# The under appreciated 6x9...



## carter1010 (Sep 20, 2009)

Lately I have done a some testing with 6x9's (ALS693). The results have been incredible. I have come to the conclusion that they are the speaker that nobody wants despite the fact that many possess extraordinarily desirable properties. They have close to the same cone area as a 8" midbass and nearly the same frequency response and are typically as sensitive if not more. The odd shape would allow me to install 2 in each door, something I cannot do with 8's. They are also cheap and readily available in a shallow mount. The only negative I can think of is that round is sexier and that is purely a visual thing. So why no love for the 6x9?


----------



## qwertydude (Dec 22, 2008)

It's mostly just because most people buy what fits in the stock mounting positions. OEM's have been using them less and less because larger speakers cost more and speaker design and integration has advanced enough that large speakers are less necessary to create the bass customers want.

As for custom mounting, people like round speakers because of the more even sound distribution. The problem with large speakers is beaming of higher frequencies, so if you can get away with smaller speakers and still get the midbass response you want, smaller speakers will generally beam less.

It's not that 6x9 is pointless, it's just that it's in the same boat as 8" speakers. Both aren't used a lot these days due to size and newer speaker design and in general amplifiers getting more powerful which makes large speakers in general less necessary, especially once you get into systems having subwoofers. Large midbasses become less necessary, 6x9 or 8" regardless.


----------



## SaturnSL1 (Jun 27, 2011)

I love 6x9s as long as their beefy.


----------



## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

Pretty soon, the 6x9 will be abandoned by nearly every manufacturer as I keep seeing less and less usage by car manufacturers. I used to love the sound of a high end 6x9 back in the day.


----------



## SaturnSL1 (Jun 27, 2011)

I doubt they'll be completely phased out. There is a hell of a lot of cars still on the road that utilize 6x9s. You can still buy factory speakers from PepBoys and Autozone in odd sizes like 6x9 and 4x10 so they aren't dead yet.


----------



## carter1010 (Sep 20, 2009)

AudioBob said:


> Pretty soon, the 6x9 will be abandoned by nearly every manufacturer as I keep seeing less and less usage by car manufacturers. I used to love the sound of a high end 6x9 back in the day.



I feel like I have been seeing more newer vehicles using the 6x9 in the front doors. My wifes 2010 Nissan Rogue does, as does the Dodge Dart.. The 6x9 seems to be going strong in stock systems, just don't see many aftermarket builds utilizing them.


----------



## Randyman... (Oct 7, 2012)

I was "this close" to running some of those nice CDT 6x9 Midbass drivers in my truck's stock 6x9 front-door locations. I personally agree that 6x9"s get a bad wrap - mainly because of their low-end legacy and gross abuse IMNSHO. In addition, most older cars that have 6x9"s would generally have them in the rear deck - and pulling the soundstage towards the rear is never a good thing...

I decided to go with a bit larger midbass driver, but would have no problems running oval speakers  If anything, they reduce the build-up of common cone resonances present in a circular speaker, but they probably affect the dispersion pattern when used through the upper midrange (possibly in a favorable way depending on your particular install and driver orientation)...


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

AudioBob said:


> Pretty soon, the 6x9 will be abandoned by nearly every manufacturer as I keep seeing less and less usage by car manufacturers. I used to love the sound of a high end 6x9 back in the day.


 Every car manufactured in 2012 by corporation making most cars in the world (Toyota) use 6x9", cheaply made wideband with neo magnets. Going surprisingly low in the doors on stock head unit. not very loud though..
I would prefer round mids due to easier mounting options.


----------



## Randyman... (Oct 7, 2012)

Victor_inox said:


> Every car manufactured in 2012 by corporation making most cars in the world (Toyota) use 6x9", cheaply made wideband with neo magnets. Going surprisingly low in the doors on stock head unit.


Indeed - I was somewhat stricken to see the neo magnets on my 4Runner's factory drivers as I promptly yanked them out  I thought they were fairly efficient TBH. The factory radio sounded like ass and was underpowerd - but I temporarily used an Alpine W910 on the stock front speakers and it sounded pretty good/loud (for what it was)...


----------



## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

Are you sure that every 2012 Toyota uses a 6x9??? Many American car manufacturers don't us them any more, even in the rear decks. I have seen them in some newer cars, but just not as many as I used to. I recently had to replace a pair of 6x9 speakers in my Regal GS and had a tough time finding a decent set.


