[BlueBMWM6]

Hi all,

So I've come to the conclusion that I will be replacing the bose speakers in my CTS-V Coupe, and adding a sub and amp. I had a few quick questions however.

Reading this forum: Finished audio install- Speaker swap/New Sub - pics

This guy and a few others found great success swapping the 3x Bose 3.25" speakers in the dash and 2x speakers package tray with 3.5" Boston Acoustics S35 speakers. He has a sedan, so it looks like his rear 3.25" speakers are the coupes back side side panels, and the 5.25 door speakers he had are actually in our rear package tray.

So I plan on replacing those 5x 3.25" with the S35... but they are no longer available. Luckily, we have the stats of:

Sensitivity: 92 dB at 1 watt
Frequency Response: 100 - 20k Hz
RMS: 2-30w
Peak: 60w
Impedance (Ohms) 4
Top-mount Depth 1 11/16"
Bottom-mount Depth 2 "

I think I found something even better. The Infinity Reference X REF-3002cfx. The stats are as follows:

Sensitivity 91 dB at 2.83 volts
Frequency Response 85 - 21k Hz
RMS Power Range 5-25
Peak Power Handling 75
Impedance (Ohms) 3
Top-mount Depth (Inches) 1 7/16

These should sound even BETTER due to being 3 ohm speakers. The factory 3.25 bose is 3.2 ohms.. so this should be a much higher quality dead on match. Correct?

Or the Polk Audio db351;

Sensitivity 91 dB at 1 watt
Frequency Response 90 - 22k Hz
RMS Power Range 4-35w
Peak Power Handling 105w
Impedance (Ohms) 4
Top-mount Depth 1 9/16


Any suggestions for the 5.25"s and/or 8" Front door woofers? If I have to, I will just buy new OEM as my drivers door speaker sounds pretty rough. And I will be using Fatmat/dynamat extreme when I do all this.

 

[Da V-Man]

These should sound even BETTER due to being 3 ohm speakers. The factory 3.25 bose is 3.2 ohms.. so this should be a much higher quality dead on match. Correct?

No, not really. The sensitivity of the Infinity speakers is rated in a voltage spec (2.83v). This would be equivalent to a 2 watt rating instead of 1 watt like the Bose speakers. This means the Infinity 1 watt rating would be about 88 dB, compared to the Bose rating of 92 dB. IOW, at the same volume setting of the amp, the Infinity speakers would play with 4 dB lower output. That's significant.

The Polk speakers are a better match.

 

[tinman]

You might want to peruse the regular CTS forum side as well. Same radio setup, but a lot more folks over there than the V folks.

 

[thebigjimsho]

Infinity speakers are for the wannabe audiophile. They have some amazing marketing because I've never heard an Infinity speaker I like. Polk, at least, has some warmth...

 

[CTSVsport]

Impedance or sensitivity have NOTHING to do with how a speaker sounds, only how it matches to the amplifier and how loud it will be for a given amount of power. Since you're going to replace the Amp, none of that matters anyways.

Of the brands you mentioned, Boston Acoustics by a landslide. But better yet, check out JL Audio.

All that said, I believe this is an exercise in futility if the processing is done in hot he head unit. You'll just get crap, over processed, compressed signal into your new expensive equipment. I'm not sure if the JL Audio CleanSweep can fix that.

 

[thebigjimsho]

For bass, no problem. For full range, you'll need an external processor...