Should I go with 5x7's or convert to 6.5's | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Should I go with 5x7's or convert to 6.5's

playtilithrtz

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City, State
Long Island, New York
Year, Model & Trim Level
2003 Explorer Eddie Bauer
Hey guy im new to the forums, and i have done some research on speakers but i dont know what size i should go for when replacing the stock speakers.

I got an 03 eddie bauer and i know that they have have stock 5x7's all round. My question is should i stick with 5x7's or should i convert them to 6.5's? What are the pro's and con's about each.

BTW to let you know i was thinking about going with some alpine type r components or some focal components.

Also, where can i get tweeter pods for the doors or for the pillar/dash?
 



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Hello & welcome:)

I would definately go with 6.5" speakers. You will get better sound froma round speaker as opposed to an oval shaped speaker. Plus there is alot more choices when it comes to 6.5" over 5x7/6x8"

I don't know on the tweeter pods as I have a '97 Mountaineer but someone here will know for sure.
 






The stock speakers are 6x8's, though most companies that don't make 6x8's make 5x7's that do the trick. 6x8" coaxials are nice in that they're usually a drop-in replacement for the stockers, and give a big improvement in sound with minimal install work. You can usually use these with the stock system/amp/etc. You can get adapter plates to make the 6x8" speaker openings fit 5.25" seperates, or do like you mentioned and put 6.5's in the 6x8" location and a tweeter elsewhere. Seperates are much better in terms of overall sound, but they do require work installing, especially if mounting the tweeter somewhere else. These require the power of a larger amplifier, so plan on getting one to power the speakers and the mounting and wiring associated with that as well.
 






Just to add my 2 cents. I was able to squeeze 6x9's in all four doors. Now that is in a '96 and I only had to drill new holes to mount.
 






Give Clarion a shot. Try the SRC5796 - they are actual 2 drivers mounted on a plate instead of a coaxial design. Price-wise they're actually pretty good if not cheap. The US site says $169 (but thats probably old). I got it for CAN$80 /pair. They won't be high end but it's way better in terms of sound reproduction compared to oem.

http://www.clarion.com/us/en/produc...s/SRC5796/us-en-product-pf_1165294763078.html

Type R's are good speakers - but not the best. I have 2 type R subs and used to have type R coaxials all around. I ended up changing the fronts to clarions. They produced cleaner and provided more clarity over the type R drivers.
 






I'd definitely go with a 6.5 component set, if you can. Powered by a separate amp you will not regret it. You just can't compare going off head unit power.
Expect 100-150 watts per side, Overkill is preferable.
 






I'd definitely go with a 6.5 component set, if you can. Powered by a separate amp you will not regret it. You just can't compare going off head unit power.
Expect 100-150 watts per side, Overkill is preferable.

agreed

theres no such thing as overkill
 






thanks for all your input, but i got confused somewhere along here.
Now what size speakers are in the doors? someone said 6x8, and 6x9's fit.
so if 6x9's fit then should i get those or 6.5's?

also anyone know about those tweeter pods?
 






5x7s and 6x8s fit in the door stock, and they make adapter plates to use 5.25" or 6.5" speakers. Hope that clears it up.

When I do mine Im going to try for the 6.5s.. If not then obviously a 5.25" will do, and the tweeter pods are what produce the highs in a component setup, where as the main speaker is the mid-bass placed in the door. The tweeter pods you mount wherever you want, but I've noticed most people with explorers mount them in the corner of the window on the door next to the side mirror.. If that made sense.
 






5x7s and 6x8s fit in the door stock, and they make adapter plates to use 5.25" or 6.5" speakers. Hope that clears it up.

