Best car speakers for drum corps music?

[JTE]

Just a few words of advice on this topic…

I too have been measuring the quality of my car “system” by its ability to replicate the sounds of Drum Corps. There are a few basic things to think about that easily get over looked when trying to upgrade car stereo systems. It takes more than just one pair of nice speakers to achieve the quality of sound that you are looking for. First of all your music will sound only as good as the receiver that produces it. There are very few factory head units that produce the clarity that mid to upper range aftermarket cd/mp3 players have. Depending on the years…some of the older DCI recordings require you to turn up the volume really high to listen to any music played at or below mf. Most aftermarket radios include provide ample power to aftermarket speakers as well as RCA outputs to add external amps at a later time. Most factory speakers are designed to work with your factory head unit and often use different impedance (ohms) than aftermarket speakers. You greatly increase your risk of blowing your speakers when you mismatch factory head units and speakers. I would also suggest going with a high quality set of component speakers for your front staging. Infinity makes some really great well priced, great sounding speakers. I defiantly would go with the Kappa series if you have the additional money to spend. I would also suggest the Polk db series or MB Quarts. My personal favorites are Boston Acoustics Pro series! Man… oh man the clarity is awesome. They are over $500 though. Another big mistake in my opinion is spending allot of money on rear speakers. There are some people that might not agree with me, but my logic goes as such… When you go listen to any live music performance what direction is a majority of the sound come from? The front! Rear speaker are for fill and fill only. I guess they are also great for someone who sits in the back seat, but as far as staging goes for the driver …they are for fill only. I also highly recommend the addition of some form of sub-woofer/bass box. In my opinion, you NEED a sub woofer to reproduce the impact lows of the contra-bass/tuba as well as the percussion section.

One final word of advice regardless of what you buy…if you replace any component of your factory system then you need to tune your system. This becomes much more important the more extreme that you get IE amps and subs. What I like to do is turn off all active eq settings and set treble and bass settings at the mid point (allot of receivers it is stated as the number 0). At this point turn up your volume to maybe just a tad louder than you would ever listen to it and then tune your settings in. Most people do it the other way around at lower volume settings. The problem with that is that it sounds great at low volumes, but when you really crank up the volume the music distorts and you blow your speakers. If my post makes no sense or leaves you with more questions than answers then just go talk to car stereo installation specialist. Make sure you talk to an install person not a sales person. 

[MiamiSun76]

If you get the chance, I'd fit the car to the music. I bought my Nissan Maxima to get the Bose premium system. Great as it is, it's still a 2:1 system. There are several surround sound systems out now. The JBL 5:1 in the new Toyota Avalon is awesome. I've read great things about the coming Chrysler Sebring with a Harmon Kardon 5:1. You don't need the big bucks either. The latest Hyundai minivan and Santa Fe SUV have Infinity 5:1s.

I'm trying to resist spending money I don't have for a new Infinity with Bose 5:1 and the rear channel speakers in the headrest

[ross6200]

Thanks for all the replies so far! I should have mentioned that I already installed a new head unit. Just need to pick the right components. Polk, MB Quart, Infinity.......any of these would do the job I guess!

[SF2K4]

Elemental Designs

Infinity

Eclipse

Pioneer

Alpine

Those five get a lot of acclaim in the car audio world, ED, Eclipse, and Infinity in the great quality section, and Pioneer and Alpine in the good price for good quality category. DO NOT get Sony or Rockford Fosgate... yuck.

I drive a Scion tC that has a stock Pioneer system that sounds OK. I'm going to upgrade to Double DIN DVD/touchscreen/nav system (Eclipse) or a single DIN DVD/touchscreen/nav (Alpine) with Pioneer 6" comp speakers in the cabin and 2 10" and 1 12" ED subs which will all be powered by as may Infinity Basslink amps as I need.

Next to drum corps, cars are my favorite hobby.

Edited August 4, 2006 by SF2K4

[SF2K4]

If you get the chance, I'd fit the car to the music. I bought my Nissan Maxima to get the Bose premium system. Great as it is, it's still a 2:1 system. There are several surround sound systems out now. The JBL 5:1 in the new Toyota Avalon is awesome. I've read great things about the coming Chrysler Sebring with a Harmon Kardon 5:1. You don't need the big bucks either. The latest Hyundai minivan and Santa Fe SUV have Infinity 5:1s.

I'm trying to resist spending money I don't have for a new Infinity with Bose 5:1 and the rear channel speakers in the headrest

As awesomely dominating BOSE is in the home audio world (I was in the BOSE store today looking at their new Lifestyle system... OMGZ ) they haven't quite begun to dominate the car audio world. Too much specialized equipment (if you don't run a BOSE HU, your BOSE speakers will burn out your HU. It will take a while, but it will happen) so I recommend what I posted above.

[SF2K4]

OH SNAP! And do NOT forget to sound proof your car. For those who don't know, once you have all your panels off and your trunk gutted (and take your carpeting out while you're at it) to put in all the new toys, get yourself some Dynamat (Xtreme I think is the best quality they sell) and put a few layers down in your car (trunk bed, floor, doors, etc.). This will greatly enhance the quality of your system, preventing good bass and lows from being lost as vibrations in your car's metal exterior.

[MiamiSun76]

As awesomely dominating BOSE is in the home audio world (I was in the BOSE store today looking at their new Lifestyle system... OMGZ ) they haven't quite begun to dominate the car audio world. Too much specialized equipment (if you don't run a BOSE HU, your BOSE speakers will burn out your HU. It will take a while, but it will happen) so I recommend what I posted above.

That's why I suggested making the sound system the main feature when you buy the car. Go to the Bose website and they have a listing of all the makes and models they have developed custom systems for. I don't even think you can buy their auto speakers by themselves.

[Boof96]

That's why I suggested making the sound system the main feature when you buy the car. Go to the Bose website and they have a listing of all the makes and models they have developed custom systems for. I don't even think you can buy their auto speakers by themselves.

I do just the opposite when I buy a new vehicle. I generally purchase a vehicle with the cheapest sound system available in it and then upgrade it myself. A stock factory system is never going to sound as good as a good aftermarket system IMHO. As a previous poster stated there are many important considerations when piecing together the perfect sound system. The head unit,amps,rca cables,speakers,dynamating are all very important if you want a high end system. Bose systems aren't bad....but there are much better options available as far as car audio is concerned.

[SF2K4]

Might I also suggest, for those wanting to make their ears bleed, looking into a Yellow Top Optima battery. The car audiophile's choice. :)

[Fishbone]

Ah, those were the days. Cruising down the street with the drum corps cranking. Let's talk shows--I found 91 Blue Devils was awesome--that bottom bass drum would rattle some fillings loose !