under powered speakers
 

I am wanting to upgrade the audio in my car and have decided(for now anyways) that I wanted to keep the oem head unit and its functions. My goal is for a fuller sound without needing a subwoofer. I find that the low end isn't present and I have to turn the volume up quite significantly on the highway and then the sound starts to distort.

I've purchased an Alpine KTP-445U power pack which is rated at 45watts rms and also wanted to upgrade the speakers(nothing crazy, looking at less than $100 a pair). I'm kind of partial to pioneer and have been eyeing the TS-A1686R but they're rated at 60watts rms.

The stock system has 2 speakers in the rear deck, 2 speakers in the doors and 2 tweeters(although I'm not even sure they've got a highpass..they might just be 2" speakers).

Should I be looking for speakers that will most closely match the RMS rating on the alpine power pack or will the speakers perform just fine?

The car is a 2017 WRX with the base clarion 6.2" head unit.

I'm not married to those speakers either, but all the reviews i've read about them indicate that they're a decent full range speaker and what I'm looking for at the price point i'm looking for.

Should I just install the power pack first and see if I'm happy with that first?

Thanks for any help, guidance or opinions.

My experience with these cars is that the doors do not act well as speaker cabinets until they get some deadening treatment. Even the factory speakers come alive after treatment.

$300 in deadening will blow your mind. Add an amplifier to take it to the next level, then upgrade your speakers to blow your mind!

Invest in your car to improve your experience. The Alpine amp is a nice little upgrade. I would not buy speakers based on price, ever! I believe that you should compare speakers with your ears, not your wallet.

I think soundsgood still has there spring cleaning sale going on. Being a long time member, you probably already know they're rs sponsors. They might have something that fits your budget and you can pick their brain while you're there.

Honestly I don't hear a.huge difference after amping speakers. Maybe there will be side by side but I honestly don't hear it at low volume. Maybe more full sounding?

:heckno:

sounds to me like you need to invest in some serious amounts of dynamat (or equivalent).

OR

You bought the wrong damn car which has turned out to be a noisy little rattle trap.

WRX / STi | OEM Audio Plus

These guys seem to make a plug and play wiring harness, tweeters, sub, and DSP Amp that's tuned specifically for the acoustics of the WRX/Sti.

$1200 ... :pokerface:

I think for a system with OE connectors and build quality that's been designed from concrete measurements, I think it's not bad. The level of work that's been done requires quite a bit of expertise and work.

Their other products are similarly priced but have been well reviewed from what I know.

I'm not sure if this is comparable, but my friend got a quote for a sub, amp, and install from soundsgood and that came out to be $1000 as well. I'm sure as they'll tell you, good audio isn't particularly cheap.

https://photos-6.dropbox.com/t/2/AAA...60&size_mode=3

Thanks for all the input everybody. I think I'll take it slow for now. Install the power pack and put some sound deadening in the doors to see if it's good enough. and then go from there.

I have a kid with future plans of having another so I really value trunk space, so having a dedicated sub isn't ideal.

$1000 :pokerface: