jkowtko

My B&Ws I had years ago as well ... so I don't recall all of the details clearly. I do remember, though, that listening through those speakers was like hearing my music for the first time all over again. When I listened from another room in the house, I could swear that the band was playing in the family room. That's how clear they were ... great speakers.

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't try to compare a $69 pair of Alpines again a $2500 pair of B&Ws ... but the comparison of the Alpines to the stock Mercedes speakers was just as pronounced as the B&W to my prior home speakers. Lots of detail that I hadn't heard before on the old car speakers, or even other (non-audiophile) stereo systems I have recently listened to. It reminded me of the detail of the B&Ws. One specific test I look for is the snare on the Beatles "In My Life" ... sounds unique on the B&W matrix ... it is a bit soft on the Alpine. But with the Alpine I am hearing a lot more timbre on all percussion.

Good idea on the RTA ... maybe after my amp and wire upgrade I'll do that to see where I am ...

SeaCoupe

If it helps any, I have a calibrated Behringer mic that I use with a laptop to do RTA. If you'd like to borrow the mic, no problem. I just want to insure I get it back! I completely get the before and after happiness. Mine generally only lasts so long before I don't like what I'm hearing.

E

jkowtko

ECM8000? I have one too. I'm a sound guy on the side, mostly helping run the kids' school concerts and community theater. I have a whole bunch of PA and two digital consoles (Yamaha 01v96, Mackie DL1608). Fun stuff. I have always been a stereo buff ... I have a feeling that by the time I am done with my car the Alpines will be long gone ...

jkowtko

Okay, the amp is installed in the trunk 14AWG wiring to the doors, and I think my days of Alpine Type S are over ... time to move to something more serious.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-speakers.html

ordway.dc

Thanks to jkowtko for this post. I just replaced the rear speakers in my wife's 2005 C240 Wagon. I put Polk Audio db651's in and they fit perfectly when I modified the stock mounts as you described. No need to buy the slim version of this speaker.
I really like the sound from the db651's. And most of all, no more cracking rear speakers!

jkowtko

Glad to hear I could be of help to someone

Fyi if you care to, get some Dynamat and put it inside the doors on the inside of the outer sheet metal ... there's a lot of tinny sounding sheet metal on the doors as you can tell by knocking on the lower part of the door from the outside. The sound damping material will get rid of that.

When I did this to my car, I also put some strips on the inside and outside of the speaker mount to bulk it up. I don't know if it helped noticably, but it certainly didn't hurt. My speakers are sounding pretty good right now. (I now have Hertz Energy ESK/ECX)

ncmudbug

I will probably be in the market for a new set of speakers for my car. Is this what I should get (for all the speakers):
Thanks!

jkowtko

I wouldn't get these. These were my first set ... Quite a bit of improvement in detail over the stock speakers, buy they had no low end, we're very trebly and had a lot of sibilance. They drove me nuts after only a month. If you want to stay low end I would recommend you look at the Polk db. They will probably cost you $200 for both pair, and vs $150 for the Alpines, the polk are a much better deal.

Alex_W

Exactly what I was looking for - thanks! (and yes, I know this thread is almost 5 years old!)