The above 1-4 is pretty much my impression. I did the 4 speaker upgrade myself and thought here was a very noticeable improvement, and well worth the 120-130 bucks total or so it cost. I used 300hz blockers in front as well. That being said, I now think I need to add a small powered sub, not to rattle the glass or anything but just to improve bass and ensure the system will sound/feel decent with the top off in the summer. I am not going to tackle that and will have a local shop do it, most likely with the small Kenwood or JBL nano mini sub mentioned other threads.
Better route in your opinion…
You replaced the 4 4” speakers with the Infinity Reference and no amp? Good clarity and clear when loud?
If you want to hear it with the top down/off I would suggest speakers/amp. Top on, probably dash speakers and sub would sound the best, with volume still being an issue, but passable. Even with 75 watts per channel, the 4"/6" combo lacks bass. When I turn the high pass x-over on in the amp, the 6"/4" combo is really awesome, but I loose everything below 85hz, thus one more upgrade on the horizon. I have tried each step independently because it's fun and I have so many other hobbies to spend $ on, I have to stretch out time between projects.
Yes, I did not switch out the kick panels, at least not yet. Its clear up to about 18 volume, which is plenty loud with the top on. Bass obviously lacking though. Most other threads suggested that you didn't get much bang fir the buck switching out the kick panel speakers if you weren't adding an amp/sub, so I left them and may consider replacing them down the line.
That's a great point, Sirius compresses the signal so severely it's really awful. I primarily listen to other sources, with Apple Music, sampled at middle of the road rates, sounding much better than anything else I have tried. I almost flipped when I first upgraded the amp and kick panel speakers. Switched sources and was very happy with the result!
Even the SiriusXM App, with setting set to high quality for streaming, sounds 10 times better than the actual satellite signal.
You'll want 4 ohm speakers. I originally was running the Infinity References in the dash but replaced them with the Alpine S40s - I don't know if it's the factory amplifier, but the Infinity speakers seemed to be a tad dull in the mids/highs. S40s have a nice airiness to the top end which lets a bunch more detail through. I'm adding a Kicker Key to my setup, so I may revisit after that's installed to compare. I still have the Infinitys in the rear pods though, as they make for a good rear fill option.
