Car audio: speaker hunting
Right now it actually hurts my ears to listen to my car stereo. I can listen to just the rear speakers without getting a headache as long as I have the volume right down, the treble down slightly, and the loudness turned off, but I can't stand anything other than that for more than a couple of minutes.
I think the speakers are to blame -- I assume they're just the factory Toyota ones, which are meant to be really terrible. So now I'm looking for speakers. I still have my old pair of DEI HF 2052 5.25" coaxials that went in the front of my old car, but I'm not sure what I'll do with those, as AE111 Levins apparently take 6.5" drivers in the front as well as the rear.
I had a listen at Paul's Car Audio yesterday, and quite liked the sound of the Alpine Type R and Focal Access components. Paul recommends the more expensive Focal PolyGlass over the Access line, but I couldn't tell the difference in the shop -- I actually thought the Access sounded better. He recommends using Access 165A components in the front and 165CA coaxials in the back. I'm going to have to go back to have another listen, because I think I remember the coaxials sounded a little harsh. Perhaps 165A in the front and my old coaxials in the back? Or 165A all round?
Anyway, I finally have my amplifier power cable clamped down properly in the engine bay, so I can start pulling doors and parcel trays to bits and start experimenting ...