Car Stereos: Frontier question, pioneer speakers, kenwood kfc

Question
QUESTION: Hey I asked a previous question about subwoofers, now I have a question about speakers.  Currently in my '91 Nissan pickup I have 5 1/4 inch sony Xplodes, XS-V1340H.  I was thinking of just getting a bracket to put them in my '01 Frontier which has a hole cut out for 6.5 inch speakers.  I was thinking though if I get 6.5 inch speakers it may sound better.  On onlinecarstereo.com I came across some Kenwoods.    They are the Kenwood KFC-1680ie.  They sell fro $55, so i felt thats a great deal.  Only thing is their RMS is 40 max, whereas my current xplodes are 50.  Will there be much of a difference, and will the Kenwoods distort earlier?  Should I just look into getting new Xplodes for around the same price with a higher RMS rating?  Or do you have any recommendations for 6.5 inch speakers that are between 50 and 65 dollars?  Thanks a lot!!

ANSWER: Hey Jason -  Your question was ditched by the other guy I guess.  I don't know if you still need help but let me answer your question anyway.

I assume you're not using an amp?  If you're just using a car stereo to power the speakers then:

The difference between 40w and 50w is almost nothing.  Actually, some of the best sounding speakers around have low power handling ratings.  Unless you're looking for sick SPL (volume) or something, i wouldn't worry about it.  In fact, lower RMS ratings can actually make the speaker sound better depending on your system.

When going from a 5-1/4 to a 6-1/2, all you're really doing is increasing the bass and some of the mid.  For better bass out of a 6.5" speaker, I'd say go with pioneer.

Kenwood speakers sound good, sony speakers sound good but for the money, pioneer speakers actually seem to have the best all around sound when you're just trying to get some good response off your factory or aftermarket radio.

My recommendation?  Here ya go:   Pioneer TS-G1641R

You should be able to find them for around 50 bucks and I believe they'll sound better off your stereo than most speakers out there.

Let me know how it goes

Thanks

Dave

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QUESTION: hey thanks for the answer, even though it was from a while ago...i ended up going with Alpine SPS-17C2 speakers for my doors..they sound pretty good, only got them for $55.  I also bought dynamat pack for the doors around the speaker, so im going to try to add that so hopefully itll sound a lil better.  thanks!
ANSWER: Hey Jason

Glad you figured everything out.  Alpine makes great speakers, especially in the high range.  You'll probably notice more crisp high notes compared to other brands.  

If you need help with anything just let me know

Thanks!

Dave

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QUESTION: Hey I've got a followup...this question concerns my new Alpines.  On some songs, I do notice a bit of distortion and breaking up, even at lower volumes.  Problem is, I never really cranked these things until atleast 20 days after I had them installed, and I listen to music it in everyday.  I'm not sure if it's just the record, because with some bands it does it, and some it doesn't.  I have reason to believe that it's just how some bands recorded their cd's and they clip.  Also when I installed the speakers I didn't realize there was an adapter made for hte wires, and I cut the factory harness and pigtailed it to the speaker wire, and I never soldered it.  I also have Dynamat Xtreme 10x10 slips for around the speaker area.  I was planning on taking the doorpanels off one day and re-doing my connections with butt connectors, and installing the Dynamat.  Do you think these two things will improve my sound much, and will the Dynamat really get rid of bad frequencies and distortion like it claims?  Thanks!

Answer
This is a fun one:

Dynamat eliminates (or reduces) the vibrations of whatever you put it on.  In your case, it's door panels.  To be 100% honest with you, there are very few applications where I've seen dynamat make a difference.  Car doors are pretty thick and well built usually, and the small speakers we put in them don't really pose a threat.  Don't count on dynamat to do much.

As far as your speakers go, the fact that you wound the copper around the speaker connections could mean that you are, for a split second, losing connection when the bass hits.  It's not likely, but I'd say just solder the wire directly to the posts. That's why speaker posts usually have holes in them.  Stick it through, wind it and solder it.  Butt connectors also work well.  

The clipping you're hearing could also just be how the CD was mastered.  Sometimes they do master certain frequencies too high for what you have in your car and it clips.  Be careful because that clipping is your speaker saying "ouch."  If you like it loud, get an amp.  Amps don't make it much louder, but they reduce the distortion your speaker has to deal with so you can actually turn it up higher.  

Getting an amp would be the single best way to improve your sound.

Thanks!

Dave