She has 4 6x8 Kenwood Excelon KFC-X688C's that we can move from her '95 Pathfinder, as well as a Kenwood powered subwoofer KSC-WA82RC. I was thinking about putting the four 6x8's in the four doors and removing the OEM 6x9's in the rear deck. That way the rear deck 6x9's won't "get in the way" of the subwoofer in the trunk. Also, by removing the 6x9's, I could put an "amp board" under the rear deck for a future 4 channel amp, Sirius tuner, etc. The specs on the speakers are:

6x8's:frequency response 30-32,000 Hz
recommended power range 2-55 watts RMS
peak power handling 220 watts
sensitivity 92 dB

powered 8" sub:frequency response 20Hz-1kHz
rated output power 60 watts
peak power output 100 watts

Some of my questions are:
1) Will 6x8's fit in rear doors?
2) Will I find speaker wiring in rear doors even though there are no OEM speakers there?
3) Is removing the OEM 6x9's from rear deck a good idea?
4) Will the factory head unit sound OK with these speakers? If not should I add an LOC and add an amp to drive the four 6x8's in the doors? If so, what rating should it be?
5) With this level of quality speakers in the doors, will the 8" powered subwoofer even make a "dent" in the bass sound?
6) Should I replace the 6x9's in the rear with Kenwood Excelon 6x9's of comparable quality to the 6x8's? If so, should I leave the rear doors alone?
7) Should I just put the better Kenwood 6x8's in the front doors and move the Mazda OEM 6x8's (from front doors) to the rear doors for "fill"? If so, should I leave or remove the OEM 6x9's in the rear deck?

 

Originally posted by GolfDad


1) Will 6x8's fit in rear doors?

Not without modification (metal cutting)

2) Will I find speaker wiring in rear doors even though there are no OEM speakers there?

I'm 85% sure the answer is no, there will be no wiring

3) Is removing the OEM 6x9's from rear deck a good idea?

Tough to tell unless you try. Sometime this lets more bass from the trunk into the car, sometimes it makes little if any difference at all. Really depends on too many factors to say "yes" or "no"

4) Will the factory head unit sound OK with these speakers? If not should I add an LOC and add an amp to drive the four 6x8's in the doors? If so, what rating should it be?

Adding an amp is ALWAYS better. Always. More power, and a dedicated source for it. And the stock head unit is pitiful on power. If it is in the budget, absolutely go for it. For aftermarket speakers, something 35 watts per channel and up should do pretty well - and more power is almost always cleaner power and therefore better. It's tough to make a 25 watt amp sound good when pushing all 25 watts, but very easy for a 75 watt amp to push the same 25 watts (clean, and undistorted). I do not think the stock speakers are rated to handle more than 25 watts.

5) With this level of quality speakers in the doors, will the 8" powered subwoofer even make a "dent" in the bass sound?

Again - tough to tell. But I can say that the 8" sub and amp combo in the MazdaSpeed Protege is quite impressive for its size, and makes a very large "dent" . However, I would think that a decent 10" sub and amp combo will sound better than that Kenwood unit - and it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

6) Should I replace the 6x9's in the rear with Kenwood Excelon 6x9's of comparable quality to the 6x8's? If so, should I leave the rear doors alone?

Replacing the rear deck speakers with something better will definitely help, especially if using an amp to power them. Kenwood Excelons are *aight*, but there are far better choices for your money - my opinion. You can spend less, and get more with other brands. And for basic sound reproduction, the rear door locations are pretty terrible. They are very blocked and barely audible from the front seats. If soundstage is not your concern, I'd just upgrade the 6x9's. Though most people will tell you that a good set of component speakers (or even coaxials) in the front doors and a sub is the best way to go - with no rear fill at all. Keeps the sound up front where it belongs. But if you want to use rear speakers (which is fine, BTW), I would stick to the rear deck - far better location.

7) Should I just put the better Kenwood 6x8's in the front doors and move the Mazda OEM 6x8's (from front doors) to the rear doors for "fill"? If so, should I leave or remove the OEM 6x9's in the rear deck?

Personally, I think this would be more work than it is worth.

What I would do, for a very good budget setup, is this:

Replace the front speakers with something you like, be it a 6x8 coaxial, 6.5" round coaxial (requires adapter plates - easily made or available), or 6.5" components (separate tweeter and woofer). Using a four channel amplifier, run those speakers from the front channels, and use the remaining two channels bridged mono to a sub in the trunk - maybe a 10" or 12". Ignore the rear speakers as far as sound, and remove the deck speakers if it helps pull the bass into the cabin. Otherwise, just leave them as is, and use the head unit's power to run them.

a setup like this could be bought for only a few hundred dollars, and would be an excellent sounding, budget-minded, simple, reliable system. And FYI - some companies are now making 6x8 component speakers - Infinity being one of them. Separate 6x8" woofer, tweeter, and passive crossover. They might be a bit pricey, as I'd expect them to be hard to find at discount online retailers (too new). But it's a nice option to have.

