Kenwood Speakers

Kenwood KFC-1738C 6-3/4" 3-way


[5/22/2002] Reviewed by: Colin Kaminski - colinholo@yahoo.com

Applicable to: '90 - '97

This is a direct screw in product for the M1. Crutchfield supplied a wire harness to adapt it to the stock harness at no charge. Since my harness had all ready been modified I did not use it.

It took me all of 15 minutes from getting the box to having all of my tools put away and listening to these speakers. I was looking for something in-expensive ($75 delivered), and would balance well with the stock head rest speakers. I was replacing a speaker with a rattle. I find the speakers work very well with the stock stereo, they match the stock head rest speakers very well. While not concert quality sound, they are a very good value.

About 5 minutes after I ordered the speakers a Chutchfield representative called me to tell me I needed to drill 1 hole to install the speakers. Since I had chosen them based on fit I was surprised but ordered them any way. When they arrived I found there was no need to drill any holes and they were a 3 screw job.

Under 30 minutes to remove completely


Kenwood KFC 1638C

[10/10/2001] Reviewed by: bill keksz - keksz@starpower.net

Applicable to: '90 - '97

3-way, 6 3/4" door speaker

Just installed the Kenwoods yesterday, replacing the JBL GTO 630's, one of which had a blown woofer. It was a gamble, as I hadn't listened to the Kenwoods. Got hem mostly because they'd fit, per Crutchfield. The Kenwoods are less $ than the current versions of the JBL's, and I wasnt sure I could get the new JBLs to fit. So far, I'm happy. Bassier and warmer than the JBL's, and admittedly not as accurate. WOrk well with the OEM head unit (My Blaupunkt is being repaired). I used the oem rain shield, trimming it a bit although I now think that (the trimming) was unnecessary. - bill Gaithersburg, MD 10/10/01

Under 30 minutes to remove completely


Kenwood Excelon KFC x576c 5x7/ 6x8 Speakers

[1/22/2001] Reviewed by: Win Boyles - winboyles@lycos.com

Applicable to: '99 + 1.8 liter

Kenwood 5x7/6x8 Peal Mica Injected cone woofers and 1 9/16" balanced dome tweeter that can be swiveled up to 15 degrees. Woofer has 8.3 oz magnet. Freq response 35 hz-25,000 hz.

Outstanding sound reproduction compared to stock factory paper speakers on the M2. Bass is a little stronger, and much, much cleaner (does not rattle or rasp even with very strong signal). Midrange and treble are like night and day compared to the stock speakers. Snares now sizzle, and both midrange and highs withstand top-down driving better by several orders of magnitude. The bass is strong, and you can feel it up to about 60 mph, but after that, the NVH of the engine, road, and wind pretty much wash out the bass below about 80-100hz. That's the price you pay for no subwoofer. Overall, I would have to rate the performace as much bigger than the speaker size, but still a bit below the Bose (bigger woofer, door tweeters). However, for the price, I think it blows away the Bose.

I purchased these speakers from OnlineCarStereo.com for $89.00 ($40.00 less than Crutchfield). They fit right into the existing 6x8 adapter/baffle on "Abe", my Evolution Orange Miata ("Abe" because I think the color is copper, and Abe is on the copper penny--I know, it's obtuse). To remove the door panels, I followed the instructions as laid out in the power lock installation tips from the garage (Thanks for the pics). Also, the factory speakers are glued onto the baffle, so you must remove the baffle and speaker together and separate them (no small task). What's interesting about these speakers is that they have a grill over the tweeters. I think that the two layers of grill caused some reverberations that resulted in a tinny sound. So, I used a knife to pry out the tweeter grills. For what I paid, I think that this is the best upgrade that I have made to "Abe" so far. Next up, the Greddy strut tower brace.

Under 30 minutes to remove completely


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