low price vs high price speakers

[chris mc bride]

Looking at speakers for my panel. Mostly kenwwood,pioneer,jbl,kicker and maybe cpl others. Notice all have 40.00 or so range and 90 to 110 range.
Question is it case of getting what you pay for or case of little better for lot more cash?

Not looking to spend bundle on system at same time not looking to throw money away on junk that will need replacing in cpl months. Rather buy what I can now and buy more later building good system from start.

[morepower71]

Most of the difference will be build materials and power handling. The really cheap speakers are not going to last you long. Usually those are thin paper cones and very thin foam surrounds and if they get even a tiny bit wet they disintegrate. $100 for a set of speakers is about your best bang for the buck range. But I wouldn't go over that price unless you are running amps for all speakers and using a high quality headunit and going to tune the system because you wont really notice the difference unless you know what you are listening for.

[BR3W CITY]

I wouldn't waste my time with the entry level offerings from most of the major companies. These speakers are designed to sell a feature (like a certain power rating or cone material) and then cut everything around it to make up the price point.

The super high end stuff is usually not worth the investment unless you are planning on the entire ecosystem around it. High end speakers can actually sound WORSE when played off of an inadequate power source, without a crossover/processor system, and poor AQ from the source itself. These need a lot more to support them to ever see the advantage.

Example: Alpine has the "type E" line, with is purely budget. The S-line which is the big-box variety, and a pretty "standard" speaker. Type-R is the actual good stuff, where it sees first-run tech and higher quality materials. The X-series (and I think there is higher) is the "pro" grade stuff designed for the big-budget stuff, uses the higher quality components, and is often over-engineered UP to the flagship pricing.

[HeavyD]

I have used both Focal and Hertz speakers which aren't the cheapest and the sound quality was very good to my ears. Might be worth it to have a peek if any local audio shop carries them.

To answer question I agree with Brew City, don't buy the entry level stuff if you care about clarity. Better sound isn't really that much more.

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

Kenwwood, JBL, Kicker I agree most of these companies make good speakers for a decent price. Pioneer does ok but I have had problems with their speakers not lasting for as many years as you would hope for. I play my music loud and like to be able to have some quality along with being able to hear the bass and words of the songs. I would steer clear of 30-45$ speakers unless you wanna be replacing them soon because they crap out on you. I also wouldn't be spending more then the 75-90$ range on a pair of nice speakers because as stated above they aren't going to sound good if they don't have an amp pushing them and being able to tune them. So many people leave out tuning a system it plays such a big role in everything it's amazing.

[Dmaxmoe]

Not wanting to hijack, but similar question. With price point somewhat of a consideration, what’s going to be better, a set of mediocre 6.5’s in the kicks with 4” under dash, or spend a little more and get a single set of higher end 6.5 components running out of the kicks? Amp powered for both.

[ericfallon]

Originally Posted by Dmaxmoe

Not wanting to hijack, but similar question. With price point somewhat of a consideration, what’s going to be better, a set of mediocre 6.5’s in the kicks with 4” under dash, or spend a little more and get a single set of higher end 6.5 components running out of the kicks? Amp powered for both.

I'd think these trucks would be like any other older vehicle, if you haven't added sound proofing/deadner. it really won't matter.

But the stereo "staging" will be better with just the kicks. If you are not willing to put the tweeters higher in the truck, dash, or a pillar, don't bother with components. You won't gain much with them together over a coax type.