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Hi everyone, I am currently in the process of upgrading my entire system. I have replaced my deck, got a JL Audio 500/1 amp running a 10" W6 sub. For high's I am running Alpine type R components off of a Alphasonik 100 watt rms 2 channel amp. I am not going to run rear speakers. My question is has anyone removed their rear speakers to gain more bass? My goal is strictly sound quality. **The install is not yet complete so I have no clue how it will sound with the rear speakers still in place**

 
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chances are you will just get more road noise coming thru the rear speakers. i had mine off for a while and it was much louder, you hear everything coming thru the trunk. and i doubt sub bass will travel thru those holes and sound any better, its not directional sound.

 
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wouldnt the the deck just send all the lpf's to the sub if the rears were taken out? therefore, more base?

 
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One of my main concerns is road noise. I have enough road noise I don't need to be adding to the madness. Thank you for the response you just saved me the headache of removing the back speakers.

 
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in fact i would remove the rear speakers and cover those holes with a couple sheets of dynamat and foam. that will work even better to seal up the rear. and it may even improve bass response since its more of a closed space in the trunk.

 
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Thanks Gearbox, I will keep that in mind if I'm not happy with the sound. I used to run 2 12" w3 subs in a ported box. This setup was way too sloppy. The subs didn't sound like they were hitting specific notes that I knew were in the songs I was playing. I originally thought that I just tuned them improperly but I took my car to a professional shop and had a technician re tune the system with a meter and I still had the same outcome. After plenty of research I decided to sell the w3's and start fresh.

For the deck I chose Kenwood's KDC x693 it has time alignment that will allow me to set a better front sound stage. The stock tweeter location is too far from the woofers so I custom mounted the Alpine Type R tweeters in the kick-panels. If the weather permits this Sunday I should have the install complete.

 
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I run all four of my speakers on a 2-ch 760Watt amp that's connected to the Front pre-out on my deck. As far as the deck is concerned, I don't have rear speakers, and with the hpf and lpf filters on, none of my speakers receive anything below 100Hz. That is left entirely to the subs.

The only thing you're going to accomplish by removing the rear speakers is cutting your volume potential in half (Actually, less than half due to the horn effect of the up-firing rears) and the illusion that you have more bass than you do.

 
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Sounds good, kenwood has some nice adjustments on their HU's with their DTA. I just wish there was something like onkyo (a reciever company for home audio) for cars, they have decible and time tuning based on a microphone placed in 3 user determined positions, auto tunes the whole system in about 5 minutes.

Post above killed the rest of mine -.-

 
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Rear fill will just pull your soundstage backwards and I like to hear music and even "see" it coming from out in front of me. If you have a system with a good front stage and decent dynamics, you'll never miss rear speakers at all.

 
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If I'm understanding you right Alpine makes something similar. How ever I don't know how well it works. I think you also have to have a Alpine head unit for it to work.

Alpine PXA-H100

 
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Ok well the weather was nice today, however after taking the door panel off I realized that I have to make an adapter plate for my new speakers to fit. I also had to order baffles to protect the new woofers from water damage. If you would have seen the old ones you would understand why. I will keep you guys posted as I slowly make progress.

I am thinking about taking my capacitor out for a cleaner install. Does anyone know if the capacitor is needed? I am running a total of 600 watts. I originally bought the capacitor so it would relieve stain on the battery and to make sure I didnt get any headlight dimming. The battery is a normal battery that you would buy from any parts dealer. (No Optima) I'm curious if the stock alternator is strong enough?

 
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yeah those doors are pretty shoddy lol. i get water in there all the time. cap is not needed, all it does is steal battery power that could be used elsewhere. optima sucks anyway. the only way to really fix those problems of dimming is a new alternator with higher output, but stock is pretty okay for most systems. 70 amps, but not terrible.

 
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Well with my previous setup having the cap installed I never got headlight dim. Just curious if I were to remove it would there be an issue?

 
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well you would get some dimming sure, but its not like the cap is "fixing" the issue of low power. it just covers it up. and the cap has to charge itself from the battery. its not like dimming headlights is a problem, unless it bothers you.

 
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It would bother the hell out of me. I had allot of dim in a previous car running 1000 watts. I have cut the wattage in half with this install so I guess I will give it a shot and see what happens. I would love to get my alternator rewound but money is tight from buying a new house and I would rather spend the money on things that are absolutely needed. I appreciate your input Gearbox. Keep on post-in.

 
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I'm running a 400w mono amp and a 2 channel for front components (100x2), and my headlights dim like crazy. Just keep it down at stoplights. Are you wanting to take the speakers out so they act like ports for your sub? If you're wanting to do that just pull ur back seats down when you bump.

 
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My original goal was to take them out and have the holes act as ports however your right it's not worth the aggravation of taking the speakers out when I can just fold the seats down.

If your setup is dimming your lights and is 100 watts under the power I will be pushing then I will definitely keep the capacitor. If anything it can't hurt. I'm just going to have to hide the wires better so the install looks nice and clean. My headlights are bright as ****. I have HID's in a projector lens so if they dim to the bass people will notice.

 
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well hids should not dim at all, unless you have a really crappy kit. i used to have hid too and they use a special ballast to deliver constant power to the bulb at all times, even if the voltage in the car goes from 11-15v it will not affect the bulbs. mine never dimmed even with all sorts of accessories and stereo being used. halogen is affected alot because light output and voltage increase is exponential. so even a 1v difference in power will be noticable. i notice mine dimming alot even just rolling up the windows.

 
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man, i have the 10" W6 on a JL amp, and trust me, it's plenty loud and clear with the rear speakers in. much louder and clearer than anything i've ever had. you won't be dissapointed.

 
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Good to know. I still have yet to finish the install. I have been pretty busy with helping my buddy move into his new place and going through the process of buying my own house. I'm going stir crazy without having my tunes.

 
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Finally someone with the same setup. Is yours sealed or ported? I chose sealed for a tighter hit. As stated before I had 2 12" W3v2 ported and they sounded like ****. The W6 is JL Audio's best sub for sound quality so I hope it wont disappoint.

 
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I'm finally done my install. After a couple of months of selling audio equipment, researching new stuff, ordering new equipment and some custom mounting. The end result was well worth the time rolling without tunes. I have just done a simple tune on the amps to have something to listen to and it already sounds a thousand times better than before. Hopefully tomorrow I can mess around with the digital time alignment, and dial the speakers in just right. Gearbox I didnt forget about you man I know I said I would take a picture of the head unit but I didnt have time.

I didnt have to take the rear speakers out after all. I knew the 10" W6 was going to sound good but it actually blew me away. I'm really surprised how the bass response fills the car with the seats up.

 
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oh yeah bass will go right thru the seats lol

 
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that was my reaction as well. i couldn't believe how good a 10" sounded. i've had 8's, 10's, 12's, and 15's before. i've always liked the 12's the best, but this 10 beats any 12 i've heard.