----------



## SaturnSL1 (Jun 27, 2011)

AudioBob said:


> Are you sure that every 2012 Toyota uses a 6x9??? Many American car manufacturers don't us them any more, even in the rear decks. I have seen them in some newer cars, but just not as many as I used to. I recently had to replace a pair of 6x9 speakers in my Regal GS and had a tough time finding a decent set.


Focal Access 690CA1 SG 6"x9" 2-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

AudioBob said:


> Are you sure that every 2012 Toyota uses a 6x9??? Many American car manufacturers don't us them any more, even in the rear decks. I have seen them in some newer cars, but just not as many as I used to. I recently had to replace a pair of 6x9 speakers in my Regal GS and had a tough time finding a decent set.


 I own two of 2012, Venza and 4runner. my MIL own matrix and corolla, venza is sooped up Camry, so I'm pretty sure all of them use the same drivers, toyota knows how to safe money on their vehicles, unless you go for upgraded entertainment system by JBL or some exotic crap in Lexus. 
I don't know about domestic vehicles I owned one long time ago, that was Ford and it used 5x7"


----------



## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

I think Toyota uses a pretty good mix of 6x9 to 6.5 speakers in doors. My Lexus is 6.5" in both front and rear doors. I have been seeing more 7,8 and even 10 inch speakers in doors in cars in the last couple of years. Maybe I have just been seeing a lot of Bose systems for some reason. LOL!!!


----------



## SaturnSL1 (Jun 27, 2011)

AudioBob said:


> I think Toyota uses a pretty good mix of 6x9 to 6.5 speakers in doors. My Lexus is 6.5" in both front and rear doors. I have been seeing more 7,8 and even 10 inch speakers in doors in cars in the last couple of years. Maybe I have just been seeing a lot of Bose systems for some reason. LOL!!!


What car houses 10s in the doors because thats bad ass!


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

AudioBob said:


> I think Toyota uses a pretty good mix of 6x9 to 6.5 speakers in doors. My Lexus is 6.5" in both front and rear doors. I have been seeing more 7,8 and even 10 inch speakers in doors in cars in the last couple of years. Maybe I have just been seeing a lot of Bose systems for some reason. LOL!!!


that's right,my 4 runner use 6.5 in the rear doors and back door. THey sounds very similar to front 6x9. my Mercedes AMG has bose system and it sounded awful, Toyota basic audio I've got in my 4runner sounds better then 4 years old Bose crap.


----------



## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

SaturnSL1 said:


> What car houses 10s in the doors because thats bad ass!


That would be it it were true.


----------



## Randyman... (Oct 7, 2012)

AudioBob said:


> I think Toyota uses a pretty good mix of 6x9 to 6.5 speakers in doors. My Lexus is 6.5" in both front and rear doors. I have been seeing more 7,8 and even 10 inch speakers in doors in cars in the last couple of years. Maybe I have just been seeing a lot of Bose systems for some reason. LOL!!!





SaturnSL1 said:


> What car houses 10s in the doors because thats bad ass!





Victor_inox said:


> That would be if it were true.


There is one - I saw it linked on this forum! Benz maybe?


----------



## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

Corvette, Infiniti.


----------



## SciPunk (Jan 12, 2013)

Even Toyota's off shoot Scion uses 6.5" front and rear, that's what i have in the xA. 

I remember back in the day i had some crazy old school system in my chevette (yes chevette) and i had back then some pretty high end infinity 6x9's with the emerald green cone. Loved them, carried them over to my SHO and then finally sold them off.


----------



## Randyman... (Oct 7, 2012)

SciPunk said:


> Even Toyota's off shoot Scion uses 6.5" front and rear, that's what i have in the xA.
> 
> I remember back in the day i had some crazy old school system in my chevette (yes chevette) and i had back then some pretty high end infinity 6x9's with the emerald green cone. Loved them, carried them over to my SHO and then finally sold them off.


Kind of like these? 










The "Ceramic Tweets" for the 6.5" components are long gone (toast) - but the 6x9's still rock


----------



## SciPunk (Jan 12, 2013)

Randyman... said:


> Kind of like these?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OK the memories! haha thanks for the pic


----------



## MUGWUMP (Jan 29, 2012)

I had Redline 6x9s in my 1989 firebird.

