I am about to take out the crappy original unit and put in a Sony MD unit (i still love MD), but i also want to ensure the speakers will be able to make full use of the high amp output in the sony unit. Any recommendations on them, and what sizes for both front and rear. Ta

I've recently just upgraded and went for the

Rainbow: CS 265 X-Plain Pro - 2-way 17cm components

For the front. Really expensive but really good quality, especially when amped up.

As for the rears. When i was doing research they basically said if you plan on getting a sub in the future then for best sound quality dont add huge speakers and a sub at the back as they share the same enclosed air space, the boot.

For the rears just disconnect the tweeters and spend the saved money on the fronts.

You dont have much depth for the front speakers so you need thin speakers otherwise you will have to look at modifying everything.

I used to have a top notch system in a previous car with DLS amps and a Genesis Sub.... but on this Fabia it will just be the Sony MD unit powering them so i think something like the Rainbows may be a little over kill. I thought of something a little under the £80 mark

Just had a quick look on the net and anything over 60mm will require modding. From memory that sounds about right, i did measure it when i fitted mine.

Its doesnt leave you with much choice really. Under £100 there are a few basic infinitys, some Vibes and maybe a few others. Focal and hertz are out by the looks of things.

I am only looking at components however. You may be able to get some coax speakers but i found that with the stock tweater as well as the coax speakers tweeter it was painfull to listen with any volume.

I fitted 65mm components in my door cards - just!

Then amped them up! Need to disconnect the rear tweeters though as they're a bit shrill!

I will have a look at it all, but on this car there will be no amp, just the normal headunit (sony 6599x md) and 4 speakers, just want to get a better sound without going too far really.

Someone mentioned these a few weeks ago...

http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/index.php/index.html/_/reviews/speakers/vibe-lite-air-6-component-speakers-r683

Personally, I think components need an amp. Though some have had good results with the stock speakers and adding a more powerful/flexible h/u.

You'll never get full potential out of speakers that run off headunit power, you need to amp them.

From my research few months ago it seemed Hertz DSK deicis were a fair choice un-amped

Hijacking the topic slightly - I installed a pair of these recently http://caraudiosecur...s_id/14739.html and have now amped them too. But I am totally unimpressed by the bass response. I don't listen to drum and bass or anything crazy, but for normal rock etc the bass speakers are bassier (although the fronts have much better clarity).

However, I'm beginning to suspect this may be how I mounted them which is something you need to consider when upgrading! I made my own MDF rings and then mounted the speakers with some plastic sheeting at the back to stop water ingress.

Opinions? If i made a poor choice then everybody seems to have been discussing the Vibe Airlites - so I may change to them! I am also intrigued as to why the crossovers are tiny on these, compared to the massive ones you see with other brands and whether filling the cavity with shredded paper would increase bass response?

The rears are also 4" speakers with about 5.5cm of clearance before they hit the seat belt holder. If you plan on putting anything bigger in you would also have to adapt the plastic plate - or mount in the parcel shelf!

Also, if you are planning on installing anything, Tim's guide (maybe the Tim above? EDIT: Yes the Tim above. He has a thread on here too. Awesome work!) is very useful! I installed my amp under the passenger seat - and although it was a right pain in the arse to connect everything and put the seat back, and you can't adjust the settings once it is in place, it is very discreet!

http://www.tigerstyl...68575b&start=45

Edited 28 August, 201213 yr by Oli3000

Aye that's me.

I'd lose the plastic sheeting. Not sure exactly what it would do to the sound, but there's no real need for it.

The speakers you've chosen don't look that great to be honest. I wouldn't expect anything great from amped components sub £90 new. I'd look at Hertz DSK or Focal Access and up.

I'd also make a point in saying it's as much about the type of amplifier than it is the speakers. The Ground Zero one I had momentarily made my speakers sound terrible, very harsh throughout all volumes. The Hertz one I have now provides a much much crisper sound.

Also, do you have a HPF (high pass filter) on your amp? If so and it's activated, then that could be your problem, as it caps low frequencies.

