Our take on the RetroSound R-452N

by Charlie Pastorfield

Some cars make it tough to replace your speakers, but RetroSound designed the RetroMod® Series R-452N 4" speakers to fit in just about any vehicle. These speakers use a compact, powerful neodymium magnet structure to keep mounting depth to an amazing 1.3 inches, while still allowing these speakers to handle plenty of power — up to 40 watts RMS. They'll deliver strong performance powered by a car stereo or an outboard amplifier.

RetroSound builds each speaker around a low-carbon, black steel basket, using a polypropylene woofer cone, a Santoprene™ rubber surround, and a Mylar tweeter. Translation? These speakers will stand the test of time in your vehicle, shrugging off damage from moisture or temperature extremes. You can remove two of the mounting tabs if you're installing these in a vehicle with a 2-tab factory speaker. Whether you're customizing an older vehicle or just looking for some nice replacements, these RetroSound speakers will fit the bill.

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Highlights:

4" 2-way speakers (pair)
polypropylene woofer cone with Santoprene surround
Mylar dome tweeter
power range: 2-40 watts RMS (80 watts peak power)
frequency response: 65-21,000 Hz
sensitivity: 88 dB
top-mount depth: 1-5/16"
grilles included
warranty: 1 year
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Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Features and specs chart | What’s in the box? | In-depth notes

Features and Specs

General
Design Loading...	2-way
Tweeter Design Loading...	Dome
Tweeter Composition Loading...	Mylar
Woofer Composition Loading...	Polypropylene
Woofer Surround Loading...	Santoprene
Parts Warranty Loading...	1 Year
Labor Warranty Loading...	1 Year
Specifications
Sensitivity Loading...	88 dB at 1 watt
Frequency Response Loading...	65 - 21k Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) Loading...	2-40
Peak Power Handling (Watts) Loading...	80
Impedance (Ohms) Loading...	4
Top-mount Depth (Inches) Loading...	1 5/16
Bottom-mount Depth (Inches) Loading...	1 9/16
Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) Loading...	3 5/8

Product Research

What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

Two 2-way speakers
2 Grilles
2 Grille frames
Two 16.5' Lengths of speaker wire (each has quick-slides on one end and bare wire on the other)
Eight 1-1/8" Self tapping screws
8 Speed clips
2 Strips of grille putty
Owner's manual

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Features

Woofer: The speakers feature rigid polypropylene cone woofers with Santoprene surrounds.

Tweeters: The tweeters are low profile Mylar domes.

Neodymium Magnets: The N series speakers feature neodymium magnets. Because neodymium produces a much stronger magnetic field than ferrite (of the same size), the magnet size and mounting depth are substantially reduced.

4/2 Hole Compatibility: The speaker tabs can be removed allowing you to use the speakers in 4-hole or 2-hole applications.

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Reviews for the RetroSound R-452N

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5 out of 5

Tight fit

Written By DTownley, Houston TX. on Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Can't be choosy when you have but one choice, that said it was a tight fit but am glad someone made the speaker. Well built, sounds fine.

Pros:

Its your only choice for rear door on 2000 frontier nissan

Cons:

little more instruction in door panel disassembly

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

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1 out of 5

Only use if you have to

Written By Shindog, Santa Fe, NM on Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

I replaced my stock speakers (2000 Frontier) with these expecting a significant improvement in sound quality. There was no difference. In fact when I had only 1 speaker in I played with the balance and couldn't tell a difference. I thought about taking these out and returning them, but the stock speakers were about ten years old. I decided to keep them, thinking I would eventually have to replace the others. I would only buy these if I wanted a speaker to fit in a stock location, that required a very thin speaker. A better option would be to modify the speaker location and go with a different product.

Pros:

It fit the stock location without modification.

Cons:

Poor sound quality.

3 out of 4 people found this helpful

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4 out of 5

Not to good

Written By Danny, SC on Thursday, June 09, 2011

Installed in a 1991 Chevrolet Camaro

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Not a good speaker.

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4 out of 5

Decent sound quality for the price

Written By venturescott, Cary, NC on Monday, June 06, 2011

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

I replaced the factory speakers on my '86 Yamaha Venture with these speakers. Overall I'm pleased with the sound from them. I had to turn the treble all the way up because of the amount of bass that these speakers can handle. They were making things vibrate on the fairing of the bike because of all the bass! They would probably sound very good in a car installation because the treble is very crisp too. Definitely a full range speaker.

4 out of 4 people found this helpful

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