Pioneer - TS-G1642R 6.5-inch coaxial speakers Review

I've had good luck with Pioneer car stereo gear, so I looked to that brand first when I wanted to upgrade the factory speakers in my 1995 Subaru Legacy. I had previously installed Pioneer TS-G1641 speakers in another car but that model is no longer available. The replacement is the Pioneer SS-G1642R, which I bought at Wal-Mart for $40 per pair. I installed two pairs in my car.

What it is

The Pioneer TS-G1642R is a standard 6.5-inch car speaker. It has a 1.2-inch tweeter mounted in the center of the 6.5-inch woofer, which makes the speaker a "coaxial" design. The tweeter is not movable or pointable, which is a bit of a disappointment. The woofer is made from plastic, making it fairly impervious to moisture. Since I installed them in the car's doors, being impervious to moisture is important. The speakers can handle 30 Watts of continuous power and my car's stereo is rated at 15 Watts per channel, so that's a good match. The speakers are rated at 4 Ohms. You can see pictures of the Pioneer TS-G1642R to the above right.

Installation

My 1995 Subaru already had cheap 6.5-inch speakers installed in the doors and I wanted to install the new speakers in the same locations. Therefore, I had to pop off the car's inner door panels, which was not hard but a little tricky at times. Once the door panel was off, I unscrewed the existing factory speaker and the Pioneer TS-G1642R screwed right back in the same spot. All the holes lined up and attaching the speaker was simple.

Connecting the front speaker was easy, as the existing factory connectors fit right onto the Pioneer TS-G1642R. However, the speakers in the rear doors use a different connector for some reason, and I had to cut, splice and tape wires to connect the rear speakers. That was a mild annoyance.

How does it sound?

Previous Pioneer car stereo speakers always had clean treble and strong, smooth bass, so I was expecting the same from the TS-G1642R. The treble is there but the bass seems weaker in the TS-G1642R, so that was just a little disappointing. However, the overall sound (including bass) is definitely better than the cheap Subaru factory speakers.

I'm a baby boomer and listen to the usual baby-boomer mix of songs from the 1960s through the 1980s. I definitely don't listen to hip hop and rap, and therefore don't need the thumping bass that seems to go with much of today's music. I simply wanted clean, smooth sound with decent bass and clear treble, and the Pioneer TS-G1642R mostly gives me that. I would like a bit stronger bass but can adjust that somewhat on the stereo itself to compensate.

Summary

The Pioneer TS-G1642R car speakers are good but not great. I'd be willing to install them again but wish I could still get its predecessor, the TS-G1641. Oh well... time marches on and I'll have to live with what's available today. I recommend the Pioneer TS-G1642R car stereo speaker.