Outfitting your car with a new speaker system can be a hobby of extremes. On the one hand, you may only want to upgrade the tinny sound of your cheaply made factory speakers to something with a more vibrant sound. On the other hand, once you start improving your car’s audio, you may get carried away and spend thousands of dollars on the best and most powerful car speakers available.
If you are like most people, you will fall somewhere between the two extremes. After getting your first taste of better audio with your initial improvement, you may want to invest a little more and enrich your sound experience with some slightly better speakers.
This guide is designed for you if you are new, or relatively new, to the process of upgrading your car’s stereo components. If you are ready to jump in and start enjoying some awesome car stereo sounds, keep reading this guide. We will reveal our top picks, but first, a little background information about speakers in general.
We assumed that you are new to the idea of customizing your car audio, so we wanted you to have a good cross-section of popular brands and speakers from which to select.
We based our list of best car speakers on customer satisfaction with the products we reviewed, entry-level price points that were a good value, and the quality of materials used in manufacturing. The brands we chose to represent in our guide all have stellar reputations for quality and performance in the audio industry.
Since there are hundreds of speaker manufacturers and thousands of speakers from which to chose, we naturally had to omit quite a few from our list. If you know of some brands or products that you think should have been included, please let us know about them for possible inclusion on our next updated list.
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Alpine SPS-610 6.5-Inch 2-Way Type-S Series Coaxial Car Speakers |
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Kicker 43DSC6504 6.5-Inch 240 Watt 2-Way 4-Ohm Car Audio Coaxial Speakers DSC6504 |
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Kenwood KFC-C6895PS 6×8-Inch Oval Custom Fit 3-Way Speaker |
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JBL GT-BassPro12 12-Inch (300mm) Car Audio Powered Subwoofer System |
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Rockford Fosgate Punch P1683 6 x 8-Inches Full Range 3-Way Speakers |
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Pioneer TS-A6886R 6″ x 8″ 4-Way Speaker, Set of 1 |
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Polk Audio DB692 DB+ Series 6″x9″ Three-Way Coaxial Speakers with Marine Certification, Black |
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Our Picks for the Top 7 Best Car Speakers
Alpine SPS-610 6.5-Inch 2-Way Type-S Series Coaxial Car Speakers
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Kicker 43DSC6504 6.5-Inch 240 Watt 2-Way 4-Ohm Car Audio Coaxial Speakers DSC6504
- Polyethylene-Naphthalate domed tweeters
- Colour Value : black
- Country of Origin : China
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The Polyethylene-Naphthalate domed tweeters give this speaker an incredible sound for the price. The mid and high ranges are excellent with a factory radio, and the bass will thump when powered with an aftermarket amplifier. The clarity of the speaker will surprise you after listening to your favorite songs on your car’s OEM speakers. You will gain a new appreciation for listening to music.
These units boast a decent bass sound for 6.5-inch speakers. They are a fantastic upgrade choice at an affordable price.
Rating: 5 Stars – Premium-quality materials at a bargain price. Their small size makes these speakers easy to install on most vehicles. The improvement in sound quality over factory equipment is astounding. Overall, these are an easy and affordable way to make a significant difference to your car audio
Kenwood KFC-C6895PS 6×8-Inch Oval Custom Fit 3-Way Speaker
- 6x8" Oval custom fit 2-way 2 speaker
- Peak Power 360W | mounting depth of 2-3/8”
- Diamond Array pattern woofer cone
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Crystal clear sounds on high, mid and low tones. These speakers work great with an aftermarket amplifier for an even more pronounced improvement to your car’s audio system. Easy installation and an affordable price make these speakers an excellent choice for moving beyond factory speakers and into the world of quality audio sound.
These speakers sound great on their own, but when combined with subwoofers, their sound is clear and perfectly balanced. As your sophistication in audio taste advances, you will appreciate the ability of these speakers to be combined with low-range speakers to create a high-quality sound image.
