With the expansion of car models and sizes and intricate car stereo systems with 6×9’s and subwoofers, the little 4×6 inch car speakers could have been left out in the cold and relegated to old models of cars with factory car stereo and out-of-date plates.
The beauty in any car audio system, though, is that it will always feature the right tool for the right job when doing a significant upgrade for the best sound.
Insert the little car speakers that could, the 4 inches.
If you are looking for a small speaker with the best possible sound to create that perfect soundstage, or just looking to get the best music for your buck, look no further.
| Best All-Around Component 4-Inch SpeakerSee On Amazon |  | DS18 PRO-X4M Loudspeaker 4" | See On Amazon |
| Best Premium Component 4-Inch SpeakerSee On Amazon |  | Focal ES 100 K 4" | See On Amazon |
| Best Budget Component 4-Inch SpeakerSee On Amazon |  | Infinity Reference 4" | See On Amazon |
| Best Budget Coaxial SpeakerSee On Amazon |  | BOSS Audio Systems CH4230 | See On Amazon |
| Best All-Around Coaxial 4-Inch SpeakerSee On Amazon |  | Kicker CS Series CSC4 | See On Amazon |
| Best Premium Coaxial 4-Inch SpeakerSee On Amazon |  | Focal 100 Access 4" | See On Amazon |
| Best Marine Grade 4-Inch SpeakerSee On Amazon |  | Pyle Marine Speakers | See On Amazon |
These midrange car speakers do it all. With excellent power handling capabilities and a high-quality top to bottom build that can handle the high volumes you can throw at it, they should be first and last on your list of new speakers to buy.
Looking for more powerful aftermarket stereos at a reasonable price to replace your factory car stereo and provide that remarkable midrange sound quality your system is missing? The DS18 Pro-X4M Loudspeakers are the audio component speakers for you.
With a whopping 100 watts RMS at 4 ohms and a high-quality 1.5″ temperature-resistant voice coil, these speakers should take all the power you can throw at them and reproduce crystal clear music until the cows come home. Thanks to a “bullet” designed dust cover that acts as a tweeter, you’ll get additional high tones without the additional power consumption.
You will also dig the construction durability of these speakers as that bullet-designed dust cover/tweeter and high-quality voice coil will hold well in warm and cold weather and should last as long as you need it.
Keep in mind when purchasing this speaker that it is sold individually and also has an oversized coil. That means you’ll want to double up your order and measure the space if you are replacing a factory set. Also, with a sensitivity of 85.7 decibels (dB), you’ll want to consider pairing it with a quality amp for the best sound possible.
Focal is passionate about sound quality, and it shows in these premium speakers. Handmade in France (for real) and designed to deliver as much depth, realism, and dynamic sound as they can provide, these speakers are for the car audio enthusiasts who want the best car speakers and are willing to pay for it.
If Tony Stark decided to throw full range speakers into his Iron Man helmet (see also best bluetooth helmet speakers) to blast his music, these would be the ones. Handmade in France with a ground-up premium design that features tuned mass dampers, a composite W sandwich cone, and a frequency response from 110 to 22,000 Hz, these things literally have the best audio.
The build quality of these speakers is superb and functional with every inch thoughtfully designed to provide a purposeful, clean, clear, and dynamic listening experience.
Because of that build quality, they’ll sound amazing and look fantastic with a rubber surround coming with a kevlar woofer and a gold-painted cone.
With the kevlar and rubber and 1-year warranty, you know these things were built to last and Focal has your back if you run into any problems.
When you purchase pricey pounders to produce sound, keep in mind that the tweeters are “drop in.” You should be able to fit these in your factory setup, but hiding the crossovers may be a bit tricky.
Infinity designed the Reference Speakers to provide the company’s signature audio of smooth and clear highs in an affordable package. With oversized woofers and an excellent speaker response, these little speakers literally offer some of the best bang for your buck.
Infinity Reference Speakers were created for the audiophile who understands that a higher price doesn’t always equate to a higher value.
The oversized woofers that give more surface area to move air and a high speaker sensitivity of 92 dB will give you a surprising bass response from these mid-ranged 4’s.
If you are looking to replace your factory speakers, these should be easy to work with. Thanks to the newly engineered speaker basket and slim design, they should fit into most factory 4-inch speaker locations. Just keep in mind that these speakers only come with the pair themselves and foam mounting tape. You’ll need to use your pre-existing factory screws and wires or pick some up.
