2006 XC70 Speaker issues

[ripper996]

Can anyone help me. The front door speakers on my XC70 suck. I don't listen to a ton of loud music, but when I do, the front speakers in my car sound awful. Are there any aftermarket options that require little to no modifications that are the closet to a plug n play option and are of a better quality than the OEM? I was also told by a local car audio store that its hard to replace the stock tweeter in the upper area of the door. I just want to know what options are out there. Thanks.

[Ocean Racer]

Any 6.5" will fit.
There are many threads about this.

[XC70_D5_Sweden]

There are three different OEM speaker options for our cars, performance (white label), high performance (blue label) and premium (yellow label). They fit plug and play. Try to find a complete set of high performance with amplifier (PA200 or PA300) and perhaps HU-803 and perhaps a subwoofer. I got that kit waiting for me in the garage, going to sound really good compared to performance system.
Please note that premium speakers in front need different doorsides, to fit the extra speaker element.

Best regards Olof

[ripper996]

Any 6.5" will fit.
There are many threads about this.

I did check prior threads yesterday and found a lot of the responses either confusing or vague. I am just looking for decent aftermarket speakers that I can purchase and have a local car stereo install them without too much hassle. Infiniti appeared to be one brand, but are there more options?

Thanks

[KevinR]

I recently fitted a set of Focal Access component speakers in the front doors of my '02 XC. I would not consider it to be "plug n play."

You have to remove the door panel (easy).
Disconnect the tweeter and pop it out (easy).
Disconnect the mid-range wiring (easy).
Drill out the rivets holding the speaker assemblies to the door frame (depends on how lucky/good you are).
Cut/pry the original speaker driver out of the bracket (not particularly difficult, but frustrating).
Solder new speaker wires to the connectors on the bracket (depends on how good you are with a soldering iron).
Find a way to mount the brackets back on the doors (small hands are very helpful here). I used bolts with washers and nuts.
Plug the original speaker wire back into the connector on the bracket.
Drill new holes in the bracket to mount the new speakers.
Mount the new speakers to the brackets.

If you're using replacement component speakers, you will have to fabricate a method to install the tweeters in the factory location.
Find a suitable location and method of mounting the crossovers.
Run wires from the crossovers to the tweeters and the mid-ranges, plus a wire from the original speaker wiring to the crossover.

And finally, put the door panel back on.

You will want to check out this thread. Scroll about half-way down the page:
http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?115765-My-next-project-01-V70-T5M/page3

[ripper996]

Thanks for your response Kevin

[KevinR]

I hope it helps. The job wasn't really all that difficult, but I can see why a retail audio store might want to avoid it. It takes a lot of time and patience, with some attention to detail.

When I had my '01 V70, I replaced the head unit with an aftermarket Alpine and was satisfied enough to leave the factory speakers in place. Unfortunately, the speakers in my '02 XC were blown when I bought it, so I had no choice other than replacement.

[Willy]

Are there tweeters in the front doors?
Willy

[KevinR]

There are tweeters in US spec cars. They are behind the mesh at the top of the door panel, close to the dashboard. I don't know about cars in other countries.

[Ocean Racer]

There are tweeters in US spec cars. They are behind the mesh at the top of the door panel, close to the dashboard. I don't know about cars in other countries.
Same for mine - near door latch lever

[XC70XC]

Yep, there are tweeters slot near the top of the door.

[Willy]

In cars without tweeters, Volvo installed dummies, so looking through the mesh will reveal what appears to be a tweeter,
even while it is not. The only way to be sure is to put your ear to the mesh and listen.
But if it is a fact that US cars have tweeters, then the problem lies elsewhere. I posted "the tweeter issue" since when I
bought my car, there were no tweeters and the sound was bad. After installing them the sound became quite acceptable.
Willy

[Ocean Racer]

Willy,
I found mine when removing the door panels to apply some dynamat.
Again, I can not vouch enough for how much dynamat improves the sound quality - especially the bass.

[Willy]

FYI, the picture shows the real tweeter at left and the dummy.
I believe that the capacitor is a simple cross over filter.

4447

Willy

[Ocean Racer]

My tweeters were also plugged in with audio cable running to them. Im sure thats also a dead give away ;)

[Willy]

Eeuhh, no, not necessarily. It's been a long time since I was in there, but possibly
the dummies were connected, perhaps to keep the wiring in a fixed place.
I think that, if the car was ordered with head-unit, there would be (at least?) six speakers, thus including tweeters.
Perhaps I can find the dummies, if they have no connectors at all, then your conclusion must be right!
But the most conclusive test is to simply place your ear next to the tweeters, no sound = no tweeters :o
I will let you know if I find the dummies and if they have connectors.
Willy

[Ocean Racer]

Willy, I also forgot to mention, I have the upgraded sound system with premium speakers.

[Willy]

No doubt this will improve the sound by no small margin [thumbup]
Willy