Replacement Speakers, good value?

[manutdfan]

I have no clue on speakers systems for cars, I have a corsa b which currently has the standard speakers installed and they are pretty crap loud volumes are just not possible as goes all crackly.

I'm a student so hence don't have much money to spend I was thinking of putting about £50 in to improve it, now I'm not exactly sure what is best to go for to improve sound by the most. I was looking on ebay and saw this kit to adapt front door speakers.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vauxhall-Corsa...QQcmdZViewItem

Just not sure whether this is good value or not, as all I know about speakers is the higher the wattage the more power can be put through so you can get a louder sound.

Thanks
Aaron

Edit:

Just been looking on car audio sites for speakers, what is RMS? is it the normal power output because I've seen a set that has 50W RMS and 100W peak and another with 35W RMS and 210W peak.

Not really sure which will sound better, will the first be better at lower volumes and the second at higher?

[j17sparky]

Dont know ho9w good corsa speakers are but quite often your amplification stage is the limiting factor. Wallsopi (sp) has done plenty of guides, have a search.

[wallopsri]

as suggested,
have a read,
if still a little unsure post links to items your considering, will offer advice based on items selected.

a few audio questions answered.

EDIT; searched for these speakers, found a few sets going at £20 + post, then the adapters would set you back approx £15 from any autoleads stockist,(halfrauds or similar), so a bin of £55.90p would seem a rip off to me.

[wallopsri]

Edit:

Just been looking on car audio sites for speakers, what is RMS? is it the normal power output because I've seen a set that has 50W RMS and 100W peak and another with 35W RMS and 210W peak.

Not really sure which will sound better, will the first be better at lower volumes and the second at higher?

in basic terms;

peak power---wildly optimistic figures dreamed up to entice interest in a product,(if no evidence of a RMS figure shown in specs, my advice is to walk away, the item is probably pants).

RMS---this is what the product will either handle,(speakers), or output,(amplifier), for an extended period of time,(no industry wide standard so test periods do vary between manufacturers, unless the item is CEA rated).

power ratings---figures for amps are output, figures for speakers are input.


with regard absolute output from a system---this depends on all manner of variables, but as a basic rule, go for speakers with a high sensitivity,(90dB plus if using an amp, 93dB plus if not).

[<tcc>]

what head unit are you running? most speakers sound like sh1te with the original corsa b head units, upgrading that instead of the speakers might be the answer

[caliscotia]

Totally agree with post above,a high power head unit 1st,then add a set of 5 inch 2 ways,or preferably 5 inch components,for a better sound,you can get good deals from the manufacturers entry priced units now,try motorworld,halfords,your local ice specialist,prices are rock bottom now compared to the early 90 s ,an example of this ,i paid &#163;500 for an alpine 7817r head unit in 1993,you can get the same spec as this unit now from alpine for &#163;100,good luck with your sounds manu fan,fae a gers fan,,,

[<tcc>]

yep, halfrauds stock radios from 89.99 upwards IIRC, all of them will up the sound quality as they tend to have 4x45W-4x50W power outputs in general, which is a whole lot more go for your dough than what you get as standard

[wallopsri]

what head unit are you running? most speakers sound like sh1te with the original corsa b head units, upgrading that instead of the speakers might be the answer

yes, fitting an after market headunit may well improve sound quality, but the improvement at higher volume will be minimal.

Totally agree with post above,a high power head unit 1st,then add a set of 5 inch 2 ways,or preferably 5 inch components,for a better sound,you can get good deals from the manufacturers entry priced units now,try motorworld,halfords,your local ice specialist,prices are rock bottom now compared to the early 90 s ,an example of this ,i paid &#163;500 for an alpine 7817r head unit in 1993,you can get the same spec as this unit now from alpine for &#163;100,good luck with your sounds manu fan,fae a gers fan,,,

by definition there is no such thing as a ,"high power headunit", the difference in output power between say a 4x 40watt and a 4x 60watt headunit is around 3 to 5watts rms,(simply check the onboard fuse, it will be 10amps on both units).

the only way to increase output and improve sound quality is to drive all speakers using external amplification.

yep, halfrauds stock radios from 89.99 upwards IIRC, all of them will up the sound quality as they tend to have 4x45W-4x50W power outputs in general, which is a whole lot more go for your dough than what you get as standard

its not really the higher output of these units which improve sound quality, its simply down to higher grade components used to make them.

an example to try and explain using two headunits that i have used;

Question---which will supply the best output at high volume?

Alpine CDA-9855r---4x50watts fused at 10amps with a nice flashy graphical display panel driving front & rear speakers...

Becker mexico pro---4x18watts,(rms), fused at 10amps with a lcd display driving front & rear speakers....


Answer---the Becker wins because it has more available power for its internal amp,(both units are fused at 10amps, but the Alpine requires more power to drive its flashy display panel which in turn restricts the available voltage/current available to the amp).

most stock speakers have an input rating of around 25watts rms, most headunits can deliver approx 15watts rms before internal voltage drop causes signal degradation/clipping,(this figure drops if using things like cd changers or i-pod interfaces), so in the quest for higher output with better quality, buy an amp, it may work out cheaper.

[<tcc>]

i stand corrected

[wallopsri]

i stand corrected

not corrected, simply advised by a person who isn't trying to sell you anything .

for most people an amp supplying 50watts rms per channel is plenty enough, some sq fairies i know reckon 35watts rms per channel is enough,(and they still win comps ), its all down to personal preference and tbh i've listened to a few cars running low output that simply sound stunning.

but i prefer a bit more power,(currently running a 4ch amp at 2ohm's giving a healthy 4x 150watts rms ), with a nice round 1200watts rms of pure bass lmao