The BOSS CH4230 is a durable, crisp sounding, seriously affordable set of 4-inch speakers. With a smooth frequency response, durability, a clean sound, and premium affordability, there is no question these speakers hit the mark when doing a significant upgrade.
These speakers are affordable! And with a cone made from polyurethane, a rubber surround, and a high-temperature voice coil, that little bit of scratch should go a long way. The BOSS CH4230 speakers were made to take a beating with a woofer and a piezoelectric tweeter built to withstand audio overloads, and the capability to run without a crossover.
Besides the durability, you will love the precise sound reproduction they deliver. Keep in mind, though, that they are an inexpensive 4-inch. They will give you clear highs and dip into the mids, but you shouldn’t expect too much bass. You can turn these up with a peak power handling of over 200w, but keep ’em up and even their high heat handling coil and durable woofer will bounce some distortion.
If you do blow these, though, do not fret. When you click the link and purchase them through Amazon, you will receive a generous 3-year warranty.
If you are looking for the best possible sound from a set of speakers for a low price, these Kicker CS Series CSC4 speakers are for you. The reviews are in and people are taking notice of their killer price, durable build, crisp and clear mids and highs, and installation flexibility to make these speakers real winners.
Kicker Performance Audio brings to the table with the CSC4 a system that can complement a set of 4-inch speakers with a low frequency response and a phenomenal midrange sound.
With neodymium magnet filled, titanium domed tweeters, and EVC woofer technology, you should be more than happy with the rich mids and highs you will get from this Kickers offering. And with those CS Series tweeters, you’ll get a 6 dB inline crossover with three mounting options, ensuring you’ll get the exact sound and look you are going for.
Thanks to a UV-treated polyester woofer surround, a rigid stamped steel basket, and a poly-injection cone, these things should sound great while taking a beating.
Keep in mind that these best all-around 4-inch coaxial speakers sound great but have the same drawbacks most 4-inch speakers do. They will complement a full system perfectly but won’t provide a standalone bass response.
Quality meets a new high and premium pricing meets a new low with the Focals 100 Access 4″ coaxial speakers. Thanks to forward thinking looks and durability, a superior sound profile, and easy enough installation to replace factory speakers, these will be the last 4″ coaxial speakers you buy.
Premium has a new price with the Focal 100 Access. With their closer to affordable line of access speakers, Focal delivers a sturdy all-weather woven fiberglass woofer, a rugged aluminum inverted dome tweeter, a 20% fiberglass filler ABs chassis, and all the audio you are looking for from a 4″ coaxial speaker.
Focal’s excellent reputation comes from its advanced innovation and technology, and these speakers bring it. You should expect effortless stability resistance to more power that brings out sharp sounds and a bit of bass response from the midrange speaker.
With the built-in crossover rotating tweeters and a flexfit basket design with a built-in terminal and streamlined outer grill, you will not only get the crisp music you are looking for but also an easy Sunday morning installation.
Keep in mind that because of the low sensitivity often found on less expensive speakers, these will reproduce much better sound quality when combined with a standalone amplifier. You’ll also want to pay attention to the power coming from that amp when you do run these. With a peak power of 80 watts and an RMS value of 40 watts RMS, these things can take some power but do not overdo it too much.
It’s all in the name with these ones. Pyle Marine 4-inch waterproof speakers are the choice for ATVs, jeeps, trucks, motorcycles, and 4×4 owners looking to cruise with the top down. With built-in lights, nearly 10 feet of wiring, and a low-profile design, these are the go-to, easy-to-install waterproof speakers for all your fun needs.
All fun-in-the-sun seekers who have learned never to trust the weather report, stop your search here. Pyle Marine 4-inch speakers are your go-to, all-weather jammers. If you are looking to carry your music wherever your scrambler, your jeep, your 4X4 truck, or even your convertible go, you can’t go wrong with the Pyle Marines.
These speakers aren’t just water-resistant but completely waterproof. With a built-in molded grill and a poly-injection cone, they should hold up to more than just a little water in any location.
Thanks to a 3 feet mounting depth and nearly 10 feet of accompanying wire, you should have no problem installing these anywhere you need them.
These Pyle Marine speakers also have the added benefit of built-in, color-changing LED lights. So if you are looking to get the party started and keep it going when others are rained out, these are for you.
Keep in mind that although these speakers can stand up to the elements, they can’t stand up to a ton of power. You should be happy with these bad boys at low to medium volumes. But with a nominal power handling of only 40w, if you run these too high for too long, you may experience distortion, overheating, and eventually blowing.