Very impressed with your work, Tim!

I originally installed it without the plastic sheeting - did a water test down the window and discovered water on the back of the magnet. I didn't know what this would do to the speaker in the long run? Maybe I will remove it from one speaker and see if it vastly changes the bass response - I can imagine it does have an effect as it reduces the cavity size...

I bought one of these:

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/11079.html

It does have HPF, but I made a note to ensure it wasn't on! The amp is my first venture into the amp world - but seemed like a good buy (I got it for £70!) and I can use it for a sub in the future if I so desire. The bass response from the OEM, 4" speakers in the rear is huge nice, clear and cutting - so I think the amp is definitely up to it!

Maybe it is worth investing in those Vibe Liteairs that come with a good review for a budget... Or the blackairs for ~£15 more...

Very impressed with your work, Tim!

I originally installed it without the plastic sheeting - did a water test down the window and discovered water on the back of the magnet. I didn't know what this would do to the speaker in the long run? Maybe I will remove it from one speaker and see if it vastly changes the bass response - I can imagine it does have an effect as it reduces the cavity size...

I bought one of these:

http://caraudiosecur...s_id/11079.html

It does have HPF, but I made a note to ensure it wasn't on! The amp is my first venture into the amp world - but seemed like a good buy (I got it for £70!) and I can use it for a sub in the future if I so desire. The bass response from the OEM, 4" speakers in the rear is huge nice, clear and cutting - so I think the amp is definitely up to it!

Maybe it is worth investing in those Vibe Liteairs that come with a good review for a budget... Or the blackairs for ~£15 more...

Hi Oli

That is really odd as i also bought the same amp as you 2 days ago. I got mine from Halfords on a clearence sale for £69 brand new. I was going to go for the blackbox at £150 however as the other amp was on offer i thought if i didn't like it then i'm sure i can get most of my money back to invest in the other one...

I also have both the front and rear Liteair speakers (Vibe Liteair 6 + Vibe Litair 4). The only problem is that altough i own these speakers, when i was fitting my sub i never had a chance to fit them properly. In other words i only have the speakers fitted in the front and back however left the tweeters and X-Overs out due to lack of time... Also i would not recommend having the liteair 6 speakers running off the head unit, i blew a speaker because of this. They require a minumum of 50W RMS input and i thought my headunit was 52W x 4 RMS whereas it was only 52w x 4 meaning it's something ridiculous like 17w RMS per channel...

I'm sure that in two weeks time i will have everything fitted along with the amp so if you hang on then i can give you a verdict on the speakers...

Update 1: Removed the plastic water protection... Transformed the bass response! So let that be a lesson to everyone (me, mostly...)

vertrider06 that is the exact same deal as me! Ex-display from my local - basically unused, came with original packaging etc. I fitted it under the front part of my seat - was a right faff, but can send you some pictures of it in place! It now has a tonne of scratches on the top from fixing... But who cares! I use the OEM symphony head unit and http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140349820526?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 converter so that I can keep the OEM look with a much uprated sound!

The tweeters in the front are VERY easy to change over. Just pop them out and pop the new ones in - mine partly popped in then are finished off with electrical tape... The rears people seem to say don't bother with entirely... I am actually going to experiment with putting a variable resistor in-line with the rear tweeters so they can still work, but at a much lower volume so they don't make everything too treble-ey up front! I would definitely recommend x-overs as well - I tried the JBLs with and without and without was much clearer!

Definitely would like to know your opinion of the Liteairs! I think I will investigate if I can send the JBLs back and upgrade them to the Liteairs or the Blackairs anyway... Should have done more research by the sounds of it!

Update 1: Removed the plastic water protection... Transformed the bass response! So let that be a lesson to everyone (me, mostly...)

vertrider06 that is the exact same deal as me! Ex-display from my local - basically unused, came with original packaging etc. I fitted it under the front part of my seat - was a right faff, but can send you some pictures of it in place! It now has a tonne of scratches on the top from fixing... But who cares! I use the OEM symphony head unit and http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1497.l2649 converter so that I can keep the OEM look with a much uprated sound!

The tweeters in the front are VERY easy to change over. Just pop them out and pop the new ones in - mine partly popped in then are finished off with electrical tape... The rears people seem to say don't bother with entirely... I am actually going to experiment with putting a variable resistor in-line with the rear tweeters so they can still work, but at a much lower volume so they don't make everything too treble-ey up front! I would definitely recommend x-overs as well - I tried the JBLs with and without and without was much clearer!

Definitely would like to know your opinion of the Liteairs! I think I will investigate if I can send the JBLs back and upgrade them to the Liteairs or the Blackairs anyway... Should have done more research by the sounds of it!

If you could send me some pics that would be great. I'm currently waiting for a friend to be available to do the work. Wish i could do it myself however i'm useless at things like that. He works as a mechanic for Skoda so guess thats why i would rather him do it, should take the car apart in seconds compared to me and knows what he's doing...

We did have a go at the tweeters for a second however the vibe ones were bigger but then again we never really had that much time to experiment... I'm also thinking of leaving the rear tweeters out or maybe mount them near the rear speakers them self...

The only dilema i have now is thinking of the power cable to run through my car. I currently have a vibe 4 gauge wiring kit powering my Vibe Blackair V12 active sub. Was thinking of putting the 4 gauge into a distributor and branching of with 2 lots of 8 gauge power cable to run both the amp and sub. Only worry is thinking if it's enough or not. Maybe i have to go for an 0 gauge power lead and branch off with 2 lots of 4 gauge cable :/

I will say that although i only change the speakers and nothing else, they sound very clear! and thats them as they are now. Wait until the amp crossovers and tweeters are fitted. Although i blew a speaker from underpowering it, Vibe were great and send me a replacement. when the replacement arrive it turned out to be a whole set of front speakers again meaning i have spares.

One word of advice. If you ever buy Vibe equipment, make sure you register for warranty on the same day of purchase otherwise you can't register at all. The warranty last a year and as mentioned before, its worth it

Hijacking the topic slightly - I installed a pair of these recently http://caraudiosecur...s_id/14739.html and have now amped them too. But I am totally unimpressed by the bass response. I don't listen to drum and bass or anything crazy, but for normal rock etc the bass speakers are bassier (although the fronts have much better clarity).

However, I'm beginning to suspect this may be how I mounted them which is something you need to consider when upgrading! I made my own MDF rings and then mounted the speakers with some plastic sheeting at the back to stop water ingress.

Opinions? If i made a poor choice then everybody seems to have been discussing the Vibe Airlites - so I may change to them! I am also intrigued as to why the crossovers are tiny on these, compared to the massive ones you see with other brands and whether filling the cavity with shredded paper would increase bass response?

The rears are also 4" speakers with about 5.5cm of clearance before they hit the seat belt holder. If you plan on putting anything bigger in you would also have to adapt the plastic plate - or mount in the parcel shelf!

Also, if you are planning on installing anything, Tim's guide (maybe the Tim above? EDIT: Yes the Tim above. He has a thread on here too. Awesome work!) is very useful! I installed my amp under the passenger seat - and although it was a right pain in the arse to connect everything and put the seat back, and you can't adjust the settings once it is in place, it is very discreet!

http://www.tigerstyl...68575b&start=45

<Gwah...> Lose the plastic sheeting pronto. Fabia normally has unusually GOOD mid-bass.

If worried look for Boom Mat or XTC speaker shields. Though personally, I'd probably try to whip something up with a couple of laminations of flashing tape. It's important that the back of the speaker is as open as possible for it to breathe properly.

J.

This is 100% do-able by somebody with no previous experience!

Vibe customer service sounds excellent! I haven't actually got around to registering yet... I better get on and do that! I do still have the receipt etc. so hopefully will be okay!

