this should help...


http://www.crutchfield.com/app/car/....com/app/car/carselector.aspx?vb=Y&ss=Y&sl=Y&lp=/m_399/Car-Speakers.html?tp=12&

 

I just chatted w/CS at Crutchfield. The fronts are 100% custom. This means a "bracket, maybe a top install to boot. Pretty sucky.

 

that does suck

 

IMO, not much point in replacing the OEM speakers unless you are going to add an amp. You may get better top end if you spend the bucks, but not much else.

 

It's one of those good news/bad news kind of situations...the good news is most of the better 6.5" component sets will fit with some work- there is enough depth in the door and between the door/door card for a fairly deep speaker and the stock pieces are almost 7" across, the bad news is that you have to fabricate a baffle for the mid and a bracket for the tweeters in the sail panels.

http://www.jonbu.com/2010/03/09/2009-vw-tiguan-front-door-panel-and-speaker/

It's not that big a deal if you have some tools. I usually use the stock spacer as a template and trace onto MDF, cut out external shape and cutout diameter for new speakers with a jigsaw or scroll saw, drill mounting holes for speaker and where rivets were located in the stock piece. For deep spacers (like you'll need with the Tiguan) I laminate several sheets of thinner MDF together using wood glue before cutting and shaping to get the correct depth for the baffle.

1) drill out the mounting rivets

2) compare the stock speaker depth against the speakers you want, then using the OEM speaker as a guide make a baffle out of MDF to mount your new speakers to that will space them out from the door in a similar fashion

3) seal the MDF on all surfaces with some black spray primer (so the moisture in the door doesn't cause them to disintegrate)

4) mount the new baffles to the door using rivets or small nuts/bolts and screw your new speakers to the baffle

MDF is great as it's acoustically inert (doesn't buzz or resonate when the speaker is playing), but you can also use high density polyethylene (the material self-healing cutting boards are made of) for an equally inert and weather proof baffle and skip the sealing step- the down side is it's harder to laminate, cut and shape than MDF and tends to clog tools. Depending on the tweeters you choose, you may be able to modify the inner sail panels or secure the new tweeter mounting hardware with hot melt glue or metal strapping. Crossovers can be secured to the inner door or wherever is convenient.

To echo another post, it's not worth upgrading to nice speakers if you won't be adding an amplifier to get the most out of them- most replacements worth having need a fair bit of power to perform their best and truly make it an upgrade.

 

...it's not worth upgrading to nice speakers if you won't be adding an amplifier to get the most out of them...

I can't agree.

Certainly you will not get the best performance out of any speaker without a good amplifier.

But a speaker upgrade will result in an improvement even without the amp. The stock speakers are crappy -- as is the case with nearly all OEM systems.

Certainly, if you can also afford to do an amp now, you should. But if you can't, you shouldn't be discouraged from upgrading the speakers alone. (And if your funds allow for it in the future, you can add the amp later.)

Over the years, I have upgraded the stock speakers in many cars that friends own, without making any change in the amplifier. There has always been a big improvement in sound.

 

Not sure...I always had EXCELLENT results adding Polks to oem systems.

Spent 1000s of hours in major recording studios, so I know a thing or two.

 

I've had Polk db, Momo and SR speakers- the dbs can work off head unit power, but they sound much better amplified. The old DX series weren't too bad either.

 

Spent 1000s of hours in major recording studios, so I know a thing or two.

Not to hijack, but doing what? Recording, or engineering? Curious, as I'm also a recording artist myself.

 

Scott Storch is/was one of my very best friends, although ironically I don't listen to Hip Hop nor Urban Contemporary. I like new Order as my singly favourite band... Because my background is moreso in the nightclub business, I hung out with a lot of club DJs, but even when in-session, it's not really the same type of thing as a band in the studio. I have to stop here and say, for the record, that Daft Punk was the best show I ever attended.

I guess to throw out a few "for instances", backstage with the Roots for David Letterman was pretty cool, a few days in NYC with Jay-Z, even though I had no idea who he was (big lol) and talking to Dr.Dre on the phone a few times was some of the "cool" events. But yeah, 1000s of hours in a lot of major studios. I practically had my own office at Warner Bros for a while. My job was nothing more than creative consultant, that's how I wanted it. I would have maybe done things differently if I had it to do over. I miss the guy, but am too old and mature now to hang out with a bunch of thugs.

Being from South Jersey, you should definitely know who I'm talking about. Scotty is basically from Cherry Hill.


Back OT, my opinion is that a solid 75w at 4ohm is the threshold to drive a 6" speaker more than adequately. Music in the car isn't really a primary concern, imo.

I have Adcoms at home, for reference. KEF C95 and Nakamichi MB-1s on the other ends...and yes, a KEF sub. I'd love to get a standalone DAC, the MB-1s transport is getting glitchy. Maybe a SA-CD player is in my future. Just need a DAC w/variable input...?

 

That's impressive that your high wattage system was hiss free. Many such systems I have heard over the years have not been so. I did not set them up and I do not know how the gain was set.

I still stand by 50WPC as being more than sufficient. I have an a/d/s/ amp that has served duty in several cars and is 4x50 RMS. It has driven all sorts of speakers over the years and I have never been wanting for more. It could power a typical set of component speakers to a level that I could not stand sitting inside the vehicle.

If someone wants more power than that, then whatever. But in the realm of people who value their hearing, and don't use inefficient speakers, it will do the job just fine thanks.

 

a/d/s has been good stuff from the beginning. If your amp is an older model, there's a very good chance that while it's rated at 50 watts per channel, it would bench much higher and is in fact underrated. Excellent choice BTW.

 

Another rational dead-end?