I'm planning to improve the stereo in my non-bose S4, so I've been doing some shopping.

I've been digging through the archives and I haven't been able to find answers to some questions I have. I'm planning to replace my stock speakers,install an amp, retain head unit.

A shop suggested something that sounded weird to me. They suggested coaxials in the rear doors and DISCONNECT the speakers on the rear deck.

1) Is that a little strange? That means no sound at all from behind.

2) When people are replacing the rear speakers, are they talking about replacing the rear door speakers or the rear deck speakers or both.

3) For those who've installed components, where does the tweeter go vs 6.5" speakers? The doors or the rear deck?

4) What is "rear fill?" Constipation? :) Seriously, what is it?

5) Where should I place the amp?

6) Do any of the wires/connectors come with either the amp or speakers?

Answer to any of these questions are greatly appreciated.

Drew

ps. Here's my tenative plan for my '00 Syphony system:

MB Quart 5.25" Q up front (I know where the tweeters go :)
MB Quart 6.5 Coaxial Referenz in the rear doors
No speakers on the rear deck
McIntosh 4 X 55 Amp

Looks like I have another question:
7) Would you do anything different?

some

1) not all that strange; there is still sound behind the driver, just not the rear passengers

2)everybody uses the term "rear" speakers differently

3) best tweeter placement is in the rear doors, not the rear deck, because it keeps the stereo imaging consistent;

4) rear fill simply refers to having speakers behind the listener to fill out the sound image, since the front speakers are in front of the driver/passenger, rather than direct to the sides

5) probably the trunk unless you have room under a front seat to fit the amp you are using (plus minimum air clearance for venting)

6) no

Drew... i got your email a few days ago... here is my nickel. As a major car audio enthusiast it is "convention" to have as little sound coming from behind the listener as possible. A "perfect" car would have all the speakers up front and placed so the wave lengths from speaker to listeners ear are approximately the same length. Granted in most cars this placement of speakers is not possible, it can be attained by "tricking" the ear by use of crossovers and equalizers that will move the image you hear to the "proper" position. i.e. vocals centered under the rear view mirror and as far back onto the hood of car as possible, all other instruments located across the dash.
NOW... to get to some of your questions, i would NOT place speakers in the rear door, nor would i use a tweeter in the rear of the car either. I would place a mid and tweet in the front of car, preferably in the kick panel, however i understand most people dont want the space taken nor the money spent on such items so in the door shall do. I would then place a pair of midBASS drivers, in the rear deck to give u the lower freq's... having had this discussion with another poster you are looking for a 6.5 that can play down to about 40hz.... there are some around for reasonable sums, less than the MBq's im sure.
The amp should/could go under the rear deck in the trunk, where it is out of the way and ventilated properly. No wires of ANY kinds come with the amp or speakers. Most shops sell amp kits that run 60-100 dollars depending on the quality of wire and the gage of wire run to the amp. For an amp of that size 8 gage is fine, ten gage is okay i suppose. (get 8 thank you)
If i am not mistaken you are in Houston? Or am i smoking something? If so email me again and i can show u in person a "proper" sound stage in a car.

Cheers and hope it helps...

Darren
`00 A4 production? boat? somewhere?
`91 Integra IASCA vehicle (for sale)

I put a lot of money into my sound system, because listening to music on a great setup is really important to me.

I have Dynaudio 1.5" soft dome tweeters, 3" mids, 5.5" woofers powered by a Butler vacuum tube amp (100x2) and a 15" USD subwoofer powered by kicker amp (and an Eclipse head unit). The tweet and mid are in a custom kick panel and the 5.5" are in the door enclosure. The amps are in the trunk with the sub enclosure.

I'd strongly recomend skipping the rear fill and spending that money on a kick panel enclosure. The sound is much better from this layout vs the stock door positions. As far as, no sound in the back, who cares. When you go to a concert, the sound comes at you not from behind (by having sound from front and back, you pull the soundstage to the middle of the car instead of in front of you). If you have someone sitting in the back seat, you'll probably want to be talking to them anyways rather than blasting music in their ears.

Having a subwoofer really makes your system sound complete, that would be the next thing to add (you can do this in pieces if you can't afford it all at once).

MB Quart are good speakers, but keep and mind they are metal dome tweeters. Generally metal dome tweets are crisp and with high detail, but to many people they can sound too sharp and become "fatigueing" to your ears (that's my view, I prefer soft dome speakers). I'd highly recomend listening to each set of speakers for at least 10 - 15 minutes (audition a few different brands).

I really liked the work that Transpotation Electronics did with my car (Hopkins, MN). I'm sure the owner (Ben Adams) would be happy to talk to you and may be able to refer you to someone where you live, here is their number (612) 933-7357.

e-mail me if you have any ?s

The fact that the installer won't to put coaxials in your rear doors is a red flag to me. I'd look for an independent shop that has had cars they've worked on submitted to shows (they should have pictures, trophies etc....) good luck

see me other post above, but if you're in the Twin Cities, MN; I'd recomend Transportation Electronics (Hopkins) or Sound Waves (Spring Lake Park).

What kind of money are we talking about with your set-up . AXEL

JL audio makes a stealth sub box that bolts up under the rear deck, and vents into the cabin via the rear deck speaker holes. nice compact design, and sounds good

After living with Boston Pro 4.4 in the stock door locations (mid & tweeter about 5 ft apart :)), and just never being happy with the overall sound, I installed Eclipse 5.25" coincicent/point source speakers in the doors. My subjective rating is about a 126.38% improvement. Very nice sound for <$200/pr. Kickpanels may be better, but much more effort. Also, I am using a pair of 8" free-air subs in the rear deck, a 4-ch PPI amp to power the whole thing, and it sounds great.

I agonized at the dealer's sound board for quite a while trying to decide on speakers. The a/d/s sounded amazing, but the huge magnets would give me fits on the install. I finally opted to make my life easy and get the Eclipse. Point is, your car isn't going to sound anything like the dealer's showroom so no sense splitting too many hairs over subtle tonal differences; just putting the speakers in better locations will make much more difference.

Sorry for the long one.
Ron