Why 6.5" speakers in front and not 6x9s?

Why is everyone going 6.5" speakers in the front doors and not replacing with 6x9s?

Do 6x9s suck? Seems bigger is better for speakers is it not?

thanks!

 

Throw a rock in a pond...
Round waves or 6X9 waves?

 

Made me chuckle.

 

You never want to get oval or square speakers. Better sound comes from round speakers because science.

 

And believe everything the scientists tell you! I have 6X9’s in front and they rock!

 

lmfao @Toyotoholic
redrum448, good quality speakers come in all sizes. Your best bet is whichever fits where you want them.

 

6x9's are fine and some of the ones made by high end brands are really good. That said, the traditional round cones have more linear control which is important for sound quality. A good 6.5 round speaker can also handle its bandwidth pretty well up until the tweeter's range in most cases.

6x9's were actually developed for the use in automobiles. They are able to produce a bit more bass but that comes at the sacrifice of a smoother response across the rest of the freq band. Id image 6x9's would not extend into the upper frequencies as well as it round counter part.

Im sure theres other reasons that round cones are the industry standard over other designs but i doubt the average person could really pick up on those subtle audio differences.

 

The Froggys sound good.

 

Tell that to KEF.

 

I have RF 6x9's in mine.

 

If you get a sub (and you should) then putting in the slightly smaller 6.5 won't matter. Quality... not quantity.

 

If you want a lot of good midbass a properly powered high quality 6x9 in a correctly sealed door will generally beat an equivalent 6.5 for midbass output.

There are some compromises as there is some inherent cone flex due to the different lengths of the speaker cone. A long side vs a short side if you will. This can lead to flexing which can lead to distortion. However high end 6x9s can negate these problems with stiffer cones, etc.

Hertz had the high energy hsk 6x9s that were amazing. Image dynamics made a great 6x9. I have heard the audio frogs are really good nBut I’m old. They may have newer stuff out or no longer make them. I’ve been out of the audio game a long time.

 

Hehehe. Science? Please provide references.

 

yeah that’s incorrect.

 

This is a good read on the topic.
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threads/myth-oval-odd-shaped-speakers-cant-sound-as-good-as-round-speakers.103078/

TL;DR:

 

I only ever had one tacoma with 6x9’s and they were Memphis audio. Years years ago in my 2008 Tacoma. I have had a lot of audio systems. My best system was in my C5Z06 a few years back but ended up trading it in for my 19C7Z06. That system was that good I could have competed in audio shows. My door speakers Rockford T3’s and they were not cheap but kicked ass. They were 6.5 components. Also the 6x9’s did sound good. But I prefer the 6.5 components after having both.

 

My take on 6x9 s is, it depends on the application. They have more cone and surround surface area, so there lies the potential for louder; more bass output, result. The higher ranges suffer which is why many 6x9 s are of the co axiel or tri axiel type, but if used as a midbass I think they excell. On the down side, I ve heard it described as "uneven motor energy dispersion", (although I doubt the average user would even be able to hear it), the uneven properties of the cone, and suround, (oval compared to circular), effects the rigidity of the cone area as a whole, and causes the motor to wobble, and also causes ripple effects in the sound waves. Though again, this is more like a thought experiment because the average user probably wouldn t even hear it. Maybe in a front stage for the audiophile who has an ear for that sort of thing it may be detectable. But there are audiophile 6x9 s made that I wouldn t hesitate to use in a front stage. My goto would be an Audoi Frog GS690. I actually wanted to use this, but the mounting depth is pretty deep.

 

From what I've read, if your running no sub the 6x9 would be ideal as they would give you more low end then standard 6.5 because of the larger surface area but your also losing some high end and your not going to get amazing mids and highs because of the irregular shape. I had 6x9s in my first truck back in high school. Back then they were plenty loud and I didn't really care about sound quality. In my 4runner I went with (4) 6.5" door speakers and (6) tweeters and if I would have gone with 6x9s in the doors I don't think the sound quality would be there.

 

I actually am thinking of buying a set of those audio frogs to test with. I love my utopias and while they are audibly perfect I like a little more punchy midbass which I will admit is inaccurate. I have a set of Elate 9s that I used to run but I didn’t have the doors correctly sealed up, maybe I should circle back and try those.

 

You’re making me chuckle, I loved that you mention you’ve been out of the audio game for a while and then casually note you’re running utopias and had Morel Elate 9s. I don’t think I’d agree you’re not into it. I could be wrong, if I am it sure would be nice to throw in a 3k set of Morels and be all casual about it.

Ive got a set of Virtus 602s that have been shelved for almost a year I need to get in. I’d practically die to hear those Elates, especially at that size.

What did you install them in?

 

The fact that they were 2 different speakers and manufacturers has more to do with the sound than the cone size in that situation. I wouldn’t let that make up my mind on 6x9s.

 

I have a pair of CDT CL-69SubCF s that I ve been meaning to use for some time. The frequency response floor is 35Hz, and I ve no doubt of their sound quality if the enclosure is to spec, and placed correctly.

 

It’s all old stuff that’s been in my tundras. Don’t get to excited it’s not the utopia Ms, just the no7. The elate 9 3 ways are the old ones not the fancy new ones. I actually don’t have anything currently in my tundra... it’s stock JBL. Mom got sick and I never put anything in the new tundra as I spend all my free time taking care of her.

I actually have the amp rack fabbed, the power wires run, the sail panels built for the 3 ways, placed the amps and then quit working on it. Need to get after it again when I get some time.

Also I will admit that I learned a great deal from all the stereo component swapping. Unless you compete or really care that much... there isn’t that much return after a certain point.

In fact in this latest build I will have gone full circle and gone back to tiny class D amps from mono block class A amps. It’s just not worth the power requirements and space to me. They sound amazing but they just aren’t worth what you have to give up. I have this crazy amp rack for under the rear seat and now I’m not sure I want to run it because you have to give up the utility of throwing crap in the back with the seat folded up.

 

someone has never heard of solo-baric

 

But the original Solo-Barics were round... I had two 12s back in the day and they were awesome. I was always a fan of the L7s but couldn’t afford them at the time, lol.

 

I had 2 Q7's way back when. They hit but it was all low end. For mids and highs I prefer round.

 

Good 6X9 for a vehicle are great. IMO. I’ve had good ones because they fit. I can’t ever remember a monitor or stadium speaker that was oval however.

 

Yeah, they were designed specifically for vehicles. It's a clever design when you think about how much space needed to mounting a driver when you start getting past the 6.5 round drivers. Outside or car audio, you don't typically find yourself in that specific problem.

 

I consider myself an audiophile... at home. Otherwise, every truck I've ever owned is too noisy to care about audio accuracy. I'm fine as long as things sound decent, and I also don't listen to a lot of heavy bass music (mostly rock/folk). In which case, 6x9s more than do the job for me. I do favor after market/external amps to clean up the overall sound, but I just don't get particular with details like I do at home.

Edit: Side note, I just learned recently not to trust Crutchfield 100% with vehicle-specific recommendations (and not a knock to Crutchfield, I still love them). Their website indicated that no 6x9s would fit in my truck, but that wasn't the case. I just had to find 6x9s that had less than 3" mounting depth and all is good.