Rear speakers

P

paul_c

A2OC Donor
My Audi A2 only has 2 speakers. I'd like to fit rear ones too, and the obvious place is in the door. I've had a look on eBay for suitable stuff but the listings are somewhat misleading - for example:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAK-1107-...423450?hash=item19e59c889a:g:OoEAAMXQgPhRjmqT

SAK-1107 adapter seems to come up in many listings (together with 16.5cm speakers) but it talks about "rear parcel shelf" - my A2 doesn't even have a parcel shelf! It has a flexible cover; and the sides are no way going to fit 16.5cm speakers.

These are listed too: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161095752655?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

This http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400721756183?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT appears to be another style of adapter, with 6" speakers this time.

When I measured the grille and door, it appears that 13cm would fit best, but I think there's space for 16.5cm but it would be tight - hence my desire to use a proper adapter rather than make one myself. Also, none of the listings are for component speakers - despite their being a separate hole for a tweeter in the door card.

Or am I better off seeking some speakers from a breaking A2 - are the originals any good for use with a decent stereo?
 
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I've fitted the stereo using a cheap fascia adapter, which contains 4 small but correctly shaped bits of plastic; and some screws which are too short. And I fitted my Alpine aftermarket stereo - the only issue being that I needed to swap the red and yellow wires over (+12V battery and +12V with ignition on). The aerial seems to work albeit on stronger stations only (or it might be the location of the car...I'll try once I drive it somewhere again) so concerns about getting a +12V feed from somewhere, and needing a wiring adapter harness which I'd read about on other threads were unproven.

However, I still of course only have 2 speakers to play it through, and I'd really like the back ones too. What have others who have upgraded from the base-spec 2 speaker "Chorus" Audi standard fitment stereo, to something more modern (ie plays MP3s), done regarding adding an extra pair of speakers? Also what is the wiring route you used to reach the back doors - I was proposing underneath the steering wheel, then along the right hand side of the car, and cross again in front of the back seat for the left rear speaker - loads of trim to be removed of course, but that's an inevitibility!?

I'd really like to purchase the rear speakers ASAP then spend a day fiddling around with the wiring run and the rear doors etc. I have in mind, some nice component speakers and obviously 165mm is preferred over 130mm for sound/bass/volume.
 
Hi Paul,

If your car currently has no rear speakers, then there is no audio wiring within the rear doors. Unless you're willing to compromise the 'watertightness' of your rear doors, I'd recommend replacing the rear door wiring looms rather than simply lashing some aftermarket audio wiring alongside the existing loom.

My A2 left the factory with a Chorus tape/radio and only front speakers. I replaced the rear door looms as described above and then ran speaker wiring from the driver's foot well (where the OEM amps are based) to the B-pillars. Once that was done, I fitted a factory Bose kit.

Personally, I like to keep things as OEM as possible. If you'd like to do the same, I have the necessary rear door looms, rear speakers and rear speaker amp available. If you're interested in going this route, I'm sure we can sort something out. Either way, I'm more than happy to help. I'm not far up the M6 from you and have upgraded more members' A2s than I've had hot dinners. :)

Cheers,

Tom
 
I was hoping to somehow put the wires into the existing door concertina wiring trunking thing.

Why do I need a rear speaker amplifier, the head unit will provide plenty of power in 4 outputs and the speakers will be aftermarket 6.5" versions of a decent make/model (with tweeters).
 
paul_c said:
I was hoping to somehow put the wires into the existing door concertina wiring trunking thing.
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Yes, you can go that route. You'll have to un-loom the existing rear door looms, pass extra wires through the concertina and then loom everything back together again. You'll need the electrical pins/terminators for the B-pillar connector blocks (which are different depending on whether your car is pre- or post-2002).

paul_c said:
Why do I need a rear speaker amplifier, the head unit will provide plenty of power in 4 outputs and the speakers will be aftermarket 6.5" versions of a decent make/model (with tweeters).
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You only need a rear amp if you're planning on going the OEM route. In the factory setup, the head unit powers the front speakers and a separate outboard amp is used to power the rear speakers. If your head unit has amplified outputs for both front and rear speakers, then you can clearly drive the speakers directly.

Cheers,

Tom
 
I had a quick look at the B pillar connector block and there's a free space below this which would be covered by the concertina. I don't know what access is like within the car, I've not looked at this without removing loads of trim. I was hoping to run the wires in fairly well specified speaker cable, in one single continuous run from the stereo to the speakers (to avoid future problems with poor etc).

