Re: '93 90csq rear speaker replacement

[Elliott Potter <epotter@abraxis.com>]

>Hi -- I've got the blown rear speakers in my '93 90csq and am looking for
>options.  The FAQ had some info but wasn't completely clear about my
>options.  My questions:

Some questions first:
Are the speakers actually blown?  It's pretty hard to kill these 
speakers unless you have hearing difficulties.  Why do you think 
they're blown?  (That's a serious question) Have you looked at them?
The reason I ask is that there are some things that these speakers do
that seem to suggest that they're blown, but they actually aren't.
These symptoms include:
   -"puff" of static when the system is turned on
   -sporadic operation, speakers cut in and out, esp. if you hit bumps
   -engine-speed dependant whine that may come from one or both sides
If these are your symptoms, e-mail me back as I had this problem in my
93 90CS and solved it, with a cost of only ~$2.50 for a TORX wrench.

This was after 3 head units and 2 rear speaker set replacements. (under
warranty)

>1.  Are there direct replacements for the active rear speakers available
>(other than from Audi, that is).  Where can I buy them?

None that I know of, but I'm sure if you looked hard enough you could
find
one.  Another alternative might be to get un-amplified speakers, though
I don't know if this would work--is the output to the rear speakers line
level?

>2.  If #1 is no, can I get small amplifiers that go in the doors or am I
>stuck with putting an amp in the trunk to power the rear?

In fact it would be fairly easy to get small amplifiers to fit in there;
the
problem would be getting speakers that would fit.  The speakers and
grills in
the rear are actually one piece, and you might have to do some creative
thinking to mount new speakers and grills securely.  Also, it's a fairly
small
enclosure and has an odd shape, which means that finding speakers that
would
fit in those enclosures and sound good might also be a challenge.
Having said that, I'm pretty sure some people have done this
successfully with
aftermarket systems; maybe they can offer some help.

HTH!

Elliott