Speaker Upgrade. What to Get

KEWROCK · Post by **KEWROCK** » 29 Apr 2012, 12:46

Hi guys.
I'm putting in some new door speakers for the front. Does anybody know the polarities? On the passenger side I have a Red/White and a Red/Black. I don't know what colors are used on the driver side I haven't opened it up yet.

Thanks.

1999 V70R

Post by **jimmy57** » 29 Apr 2012, 13:33

Go to Repair Database tab and download the wiring diagram for the 99 x70's. It shows the polarity if you look in the radio end of wires going to speakers. The wire colors are on each line representing the speaker wires.

KEWROCK · Post by **KEWROCK** » 29 Apr 2012, 15:19

I didn't know what I was looking at on those schematics, so I used a 9v battery test I found on youtube. The red/Black is positive.

But the old factory speaker on the driver side sounds better though. Deeper bass that vibrates the armrest. The speakers I got were Skosche (sp?). On the display board they sounded better than the Sony Xplods (the only other speakers working). They are nom. 25w each with a rather large magnet. Should I try Pioneers or Kenwoods? Should I try to find lower watt units? My car was equipped with 4 Ohm set-up. I know there's been discussion about the 8 ohm cars.

Does anybody have any experience with this?

KEWROCK · Post by **KEWROCK** » 02 May 2012, 13:30

Hey anybody on this?
I'm looking for a decent set of front door speakers. I got a pair of Scosche 6.5" in Walmart. I did the passenger side, sounded about 80% of the factory speaker still in the driver side. I took it out and put in an Alpine SPE6000. That sounded like complete garbage compared to the factory side. I'm replacing 4ohms with 4ohms, so that's not the problem. I also tried reversing the polarity. What gives? Are the factory speakers *that* good? Should I just get a used Volvo speaker off Ebay?

I really don't want to be bothered with amps and stuff, I went through that stage when I was a kid. I just want equal or slightly better sound. The used Ebay route will just be another old speaker, because Volvo changed them for the 2001 model.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

Post by **fazool** » 02 May 2012, 21:22

Without more specifics, I am a little unclear on your setup.

Do you have dash speakers also? If so, then the door speakers are 8 ohm running in parallel putting 4ohm there will overdraw the unit.

Scosche components are inexpensive. I had extremely good luck with Sony xPlod series throughout my car.

An inexpensive amp will do more for your sound quality than anything. Its not about getting volume, its about DECREASING the drive signal so its cleaner, and then cleanly amplifying it.

The Stock Volvo premium sound systems are rather nice. Everything else IMO is trash. I would definitely put an amp and new speakers in.

KEWROCK · Post by **KEWROCK** » 02 May 2012, 23:23

I have separate tweeters in the dash, but the front door speakers are clearly marked 4 ohm. I don't know what the tweeters or rear door speakers are rated at, nor the rear pillar tweeters all the way in the back(wagon).
Walmart had the xplods and Scosche speakers on display. The Scosche sounded a slight bit better and were $10 cheaper. The Scosche were a bit less in nominal wattage handling also, so I figured they'd match the low watt factory head unit better. I think that's why the Alpines sounded so bad. They were rated at 50 watts per speaker.

I'm avoiding putting too much time and money in this. I don't want to bother with amps. I had a Pontiac back in the 1980's with 2x12"subs, 6by9"decks, 5"doors and 2"dash tweeters. Each pair having It's own separate amp and all custom connected to the factory head unit, because there was no aftermarket radios to fit the 1989 integrated dashboard. I've been there and don't want to revisit.

The Ideal thing to do is rip out the factory hu, and buy a $100 radio with a dash plate kit. But I don't even want to take it that far.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 03 May 2012, 01:03

Just get a replacement Volvo speaker then.
Done.

ambishop · Post by **ambishop** » 04 May 2012, 05:18

Infinity 552i works great for front and rear doors. they are two way so you need to consider that when configuring your setup.

Since I replaced my radio with a MP3 player/bluetooth/navigation system I am not using the dash speakers and wanted component two way speakers for the fronts.

KEWROCK · Post by **KEWROCK** » 04 May 2012, 06:18

Hey thanks for the response. I looked those infinitys, but they're only 5.5 inch. But I did see these:

>>Infinity Reference 6032cf 6.5-Inch 180-Watt High-Performance Two-Way Speakers (Pair)....True Four Ohms
All Reference speakers feature two ohm voice coils. Original factory-installed speaker wiring in many cars is 18-22 gauge. This wire, and heating in the voice coil when power is applied, increase the impedance "seen" by the amplifier or head unit. The impedance of Reference Speakers has been adjusted to compensate for this increase and can be safely driven by any head unit. <<

They are advertising 2 ohms as a direct factory 4 ohm replacement, and emphasising bass. Does a speaker push more bass if you increase the impedance?

Gubernaculum · Post by **Gubernaculum** » 04 May 2012, 13:20

Honestly the "system" in my '00 s70 glt se is great - I can't see changing anything unless a factory speaker was blown - in which case I'd go to the JY and get an original. These were very nice cars 10 years ago and audio technology hasn't come that far - I'll leave well enough alone unless I wanted to replace EVERYTHING.