I'm helping my buddy set up his system in a new Jeep Commander and would like some advice on frontstage set up and suggestions for speakers.
First of all, I'd like to know what you guys think about rear fill in this vehicle. He does have passengers now and then and it does have third row seating which "might" be used on rare occasions. It's just a fairly long vehicle period and I'm wondering if some rear fill might be needed. I have always driven smaller cars (mainly hatchbacks) and have always used a 6.5" component set and one sub with no rear speakers at all. However, his interior space is obviously quite a bit bigger. If rear fill would be helpful, what type do you suggest? Should he go with a coaxial set or just a midrange or midbass speaker? I should mention he will be running a 6.5" component in the front doors.
Second, he has a stock 3.5" location in the dash which I told him he should probably just unhook and forget about. He always feels like he has to fill every single stock speaker hole in a vehicle and I'm always trying to tell him "do you really think the car manufacturers know s#*t about good speaker placement!" I think it would be smarter to bridge the amp he has and run more power to the components rather than worry about the dash speakers which would probably throw off the soundstage. What are the opinions on this?
Lastly, I need some suggestions on component sets (and possibly rear fill if needed). I have been using a set of CDT HD63s (braxials) in my car for about three years and I absolutely love them. He has been a Polk dB/Infinity Kappa user because he always got them cheap but I think he's ready for an upgrade now. He would probably prefer something with a little more aggressive treble than I would, but nothing like the Infinitys. Also, fairly strong midbass performance. Price range is probably $200-250 for components. He's running an Eclipse ea4100 amp that specs at 150w X 2 @ 4ohms. Thanks in advance for any help I can get with this.