There’s nothing more frustrating to a music lover than poor quality audio. Match an already brittle stock sound-system with the roar of your engine and those of the thousands of other cars around you, and it’s not even worth putting music on.
Blasting the volume to unsafe levels just doesn’t seem worth it, nor does it really work. It gets noisier, but if anything there’s less clarity than before.
A good pair of car speakers are all about creating a quality mix that will cut through surrounding noise pollution without excessive volume and risking damage to the ears.
To that end, I’ve compiled and reviewed the best five 6.75” car speakers to give your ears the care they deserve, and I’ve even put together a detailed buyer’s guide and brief FAQ section to help you escape your car-cophony.
In 5th Gear? Need answers fast? Here’s our top pick straight away so you don’t have to slow down.
OUR TOP PICK
Spec
- Impedance: 4-ohm
- Power handling: RMS 60 watt/Peak 120 watt
- Frequency Response: 65hz to 22kHz
- Sensitivity: 1W/1m - 89 dB
These incredibly slick speakers include a PEI dome tweeter with built in crossover that smooths out high frequencies surprisingly well, adding a warmth you wouldn’t expect while maintaining the high-quality articulation normally associated with a component set up.
You may want to check your car windows for cracks because the bass end on these speakers will rock their world. No, they don’t come with a sub, but that just makes the resonance and thump of their low end even more impressive.
The Mold-injected polypropylene cones ensure stability over long periods of heavy use. Polypropylene, if you’re unsure, is an incredibly durable thermoplastic polymer. It’s harder and more heat-resistant than other materials normally used in speaker production.
Rockford Fosgate have gone to great lengths to make your switch from factory stock as simple as possible. The P1675s have a flex-basket fit with a slot-mounted frame to make installation a breeze no matter how unusual your stock speaker locations or dimensions are.
Pros
- Expansive low-end for speakers.
- Tight, smooth high frequencies give more of a component sound.
- Easy to install.
- High-quality materials.
- Industry-leading brand.
- Durable polypropylene cones.
- Rubber Casing.
- 3-way.
- Stylish.
Cons
- Quite pricey for a first buyer.
EDITORS CHOICE
Sony has been rising through the ranks of audio quality over the last few years and it shows in the fantastic sound produced by the Sony XAV-AX1000 media receiver.
It features an integrated 4 x 55 Watts amplifier to guarantee clear sound even when the music is cranked up high.
It has multiple connection options such as USB and AUX for external players or bluetooth for wireless streaming. If podcasts and shared playlists aren’t your thing, tune into FM or AM radio with 18 channels to choose from.
For the truly tech-savvy, the XAV-AX1000 is compatible with all your favorite apps, and with Apple CarPlay you can stay up to date, hands free.
Siri is also available to help with your every need, and with just your voice, you can skip songs, get directions, or ask Siri to tell you a joke.
Another great feature is the connection for rear view camera if your car has one, helping you maneuver into even the tightest of spaces. The Sony XAV-AX1000 is designed for all-round convenience and will undoubtedly enhance your driving experience.
Pros
- Dynamic Reality Amp 2 with 4 x 55 Watts prevents interference
- iOS12 compatible
- Reverse camera compatibility
- Easy installation
- Google Maps and Waze available to download
Cons
- Slightly more expensive
BEST VALUE
Spec
- Impedance: 4-ohm
- Power Handling: RMS 60 watt/Peak 240 watt
- Frequency Response: 40 - 20 kHz
- Sensitivity: 1W/1m - 90 dB
The 41D comes equipped with a PEI dome tweeter, so you get those nice warm highs that cut through the mix without bursting your eardrums.
Running from 40 Hz, the low-end potential of the 41Ds is huge considering they’re only 6.75” speakers. To put that into context, 40 Hz is the kind of bass that your body has almost more range to feel than your ears have to hear it.
It’s that apocalyptic, there’s-an-earthquake-in-my-car-and-three-to-four-people-are-invited kind of bass.
Similarly to our last pick, these speakers have the ribbed polypropylene foam casings which aren’t the hardiest option, but while that kept the price down on our last pick, the 41Ds are considerably more expensive.
The reason for that is that they are literally twice as powerful, in fact, these are the most powerful speaker on the list.
You could either switch out the casing straight away for something sturdier, or you can carry on with the foam casing until you feel it’s absolutely essential to replace the shielding. It’s up to you, but the thin-line design on these will most likely keep them safe and out of the way for a while.
Pros
- PEI tweeter gives you nice trebles.
- Polypropylene cones offer great sound and durability
- Affordable
- Thin-line design will save you space and keep them out of harm’s way
Cons
- Foam casing.
- 2-way.
- Slightly less bass.
RUNNER UP
Spec
- Impedance: 4-ohm
- Power Handling: RMS 60 watt/Peak 240 watt
- Frequency Response: 40 - 20 kHz
- Sensitivity: 90 dB
The 41D comes equipped with a PEI dome tweeter, so you get those nice warm highs that cut through the mix without bursting your eardrums.
Running from 40 Hz, the low-end potential of the 41Ds is huge considering they’re only 6.75” speakers. To put that into context, 40 Hz is the kind of bass that your body has almost more range to feel than your ears have to hear it.
It’s that apocalyptic, there’s-an-earthquake-in-my-car-and-three-to-four-people-are-invited kind of bass.
Similarly to our last pick, these speakers have the ribbed polypropylene foam casings which aren’t the hardiest option, but while that kept the price down on our last pick, the 41Ds are considerably more expensive.
The reason for that is that they are literally twice as powerful, in fact, these are the most powerful speaker on the list.
