Electricbowtie
Well-known member
Has anyone replaced the stock speakers yet? The rear speakers seem easy to access and sure could be way better. Wondering what the wattage output for each speaker would be to find a good match.
Aftermarket speakers?
- Thread starter Electricbowtie
- Start date
Help Support Chevy Spark EV Forum:
I also seek the same info. I have a feeling the car stereo shops could advise up. I just haven't had the time to go to the one I use. They tap special databases where they get their spec info.
My Leaf required 2 ohm rather than 4 ohm speakers. They are harder to find and the choices are more limited. I expect the same ohm requirement in Spark. I ordered 3-way Infinities formy Leaf and that was the best thing I've ever done. Night and day. Near perfect. The Infinities were 2 ohm but actually measured 3 ohms I was told at the shop. It's a washout as far as I'm concerned, and they work beautifully.
I'll be watching this thread.
My Leaf required 2 ohm rather than 4 ohm speakers. They are harder to find and the choices are more limited. I expect the same ohm requirement in Spark. I ordered 3-way Infinities formy Leaf and that was the best thing I've ever done. Night and day. Near perfect. The Infinities were 2 ohm but actually measured 3 ohms I was told at the shop. It's a washout as far as I'm concerned, and they work beautifully.
I'll be watching this thread.
Electricbowtie
Well-known member
So the stock speakers are marked 4ohms but I went ahead and bought the infinity 6402cfx to try them out. Before mounting them I plugged them in to compare and they sounded WORSE than the stock speakers. Good thing for easy Frys returns. I may end up just swapping the front for now instead.
Electricbowtie
Well-known member
iletric said:
Rear speakers are 4x6 and front are 4" round. Only looking into replacing the front now.
snail3
Member
Electricbowtie said:
what did you use for front speaker?
snail3
Member
Here are some pictures on the how front speaker and speaker grille looks like:
on the driver's side:
tool I used to pop off the cover:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-auto-trim-and-molding-tool-set-67021.html
how cover snaps on to dash:
back side of cover:
shape of speaker grille:
side view:
plan to use some putty like blu-tack on contact points to quiet down the creak, also found the speaker itself generates some noise too (probably due to un-flat mounting surface?) so probably will put some blu-tack around the speaker when I replace these.
following Gas Spark's guide, I ordered Kicker KS40 speaker (4ohms) and Metra 72-9300 speaker harness to replace the front speakers, will see how it goes
on the driver's side:
tool I used to pop off the cover:
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-auto-trim-and-molding-tool-set-67021.html
how cover snaps on to dash:
back side of cover:
shape of speaker grille:
side view:
plan to use some putty like blu-tack on contact points to quiet down the creak, also found the speaker itself generates some noise too (probably due to un-flat mounting surface?) so probably will put some blu-tack around the speaker when I replace these.
following Gas Spark's guide, I ordered Kicker KS40 speaker (4ohms) and Metra 72-9300 speaker harness to replace the front speakers, will see how it goes
snail3
Member
iletric said:
thanks for the tip, I removed the stock speaker this morning and found it's rated at 8ohms, measured with multimeter and the resistance reading is ~7.3ohm.
Stock Speaker held in a plastic cup as described in gas spark forum"
Rated at 40W/8ohm:
snail3
Member
iletric said:
Guess I will leave the stock speaker as it is for now, unless someone can find a good 4inch 8ohm replacement. The Kicker speakers will be going back..before they arrive
Pegasus
Well-known member
Wait a minute, there. The head unit may be able to support 4-ohm speakers. (Many amplifiers can do both.) I would call Chevy (or a local stereo shop) and ask before you return the new ones!
Any updates? Anyone replace their speakers with aftermarket ones? I would bet that the 4 ohm speakers would be just fine, but would like to see someone else try first I agree that the standard setup really sucks.
