The stock speakers in base audio setup are probably the worst I have ever had in a car. So after reading about my options I decided that the best upgrade on a minimal budget would be to replace the dash tweeters with proper 3 1/2 inch speakers.
I used Pioneer TS-A878 (from Amazon) together with 400Hz bass blockers.
I chose that specific speaker because it is only 1 3/8 inch deep and there is not much space in the dash to put the speakers.
The swap was easy except for having to trim some plastic (which holds the speaker cables under the dash, fortunately it is soft and can easily be cut with a knife).
The improvement in sound quality was amazing.
Below are some photos.
New speaker fits perfectly.
This is the piece that had to be slightly trimmed.
Consider these instead -- same dimensions, better drivers. I have installed both Pioneer and Polk as replacements in various vehicles and the Pioneers are, by comparison, poorly-balanced, especially in the midrange and highs (they tend to be very peaky -- and that's difficult to correct for even with a decent equalizer -- which a stock head unit doesn't have.) Polk isn't JL by any stretch of the imagination but it's not priced like it either.
There are several people who have put these in the CX-5 (which has the wiring but NO SPEAKERS in that location, believe it or not!) and they have fit. I've been tempted to stick a pair of these in my Sport....
You're in the right zone with the bass blockers; that's a good choice. It would be NICE if someone (Metra, anyone?!) made a set of harnesses for these (and the doors too) so that non-destructive installs could be done. Here's hoping someone does, eventually.
BTW, don't pay $10 or $15 for "Bass blockers" -- they're just a non-polarized electrolytic capacitor rated for a reasonable voltage (if on a factory amp 25V is more than sufficient; if on an external amplifier, do the math to determine the voltage required to produce the watts claimed by said amp at the given speaker impedance, then buy something with a voltage rating of ~1.5x or better that and you're fine. Digikey sells capacitors cheap. Parts Express also has them; a 100uF non-polarized into 4 ohms will produce a ~400Hz block and can be had for about a buck and a half each. You can also use an LC network for this but nobody in the car audio world does in their "bass blockers" as the inductor actually costs real money.
I know polk work in CX5, what about Mazda 6?
Has anyone installed polk or similar standard size 3 1/2 inch speakers in Mazda 6?
The mounting depth of the Pioneers is about 1/4 of an inch less than the mounting depth of the polk speaker.
The Pioneers indeed do not sound perfect (somewhat harsh). Still way above the standard tweeters and they were only $34.44 at amazon.
That particular size of speaker is quite-uncommon. The Polks LOOK LIKE they'll fit, but I've had some trouble getting an accurate measurement in the hole due to the windshield being in the way (I have a pair of very accurate calipers but there's no way to use them in there.) Fractions of an inch matter in this instance and there isn't anywhere local near here that carries those and where I can return them if I buy 'em and they don't clear.
The stock speaker connectors in the dash are .100 pitch.
That is very good; it turns out that a KK tabbed PCB connector will lock reasonably well against the factory harness. It's NOT pull-proof, but it goes in and makes solid contact, with the tab providing a REASONABLE interlock against accidental disconnect.
The point of this? Those Molex headers (which are intended for PCB use) cost pennies and they now give you a way to make up a speaker harness that DOESN'T require you to cut wires for that location.
And yes, I intend to exploit that (reversible decisions are GOOD folks and if you can avoid cutting wires -- DO!)
P/N: 22-01-3037, available at Mouser and elsewhere. Yes, you need decent soldering skills. I'd love to find a plug that has .100 pitch PINS but those are difficult to locate -- if I find them I'll give a shout-out.
It won't lock against the factory plug (female) but that can be addressed with a bit of liquid electrical tape, or you could just electrical tape it together and/or use a small wire tie.
More when they're here and I've made up some harnesses. I expect I will be able to pull the same sort of thing off with the door speakers (different series though obviously) although we'll see.
Waiting for the stuff I ordered to get here... I have some of what I need in my partsbox but not all of it -- the rest should be here in a few days and I'll update when it arrives and gets installed.
Thanks for the heads-up on the Pioneer TS-A878 speakers. I'll admit that I don't have the most critical ear (years around jet engines and shotgun shooting have taken it's toll), but even I can hear a huge improvement over the stock 1" tweeters in my '14 M6. I didn't use them with any kind of bass blocker, but the result is very impressive. Less than $40 for this much improvement gets a hearty thumbs-up! :thumbup:
I ultimately went with 47uf for bass blockers (which I describe later on.)
BTW you really do need those inline caps. Without them you're going to get a fair bit of bass cancellation off the rear wave from the dash speakers if they are full-range capable. Depending on the response of the speaker in question this will either manifest as a muddiness of the bass or worse, a substantial reduction of how much bass you have available in total, which might prompt you to turn up the bass control on the head unit. That in turn will result in clipping the amp. Spend the less-than-$5 for two 47uf non-polarized caps instead.
