BRZ audio upgrade, 3-way components?
 

So, with stock audio in my BRZ, I feel like I'm missing part of my hearing...

Solution: get new speakers.

Goal: New 3-way speakers installed in front, no sub (need my trunk space and 6.5 door woofers should be plenty for me). Leaning heavily towards passive crossovers since active would require a lot more time/money.

Questions:
Are CDT and Hertz are the ony 2 companies which still make 3-ways? I am wondering which one I should get for the least amount of fabrication.

Hertz HSK-163 vs HSK-163L.5: There is about a $150 price difference between the two, but I can't beind the L.5 version on their website. Is this just an older version? is it just as good, or is the regular 163 way better?

I'll be using stock HU for now, but may upgrade to a Pioneer NEX at a later date. Thoughts on just getting an amp w/ line-level inputs, or should I get a line level converter (thinking a 2ch would be sufficient i using passive xovers?)

Dealing with 3-way is such a pain in the a$$...


Another option, get decent 2-ways, but w/o a sub, I'm worried that it won't sound as good and that I'll lose some sound stage/range/fidelity/etc.)

I went with precision power for 3 ways. They were just under $300 if I remember right. Started doing everything yesterday actually (making a custom sub box in place of spare tire and doing reverse camera at same time, so won't have everything done for a couple more days). I am using the stock head unit as well.

To be exact, this is what I am installing:
o Precision Power PPI PC3.65C Front Speakers
o Precision Power i350.2 Amplifier
o Precision Power PPI.A12SQ Subwoofer
o Precision Power i650.1 Amplifier

After materials, wires, speakers, amps, reverse camera.. grand total for my "makeover" is just under $750.

I'll let you know how they sound if you want when I am done.

As stated above, PPI makes 3 ways. JL Audio, HAT, Focal and Morel have 3 way setups as well.

A number of companies offer three way component sets.

I'm looking at doing two ways. 3.5 in the dash and 6.5 in the door. It's cheaper than going with a three way, even though the door speaker wouldn't use its tweeter.

How are you going to power them? Straight off the OEM head unit and door speaker amp? Keep in mind the door speaker amp is 2 ohm and most speakers are 4 ohm, so you'll be losing about half of its rated power. I'm going to get two of [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VVYL46/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3QWSZ44N 8P3XH]these[/ame]. One to run 45x4 RMS for the dash and rear speakers, and one bridged at 90x2 RMS for the doors. They have a small footprint and a low power draw, so placement and wiring in the vehicle shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I've got a Kicker PX200.1 (200W RMS at 0.5 Ohms, 4-3/4" x 3-1/2" x 2") and a CompVT 8 (3-3/8" mounting depth) for a sub. I'm going to start glassing in a box in the passenger footwell this weekend.

I'll be running it with an amp, not off the HU. Hmmm, wouldn't using a 2-way 3.5" component in the front mated to a 2 way 6.5" component in the door (minus the tweeter) result in basically an active setup? Tuning and powering an active setup is something I'd like to avoid due to space restrictions and time to install. I was thinking more along the lines of just dropping in a 3-way, getting an adapter or splicing the HU speaker outputs to the amp, and only having to run a few audio cables to the trunk where the amp will be installed.

I noticed that the factory amp location for the OEM Audio system (is there even a factory amp?) is located in the rear. Is it already pre-wired? or no wires at all? taking out all the interior is something I could do, but would rather not deal with... Although I know how to do all this and have done it all before on my STi, I am short on time these days, and just to do it as fast as possible.

The dash and door speakers are not connected in any way, other than both receiving a signal from the HU. The door speakers are run from the amp in the trunk, the dash and rear speakers are run from the HU. So technically it's already an active setup. Where our system lacks is the balance/fader control available from the OEM HU.

I'm going to put one amp behind the dash for those four speakers, and one amp in the trunk for the door speakers. The sub amp will be attached to the box. I'm going to make a simple first order crossover system for the other speakers, to high pass the dash and rears at 150 Hz and the doors at 60 Hz. The sub will play from 20-100 Hz.

Oh, nice. Didn't know that. Where are you placing your behind-the-dash amp?? This may be simpler than expected if that's the case.

Also, since there's an amp in the trunk already, is there a way to simply replace that amp w/ another one to power better woofers? Will stock wiring handle the power (~100w?), or do I have to route new cables? Or can the factory amp drive the door woofers? 2ohm?4ohm?

As for the front, I guess if the woofers are driving by the factory amp/HU, then I can just adjust the amp powering the aftermarket fronts to match right?

The factory amp in the rear is wired for mono sound and outputs at 33Wrms (way too low for good components), so just pull it out and put a small amp there.

I don't have the two 4ch amps yet, that's on my to-do list. I do have the sub and sub amp, so that's first. It'll probably go behind the radio though. They're not very big.

You can use the OEM wiring for the door amp. There's a thread or two around here about doing just that. One potential issue is power, because it draws power from the HU instead of from the battery. You may need to run your own power. That's all addressed in the other threads though. I would try using the OEM amp first; it may work just fine for your needs. It's a 2 ohm amp, so you'll be losing half your power unless you can find 2 ohm 6.5" speakers. If you do and they're not very much money, let me know.

If you're running the fronts and rears on their own amp, or running the doors on their own aftermarket amp, you'll be able to adjust the mains independently from the doors. If you want to do it nice but still maintain the OEM HU, an active crossover will be very beneficial. I'll be doing a minimal install, so I'll be making my own passive crossover network with L-pads to balance the audio. Easier to do is an aftermarket HU that provides proper fading and balancing.

Thanks. I'm mobile at the moment and couldn't look up specific numbers.

Ah, okay. Are the wires going back there pre-amp lines so I can just get an adapter to make them into rcas? Is the signal stereo or mono? If it's not crossed over at the hu, might as well run full range in the doors too! Mid/high overkill....

As for 2ohm... There's a Kicker 6.5" subwoofer that's 1-ohm... if the factory amp is 33w per channel @ 2ohm, I wonder if it can drive the 1ohm kicker speakers, which are 100 or 150rms?

I'll look into the wiring stuff later tonight if I have time. Thanks for the info.

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

The wires going back there are mono and are for the "subwoofers" (:lol:) in the doors.

If you're going to upgrade to a NEX unit, go on and do so. Otherwise, you're just going to uselessly invest in a line converter you won't need or want when you get the NEX unit.

In that case, go full monty: subwoofer in trunk, 3-ways in the front, and 3.5" coaxials in the back, and a 5ch amp.

Have you thought of the system from eom audio? I love mine, sound is crisp and accurate. In addition it's specifically tuned for the car and is plug and play so all the factory wire stays the same. Probably close in price once you add up all you will need. I installed my reference system in just under 4 hrs.

Yeah, I've looked at it. The thing is, I don't need a sub... I was trying to get away with just 3-way components and a 2ch amp, or a pair of 2-ways and a 4ch amp. and use a LC for now. It should be about half the cost of the OEM Audio system or less.

Another problem is that their crossover/amp is not adjustable, so when I do upgrade to an aftermarket HU, the OEM Audio speakers will be out of balance and I'll need to send it back to them to get adjusted. I don't even know if it will accept inputs from RCA either.