They are some of the loudest speakers I can remember hearing in a car.


----------



## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

JBL and infinity made some really nice 6x9's. The Infinity Kappas were very often the top rated out of the bunch. I ran both the Top tier JBL and the Kappa many years ago and they were very nice. I think that the current Image Dynamics XS69 is often overlooked, but a very solid performer.


----------



## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

God I still remember the Kappa 3 ways and the MK II series before that. If I could find a nice set of either, I would still run them today. Those were a set if 6 X 9s that sounded as good as most componets sets but with better midbass. This was also when Infinity made great sounding speakers, not even close today.


----------



## D-Bass (Apr 27, 2012)

most chryslers now have 6x9's in the front, and often in the rear still in the sedans, for example dodge ram since the late 90's, charger/magnum/300, challenger, dart i believe, and many others.
Many toyotas, sienna, tundra, sequoia, 4runner, tacoma, all around in the camry, corolla in the rear, plenty of lexus versions as well.
Many nissan trucks.
many GM's still have them in the rear. some acura's have them in the rear.


----------



## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

I loved my B-A RX97(bought them new in '99). They actually sounded more natural, than my Hertz Mille MLK165 set and litterally killed them on the lower frequencies.


----------



## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Several cars ago, I had some Pioneer 6x9s that were great, REV series I think, that was a two way with a horn. Some of my favorite speakers that I've owned.


----------



## Maylar (Dec 6, 2012)

If I could stuff 6X9s into my front doors I'd do it in a heartbeat. The Bostons I have in my rear deck are louder with just HU power than my front 5.25's are with 60 watts. And they play down to 50 Hz to boot.


----------



## rmoltis (Sep 4, 2012)

One downside of 6x9's is that they produce uneven cone flexing and more distortion at higher listening levels than a round coned speaker would flexing evenly on all sides. That's probably why people don't like them on sq installs. Maybe if you wanted SPL or extra bass in a car where subs won't work or minimal space to work with.


----------



## carter1010 (Sep 20, 2009)

rmoltis said:


> One downside of 6x9's is that they produce uneven cone flexing and more distortion at higher listening levels than a round coned speaker would flexing evenly on all sides. That's probably why people don't like them on sq installs. Maybe if you wanted SPL or extra bass in a car where subs won't work or minimal space to work with.



This is simply incorrect on many many levels.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-speakers-cant-sound-good-round-speakers.html


----------



## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

^^^. The myth of oval speakers lives on, mostly with the audiophile crowd. I always want the most cone area I can fit for a mid bass and if it is doing double duty as a mid range it has to be able to play up high cleanly. I have experience with several 5x7 component sets, Boston RC57 and JL ZR570 and they were both excellent performers. the mid bass from them was very strong and the mid range was very clear. I also owned a set of Polk Mobile Monitor 6x9 components back in the day and they delivered the goods as well. None of them could produce the bass of a sub, but what really can besides a true sub???


----------



## Randyman... (Oct 7, 2012)

I'd think the oval dimensions wold REDUCE speaker cone modes as the entire cone is not resonating at a common frequency - the resonances are spread about a broader range with lower amplitude. I do wonder how the dispersion pattern looks in the upper mids (once you get into the beaming frequency range) - but asymmetrical dispersion patterns can be beneficial depending on the particular install at hand...

They aren't too common, but there a few LDC Condenser mics that use elliptical diaphragms, too. They claim to reduce resonance build-up compared to a conventional round diaphragm LDC. They are NOT cheap


----------



## caminoracer (Apr 22, 2012)

SaturnSL1 said:


> What car houses 10s in the doors because thats bad ass!


I've got 10s in my front doors from the factory, Cadillac CTS-V. Can't wait for the weather to get warm again so I can pull that Bose crap out and install my new system. (See sig.)


----------



## Rrrrolla (Nov 13, 2008)

Thats pretty sweet! Is there room for any kind of enclosure in there?
I remember one of my first installs I put 6X9's in the kick panels and it sounded great! The midbass snap was pretty intense, back then there were no easily available modeling programs and specs were very rare. I think you could use the dispersion pattern to your advantage as was said above.


----------



## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

What are you going to put in there???


