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10 Best Budget Car Speakers under $100 in 2024 – Reviews & Guide

JBL GTO609C Premium 6.5-Inch Component Speaker System

Component Speaker System Adding a new set of speakers is a great way to improve the sound quality of your car stereo system. Whether you’re looking to replace a set of old, worn-out factory speakers or just looking for better sound, switching out your speakers is worth considering.

While it is easy to drop a lot of cash on new speakers, particularly if you want a fancy component system, you don’t need to spend much to improve your sound. Speakers have improved significantly in recent years, and there are now several excellent speakers available at a very reasonable price.

So, to help decide which speakers are right for you, we’ve compiled this list of reviews of the best budget car speakers for under $100.

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A Quick Look at Our Favorites of 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
Rockford Fosgate 3-Way Coaxial Speaker Rockford Fosgate 3-Way Coaxial Speaker
  • 3-way speaker
  • Excellent sound
  • Build quality
  • Best Value
    Second place
    JVC CS-J620 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers JVC CS-J620 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers
  • Price
  • Value for money
  • Good sound
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    BOSS Audio Systems CH6930 Car Speakers BOSS Audio Systems CH6930 Car Speakers
  • Price
  • Three-year warranty
  • Good sound quality
  • JBL Stage 9603 3-Way Coaxial Car Audio Speakers JBL Stage 9603 3-Way Coaxial Car Audio Speakers
  • Great sound
  • Excellent build quality
  • BOSS Audio Systems CH6530 Car Speakers BOSS Audio Systems CH6530 Car Speakers
  • Good value for money
  • Good sound
  • The 10 Best Budget Car Speakers under $100

     1. Rockford Fosgate 3-Way Coaxial Speaker – Best Overall

    Rockford Fosgate R165X3

    If you are after the best overall budget speakers on the market, you can try the  Rockford Fosgate’s Series R165X3 speakers. These 3-way speakers feature a ridged polypropylene woofer cone, silk dome tweeter, and piezo super-tweeter. They produce a punchy bass, and lovely clean mid, and high-range frequencies.

    They also have an excellent built-in network crossover that divides the frequencies between the speaker components, ensuring you get fantastic sound quality, and for under $100, you’re unlikely to find a better deal. They can handle 45 watts RMS (90 watts peak) and have a frequency response of 52–20,000 Hz. They will sound great connected directly to your factory-fitted or aftermarket stereo. But they’ll perform even better with a boost from a mid-power amplifier, meaning that should you want to do so later, you can upgrade your system and get truly outstanding sound.

    Pros
    • 3-way speaker
    • Excellent sound
    • Build quality
    Cons
    • Price

    2. JVC CS-J620 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers – Best Value

    JVC CS-J620

    These JVC car speakers look good, sound great, and will make fantastic replacement car speakers.  They have a respectable frequency response of 35–22000 Hz, and their sound is enhanced by a well-designed combination of a flexible mica cone woofer, a hybrid rubber and cloth surround, and 1-inch balanced dome tweeters.

    These great value JVC speakers can handle 35 watts RMS power (300 watts peak) and only require a modest amplifier should you wish to install one. In terms of build quality and overall sound, these speakers won’t match what you’ll get from our top-rated Rockford Fosgate speakers, but as you’ll only be paying half the price, we feel that these are easily the best budget car speakers under $100 for the money.

    Pros
    • Price
    • Value for money
    • Good sound
    Cons
    • Build quality

    3. BOSS Audio Systems CH6930 Car Speakers – Premium Choice

    BOSS Audio Systems CH6930

    As a well-known and respected brand that produces in-car sound systems, Boss Audio Systems has developed a lovely set of budget speakers with the CH6930. With their rigid polyurethane cone, rubber surrounds, and piezoelectric tweeters, the Boss speakers produce clean sound with a solid bass.

    They can handle a peak power of 200 watts RMS and have a frequency sensitivity of 50–20,000 Hz. Boss is so sure you’ll love these speakers that they come with a 3-year platinum online dealer warranty.

    Pros
    • Price
    • Three-year warranty
    • Good sound quality
    Cons
    • Tricky to install

    4. JBL Stage 9603 3-Way Coaxial Car Audio Speakers

    JBL Stage 9603

    If you are looking for an affordable way to get good-quality speakers, you should look closer at the 3-way speakers from JBL. Sure, they’re more expensive than many of the speakers on our list, but they cost well under $100.

    These speakers feature an injection molded polypropylene woofer cone, a PEI-balanced dome tweeter, and a piezoelectric super-tweeter. They can handle 70 watts RMS (210 watts peak) and have a frequency range of 45–20,000 Hz. In your car, these speakers will sound fantastic, with clear and sharp mid-to-high tones and a solid low-end bass that would be lacking in your old factory-fitted speakers.

    Pros
    • Great sound
    • Excellent build quality
    Cons
    • Expensive

    5. BOSS Audio Systems CH6530 Car Speakers

    BOSS Audio Systems CH6530

    When shopping for budget car speakers, these three-way speakers from Boss Audio Systems are another great choice. They can handle 150 watts of peak RMS power and have a frequency response from 100 to 18,000 Hz. Their three-way speaker design delivers excellent full-range sound, crisp high and mid-tones, and solid punchy bass.

    Pros
    • Good value for money
    • Good sound
    Cons
    • Build quality
    • A little tricky to install

    6. Infinity Reference Series Coaxial Car Speakers

    Infinity REF6522IX

    Infinity’s Coaxial Car Speakers are well-built and excellent-sounding speakers. They have plenty of punch with solid bass, but for our money, their strength lies in the quality of their mid and high tones, which are bright, vibrant, and an absolute joy to listen to.

