Alpine 6.5" Component Set

After listening to the stock 3.5" speakers mounted high on the dash, I quickly decided they would have to go. The previous owner had put in some Jensen speakers, which sounded Ok, but the problem was more from the location, rather than the speaker itself. When driving, I had to turn the balance control at least three positions to the left in order to get a good spread, and then, if I had a passenger over there, they had one speaker just screaming at them. If I left it center, I had a speaker screaming at me, (it was all I could hear) and I didn’t like it that much!

I talked to the guys at a local stereo shop and they explained how to fix this by mounting speaker in the door. Here is a picture that will help explain the theory a little better:

Speaker positioning
	The idea is that the left speaker will be really loud, because it is so close, and you will hear it very well, despite of its placement, because of its closeness. The right speaker will not have the same volume because it is much farther away, but it will be heard well because it is pointed at your head, better placement. It’s a good theory and it works!

So I decided to find a good set of components that would do the trick. I found a nice set of Alpine, 6.5-inch Woofers and 1-inch tweeters. They were on sale because they were the last ones, and last years model. I don’t need the latest and greatest, just something good, so I bought them! I them proceeded to rip apart my door. I took it all apart, taking the opportunity to fix my broken power locks. I sprayed the entire inside of the door with sound deadening spray, (I bought the cheap stuff from AutoZone, but it works pretty well), and then placed sound deadening sheets all over the rest of the door. This really helped to quiet it down. I bought the sound deadening sheets from Parts Express, and the model number is: #269-020. It’s cheap, but works well. Did I mention I am poor!?!

To make a long project short, I cut out the pockets on the door, and fiber glassed an enclosure to hold the new speakers. I used fiberglass that already has the fiber mixed in, to make it go a little faster. Then I carpeted the whole thing. I don’t have pictures of the work, but here is a little drawing of the structure:

Enclosure Structure

As you can see the screws actually hold all of the weight, and the fiberglass just makes it stronger, and look nicer.

Here are some pictures of the final result:

From the Left Side	Straight On
Click on the picture for a full size image	Click on the picture for a full size image