Did a search, the speakers listed were NLA, I know there's clearance issues with the big magnets of today's speakers.
Just wondering if anyone has done this lately and have a model number for a speaker that fits. I realize you have to trim to fit.
The guy doesn't want pods, I asked, he wants something cheap that fits the stock housing. He just listens to news radio and baseball games.

this is as close as we have gotten http://www.autoatlanta.com/Porsche-Pair-91...464550310P.html

I’ve got these that were recommended by 914Sixer SSL GS246 speakers - found mine on Amazon for less than $20.

Also installed some foam baffles from Crutchfield I think. Sounds decent and would be good for news and sports.

I cut the slats out of the stock housings and mounted new speakers on the outside for more clearance. Click to view attachment

ouch

Timely subject.

I'm thinking about replacing a set of Boston Acoustics 6.5-inch door speakers with separate tweeters in the doors of my 914. The big holes in the door panels were cut sometime before 1986, and I have to own the blame for the tweeter holes circa 1991~. No going back now, unless I want to replace door cards that I've had elbows on since high school.

Right now, the factory speaker pods are just sitting there. I'd like to maximize the low end from the 6.5s in the doors, run 4x6s in the factory speaker pods for mid-range, and replace the tweeters with something better—as the Boston Acoustics gear is thoroughly worn out. Is this a crazy plan?

Have a good JL Audio 6-channel amp sitting around....

I think the aftermarket kick panels with the larger speakers are a great (and reversible) option if you want more sound without cutting the car apart.

I think the Blaupunkt 4x6 still had holes for the odd metric spacing on 914s, but that was long enough ago that they might not be that way anymore (read pre-china).

The cleanest install is to make an adapter plate and add sealing foam.

All the 5x7 I've looked at were actually 6x8 in fitment and too big even with trimming.

More sound isn't the objective, the stock speaker paper cones are shot. Nice car that the chap wants to keep as original as possible.
He's not interested in pods.

I think my original speakers were just 4” round speakers mounted on a cardboard plate to fit the stock kickpanel. Since these were mostly dealer installed, there may have been variations in the speakers used though there was a radio installation kit that Porsche-Audi had available.

I got a pair of BA 4x6 2 ways going behind the stock enclosures with an adapter plate and a 150 watt Rockford Fosgate amp whipping the plates...

They fit fine.

Those have the small magnets and are shallow depth, all newer speakers seem to have great big magnets.

Is it the depth of the big magnets that is the problem? If so, anyone know the minimum depth needed? Crutchfield lists the top and bottom mounting depths for speakers in there detailed specifications. Just wondering if some options might turn up. There's a Retrosound that a lot of Porsche people left reviews for and looks pretty shallow. Sounds like they are decent, but not great, but maybe an option for your customer?

I've got some NOS Polk 4x6"s for sale with an NOS Alpine CD tuner

The magnets were probably smaller than today's speakers because the output wattage of the stock radios wasn't very high.

I have a pair of 4x6" speakers that came in a NOS OEM radio/speaker deal that I purchased several years ago.




I plan to install the radio (more for looks than anything else) but probably won't be using the speakers - I'll be installing a hidden, more modern audio system and a pair of Morph's (A&P) speaker pods with 6.5" Blaupunkt speakers.




I'll be posting the OEM 914 speakers in the classifieds soon. They won't be too expensive, but they won't be real cheap either.

Probably not worth the effort, but it is possible to recone old speakers.

Here's one source: https://www.simplyspeakers.com/speaker-recone-kits.html

And if the tears on the existing cones aren't too bad, they can be patched with something called service cement. Won't help the quality of the audio, but how would you know with all that noise behind you.

Best choice is something new that will fit.

@benbro02
What size speakers are these? They actually look better than the aftermarket 6" round offerings.

That is a good solution for a better speaker if you have busted out grills they are all ready ruined, and well it is a simple to go back to stock mod.

Much better than cutting holes in the door panels. Both ascetically and for proper audio staging.

My car is not close to concours so I don't think it's a big deal George.

I bought these about 10 years ago from Crutchfield. They are Boston Acoustics. I'm not sure about size. Putting a good speaker behind the stock plastic grills seems like a bad idea to me. The slats can't be good for the acoustics.

