Do you have any 456 Speaker Recommendations?

What's your goal? Do you want a simple speaker upgrade for better than original sound, or do a bigger upgrade of more components for much better sound?

If what you want is a simple speaker upgrade, I don't think you need anything more than the standard Pioneer or similar big brand speakers. Higher end speakers are probably not going to sound any better being connected to the original radio components.

Not sure what the 456 speaker sizes are, but on a 550 the kick panel speakers are 4" coaxial, and rears are 5x7" coaxial. Coaxial means a tweeter is integrated to the woofer. Also check if the dash mounted tweeters on the 456 are easy to access? On the 550 you have to remove the entire dash so they're usually never replaced.

Another option that would improve the SQ further is to try a speaker that's the next size up from standard. So if oem is a 4", you could get a 5.25" with an adapter, just need to be sure they can actually fit in the panels and have clearance on the back end to put everything back together.

 

456 is one car i havent done the radio in. id prob go with a head unit and speakers, otherwise it becomes a bigger project and potential headache.

 

I remember my former 456 as having a fair amount of wind noise even a relatively low speed (side windows were properly adjusted), not to mention the conspicuous mechanical noise coming from the engine where the V12 made its presence known at any speed - indeed, not a quiet unit.

I am not so sure that a speaker upgrade would overcome the inherent audiophile-unfriendly deficiencies of the vehicle cabin. I'd say go with anything that fits the speaker aperture and call it a day. The 456 never was the kind of car where I was looking forward to listening to the radio.

 

I found the rubber in the speakers in my 95 456 mostly disintegrated. At first glance it looked fine, but you could poke your finger through the rubber. It had lost all its elasticity. I replaced all speakers with units from Audison: APX570 in the doors, AP5 below the rear seats, and AP2 aft and below the dash. The original tweeters were still quite good but given the effort it requires to replace these I did it anyway when I had the dash out.
Except for the tweeters, which needed some work to make fit, these speakers were a straight fit.

 

Hi,

I just had the originals refurbished in 2017/2018. The front ones were ok, the problem was the head / main unit that needed all caps replaced. The rear ones had the mounts tired / torn and they were rebuilt and now it all sounds good. It can easily be improved with some insulation in the doors and/or better speakers.

OEM works well for me.

Cheers!

 

I had the car apart anyway so when I noticed the main speakers to be poor I just replaced all speakers by a system from a single brand, hoping for a good match in sound between components. But the tweeters in my car were actually quite fine, so probably also in yours. Yes, to get access to the front ones you need to take the dash out. Access to the rear ones is slightly easier: rear seat out, then rear beck rests, seatbelts and then the rear shelf that also holds the speakers. Make sure to select 4Ohm units.
I found Audison to be of acceptable price/quality. There are much better units available, at multiple times the price, but as someone remarked you have to remind yourself the purpose of these alongside the V12.
Door speakers and 'woofers' (rather small to earn that name...) are easy to replace. The original woofers have a sort of protective plastic grating over them to prevent your heels hitting them if you would try to maneouvre yourself in a back seat. Replacement speakers obviously don't have that, so I machined some from billet aluminium.
There's an excellent thread on this forum on radio/speaker upgrades with lots of pics.

 

Paul:

I wasn't sure if you were going the DIY route or not, but a bunch of us East Bay guys have used Kar Tunz for stereo, speakers, etc. Might be out of your way, no affiliation, they work on exotics, my 456 included.

https://kartunz.com

 

A note on the head unit:

Becker North America is in New Jersey. I've been to their shop a couple times as I have Becker's in several cars, 1 all the way back to the Becker Europa Stereo.

They can modify the head unit or exchange it to have Bluetooth capability w/ hand free, streaming music and iPhone charging.

Good to have the OEM showing but the features you want.

Alternately the best look to blend in but add features is the Continental. A bit of work to locate but a great product. I used one in a Porsche before the Porsche Classic series was available.

https://www.continental-automotive.com/en-gl/Trucks-Buses/Interior-Cabin/Infotainment/Radios

My opinion only ...

 

I was looking at those Continental radios, but it looks like they only come in an amber color? I couldn't find any that were green in the spec sheets so I dismissed them.

 

I have one of these Continental radios for my 348. Yes, they only come in amber color.

 

FOG, but haven't been active in a long time and usual C&C when they pop-up.

 

Although the Continental only comes in the amber face it is the most like the radio it replaces in terms of buttons, knobs.
Again, letting Becker upgrade your OEM unit is a great way to go.....

 

If anyone's curious, I found there are 2 green lit CD Becker units that are more modern, but still fit the oem style.
Mexico Pro 7933
Indianapolis Pro 7953