Replacement Speakers

[poncho]

I've just removed my inside door panels in order to replace the speakers...mine are shot. Thay crackle real bad. I'm not interested in replacing the stereo because I want to keep the car as original as possible.

Has anyone had success in finding good replacements for these oddball speakers???

I noticed that the tweeter has a resistance rating of 7 Ohms, and it also has a capacitor thingy inline with the speaker wire. If I replace the tweeter with a speaker rated at about 8 Ohms, do I still want to use the inline capacitor thing?

[Guest mgibson]

I have five original speakers listed on eBay now under the seller name "martelg". They are in good condition. I had removed them from two of my Reattas.

Thanks for looking!

Martel Gibson

[RatReatta]

i had no problem replacing speakers in my reatta, the fronts fit 5.25s and the back fit 6.5s. i got sony xplodes 3 ways for the front and they were like 35-40$ a pair and i have pioneers in he back, they werent real expensive either, depending on where your problem is it shouldent be that big of a deal to replace them, i didnt know to take the rear speaker grilles off so i got to them by just pulling back the carpeting from the trunk, shouldnt take like any time. you can get the speakers at walmart. you generally get what you pay for when it somes to stereo stuff, that said, you can spend 400$ on a pair of speakers and they will sound much better but at least in my case the sonys sound more than good enough and i have a system wired in my car. and heck, if you dont like them enough, or the problem is with the wiring and not the speakers, wal mart will take anything back. pretty much...

[fire2721]

Keep the capacitor to the tweeters in. Thats what keeps the lower frequencies out of the tweeter. Low frequencies will blow the tweeter in no time flat. Take the original speaker with you when you go to get the replacement speaker. Although you may find the right size speaker which I believe is 5 1/4" dont quote me on that, the mounting holes may not line up. Make sure you have the right speaker size and mounting holes.

[Howard]

Does anyone know what the GM part #'s were for each kind of speaker; tweeter, door, rear? While these items are most likely no longer serviced, there may be some sources that still may have them. It seems some time ago this question was answered, but I can't find it in the search.

[Guest mgibson]

Howard, the numbers are as follows:

Tweeter (3") 7 ohm 16070324

Door (5") 4 ohm 16062214

Rear (6") 10 ohm 16052530

This information I just copied from 3 of the 5 speakers I have for sale on eBay. I'm not sure if this is correct for all years. Hope this helps!

Martel Gibson

[Rawja]

I first replaced my speakers with delco originals, then Infinity Kappas. I left the door tweeters in place and operational, and installed 90-91 speaker brackets to allow for the installation of 6X9s in the rear. Tremendous improvement in sound quality and bass levels. The brackets are easily obtained from Jim Finn JFinn@cpinternet.com or from the ReattaDudes ReattaDudes@aol.com

[Guest imported_dantm4]

Do 90's have 6X9's in the rear?

-Dan

[Rawja]

Yes, the 90 and 91 coupes have 6X9 rear speakers. The cloth covered grill is the same in either case.

[jimustanguitar]

You would need to buy what is called component speakers to directly replace/upgrade the Reatta's sound system in the front. There is, I believe, a 5-1/4 midbass with a 1.5" tweeter. And the capacitor inline with the tweeter is a cheap crossover to seperate the bass frequencies so that they don't damage the tweeter. To replace the rear speakers, buy components also, but make a plate to mount in the 6x9 hole... Oval speakers have never been accurate because of the way that they physically distort at high excursion, and a smaller speaker that is round instead of an oval will do a better sounding job. A brand called MB Quart makes the world's finest component sets at price points ranging from $250 to $2,000 depending on what sound you prefer, they also make a full line of subwoofers and amplifiers... Unless you are going to spend the cash for McIntosh gear, there is no other choice comparitively. Pioneer Premier does make a nice cet that goes for about $700/pr though. There are options, depends on how much sound really matters to you, and until they make an SACD car deck, us audiophiles are kinda out of luck anyway. Good luck.

[BuickCollector]

My midrange passenger door speaker also went about 2 weeks ago.

Upon removing both midranges, the internal (paper) actually disintegrated in my hand.

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I priced GM units (~$76 list ea.) or $36 ea. from GMPD.

--

I decided aftermarket was the way to go.

I replaced them with an Open Box Polk DB525 set from Circuit City.

I saved $10 off the sale price, but I still had the crackle in the pass side.

The driver's side sounded great!

--

I originally thought the head unit was bad.