Hope this helps some - keep posting if you have any further questions.

~HH

 

You can put one pair of 6x8's in the doors up front (perfect fit) and get an adaptor to fit the other 6x8's in the rear deck of the LX since it's not much smaller than the 6X9 speakers. And of course the powered sub will work in the trunk.

As far as how much bass, depends on how much a person wants. For some a single 12" isn't enough. Since you already have the powered sub, I would put it in and see how it sounds. I agree with HH on not removing the 6x8's Mazda factory speakers in the door to the rear deck. Not worth the hassle. You can also run the deck power to the rear speakers and get a 30watts x 2 channel amp for the front speakers (so that the rear doesn't take away from the front soundstage much like a home stereo set up) and she will have a nice sounding system. Wish my folks would do something as nice when I was her age. They just told me to get a job!

Mister T

 

Thanks guys! Knowing that the rear deck is a better location than rear doors (and cutting metal is not my thing), I'll try the Kenwood Excelon 6x8's in the front doors first. and see how that sounds (with stocks in rear deck). Then I'll wire up the 8" subwoofer and see what that does to the sound. Then, I'll wire the second set of Kenwood Excelon 6x8's in the rear deck. I can then see what that does to it. I can adjust the rear down with the fader on the head unit. So far I haven't spent any money, just moving stuff!

If the Kenwood Excelon 6x8's in the rear deck don't sound any better than the stocks in the rear deck, I'll move the Kenwood Excelon 6x8's back to the Pathfinder's front doors (it will help it sell) and go to a 2 channel amp for the front's in the Protege. I can always upgrade the subwoofer later!

Questions: What would be a good 2-channel amp for the Kenwood Excelon 6x8's?

What is a good online website or chain store to get the 6x8 speaker to 6x9 "hole" adapter bracket?

Thanks!!!!

 

Originally posted by GolfDad

Questions: What would be a good 2-channel amp for the Kenwood Excelon 6x8's?

There are so many choices, it's scary. However, I just recently bought two Lanzar Vibe amps for my car, and am very pleased with them, especially since they are a HUGE value. I don't know how much RMS power the excelon's take, but you can buy a 2 x 150 watt Lanzar Vibe (model 228) for only $85 shipped at www.ikesound.com . I use the Vibe 428 (4 channel) and 248 (2 channel) and don't know what else even comes close for the price.

If you think there is still the chance you will upgrade the subwoofer, you can still consider a 4 channel amplifier. There's no harm in using only two channels for now, and leaving two open. At the price the Lanzar amps sell for, it's almost silly NOT to buy more power and channels than you need. The Vibe 428 is 125 watts x 4, which is more than enough for your front speakers, and would leave about 250 watts if you bridged the rear channels for a sub in the future. And it's only $130 shipped, also from Ike. I use this exact amp, and it pushes my Infinity speakers very very nicely.

What is a good online website or chain store to get the 6x8 speaker to 6x9 "hole" adapter bracket?

Hmmm.....not too sure on that one. I'm not even 100% sure a bracket like this is made (most adapters available are to fit round speakers in an oval opening, as far as I know). You may want to call Crutchfield and see what they've got - might not even be on the website, so better to call them. If you can't find them, it'd be very simple to make them yourself - all you'd need is a jigsaw and some MDF.

One other suggestion - consider "overdoing" the wiring when you hook up the powered subwoofer. That unit might not need 4 or 8 gauge wiring, but it doesn't hurt. And if you decide to upgrade the sub later on, your power wiring will already be plenty sufficient for a higher-wattage amplifier.

~HH

 

I would just put the 6X8's in the front and then put the 6x8's in the rear deck with an adapter. I really would not bother with the rear doors , cause when people sit back there , their feet will block the music. Instead , for imaging put a set of tweeters in the back doors. and then get a good amp and crossover. Crossover all the speakers and tune them with the crossover.

Then add the bass. Cross that over also and phase it to match your 4 audio speakers.

Damn I am really starting to rember audio set up's .. lol

turbo mind + audio set up mind = deadly mind
Bruce

 

Yeah man - I was about to comment that I can't remember the last time you had something to say about audio! Other than turbo whine, of course .

~HH