Installing Boston Acoustic Pro 6.5s... (V. Long) (archive)

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This post is to used as a supplement for the excellent post on the MZ3 net entitled "DCs Stereo Upgrade" by Douglas Campbell (DC) . This is in regards to installing a component set of Boston Acoustics speakers in the kickpanels and doors to greatly enhance the stock factory system. This post only deals with the kickpanel portion of the installation. This was in my 98/2.8. I believe all the models are the same for this installation.
See: http://www.mz3.net/articles/upgrades/43.html

Recently you may have seen my posts looking for the discontinued Boston Acoustics Pro 6.4s. I had heard these BAs in DCs car on Cape Cod a few months ago. They are outstanding, as is the whole sound system in "Lucy", Doug's M roadster. I knew then and there I wanted a set of those! I gulped when I saw the price, but:
GOOD SPEAKERS ARE NOT CHEAP, AND CHEAP SPEAKERS ARE NOT GOOD!!!

I decided to go with the new 6.5s for several reasons:
1. I could not find a dealer anywhere with a new set of the 6.4s in stock .
2. The only sets I could find were demos in the displays that had been played hard for a couple of years. The dealers still wanted around $300 for these as is.
3. The new 6.5s are completely redesigned, woofers, tweeters, and the crossovers. The comments I heard from others who had installed them and the dealers were "a smoother sound stage", "not as sharp", "not as shrill". I went to the BA web page and downloaded all the Florida dealers and finally purchased them at Sound Advice in Jacksonville for $340 plus tax. These speakers are to car stereo what Dom Perignon is to champagne! A good deal for the very best!

1. Most importantly, if you are not planning on upgrading your amp as well, these speakers are not for you. They require power, 20-400 watts!! (The stocks are only rated for 30W, that's hardly enough to even drive these!) The sound with the stock amp was only slightly better and you must be very careful not to turn it up and distort the speaker due to lack of power and destroy it.

2. They are work to install. Allow yourself plenty of time and patience. One slip-up and you could have a hole through a $150 speaker, be careful and don't be distracted!

3. These speakers can be mounted inside the kickpanel or outside with the BA grills. I did one each way to see and hear the difference. If you mount them inside you will have to slightly grind out the speaker hole in the sheet metal. It looks like the speaker fits ok with the foam gasket, but if you look close you will see that the speaker did not pull up tight and left about an eighth inch gap. The sound is better with the BA grills, cleaner and not somewhat muddy sounding as it was through the kickpanel. (If you hold up the stock kickpanel and the BA grill to the sun, you'll instantly see that you want to use the grills.) The black grills actually look quite nice if you do a good job and show nicely that you have an upgraded stereo.

4. The 4 stock mounting holes in the sheet metal cannot be used. The BAs have 3 mounting arms, and to angle them to where you can get at them to drill the holes and install the screws you will need to drill 3 new holes. Install the speaker with the lip that says "Boston" forward toward the engine so that later you can get the grill on. Install the speakers with 1 1/2" sheet metal screws, stainless steel of course!

5. As luck has it, the kickpanels have a built in pattern for the cut-out you will need to do. On the backside you will see a ridge-ring surrounding the speaker slats. If you want a perfect job, cut out the circle with a jig saw (with a fine toothed blade for plastic), just inside the ring. Then take a very coarse half-moon file and file off the ridge-ring, then sand smooth. If you cut outside the ring, the hole will be just a tad large.

6. The kickpanels are really not too bad to take on and off once you get the hang of them. On the passenger side I needed to cut out a small section of the grill to allow it to install properly.

7. As I mentioned this installation takes work, but the results are well worth it! Any questions, comments, or corrections please email me. Good Luck!

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