Car Speakers - ECLIPSE vs PIONEER ??

[Pipelayer]

I am so desperately trying to decide which of these two speaker sets to purchase to replace my 4 door speakers.

1.) Eclipse SE8375 - 5" x 7" 3 way speakers:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-vDSr2EKyzdR/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=52200&I=099SE8375

2.) Pioneer TS-A6881R - 6"x8" 4-way speakers:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-vDSr2EKyzdR/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?wm=fp&I=130TSA6881&g=52200

I really like what I read about these two speakers, so much so, that I can't make up my mind. Hoping, maybe someone who owns or have heard them can help me out.

Also, if you have a better suggestion my ears are open.

Thanks

 

[Anime]

Pioneer, hands down.

I'd only suggest the 4-ways if you're putting some power to them, like a 50W x 4 amp or something. Otherwise, you can get the 3-way Pioneers, which are almost the same thing, for $50-60/pair at walmart, saving quite a bit over the Crutchfield price. Crutchfield is nice because they include adapters, but you can get speaker harness adapters for $2-3/ea at Autozone.

 

[Pipelayer]

Pioneer, hands down.

I'd only suggest the 4-ways if you're putting some power to them, like a 50W x 4 amp or something. Otherwise, you can get the 3-way Pioneers, which are almost the same thing, for $50-60/pair at walmart, saving quite a bit over the Crutchfield price. Crutchfield is nice because they include adapters, but you can get speaker harness adapters for $2-3/ea at Autozone.

Indeed you are right about a cheaper price, I have already located both sets of these speakers for under $70.

I noticed you didn't suggest the Eclipse at all. Most all the hi-end car stereo setups have them. I will be honest about my concern, I know the Eclipse's are probably better speakers and they even cost more. But my main concern is that I only have (just ordered, haven't received yet) one 10" subwoofer with a 225 watts RMS amp/500W peak (MTX Thunderform enclosure with woofer and amp). I'm wondering if that's going to yield sufficient bass. Eclipse's low frequency only caps out at 80 hertz, that's not much bass at all. On the other hand the Pioneer's bass goes down to 30 hertz which is pretty darn low seeing lower than 20 hertz is beneath human audibility.

My other concern it sound quality, I've heard that the midrange on the Pioneer's are slightly lacking, but still good. And I've been told that the Eclipse's are tight all around, totally excellent on both treble and midrange. However, not yet hearing them myself, I don't know if any of this stuff is true. So here I am seeking advice. And have to say, so far the advice on this forum has been EXCELLENT !!!

 

[LBarr2002]

I say Pioneer also. I've got a set of 2-ways in my '91 which aren't bad, and 3-ways in my '92 which are great. I've got two MTX 10" subs with only 300 Watts to them, and its a good match.

 

[Anime]

I can't recall ever hearing Eclipse's are great or anything. Midrange and even highs on some Pioneers are extremely lacking (like 2-ways), but should be great on the 3 and 4-ways with dedicated midranges and tweeters for the mids and highs compared to a single tweeter doing the work. If you can find reviews that say the Eclipses are worth the price, you may want to try them. I'd say for a budget setup, the Pioneers would be best. Also, even though the Pioneers SAY they have a frequency response down to 30Hz, they really fall off below 80-100Hz, since the 6x8 woofer isn't going to produce lower frequencies that well. They do hit pretty hard for a speaker, though. With the addition of a MTX sub, you should have good full-range sound for the price, and hopefully an easy install.

 

[roman1124]

I agree with the Pioneer 3-way from walmart. I put 4 of them in my 98 explorer with only the factory amp and they rocked. I spent $120 for all four and it took only about an hour to install all of them.

 

[Pipelayer]

I'm placing what will possibly be my chioce here so I can get some opinions. Unless I get some serious negative feedback I think I'll likely be going with the JL Audio XR570CXi(5x7): http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_id=945

And the JL Audio 300/4 amp (4 channel): http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?Source=googlebase&ProductID=11726
Found it much cheaper than this price

Please let me know what you think - Good or Bad. Thanks-

 

[Killem234]

I would say just get 3 way pioneers from walmart and you will be good those things are ####ing sweet.

 

[lilone71742]

JL's

I have a pair of those in my explorer... with the bass blockers and tweeters up front.. The sound quality is great.. I also have pioneers in the back that need to be changed out and switched to JL's because the JL's sound so clear.

 

[Pipelayer]

I have a pair of those in my explorer... with the bass blockers and tweeters up front.. The sound quality is great.. I also have pioneers in the back that need to be changed out and switched to JL's because the JL's sound so clear.

That's exactly the type of thing I've heard from other JL users, not specifically pertaining to the Pioneers but to many other speakers as well. Believe me, I appreciate the advice of everyone who's taken the time out to post. But I am looking for varied opinions as well as users of the speakers in question. Without a doubt there are a lot of Pioneer users on this forum and I am glad for their input, but I'd also like to hear from some Eclipse & JL Audio users too.

So... Keep it Coming - Thanks

 

[Dan Whitaker]

What is your budget? Boston Acoustic are great speakers.

http://www.explorerforum.com/reviewpost/showproduct.php/product/289/cat/all

 

[Exploderpilot]

i think it all comes down to the audiophile effect. if you're a sound nut, and you want absolutely amazing sound, then cough up the money for the high end stuff from boston or polk, but otherwise, all the mid level stuff is pretty similar. i have four alpine r series 5x7's in a ranger extended cab, with one jl audio 12, all running off a little 4x25 alpine v12 amp. 550 bucks out the door including a sony mp3 headunit. it sounds amazing in there!

 

[Pipelayer]

What is your budget? Boston Acoustic are great speakers.

http://www.explorerforum.com/reviewpost/showproduct.php/product/289/cat/all

Checked out the Boston Acoustics SL80.......

... guess you can say.... I'm confused again - Can't decide between the JLs and the Bostons now

But thanks for the tip, lots of good stuff out there about the Bostons

 

[extrmndor3]

eclipse it will be better not louder but cleaner and thats what matters...

also u dont need 6x8 or 5x7 the oval shaped design lacks mid end response compared to a round shaped speaker...

i suggest get the eclipse... speakers built a mdf bracket or buy a prefabricated abs plastic bracket to acomodate 6.5 or 5.25 inch speakers in your location...


if u now want boston vs jl... u have to see what you like best...


boston better mid end and jl better high end nto liek top of the line i meant to say that boston will have better midrange response and the jl will have great high end response or on another words better tweeters

 

[Anime]

I suggested the Pioneers as the best "drop in" option that would be ideal with the factory radio & amp or an aftermarket head unit. If you want to move up to higher power speakers with an amp bigger than 50W x 4, you'd probably want something like JLs or Bostons, though Pioneer makes some cool high end stuff, too. If you want top end stuff, I'd do as suggested and get 5.25" or 6.5" seperates, use an adapter plate to mount them in the 6x8 hole, and use fresh wires all around.