When I do mine Im going to try for the 6.5s.. If not then obviously a 5.25" will do, and the tweeter pods are what produce the highs in a component setup, where as the main speaker is the mid-bass placed in the door. The tweeter pods you mount wherever you want, but I've noticed most people with explorers mount them in the corner of the window on the door next to the side mirror.. If that made sense.

depending on how serious you want to get about your sound. Mounting angle and position of the tweeter is crucial. As is sealing the door panel as well as possible to create an enclosure for your mid (providng you dont have kick panels). Some component sets are designed to have the tweeter as close to the mid as possible, some strongly suggest as much seperation as possible.

In my truck I put the 6.5 mid in the door and glassed the tweeters into the A pillars. And let me tell you it sounds absolutely delicious!
focal_pillars.jpg
 






Definitely go with the 6.5 components. You will not regret it. Huge differences in sound quality and tone. Here is a photo of where my tweeters reside in my truck. Not the best location, but it gets the job done.
f5f10d1d.jpg
 






In my truck I put the 6.5 mid in the door and glassed the tweeters into the A pillars. And let me tell you it sounds absolutely delicious!
[/IMG]

Dude your making me hungry for saying that. :)
 






6x8's are in the doors stock. Some companies just make 5x7's since they fit more cars, and just put brackets on them that let the 5x7's fit in the 6x8 hole.

6x8's (or 5x7's) are what you want for a drop-in, no-hassle speaker replacement. You can get low power handling 6x8's that go well with the stock radio/amps, or you can get higher power ones that need an amp like seperates. 6x9's will cram in there, but theres not much advantage to 6x9's over 6x8's other than a little more bass.

The 5.25 adapter plate setup, (with the tweeters next to the mids on the plate), would give awesome sound with only the hassle of putting in the plate and a crossover along with the components. 6.5's with tweeters in the door panel corners would be more work. Either way, seperates are what you want for the best possible high-power sound.

It really comes down to how much work you want to do installing it (if you're doing it yourself), or how much you wanna pay. If you're keeping the stock head unit/amps and want the least expensive upgrade option, drop in 6x8's are it. If you want to spend the dough on an aftermarket headunit, amplifers, etc. and get the best sound, spending a little more on seperates, (either the 5.25 or 6.5's) and the time to put them in, makes sense.
 






i think that im just gonna go with the 6.5 component setup. The work will all be done on my own like i did to every car that i owned. I am extremelly knowledgable about audio setups, and the placement of speakers and what-not.

But still my question has not been answered yet. I am looking for pods for the tweeter that go either on the door, or replace the a-pillar, or something that goes on top of the dash adjacent to the a-pillar.
 












You're probably best going for a set of 6.5" components up front and a set of 6x9's in the back doors.

That's just my opinion tho

Si
 






I wish I would have gone with a 6.5" comp set when I did my install....but I weighed the pros and cons for my setup and it just didn't work. I live in WI and drive an 01 Sport 4x4 (just a little bit less space in the ****pit than a 4 door). It probably would have worked--but I didn't want to take the chance of my friends booting my kicks! In addition, I have the DVD nav unit mounted up under the glove box which gives the passenger side even slightly LESS foot room. I went with the Infinity Kappa 6x8/5x7 (572.3 at the time) and couldn't be happier with their sound! I've got each of them receiving about 120 watts and that coupled with the DD subs and center channel make for excellent 5.1 video (with the same Infinity speakers running off the HU for the rear as I don't really need/want much rear fill).

I would check out Infinity's comp sets as well--as their sound quality is quite good!

Good Luck,

Jordan23
 






Someone on another site had dash vents for sale with tweeter mounts glassed in. I'd like to know how the tweeters would sound in that spot, at the ends of the dash(top vents).
 






Heres all I did to put 6.5s in my 2005. Level of difficulty 2. Just traced and then cut the little notch out to let the panel mount back on.

eDsubs006.jpg


eDsubs008.jpg
 



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I thought that I had seen a bolt in speaker pair that included both a 6.5" speaker and a tweeter, plus a crossover. Did I imagine that, or was that some other size combination? I recall a price of like $150-175, which is what put it out of my search then.
 






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