Cheap 6.5" car speaker recommendations?

[Wesley Hunt]

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap (<= $80 US/pair) 6.5" car
speakers? I want something with a neutral sound, and decent but not
boomy bass. Efficiency and power handling aren't major concerns. I
listen to mostly classical and talk radio, and some rock, but I went to
Best Buy and could only test their speakers with rap, so I had trouble
judging them. Thanks in advance for any help.
--
Wesley Hunt
(remove "no spam" twice)

[Joseph Oberlander]

Wesley Hunt wrote:

> Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap (<= $80 US/pair) 6.5" car
> speakers? I want something with a neutral sound, and decent but not
> boomy bass. Efficiency and power handling aren't major concerns. I
> listen to mostly classical and talk radio, and some rock, but I went to
> Best Buy and could only test their speakers with rap, so I had trouble
> judging them. Thanks in advance for any help.

Kenwood makes several lines of 6.5 inch speakers. The better ones
run about $80 a pair and are more accurate and cleaner - as
opposed to the ~$50 ones. They have a tweeter in the speaker,
but mounted above it. Rubber surrounds. Decent crossovers.

The KFC-1679ie seems to be their "midrange" line. These sound
much better, IMO, than the 1669S and 1959S.

(cut and paste the link if it wraps)
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=44&sortBy=price&pageId=2&productId=2520
92db efficiency and 35hz low end.

The S series just don't sound as good. Cheap junk that are
likely what you saw in the store.

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=44&sortBy=price&pageId=2&productId=2519
Of course, the 1689ie is better. 30hz low end.
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/discountsonline/kekf63imense.html
$44.75. Since your budget is $80, we can do better. :)

BestBuy wants $69 for these.

***
The ones that are closest to mine, though, are the Kenwood
X series. I have a pair of 5 1/2 inchers that are comparable
to the KFC-X138. 28hz low end, rubber surrounds, and very
good sound. The KFC-X168 6.5 incher is better, of course.

BestBuy doesn't carry these, though any dedicated car audio
store should. I like mail-order as Kendwood products go
on sale frequently.

http://www.hookedontronics.com/sales/K4175b2828_P117_Kenwood+Excelon_KFC-X138.htm
$78. These sound gorgeous. Mine are blue, but the same thing.

http://www.hookedontronics.com/sales/K4175b284a_P117_Kenwood+Excelon_KFC-X168.htm
$84 for the X168s.

These two would be my choice. They make classical and vocals sound
almost as good as my main system in the house. Worth the extra
money.

[EFFENDI]

Joseph Oberlander wrote:
>
>
> Wesley Hunt wrote:
>
>> Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap (<= $80 US/pair) 6.5"
>> car speakers? I want something with a neutral sound, and decent but
>> not boomy bass. Efficiency and power handling aren't major concerns. I
>> listen to mostly classical and talk radio, and some rock, but I went
>> to Best Buy and could only test their speakers with rap, so I had
>> trouble judging them. Thanks in advance for any help.
>
>
> Kenwood makes several lines of 6.5 inch speakers. The better ones
> run about $80 a pair and are more accurate and cleaner - as
> opposed to the ~$50 ones. They have a tweeter in the speaker,
> but mounted above it. Rubber surrounds. Decent crossovers.
>
> The KFC-1679ie seems to be their "midrange" line. These sound
> much better, IMO, than the 1669S and 1959S.
>
> (cut and paste the link if it wraps)
> http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=44&sortBy=price&pageId=2&productId=2520
>
> 92db efficiency and 35hz low end.
>
> The S series just don't sound as good. Cheap junk that are
> likely what you saw in the store.
>
> http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=44&sortBy=price&pageId=2&productId=2519
>
> Of course, the 1689ie is better. 30hz low end.
> http://shop.store.yahoo.com/discountsonline/kekf63imense.html
> $44.75. Since your budget is $80, we can do better. :)
>
> BestBuy wants $69 for these.
>
> ***
> The ones that are closest to mine, though, are the Kenwood
> X series. I have a pair of 5 1/2 inchers that are comparable
> to the KFC-X138. 28hz low end, rubber surrounds, and very
> good sound. The KFC-X168 6.5 incher is better, of course.
>
> BestBuy doesn't carry these, though any dedicated car audio
> store should. I like mail-order as Kendwood products go
> on sale frequently.
>
> http://www.hookedontronics.com/sales/K4175b2828_P117_Kenwood+Excelon_KFC-X138.htm
>
> $78. These sound gorgeous. Mine are blue, but the same thing.
>
> http://www.hookedontronics.com/sales/K4175b284a_P117_Kenwood+Excelon_KFC-X168.htm
>
> $84 for the X168s.
>
> These two would be my choice. They make classical and vocals sound
> almost as good as my main system in the house. Worth the extra
> money.
>

Kenwood is OK. I forgot to include Alpine and Audiobahn. They are both
reasonably priced and have great sound quality. I have installed a lot
of Kenwood speakers and had a lot of complaints that they sound 'dull'.