Rating: 5 Stars – Great upgrade choice without too much strain on the budget. The option of using these speakers alone or with installed bass speakers gives you the ability to evolve your listening experience.
JBL GT-BassPro12 12-Inch (300mm) Car Audio Powered Subwoofer System
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When you are ready to move up to a separate woofer unit and start experiencing the power of a powered bass speaker, this 12-inch big boy is an excellent choice.
The die-cast aluminum basket keeps the sounds from this speaker stable and robust. The amp is matched with the speaker to provide distortion-free bass. The unit has adjustment controls for precise tuning. A technology known as slipstream port offers distortion-free bass at high output levels, so you can really kick it without destroying sound quality.
Rating: 4.5 Stars – A little higher price point than some of our other choices, but we included this speaker for its superb quality at a still affordable price. Not necessarily for the timid listener, this subwoofer will take you to the next level of car audio.
Rockford Fosgate Punch P1683 6 x 8-Inches Full Range 3-Way Speakers
- The Punch P1683 is an impressive 3-way full-range speaker designed for fanatics who need a high quality factory...
- The P1683 6”x8” 4-Ohm black speakers come as a pair, have a power handling of 65 Watts RMS/130 Watts Max and include...
- Featuring a PEI dome tweeter with built-in crossover and injection molded mineral filled polypropylene cone with butyl...
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A good upgrade value if you want to do away with your factory speakers and enjoy some quality audio.
Housing significantly larger cones and magnets than stock speakers, this system provides a clear sound that pops on the treble and mid range. The cones are not made of paper, so they should last much longer than the factory models.
We took off a few points due to reports of difficult installation. Be prepared to make some modifications to fit into some cars.
Rating: 4.5 Stars – A real rock star replacement for factory speakers. A little weak on the bass end, and could be a bit difficult to install on some vehicles. Overall, they are a great value and a good choice to upgrade stock speakers.
Pioneer TS-A6886R 6″ x 8″ 4-Way Speaker, Set of 1
- Included Components: A-Series 6" X 8" 350-Watt 4-Way Speakers
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These amazing 6.5-inch speakers from an industry icon provide super-crisp highs and full low tones at a great price.
Additionally, the high-quality materials Pioneer uses in the construction of these little powerhouses make a significant difference in the sound quality.
Furthermore, you will immediately notice the difference in the tone and image of your sounds. The range is impressive for speakers of this size, as is the tonal quality. These speakers also work well as mid-range speakers when used with aftermarket woofers and tweeters.
On the other hand, customer reviewers noted a few problems with installing the speakers in some vehicle models.
Rating: 4 Stars – While the sound out of these speakers is a wonder, users reported quite a number of problems with installation. Professional installation may be required on some vehicle types.
Polk Audio DB572 DB+ Series 5″x7″ Coaxial Speakers with Marine Certification, Black
- DYNAMIC SPEAKER FOR CAR & MARINE - The Polk DB692 3-Way Coaxial Marine Certified Speaker with 450W peak power, 4-ohm...
- ELEVATE YOUR CAR AUDIO SYSTEM - With a built-in crossover, the music speaker directs highs & lows to the respective...
- RESONANCE-FREE SOUND CREATION - With Dynamic Balance, a Polk Audio proprietary technology, this marine/car speaker uses...
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These speakers feature neodymium magnets that are usually found in more expensive speakers. This type of rare earth metal is far lighter than traditional magnets.
Additionally, optimized components reduce distortion at all levels. Also, these speakers have tremendous power handling capacity for their price range.
The premium materials and the high level of engineered performance combine to make the sound crisp at all ranges and pack plenty of power. It is an excellent choice for upgrading factory speakers and expanding your aftermarket sound system.
All in all, they are affordably priced to make them attainable for most budget-conscious audio enthusiasts. Some users reported a muddy mid-range when not used with an aftermarket amplifier.