If you do blow these, though, don’t worry. If you’ve had them less than a year, you should be able to capitalize on their 1-year warranty.
Although small in size, 4-inch car speakers come with a few features that stand large in the car audio game.
One of the best benefits you will find in your 4-inch is, in fact, that size. Four-inch speakers are great in small cars where size is a commodity. There are even many aftermarket 4-inch speakers designed to stand alone in spaces you usually wouldn’t consider installing a speaker in. And if you install a coaxial 4-inch speaker in a small car, you will not only save space but you’ll get a rich, complex sound that fits the limited space.
Another clear advantage of the small 4 is its price. A smaller-sized speaker means less amount of materials that your wallet will gratefully feel. With that extra cash, you will be able to do something more like soundproof your car so you won’t need big, expensive speakers to have music in your whole car.
Finally, whether you are running your speakers directly off of your head unit or pairing them with a much larger car audio system or an amp, you cannot beat their power pull or lack there off. A 4-inch speaker pulls such low power that it won’t conflict with the rest of your setup.
Although you’ll find a ton of reasons to love your 4-inch speakers, they do come with a few drawbacks with the biggest being their small size.
See, the size of the speaker is the primary determiner of the amount of air it can move. A small speaker moves less air than a large speaker. Air, when it comes to speakers, means noise and bass.
The largest speakers in your system, the subwoofers, deliver thumping bass and sound because of their size and the amount of air they can move.
Comparatively, 4-inch speakers deliver very little bass and have a much lower audio output. Because of this, you’ll find that if you turn a 4-inch speaker up too loud, you will encounter minimal distortion.
You are going to find two main types of speakers: the component and the coaxial.
Component 4-inch speakers contain a single driver that is capable of delivering a single frequency range. That means component 4-inch speakers are best paired with a host of other speakers to provide a full power range of sound.
Coaxial speakers, conversely, house multiple drivers in one basket. You’ll find coaxial speakers in 2-, 3-, and 4-way designs. A 2-way coaxial speaker comes with the main woofer driver and also a tweeter. A 3-way speaker adds a midrange driver, and a 4-way coaxial speaker adds an even smaller tweeter to the tweeter, midrange driver, and woofer cone setup.
To sum it all up, if your 4-inch speakers will be your main listening speakers or you would like to get the best speakers money can buy, go with the highest coaxial speakers in your price range. On the other hand, if you are filling out an already existing car audio system, you should be looking for component speakers.
A solidly built speaker can stand the test of time and deliver high-quality sound day in and day out. If you want a speaker to last, you should look for one that incorporates premium, durable materials in the right spots. That means you’ll want a high-end driver, rubber surround if it’s in your budget, and a high-grade magnet or even a speaker with multiple magnets.
You’ll also want to consider how the materials affect the sound quality of the speaker.
If you prefer soft treble frequencies from your 4-inch, you want your speaker material to be made of soft materials like poly or cloth. On the other hand, if you prefer bright highs, you’ll want your speaker material to be made of something like ceramic or Kevlar.
When purchasing 4-inch speakers as replacements, look for a set with multiple mounting screw holes and patterns as the speaker holes won’t always line up exactly with your car’s old speakers.
A replacement speaker with a shallow depth will also increase the ease of installation.
Speakers are transducers that convert electrical energy into audio waves. When considering your speaker’s power handling, you should look at the watts RMS and Peak Power. In both instances, higher power handling is generally better.
This is because, unless your speaker is of low impedance and drawing too much power from the amp, even a speaker with high power handling ability can be paired with a low output amp. Inversely, a low-power handling speaker with a high-powered amp may mean a blown speaker.
In all cases, the goal is to keep a reasonable flow of electrical power between the amplifier or head unit and the speaker.
A speaker’s sensitivity, measured in dB, denotes the amount of sound the speaker can produce per the power or electrical energy delivered to it. If you are running your speaker off of your low-powered head unit, you’ll want the highest sensitivity rating possible (shoot for over 90 dB). If you’ll be running your speaker off of an amp, you should be okay with a low sensitivity (under 90 dB) setup.
With every speaker in your audio system designed to provide a specific precise sound reproduction, it’s no wonder the 4-inch speaker is here to stay.
A quality coaxial speaker will give your audio system the unmistakable rich mids and highs that you’re looking for, while killer component speakers will completely fill out those robust mids other speakers are lacking.
Whatever audio system you have, whether you are a daily driver using a head unit or a complete audiophile operating a premium amp, a great 4-inch speaker isn’t something to sleep on.
You might also be interested in this article about the best party speakers.