----------



## fast4door (Aug 2, 2012)

my 2011 Toyota Tundra has 6x9's I the front doors. I was thinking of upgrading to some nice ones but I have not seen any other Tundra's with them . Everyone goes to the 6.5 in the doors.


----------



## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

caminoracer said:


> I've got 10s in my front doors from the factory, Cadillac CTS-V. Can't wait for the weather to get warm again so I can pull that Bose crap out and install my new system. (See sig.)



Those 10 inch Bose woofers supposedly are not crap according to Klippel test on this web site:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/klippel-reviews-driver-specs/115621-bose-oem-10-subwoofer.html

You get symmetic BL, high xmax (for a midbass speaker), high sensitivity, low inductance. I am curious how well these Bose speakers would sound in a well tuned environment.


----------



## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

6x9's problems is that they usually don't come with a seperate tweeter, you get just a cheep cap for high pass and you can't go active with them. There are some component 6x9's and I would be using them if my SUV had them stock.

You get all the added benefits of the extra cone area along with the better sound dispersion on the "6" inch end. So the benefits of both a 6 and and 8 all rapped into one.


----------



## ZAKOH (Nov 26, 2010)

AAAAAAA said:


> 6x9's problems is that they usually don't come with a seperate tweeter, you get just a cheep cap for high pass and you can't go active with them. There are some component 6x9's and I would be using them if my SUV had them stock.


I wonder why more people don't try this simple DIY project.. get a decent cheap 6x9 coaxial speaker for a mid-bass application, say Alpine Type-R, and disconnect the tweeter section. If there are crossover parts that apply to the woofer, bypass them too. In fact, even this is probably unnecessary if you run active. If the speaker is used in a narrow bandpass band, then the tweeter will not be playing much. If the woofer is used in strict mid-bass application, then the low pass of 250-300Hz is probably used, which is probably at least three octave below the frequencies that tweeter plays audibly. With 18dB slope, 2KHz and above is at least -54dB less loud, effectively inaudible when other speakers play.


----------



## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

ZAKOH said:


> I wonder why more people don't try this simple DIY project.. get a decent cheap 6x9 coaxial speaker for a mid-bass application, say Alpine Type-R, and disconnect the tweeter section. If there are crossover parts that apply to the woofer, bypass them too. In fact, even this is probably unnecessary if you run active. If the speaker is used in a narrow bandpass band, then the tweeter will not be playing much. If the woofer is used in strict mid-bass application, then the low pass of 250-300Hz is probably used, which is probably at least three octave below the frequencies that tweeter plays audibly. With 18dB slope, 2KHz and above is at least -54dB less loud, effectively inaudible when other speakers play.


My friends and I used to do this all the time back in the day with random leftover passive crossovers. I had a set of OLD but mint Pioneer 6x9's in the door of my dodge truck which I unscrewed the tweeter mount and ran the mids with the passive crossovers and tweeters from an Aura MR1 tweeter set. It sounded incredible for what it was.



Randyman... said:


> I'd think the oval dimensions wold REDUCE speaker cone modes as the entire cone is not resonating at a common frequency - the resonances are spread about a broader range with lower amplitude. I do wonder how the dispersion pattern looks in the upper mids (once you get into the beaming frequency range) - but asymmetrical dispersion patterns can be beneficial depending on the particular install at hand...


I've always wondered what kind of results you'd see with a pair of good 4x10's mounted horizontally on-axis as biamped point sources enclosed in the top of a dashboard. :surprised:


----------



## lionelc5 (Oct 31, 2011)

I am a 6 X 9 fan also. Had a set of the ID 6X9 components in my Vet. I liked them so much that when all the rumors were going around about ID shutting down I purchased another set of them just in case.

Well I sold the Vet and now I am going to install the "spare" set in my 2011 CTS-V coupe that I picked up a couple weeks ago.


LionelC


----------



## SaturnSL1 (Jun 27, 2011)

ZAKOH said:


> I wonder why more people don't try this simple DIY project.. get a decent cheap 6x9 coaxial speaker for a mid-bass application, say Alpine Type-R, and disconnect the tweeter section.


----------



## takeabao (Jul 18, 2005)

fast4door said:


> my 2011 Toyota Tundra has 6x9's I the front doors. I was thinking of upgrading to some nice ones but I have not seen any other Tundra's with them . Everyone goes to the 6.5 in the doors.


That's because depth is somewhat of an issue on our trucks.

