Model S / X front speaker upgrade

[beatle]

I bought this setup for my car late last year and have since upgraded. It was a nice setup, and just installing the woofers from the component set in the front doors made a difference in midbass and midrange. This setup can be run 3-way via a single crossover for each side. 2-ohm impedence matches the stock drivers so you'll retain volume. I believe the S and X both use the same speakers, so these should fit both cars.

All speakers will install without modifying the car. I had speaker adapters made for the tweeters and midbass drivers by Audio Designs CG, and I added the foam Fast Rings ($155). My local shop laser cut a set of acrylic mounts for the midrange speakers to fit in the stock locations, though the small screws for the midrange do not tightly thread into the acrylic. It was not a problem as they are captive by the dash panel. Now on to the speakers:

Infinity Kappa 60csx components:
Infinity Kappa 60csx Kappa Series 6-1/2" component speaker system at Crutchfield

Infinity Kappa 20mx midrange:
Infinity Kappa 20mx Kappa Series 2" midrange speakers at Crutchfield

Have original boxes for them as well. Looking to get $350 for the set.

 

[superm1]

Were these replacing standard or UHFS speakers? I'm not sure if they are same size?

 

[beatle]

My car has the standard audio setup. UHFS has larger midbass drivers, but these will fit a car originally equipped with either as the holes in the doors are the same.

 

[beatle]

Still available.

 

[fr100]

How easy or hard are these to install? Do you know of a link to a video or guide?

 

[beatle]

The door speakers and tweeters are pretty simple. Here is a video showing the door:

The tweeters can be accessed by removing a little screw cover from the a-pillar trim and then popping the clips loose.

The midrange speakers are the most challenging as they require you to remove the dash pad (at least most of the way) but I still did that myself.

Depending on how you wire these, you may find this challenging. I am color blind so I had a shop do the wiring (I also run an aftermarket amp). The wiring to splice in the crossovers should be accessible via the footwells.

 

[fr100]

Thanks. I've started to do some research and seen some of your previous posts already!

 

[beatle]

Having a (good/great) midrange in the system makes a big difference in the sound from my experience. A midrange plays the most important frequencies (vocals). It also allows the tweeter to be crossed over higher and the midbass lower. Unless you have a very large and/or very expensive tweeter, they don't often like being played below 3k-5k. You can cross the midbass over higher to compensate for a small tweeter, but that brings the soundstage down into the doors which is less than ideal from an imaging standpoint. Being able to have the most important frequencies on the dash is killer, and IMO is the most important part of the UHFS setup vs. the standard setup.

I've listened to some systems with $1200 2-way components and I preferred these less expensive 3-way components because it included a midrange.

 

[beatle]

New years bump! Offers accepted.

 

[beatle]

All sold!

 

[Felrobert]

The door speakers and tweeters are pretty simple. Here is a video showing the door:

The tweeters can be accessed by removing a little screw cover from the a-pillar trim and then popping the clips loose.

The midrange speakers are the most challenging as they require you to remove the dash pad (at least most of the way) but I still did that myself.

Depending on how you wire these, you may find this challenging. I am color blind so I had a shop do the wiring (I also run an aftermarket amp). The wiring to splice in the crossovers should be accessible via the footwells.

The door speakers and tweeters are pretty simple. Here is a video showing the door:

The tweeters can be accessed by removing a little screw cover from the a-pillar trim and then popping the clips loose.

The midrange speakers are the most challenging as they require you to remove the dash pad (at least most of the way) but I still did that myself.

Depending on how you wire these, you may find this challenging. I am color blind so I had a shop do the wiring (I also run an aftermarket amp). The wiring to splice in the crossovers should be accessible via the footwells.

How do you replace the front tweeters? I can't find any instruction videos on how to remove the front tweeters on Model S.

 

[beatle]

There are clips that hold the A pillar trim to the body and a small screw under the little airbag emblem. Pry off the emblem and remove the screw, then pull back on the A-pillar to release the tabs. There are are some tabs at the bottom of the A pillar that are a little challenging to separate from the dash. A plastic trim tool is helpful there. Some people have replaced the tweeters without removing those tabs. You can sometimes just get enough room.