I want to replace my car speakers

apeck618

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Location
IL
TDI
2012 golf 2dr TDI, 6speed
I just picked up a 2012 golf tdi with the regular sound system, Nothing like the monsoon my mk4 jetta had. I do have the factory touch screen head unit.

Should I get 2 or 3 way speakers for the doors? Also are they 6.5inch?
What brands do you recommend. I would like a lot of bass with out having a sub-woofer.

Any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks
 

PB_NB

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Location
Vancouver, B.C.
TDI
1999 New Beetle
I did Alpine components in the front and Alpine 2 ways in the back. They are nice and the "S" line wont break the bank.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
You could also track down the factory Fender woofers. Plug and play replacement. (You'll only use 1 of the 2 voice coils in the front, but that's OK)

-J
 

apeck618

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Location
IL
TDI
2012 golf 2dr TDI, 6speed
I did Alpine components in the front and Alpine 2 ways in the back. They are nice and the "S" line wont break the bank.
Can you explain more. Is there any big difference in 2 way and 3 way?
 

bizzle

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2013
Location
Southern California
TDI
2015 GSW SEL (totaled), 2013 Touareg Executive
Can you explain more. Is there any big difference in 2 way and 3 way?
No, not in a car and not in a casual listening atmosphere.

There are a couple (separate) things going on here:
The difference between components and integrated
The difference between 2way and 3way

He has components in the front, which is the woofer (big speaker) down in the door and tweeters (the little speakers) somewhere else (like up in the A pillar, for example). Installers do that for placement and focusing. The larger the speaker, the more omni directional sound is; the smaller the speaker the more directional the sound is (think of those huge subwoofers thumping away in people's cars that you can feel/hear in your own car--but you can't hear the voices unless the windows are down in both cars).

So woofers can be placed in the door without too much compromise on sound but the little tweeters need to be pointed at your ears for best results, which is why they're mounted up by your head in modern, factory locations.

The backseat isn't as important in getting that precise placement, usually, so integrated speakers are used (woofers with tweeters in the middle of them slightly off-center). That's what he has in the back. I have components in the back but setups like that require more precise placement than just having the whole setup in the panel.

The distinction between 2 and 3 way speakers comes down to how many speakers are part of the system (independent of whether they are composite or components). So far we've been discussing 2 way speakers and those are by far the bulk of car audio options for general applications. A woofer + a tweeter are what you are used to and makes placement simple. A three way speaker will usually add a midrange driver. You then need to figure out where you're going to place that third driver, how to EQ it, a more complex crossover (which also needs correct placement and additional cost), and whether the type of music you listen to even warrants its inclusion. It's main purpose is to reproduce sound better than the other two speakers with this dedicated, to-purpose speaker that can allow them to better focus on the slice of frequency they are best at.

Then there are other factors like a good 2 way is going to outperform a mediocre 3 way, but that's the gist of it.

So you're basically looking at 2 way components in the front to replace what you have in the door and pillar, and then 2 way non-components in the rear to replace the speakers in the door cards.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
Why would it only use 1?
The "base" front door woofers have a single 4 ohm voice coil. The fender speakers have 2x 2 ohm voice coils. So when you plug in the base wiring, only one voice coil gets hooked up.

For the rear door woofers, both the base system and Fender have a single voice coil, with the standard being 4 ohm and fender 2 ohm.

-J
 

apeck618

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Location
IL
TDI
2012 golf 2dr TDI, 6speed
The "base" front door woofers have a single 4 ohm voice coil. The fender speakers have 2x 2 ohm voice coils. So when you plug in the base wiring, only one voice coil gets hooked up.
For the rear door woofers, both the base system and Fender have a single voice coil, with the standard being 4 ohm and fender 2 ohm.
-J
I haven't messed with speakers in a long time so its why I had to ask so many questions lol. I just want it to sound good. I want alot of bass with clear audio like my Ram 1500 has. Maybe Il try to get the factor fender speakers and put them in.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
Check ebay, there are usually some floating around.

You'll need a pop rivet gun to install them. Be sure the seal is good, the side airbag sensor depends on the speaker making a good seal against the door.

-J
 

garreth5

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2015
Location
GA
TDI
jetta
It depends on your budget also. I agree on checking Crutchfield. They have some good pricing.
 

elcid86

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Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Location
VA/DC, USA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SEL
I added sound deadening/dampening to the door panels and inside the door. I really think it helped with the Fender speaker sound. As for now I’m pretty satisfied and will tinker with something else—like the wife’s ‘18 Outback speakers!
 

vincej

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2015
Location
Calgary
TDI
2014 Golf Wagon
I'd like to replace radio as well as speakers. Base model system not very nice at all, not great sound, no blue tooth and not even aux input.
 

apeck618

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Location
IL
TDI
2012 golf 2dr TDI, 6speed
I added sound deadening/dampening to the door panels and inside the door. I really think it helped with the Fender speaker sound. As for now I’m pretty satisfied and will tinker with something else—like the wife’s ‘18 Outback speakers!

Do you think the fender woofers are the best route since they are plug and play? I can get a set on ebay for like 50 bucks a set.
 

nucklehead

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2014
Location
Ephrata Washington
TDI
2013 Golf TDI W/DSG
I had the Fender Audio in my 2013 Jetta, which I turned in, TDi and all. The audio was pretty decent, and IIRC it had an 8" sub up under the rear shelf in the trunk area. If you have a 4 door Golf like mine why not install a decent quality 6.5" sub in one or both rear doors? You'd have to get a new head unit, but you've already mentioned doing that. You'd need a small sub that could go under one of the front seats. Buy single coil drivers and you'll have less complications.

Save your money and don't buy a 6.5" 3 way speaker. They aren't really three way, they're too small, regardless of the marketing ploy used they aren't three way. That little button of maybe 2" isn't going to sound as good as a 2 way of similar price IMO. You might explore the idea of installing a bare 6.5" woofer in the front doors, without a tweeter. You can add a surface mount tweeter on the A pillar, or maybe in the foot well, out of the way, of course.



Infinity Kappa component speakers will make for a very good sound system. They will need a sub to round out the audio frequency. A low pass filter for the rear 6.5" sub will shunt the highs out so it plays only from about 60-100hz. I'd shoot for 100hz since low frequencies are not nearly as directional as frequencies above 100hz. When you hear that dude with the dual 15" ported subs in the trunk of his car you can't really localize it very well. Thats a limitation of the human ears.



If you don't use the cargo area very much you can explore mounting areas for a larger sub. If you want the dual 15" ported subs that might just explode your hatchback glass there's plenty of room for that. A more sane subwoofer would be an 8-10" driver in a sealed enclosure. If you like music the way it was meant to be heard you won't get those big 15" ported subs. You'll get a quality 8-10" driver and a sealed enclosure.



You can go crazy with car audio but it will never sound as good as a top notch home stereo. Too much traffic and road noise. I'm happy with my RCD 510 with 6 cd changer, but I don't spend a lot of time in the car very often. I do have the cd changer loaded up with 6 cds loaded with MP3 320 music. I think I could drive from coast to coast without hearing the same song twice.
 
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elcid86

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Location
VA/DC, USA
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SEL
Do you think the fender woofers are the best route since they are plug and play? I can get a set on ebay for like 50 bucks a set.


Sorry I really couldn’t say as I haven’t compared it to not having one or other aftermarket options. I’m not a huge base thumping guy anyways.
 
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