However I, along with a few other folks, have crammed 8" woofers into the front doors for a 2/3-way install. TacoTunes makes a 6x9 adapter made from HDP that's actually quite decent if you do decide to go with 6x9's.


----------



## Yankeesound (Jul 11, 2009)

Nissan Maximas 04-08 non bose comes with 6x9s in the rear deck. thought i throw that out there


----------



## Randyman... (Oct 7, 2012)

takeabao said:


> That's because depth is somewhat of an issue on our trucks.
> 
> However I, along with a few other folks, have crammed 8" woofers into the front doors for a 2/3-way install. TacoTunes makes a 6x9 adapter made from HDP that's actually quite decent if you do decide to go with 6x9's.


Indeed - As I posted earlier in the "What size midbass in your doors" thread: Morel 9's will fit in a 5th Gen 4Runner's front doors w/o modifying the stock door panel appearance


----------



## FG79 (Jun 30, 2008)

6 x 9s in a rear deck, with a powerful amp playing into a nice size trunk will put out a lot of midbass and go low too. If you think the low end in a door is nice, wait until you multiply the air space a bunch of times!

Morel made a pretty sweet 6 x 9 a few years ago, ID made a good one....and I'm sure the Buwalda Imagine is nice too.


----------



## Fricasseekid (Apr 19, 2011)

I've used the two sets of CDT 6x9s in two different cars. 
I had a component set in my truck used strictly for midbass duties and I installed a coax set in the front doors of my fiancé's Rogue. I love the way they sound. They are so effortless and natural. I do wish they would handle a bit more power though.


----------



## oldschool4me (Feb 9, 2013)

my 2011 toyota sienna has oem 6x9 in front doors not a bad sound but doesnt get loud. my buddy's 04 grand cherokee that had oem 6x9 in the front doors were replaced with id x-69 in the doors powered by an os us acoustics 2150. sounds good to me.


----------



## fcarpio (Apr 29, 2008)

SaturnSL1 said:


> What car houses 10s in the doors because thats bad ass!


Infiniti G37.


----------



## soundcontrol (Aug 28, 2012)

I love some 6x9s and agree many times people under value them. Many cases you see them being replaced with 6.5s.

My 04 camry had 6x9s in the rear deck, 6x9s in the doors, tweeters in the door sail and 3.5"s in the dash.

I removed the rears. Replaced the doors with 6x9 midbass drivers from cdt, along with cdt 1" tweeters in the sails and 3.5" mids in the dash. I have them running off a passive 3-way crossover and love how much bass I get up front before ever adding the subs. With several companies making them in component setups I would gladly take them over 6.5"s any day. It is tempting with so many companies now making 8" mids these days but I worry they won't have as much response as the 6x9s with the same power.

CDT Audio 6x9's


----------



## Hi-FiDelity (Jan 22, 2013)

One of the best 6x9's I remember hearing back in the day (2003/2005) was the Nakamichi SP-C962. Silk Dome Tweet on a 360 degree swivel mount and one big neodymium magnet, these were the real deal as far as 2 way 6x9 coaxials go. 










SP-C692 specs


----------



## weasel.wisdom (Jan 25, 2017)

I have a pair of Altec Lansing ALS693 originals, not fakes (you must be aware, this model was duplicated by Chinnese, if you want I can give you some tips to recognize them), if some one is interested let me know
weasel.wisdom
At
Gmail
Com

I have 2 pairs more I am waiting to use in a project with my kids.
I still remember when 4 of these 6x9 was enough to make noise, boomy and clear voice, I have also a pair of T595, on that time JBL were used if you wanted more noisy sound, altec were used for a better sq than the jbl, but not that boomy. Still use one pair of altec on my accord.


----------



## BMW Alpina (Dec 5, 2012)

Yes, I remember the day when JBL 6x9 rules the world


----------



## weasel.wisdom (Jan 25, 2017)

Here you are


----------



## Jheitt142 (Dec 7, 2011)

I want a pair of these in my rear doors for mid bass. I don't know anything about picking a mid bass. They just look fantastic haha 










http://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/eB...2339&category=18805&pm=1&ds=0&t=1485402466547

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## Onekpain (Mar 20, 2021)

I am using Infinity REF-9623ix 6x9 car speaker. Loudest speakers I can remember hearing in a car


----------

