Nice new loudspeakers?

I'm had the radio replaced with a CD one, and I might as well now change the loudspeakers, which I'll do myself.  I'm fairly happy with the bits of dash that need to come off, I just don't know what is a really good make of speaker to put in, any ideas?  Who's actually done an upgrade?

marc

I fitted 4 identical ( 2 in dash & 2 in habitation area ) to mine, there are 5" round dual-cone, full range (supposedly )  units & are supposed to handle 60w each, I'm a hi-fi nut & so they are still * Inappropriate Word * sounding,   BUT, they are tons better than the awful OEM units fitted, they are also bigger so altered mounts were made, definitely a big improvement however.

Modelman,

In my experience, upgrading the source of the sound, i.e. the radio or CD player, from the original or contemporary aftermarket fit, makes the greatest difference.

That said, the mk1 boxer speakers are mounted in the lower half of the dash and, in my view, the principal omission is any form of enclosure. That is, the speakers are open-backed and I believe it is generally known that speakers rely to a degree upon resonance of their enclosure to give a balance sound and reproduce the lower frequencies.

More clues as to how to improve the sound system may be drawn from examining how the speaker system changed when Boxer was upgraded from mk1 to mk2 in 2002:

1. The speakers were moved from the dash to the doors.
   
2. The Speakers were placed in closed enclosures.
   
3. Supplemental tweeters were provided in the extreme corners of the upper, flat surface of the dashboard.
   

(1) probably did very little, in fact it probably makes the situation worse, but I believe (2) would improve the low and mid-range performance. However (3) probably makes the greatest difference, particularly as the high frequencies handled by these tweeters is highly directional and will reach the ear more directly even if reflected off the inside of the screen. As you can imagine, having tweeters integral with the other speakers is of reduced value as the sound ends up directed at trouser level which is where your ears aren't.

So in a mk1 I would say put speakers in enclosures in their current position on the dash, and make sure that if tweeters are integral, that they face upwards, or relocate them as close to face level as possible.


Bartfarst

Yeah, I never mentioned that I also fitted a better head-unit, but the original post referred to speakers only, so that's why I replied about them!

modelman wrote:I fitted 4 identical ( 2 in dash & 2 in habitation area ) to mine, there are 5" round dual-cone, full range (supposedly )  units & are supposed to handle 60w each, I'm a hi-fi nut & so they are still * Inappropriate Word * sounding,   BUT, they are tons better than the awful OEM units fitted, they are also bigger so altered mounts were made, definitely a big improvement however.

Inappropriate word / phrase sounding is just what I'm after, thanks!  Oh, you meant thta in a derogratory way I just notced.  Oh well, what make and model are there / do you have a link to them?  I don't think the OEM are round are they 2," *5" rings a bell?

Marc

Correct, the factory ones are something like 3x5" or 4x6" something like that, for the replacements, I simply went on e-bay & bought 6 x high-power, full range units for cars, & I seem to remember paying around £80.00-ish, & like I said, not fantastic, but a lot better.
Quite good when parked up & radio or tv is on though.
In my case, 2 in dash & 2 under the hab-area cupboards for the radio, & 2 either side of the tv (for the tv )  in the over-cab locker.

All i can say Marc is fortunately for you it seems you don't have a Mk5 Transit which you are trying to fit after market speakers in! 

I've just done this job in my Mk5 and the standard Ford speakers are 5x7 ellipticals set in the door. No problem......or so i thought! Ordered a new set of Alpine 5x7's, removed the horrible Ford ones......only to find the Alpines would not 'mate up' to the existing bolt holes.

On the earlier Mk3 Transits, fitting after market speakers was 'abc'....a direct swap over. But the Mk5, Ford did a very craft and devious trick. The original speakers are actually elliptical, but set in a moulded plastic case which is not elliptical! And as if that isn't bad enough, the door section the speaker sits in is also slightly inset making a direct flush fit 'swap' impossible.

What would have been a mere 10 minute job on a Mk3 Transit turned into two days of sheer purgatory involving jigsawing a plinth of MDF cut to the precise inset on the door panel and then bolting the speaker to the plinth. 

It's modern age 'trickery' used by all manufacturers to stop you buying 'after market' and force people to buy OEM. Only thing is......Ford speakers are rubbish! Now i've finally got a decent audio set up....but it was made ten times more difficult no thanks to Ford!

Yeah, I had the same with the Boxer, oem units completely different from my replacements, & I also made up adaptor-plates, but it was worth it.