Well I decided to treat myself to a new set of speakers for my birthday, so plumped for a set of these http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-sxe-1750s.html. Fitted one today using MDF rings, all sealed properly and looking good.

Turn it on and it sounds horrible! It sounds quite punchy, and like something is not quite right. I have tried phasing the speaker differently, and that does not really help either.

I've ended up testing one against the old speaker that came out in a little enclosure that I made a few years ago, and the same thing - hardly any bass and the clarity is no better than the boggo Skoda items.

I'm not up for spending another £50+ on another set of speakers, so its down to the shop to buy a rivet gun and put the original one back in. I'm rather gutted to say the least!

Unlucky mate. That sucks when things like that happen

............i read all of coments here that the alpines were better than thw stock ones.....also considering the alpines myself hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :wonder:

What headunit are you using?

I went with those Alpines in my 2nd Fabia and thought they were great. First with the OEM stereo, then with an Alpine HU.

I added sound deadening at the same time mind you.

I'm using an Alpine IDA-X100 for now. I'm a little shocked to be honest, I've always thought the standard ones sounded quite good with the setup I have, but never thought a set of Alpine speakers would let me down. I have usually used Pioneer speakers in the past, and they have always sounded great. The frequency range of these Alpines start at 60hz though, where usually the Pioneers cover lower frequencies (usually about 30hz). They just don't sound as clear either, so pretty poor all round. The sound now is kind of wooden and thumpy, where if you fade to the other side, you get a nice rich bass, and crystal clear treble. Hmmmm....

Well my Alpine was a X001 so we're in the right area. Maybe it's your expectations? It's hard to say with other people's music and listening. Could they be a duff set though?

I never expect an audiophile setup in-car, but thought these were a marked improvement over the std ones and for the money they were excellent value.

Did you replace the tweeters with the included Alpine ones as well? Only other thing I did was disconnect the rear tweeters too, as these were too 'bright' with the Alpine setup. And they're in a daft place in the rear anyway!

Well I got a couple of friends sat in my car and asked them which one sounded better (without knowing which was which), and both plumped for the standard one.

Yes I have used the Alpine tweeters as well. I disconnected the rear speakers and tweeters as soon as I got the car, as it ruins the sound IMO.

The only things I can think of are that they don't cover lower frequencies well, hence the punchy bass. Or they are a duff set, which would seem rather odd, as both sound the same. One other thing is that they seem to distort at a lower volume too :S

Get a refund

Despite the lack of sound deadening, I think my sound better than the OE ones

Despite the lack of sound deadening, I think my sound better than the OE ones

You sure you haven't got the tweeter and mids phased out, that will mess the midrange up (the point at which the frequencies cross)? Also just replacing one side isn't going to give you the best low response as both sides will mess with each other regardless of being phased correctly.

Brand new budget speakers are never going to sound top notch out of the packet, its worth giving them an hour or two of useage to free up/bed in before making any decisions.

If as you say you used to have Pioneer speakers, in my personal opinion pioneer speakers and headunits have much brighter sound that the likes of alpine, i personally own a set of pioneer components which are hopefully going to find their way into the furby soon, and to be honest everyone i know has been very impressed with the sound quality and they come very close quality wise to my friends Focals.

I say get a refund and get some pioneers....................

You sure you haven't got the tweeter and mids phased out, that will mess the midrange up (the point at which the frequencies cross)? Also just replacing one side isn't going to give you the best low response as both sides will mess with each other regardless of being phased correctly.

Brand new budget speakers are never going to sound top notch out of the packet, its worth giving them an hour or two of useage to free up/bed in before making any decisions.

All I know is that the sound is nice and clear to me, the only vibration I get is due to lack of sound deadening

Well I got a couple of friends sat in my car and asked them which one sounded better (without knowing which was which), and both plumped for the standard one.

I don't understand that - did you have one side fitted with the OEMs and one side with the Alpines or something? I don't get how you did a 'side-by-side' listening test?

I've always found Alpine to be very bright, detailed and treble heavy although it took me a long time to realise I didn't really like it (I had 3 or 4 Alpine H/U on the trot, mostly top end CDA-9855 being my last one). I've since replaced it with a Becker unit (although finding one now seems impossible) and the sound is much warmer and I much prefer it. I've not listened to any recent Alpine units so I don't know if this has changed but Alpine H/U with Alpine speakers wouldn't be something that I'd consider. I'd try a different brand. Might be worth having a look on Talk Audio for some reviews or advice.

Edited 20 January, 201115 yr by Schern

I don't understand that - did you have one side fitted with the OEMs and one side with the Alpines or something? I don't get how you did a 'side-by-side' listening test?

One door had the OE speaker in and the other had the Alpine one, I simply balanced left to right, for a quick comparison. I know for a true test you need both speakers in and running, however I borrowed a friends Pioneer speaker and fitted it in place, and straight away it gave a much nicer sound than the Alpine did. I have since spoken to the shop that I bought them from, and they agreed that the Alpines are designed to be run with a full sub setup, hence not covering the low frequencies. Due to me not having a sub fitted, these speakers just don't cut it for me.

The original one is now back in, and I have added sound deadening to the doors, and they sound better than ever.

those alpines sound rubbish because they are rubbish speakers.

i too splashed out on the alpines after being recommended them on here and was disappointed. the low range is just as terrible as the OEM speakers they just sound a bit better the louder you go. My completely standard mk4 golf speakers were 10x better than skodas rubbish effort

Youll probably find that they sound better once amped. Your headunit wont put out enough power to run them. See if a mate has got a spare amp you could try.

Agree with above, you could do with amp to get most out of them, also you said you linked one up and not the two, therefore not enough amp output due to oem speaker restricting it. Try both wired up and it/they should work much better!!

I understand what you are saying, and do agree, but the Pioneer speaker I dropped in its place worked perfectly, even without two fitted. It doesn't take much to realise that these Alpines are not much cop!

New speakers need time to run in to give their best. The harshness you have noticed will improve no end after a few hours use.

New speakers need time to run in to give their best. The harshness you have noticed will improve no end after a few hours use.

I wonder if that is the case. I have a set of these exact speakers ready to fit, hmmm.

There's nothing between 30hz and 60hz though, things can still sound like they have reasonable bass if you exclude 125hz and below.

Edited 24 January, 201115 yr by anewman

Any other speakers in the sub £50 range that would be worth a punt? Im in the process of fitting the ebay £9.99 blaupunkt 30w rms rear speakers and want to change the fronts too but these alpines dont sound all that good for my setup. I want something with an ok amount of bass, im not bothered about "chaviness" or arsing about with separate tweeters, I dont mind fitting tweeters but I would be quite happy with 3 way speakers. Aslong as it makes a sound comparable to a house Hi Fi and have 40-50 watt RMS and a nice bit of bass then im happy.

Only problem is that i need to know the depth of the speakers too and not many websites have the depth dimensions listed. Has anyone had good results with other sets? Cheers.

In my HU instructions it says Maximum Power Output:

Front/Rear: 50 W per channel

Continuous Power Output (RMS):

Front/Rear: 19 W per channel into 4 Ω,

40 Hz to 20 000 Hz at no more

than 0.8% total harmonic

distortion.

So 50W rms speakers would be wasted anyway. Its a damn mine field this audio malarky.

Edited 18 April, 201115 yr by fabia19