door panel speakers

sleeper bird · Post by **sleeper bird** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 11:05 am

i am currently in the process of replacing my 66 landau door panels(it all started from wanting to change the vent window seals) and that has led to door panels and everything involved with them anyway i digress i have been wanting to put door speakers in the doors for a couple of years and i guess now is the time.I have the correct grills,but i was wondering if anyone knows of a good set of aftermarket speakers or the correct size that will work?

sleeper bird · Post by **sleeper bird** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 5:21 pm

no one has added door speakers?or changed them out

redbird1 · Post by **redbird1** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 8:39 pm

I changed the stock speakers for 4"x6" Alpine 200 watt speakers about 3 years ago.
I also modified the location for two of those speakers.
The stock setup with two in each door does very little to separate the sound.
I opted to place one in each door panel as close to the hinge side as I could, and the remaining two went into either side of the package tray in the rear.
It was a lot of work in the rear because I had to remove the vent actuators in the rear, ans seal the vent so no water could enter it from the outside.

Before doing this I asked myself what was more important, having a flow through ventilation system that I never use, or putting in speakers that I wanted to increase the quality sound of the audio in the car.
I obviously chose the latter.

All four speakers are 200 watt, and coupled with the more than sufficient amplifier in the trunk, the system is so far ahead of stock speakers.

Also I installed a new head unit with mp3 player hookup.
Somewhere on this site, I did a write up on the system with a you tube video so one could hear how the system sounds.
If I can find it I will post it later.

Bob.

redbird1 · Post by **redbird1** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 8:51 pm

Correction, the speakers are Pioneer, and the amp is Alpine.
Here is the link to the installation, and discussion when I first decided to install a new audio system.
http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/p ... dio+system

One more correction.
I just checked my sales slip for the speakers, and they were originally 4x6, but I took them back to the store and replaced them with 4 and 1/2 " round speakers.
Same brand and watts.
Bob.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:25 pm

Skip the 4x6 speakers and jump to this...

sleeper bird · Post by **sleeper bird** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:35 pm

any idea model number on the door speakers? and while im at it how did you remove seperate the wire and vacuume housing that comes out of the door?

sleeper bird · Post by **sleeper bird** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:37 am

nahhh im keeping mine somewhat original.iv got two supercoupes for that setup

Metalcop · Post by **Metalcop** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:50 pm

The stock door speakers are actually 4x8's. This is a very uncommon size, and you will find a very limited selection, if you want to stick with the 4x8's. It sounds like you want to maintain the stock appearance, as did I. I went with the Retrosound 4x8 speakers, they are a little over $100 a pair. They are 2-way speakers, which mean they have the regular large woofer, but they also have two little tweeters, for a much better range and sound. Bear in mind, any oval speaker will not sound as good or perform as well as a circular speaker! Generally, the more 'oval' you get, 4x8 or 4x10 (in the TB Dash) the worse the performance is. Oh well, if you want to use the stock locations, that is what you get. Here is a link to the speakers I got on eBay. If you do a little shopping around, you may find a cheaper price, by a few bucks, here and there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360706081719?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

I have tested my speakers only, and they sound fine. I am hoping that once they are properly mounted into the door panel, I will be able to provide a better review.

kevindeluca66 · Post by **kevindeluca66** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 7:27 pm

I dont know much about sound systems but could you use (2) 4"X4" round speakers in the front and back of each door panel. That would give you a total of 4 speakers per door. As I said I am by no means a radio guy but that way you could use round speakers.

sleeper bird · Post by **sleeper bird** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:16 am

guess i have to decide between round or oval.

Metalcop · Post by **Metalcop** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:35 am

I would recommend sticking with the stock size 4x8's. This way you will not have to modify your door panel, and the original speaker grilles can be used. You will not lose that much speaker performance, utilizing the aftermarket 4x8 speakers.
Are you planning on using the stock radio? Or one of the aftermarket units (either in dash or hidden)?
If you are using the stocker, any 4x8 will do, that thing does not push anywhere near enough power to distort these speakers. If you are using an aftermarket solution, that will make a difference.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:49 am

If you choose the Retrosound or similar 4x8 speakers speakers, I would go with a modern, higher powered radio. The modern 100+ watt speakers need a bit more input than the 8 watt original radio can provide to drive those speakers to their most efficient sound.

Metalcop · Post by **Metalcop** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:10 am

BrianC wrote:If you choose the Retrosound or similar 4x8 speakers speakers, I would go with a modern, higher powered radio. The modern 100+ watt speakers need a bit more input than the 8 watt original radio can provide to drive those speakers to their most efficient sound.

I totally agree. There are a lot of nice options out there, both in dash and hidden options. I went with a very low tech hidden stereo. Mine is really nothing more than a power amp, 4 channels x 50 watts, that has an 1/8 (ipod)or RCA inputs. That combined with upgraded stock size replacement speakers, will give me a completely stock appearance with modern sound!

Metalcop · Post by **Metalcop** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 11:33 am

I did up a quick thread, in the modified section, detailing my stereo installation. I would be happy to answer any questions and assist anyone who wants to upgrade their stereo.

http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/p ... 6540#66540

sleeper bird · Post by **sleeper bird** » Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:19 am

I had my stock radio redone by tayman not sure how many watts it has but it does have a hookup for an mp3