The two guides I used are this:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/139539-fitting-amp-to-symphony-headunit/

and Tim's:

http://www.tigerstyl...68575b&start=45

If fitting under the seat then you will need to remove the entire seat, which is done by 4 M10 multi-spline bolts (make sure you have the right tool - M8 hex will work but I managed to strip a head doing it with that...). It is recommended you replace these as they can be very stiff and can strip easily - they are about £2.50 for 4. I then removed the runner from one side to get the adjuster bar off - then when in situ, I cable tied the amp back on followed by re-fixing the runner. The runner is held on with 4 M4 (I think) hex bolts - but it is easier to just use a 13mm spanner on the nuts! To pull each bolt out/put in, you have to move the chair back and forth in the runner to get access - a pain in the arse when trying to refit inside the car - but again with an assistant, and some persistence it is do-able.

The Slick A1 is a tight fit under the seat, and I fitted it under the front part (just above the bar that is used to adjust the position) with the top facing up, into the seat. I secured it using 4 cable ties which works just fine. Some tips for you though (they will make more sense as you do it):

- Make sure the amp is setup as you want it before you fix it to the chair - you won't be able to adjust it again unless you take the seat out!

- Make sure you have enough slack in the ends of your cables to fiddle with the amp as you attach it to the bottom of the chair. You have to attach it to the chair in the car (before you bolt the seat back down) so need one person sitting and tilting the chair up whilst you work on the bottom. If you don't leave enough (as I did) you end up pulling the connections out... and then you have to remove the amp and screw the connections in again - again these are not accessible when the amp is fitted!

- To run the cables under the carpet you don't have to remove the centre console and the driver's seat (as Tim did), but instead can just remove the glovebox and the bit of trim that covers the threshold for the front and rear doors - this is removed by a sharp pull up. A bit fiddly to refit.

- You can then run the power cables under the trim to the pre-existing hole in the firewall behind the glovebox. I used gauge 8 wire which just about fits through along with the pre-existing wire - if you are using a thicker cable you will have to drill a new hole!

- The audio cables I ran under the carpet and to the back right corner of the passenger footwell - then out the top of the carpet and behind the piece of velcro trim to the back of the radio.

- I ran the power cable behind the ECU and ABS controller, behind the air filter and under the battery, then ran it up with the other positive wiring, and connected it to one of the terminals at the top. Remember to fit your fuse close to the battery - too.

I think it is a good idea running one power cable through the firewall and then splitting it in two at the level of the seat. You can send one off to underneath the seat, and the other can head off, still under the trim, to the boot. Will be very neat!

Hope this makes sense...

This is 100% do-able by somebody with no previous experience!

Vibe customer service sounds excellent! I haven't actually got around to registering yet... I better get on and do that! I do still have the receipt etc. so hopefully will be okay!

The two guides I used are this:

http://www.briskoda....phony-headunit/

and Tim's:

http://www.tigerstyl...68575b&start=45

If fitting under the seat then you will need to remove the entire seat, which is done by 4 M10 multi-spline bolts (make sure you have the right tool - M8 hex will work but I managed to strip a head doing it with that...). It is recommended you replace these as they can be very stiff and can strip easily - they are about £2.50 for 4. I then removed the runner from one side to get the adjuster bar off - then when in situ, I cable tied the amp back on followed by re-fixing the runner. The runner is held on with 4 M4 (I think) hex bolts - but it is easier to just use a 13mm spanner on the nuts! To pull each bolt out/put in, you have to move the chair back and forth in the runner to get access - a pain in the arse when trying to refit inside the car - but again with an assistant, and some persistence it is do-able.

The Slick A1 is a tight fit under the seat, and I fitted it under the front part (just above the bar that is used to adjust the position) with the top facing up, into the seat. I secured it using 4 cable ties which works just fine. Some tips for you though (they will make more sense as you do it):

- Make sure the amp is setup as you want it before you fix it to the chair - you won't be able to adjust it again unless you take the seat out!

- Make sure you have enough slack in the ends of your cables to fiddle with the amp as you attach it to the bottom of the chair. You have to attach it to the chair in the car (before you bolt the seat back down) so need one person sitting and tilting the chair up whilst you work on the bottom. If you don't leave enough (as I did) you end up pulling the connections out... and then you have to remove the amp and screw the connections in again - again these are not accessible when the amp is fitted!

