Stereo & Electronics - Monsoon Speaker Upgrade

I'm gonna buy the speakers off of Kee Audio soon but before I do, I wanted to know how to hook them up. Do you have to cut the factory wiring? If you do, is there some kind of harness so you don't need to cut it? Thanks!

:corn: (1997 Pontiac Firebird v6 W68/Y87) :corn:

You don't necessarily have to. You can retain the stock harness that's soldered to the speaker and either desolder it, or cut it just before the soldered joints and either solder or use terminals to connect to the new speakers.

I don't like rigging my car with that (I only rigged my VATS and thats it)

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=gm+speaker+harness&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Any of them work?

What Rauch is suggesting doesn't involve messing up any of the factory wiring (at least not any of it that you will still be using). There is a short pigtail harness on the original speaker with a connector that plugs into the factory wiring. Just cut (or de-solder) that short piece off the old speaker (which you'll be throwing away anyway) and then connect it to your new speaker so that it will plug into the factory harness.

Thanks for the replys. I know you can just use the stock one but I was wondering if a harness would work, like when you replace the stock radio, I used a harness.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metra-72-4568-GM-Speaker-Harness-Pair-New-/270818216994?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0e060c22

http://i.imgur.com/GR3Hp.png

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metra-72-4570-GM-Speaker-Harness-Pair-/330546761526?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf61f4f36

http://www.bocaratonecommerce.com/pics/Metra_72-4570.jpg


Thanks in advance!

Why spend the money on new harnesses when the ones attached to the old speakers work just the same? You will be doing the same amount of work either way. I just replaced my speakers with the CDTs from Kee Audio myself. Just cut the pigtail off of the old speakers and wire them up to the new speakers. Make sure you label the pigtails before you cut them off. All of the wiring info you need is in the Monsoon sticky.

Thanks for the replys. I know you can just use the stock one but I was wondering if a harness would work, like when you replace the stock radio, I used a harness.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metra-72-4568-GM-Speaker-Harness-Pair-New-/270818216994?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0e060c22

http://i.imgur.com/GR3Hp.png

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metra-72-4570-GM-Speaker-Harness-Pair-/330546761526?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf61f4f36

http://www.bocaratonecommerce.com/pics/Metra_72-4570.jpg


Thanks in advance!

That would be great if all the speakers had just a positive and neg on them. Those are generic GM connectors and will work for the hatch speakers and the Camaro rear sails or Firebird front doors. Other then that there are no aftermarket connectors available for the other speakers. The door speakers in a Camaro have 2 pairs of wires coming off the one connector and the Firebird sail panel subs have the same type of thing with 4 wires coming out of the one connector that plugs into the harness. The one you have pictured won't work with the above mentioned.
You are not rigging the car by reusing the stock connectors. They look basically like the ones you have pictured but are the correct ones because they come right off the back of the old speaker. When you cut them off the back they look like what you have right there but would be the right connector to plug back into your harness. Here is a picture of another customers install. This is the way hundreds of my customers have done it so it plugs right back into the stock harness and there is no guess work as to whether it will work or not.
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-electronics/1162712-cdts-kee-install-pics.html
As you can see in the pictures all the stock connectors are retained so they plug right back into the stock harness.

Ok, I'll just use the stock wiring I guess... I'll probably order these speakers next paycheck LOL, pretty expensive, any coupons? :) I have a Sony HU, does that affect anything?

Does the basic package on your site come with the tweeters too?

on my 99 i have bose. did the speakers you purchased have seperate hookups for the tweeter and speaker

on my 99 i have bose. did the speakers you purchased have seperate hookups for the tweeter and speakerUhhh, no you don't. Bose was only available in 93-96 Camaros. A 99 has either a base (4-speaker) system or a Monsoon (10-speaker Firebird or 8-speaker Camaro) system. Yes, the Kee Audio package has the separate components for the doors so you get the correct number of connections.

Yeah, got the speakers today. I ordered this,

Firebird
1.) CDT CL-61CV 6.5" Component Speaker System (doors)
2.) Bazooka 6.5" DVC Subwoofers (sailpanels)
3.) JVC 4" CSV426 coaxials (hatch)

I only got the Bazooka's and some Clarion 4"... what gives??

They sent me better hatch speakers since the JVC ones were out of stock... and the door speakers are coming in a difference package, Tuesday. Thanks KeeAudio!

I got the same Kee audio kit and the CDT door speakers came a day later also. There is a crossover and tweeters included in the CDT box. I haven't really dug into the doors yet, but is everybody using the crossovers and replacing stock tweeters or is just replacing the 6.5" speakers good enough? If so, do you mount the crossovers inside the door? Seems like they would take an awful beating with slamming of doors... Thanks for any info

I just got my door speakers today and I have the same question, I shot KeeAudio an e-mail about it, when I get a reply I'll post it here.

I got the same Kee audio kit and the CDT door speakers came a day later also. There is a crossover and tweeters included in the CDT box. I haven't really dug into the doors yet, but is everybody using the crossovers and replacing stock tweeters or is just replacing the 6.5" speakers good enough? If so, do you mount the crossovers inside the door? Seems like they would take an awful beating with slamming of doors... Thanks for any info

The tweeter switch is a major, major, major part of getting good sound quality of a speaker upgrade. Don't buy components if you don't want to use EVERYTHING that comes in the box (other than the grilles, which is case-by-case)

Use the woofers.
Use the tweeters.
Use the crossovers. Do not use the car's stock tweeter filter. Use the crossovers that came with the speakers. Do not use a different crossover. Crossovers are tailored for the speakers they come with, and using that crossover is the only way to get the proper sound without knowing how to build a custom system like I personally do using MiniDSP.

