On Wed, 6 Dec 2017 02:13:06 +0000 (UTC), harry newton
wrote:

He who is Scott Dorsey said on 5 Dec 2017 14:14:38 -0500:

Whereas you can get generic 6x9s from Parts Express for around $5 each,
for a total of $20 the set, and they probably won't be any worse than the
originals.

Price is never an indication of quality - it's just an indication of what
other people are willing to pay - which - marketing knows - is highly
influenced by marketing garbage.

So, a 6x9" 20W $5 Parts Express speaker might or might not be as good as a
6x9" 20W $300 speaker at Toyota which itself might or might not be as good
as a 6x9" 20W $25 speaker at Crutchfields.

How are we to know?
Sure, in the days of yore, we pored over those 3db power:frequency curves,
from 7KHz to 20KHz on each speaker box, and where, folks like Jeff
Liebermann would know, they always find a way to lie a little bit.

While I doubt the $300 per speaker at Toyota is a fair price, how can I
tell, a priori, if the $5 speaker at Parts Express will be as good (or bad)
as the $25 speaker at Crutchfields?



Is there any way for a consumer to make an intelligent speaker decision?
A good indicator of quality is magnet mass. If it has a tiny little
piddler of a magnet it will not handle any power - particularly bass.
Then lookat the cone material, and the surround. The spider is also
important- The basket is less critical - but in a large powerfull
speaker the basket will be MUCH solider than on a cheap-ass speaker.
If youfind a speaker with a cast aluminum basket you know you are
looking at a higher quality speaker - and if it is stamped steel, the
heavier the better.

Poor suspension spiders and surrounds will let the voice-coil scuff
on the magnet core - which makes a speaker rattle. A flexible basket
can do the same. The surround compliance is different on a speaker
designed for an accoustic suspension box than for a bass reflex, or an
open baffle like in the average auto rear deck. Toyota actually used
accoustic suspension on some of the "premium" sound systems years ago.

LOTS of things you can look at.

I have a pair of OEM Toyota speakers from the eighties sitting here,
as well as a pair of speakers from a Zenith TV of about the same
period - virtually the same size - and the Toyota speaker is
significantly heavier. Thicker cone, thicker basket metal, and more
rigid design - as well as a MUCH larger and stronger magnet, The
Zenith also uses an "m"formed paper surround, while the Toyota uses a
rubber surround. I've got a "tin ear" but even I can tell the
difference between the two.

The drivers in my AudioResearch towers are MUCH heavier than my
no-name set too - and I replaced the foam surrounds that had totally
"disolved" from age with new high-quality synthetic rubber surrounds -
on both the active and passive 14 inch cones.

In automotive speakers the basket rigidity is more important because
of the "G" forces experienced when driving on rough roads. The cheap
speaker might sound good when installed - but it may be pretty auful
two years later.