My CD player had died years ago and I discovered the unit had already been serviced in '93.

I have been using a Philips portable CD/MP3 player with an FM tuner and/or cassette adapter. Philips won the evaluation (but that's a different thread).

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After searching for 1.5DIN stereos ($200+), I determined they are hard to come by (no major chains seem to carry them) and some stereo places wouldn't even order them because they thought they may get stuck with them, nor could they ensure me that they would work with CDRW/MPs. So, I was going down the route of having the stock stereo repaired (fairly inexpensive) or going with a standard 1DIN unit (~$150).

--

Just before the purchase, I decided to swap the Polks from side to side.

The problem moved with the speaker!

I also ran a wire from the driver's side door to the pass speaker and the pass speaker was clear.

One of the Polk's was bad and I happened to put it on the same side as my bad OEM speaker (the dangers of open-box savings)!

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I was now on the quest for midranges again.

I liked the Polk's but the full price (now not on sale) held me back.

I listened to the Sony Xplods (keep in mind, I believe there are several different variants) as people suggested (but to me) they sounded flat and hollow.

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Circuit City seems to have some higher-end options over BestBuy.

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BestBuy seems to have a good variety of brands and price options and (to me) the Kenwoods sounded the best (under the $99 price range). I didn't buy them yet though.

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BTW: I believe they also carry tweeters, but mounting could be a problem and mine still are fine.

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Just my 2 cents.

[poncho]

Wow! Thanks for all the advice, folks! I'm not worried about the mounting so much, but thanks for the tips anyway.

What I'm really concerned about is the difference in resistance ratings between the stock speakers and the new ones. From what I understand, if the new speakers have lower resistance than the old, they'll be louder at a comparable volume level, correct? <span style="font-weight: bold">Is there any danger to the stereo when using lower Ohm ratings?</span> All of the speakers I'm looking at are rated at 4 Ohms, but the stock ones are rated at 7(tweeter), 4("midbass"), 10 Ohm(rear).

I understand that the "capacitor thing" is a crossover for eliminating low frequencies. Most tweeters that I've been looking at come with a crossover.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Should I be using the stock crossover or the one included with the tweeters?</span>

Also, from measuring edge-to-edge on the cone lip of the "midbass" speaker, it seems that it's 4.5 inches, which is what I will be replacing them with. Should I stay with round rear speakers or should I go for 6x9's in the rear?

Finally, <span style="font-weight: bold">has anyone had any encounters with speakers from "Visonik"?</span> Are they any good?

[Guest imported_lbowejr]

I replaced my front speakers this weekend with 5.25" Infinity. They are 2-way. I just left the existing tweeters in place so now I have 2 tweeters. Sounds great. I tried 2 different 4 ohm speakers in the rear (Kenwood and Infinity). Neither had as much base as the originals so I returned them and stayed with the originals. The Car Toys people told me that to boost the base I needed an amplifier. When all was said, it would have cost me $475 for the amplifier, RCA jacks, wires, and installation. This did not even include the speakers. I decided against it.

[Guest K_lo]

I was told by two different car audio places that if I didn't add an amp, I should just stay with the factory speakers...that "upgrading" the speakers and not the stereo/amp would probably sound worse because the factory system doesn't have enough wattage to properly drive anything but paper cone speakers. I should add I'm not having any problems with the factory speakers. Opinions?

[2seater]

While not an expert, I believe their information is basically correct. I do not know what the stock wattage is for the factory stereo (maybe 15-20 watts per channel), but the speakers capacity should match the amplifier relatively closely. If you look for replacements, they should list power handling capacity and efficiency, listed as db/watt. A new speaker with good efficiency, as much over 90% as possible, and reasonable power handling should work fine. If the factory speakers give no complaints, why not leave them alone? The only caveat, IMHO opinion, is the clarity and definition may be better with a modern low power speaker with stiff cone.

[Ronnie]

When I replaced my speakers I didn't know what to use so I used stock speakers. I've followed the subject of speakers for the Reatta for some time and noticed the Infinity Kappa's are the speaker of choice for many Reatta owners. I have them available in The Reatta Store if you decide you want a better speaker than the stock speakers. Look in the Books & Accessories category. About $70 for a pair.

[NCReatta]

When I replaced my speakers I didn't know what to use so I used stock speakers. I've followed the subject of speakers for the Reatta for some time and noticed the Infinity Kappa's are the speaker of choice for many Reatta owners. I have them available in The Reatta Store if you decide you want a better speaker than the stock speakers. Look in the Books & Accessories category. About $70 for a pair.

