Bargain 5 1/4" door subwoofer find!
#1
02-16-2009, 05:13 PM
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Upsate NY
Posts: 84
Rep Power: 20 
Bargain 5 1/4" door subwoofer find!
I'm in the process of upgrading the sound system of my newly purchased 2001 C2 cab without changing the head unit. I tried 2 different "mid-woofers" (all that really means is crappy bass) with no real improvement to speak of. Then I found these 5 1/4 subs by Tang Bang. The reviews on their site were very positive so I thought I'd give them a try. The model number is W5-1138SM 5-1/4". I bought them at http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=264-831 for only $33.86 each!
Well it took some creative dremel handiwork as the magnet is longer than the OEM speaker so i had to make a hole in the back side of the plastic bucket large enough for the magnet to go through, but these subs are a HUGE improvment over stock! Even withn the loudness turned on, they don't break up until it's too loud to listen to. I'm thrilled with the bass response out of these.
I have some Infinity Kappa's coming for the front and back. I tried Autobahn's - complete waste of money. I learned that Suncoast Porsche sells a speaker delete grill. It comes with no opening so you can easily customize it for aftermarket speaker installations. You can find them at http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C
I'll post soon and let you know how the Infinity's sound.
Well it took some creative dremel handiwork as the magnet is longer than the OEM speaker so i had to make a hole in the back side of the plastic bucket large enough for the magnet to go through, but these subs are a HUGE improvment over stock! Even withn the loudness turned on, they don't break up until it's too loud to listen to. I'm thrilled with the bass response out of these.
I have some Infinity Kappa's coming for the front and back. I tried Autobahn's - complete waste of money. I learned that Suncoast Porsche sells a speaker delete grill. It comes with no opening so you can easily customize it for aftermarket speaker installations. You can find them at http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C
I'll post soon and let you know how the Infinity's sound.
Last edited by Rthomson; 01-04-2010 at 12:00 PM.
#2
02-16-2009, 10:52 PM
I'm in the process of upgrading the sound system of my newly purchased 2001 C2 cab without changing the head unit. I tried 2 different "mid-woofers" (all that really means is crappy bass) with no real improvement to speak of. Then I found these 5 1/4 subs by Tang Band. The reviews on their site were very positive so I thought I'd give them a try. The model number is W5-1138SM 5-1/4". I bought them at http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=264-831 for only $33.86 each!
Well it took some creative dremel handiwork as the magnet is longer than the OEM speaker so i had to make a hole in the back side of the plastic bucket large enough for the magnet to go through, but these subs are a HUGE improvment over stock! Even withn the loudness turned on, they don't break up until it's too loud to listen to. I'm thrilled with the bass response out of these.
I have some Infinity Kappa's coming for the front and back. I tried Autobahn's - complete waste of money. I learned that Suncoast Porsche sells a speaker delete grill. It comes with no opening so you can easily customize it for aftermarket speaker installations. You can find them at http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C
I'll post soon and let you know how the Infinity's sound.
Well it took some creative dremel handiwork as the magnet is longer than the OEM speaker so i had to make a hole in the back side of the plastic bucket large enough for the magnet to go through, but these subs are a HUGE improvment over stock! Even withn the loudness turned on, they don't break up until it's too loud to listen to. I'm thrilled with the bass response out of these.
I have some Infinity Kappa's coming for the front and back. I tried Autobahn's - complete waste of money. I learned that Suncoast Porsche sells a speaker delete grill. It comes with no opening so you can easily customize it for aftermarket speaker installations. You can find them at http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C
I'll post soon and let you know how the Infinity's sound.
Thanks for the reference - you just solved one of my problems... I'm in the same boat as you - '01 Cab... and what to do with the speakers... the hangup for me was the door speakers, since I was planning to put two-way 4-inchers into the dash and rear. All in preparation for putting in a new Navi head-unit.
It sure would help if you had pictures of the dremel surgery.
Thanks again and hope to see some pics of the installation.
Rudy
------------------------------
'01 Arctic Silver/Black C2 Cabriolet
#3
02-17-2009, 07:21 AM
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Upsate NY
Posts: 84
Rep Power: 20
Sorry but I don't have pics of the surgery but it was fairly easy if you are a handy person. Have you had the door panel off yet? If not, PM me and I'll walk you throught it.
I had to dremel the inner ring on the most forward portion of where the speaker fits in because the speaker frame was a bit too large. Then, I had to dremel a hole in the back like where the magnet goes because the magnet is too long. Just measure the end of the magnet, eyeball it for center on the plastic speaker housing and dremel away. Make SURE that your window is UP when you do this because the window glass is behind the speaker enclosure and if you slip, we'll you know the rest of the story!