If we can't get a recommendation that it is ok to use aftermarket speakers, I would guess that you could add a pair of inexpensive tweeters hooked up in parallel to the stock ones. High frequency only tweeters should have a really high impedance and therefore wouldn't impact the system being hooked up in parallel to the stock ones. They make some that have an angle mount so they could be mounted somewhere on the dash. For that, I would want a mounting recommendation because I would be worried that I would mount them somewhere that might obstruct the airbags. Something like these:
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TST15-Soft-Dome-Tweeter/dp/B00009QORG/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1384224218&sr=1-3&keywords=tweeters
I agree that the standard setup really sucks.If we can't get a recommendation that it is ok to use aftermarket speakers, I would guess that you could add a pair of inexpensive tweeters hooked up in parallel to the stock ones. High frequency only tweeters should have a really high impedance and therefore wouldn't impact the system being hooked up in parallel to the stock ones. They make some that have an angle mount so they could be mounted somewhere on the dash. For that, I would want a mounting recommendation because I would be worried that I would mount them somewhere that might obstruct the airbags. Something like these:
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TST15-Soft-Dome-Tweeter/dp/B00009QORG/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1384224218&sr=1-3&keywords=tweeters
snail3
Member
I did try the Kicker KS40 4ohm in the front. It fitted without problem, plastic cup from stock speaker wont fit as described in gas spark forum. It sounded a lot louder for the same volume (don't know it's because of the lower speaker resistance) and high/mid are much better, no low on this this speaker unfortunately. The stock speaker has more lows maybe because the plastic cup it sits in helps? But then stock speaker high/mid sounded like mud if you compare with the Kicker speaker.
The front are too loud that I need to adjust the front/rear balance to get the right balance. I might try different aftermarket speaker since Kicker's highs are bit too sharp for me taste.
In the gas spark forum some people say 4ohm speaker can heat up the headunit more because more current flow back to headunit, but some people say the headunit can take 4~8ohm just fine.
The rear speaker are just standard 4x6 4ohm speaker, can anyone recommend any 4x6 with good bass response?
The front are too loud that I need to adjust the front/rear balance to get the right balance. I might try different aftermarket speaker since Kicker's highs are bit too sharp for me taste.
In the gas spark forum some people say 4ohm speaker can heat up the headunit more because more current flow back to headunit, but some people say the headunit can take 4~8ohm just fine.
The rear speaker are just standard 4x6 4ohm speaker, can anyone recommend any 4x6 with good bass response?
With regards to bass, there is another forum thread (http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3461&hilit=subwoofer) where they discussed a particular powered subwoofer with good results. The subwoofer is the Kenwood KSC-SW11:
http://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KSC-SW11-Compact-Enclosed-Subwoofer/dp/B00BO8O9XQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384310505&sr=8-1&keywords=Kenwood+KSC-SW11
http://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KSC-SW11-Compact-Enclosed-Subwoofer/dp/B00BO8O9XQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384310505&sr=8-1&keywords=Kenwood+KSC-SW11
snail3
Member
Is there some easier way to get bass from 4inch and 4x6inch speaker? Don't really want to add amp/subwoofer to this EV as they need to tap extra power from the battery. I don't need a lot of bass, but something better than stock then I am happy.
Pegasus
Well-known member
snail3 said:
The only thing you can do is put them in a larger cavity, which is what the cups are for on the stock speakers. But when it comes to bass, it's all about how much air you can move with the speaker cones. Some of the smaller under-seat subs are pretty power-efficient; take a look at their power draw before writing them off. E.g. the Kenwood one mentioned above maxes at 150W, average 75W, or 0.075 kW.
Pegasus
Well-known member
Snail3: Did you happen to see if there is a high-pass filter in line with any of the factory speakers?
I'm going to install a powered sub under the driver's seat and want to ensure that no low-end is sent to the factory speakers since they can't handle it anyway (and sound like crap if they try!)
I'm going to install a powered sub under the driver's seat and want to ensure that no low-end is sent to the factory speakers since they can't handle it anyway (and sound like crap if they try!)
scknogas
Active member
I've decided to replace all 4 speakers in the car, install a real Amp, and a subwoofer. It's a pricey upgrade considering the
1 - Alpine PDX-V9 - 5 channel Digital Amp
4 - Alpine SPR-50 - 5 1/4 Coaxial 2-way speakers
1 - Alpine SWR-8D4 - 8" Subwoofer
Plus labor, custom fabrication of iPhone/iPod cup holder dock and underseat subwoofer.
Will update with images when it's finished in 2 weeks. (My schedule not the shops...)
The shop - So Cal Custom in Encinitas
https://plus.google.com/102205383271319552263/about?gl=us&hl=en
http://www.yelp.com/biz/socal-custom-encinitas-3
1 - Alpine PDX-V9 - 5 channel Digital Amp
4 - Alpine SPR-50 - 5 1/4 Coaxial 2-way speakers
1 - Alpine SWR-8D4 - 8" Subwoofer
Plus labor, custom fabrication of iPhone/iPod cup holder dock and underseat subwoofer.
Will update with images when it's finished in 2 weeks. (My schedule not the shops...)
The shop - So Cal Custom in Encinitas
https://plus.google.com/102205383271319552263/about?gl=us&hl=en
http://www.yelp.com/biz/socal-custom-encinitas-3
