ooh look its another request for help....

[marco]

Guys i wondered if anyone could help and give advice.

I am looking to improve the sound quality of my system, and was thinking of getting new speakers for the front, ditching the rear ones (so hopefully better stereo sound) and possibly an amp. I have a set of JM labs for my home hifi, so will probably go for some focal components (13cm is the stock size for the FD isnt it?), as i guess their driver quality must be os similar standard to the hifi drivers. However I am stuck as to which amp i need, and if i want one at all. will a decent aftermarket headunit give enough juice or will it not be upto the job, and if not what are good manufacturers? or is it a case of so long as they pump out enough power they are all pretty much of a muchness, as you wont be able to hear the difference due to road noise etc etc? If this is the case can the same be said for the speakers- so would i be better off just getting some cheaper components and an amp, rather than spending more and being able to hear the improvement?

I am pretty upto speed with regard to home stereo, but car audio is a bit of a mystry to me, and looking through some of the car audio forums has just got me confused! So any help will be greatly appriciated!

[elford_tim]

You definitely do want a decent amp as most headunit power ratings either belong into fantasy land or can only be achieved at serious distortion levels.

The 13 cm stock size for the front keeps creeping up, I don\'t know where from - all mounting plates that I\'ve seen for FDs take 16cm (you need to be very careful about that as 17cm/6.5" definitely won\'t fit into the door without major surgery.

I\'ve currently got a set of JL Audio VR600 CS components in the car and they do sound quite reasonable (which is what I\'d expect, given that I\'ve got both an SQ head unit and amp). You\'ve got to be a bit careful with your choice of speakers when it comes to mounting depth as well as you\'ve only got space for a 6mm before most speakers hit the doorcard. And you don\'t have much in the way of mounting depth either lest the window hits the magnet... IME you should be able to fit speakers with approx 70mm mounting depth with a 6mm baffle if you cut out the water tray and improvise your own splash guard.

As to amps, I\'ve picked up a bit of a Genesis addiction over on Talkaudio . I\'m driving the comps in my car off a Genesis ST100, which is more than powerful enough for this application. Lovely sound as well - if you like the \'brit high-end\' warm sound. They\'re rather expensive new but you can pick them up for very reasonable money secondhand on ebay. The ST100 can be bolted to the back of the rear seat quite easily; the cheaper and more Genesis alternative - the Profile 2 - won\'t fit. And given that there isn\'t much difference on the secondhand prices, I\'d go for something like an ST100/SM100 which are their higher-end model anyway.

[marco]

thanks for the advice.

now bare with me as i havent actually got the rx with me so cant take the door panel off;- can i get some 16cm (that are shallow enough) and just bolt them straight in, similarly what about 13cm? i was hoping to hunt down a set that i could just fit without any/ minimal fabrication required!

will keep an eye out for the genesis amps, quite a few profile ones pop up on ebay, but none of the others- i guess the owners want to keep their hold of them!

cheers

Adrian