Do you have the plastic pods which 6.5" speakers can sit in, which are bolted/screwed to the door? These would be useful. Also, can you let me know a price for the loom (its a Y reg car), I might take this route instead. I'm going to hazard a guess that a mid range Alpine component 6.5" speaker can handle more power than the stock rear speakers; the head unit should be able to deliver it but I'm probably going to install 2x phono cables too, while all the trim is removed, in case I choose to upgrade further later.
 
PS the reason I chose to use an aftermarket head unit rather than the OEM route is that I already have a decent stereo (Alpine) so it seemed the cheapest option for me; it includes USB socket with MP3 playback capability on the front panel. I only realised there were two speakers on the way home when I tried to adjust the fader! I overlooked a couple of things I should have checked on the car but there was little choice out there, I looked at two other A2s but they were poor condition and this one was good but with a couple of niggles (this being one of them).
 
OK it looks like obtaining the original speaker pods has come to a dead end, has anyone else upgraded an Audi A2 which came with 2 speakers, to add rear speakers using pods similar to those listed in the OP and aftermarket (decent) speakers? I know I could easily fashion brackets up to hold a speaker in the right place but unless it seals properly with the door card (outer flexible part) its not going to be in an enclosure properly, and thus the sound will be weak, so I think I'm best using some kind of plastic pod
 
ajsellors said:
You could always try making adaptors out of OEM speakers. Remove the driver and keep the plastic frame to mount a new speaker.

regards

Andrew
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Yeah, that's the idea. I don't have much confidence in the eBay listings when they mention things like "A2 parcel shelf" fitment etc! I messaged all 3 sellers, only one replied, saying he's not had previous complaints and has sold loads. But won't commit to return postage if its wrong.
 
ah, yes, bad post on my part. you will not find adaptors for 6.5" standard speakers of any variety to fit the mounting points of the a2. they do not exist. end.

roll your own time. CAD and some MDF may help. Cutting out the membrane from an OEM driver may also work (funny size, though) but remember the other side of the alu skin is wet.

- Bret
 
bretti_kivi said:
ah, yes, bad post on my part. you will not find adaptors for 6.5" standard speakers of any variety to fit the mounting points of the a2. they do not exist. end.
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I found 3 on eBay.... I think that's the problem. The eBay listings are basically wrong, there's probably 6.5" speakers in for example Audi A4 rear shelf or door or something, and they generically lump it all together.
 
If it helps, I have a set of original rear door speakers freshly removed and for sale. There's even the original screws that come with them.

20151023_132855.jpg20151023_132900.jpg



http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?28600-Sarge-selling-a2-parts/page4



Cheers
Sarge
 
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After having revisited the eBay listings and looked more closely at the door, I believe the adapters are in fact for Audi A4 and the listing for A2 is basically wrong. They wouldn't do return postage if it was wrong, and it wasn't a risk worth bothering with.

So, I looked again at the door cards and came up with a reasonable way of fitting aftermarket speakers. While one could simply screw a speaker onto the card, it wouldn't seal very well and not sound great, it would probably buzz at high volume and miss out on moving enough air in the bass range. So, I made some rings out of plywood which allow an almost perfect seal, and much more strength to screw the speaker onto, while still meaning the speaker fits. The tweeters come with a bunch of adapters, one of which fits the original Audi location, so the rest is easy, just a bunch of wiring and locating the crossover.

I'm half way through - put the speakers into the doorcards but not laid the wiring from the head unit to the speakers - and I've taken a bunch of pics, if there's any interest in it.
 
Would it not be better and easier just to upgrade the front speakers or add a subwoofer? Is going to be a lot of work to add speakers to the rear and the benefits won't really pay off unless you're going to be sat in the back of the car.
 
jogon said:
Would it not be better and easier just to upgrade the front speakers or add a subwoofer? Is going to be a lot of work to add speakers to the rear and the benefits won't really pay off unless you're going to be sat in the back of the car.
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I'll let you know once its complete - I still need to put the wiring in. Yes, I partly agree that the rear speakers don't affect the volume/quality as much as the fronts, I may end up upgrading the fronts too; and/or driving the rears from an amp instead of the head unit. Future plans also include a sub-bass in the boot but I'm keen to just get the rears in initially. To do a sub-bass install in the boot yet leave the floor storage area and bootspace accessible will need a custom made box at one side or another, and maybe another cone (I have a 12" but might need to go to 10")
 
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