I'll bet the difference in real world sound between grills would be negligible as long as you isolated the speakers well enough to not rattle the plastic. An audiophile might notice the difference, but WTF would an audiophile have a 914?

Still, I like your solution. Almost makes me wish my original speaker boxes weren't in such good shape... almost. It sure opens up speaker possibilities with minimal modification. And if someone wanted to stick with the period look, I'll bet you could source some period correct aftermarket grills that would blend right in. I know that plastic Jensen grills were ubiquitous in the high school parking lot when I attended in the 70s, and they would have looked right at home down there.

because we like a quirky mid engine car that is fun to drive

Oh and I would never expect sound to the level I can produce in a listening room.

But then my listening room is a workshop with a set of JBLs powered by a Dayton Audio BT Amp with a Dayton Audio Sub.

Now I have a friend if I really want to go and listen who runs McIntosh Mono Blocks with Magnapans, and SuperCD player, that system costs more than I have in tools and 914s. One speaker cable was $6000 for 6 feet. I have no idea what he spent on cabling alone. But then each their own, and it is so nice to go and sit there and just get immured in sound. In my youth I was a professional classical musician, played with a very well know orchestra or two. We did the 1812 overture and blew out the windows with the cannon fire. Live performance or Magnapans are about the only thing I will sit down and listen to, just to immerse myself in the experience.

Cars, garages, house it is all crap, might as well just have it as background music and go to work.

I do have my eyes on a set of McIntosh speakers for the workshop if I can get them at the right price - like free. Thats how the JBLs got there - free .Audio gear I am a CSOB.

I like your style. I'm a pseudo-audiophile myself but also a CSOB so the home system is a moderate price of diminishing returns system built mostly of Onkyo and Klipsch parts. When I really want to enjoy music, I sit in the sweet spot on my couch with vinyl spinning on the Bang and Olufsen turntable I've had since college and immerse myself in it. I don't try to do that in a car, and for sure not a 914. I want the stereo in my teener to sound good, but it will never sound great, so why even try? I just want a good soundtrack to accompany the driving experience.

Great sound is meant for home, studio, or concert hall. Car audio has gotten extreme, but when I need to fill my 914 with concrete for it to sound good, that is not going to happen. Well maybe if I am buried in it.

Mark
The closest I’ve got to these speakers is this place in germany
https://www.koenigs-klassik-radios.de/en/lo...r-cars/a-31149/

The foam needs some trimming as did the metal frame very slightly at the top but they fitted for me, but it was still very tight if the heater pipes are installed behind

The best sound I've ever gotten in a 914 is from the Radio Shack Minimus 7's, powered with a 50 watt per ch amp and an Alphasonic 7 band EQ in the console.

The Minimus 7's are a diecast metal, sealed/tuned enclosure that's really decent for a low priced speaker. They had a wall mount bracket kit, and I mounted them with that bolted to the door post. Too bad you can't get them new anymore. Years ago you could get kits to upgrade the drivers.

I lucked up on the Alphasonic EQ fitting in the console (with slight mods). I just made a new (shorter) panel for the gauges, and it looked like it belonged in the console. The thing I like about an EQ is you can shape the sound, which helps in a car with a removable roof.

I just bought a pair of dual 6x4in.from flaps of the shelf. fit the stock grill. made a custom plate from veneer paneling and they fit perfect. $28.00 all in. they sound fine. fine audio in these cars is a myth especially with carbs.

I used a set of Infinity Kappa 4"x6" 2-Way Loudspeakers 75-25,000 Hrzs, just have to add a small sub to fill out the bottome end.

Just a tad of 2 inches mounted, I paired it with this amp

And plan on taking the two other channels and rolling them into a small sub, which I will place under the Aluminum pedal boards I have for both cars.

Still looking for the sub, but I will wait until I get the boards mounted to get a good measurement of the space.

Gas tanks are out of both cars so now would be the time to drill holes with out adding new drain holes to the tanks

Look for 4x6M or 4x6 with multiple mounting holes. 5x7 will not work. Generally the less expensive speakers have a more shallow mounting depth. Infinity 4x6 plate speakers are great as long as the depth works. I had them in a 944 20 years ago and they sounded great. Now I have 6.5 in the previously mentioned pods.