You could either switch out the casing straight away for something sturdier, or you can carry on with the foam casing until you feel it’s absolutely essential to replace the shielding. It’s up to you, but the thin-line design on these will most likely keep them safe and out of the way for a while.
Pros
- PEI tweeter gives you nice trebles
- Most powerful option on the list
- Largest frequency response range on the list
Cons
- Foam casing
- Quite pricey
RUNNER UP
Spec
- Impedance: 4-ohms
- Power Handling: RMS 100 watt/Peak 330 watt
- Frequency response: 72 Hz - 24 kHz
- Sensitivity: 1W/1m - 88dB
Another first for our list, the poorly named KFCs come with 2 different tweeters built in. The first is a 1.56” paper tweeter, and the other is 0.5” ceramic super tweeter, which means they’ll offer a unique listening experience, the paper tweeter providing a crisp warmth, and the ceramic adding the bite that cuts through external noise.
This pair of speakers are definitely not going to rattle the bolts off your wheels, but they’re certainly capable of bringing some crisp, thumpy, enjoyable low ends to the sonic side of your trip.
The KFCs are the only speakers on the list with paper cones, which sounds like a bad thing, but paper cones often actually sound amazing.
The problem is they are more prone to damage from temperature and humidity. They are a fully-treated paper, so likelihood is they’ll perform for a long, long time without issue, but they’re not as hardwearing as metal or polypropylene cones.
That being said, these Kenwoods come with real rubber casings, so the cones are as safe as they can be.
Kenwood have also included an acoustic sound harmonizer which smooths out the delivery of higher frequencies to the tweeters, so you can expect hyper-resonance and great tonal detail.
Pros
- Two different tweeters offer benefits of both ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ worlds
- Paper cones have a unique and enjoyable sound
- The acoustic harmonizer will smooth out high frequencies
- Relatively affordable
- Rubber casings to protect the paper cones and enhance bass tones
Cons
- Paper cones aren’t as durable
- Bass isn’t that powerful
Best 6.75 car speakers Buying Guide
Materials - The Sound, the Whole Sound, and Nothing but the Sound
Music recreation is a subtractive process, whether it’s an instrument or a speaker, representation of an existing sound will always be diminished by a middle-man. A good speaker will reproduce a sound as close to the original as possible.
So what you need to think about is the kind of music you’re going to be listening to the most. Are you going to need a robust low-end to handle a lot of dub and drum and bass, or are you going to need exceedingly thick and expressive mids for thrash metal or dream-pop?
Thinking about the materials a speaker is made from will give you clues to its tonal pallet and help you decide what would be the least subtractive option for you.
Tweeters Materials
Tweeters are responsible for frequencies between 2000 to 20,000 Hz and are split into two broad groups: soft tweeters and hard tweeters.
Soft tweeters are often made from paper or silk and provide a smooth treble sound, but because their materials aren’t rigid, when they’re cranked to high volumes, they’ll begin to move, causing distortion.
Hard tweeters are made from things like metal or ceramic, and while they may not produce as warmer sound, they can certainly provide a bit more bite, which is often what you need to cut through a noisy environment.
Woofer Materials
Woofers are normally made out of durable, lightweight materials and pump out bass and mid frequencies.
Woofer cones can be made of metal, paper, kevlar, graphite, or various other robust fibers, but the industry standard is polypropylene, a polymer plastic. Polypropylene is a great cone material as it’s sturdy, lightweight, cheap to produce and sounds fantastic.
Compatibility
Another major thing to be aware of when shopping for your next car speakers is compatibility with your current stereo system.
Power Handling
Power handling refers to how much power your speaker can take from the stereo. It will be marked out in watts as an RMS rating and a peak rating.
The RMS wattage is the amount of power your speaker can take perpetually, while the peak wattage is the maximum amount of power it can receive before you risk overheating and damaging your speaker.
Impedance
Impedance is measured in ohms, and you can think of it as the level of resistance from the speaker against the surge from the amplifier.
Most speakers you’ll be looking at will be between 4 and 8 ohms. The lower the number the more power it will require from an amplifier.
Sensitivity
Sensitivity has to do with volume. It’s how loud a speaker can go when powered by a single watt.
You’ll want to consider how powerful your amplifier is and how loud you intend to play music to give you more of an idea what sensitivity speakers you’ll need.
Type of Speaker
Full-Range
A full-range speaker setup will normally include a tweeter and a mid-range driver.
Sometimes a full-range speaker set may have a super tweeter or a sub to handle even higher and lower frequencies.
Component
Component speakers are loaded with crossovers that act as a sort of filing system for frequencies.
Every different sound will be separated from the rest and sent to a specialist part of the speakers that will best suit its frequency.
Because of this, component speakers are capable of greater clarity and definition but cost a lot more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is bass bad for your car?
No, not really. Powerful bass won’t cause any structural damage.
A powerful stereo and large speakers may however run down the battery faster.
Is a 2 or 3-way speaker better?
A 3-way system is generally preferable to a 2 as it will split the sound into ever more specialist groups that are handled by dedicated speakers.
It does however depend on the quality of the product. High-quality 2-way speakers will have a massively better sound than a poor quality 3-way system.
How loud should I listen to music in my car?
You should aim to keep your music around 80 dB to avoid hearing loss over a long period of time.
Good Vibrations
It’s time for you to go on without me.
I’m running on fumes here, besides, now you’re ready to get those perfect speakers for your car, so you can turn your rush hour hell into a cruising club, and your traffic jam into a traffic JAM!