I'm going to be getting my coupe in a week or so. I'm gathering that the audio system isn't going to be as good as my upgraded system that I have in my Honda Civic. I always considered myself to be somewhat of an audiophile, yet I've never heard of MB Quart speakers. Why does everyone seem to talk about these almost exclusively in association to replacing the stock speakers? Whats so great about these speakers? What level of them are most people getting? The better ones seem to get pretty pricey. Everyone talks about the 1ohm stuff, but these seem to be 4ohm, so I must be missing something. Any info you can provide me about these speakers would be great.

Thanks,
John

 

I think most people who are putting in MBs are replacing the amp as well to keep everything closer to 4 ohms. MBs are damn good speakers.

 

Ok man here's the deal. MB Quart's are High end German speakers for your auto. I have had them in several of my cars and you cannot beat the price and quality. They are expensive compared to some other brands. But with speakers you always get what you pay for and believe it or not there are speakers that are far more expensive, such as Diamond Audio.

Anyway being and audiophile I am used to the best and Quarts (in my opinion) offer the best imaging, bass response, dynamic range, clarity, wattage, etc. I soon will be replacing all the stock speakers in my car with Quarts and running them off an after market amplifier from phoenix gold or precision power.

These and most other speakers are designed to run at 4 ohms only. Normally you will only see subwoofers running at 1 or 2 ohms in aftermarket systems, this allows more power to be produced from lower resistance and higher current. The stock BOSE speakers and AMP are designed to run at 1 ohm from what I have heard so you cannot just drop in after market 4 ohm speakers.

The only issue with using a differant AMP and speakers is that you have to 1. Get a signal of some type out of the stock head unit whether it be High Level (speaker output) or Line Level (low level output) using some type pf conversion interface. 2. Connect all the speakers to the NEW amp with new speaker cables.

I am trying to figure a way around this currently so I can just use the existing factory speaker wiring harness with an after market AMP and still get the output from the Head unit. Hopefully I or someone else will figure it out soon, but using that configuration will allow use of after market speakers and the powerful AMP they require with out tearing up the rest of the System.

Also two reasons you should consider keeping factory head unit. 1. It looks better and doesn't tip off theives that you have after market goodies. 2. You will still be able to use your steering wheel controls. Hope that helps and I will post and update when I get the new stuff in, sometime soon I hope. Thanks. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

-Jason
Laser Red '03 6MT

 

Here is a thread from fresh alloy talking about wiring. Thought you may find it helpful.

http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthre...rt=&PHPSESSID=

 

COOL!! Thanks man. Once I figure it out I'll post some pics here. Peace. [img]/w3timages/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

-Jason
Laser Red '03 6MT

 

Man, don't go for looks...you won't even see them when they are installed! Make sure you listen before you buy.

 

Jason,
Thanks for the informative reply. So which line of their speakers do you recommend? Some of them can get pretty pricey. How much of a sound quality difference is there?
Also, I think I'll end up staying with the Bose headunit for all the reasons you mentioned. Is it a pretty good quality unit? Just curious since I haven't really had a chance to play with it. And with these speakers and maybe an amp then the car should come out sounding pretty good I imagine? Let us know when you get your's set up.

John

 

Jay, I haven't heard of Focal but that's not to say they might not be good. I usually stick to MB Quart or Boston Accoustics as my preference for outstanding sound production. Don't ever measure a speaker by it's looks, I've seen some neat lookin speakers that are garbage and plain ones that are Sonic Bliss, he he. Diamond Audio also makes outstanding speaekers in my opinion. Listening to them is the best way to find out though, because alot of it is preference. You could also try www.audioreview.com. Good Luck!
[img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

-Jason
Laser Red '03 6MT

 

MB Quarts are one of the more available high end speaker manufacturers which is why you see them more often. Personally, I don't like them. While they do have great imaging, their tweeters are almost always incredibly bright to my ears.

Personally, I prefer Dynaudio above all others and they're cheaper than MB's highest lineup while sounding significantly better to me. I'm currently looking at replacing the components up front with a 2-way component set from Dyn utilizing their 7" woofer and their 1.1" silk dome tweeter. I'll be driving it with a 300/2 JL amp. I haven't decided whether or not I'll add a sub as I'm rather fond of having a trunk, something I didn't have with my last system in my previous car.

Like all things audio, find a local place and audition them. If you're in Phoenix, I can recomend Sound Werks on Bell just east of the 51. They carry both MB and Dyn so you can get a good feel how the two compare.

 

Snare I usually stick with either the reference series or the premium series. Even the Discus line which is the lowest would probably be nice. The Q Line might be expensive. Mostly I think you should find a high end stereo shop and listen to the speakers. I can tell the differance but it may not be as much of differance to you. Your ear should have the final say on what you like. I think the BOSE will be just fine for a head unit myself. You can retain your steering wheel controls and your "stock" look as well. I belive from reading the link posted above by mcleo19 that there is a line level output going out of the BOSE HU that would give a good enough signal to be used by an after market AMP with a converter or "splice" connection. As long as you have a good input signal with a high voltage and low noise then any after market Amp and speakers should be able to improve quite a bit on it. My main emphasis when it comes to after market systems is quality over quantity, that will always give good results if you stick to it. I'll let you know when I get mine done. [img]/w3timages/icons/cool.gif[/img]

-Jason
Laser Red '03 6MT