i've got a set of 3 way mb speakers (6.5") i've lost the crossovers, so was wondering if the speakers will be effective running straight off the stereo speaker outputs?

just found the set i've got: http://www.ishop.co.uk/item/caraudiodesign/Rr44q00CX8SaGDc5bFt3ZQ%3D%3D.html
they are MB Quart PSD 316 6.5" 3-Way Premium Component Speakers.
there are some crossovers on ebay that match so could get those. you need to run them through an amp then i guess?

you don't need to, but £250 quid 3 ways will sound very average on hu power

Jonny_B, you've got a good quality set of components there mate.

Couple of things, firstly - it will not be effective to run these components straight off the headunit, and secondly it won't sound anywhere near as good as it could using some low grade crossover setup.

If you can find the Premium Range crossovers on ebay then I'd go for that, although be careful as IIRC the D series Premium reference range did have a different (higher quality) crossover box compared to the reference range.

Other than this, have you thought about how you are going to mount this setup in the front of a coupe? You only have spaces for a 6.5" midrange and upto a 1" tweeter in the standard locations (thats what I run - Focal K2 Powers), meanining you will have to make a custom location to mount the second (smaller) midbass. You could find the crossovers for a PSD216 (2 way system) and not use the 2nd midbass driver, this would probably be your best bet IMO.

This setup is not suited to be run off a headunit, I'd budget for a decent quality amp - possibly something like a Phase Linear PB4 or PB6 - for the money this is a quality german piece of hardware and would make your PSD's shine. This is in line with decent wires, and some half decent RCAs.

nice one. the crossover on ebay is the exact one that came with the system from new so will be perfect.

i was thinking of mounting the mids in the rear where the speakers are, but probably attached to the body.

do you know of any guides on setting up a 3 way. where would you normally mount the amp and crossover's in the coop? in the boot up against the back seats?

I've done 2 installs in coupe's now, crossovers are stored inside the passenger side panel in the dashboard (under the stock tweeter locations, behind the side panel which is covered up when you close the door).

Amps mounted behind the rear seats on the metal support (actually in the boot) on an MDF amp mount. Although you can be as creative as you like here - just make sure the amp has adequate space for cooling.

You could have your tweeters and smaller midbass units up front with the larger midbass units in the rear, although really speaking you'd get more benefit having all 3 units up front (maybe with some stand alone 6.5" midbass units in the rear (possibly coax's if you like rear fill), but you don't need to concentrate on this for now). You are going to have difficulty mounting the medium size midbass up front without hacking up the door card though, hence why I suggested just using a 2 way setup in the front (your 6.5" midbass and 1" tweeters) and leave the medium size midbass units out of the system for now.

I've got some pics of the custom tweeter install I did in Gouki's car, should really host them.

You inspired me to write this guide up, check it out:

http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=61330&an=0&page=0#Post61330

brilliant advice and guide. really appreciate you help.

i have a couple more questions for you!

can i use the mb 3 way cross overs as two ways leaving an output unused or with this give out wrong frequency?

sounds like may be an easier job to make do with two way with rear co-ax's.

can't seem to find that amp on google or with uk seller. any other ideas on amps or a basic spec of what i should look for?

If you use a 3 way crossover as a 2 way unit - you will probably be missing out on some of the midrange sound which should be generated by the 2nd midbass driver. A 3 way crossover is designed to deliver the full frequency range through 3 speakers (not 2), and as such will split up the audio signal into 3 sections (by rolling off the signal at set frequencies), so I dont think it will sound right running 2 speakers.

Best bet is to look out for a set of PSD216 crossovers, or see if the MB Quart distributer in the UK can get them for you.

That amp isnt actually a current model, and the only place you'll get one is on ebay. I run the Phase Linear PB6, as does Gouki which is whose car those custom tweeters went into. Both cars sound awesome, gouki's running MB Quart reference range front/rear, mine running Focals. Phase linear always used to make some of the top sounding top end amps - so when this PB series came out I jumped on the chance of getting one. Safe to say I wasnt dissapointed!

When deciding what amp you need - first what is your plan for the system? If you want to have a front soundstage, rear soundstage and no sub - then a 4 channel amp will do the job, if you want a sub - then possibly go for a 5/6 channel amp (rather than the hassle of having a seperate sub amp).

I'm not 100% up to date on the new range of amps, but I do know that the JL footprint amps (4/5/6 channel jobbies) are good quality efficient amps. Phoenix Gold also used to make decent quality amps, not sure if they've gone down the mainstream all frills and no sound quality avenue or not recently to be honest.

Something like this will be easy to setup and will sound great on a budget: http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=2353

if you've got more cash to play with, the higher series amps would be better:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=977

Dont forget, the amp is probably the most important part of the system with regards to how the system will sound (and its sound quality (SQ)). You can make a set of £100 components sparkle on a good quality high grade amp - but a set of £500 Comps running off a budget £100 amp will sound crap. I always advise to budget most for the amp in any system, be it car/home whatever.