Take a moment and check the screws that hold the speaker enclosure to the door. Mine were both loose on both doors and it rattled during heavy bass. There is like 3 or 4 philips head srews. You will have to peel back some of the door foam to get to them.
My 4" Infinity Kappa's came in this morning. I got the 2 way speakers too. I'm very anchious to get them inn and hear them. Down the road, I may upgrade the amp but I don't wish to do a head unit at this time. My wife would cut my b@lls off if you know what I mean! I just got the car this past January and it's sitting in storage becaise I live on the easy coast and it's winter here. I'm jonesin' to drive it something horrible!
Hope this helps!
I had to dremel the inner ring on the most forward portion of where the speaker fits in because the speaker frame was a bit too large. Then, I had to dremel a hole in the back like where the magnet goes because the magnet is too long. Just measure the end of the magnet, eyeball it for center on the plastic speaker housing and dremel away. Make SURE that your window is UP when you do this because the window glass is behind the speaker enclosure and if you slip, we'll you know the rest of the story!
Take a moment and check the screws that hold the speaker enclosure to the door. Mine were both loose on both doors and it rattled during heavy bass. There is like 3 or 4 philips head srews. You will have to peel back some of the door foam to get to them.
My 4" Infinity Kappa's came in this morning. I got the 2 way speakers too. I'm very anchious to get them inn and hear them. Down the road, I may upgrade the amp but I don't wish to do a head unit at this time. My wife would cut my b@lls off if you know what I mean! I just got the car this past January and it's sitting in storage becaise I live on the easy coast and it's winter here. I'm jonesin' to drive it something horrible!
Hope this helps!
#4
02-17-2009, 07:59 AM
Sorry but I don't have pics of the surgery but it was fairly easy if you are a handy person. Have you had the door panel off yet? If not, PM me and I'll walk you throught it.
I had to dremel the inner ring on the most forward portion of where the speaker fits in because the speaker frame was a bit too large. Then, I had to dremel a hole in the back like where the magnet goes because the magnet is too long. Just measure the end of the magnet, eyeball it for center on the plastic speaker housing and dremel away. Make SURE that your window is UP when you do this because the window glass is behind the speaker enclosure and if you slip, we'll you know the rest of the story!
Take a moment and check the screws that hold the speaker enclosure to the door. Mine were both loose on both doors and it rattled during heavy bass. There is like 3 or 4 philips head srews. You will have to peel back some of the door foam to get to them.
My 4" Infinity Kappa's came in this morning. I got the 2 way speakers too. I'm very anchious to get them inn and hear them. Down the road, I may upgrade the amp but I don't wish to do a head unit at this time. My wife would cut my b@lls off if you know what I mean! I just got the car this past January and it's sitting in storage becaise I live on the easy coast and it's winter here. I'm jonesin' to drive it something horrible!
Hope this helps!
I had to dremel the inner ring on the most forward portion of where the speaker fits in because the speaker frame was a bit too large. Then, I had to dremel a hole in the back like where the magnet goes because the magnet is too long. Just measure the end of the magnet, eyeball it for center on the plastic speaker housing and dremel away. Make SURE that your window is UP when you do this because the window glass is behind the speaker enclosure and if you slip, we'll you know the rest of the story!
Take a moment and check the screws that hold the speaker enclosure to the door. Mine were both loose on both doors and it rattled during heavy bass. There is like 3 or 4 philips head srews. You will have to peel back some of the door foam to get to them.
My 4" Infinity Kappa's came in this morning. I got the 2 way speakers too. I'm very anchious to get them inn and hear them. Down the road, I may upgrade the amp but I don't wish to do a head unit at this time. My wife would cut my b@lls off if you know what I mean! I just got the car this past January and it's sitting in storage becaise I live on the easy coast and it's winter here. I'm jonesin' to drive it something horrible!
Hope this helps!
So I've turned my attention to the interior - which for me is basically just audio at this point (someday I'd like to put some carbon fiber pieces in...) - which I'm more or less in a rush to do since my wife has already green-lighted that mod and I want to get it done before she changes her mind or does the math (I had to sneak up on her for the exterior mods, fortunately it started out as an insurance claim - but yes, I do know what you mean about the wife, right now, in one hand is the butter knife and in the other...)
I'll contact you when I get it back and start to explore.
Thanks,
Rudy
#5
02-24-2009, 06:05 PM
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Upsate NY
Posts: 84
Rep Power: 20 
I just put a pair of 4" Infinity Kappa's http://techronics.com/index.cfm?fuse...FQsMGgodLWkczw in the dash position on my 2001 996 cab. They sound much cleaner than the Porsche speakers (and I have the 6 speaker upgraded DSP sound system)! The Infinity's coupled with the Tang Bang subs sound significantly better than the stock speakers!