I used old infinity kappas, similar to 914forme (mine are the original green cones to match my car)
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-BTdLfBUjmOs/p...pa-462-1cf.html
Their 4x6 plates work well are are good speakers for theirs size.

I still have a pair of the MINIMUS-7s on my work bench in the garage. I've recently been refurbishing some old car stereo units (mainly replacing the drive belts in the old cassette decks), so I dug the speakers out of storage.

BTW, if you need belts for tape decks or turntables (and styli), I found a great source: https://www.turntableneedles.com/

I second the minimus 7's! I don't think it's possible to get any proper bass from the stock pod without heavy equalisation...

I removed the pod covers and tucked in some heco legatos: triangular in shape, so fit nicely in the space and you can still pull the front bonnet lever... A bit higher quality than minimus 7s (debatably), and better shape - still need a bit of bass boost (though of the sort that any modern stereo can provide) but the power handling allows it....

https://archiwum.allegro.pl/oferta/kolumien...6926100578.html

The small sealed metal enclosures reproduce voice with impressively low coloration: I listen happily to the radio at 70mph....I love these speakers and use then in a bedroom and tucked in front of the seats in my beetle...

with a little focal amp that sits on the metal shelf behind where the radio would be, with no need for straps:

https://www.focal.com/en/technical-support/...ifiers/fd-2-350

alex

no way to ever get bass out of the factory speaker location no matter what is installed. There is an air hose right behind the speaker that absorbs any bass that may be made. By the configuration of the doors, Porsche planned for the 1977 914 to install speakers there.

To get bass, we remove the foam block at the right firewall and replace it with a custom made plywood plate and install a bass speaker. Works perfectly:

http://www.autoatlanta.com/Porsche-914-Spe...N-BAA31934.html

It is easy to make and is hidden away for no one to see but everyone to hear!

Gee... it's nice to see some can read right from the start I said it has to fit inside a stock enclosure

This thread is about speakers that will fit , thanks Jim, 914forme, Biggles, etc and even the doctor's first post at least they were on topic. I've passed the info on and we'll see what he goes for.

I showed him the Morph pods w/Pioneer 6.5, Morph sub box, 200w Alpine amp and Kenwood ipod AM/FM/CD that are going into my 914.
He's not interested.
He has a dealer installed AM/FM cassette with a blaupunkt 50w amp.

there is still some new old stock out there for the blaupunkt speakers with the internal magnet:
Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Feel like someone did a really nice thread about creating a board to mount separate miss and tweeters in the stock speaker enclosures.

Does that ring a bell with anyone?

I didn't see anyone answer this important question, YES the newer speakers with their larger magnets encroach on the paper foil heater tubes hidden by the pods
Ive seen too many of these where the installers solution to fitment was to push the pods into place resulting in crushing the tubes behind limiting the air flow to the cowl & valves & or having to mash the tube exiting the long for the same reason.

Okay, found a good thread on this:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=54611

Think there might be one more, which used thicker wood to mount a tweeter and a mid? Anyone?

@914forme

Hey Stephen,

Did you ever settle on a sub? If so, how do you like it? I just ordered a pair of Kappas and will likely follow your lead. I'll wait to see how the speakers sound on paired just with the head unit but will likely add a sub and amp to the passenger footwell to round out the bass as I don't expect much from these little speakers.

@bbrock - I have not, but I have been thinking about this one. Will not win any contest based on impact to chest, but should round down the lower frequencies to fill out that void left by smallish plate speakers.



