Guys,

I'm in an interesting situation. I'm still running my factory Bose amp, but I upgraded to the Eclipse AVN5435 HU three years ago.

I now want to put in upgraded speakers all the way around. I called Crutchfield and we agreed on a set of Infinity Kappa 692.9i's for the rear parcel shelf. However, the Crutchfield rep was not able to locate a decent 2-ohm replacement for the 6.75" rear seat/front door speakers. He found several great 4-ohm speakers though, and had no problem recommending them to me.

I told him I'd read on our forum that I need to stick with 2-ohm speakers throughout the sound system because of the stock Bose amplifier. Am I correct? I'm assuming that even though I've upgraded the HU, my amp will still only "power" speakers with an impedance of 2-ohms.

Please help me out, guys, as I'm ready to buy and just need to ensure I don't buy speakers that won't work correctly in my G's partially stock sound system!

BTW, my goals right now are to:

• Upgrade the stock speakers with higher quality replacements all the way around
• Ensure the replacements have the capability to work well when I upgrade/replace my OEM Bose amp to something more powerful and versatile

Thanks in advance!
B

 

Stick with 2 ohm speakers. 6.5's work as well as 6.75's. I don't think I would swap out the 6x9s. They are a PITA to remove adn they only reproduce bass.

 

Would 4-ohm speakers be an issue? I'd like speakers that will function well after I upgrade my amp. If 2-ohm speakers are top-quality and will sound great with an aftermarket amp then I'll consider it, but I'd prefer to avoid 2-ohms if I'm sacrificing sound quality by buying them. I know picking up an amp could resolve this but I didn't want to "re-do" the whole audio system just yet. My current Eclipse HU pre-amp audio outs are "damaged" and I'd need to replace/upgrade the HU to use an external amp via the RCA jacks.

As for the 6x9's, I've already got the parcel shelf pulled out (and the entire back seat, trim, etc. as well) since I was going to mount the antennas back there. Is it still a pain to replace even though I've got it all pulled apart?

Thanks,
B

 

Actually from the research I've done guys, it looks like 2-ohms is actually an "upgrade" as it provides more power to the speakers. So I suppose this would be a good thing if I get an aftermarket amp.

That said, do I have many other "high-quality" choices other than the Infinity Kappa series? I see they have a Reference series as well...

Thanks!
B

 

Just make sure when you upgrade to a real amp and ditch the Bose amp that the new amp will work with 2 ohm speakers.

 

2 ohm speakers are somewhat of a rarity and not necessarily will they be any better then a 4ohm speaker. The only difference being that a 2ohn speaker will put more of a load on the amp and IF the amp is capable it will put more power out in 2ohms then it will in 4ohms. Not all amps are capable of this however so you need to find out the facts on the amp your buying. 99% of car speaker in the aftermarket sector will be 4ohm except for subs where it's common to find them in 2ohm as well. If you buy 4ohm speakers you have a much wider selection. Also, if you're keeping the Bose amp then don't replace the 6x9's since they work as subwoofers. Changing them will only mean you're wasting money because the full range speaker you buy most likely won't do any better job then what's there now.

 

I've already noticed that my speaker choices are limited in the 2-ohm arena. I imagine that carries over to amplifiers just the same. Are the Infinity Kappa and Reference speaker series any good? Would they work well with the OEM Bose amplifier? And would the work even better with an aftermarket amplifier?

Keep in mind I'm not an audiophile. I can appreciate some great sounding music, but my sense of hearing is not superb as I've got 30% hearing loss in one ear.

 

I haven't sold the Kappa's in a long time so I can't offer any advice there, but just about any aftermarket speaker will sound better with an amp as long as it's a good one.

 

Thanks guys, how will 4-ohm speakers sounds with the OEM Bose amp?

 

4 ohm speakers with the Bose amp will not sound as loud because the resistance has doubled.

 

Hmmm, that would suck, huh? Buying all new speakers and then having them crank out sound at very low levels doesn't sound very appealing to me.

I guess I'll just wait until I upgrade my amp and HU, then I'll do the speakers at the same time.

 

Figured I'd let you guys know I ordered a complete set of Kappa's to replace my stock speakers. From what I've read here, these are solid upgrades and will really unlock when I upgrade to an aftermarket amp and add a sub next year.

• Infinity Kappa 60.9cs
• Infinity Kappa 692.9i
• Infinity Kappa 62.9is

Guess I'll be getting four speaker spacers next so I can properly mount the 6.5" components in the doors and rear side wells.

Thanks again!
B