Good info. Thanks. I just turned 60 and this is my first Z. Maybe a midlife crisis. Na. I was a gearhead in the 70's burning up the streets with another Z. Z28. Now I just want to cruise around and listen to tunes. I listen to older rock like zz top, eagles, Pink Floyd etc. When I got the car I put what I thought was a decent headend. The Kenwood. I like it a lot. XM, Stream Spotify from my Samsung S5 on BT, USB drive full of music. I am going to go with Components this time and see how that goes. Let me ask this. Pretty sure I know what you will say. If I go with the Focals or the Hertz do I need a amp for sure? I know it probably depends on the speakers. And I'm not going to run a sub. Just curious. I guess I would be more apt to spend more on the speakers If I didn't need the amp right now. Thanks

I'm sure my answer isn't a surprise, but I always recommend an amp for aftermarket speakers. You don't "need" an amp, but most headunits simply cannot drive aftermarket speakers well.

I love my speakers dearly, but given the choice of my Hertz components running off my headunit vs less expensive speakers plus a decent amplifier I would choose the latter without hesitation, every time. I'm sure you will get varying opinion on this, but that's my 2 cents.

As an aside Kenwood's Excelon units like you have are very nice. They have a strong focus on sound quality and just have an amazing selection of audio options. I can't imagine you being anything but well pleased with it.

Sound dampen first then upgrade your speakers. You will be very happy that you did.

Thanks guys. I will take your advice and get a amp. I kinda knew that was the way to go just wanted to hear it. Yes the kenwood HU is nice. When I bought the car I held out money to get something decent. So here I go shopping for speakers and a amp. This will be a fun project. And I will read the forum about the dynamat. I have the base model with 6speed mt and it gets a little noisy at times. Very fun to drive.

If you are getting enough sound out of the HU, no real need for another amp. Want some more volume? Then get more amp. :)

Do you know if I could Bridge the front and back speaker outputs on my Kenwood HU the same way you can on a amp? Just Curious.

Kenwood-Excelon-DDX8901HD

Don't do this.

There were some Pioneer headunits that allowed you to bridge the rear channels to run an efficient sub, but what you are considering is a good way to smoke your headunit.

I just called Crutchfield and talked to a woman that recommended these with no amp. She said they sound amazing. Any thoughts? Thanks

Infinity Reference X REF-6500cx 6-3/4" component speaker system — also fit 6-1/2" openings at Crutchfield.com

Nope. Not going to.

Just talked to a lady from Crutchfield that said the best bet without a amp would be Infinity Reference X REF-6500cx. So I'm torn between something like this or better speakers with a amp. Not sure if it would be worth it. I think I'll go to a local shop and listen to some speakers.

I suggest you go with an amp. You will have a lot more options for speaker setup and you can also get it louder too if you wish. Your front components will love the power.

Great thread a lot of valuable info in here. Thx

As Nillas mentioned earlier how the focals would fatigue his ears after long listening at moderate volumes, the Infinitys are 10x worse on the ears. Their tweeters tend to be a little harsh.

But if you are so inclined http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Refer.../dp/B007SNMQDQ Please don't pay crutchfield prices unless absolutely necessary....:tup: http://www.woofersetc.com/p-11545-re...er-system.aspx

I think we should dub thee audio god Ron. :tup: