Kick panel speakers.

[XtechX]

I have another quick question. I made my own kick panels in my '65, I sealed the vent boxes up so water can't get to the speakers. Are 6x9 Boss 150w speakers a good choice for this location? That's what I put in there, because thats what I had laying around but I don't know how they're going to sound because I dont have a radio in the truck yet.

[XtechX]

I'm just wondering if I should have went with a 6" round speakers for the kick panels. That seems what everyone on here did. I guess I don't know anything about different types of speakers and where they should be placed in a system. I don't want to cut up my doors because I did alot of work to get them solid again. Let's just say you could have thrown a wet angry cat through the bottoms and never hit metal....lol Also, the tank is still in the truck so very limited for speakers back there. I thought about building a custom console between my buckets and putting some sort of speakers in it. Also thought of mounting speakers in the back upper corners of the cab, but that may be too close to my head to be practical. Let me know what you think about my ignorance or my ideas......Thanks

[tubbedII]

I read a lot negativity on 6x9's and that a 6.5" is better, but I plan to run 6x9's in the rear of my blazer anyway. I don't think you didn't anything "wrong" by using them in the kicks, but typically these are done with a good set of component speakers. Kicks are typically built to get a better sound staging since you can point/position the speakers towards the middle of the cab and head level rather than facing at your feet. I think the biggest issue with you using 6x9's there would be the amount of room they are taking up. Are they 2 or 3 way?

I wouldn't put anything above the seat back on the side. My dad's 69 had tweets in there and they were right next to your ear which actually hurt before you could turn it up nice and loud. Since you already have them built, I'd just toss a decent amp to the 6x9's and run them all by themselves to see how you like it and go from there.

[Chad215]

typical use is for 6.5's, but I don't see any reason you should not use 6x9's.

As tubbed said, space is typically the deciding factor here. If you have the room and have already done the work, I say hook it up and be happy with the non-typical design.

Also-6x9's were in vogue for a while since a lot of cars did not have subs. The extra cone area was designed to add more bass. Now, a lot of people have some sort of sub, so they won't really need the 6x9.

I would recommend some kind of at least small amp to push those speakers though, if you don't already have one. I head unit will probably only be pushing 9-12 watts to the speakers. Just adding a small amp that will push a clean 25-35 watts to each can make a huge difference in sound.

[XtechX]

Thanks for everyones input. I found that I have some space under/behind my bucket seats for some speakers, what should I put in that area? Or will they just be too muffled there? Also I think I will put some speakers in the stock dash locations, any recomendations? Also what should I get for an amp? I may try to find a place to put a sub box, that has 2 10" subs in it, but that depends on if I build a console or not.

[tubbedII]

I wouldn't waste any money on speakers anywhere else unless you have room for a sub somewhere. For an amp, just get a decent 2 channel (or a 4 channel that has a bridgable side incase you want to upgrade with a sub) that puts out about 100 watts...just no more than your 150 rated 6x9s. Unless you like a really loud system, you may be happy with the 6x9s alone. Also, the louder you go, the more rattle you'll hear unless you start sound deadening everything.

[XtechX]

It's now looking like I will be making another set of kick panels for different type of speaker. The 6x9's I put in the kicks worked fine before in other applications but now when I hooked them up to my new stereo, they put out a barely audible sound with a slight crackling noise. I hooked up a couple small speakers from my shop radio to the stereo and they work fine. Anyone have a clue why these speakers wont work??? I hooked up both sets of speakers exactly the same but the 6x9's won't work right. There isn't any rips in the speakers and no broken wires. I also tried hooking up the 6x9's to the shop radio and they do the same thing...almost nothing. Any thoughts on this issue????? I think they are a 3 way speaker if that helps. Thanks

[WAAF]

6by 9's where the thing, because detroit used them in rear decks,, and they where made for staging.. use'n the rear window..roof line to push the sound forward in the cabin.. 6by9 where not made for extra cone area for bass.. oval cones are worse thing for bass..
the cone shape worked with the cars rear window better than round,
other cars got them because the car makers had them on hand,,it's cheaper to stock less parts.
does the o/p have pic of these kicks.. they must be huge.. how far into the foot area do they go..
nothing wrong with use'n 6by9 untill you've sound deadner the whole cab.. at that point you'll hear the difference a small 5.25" round is to a 6by9's coloration of the sound..
on my truck I didn't worry about soundstage.. as I have speakers in kicks 6.5 seperates
6.5 coax in front of doors, 6by9 coax rear of door and 6.5 seperates in cab corners..
and one sub..
like kiss said I love it loud..
in these truck 6by9's are fine.. if I didn't already have the high end speakers on hand I'd never put them in this type cab.

[WAAF]

boss 6by9's are 29.00 speakers. and I'll stop there

[john_p]

6 by 9's are not by design, a bad speaker.. it is really strange that both died at the same time.. one bad can pull the other down IF they are on the same output.. that said, there is no such thing as a good 30 dollar speaker... i ran 6 by 9s in my 57's doors and rear deck for years without a problem,, of course those were tube days and we didn't need 600 db to listen to Hank.. (and my dad told me i was crazy for paying 50 bucks more for a convertible instead of a 4 door)

[XtechX]

It's not the fact that they were cheap speakers, it's that I built kick panels to use them and now they don't work. That part sucks, but they were not that hard to make. All I did was cut out a piece of luan to the shape of the kick area and cut out the vent area (to the size of the 6x9's) and covered them with upholstery material, glued on with 3m spray. The speaker recessed into the vent and only stuck out about 1 1/4", so basically just the speaker trim was all that stuck out. I welded a piece of metal onto the back of the vent and caulked the seems just incase, so now the vents are a recessed water proof speaker box.

[WAAF]

Originally Posted by XtechX

It's not the fact that they were cheap speakers, it's that I built kick panels to use them and now they don't work. That part sucks, but they were not that hard to make. All I did was cut out a piece of luan to the shape of the kick area and cut out the vent area (to the size of the 6x9's) and covered them with upholstery material, glued on with 3m spray. The speaker recessed into the vent and only stuck out about 1 1/4", so basically just the speaker trim was all that stuck out. I welded a piece of metal onto the back of the vent and caulked the seems just incase, so now the vents are a recessed water proof speaker box.

I'm willing to bet your waterproof isn't water proof, and that would explain the d.o.a. speakers..

[jimmydean]

I made a waterproof fiberglass enclosure that fits in my vent hole that the speaker sits in. That way I know the speaker is protected. I would link a pic, but photobucket is blocked at work.

[XtechX]

I'm sure the vent boxes I made are sealed well too, I had just attached the speakers to the kick panels and hadn't even put them in the truck yet and the speakers were dead. I guess stranger things have happened...lol. I bought some new cheap ones today and went to put them in and one of them was broke, so back they go.

[WAAF]

why you keep buy'n junk