Paper or new material?

[BenzOnline]

In the back of my w126 i have Pioneer 6x9 old version paper speaker version. They distort a bit too much and was wondering if the current new 6x9's from them with new materials they use these days be better? The paper ones create deep bass though which I dont want to lose. The ones I have now arent blown or anything....just went i put the bass high on the pioneer unit I have then tend to distort and its not even at a high volume.

My main concern is not to lose the bass I have like I did when I changed the front stock speakers with new 4x6's which the new material.....bass went out the window(not like the stock ones had alot but my deck drove them hard enough to shake the dash).

Which would be better?

[PHAEDRUS242]

The best thing you can do to get a tighter low end response (read: set bass on high on the head unit) is to add a small interior amp (probably a four channel). It won't necessarily give you any more ultimate volume, but will dramatically increase the sharpness and linearity of you response. It's the single best thing you can do to improve sound quality. I'd recommend the alpine V12 series amps, as they represent, in my opinion, the best bang for the buck in the industry. I run an old Alpine MRVT357 and it has been a rock solid unit for the past 3-4 years.

[BenzOnline]

im guessing its I might aswell leave the speakers I have in now?

[PHAEDRUS242]

If it's not broken why fix it? See how they sound with some clean power going through them. If they are not up to the task at that time, then you replace them

[BenzOnline]

ok thanks! Where can I find this amp and how do I get it put in? Would it be alot to have someone install it?

[PHAEDRUS242]

You could purchase the amp at circuit city. Obviously you'll find a little better price online, I bought mine there years ago as I was concerned about warranty issues. Never came into play as it has been bulletproof since the day I purchased it and has seen duty in 3 different cars. It's just a simple 4 channel amp (35x4 RMS I believe). These power ratings are quite conservative, and amp power is an entirely different beast than deck power. The MRVT357 may have been replaced by a new model (these things evolve so quickly), but your general Alpine V12 is still an excellent choice. Please keep in mind there is way better stuff out there, I just think you'll be hard pressed to find something that performs like this at the price point. As for installation, I would check out Tweeter (Douglas TV, United Audio, etc.). They are the best of the national chain stores in terms of professionalism and attention to detail in an installation. Your local stereo shop would probably be an even better choice. Stay away from Best Buy and other discounters for installation. Although they get the job done, it never looks as nice, they use cheaper wiring and sometimes (I've seen this!) they use twist on connectors rather than actually soldering a wire and using shrink tubing.

[BenzOnline]

Oh I C. Do I need to drag wires up to the battery and to the deck? I mean the deck I have puts out 200W...50wx4 isnt that plenty for 4 speakers? 2 6x9's and 2 small 4x6

[PHAEDRUS242]

Yes you will have to run wires up to the deck and battery to hook up the amp. You'll probably also want to have new speaker wire installed as part of it. Overall cost shouldn't be that much if you get it done. Also, the "200 watts" your head unit is rated at is a measurement of its absoluter peak ability. Imagine running the thing completely wide open while testing it's output. At the very second before it goes chernobyl on you it's developing 200 watts. It's RMS (or average) power rating is probably close to 10-15 watts/channel. This coupled with the tiny little capaciters and transformer used virtually guarantee sub-standard sound. It's not all about copious amounts of power. It's about clean power being delivered correctly to your speakers.

[BenzOnline]

At this point I wish I had a w140 with the 12 speaker Bose nicely put together.