Okay guys. I've decided to buy a set of 5.25 MB Quarts for the front doors (98 GS400, stock Pioneer). A few questions. First, can anyone tell me the difference between the and DSE213 and RCE213 models? Here is a link:

http://www.abtelectronics.com/script...ry.php3?id=292

The DSE retails for $199 (about $100 on eBay) and the RCE retails forr $280 (about $140 on eBay). Also, what is a crossover? I was under the impression I could just take the old speakers out and put the new ones in (assuming I cut the enclosure a bit to accommodate the larger speakers). It looks like that in addition to the mids and tweets, there is an additional piece of equipment (the crossover) that needs to be hooked up. Does the stock system have a crossover? If so, would I just take that one out and put the new one in? If not, where does the crossover go? Sorry about all the basic questions, but this threw me off a bit.

Lastly, given that I would rather not spend the money to buy a new amplifier, will the stock amp adequately drive either MB Quart model? Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

e-man

 

Anyone?

 

mb quartz make good speakers.
i recomend boston acoustic pro series.
ive had my set of 6.4's for around 6 years and in 3 cars and 1 truck and they still play awesome!
they will run you more then the sets you mentioned and will play best with an external amp.

 

I'm not familiar with the DSE line, but it says it's the 'discus' series. The RCE is the 'reference' line, which I believe it right under the top of the line Q series. I would say that the RCE would definitely need an amp, but I'm not sure. I don't know what the stock amp puts out nor do I know what ohm the stock speakers are. The safe bet would be to get an amp if you get them especially if they use a crossover.

If you notice, that is what is called a 2-way speaker system, which means you have a separate tweeter and midbass driver. The tweeter and the midbass are designed to play only a certain range of frequencies. If you look, I believe the crossover is set at 5200 or 4200 Hz, so anything under 5200 or 4200 Hz, the midbass will play, and anything over 5200 or 4200 Hz...whatever the crossover is set at...will be played by the tweeter. Now, the additional piece of equipment, which from Quart, it's about a 4x3" box with a clear cover, is the crossover, and the crossover separates the audio signal at whatever the specified frequency is, and then routes the separate signals to the appropiate driver. So you have source -> amp -> crossover, then coming out of the crossover you have two sets of speaker connections for each side...one for the 5200 and less Hz signal for the midbass, and one for the 5200 and up Hz signal for the tweeter. Does this make sense?

The stock system has to have a crossover or a filter of some kind somewhere, but I don't know where and it may or may not be accessible. If you're going to put in something like Quarts, then you really should probably give them an amp and do it right, which sounds like more than you're wanting to get in to. I don't know if you have the Pioneer system, but I can pretty much guarantee that it won't power the Quarts even if you can figure out how to put in the crossover. If you have Nak or ML, I don't know what kind of power they put out in the front channels (but I'd like to know!), and you still have the problem of figuring out how to put in the crossover. I have a set of Quart Q series that I used before and they're great speakers if just a tad bright, but they need their juice. Hope this helps.

 

Wow, 04GS300, that's really, really helpful and it makes complete sense. I just want to buy "plug and play" speakers, so to speak. With the MB Quart, it sounds like I would be biting off a little more than I can chew. What about a set of component Boston Acoustics? Someone else had recommended them. Would I run up against the same problem there with the crossover unit?

 

Glad I can help! I really don't know much of what to tell you. I have never done a plug and play replacement before. I'm currently just using the stock ML system because it's good enough that it's not worth it to me to replace it. In my Camry, I did a full system except I kept the stock rear speakers, but I had 2 amps, Quarts, subs, source, etc. So as far as doing a plug and play replacement, I don't really know of anything that would work off the top of my head. I'm sure someone here has done it though. I've heard good things about Boston but I'm not familiar with them, but if it has a crossover, you're in the same boat as with the Quarts. Most "component sets" that you will find I imagine will have external crossovers. I'm thinking that your best bet will be to try to find what I would call replacement drivers, not a "set" per se. So you buy a pair of midbass drivers, then you buy a pair of tweeters. I know Quart used to sell their individual drivers separately, and that's what I'm talking about but I don't think a stock amp will push Quarts, but the same idea of separate drivers. Then theoretically, if your stock amp will push them if the ohms are the same or close and the power requirements are reasonably low, then you would be using the stock filter or crossover. Is this making sense? I have a tendency to write a stream of thought that doesn't always make sense!

I imagine someone here has done what you're wanting to do, but I honestly don't know. What I said will work in theory, but I'm NOT saying it's the best way to go because I don't know that it is. It's just an idea. Hopefully someone that has done what you're wanting to do will chime in. Good luck!

 

yes bostons are like mb ....they like alot of power...clean power,as in a amp.
you can use a deck to power them but there not as efficient as just going with coaxles.

i feed my pro series 200rms and they sound amazing. thats 200 each.

 

that's true but dont let lexsee scare you off. I only gave my Quart Q series 50 watts and they sounded great! I used a McIntosh 4x50 amp, and for a while I ran it 100x2 and gave the Quarts 100 watts each. But I decided that I needed some rear fill, so I custom made my own connectors for the rear speakers and switched the Mac to 4x50 and only gave the Quarts 50 watts. They're rated at like 40-150 watts per side, and I gave them 50, which trust me was more than enough. On more than one occasion I literally (and I mean literally) had my cd player wide open as loud as it would play, and my Quarts were fine with 50 watts. But nonetheless neither one of us are helping you because you're not looking for a separate amp anyway I just thought I'd make clear that you DON'T have to have 200 watts for a component. 50 is plenty

 

Thanks, guys. I just got back from Tweeter. Would either of you happen to know whether the mid and tweeter have separate feeds running from the amp or whether it's one feed that splits somewhere in the door? I assume it's the latter, but I really don't know.

 

if you are talking about the stock mid/tweeter, thea are fed from one source, connected in parallel. when you do the upgrade using components, the source will go to the crossover first then it will split the signal to each mid and tweeter. i dont want to confuse you bt depends on the crossover, you can do bi-amp, thats when tweet and mid will have its own source. I am using MBQ Premium, and before i have my xtant amp installed, I had them running using stock amp. It was working fine and i can tell significant imporvement over stock speaker. but again, to achieve the best result you will have to give them the proper wattage. 50watt per channel would be the minimum. Id suggest you to upgrade the speaker first and see how you like it, then you can add amps later. or you have the money ready, just do it at the same time, it will save you time and installation cost. hope it helps

 

That helps a lot, and it didn't confuse me at all. I just got back from Tweeter and they recommended Boston Acoustics (either SL or Pro Series). I heard them both and the Pro Series were a little "brighter," but both sounded very good.

e-man

 

You can't go wrong with the Bostons or Quarts. I have a set of Quart Q 6.5's in my 98 GS400 and they are great. However, if I recall correctly when I first installed them using a factory head unit and a A/D/S PH15 they seemed to be VERY midrange biased. It seems the factory head unit has a default EQ curve tuned for the factory speakers which makes perfect sense. I changed the head unit to and Alpine 9835 and I like it much better now.