[Bobby Kinstle]

I knew because I put those exact same drivers in the front doors of my wife's 2014 outback. They have great clean bass, no overwhelming mid bass like the factory speakers did, and male and female vocals are super clear and prominent. Best $12 I ever spent on car audio. I'm seriously considering putting a pair in the back doors of my 2018 Audi S4.

That woofer pairs extremely well with this tweeter crossed over at 4K-4.5K

In retrospect, I think I should have put these in the back doors of the Ascent but at the time I didn't know the frequency range to that speaker was so limited. I need to run some sweeps on with my microphone and figure out what the back door bandwidth actually is.

 

[Luis Padilla]

It’s just incredible the performance you get out of these inexpensive looking driver.Your description is right on point Bobby.I have seen on the Audi forum where folks are using these as OEM replacements.I was thinking a pair in the back doors myself after sitting in the back seats and listening closely to them.The sound coming from the rear is horrible,its like they’re screaming...”help me ,please replace me”.

 

[Luis Padilla]

I knew because I put those exact same drivers in the front doors of my wife's 2014 outback. They have great clean bass, no overwhelming mid bass like the factory speakers did, and male and female vocals are super clear and prominent. Best $12 I ever spent on car audio. I'm seriously considering putting a pair in the back doors of my 2018 Audi S4.

That woofer pairs extremely well with this tweeter crossed over at 4K-4.5K

In retrospect, I think I should have put these in the back doors of the Ascent but at the time I didn't know the frequency range to that speaker was so limited. I need to run some sweeps on with my microphone and figure out what the back door bandwidth actually is.

One of the best tweeters dollar for dollar,I’ve used that same tweet with great success.

According to Parts Express the freq. response is 50hz-6000hz on the spec chart but in the detail section it’s 45hz-3000hz real world usage.

Going to purchase 2 pairs as back ups and probable future projects.

 

[Bobby Kinstle]

One of the best tweeters dollar for dollar,I’ve used that same tweet with great success.

According to Parts Express the freq. response is 50hz-6000hz on the spec chart but in the detail section it’s 45hz-3000hz real world usage.

When I used those in the outback I set the crossover point at 3KHz and it was too low. Thankfully I had a parametric EQ in the aftermarket Nav unit in there so I just set the 3KHz band to -6db and all was well. I really think you'll be a lot happier at 4KHz.

BTW They also sell the tweeter as a bare driver without the face plate if you find yourself highly space constrained.

https://www.parts-express.com/dayto...dome-neodymium-tweeter-element-4-ohm--275-053

 

[Bobby Kinstle]

It’s just incredible the performance you get out of these inexpensive looking driver.Your description is right on point Bobby.I have seen on the Audi forum where folks are using these as OEM replacements.I was thinking a pair in the back doors myself after sitting in the back seats and listening closely to them.The sound coming from the rear is horrible,its like they’re screaming...”help me ,please replace me”.

I'm currently engaged in an epic effort to find ways of improving the B9 B&O system. B&O really didn't do us any favors and made a lot of really strange design decisions that I just can't get my head around. They made the system SUPER BRIGHT but the midbass is just plain non existent and the subwoofer is boomy and sloppy. I'm probably going to do a public release on the Audi forums soon, but here's a preview if you are curious to see how far down the rabbit hole I've already gone. The areas that need the most improvement are also the areas they used strange drivers that are hard to replace.

For my own car, I'm about 90% certain I'll use that $6 driver in the rear doors and I would in the front doors if they were 8 ohm. Yea...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ftkRt8rz1ZgtTtAs-NRYAIkHbtRuhX2cu702CeuqhVs/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Luis Padilla]

Man that’s alot of speakers in the Audi.Sadly with so many drivers implemented in that vehicle and to get subpar performance is ridiculous.I don’t mind tearing down a car to get better sound but these newer vehicles are just mind boggling.BMW is probably the easiest as far as german vehicles go for replacement speakers without touching the processing part.Don’t know anything about the B/O system,Lexus’ Mark Levinson system is pretty decent and anything BOSE is too boomy with no clarity.

I’ve seen installers rip everything out of Audis and just start from scratch,2-3 way front ,processing ,coax in the rear and sub(s) in the trunk.When properly implemented can be very satisfying.

Gone are the days when you can just pick up a HU ,speakers and subs and be happy.My favorite setup consisted of a Alpine HU,7 band EQ,6.5” coax fronts,amp(s) and sub.Nowadays you have to watch what you disconnect b/c there are warning chimes,navigation,Bluetooth ,etc.

Wish you luck with the Audi project,you have your hands full.

 

[Luis Padilla]

Just the other day I was watching a YouTube video where some rep was giving a sound demo for JBL in a Camry.It amazes me how with some advertising and sale people using the demos as means to sell a car is astonishing.For some it doesn’t matter,”oh wow it sounds amazing,where do I sign?”.For others might be a deal breaker.

I’m thinking of picking up another vehicle ,something plain jane where the HU can swapped then add on from there.Relive my youth through car audio and satisfied knowing that I had my hands all over it.

 

[Bobby Kinstle]

Man that’s alot of speakers in the Audi.

Yea it's just silly. Every one of them is a cheap paper cone (except for the tweeters which are soft domes).

The B&O system in the B8 generation was much simpler and much better. I just replaced my sub and called it a day and I was quite happy. This time a bunch of engineers snorted some cocaine and rolled around in a bin full of speaker drivers until they couldn't fit any more in the car. The end result is super bright highs, thin tinny mids, NO midbass, and sloppy muddy sub bass with terrible recovery. And don't even think about turning the 3D effect on if your music has natural reverb in it. It's just painful. The B&O amp has custom EQ curves loaded that I can't change, as well as highly restricted frequency ranges that I also can't change. Believe me if I could lower both of the door woofers to 50hz I'd be so much happier. Even the grills are only open over the strangely shaped drives. The rest of the grilles are actually closed or entirely fake. At least I can get mounting parts for the Non B&O A4 which uses pretty normal components.

The one plus side is that there are so few drivers that work in the front door position that it's a short list of candidates. I really beat myself up over the subwoofer way too much.

 

[Luis Padilla]

I feel your pain,some years ago I was tasked to do a A6 (forgot what year). Actually wasn’t bad with the equipment install but taking it apart was a royal PITA.

This was a coworker so I cut him a break on the install and I made the recommends on the equipment which he bought.Then only to find out about 2 months later he was selling the vehicle.He mentioned how the vehicle was experiencing electrical issues,he kept going to a shade tree mechanic that probably didn’t understand Audis(BTW this was a issue with them back then).I advised him to see a trained Audi tech and let them sort it out but he played cheap and learned the hard way.

He concurred that it had nothing to do with the install and that’s all I needed to hear.From that day I vowed never to work on Audis again.I actually like the look of the newer Audis especially the A3 &
4’s,might actually get one when the funds are available.

 

[Bobby Kinstle]

The newer ones are a lot better to work on than some of the older models, say pre 2011. Taking my door panels off was a breeze. That being said, there are some things you can only fix at the dealership, especially the models with air suspension (Read: Never again).

Anyway, back on topic, I'm hoping this weekend I can find some time to unplug the under seat amp in the Ascent and see if I can figure out which of the channels it drives.

 

[Luis Padilla]

The newer ones are a lot better to work on than some of the older models, say pre 2011. Taking my door panels off was a breeze. That being said, there are some things you can only fix at the dealership, especially the models with air suspension (Read: Never again).

Anyway, back on topic, I'm hoping this weekend I can find some time to unplug the under seat amp in the Ascent and see if I can figure out which of the channels it drives.

Sounds good,please report back with your findings.Funny how our avatars look similar,except yours a day shot and mine is a night shot.

 

[Bobby Kinstle]

Sounds good,please report back with your findings.Funny how our avatars look similar,except yours a day shot and mine is a night shot.

LOL. I was just thinking the same thing this morning. Maybe I should park my car the other way.

 

[Luis Padilla]

LOL. I was just thinking the same thing this morning. Maybe I should park my car the other way.

It’s all good,not many people post the rear end of the vehicle as the main shot so that would be different

 

[Bobby Kinstle]

I ran some frequency sweeps in the car tonight. The back door rolls off sharply at 70Hz but does not roll off the highs. It's better than I thought, though I'd really preferred if they had kept it no higher than 50Hz if they really needed to roll the bass to keep the factory speaker from rattling. Being that this is in car there's going to be some signals from speakers other than the one I was measuring, but I tried holding the mic very close to the speaker and covering the others with towels.

NOTE: These are NOT the factory speakers. They are Pioneer TS-A series all around.

Front:
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Speakers/A-Series/TS-A692C

Rear:
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Speakers/A-Series/TS-A1370F

I also played with the tone controls. Bass adjusts 100hz and below. Mid adjusts 500-2000Hz with a strong center at 1KHz, and treble adjusts 5K and up.

 

[Luis Padilla]

Good work,interesting your findings.The roll off in rears isn’t too bad I thought it would be higher.

I’m about to dig into the rear doors,going to try out some Polks I got from Crutchfield and if I don’t like them I have a pair of the $5 drivers from Parts Express on standby.

 

[Kevin Williams]

I've always loved my Polk's in the car. Went ahead and just ordered the RF upgrade but now wondering if I should have taken the time/effort for the Polks!

 

[Luis Padilla]

They were cheap,only $60 shipped with speaker brackets and terminal adapters(free shipping).

Got them in ,the sound is cleaner.With the cutoffs mentioned above you’re not gonna get the bass like fronts provide.Having real tweeters compared to the OEM whizzers do make a difference with the timbre of the music .

I will be trying the $5 drivers from Parts Express and do a comparison when time allows.Need to purchase some Fast Rings to help with any water penetration.

 

[Luis Padilla]

Foam baffles added with the backs cut out

 

[Bobby Kinstle]

I will be trying the $5 drivers from Parts Express and do a comparison when time allows.Need to purchase some Fast Rings to help with any water penetration.

Since those drivers top out at 6KHz and the rear door does go full range on the high frequency, I'm going to suggest that you are probably better off with the coaxial polk speakers. The $5 PE driver probably won't have highs any better than the factory speaker (the rest will be better )

 

[Luis Padilla]

The Polks are a keeper,thank you all for your input.