TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Has anyone identified aftermarket tweeters that fit in the OE locations? I haven't removed the "A" pillar panels (not sure how) and don't know what the OE tweeter dimensions and cone diameter are. If anyone has that info, I'd be interested in learning it.

Thanks!

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Anybody know for sure if this OE info is correct?

1.0" tweeter
mounting Depth: 0.75"
diameter: 2"

xseveredveganx

They just pop out. Grab the top and bottom, PULL! They'll pop right out.
I replaced my OEM pieces with JL Audio XR-650CSi components. They sound great and it all looks stock. The tweets popped in similarly to how the OEM pieces did. I could've used the buckets that came with the JL's, but I wanted my front stage to appear cleaner.
The grilles on the A-pillar panels come off, too. So you can probably use any tweeter available. There's the exceptions (like the Hybrid Audio Technologies compset I want but don't have $600 for...) though.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

Thanks ! Do you have any sense of how the sound changed from the OE to the JL tweeters?

xseveredveganx

I deadened the door skins with a singler layer of Dampliifer Pro, added the JL component set, and add a 2 channel amplifier to them all in the same day. :D
All in all, I think everything is much better. The highs are nice and crisp, not harsh at all. I think my midbass could be improved a bit, but I'm pretty sure I can improve that by more deadening and what not.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

I've been trying to figure out what's going on with my setup. I'm just auditioning two receivers and though I've pretty much ruled out one of them, I'll be adding another in a couple days. I'm trying to figure out what problems are associated with the head units Vs speakers Vs resonances.

I just tried throwing thick towels in front of the two tweeters so as to narrow it down to my door coaxs. I'm definitely hearing honkiness with vocals (ie midrange) and it's really bothering me. I previously added deadening to the outer skin, but putting my hand on the inner panel adjacent the speakers, I can feel vibration, particularly during significant midrange content (together with some during deep bass.) So I'm thinking I need to add deadener to the back of the inner panel, at least in the region of the speakers.

I also noticed that when I remove the towels, and trim back the treble to maintain balance, there actually appears to be an increase in honkiness. Makes me wonder if the tweeter is contributing some in that frequency range.

xseveredveganx

You may even want to deaden the actual door panel itself. I know I'm planning on doing that in the future.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

That's actually what I meant by "inner" panel, the plastic one adjacent the occupants (guess I used the wrong term .) I did that today for the two front doors -- went from the door bottom up to the top of the armrest, and from the door leading edge to the back of the door pocket.

It's made a BIG difference -- seems to have removed/attenuated a host of resonances and the sound quality is tremendously improved. Interestingly, when I uncovered the tweeters and rebalanced the treble again, nothing unfriendly was added, and the highs open up nicely. Guess the OE tweeters are not at fault after all . I'm now going to do the same thing with the rear panels since they must still be emitting the very same garbage the fronts were. (I deadened the lower portions of both outer skins back when I installed the speakers.)

xseveredveganx

Nice!!! I'm glad to hear that solved some of your problems!

BTW, what headunit are you using? I have the Premier DEH-P980BT. It's a great deck, but I don't much care for the iPod integration. It's too slow. OEM Scion stuff is much faster.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

I'm still trying to decide. I'm currently comparing an Alpine CDA-9884 Vs an Eclpse CD3100, and thus far prefer the Alpine, but tomorrow I'm expecting a Kenwood KDC-X692 and I'll see how that stacks up. That's how I ran into this dilemma -- if other portions of the acoustic system aren't behaving properly, then I really can't evaluate the sonics of the different receivers -- and sonics are my number one priority. I'll get the rear doors done and have another listening check before moving to the Kenwood.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

I guess this is one of those tricky situations. After dampening my rear door "inside" panels, I found the improvement was substantial, and proceeded to damp the remainder of the front doors (ie. going beyond the areas I mentioned earlier.) Unfortunately, I still wasn't fully sold on either the Alpine or the Eclipse, though I'd say the Alpine still had the advantage.

Today, the Kenwood arrived and after giving it a chance to settle in, it clearly beats the other two relative to CD and FM playback (my foci.) However, as I don't have an iPod, I've no way of evaluating performance with such (both sonic and operational). Still, if you're interested in trying an alternative to your current HU, I suggest the Kenwood X692 or X792 are worth a shot. I (for one), would certainly be interested in what you thought !

xseveredveganx

I've always been a huge fan of Kenwood's product. I had a flip out DVD screen prior to the Premier. The arm that flipped it up broke off. So I traded my buddy for the Premier.
I know if I ever get the $$$, I'll pick up the DNX8120. :D Navigation, crazy EQ, time alignment, iPod video, etc. It's all I'd ever want in a decent SQ headunit.
I've never owned an Eclipse deck. I know their older units with the 8volt and 16volt ( ) preouts were supposed to be THE unit to get.
I've owned 1 Alpine headunit. It was good, but it's still in the truck that it was in, that I sold. If that says anything.

TrevorS

iTrader: (1)

The Alpine and Eclipse will be shipping back tomorrow! The KDC-X692 will get more time since I only received it yesterday. I'm getting interested in the KDC-X792 for sonics, but the $300 price is way higher than I want to go -- already have to pay $75 for the steering wheel control adapter and $20 for the iPod adapter . I want to stay under $300 total!

I installed a Kenwood cassette receiver and single disc CD deck in my old Eclipse last April and they do very well. However, I didn't add any dampening and after this experience, I'm thinking I probably should. Unfortunately, there's not much left !

peteman

Alpine SPX-17PRO look great! I just installed them.
I bit of filling but fit and look better than OEM.