Speaker upgrade...

[ARhode]

I'm looking to upgrade the speakers in my 2011 sedan. I don't want to change the head unit because I'm in love with the bluetooth streaming music. That being said, I wanted some advice on the the stereo.

I wanted to make sure that it is possible to get speakers and an amp to run them, all while leaving the stock head unit? Can we do that? Any advice on it?

Also, any speakers anyone can recommend for our car?

[SubyPride]

Im from New Zealand but i highly recommend Kicker Speakers excellent sound quality and it can really get quite loud , i have a 2000 WRX sedan fitted with Kicker 6inch Components in the front doors with tweeters and if you use spacers and put a bit of time into cutting out the tray 6x9s fit quite nicely , I use a 1000w amp and it runs them fine. You should be able to keep your headunit but i'd ask someone that really knows first just to be safe . Hope this helps.

[EJ257]

Yes, you can. Make a collection of music you typically listen to and bring it to your local car audio store. See what speakers fit your ear best.

Kicker, IMO, is no longer the quality it once was.

Don't bother with rear speakers. Spend that money on a sub /better fronts.

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[Heide264]

Yes, you can. Make a collection of music you typically listen to and bring it to your local car audio store. See what speakers fit your ear best.

Kicker, IMO, is no longer the quality it once was.

Don't bother with rear speakers. Spend that money on a sub /better fronts.

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^Good info here^

Also, most half decent double DIN head units now support blue tooth streaming. FYI.

[rc_wizard]

Like said before, never buy a speaker without hearing it first with the music you listen to. If you upgrade your

front door speakers, it would be best replace the rear door speakers with the same line of speakers your

bought for the front. For the best information I would HIGHLY recommend talking to the people at Crutchfield.

Their website is crutchfield.com and their number is 1.888.955.6000 These guys have the best customer

service possible and can tell you any and everything you will need to know. They can also make suggestions on

what speakers will sound good with your music. In my 08 WRX I have Alpine 6.5" Type-S speakers in the doors

and 2 12" Kicker Comps in the truck and everything is crystal clear. One thing you might want to look at is

speakers with a silk dome tweeter. They will provide crisp clear highs without sounding too harsh and piercing

like some aluminum dome tweeters will. Kicker, Alpine, Focal, Infinity, JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate, and Polk are

good speakers. Again I would highly recommend calling Crutchfield to make sure you get what you need. 1 tip

though is to get any part number or product name of what they recommend and write it down and see if you

can find it somewhere else cheaper. They do charge a little more for their excellent customer service.

[SamXp]

It is easy to find aftermarket head units that do A2DP Bluetooth streaming, but I retained the stock head unit for a factory look, ease of use (large buttons) and the USB/AUX port in the console. All could be accomplished with an aftermarket unit, but not easily.

I'd recommend something like a JL Clean Sweep or JBL MS-8 to clean up the factory equalization before sending to an amplifier. After that, speaker selection becomes pretty subjective. If your priority is bass heavy music with tight, powerful kick drums, then go for a long excursion 6 1/2" mid. If you listen to mostly acoustic, folk, piano, vocals, etc. then you'll want to investigate speakers with better midrange, often at the expense of long excursion and big midbass.
Focal, Seas, Hybrid Audio, Morel, Diamond are all good brands, but will require more work on your part to select a driver that suits your listening tastes.