Rear Deck Speakers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert
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Robert

Hi all,

Recently I have noticed a problem I suspect to be a blown rear deck
speaker in my 1993 940 sedan. At Circuit City (a local electronics
store specializing in car audio) I was quoted $527 to replace both of
them. At the dealer, I was quoted $300.

Both prices are a bit out of my price range, especially for replacing a
simple speaker. Are there any other options anyone knows of?
 
Hi all,
Click to expand...
Recently I have noticed a problem I suspect to be a blown rear deck
speaker in my 1993 940 sedan. At Circuit City (a local electronics
store specializing in car audio) I was quoted $527 to replace both of
them. At the dealer, I was quoted $300.
Click to expand...

Circuit City doesn't specialize in car audio, they're a discount electronics
and A/V department store. I wouldn't let them touch a car.

Were those prices for the speakers only, or including labor? (I'm guessing
including labor...)
Both prices are a bit out of my price range, especially for replacing a
simple speaker. Are there any other options anyone knows of?
Click to expand...

Check with the dealer and see what the speaker alone costs. Replacing a
deck speaker is pretty trivial; you should be able to do it yourself. The
speakers are usually mounted with four screws or nuts and have spade
terminals on the wire--they just pull off the old one and push on the new
one. Be sure to get the wires oriented the same; if you hook them up
backwards your stereo will sound funny.

Or find a store that actually specializes in car audio and get a quote
from them--should be a much better price than the dealer and far better
quality than Circuit City.

As a last resort, pull the blown speaker and see if Radio Shack has an
equivalent part--then buy two so they'll match. RS quality is slightly
better than Circuit City.


Gary
 
Robert said:
Hi all,

Recently I have noticed a problem I suspect to be a blown rear deck
speaker in my 1993 940 sedan. At Circuit City (a local electronics
store specializing in car audio) I was quoted $527 to replace both of
them. At the dealer, I was quoted $300.

Both prices are a bit out of my price range, especially for replacing a
simple speaker. Are there any other options anyone knows of?
Click to expand...


If you can't install the speakers yourself (pretty simple if you have
basic hand tools) try a car stereo shop, they can probably give you a
better deal.
 
Prices mentioned above are including labor. The single speaker from the
dealer is $230. After reading your post, I'm positive I could replace
it myself, so that would save some money...I should look into that.

I really don't want to get any sort of aftermarket speakers (from
Circuit City, car stereo shop, etc.) because then I would have to
replace my head unit -- I was told at an independent car shop that no
speakers would work with my head unit. This would also mean that I
would have to replace all other speakers, because none of my speakers
would work with the new unit. I thought this was just their way of
cheating me into buying more, but two other shops said the same thing,
so I'm pretty sure they're honest.

I found a set of speakers from a 1994 940 turbo on eBay currently at
$39.99, does anyone know if they would fit a 1993 940 base? They look
to be the same size.
 
Robert said:
Prices mentioned above are including labor. The single speaker from the
dealer is $230. After reading your post, I'm positive I could replace
it myself, so that would save some money...I should look into that.

I really don't want to get any sort of aftermarket speakers (from
Circuit City, car stereo shop, etc.) because then I would have to
replace my head unit -- I was told at an independent car shop that no
speakers would work with my head unit.
Click to expand...

That's ridiculous - any speaker works.

Here's a list of speakers as low as $30/pr:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6C4Uvr9NqmT/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?g=400&l=E

Just pick one that requires the lowest wattage - they have a toll free
help line if you need advice.

But before you buy anything, swap L & R speakers (or the wires) to be
SURE it's not the head unit that's the problem
 
I really don't want to get any sort of aftermarket speakers (from
Circuit City, car stereo shop, etc.) because then I would have to
replace my head unit -- I was told at an independent car shop that no
speakers would work with my head unit. This would also mean that I
would have to replace all other speakers, because none of my speakers
would work with the new unit. I thought this was just their way of
cheating me into buying more, but two other shops said the same thing,
so I'm pretty sure they're honest.
Click to expand...

Why? I ran aftermarket speakers off my stock head unit for a while
before I replaced that, they sounded better than the originals. Speakers
are speakers, you can drive them with anything so long as they can
handle the power and are adequately sensitive.
 
I really don't want to get any sort of aftermarket speakers (from
Circuit City, car stereo shop, etc.) because then I would have to
replace my head unit -- I was told at an independent car shop that no
speakers would work with my head unit. [ ... ]
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]
Why? I ran aftermarket speakers off my stock head unit for a while
before I replaced that, they sounded better than the originals. Speakers
are speakers, you can drive them with anything so long as they can
handle the power and are adequately sensitive.
Click to expand...

They should have the same impedance; that will help keep the system
balanced and won't risk damaging anything (putting 4 ohm speakers on
an amp designed for 8 ohm speakers isn't good).


Gary
 
Robert said:
I found a set of speakers from a 1994 940 turbo on eBay currently at
$39.99, does anyone know if they would fit a 1993 940 base? They look
to be the same size.
Click to expand...

I would imagine so; most of the differences in stereo systems are in
the head units. Manufacturers want things to be as easy to build as
possible and with as many common parts as possible, so the same speakers
are probably used in both cars.


Gary
 
Thanks for all your help, guys.

I checked up on replacing just the speakers: I would need a set of 8
ohm speakers, which can't really be found anywhere; they're a bit
obsolete. So in order to get aftermarket speakers, I would need a new
head unit, amplifier, and 4 ohm speakers for the front of the car -- it
would actually just be much more economical to replace them with OEM
speakers, even if they aren't quite as good.

So I haven't bid on the eBay speakers yet, and the auction does have a
few more days, but I did confirm that they are the exact ones I need --
and since I have only blown one speakers, I will only need to replace
that one and I can keep the other as a spare.

Thanks for all your help, I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Robert said:
Thanks for all your help, guys.

I checked up on replacing just the speakers: I would need a set of 8
ohm speakers, which can't really be found anywhere; they're a bit
obsolete. So in order to get aftermarket speakers, I would need a new
head unit, amplifier, and 4 ohm speakers for the front of the car -- it
would actually just be much more economical to replace them with OEM
speakers, even if they aren't quite as good.

So I haven't bid on the eBay speakers yet, and the auction does have a
few more days, but I did confirm that they are the exact ones I need --
and since I have only blown one speakers, I will only need to replace
that one and I can keep the other as a spare.

Thanks for all your help, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Click to expand...


Go ahead and run standard 4 ohm speakers, they'll be fine. 8 ohm is
common for home stereo use so Radio Shack or someplace similar probably
has some 8 ohm drivers that are at least as good as the stock stuff but
in a pinch the real world impedance is all over the place, I've found
most amps designed for 8 ohm speakers will drive 4 ohms just fine. The
max volume just occurs at a slightly lower knob position.
 
I replaced the self-destructing OE rear speakers on our 850 with some
aftermarket Blaupunkts. Sure the new ones were nominally 4 ohms and the
originals nominally 8 ohms. Four years and counting with no ill
effects. It isn't worth worrying about.
 
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