I agree with Ronnie. Infinity Kapoas ate the way to go. I've put them in four of my personal cars, and many of my customers cars as well. Just bought a new set to install in my customers '90 coupe in a couple weeks.

They sound very nice with the factory head unit.

Sent from my mobile device using Forum Runner

[Guest Corvanti]

i just checked with GM parts direct, and they have the rear speaker part#16052530 (as shown in a earlier post), for $38.42 for one speaker.

i've kinda put replacing the speaker(s) on the back burner for now - doing other stuff, and thought someone here had a used one very cheap...

i did take the broken rear woofer out and went to best buy, but couldn't find one with the "screw holes" in the right place. i also believe i read that these aren't like a normal replacement speaker, as they aren't a positive wire and a negative wire that plug in. needs a "metra 72-4500" adapter. is that correct?

i might go ahead and order the speaker over the weekend. idk....

[Bushwack]

i just checked with GM parts direct, and they have the rear speaker part#16052530 (as shown in a earlier post), for $38.42 for one speaker.

i've kinda put replacing the speaker(s) on the back burner for now - doing other stuff, and thought someone here had a used one very cheap...

i did take the broken rear woofer out and went to best buy, but couldn't find one with the "screw holes" in the right place. i also believe i read that these aren't like a normal replacement speaker, as they aren't a positive wire and a negative wire that plug in. needs a "metra 72-4500" adapter. is that correct?

i might go ahead and order the speaker over the weekend. idk....

Search the forum. Within the past 6 months, someone mentioned about an adapter available on Amazon for the rear speakers (it was just a few dollars). Maybe Ronnie's site (Reatta Owners Journal - Home) has a write up.

[Guest Corvanti]

oh, yeah. i always now check ronnie's site before i purchase anything. haven't got anything anywhere else for the reatta since finding out about it...

i'll do a search, and take a look for an adapter... thanks

[Ronnie]

Thank you, and everyone who buys from the Reatta Store. It really helps.

[wws944]

The Metra adapter is for the wiring. The Delco speakers have a connector to the cars wiring harness. Aftermarket speakers generally use spade lugs - one a little wider than the other to indicate polarity.

Most car audio guys seem to simply hack off the connector and solder lugs onto the wires. The Metra adapter has the correct connector to plug into the cars wiring harness, with the narrow/wide spade lugs on the other side. So you can simply plug, play, and not worry about polarity issues either. The Metra adapters are only a few bucks for pair, so worth getting.

[Guest K_lo]

The Metra adapter is for the wiring. The Delco speakers have a connector to the cars wiring harness. Aftermarket speakers generally use spade lugs - one a little wider than the other to indicate polarity.

Most car audio guys seem to simply hack off the connector and solder lugs onto the wires. The Metra adapter has the correct connector to plug into the cars wiring harness, with the narrow/wide spade lugs on the other side. So you can simply plug, play, and not worry about polarity issues either. The Metra adapters are only a few bucks for pair, so worth getting.

Does anyone know the part number of that adapter? Thanks.

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

Does anyone know the part number of that adapter? Thanks.

Metra 72-4500

http://www.amazon.com/Metra-Speaker-Harness-72-4500-DW-4500SH/dp/B00032AY60

Edited June 25, 2012 by Mc_Reatta (see edit history)

[Guest K_lo]

Thanks so much!

Metra 72-4568

METRA 72-4568 SPEAKER CONNECTOR HARNESS FOR GM VEHICLES | eBay

[Guest Mc_Reatta]

K_Lo check my updated post. Got the wrong # first. 4500 should be for 88-91 Buicks.

[Guest K_lo]

Will do, thanks!

K_Lo check my updated post. Got the wrong # first. 4500 should be for 88-91 Buicks.

[Guest K_lo]

I noticed the 6x9 Infinity Kappas have an Impedance of 2 Ohms. The factory 6x9's are 10ohms. Am I risking stressing or harming the factory stereo going with 2ohms? Thanks.

[RivNut]

I bought replacement speakers (6) from Crutchfields from their sale items for my '93 Riviera. I got two tweeters w/ the built in "capicitor thing," two 5-1/4" speakers for the doors and two 6" x 9" for the rear deck. I think I paid something like $100 for all six. They were Kicker brand speakers.