I purchased a pair of "Speaker Delete" grills from http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C These are the grilles that Porsche installs when the client does not order speakers. What makes them unique, is that with a little creative dremel work, you can cut a custom sized opening for the speaker of your choice! I opted for a coaxel speaker so I only had to cut one hole.
I purchased a pair of "Speaker Delete" grills from http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C These are the grilles that Porsche installs when the client does not order speakers. What makes them unique, is that with a little creative dremel work, you can cut a custom sized opening for the speaker of your choice! I opted for a coaxel speaker so I only had to cut one hole.
#6
02-24-2009, 06:25 PM
I just put a pair of 4" Infinity Kappa's http://techronics.com/index.cfm?fuse...FQsMGgodLWkczw in the dash position on my 2001 996 cab. They sound much cleaner than the Porsche speakers (and I have the 6 speaker upgraded DSP sound system)! The Infinity's coupled with the Tang Bang subs sound significantly better than the stock speakers!
I purchased a pair of "Speaker Delete" grills from http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C These are the grilles that Porsche installs when the client does not order speakers. What makes them unique, is that with a little creative dremel work, you can cut a custom sized opening for the speaker of your choice! I opted for a coaxel speaker so I only had to cut one hole.
I purchased a pair of "Speaker Delete" grills from http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/me...9966450490201C These are the grilles that Porsche installs when the client does not order speakers. What makes them unique, is that with a little creative dremel work, you can cut a custom sized opening for the speaker of your choice! I opted for a coaxel speaker so I only had to cut one hole.
Cool! I plan on following in your footsteps, except I plan on putting some coaxes into the rear... So, you stayed with coaxes in the dash, and used the speaker delete grilles as the grille? Got any pictures???
Can't wait to see how they look.
Congrats!
Rudy
Trending Topics
#8
02-26-2009, 08:38 AM
Just curious, but why didn't you just remove the bass enclosure from the door panel and use a hole saw on a drill? Then you could have sealed the area where the magnet pokes through to prevent any moisture issues. Alternatively, if the magnet is only slightly protruding through the enclosure, did you look at all at putting a spacer between the sub and the enclosure to raise it up? Let me know if I'm missing something, because I'm going to give these a shot, as my drivers door "sub" is blown anyway. Thanks!
#9
02-26-2009, 08:59 AM
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Upsate NY
Posts: 84
Rep Power: 20
It would have been much easier to make the protrusion hole in the enclosures with them removed. I guess I was just lazy that day! If you don't take them out though, make damn sure your window is up! If it's down all the way and you slip while making the hole, you'll hit glass!
Another thought... Audio install places have this flexible heavy weight tyvek kinda stuff they put in place of the speaker before the speaker actually goes in to minimize sound loss out the back. This may be a good solution fore the moisture thing and perhaps improve sound quality even more!
All in all, I think they sound pretty good especially for the proce!
I put 4" coaxle Infinity Kappa's in the dash and rear. They have a MUCH cleaner sound and far better highs. They compliment the sub well! I uploaded photo's of the speaker grill mods to this thread last night.
Hope this helps!
Bob
Another thought... Audio install places have this flexible heavy weight tyvek kinda stuff they put in place of the speaker before the speaker actually goes in to minimize sound loss out the back. This may be a good solution fore the moisture thing and perhaps improve sound quality even more!
All in all, I think they sound pretty good especially for the proce!
I put 4" coaxle Infinity Kappa's in the dash and rear. They have a MUCH cleaner sound and far better highs. They compliment the sub well! I uploaded photo's of the speaker grill mods to this thread last night.
Hope this helps!
Bob
#10
02-27-2009, 11:29 AM
It would have been much easier to make the protrusion hole in the enclosures with them removed. I guess I was just lazy that day! If you don't take them out though, make damn sure your window is up! If it's down all the way and you slip while making the hole, you'll hit glass!
Another thought... Audio install places have this flexible heavy weight tyvek kinda stuff they put in place of the speaker before the speaker actually goes in to minimize sound loss out the back. This may be a good solution fore the moisture thing and perhaps improve sound quality even more!
All in all, I think they sound pretty good especially for the proce!
I put 4" coaxle Infinity Kappa's in the dash and rear. They have a MUCH cleaner sound and far better highs. They compliment the sub well! I uploaded photo's of the speaker grill mods to this thread last night.
Hope this helps!
Bob
Another thought... Audio install places have this flexible heavy weight tyvek kinda stuff they put in place of the speaker before the speaker actually goes in to minimize sound loss out the back. This may be a good solution fore the moisture thing and perhaps improve sound quality even more!
All in all, I think they sound pretty good especially for the proce!
I put 4" coaxle Infinity Kappa's in the dash and rear. They have a MUCH cleaner sound and far better highs. They compliment the sub well! I uploaded photo's of the speaker grill mods to this thread last night.
Hope this helps!
