Replacing old speakers with New Quality ones (to accompany my new iPOD)!!

Started by AMG69, 23 February 2006, 10:02 PM

AMG69

I own a 450SEL and Styria has fixed me up with a restored Becker Mexico Casette radio; I want to upgrade the speakers but without "defacing" the interior; Can anyone recommend the BEST new speakers to replace the factory ones with?  I'm no audiophile so I'll need Brand and type etc!!
sigh....sitting back contemplating the next purchase..!

Denis

Hello fellows

There is nothing special about those small speaker sizes. The size is commonly used in German cars (VW, Audi, etc) and there are definitely quality speakers in that size.

The "best" speaker is a matter of personal taste and preferred music, I could say "Focal" is the best car speaker but then I'm french  ;D

Seriously, they are really very good if a bit pricey but that is just like a Mercedes isn't it ?

Take a look at http://www.focal.tm.fr/accueil_en.htm

For really good sound, a subwoofer in the trunk is unbeatable as there are physical limitations on what small speakers can do (physically, little cones that dont move much cannot create big slow "bass" waves).

Good luck

Denis

Paris, France

John Hubertz

If I recall, the biggest issue on using an original becker head unit is that the speakers must be 4 instead of 8 ohms.  Don't make the mistake of putting conventional 8ohm speakers in.
John Hubertz
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
(Hunter S. Thompson) 

1977 450SEL (Max Headroom)
[img width=68 height=73][url="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/fullhappyfish/max.jpg"]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/fullhappyfish/max.jpg[/url][/img]

BAR

I have done some investigation into this.  The difficulty is getting a pair of speakers to suit the front mounting holes [they need to be small and not very deep] which also provide good quality.

You will find many brands that can be utilised here, Sony, Panasonic, Blaupunkt [?] and others.  Try to stay with better known Japanese or European brands and then spend as much as your budget can accomodate.  The cheapest Sony's I have seen are about Aust $ 50.00 [single cone speaker] and you can spend $300 for dual cone units.  As a rule of thumb, the bigger the magnet the better the sound.  However there is only so much space available to you in the dash mounting.

As for the rears, again, you'll need to get dual cone units should you wish to maintain a flush mount solution.  You can buy split units, where there is a small 4 or 5 cm 'tweeter' unit that can be mounted on the 'C Pillar' or the rear parcel shelf.  Another solution is to buy the separate 'boxes' and place larger speakers into them and mount these onto the parcel shelf: generally these are grey vinyl and can be spay painted to match your carpet or body colour [or anything else].

By goinmg to larger untis you will improve the overall sound quality. As for myself, I went into Jaycar electronics and spent a bit of time inspecting all their speakers and found a very good pair of dual cone speakers for the front and a pair of splits for the rear.  The cost is less than for Sony and sound quality is good: one just doesn't get all the deluxe packaging and fitting instructions or any wire, just raw speakers - so only pay for what one needs.