Excellent to know you can get bigger speakers in there. Please tell me how to remove the tweeter covers. Tried prying gently but don't want to damage them. Do you have to remove some other trim before they come up? Thank you.
Thanks for the info on your DIY harness! Do you know if the front and rear speaker factory harness is the same as the in dash connector? I wanted to order enough to cover all speakers, thanks!
No, it's not. The front and rear factory plug is an odd molex-style plug I have not been able to match as of yet. The front factory speakers I left in as they're not terrible mid-bass to midrange speakers (which is all they do now); the rears I replaced with Polk's and made up custom bracketing out of MDF, soaked in thinned epoxy for waterproofing, and then cut the plugs off and installed spades. I kept the plug tail ends so they can be reconnected if necessary.
Life savor! Thanks for the help. SVShootingStar Ill go ahead and get those installed after I make my own after market to stock wiring adapter and mount the massive tweeters.
On my 06's base audio system, the dash tweeters are mounted on the grill. Looks like the 14's have 2 slots, one for the tweeter and the other one cut ready for Bose option. Questions:
1-I should be able to do the same upgrade, right?
2-So you guys pull the plug from this tweeter and plug into the new speakers? and new speakers have same type of plug?
3-When install the bass blocker, you wire it inline with the positive, correct?
The plug will not mate with anything else, BUT as I pointed out "kk" series (.10 index) pins will work, so it's pretty easy to make up a pin set that will plug into the harness. Secure your contraption with a wire tie so it doesn't come loose, and make sure it can't short.
Yes, the bass blocker (non-polarized cap, at least 50v rating) goes inline with the positive lead.
Thx for your reply. I spent more time reading your posts (now that I am seriously consider doing this) and here is what I got:
- Capacitor 47mf non-polarized, at least 50v (my question is if the stock head unit doesn't send low Hz to the stock tweeter, why we need to
block the bass? )
- Molex 16-02-0117 Pin (.1 male, 22-28 gauge)
- Molex 50-57-9002 (.1 pacing)
Thx for your reply. I spent more time reading your posts (now that I am seriously consider doing this) and here is what I got:
- Capacitor 47mf non-polarized, at least 50v (my question is if the stock head unit doesn't send low Hz to the stock tweeter, why we need to
block the bass? )
Also, the DB351 Polk Audio comes with 2 bass blocker. I am not sure if it means they are separated parts or are already part of the speakers. If they are separated, just don't use them? Polk Audio db351 3-1/2" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com
If this is not correct, please let me know.
Thx for everyone for providing the idea and the details.
The TWEETER has a crossover on it but you need the 47uf to block the midbass from the larger driver or it will cancel against the speakers in the door since the back of the DB351s (and most other speakers) are open to the inside the vehicle.
I do not know what bass blockers Crutchfield includes in the box but I bet they're intended for full-range applications (in other words, far too large of a uf value), not this one where you need the speaker restricted to midrange and higher in order to avoid bass cancellation with the in-door units.
glad i saw this thread! I have wanted to put in a 3.5" speaker in my car for a while now, as the transition from 8" mids to a 1" tweeter is proving difficult to sound "full". My lows & lower midbass are excellent thanks to the large 8" mids. but the upper midrange around the 2-5khz range are rough. I have a dsp so I can play around with electronic crossovers on the fly. If I cross over my tweeters lower than 5Khz they sound harsh. But above 5Khz I hear a noticeable sonic gap between my mids & tweets. A 3.5" speaker would be the perfect setup to fill that gap, and since it's a coax setup I can drive it active & just worry about setting the HPF on the midbass.
I pulled the trigger on these -
hope it fits. Eager to play with it, I was never happy w/ the 1" tweets in the dash since firing off the windshield makes it tough to get the right sound. Really forces you to cross over high to get clean sound.
hope it fits. Eager to play with it, I was never happy w/ the 1" tweets in the dash since firing off the windshield makes it tough to get the right sound. Really forces you to cross over high to get clean sound.
I bought these, too for better fit, acording to Crutchfielld (cheaper, too). Looks like there is a 33uf cap on it. Is it just for the tweeter and I still should in stall the 47 uf ?
I actually had the 4s in the dash disconnected and went with a JBL component setup. The tweeters slipped in the grill with hardly any effort. Very happy with my results.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mazda 6 Forums
2.2M posts
94.6K members
Since 2002
Mazda6club.com is a forum dedicated to the Mazda6 / Atenza. Come and discuss reliability, performance, modifications, and more!