The nice thing about Crutchfields is that when you buy an aftermarket speaker to replace an OE speaker, all of the speakers come with the Metra adapters to make everything work. All necessary adapters are part of the package.

I'm not familiar with how the tweeters are on your Reattas, but the factory speakers on my Riivera have mount housing molded right on to the speaker. I used a hack saw and cut the flat piece that bolts to the door away from the rest of the speaker housing. I then screwed the new tweeter cup to that flat piece and remounted it in the original place. I used some wire ties to secure the capicitor to the door. Everything else was R&R.

The head unit has enough wattage to drive these OE replacement type speakers, but the replacement speakers don't have the paper cones. They really sound nice.

Ed

[wws944]

Paper cones are not necessarily a bad thing. Some very high end audiophile systems use paper cones because they don't "ring" like plastic and especially metal cones can. Since the mid-1980s, the higher end Delco cones are actually fairly decent for normal listening levels. Assuming, of course, that they were manufactured ok. (I had a bad one from the factory in my Suburban. The cone was warped bad enough the voice coil was rubbing against the magnetic gap.)

The biggest failure is the foam surrounds. They rot over time. Once cracked, air can leak through. The backwave then starts to cancel out the sound emitted from the front. And when large gaps start to appear, the cone looses its structure - with consequent rubbing and horrible sound. Except for 4x10s in the Reatta convertibles, one inexpensive approach is to simply repair the original speakers by replacing the foam surrounds. There are a number of places around the 'net which sell kits to do this.

As far as power required to drive speakers goes, one spec to look at is the speaker efficiency. For example, one speaker may claim 88 db at one watt, whereas another might spec 91 db at one watt. It is really hard to say how relevant such numbers are because the sound output can vary so much depending on how it is mounted, enclosure, etc. In a mobile environment, it is really hard to mount speakers correctly. But the woofers in the rear can take advantage of the Reattas nice 10.5 cu ft trunk. I suspect this is why they used 10 ohm speakers back there - to balance out the sound a bit. The front speakers are 4 ohm. So no problem running 4 ohm speakers front or rear. I'd question using 2 ohm speakers, but lots of folks seem to be doing it with no ill effects.

[Guest Corvanti]

i just ordered the "Metra 72-4500" adapters for speakers. will be looking at some of the already mentioned speakers in earlier posts, but basically will be looking for one where the "screw holes" match the blown speaker i have sitting here... unfortunately cost will also be a factor at this time...

i'll let y'all know how it goes.

[Roadster90]

Woot. com has these speakers on a "WOOTOFF" which will end in a few minutes - are these speakers compaitable or will they filt 90 door panels and are they appropriate please? (seems like an excellent price)

thanks,

Nic

[charlie1]

I had mine reconed by a company in Tampa Florida called Speaker Exchange 1-800-849-6972. That was a few years ago so I do not remember the price. I believe it was reasonable and the turn around time was fast.

[Roadster90]

Hi Charlie,

I called and not too bad especially if a full recone is not necessary. A partial is about 35.00 and a full restoration or re cone is about 70.00. Real nice gal representative - she will even look at pictures to ascertain cost without having to send the speakers in first - not bad

Thanks,

Nic

[Roadster90]

Help folks...I need the simpliest /easiest way to get a decent sounding sound system in all three of my cars. Is Ronnies Infinities the easiest cure for the front - are the plug and play please? I think I will get the fronts figured out first, and then if needed address the rear. "Car Girl" or Brenda (some of the old timers will remember her - great lady...attorney even ) sent me a nice set of original rear speakers so I am ok on one car. She is into the Hurst Oldsmobiles now. Any help will be greatly appreciated and thanks...

Nic

[NCReatta]

The Infinity Kappa 5.25 will work in the front.

The Infinity Kappa 6x9s will fit the rear in the 90-91 coupes.

I used Kicker brand 4x10s in the rear of my convertible.

Do not bother with re-cones or anything like it, Replace the speakers with new, better ones. You'll be much better off.

All the speakers I mentioned above are available on Amazon for good prices.

[Guest Ron Usem]

I also have 89 Reatta...needs fronts speakers...have not been able to find any.Been looking about two months.

[charlie1]

I went to the local junk yard and purchased the 2 front large speakers out of the doors for my 1989 Riviera for a few dollars. Sent them to speaker Exchange for a complete rebuild. Once they arrived I installed in my 89 Riviera and now I have the old originals in my storage shed as spares.