff and I'm already having twitchiness over getting it installed. Curse my lack of patience!! LOL If I can get a big enough patch of my driveway melted free this weekend maybe I'll do the speakers myself....
 
V8toilet said:
Well, its pretty easy to run a 10 gage cable to the battery from the dash location. With the savings from not having to buy an amp, you could get a cheap 10 gage wire kit and still save money. I ran mine through the white plastic thing in the fire wall and siliconed it to seal it.
Click to expand...

Any chance you have a picture of this, or could elaborate on the location of the "white plastic thing?"

I need to run power from the battery, but haven't found a proper location yet. ...I also haven't looked all that hard, though! :)
 
If the forecast remains clear for this coming weekend I'm going to install the speakers myself. Annnnnd with the money I saved I'm going to get a pro-shop in Winchester to install the amplifier sometime in the next two to three weeks. Woot! New Anthrax and Skeletonwitch albums have made it clear that new stuff NEEDS to go in ASAP LOL
 
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