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i'm going to keep brands out of this as i've tried several with similar results. so here's what i've done:

1. removed OEM HU for aftermarket - no change in sound
2. added sub - obvious increase in bass
3. installed component speakers up front - obvious increase in clarity and highs with the tweeters
4. installed 2-way coax in rear - highs a little clearer, mids not so muddy

i've tried 2 major, high end brands in the rear and i couldn't tell a difference in clarity or performance over the OEM speakers. it didn't matter if i had an amp or not. so my moral of the story is upgrading rear speakers are a waste. the last pair i tried were $180 retail that were given to me. if i had to buy them, i wouldn't have wasted my money.

 
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Good to know

 
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well the fact that you had no increased clarity from a after market head unit confuses me evan a wall mart sony will give you better performance over stock . i never did like 2way speakers so i recommend putting components in the rear also remember you have to pay to play i recommend MB QUART thats what i use and the sound is really good. also you have to i repeat have to amplify your highs with quality amps like JL AUDIO or something on par with that. another overlooked thing thats very important arr the wires you use they can make or brake your setup.

 
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the audio difference was minimal at the time between the HU's. since you brought up JL Audio, that's what the speakers are. they're JL C2 Evolutions being driven by a JL G4500 amp. i'm also running a JL 10w6 on a JL G1300 for my sub. that's getting ready to change to a JL 12w6 on a JL G1700 this week though.

 
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i agree about the rear speakers, they are pretty good for stock. when i did my stereo system i started with the two front speakers, and the made a huge diff in sound quality. then i bought a new HU in hopes of gettings subs at one point. now, i have two kicker c12's. without subs the overall sound quality was decent, however now that the rear and front speakers did not have to really carry any low end frequency for bass tones the whole system is crystal clear, and it pounds!

 
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i installed the rears yesterday and was in the car for about an hour today playing around with the settings. so i edited my first post. the mids and highs are better than stock, but not enough that i would buy a set of speakers. if i hadn't been given the JL C2's, i wouldn't spend the money for them for the rear. i'd put them up front if i didn't have componenets already, but not the rears. i'm probably going to take them out and make a stereo for my shed with them and an old Polk 8" sub i've got laying around.

 
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The C2s largest RMS rating is 70 watts with a peak of about 115 watts. This is why you didn't notice any difference with or without an amp. Your factory Pioneers are 45 watt RMS. Listen to some Alpine type r's with a nice 4 channel amp behind them and tell me component speakers aren't worth the money.

 
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well some stuff i agree with, stock to aftermarket deck didnt make much difference (prolly because stock speakers are so crappy, they barely handle 5-10w of power, and adding a lil more wont really do much except maybe make them sound worse). adding new speakers next made a huge difference, but mostly in the front. adding tweets cleaned up the sound alot too. and adding amp to speakers made them a bit cleaner. rear speakers are mostly for bass (due to the enclosed area) and some soft filler sound. rear speakers should not be as loud as the fronts anyway, otherwise you will have really bad positioning.

over thanksgiving my bro came up and we were putting his subs back in, and while i was tuning it, i couldnt help notice that the sound was complete trash. it was very distorted and messed, and the speakers were factory but they were very good (not paper). finally i realized that it was the stupid rear speakers, which on the rsx were actually on the rear side panels and much closer to the driver than normal car speakers that are in the rear deck. we faded the sound to the front +5 and wow, beautiful sound! we couldnt believe how crisp it was, and with the subs it made everything balanced. so yeah rear speakers that are overpowering, even really good ones, will ruin the sound stage.

 
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this thread isn't to get in a pissing match over brands. that's why i wasn't going to even mention them to start with.

there's no way that crap paper speaker is 45w RMS. the coil's not big enough to handle that. up front, yes components are worth it. in the rear, no they're not IMO.

 
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i got some nice aftermarket pioneers for our accord and they are around 45w rms, the stock ones were i think 45w MAX, prolly 15w rms or less. they were better than the civic speakers tho.

 
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i think some cheap (cost wise, not quality) aftermarket's running off HU power will sound better than stock for sure. i don't think it's worth spending $200 for a set of JL Audio, Alpine Type R's or such. like you, i keep mine faded toward the front anyway, so the rears aren't used that much.

 
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I wasn't trying to throw brands out there for a pissing match, I was just throwing numbers out there. I agree, putting the quality sounds in the front is smart, this is where the most sound is heard. But, having quality sounds in the rear completes it IMO. Anyways, no two people hear things exactly the same in any case so this thread is going to be full of biased opinions.

 
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Its all in the tuning.check your deck for presets, etc. if you havent already done that.
I have Memphis audios all 4, all the same in front and rear. they are 3 ways, with a 400watt amp hookep to them.
I had no bass until I added 2 subs.
I also have an alpine head unit that is working well.
the difference I notice with aftermarket speakers but no amp was being able to crank it up as high as it could go with an amp and still sound clear. without an amp they would distort right away.

 
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completely agree man. that's why the thread is titled "my experience". i'm not saying it will be the same for everyone, but this is how i feel.

 
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i don't want to belittle your post, but i've had various systems for 15 years now, so i've played around quite a bit. i've messed with all the settings in the HU and it didn't make a $180 difference between stock speakers and the JL C2's. $520 difference if you include the 4-channel amp. with the fronts, the amp added a lot, but with the rears, i couldn't notice a huge difference between the HU power and the amp power. even with all speakers on HU power, i could turn it up to ear piercing levels and it was clear as could be. so the amp didn't add that much for me. as the previous post said, no 2 peoples experience will be the same. but overall, in my several years on this forum, most people have said that replacing the rear speakers isn't as valuable as replacing the fronts and amping them. so my general advice is to replace the HU, put components up front on a good 2 channel amp, get a single 10" or 12" sub, about 300w RMS or so, and fade the rears out to get a good balance.