Im on a budget so subs and amps are out of the question for now. Besides, Im more of a clarity guy. Which brand is the best when it comes to seps/coax?

 

Depends on what you intend to power them with. If you're only going to use the HU to power the speakers go with co-axials. If you're gonna use an outboard amp then go with components. Component speakers use better crossovers which tends to make them inefficient when compared to co-axials. That's why they don't sound their best unless you have a lot more power to push them. As far as which brand to buy that's entirely up to you. Speaker selection is far too subjective for anyone to tell you what sounds good and what doesn't For instance I'm sure there are members here that swear by MB Quart speakers. I personally can't stand Quarts cuz to my ears they are way too harsh sounding. My recommendation is to take some of your favorite tunes with you to your local car audio shop and demo as many different speaker brands as you can to make your decision. Remember, there is no such thing as "the best" of anything out there. Find what "you" like and go with that.

 

He pretty much summed it up. HU power = co-axils, but remember anything more than a 2 way speaker is a pure marketing gimmick. If you plan on amping, use a solid component front stage. As said, the passive crossover is much better, some co-axils don't even come with crossovers. Also keep in mind your imaging. How do you plan to go about placing the speakers? If you have a 4th Gen F-Body and place the tweets and speakers in the doors, that is an optimal area.

One thing I have learned is pay very close attention to the tweeter you buy. I always look for a Silk tweeter because it produces the smoothest sound, while say titanium tweets can be quite harsh.

 

Good point. Too many times I see people buying into the hype that if two is good then more MUST be better. And they are, if you like your treble to be able to etch glass.

 

Before you buy anything you need to really consider what you want out of it. Spending less may be better now but down the road it can be a complete waste if your not happy. Whether you have monsoon or bose in the car now these systems really cannot be pieced together. Any aftermarket speakers will not sound good running on the stock HU, and you need to buy a "translator" to bypass the factory amps. Also any decent speakers you buy will sound a 1000 times better running on a cheaper amp than the best HU. Keep in mind that when you listen to them in the store they usually run them through the best amp in that room. I would say bare minimum you need a HU, 2channel amp, and 2way seperates to get any decent clarity. As for a brand it's all about taste, and you get what you pay for, just consider what you really need and what your willing to pay for then shop around a bit.

 

Without an amp, get a coaxials. Components will sound awful from just HU - I had it that way for a while (amp died).

 

I'm now leaning more towards coaxials thanks to your advice. Besides...they're cheaper than component speakers What do u guys think of Blaupunkt or JBL? Kicker?

 

Go with Eclipse or Polk co-axials.

 

I scored some Alpine type s's off ebay. I really liked them but they weren't component speakers, so they can only sound so good.