[Joseph Oberlander]

EFFENDI wrote:


> Kenwood is OK. I forgot to include Alpine and Audiobahn. They are both
> reasonably priced and have great sound quality. I have installed a lot
> of Kenwood speakers and had a lot of complaints that they sound 'dull'.

That's because they were the cheap crud you see at Circuit City and
simmilar places. Their top-end line is actually quite decent - at
least as good as anything Alpine makes.

[Tony Hwang]

John Dziurlaj wrote:

> Wesley Hunt > wrote in message >...
>
>>Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap (<= $80 US/pair) 6.5" car
>>speakers? I want something with a neutral sound, and decent but not
>>boomy bass. Efficiency and power handling aren't major concerns. I
>>listen to mostly classical and talk radio, and some rock, but I went to
>>Best Buy and could only test their speakers with rap, so I had trouble
>>judging them. Thanks in advance for any help.
>
>
> You can get natural sounding Infinity's for just under $100. Pioneer
> is good for the price, but their tweets are a bit sharp if you ask me.
>
> ~John Dziurlaj
Hi,
I picked up two pairs of Infinity ones from Ebay for my kids cars
rear deck. Good sounding speakers with good efficiency.
Tony

[Rich Andrews.]

Wesley Hunt > wrote in news:weNOsleSPAMy267-
:

> Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap (<= $80 US/pair) 6.5" car
> speakers? I want something with a neutral sound, and decent but not
> boomy bass. Efficiency and power handling aren't major concerns. I
> listen to mostly classical and talk radio, and some rock, but I went to
> Best Buy and could only test their speakers with rap, so I had trouble
> judging them. Thanks in advance for any help.

The offerings at www.d-s-t.com are quite good. Madisound.com is one USA
dealer. I highly recommend them.

Look for the Aluminum or Coppper shorting ring in the voice coil area. It
reduces distortion a *LOT*!

r


--
Nothing beats the bandwidth of a station wagon filled with DLT tapes.

[Peter Klein]

You want good sounding speakers with "neutral" sound and you expect to find
cheap speakers that will provide this? 6.5" coaxial speakers are almost all
produced "off shore" in the Asian market. The cheapest speakers this size
will be found where no one looks for speakers: Auto Zone, Pep Boys,
etc.Classical music is much more demanding than rock because of the details
and crescendos. Cheap speakers will reveal much less of classical sounds
especially if the speakers are played off deck power instead of an
amplifier. P.


"Wesley Hunt" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap (<= $80 US/pair) 6.5" car
> speakers? I want something with a neutral sound, and decent but not
> boomy bass. Efficiency and power handling aren't major concerns. I
> listen to mostly classical and talk radio, and some rock, but I went to
> Best Buy and could only test their speakers with rap, so I had trouble
> judging them. Thanks in advance for any help.
> --
> Wesley Hunt
> (remove "no spam" twice)

[Tha Ghee]

"Peter Klein" > wrote in message
news:rgEdc.1044$rC3.33276@attbi_s53...
> You want good sounding speakers with "neutral" sound and you expect to
find
> cheap speakers that will provide this? 6.5" coaxial speakers are almost
all
> produced "off shore" in the Asian market. The cheapest speakers this size
> will be found where no one looks for speakers: Auto Zone, Pep Boys,
> etc.Classical music is much more demanding than rock because of the
details
> and crescendos. Cheap speakers will reveal much less of classical sounds
> especially if the speakers are played off deck power instead of an
> amplifier. P.
>
actually most spks are produced by Pioneer.

[MZ]

> .Classical music is much more demanding than rock because of the details
> and crescendos.

I don't necessarily agree with this...

[Scott Johnson]

me either


"MZ" > wrote in message
...
> > .Classical music is much more demanding than rock because of the details
> > and crescendos.
>
> I don't necessarily agree with this...
>
>