    Infinity’s REF6522ix speakers can handle 60-watt RMS (180 watts peak) and work well with an external amplifier or directly from your stereo head unit. They’re stylish speakers with a noticeably larger cone than you’ll see on many speakers of a similar size, which contributes to the solid punchy bass that these speakers produce.

    Pros
    • Good overall sound
    • Very nice mid-high range sound
    • Solid build
    Cons
    • Price

    7. JBL Premium Component Speaker System

    JBL GTO609C

    A component speaker system is the way to go if you are after great-sounding speakers. But, as we mentioned at the start of this article, they are pretty expensive, and you shouldn’t expect much change from your $100 for these entry-level component speakers by JBL.

    Being a component system, you’ll get six individual speakers in the box, two mids, two tweeters, and two crossovers. If you want the best sound with these speakers, you can purchase an amplifier and sub-woofer. Of course, having six separate speakers also makes the installation considerably more complicated, and you may want to have them installed by a professional.

    These speakers can handle 200 watts RMS (270 watts peak) and have a frequency response of 67–21,000 Hz. These are very nice sounding speakers, but to be honest, if you are still running your factory-fitted stereo system, they are not the speakers for you, and you will get a better result from a less expensive full-ranger speaker.

    Pros
    • Great sound
    • Build
    Cons
    • Price
    • Difficult to install

    8. Pioneer Max 3-Way Car Speakers

    Pioneer TS-A1670F

    Pioneer’s Max 3-Way Car Speakers are a great choice if you’re looking to replace your damaged or poor-quality factory-fitted speakers with superior units with better sound and more robust bass.

    Pioneer’s TS-A1670F speakers have a carbon and mica-reinforced woofer cone with an elastic polymer surround as well as 11 mm PET dome tweeters. They deliver a wide dispersion of sound with deep, strong bass. Pioneer’s speakers can handle 70 watts RMS (320 watts peak) and are well-suited to be powered by an amplifier. They have a frequency response of 37–24000 Hz.

    Pros
    • Solid bass
    • Good overall sound
    • Easy to install
    Cons
    • Build quality
    • price

    9. Kenwood 3-Way Car Speakers

    Kenwood KFC-1665S

    Although the design is a little dated, these Kenwood KFC-1665S speakers are a good choice for anybody looking to upgrade from their old factory-installed speakers. The high-quality speakers produce balanced highs and a tight mid-range but lack bass.

    They feature a polypropylene woofer with treated cloth surround and a 1-inch balanced dome tweeter that can handle 30 watts RMS (300 watts peak power). Kenwood’s speakers have a frequency response of 35–22000 Hz.

    Pros
    • Build
    • Good mid-tones
    Cons
    • Older model
    • Price
    • Bass

    10. Kicker Full Range Stereo Speakers

    Kicker 46CSC654

    Kicker has a reputation for producing speakers that are easy to fit and install, and with these speakers, they’ve delivered again. The 46CSC654’s are a very popular car door speaker seen by many as a natural step up from their poor-quality factor speakers.

    While not the most expensive speakers on our list, they’re also not the cheapest, and for the money, you may find some of our other suggested speakers to be of better value. They can handle 100 watts RMS (300 watts peak) and have a respectable frequency response of 40–22,000 Hz.

    Pros
    • Fits most cars / easy to install
    Cons
    • Price
    • Build quality

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    Buyer’s Guide – Finding the Best Budget Car Speakers

    Whether you are buying budget speakers or high-end models, the factors that need to consider, for the most part, remain the same. You need to consider the type of speakers you want and the unique specifications and features of the various models that fit your budget. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the things you should consider.

    Speaker type

    When choosing car speakers, there are two basic types: coaxial (or full-range speakers) and component speakers. Full-range speakers have the cone and tweeters within the same unit, they are generally cheaper, and for less than $100, almost all of the speakers you can afford will be in this category.

    Component speakers, on the other hand, separate the different parts, or components, of the speaker into separate speaker units, and they are re-installed in different places within your car. The best sound quality can usually be obtained from component speakers, but keep in mind that besides being expensive to buy, they are more complicated to install. We have only included one component speaker system in our reviews for this article, and it is not our top choice.

    Speaker Size

    Many car speakers can be purchased in different sizes, but you must know the size of the speakers you need. In most cases, you’ll want a set of speakers that you can drop straight into the holes left by your old factory-installed models.

    Build Quality

    Build quality is more of a consideration when purchasing budget speakers.  At the lower end of the market, you will not be able to expect the same standards as in high-end speakers, but even at the cheap end of the market, some speakers are better than others.

    Sensitivity and Power handling

    To work effectively, your speakers must handle the power output of your stereo unit or amplifier. Power is measured in watts, and the RMS is the amount of power a speaker can handle before the sound quality gets distorted.

    If you want to run a high-powered amplifier, you need to ensure your speakers can handle the power. Otherwise, your music will sound terrible, and you will likely damage your speakers.

    Sensitivity refers to the level of power that speakers need to produce sound. If you have speakers with higher sensitivity, they will need less power and are suitable for low-powered stereo units such as factory-fitted or cheap aftermarket models. Low-sensitivity speakers require more power.

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    Conclusion

    The clicking or static sound coming from your car’s original speakers is irritating, and if you want to enjoy your vehicle’s stereo system, you’ll need to find replacements. Although high-end speaker systems can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, we found several budget speakers for under $100. Most of the models can run off your factory-installed system, but some function better with high-powered amplifiers. Hopefully, having read the reviews in this article, you now have a better understanding of the best budget speakers that can improve the sound in your car.

    To recap, our top choices are:

    Best Overall:    Rockford Fosgate R165X3 3-Way Coaxial Speaker

    Best Value:        JVC CS-J620 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers

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