Review made me laugh "I'll start by saying, yes I was the one with a BD1000 pushing a pair of 12s. Ah the glory days. Here's the thing. I'm in my 40's now and have a couple kids and a wife. I love music and I love it loud. However, I'm not out to impress the kids in the high school parking lot or wake my neighbors' sleeping babies. I just wanted to improve the so so stock radio in my Hyundai accent. This little thing works well to fill that void of mid-bass that the factory speaks can't handle. My turd car is a 2013 so it came with mids and separate tweeters. That's a start. It sounded decent, but couldn't reproduce the lows without getting muddy. So, enter the Kenwood. I wired this in under the passenger seat. I also wired in some 150 hz bass blockers to eliminate the lows from the factory system. This little Kenwood fills that void nicely. It actually "thumps" pretty well. I say "tumps" in parentheses, because....well you know what I mean. Now, it will vibrate your mirrors and it will play the tones that make Drake popular. It will also hammer some double bass kicks from your favorite metal drummer. What it won't do, it won't do what a pair of 12's do with a ton of power behind them will do. It won't have your passengers looking for that knob to back off the bass. If that's what you want, this isn't your animal. If you want that "man, this is a surprisingly full sounding factory stereo sound" from your friends and family then this is your guy."

I started this thread for speakers for a customers car, my own two 914's I have morph's FG 6-1/2" round pods and I just got 914rubber's vacuum formed pods. Once I get them both running I'll do a review in a separate thread.
I'll watch this thread and maybe even do a set of stock pod speakers as a comparison.

For my 6--
Polk Audio --I believe that we are going to put a small subwoofer in center front console.

Hoping to get a clean tight sound like I used to get from ADS small bookshelf speakers.


Bob B
Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

I think an enclosure is always going to work best with small speakers. Years ago I mounted a pair of Minimus 7's with the black die cast enclosure in the stock locations. I powered them with a 50 watt per ch (max for the speakers), I can't remember the front end I used, but I had an Alphasonic 7 band EQ that was just a touch wider than the console gauge panel, and I made it work.

I think an adjustable EQ really helps a 914, because the sound changes so much when you take off the roof

^ Nice work. Right down the lines of what I am doing right now. Decided to try fairly thick ABS plastic for the board, as my speakers didn't come with that cool framework. Also trying the tweeters below the mids, for line-of-sight acoustics (an oxymoron!). No idea how that will work out, and it looks funny, but it won't matter when the speaker cloth is over them.



Agreed, and if someone made a way to seal the back of these pods, I'd be a buyer. It's a bit outside of my fabrication level.

Had an EQ in my old setup, and will again. Definitely helps. Just wish there were more compelling choices out there. Pyle seems a bit…hmmmm.

[quote name='horizontally-opposed' date='Jan 16 2020, 03:51 PM' post='2778130']
I think an enclosure is always going to work best with small speakers. Years ago I mounted a pair of Minimus 7's with the black die cast enclosure in the stock locations. I powered them with a 50 watt per ch (max for the speakers), I can't remember the front end I used, but I had an Alphasonic 7 band EQ that was just a touch wider than the console gauge panel, and I made it work.

I think an adjustable EQ really helps a 914, because the sound changes so much when you take off the roof
[/quote]

Agreed, and if someone made a way to seal the back of these pods, I'd be a buyer. It's a bit outside of my fabrication level.

Had an EQ in my old setup, and will again. Definitely helps. Just wish there were more compelling choices out there. Pyle seems a bit…hmmmm.
[/quote]

How much would adding simple foam baffles help? I'm sure not the same as a good enclosure but would they be worth it?



@914forme interesting choice on sub. I hadn't even considered an enclosed sub. Love that review!

My Audi Q7 has a sub that sits in the spare tire. Has its own integral box.

Here is one example of an aftermarket one that would probably fit in most 914 spares

https://www.amazon.com/Rockville-RockGhost-...0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Even has a hole in center for the mount bolt. Anyone try one?

@914forme and @bbrock - the underseat sub such as the Kenwood one mentioned looks like a good way to go but is there 3" clearance under the seat?

Not under the seat, but in my case under the aluminum passenger board, I am hoping there is, or lets say there will be

Looks like you got your answer on the subwoofer thread. Obviously won't work under the seat. I was also curious where Stephen plans to mount it.

I'm still leaning toward building a custom box that replaces the foot well foam exactly and mounting a little 8" sub with a metal grill flush to the surface to protect the cone. Then cover with the perlon carpet. I know I'll lose some sound quality doing that, but I'm not looking for stellar sound, just something to round out the small kick panel speakers. This sub has my attention at the moment and then I could drive the sub and speakers with a small 50-60wattx4 channel amp.