Wrong ^

hi brandon,
here you go:
For the front door speakers you do not use the crossovers that come with the speakers. The monsoon already separates frequency. All you do is remove the panel:
http://www.firebirdnation.com/pdf/doorpanel.pdf
once it is removed the speakers can be accessed and removed. The connector attached to the midbass in the door is cut off and reused with the new midbass by either soldering or using crimp connectors to attach it. The tweeter is inside the door panel itself and is removed by removing the phillips head screw holding it in place and then prying it away from the metal bracket. It is glued in place but will pop loose with a flat blade screw driver.
Cut the harness off the factory tweeter including the foam covered rectangle attached to it as that is the bass blocker for the factory system. The cdt tweeter will be attached to the metal bracket using some 3m double sided trim tape. It has a red backing and is gray. This is the same tape that is used to hold emblems on cars so it will hold indefinitely.

That should be exactly what you need.
Thanks,
-ian

My crossovers are still in the box. Sounds fine to me. I have the tweeters mounted coaxially and wired seperately just as the factory speakers were. Aside from wanting more bass from the system overall, I have no complaints.

Nope, I wasn't wrong. I do not understand why Ian would give you that bad advice. Crossovers are all different. And you are running your woofers full range for whatever stupid reason here.

Maybe it does sound fine to you, but it is significantly worse than using the proper crossover, and you're not getting any benefits out of it except for the fact that it was SLIGHTLY easier for you to install. "It sounds fine" is not even a proper argument. I've heard people say that about even the worst of the worst stock systems. And you haven't heard something better, so you have no reference point and your opinion honestly doesn't mean much.

What are you hoping to gain by doing a half-assed install? How about you give CDT a call and ask them what they think?

I asked on another forum as well...

Yes, you won't need the crossover rectangle things. Those are used for installations where the amp sends all frequencies out on one set of wires which then need to be split to the separate speakers. The Monsoon amp has already done that internally and uses separate wires for midrange and tweeter.

That person is wrong. What do they even know about electronics? The 'crossover rectangle things'? What are their qualifications?

Call CDT and ask them. And, even if this is 'just for the hell of it' for your eyes, if they do tell you that it is 'okay' to do that, ask if it will have lower sound quality than using their crossover. I bet they will not only tell you that it is not okay, but that they won't warranty it when you don't use their own crossover.

I design custom car audio as well as home audio speaker systems. It's a small side business, but I do know what I'm talking about. I've got a vocational certificate in electronics and repair amps, too.

I'll privmsg you the link to one of the best car audio forums around, more focused on sound quality compared to only caring about subwoofers like on most of the car audio sites.

I didn't know what they were called and called them rectangle things and Idk where they even go...

Some people put them in the kick panels. Wherever you put them, you then run wires to the speakers from the crossover.

This is one of those "purist" vs. practical discussions. Is using the crossover that came with the speakers better? Certainly. Will using the factory filters work? Sure, plenty of people have done it and been very happy with the results.

Designing and/or selecting crossovers is a very complex subject. Even the crossovers included with the speakers aren't always the "best" option because they don't take into account the positioning of the speakers in the car, the type of music played, the other speakers in the car, etc. There are variables such as crossover point and slope that affect the overall blend of sound. Also, depending on the speaker brand, the included crossover may be nothing more than a passive high-pass and low-pass filter packaged in a box - basically the same thing the car already has.

The discussion is somewhat like the one about whether you should have speakers behind you. Audiophiles will argue that all directional sound (everything except bass) should only come from in front of the listener - a front sound stage like listening to a concert. They're not wrong. Yet surround sound has become increasingly popular since the '70s and virtually every car made now has speakers all around.

Bottom line, technically it is better to use the included crossover but it's more work to install (especially with some of the larger crossovers) and the benefits for the average listener in the noisy environment of a car are not substantial. Playing both setups back to back, you might notice the difference but you won't miss it if you just use the factory filters from the start.

And rumors of speaker damage from the wrong crossover are highly exaggerated. In a high-end system with lots of power... perhaps. But in a Monsoon system, not likely.

Bottom line, technically it is better to use the included crossover but it's more work to install (especially with some of the larger crossovers) and the benefits for the average listener in the noisy environment of a car are not substantial. Playing both setups back to back, you might notice the difference but you won't miss it if you just use the factory filters from the start.

^^^This!

F-bodies are not quiet cars from the factory and most of us have, or plan to have, a louder exhaust which will only exaggerate the issue. If you were talking about a high end system in a luxury car, the difference would be more noticeable. Plus, the crossovers would just add more weight. ;)

Mine was very quiet - as quiet as my G8 or quieter. I can very much recommend Second Skin Luxury Liner.

I haven't seen anyone argue a valid point for reasons NOT to use the CDT crossover. Only ~15% of your power is going to the tweeter so the difference from biamping is a pretty moot point, and it's not even biamped on a Camaro, just biwired.

Also, there is no low-pass for the woofer on the stock setup, which is a bad thing. If you do upgrade speakers and for some reason think that using the stock wiring is okay as-is, you must get a set with a paper coned woofer or it will shriek at higher frequencies from cone ringing.