Bob
Thanks for the pics... I've heard of some people trying to recycle the speaker covers, so I'll give that a shot before I order the blanks... Did you find that those Kappas were short enough without having to put a spacer in either the dash or rear panels? I re-scanned the thread, but I lost track of what you were doing for the amp - are you keeping the stock amp and did you run any new speaker wires?
Trying to work this out in my head before I get to the patient...
Thanks again for the hints.
Rudy
#11
02-27-2009, 11:44 AM
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Upsate NY
Posts: 84
Rep Power: 20
Recycling the speaker covers did not work out at all. Don't waste your time with them. The Kappa's fit with no trouble. I'm trying to avoid doing an amp for now and the factory speaker wire is very heavy so I just re-used it. Down the road I may update the amp but I presently have the 6 speaker "better" amped system so I'm hoping I'll be pleased with it. Hope this helps!
#13
02-27-2009, 12:02 PM
Recycling the speaker covers did not work out at all. Don't waste your time with them. The Kappa's fit with no trouble. I'm trying to avoid doing an amp for now and the factory speaker wire is very heavy so I just re-used it. Down the road I may update the amp but I presently have the 6 speaker "better" amped system so I'm hoping I'll be pleased with it. Hope this helps!
Thanks again,
Rudy
#14
03-15-2009, 12:41 PM
Bob,
Still waiting for my car to get out of the shop and I have three pairs of speakers (the same three pair that you have) sitting on my workbench ready to go...
For giggles, I ordered some one inch spacers for the woofers I plan on putting in the doors - if I use these can I avoid cutting into the baffle? How big of a hole did you have to cut to have the woofers seat properly?
Thanks,
Rudy
Still waiting for my car to get out of the shop and I have three pairs of speakers (the same three pair that you have) sitting on my workbench ready to go...
For giggles, I ordered some one inch spacers for the woofers I plan on putting in the doors - if I use these can I avoid cutting into the baffle? How big of a hole did you have to cut to have the woofers seat properly?
Thanks,
Rudy
#15
03-16-2009, 08:34 AM
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Upsate NY
Posts: 84
Rep Power: 20
Rudy,
I had to "Dremel" the actual opening for the subs to fit and Dremel a 2"- 21/2" hole in the back of the speaker housing to accommodate the sub woofers magnet. Remember to either remove the speaker box or keep the window rolled up before you begin cutting as the window is directly behind the speaker box. If you don't remove the speaker housing to make the hole, make sure you go around and tighten the screws that hold it to the door as most all of mine were loose and rattled like hell with the new subs installed.
I've been busy with mods this winter.. I did the LED driving light upgrade, front headlight amberdectomy (remove the internal amber reflector from the headlight housing), hard wired my Escort 9500xi detector with seperatre remote/mute module, did the garage door opener in the dash upgrade and the side marker wiring hack so the front side marker lights blink alternately with the front turn signals. Now I want to do the dash mounted spoiler switch and the cabrio top wiring hack so you don't have to be in park with the e brake on to lower the top.
I got my car out of storage yesterday and got to drive it for the first time here in Upsate NY! I had a blast this weekend and got a lot of looks. Bet I put 200 miles on it! I had the top down and the heat up cause it was only in the 50's but I was still lovin it.
BTW, the speakers sounded great! For the money, I couldn't be happier! I did mess with the DSP, loudness, treble and bass settings in the head unit to get the sound the way I like it but I like it! I'm sure it can be better but I think you would have to spend 5 times as much money.....
I had to "Dremel" the actual opening for the subs to fit and Dremel a 2"- 21/2" hole in the back of the speaker housing to accommodate the sub woofers magnet. Remember to either remove the speaker box or keep the window rolled up before you begin cutting as the window is directly behind the speaker box. If you don't remove the speaker housing to make the hole, make sure you go around and tighten the screws that hold it to the door as most all of mine were loose and rattled like hell with the new subs installed.
I've been busy with mods this winter.. I did the LED driving light upgrade, front headlight amberdectomy (remove the internal amber reflector from the headlight housing), hard wired my Escort 9500xi detector with seperatre remote/mute module, did the garage door opener in the dash upgrade and the side marker wiring hack so the front side marker lights blink alternately with the front turn signals. Now I want to do the dash mounted spoiler switch and the cabrio top wiring hack so you don't have to be in park with the e brake on to lower the top.
I got my car out of storage yesterday and got to drive it for the first time here in Upsate NY! I had a blast this weekend and got a lot of looks. Bet I put 200 miles on it! I had the top down and the heat up cause it was only in the 50's but I was still lovin it.
BTW, the speakers sounded great! For the money, I couldn't be happier! I did mess with the DSP, loudness, treble and bass settings in the head unit to get the sound the way I like it but I like it! I'm sure it can be better but I think you would have to spend 5 times as much money.....