Dash and Door Speaker alternative, installation, and review

[Dave57]

Prerequisite:
The factory speakers in the 1G are terrible. The 2G Infinity systems more than double the power but there is more distortion than an aftermarket amp has and as a result it plays hell with the front speakers. Aftermarket speaker replacement is tough in that many options will fit but not perform well. The biggest complaint is the lack of volume that many options will create. This is a tested and proven option for these systems.


I have the Diamond Audio D-661 component speakers in my Stealth and love them (stock Infinity System with a newer Infinity HU). So I tried the cheaper version of them the D-361 . These were going into a 99SL with the factory infinity system.

The first thing I noticed was the crossover was smaller. (see pic) A good thing. The 661's and 361's needed new holes to be marked and drilled. (see pic) The holes were drilled very close to the edge of the speaker housing. It might take another 5 minutes to do this. The speaker was then mounted. So obviously one wants to compare the left D-361 and right stock infinity. Surprise the speaker is louder and has more bass then the other side.

The next step was to make a small 4 wire harness so that the crossover could be used for the tweeters. I have some shrink sleeve around so I used it on the harness. The harness was used to pick up the tweeter output and feed it down to the crossover and then back up to the tweeter.

[Dave57]

The harness had to be fished thru on both sides. A coat hanger was used the wire was inserted from the top and visually located and assisted out the bottom. The front hole in the left side dash speaker opening was used and the hole on the right side of the right speaker opening was used for this. The lower dash panels remained in place. But if you're not good at this it would help you to remove them.

[Dave57]

The OEM tweeters were removed from their housings. If you look at the housing you can see that they melted some of the plastic tabs to mount the tweeters. These tabs come off fairly easy and the original speaker falls out. The cross bars in the oem tweeter housings should be also removed too. The new tweeters came with a plastic cup and a spring steel clip. The pieces were put together and the spring steel clips had to stretched to grasp the oem housing. Then a small dab of black rtv was added to secure the tweeter. The screw in the center was shortened too It's easy to cut. Now the crossovers and speakers had to be connected. The speakers come with the crimp on terminals large for positive and small for negative. I recommend doubling up the wire before inserting and crimping them.

[Dave57]

Now that every thing has been tested. We have two crossovers to hide. On the drivers side kick panel pull the carpet back on the side and there is a spot the crossover fits into. The relay that was there had to be turned sideways but you cant tell the crossover is even there. Pull rug back on the right side and put the crossover where you see red box.

[Dave57]

Review:

I was looking for a speaker replacement equal in sound output (DB's) as it seems to me there are alot of disappointed people out there who "upgrade" speakers and don't have the amp to drive them after. What I've found is a component speaker (one for the dash and door in a set that comes with a crossover) with modest specs 60w nom and 100w max at the very least effectively doubling the factory rating and still able to respond to the infinity amp's output at an even better volume.

If you're even considering upgrading the amp later I would get the Diamond Audio 661 version as they are rated at 100/200 watts. They too will perform great in the stock infinity system. Better yet just get the 661's as they are 6.5" for ease of instalation vs the 361 which are only 6".

If I had some other speakers I wasn't happy with I would take them out and get these!!!

I would also like to thank the EBAY vendor I bought these from as he had alot of grief from me with another purchase and followed thru with excellent service.
http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQf...tdeals4uonline

[Deb]

Finally, I have speakers that don't sound like they are going to "pop" My husband, Dave, just installed these speakers in my '99 3000GT. I've been waiting for awhile for him to spend some money on MY car.
Nice improvement, I would highly recommend them.

Deb

[Styxnpicks]

great components....poor setup. tweeter on the dash = poo. when you get frisky set those componets up in kicks or at least flush mount the tweeter in the doors. mmmmm tasty. of course anything sounds beer than stock. but the dash is the worst place for the tweets. I know cause I had an aftermarket setup just like this and the highs didn't match up with the mids.

[Dave57]

LOL you didn't have these! The "tweets" Can be heard even by an old man with hearing damage. Actually have to turn em down. Do you know hearing what you loose first? The highs. SO I guess there continues to be exceptions to the rules!

I've had 661's for more than 2 years. No problems

[smokinvr-4]

I have always liked diamond audio, although they are not what they used to be they are an easy upgrade for our cars.

In my car I am using the 3 way set, 6.5 in the door and 5.25 and tweet in custom kick panels.

[golfpro]

Originally Posted by Deb

Finally, I have speakers that don't sound like they are going to "pop" My husband, Dave, just installed these speakers in my '99 3000GT. I've been waiting for awhile for him to spend some money on MY car.
Nice improvement, I would highly recommend them.

Deb

LOL. This must be the famous Deb from who (until now) no speaker was safe.

As a husband and wife owner family I understand the importance of "balanced" upgrades. I learned early on that if I plan on doing something to my car it goes much smoother if I first do something to my wife's.

2 weeks ago it was a new gauge pod and a couple of cool digital gauges for her car. This week, my new amp is on the way to power up the component speakers I've had sitting on the shelf for 6 months. As Yoda says, "Balance there must be."

Thanks, Dave, for the pics and write-up. I'm definitely checking out Diamond Audio's gear.

-golfpro