Rating: 4 Stars – These speakers are primarily designed for use with an aftermarket amplifier. Users reported mid-ranges that were not as clear as expected
How We Chose Our Ratings
If you want an inexpensive upgrade for your existing stock speakers, the Alpine SXE-6925S is a fantastic choice. They feature low distortion at high levels and good quality sound that can compete with many more expensive models.
Don’t expect the best bass sound in the world. However, for this price point, the caliber of the low end of the sound spectrum is definitely acceptable.
Additionally, as a first audio system upgrade, these speakers are hard to beat. The sound improvement over most stock systems will make most listeners sit up and take notice. They boast a good, crisp sound that will significantly improve the sound of most music.
All in all, these speakers make the perfect first audio project if you are just getting introduced to the hobby.
Rating: 5 Stars – Great replacement speakers for many models. A low-cost way to significantly improve your factory sound system, this product is an excellent speaker for a modest price. The SPS-610 is easy to install on most vehicles.
Two Major Types of Speakers
Car audio speakers come in two different types to serve the varying tastes, budgets, and listening habits of consumers. The two major kinds of speakers are component speakers and full-range speakers.
- Component Speakers – Component speakers include different speakers for each tonal range. Usually, a component system consists of treble speakers called tweeters, bass speakers known as woofers, and external crossovers that bridge the two sonic extremes. Designers build the separate speakers to all work together to create a very “live” sounding musical experience. Having the speakers separated by tone also gives you the ability to place each speaker for the greatest optimization of your car’s internal acoustics.
- Full-Range Speakers – In full-range speaker systems, multiple tonal ranges are contained in each unit. For example, a set of 3-way speakers in this class would include a woofer, a tweeter and a midrange speaker provided in a single unit. This is the most common type of speakers used for simple upgrades to factory speakers. This type of car speaker comes in a variety of prices and sizes to fit just about any need.
Understanding Your Car’s Audio System
To ensure that you get the kind of high-quality sound that you desire, it is important that you match your new speakers to the amplifier in your car. Two areas come into play when attempting to match speakers with amps: power considerations and speaker sensitivity.
- Power Considerations – A system with powerful built-in or external amplifiers needs high-powered speakers to sound its best without damaging the speakers. Low-powered audio systems will not be able to get the most out of high-powered speakers. Come as close as possible to matching your sound system’s power rating in watts with the RMS power-handling specification listed by the speaker manufacturer.
- Speaker Sensitivity – Sensitivity is a measure of sound a speaker can produce given the amount of power it receives. To match a high-powered stereo, you would do best with speakers that have a low sensitivity rating. Most stock car stereos have power ratings of less than 15 watts per channel. This low-power rating works best with high sensitivity speakers.
Choosing Your Car Speakers
We’ve given you our choices for the best car speakers on the market. However, ultimately choosing your car audio components is a very personal matter.
The main point to remember is that you are the one who will most likely be listening to your car stereo for the majority of the time Then again, you are the one who should be happy with the speakers you select. Do not succumb to pressure from friends who may urge you to overspend or go overboard with a powered system that goes way beyond the sound level you enjoy.
Some Final Words
We hope that this guide will assist you as you seek to improve the audio system in your car.
Even so, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number and different types of speakers on the market. Usually, if you start small and work your way up, you will have better results.
For example, replace your car’s factory speakers with some inexpensive full-range speakers. The effect of experiencing the dramatic improvement in audio from this simple task may have the consequence of making you want to explore further.
Moreover, as you gain more experience and knowledge, you may decide to install a component system in your car.
Finally, by beginning simply and working your up to a more significant upgrade, you will have the benefit of learning as you go and possibly avoiding costly mistakes.
Without a doubt, the only person that has to be happy with your car sound system is you (and possibly your significant other.) For satisfaction with your car audio, simply grow your system to the level that you enjoy listening to while you drive.
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Last update on 2023-04-15 at 07:41 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API