So my drivers side door speaker blew the other day, my passenger side door speaker is a little crackly too so i want to chuck them out (BOSE) and get new ones.

I've been told the Infinity Kappa 6.5'' is a great little upgrade for the speakers that are still powered by the BOSE amp. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

So, you've got an amp that is ruining speakers, and you want to put more speakers on it?

Unless you want to potentially just keep throwing speakers at the problem, you're better off replacing the trashy bose amp while you're at it. As a bonus, you'll get better sound out of it, since the bose amp sucks.

If you still have the factory headunit, you'll want an amp that is designed to take the differential-balanced signal it sends. The easiest to get your hands on that are capable are JL Audio amps. A 5 or 6 channel amp (sedan and coupe, respectively) an amp wiring kit, and several feet of speaker wire are all you'll need to do the swap.

If you do want to take your chances with speakers on the bose amp, just choose any 3-4 ohm speakers that sound good to you, there's nothing special about the Kappas, in fact they've got a lot more treble in them than sounds good in cars with any amount of sound deadening.

 

Basically i'm just trying to replace 1 or both front speakers to save money for now as i'm about to spend 2k on rims and $700 on lights so i'm a bit low on cash. If i were to buy just 1 Kappa 6.5'' door speaker would it just plug straight in? I am thinking about doing a double din swap with a screen and new sound in the next few months but right now i just want to to do the cheap option and put a new speaker in as it's not very nice listening to music with 1 ear

 

Well, the kappas come in pairs, but like I said, if your amp is trashing speakers, you're just going to be destroying that kappa.

The bose amp doesn't put out enough power to destroy ("overdrive") them, so either the speakers just died of their own crappiness, or the amp is malfunctioning.

I wouldn't risk it.

 

Did a little research on the JL amps. Any particular wattage you recommend? I'm looking to maybe bump up the volume a bit, but mainly looking for a cleaner sound all around. Any budget speakers that offer good bang for the buck? I am not an audio guru, and I honestly don't know a thing about it. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: for the mean time I'd like to keep the factory head unit. Down the road I will upgrade, but right now that's out of the picture. Maintance and performance mods are occupying most of my disposable income.

 

There aren't many to choose from in the 5 or 6 channel range, just don't crank the volume up to where things are distorting, and you're fine with whatever power you can afford. When you put real speakers in there, you'll want as much power as possible.

 

I found a post where you recommended the JL A6450. It appears that it's now discontinued, any suitable replacements? Also, if I simply replaced the amp, can I get away with the Bose speakers for a bit?

 

You can

wont sound too great, though.

best bang for buck amp out now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PPI-Phan...item2c5f3f6da6

 

I can't find anything that says the PPI amp takes a balanced audio signal though, and that amp won't power the rest of the audio, just those front two.

JL's definitely not the best bang-for-buck, but it does do balanced audio.

The A6450 is discontinued, but it's still available in a few places - http://www.woofersetc.com/p-5584-a64...amplifier.aspx

 

****.

I missed that.

Uhhhhh, kicker zx would work well

 

in my situation where i want more clear sound and my front speakers are fine, will the stock Bose amp work with any aftermarket 6.5 component front speakers? or i must replace the amp and re-wire??

i am looking for just clean loud sound. When i have my iphone hooked up max volume @ 31 still doesn't sound loud..

 

Replace both.

 

If you want clean sound, you HAVE to get rid of the bose amp. It's by far the single-most audio-quality-reducing piece of the entire system. You'll be stuck with the same problem regarding the balanced audio signal, so it's really best to replace everything, from the headunit to the speakers (stock speaker wiring is fine to keep), as this allows you to go with any good amp (like the PPI eggyhustles mentioned) rather than the few that support the balanced audio signal that the bose headunit produces.

 

is replacing the bose amp pretty easy to do.. i can do HU installs with matching wires using a metra kit in my sleep.

 

Replacing with another bose, easy as can be.
Replacing with aftermarket, you have to:
Run new power wire from the battery, which isn't bad if you're comfortable removing interior panels
Extend the audio signal in/speaker signal out wires from the bose amp harness to reach the new amp, which isn't bad if you're comfortable using a soldering iron.
Mount the amp somewhere, again, not bad if you're comfortable with a saw, drill and some MDF.

The other important factor, is if you're still using the bose headunit, you need an amplifier that is designed to use balanced audio inputs. JL Audio amps all do, and are easy to find. Other brands have select amps that do, but they're generally harder to find.