- To run the cables under the carpet you don't have to remove the centre console and the driver's seat (as Tim did), but instead can just remove the glovebox and the bit of trim that covers the threshold for the front and rear doors - this is removed by a sharp pull up. A bit fiddly to refit.

- You can then run the power cables under the trim to the pre-existing hole in the firewall behind the glovebox. I used gauge 8 wire which just about fits through along with the pre-existing wire - if you are using a thicker cable you will have to drill a new hole!

- The audio cables I ran under the carpet and to the back right corner of the passenger footwell - then out the top of the carpet and behind the piece of velcro trim to the back of the radio.

- I ran the power cable behind the ECU and ABS controller, behind the air filter and under the battery, then ran it up with the other positive wiring, and connected it to one of the terminals at the top. Remember to fit your fuse close to the battery - too.

I think it is a good idea running one power cable through the firewall and then splitting it in two at the level of the seat. You can send one off to underneath the seat, and the other can head off, still under the trim, to the boot. Will be very neat!

Hope this makes sense...

Wow that seems like a lot of mucking around. I think i might just be best putting the amp in the boot along with the sub. Also thinking of just running 2 x 4 gauge power cables from the battery to each amp rather than using a distribution block as well as it seems more cost affective and a bit easier as one of the devices is already wired up and configured...

Hopefully only just over a week to go now before is all set up. Will keep you posted

You do not need to "register" for a warranty to become effective. Registration is usually just a way for the company to grab your details, and sell it on to marketing firms, in order to send you junk mail and make even more money for themselves.

I wouldn't run two cables, more bulk and surely that's not cost effective?

I'd run one out from the battery immediately into a fuse block, then right into the boot to a distribution block, fuse each power lead then split off to respective amps.

This way the whole system is protected by the fuse inthe bay, followed by a fuse for each individual power lead to amp.

I ran this method in my polo, after weighing up a few options I found it to be the best way.

You do not need to "register" for a warranty to become effective. Registration is usually just a way for the company to grab your details, and sell it on to marketing firms, in order to send you junk mail and make even more money for themselves.

Your most probably right however on the warranty card it specifcally states that the items need to be registered on the day of purchase to receive 1 years Warranty.., Nothing was displayed regarding marketing either...

I wouldn't run two cables, more bulk and surely that's not cost effective?

I'd run one out from the battery immediately into a fuse block, then right into the boot to a distribution block, fuse each power lead then split off to respective amps.

This way the whole system is protected by the fuse inthe bay, followed by a fuse for each individual power lead to amp.

I ran this method in my polo, after weighing up a few options I found it to be the best way.

What gauge was your main power feed and what gauge did you use to branch off from the distribution block. The only reason why i say cost affective is that i already have a 4 gauge wiring kit lying around. Only thing is, will they both fit under the trunking together? would a 0 gauge on it's own fit even?

The dilema is, i have a 4 gauge power cable currently feeding my sub. i now have a 4 channel amp and want to power this on top. Will the 4 gauge power cable be man enough to power both the sub and amp? my initial idea was to use my 4 gauge and fuse it close to the battery, put a distribution block in the boot and have 2 x 8 gauge leads coming off (also fused in the block itself) and powering each appliance...

There is lots of room under the trim. It is where the main loom for the car runs.

From memory it was 4 gauge all round. Before and after split.

Power was running a 600W amp for sub (probably at about 300 RMS). And 4 speakers running off amp running probably about 70RMS.

What power are you running? A quick look on Talk Audio will give you an idea about what gauge wire you need.

4 Gauge from the battery should be fine so long as the fuses on all the amps add up to 80 amps or less. Some sites say 120 amps should be ok as an absolute maximum for 4 gauge.

ok the items i currently have:

SUB:

http://www.amazon.co...&pf_rd_i=468294

4 Channel Amp:

http://www.amazon.co...46663076&sr=1-1

4 gauge wiring kit:

http://www.halfords....tegoryId_265889

4 gauge in and out of the dist block will be more than enough mate.