Are Memphis Speakers Any Good for a Car Audio Upgrade?
Worth it, with a ceiling you should know about
Why factory car speakers sound thin at volume
Crank the volume past halfway through most factory door speakers and you get that flat, papery buzz, the cone maxing out before the song does. You reach for the knob wondering if the whole system is cheap, or if the speakers themselves are the ceiling. That's usually the exact moment the question 'are Memphis speakers any good' turns up in a search bar at eleven at night, phone propped on the dash.
How the Memphis PRX27's pivoting tweeter and built-in crossover work
Here's the mechanism, and it's simpler than the spec sheet makes it sound. The PRX27 is a coaxial design: one 2.75 inch polypropylene cone doing the midrange and bass work, with a small PEI dome tweeter perched on a post above it handling the highs. That tweeter pivots, so once it's mounted you can physically aim it up toward your ear instead of firing straight at your kneecap, which is the actual problem with most tiny door or dash speakers. The crossover, the electronics that stop a woofer from trying to reproduce cymbals and a tweeter from trying to reproduce bass, is built into the unit itself. That's the quiet convenience: you're not soldering a separate filter into the wiring harness, you're installing a speaker that already knows which frequencies belong to which driver. The surrounds, polyurethane on the woofer and stitched butyl rubber around the frame, are doing a less glamorous job, absorbing the heat swings and humidity a car interior throws at a speaker every day, which is where cheap foam surrounds usually give out first. A 5.1 inch mounting depth keeps this within factory door and dash cutouts, so it's replacing what's there, not asking you to cut new holes. None of that makes it a subwoofer or a concert rig. It makes it a full range driver built to survive a dashboard, not a studio.
So the real trade isn't speaker versus speaker, it's factory plastic versus an actual driver with its own crossover built in. You're paying for the part of an upgrade that usually costs extra, the frequency-splitting electronics, folded into a fifty dollar pair instead of sold as a separate part.
Who the Memphis PRX27 speakers are for, and who should skip them
Worth it if
- your factory speakers are blown, buzzing, or thin sounding
- you want a straightforward swap without wiring a separate crossover
- your mounting depth is tight, around 5 inches or less
- you want a noticeable upgrade without spending much
Skip it if
- you want real bass or subwoofer level output
- you're running a high power amp and expect these to keep up
- you're building a competition grade system
- you need something rated for wet or outdoor mounting
Not for anyone chasing bass, high power handling, or a competition-grade build.
Are Memphis speakers any good: the verdict
If your factory speakers are blown, buzzing, or just tinny above conversation volume, this is a sensible, inexpensive fix, and the swap is close to plug and play. If you're chasing real bass, running serious amp power, or building something meant to compete at a car show, a 2.75 inch full range driver was never going to be that, so spend your money further up the lineup.
Trade the rattly factory buzz for something that actually sounds like the music. Day one looks like this: pull the old speaker, wire in the new one, no separate crossover to hunt down, and the first press of the volume knob past where it used to distort just works. That's the appeal of a budget upgrade like this, the improvement shows up immediately, not after a break-in period you have to wait out. Keep your expectations sized to a 2.75 inch driver and the fifty dollars feels well spent against the factory ceiling it replaces.
Amazon shoppers rate it 4.5 out of 5 across 925 ratings. That is their number, not ours.
Before you go
Are Memphis speakers better than Kicker?
No, they compete closely at this price point. Memphis's edge is the built-in crossover on a compact driver, so the better pick depends on your mounting size and bass needs.
Is Memphis audio better than Rockford Fosgate?
No, but this Memphis driver competes well as a simple factory replacement where you need a working upgrade over stock. Rockford Fosgate sits higher on power handling and reference sound quality.
Is Memphis a good sound system?
Yes, as a budget to mid-tier car audio brand. This particular pair is a compact replacement driver, not a full system on its own.
What's better, Memphis or JL audio?
No, JL Audio performs better at the high end with tighter tolerances and higher prices. Memphis targets the budget upgrade buyer instead.
By the numbers
earn an unconditional yes at full priceOut of 109 electronics products we have reviewed. This one is a yes with a condition attached.
other reviews field the same questionAre Memphis speakers better than Kicker?
comes up across our electronics coverage, not just here — one of the things worth settling before you choose.
Verdict datasetQuestion indexCC BY 4.0
Full spec sheet
| Audio Output Mode | Surround |
|---|---|
| Mounting Type | Car Mount,Coaxial |
| Enclosure Material | Polypropylene, Butyl Rubber |
| Speaker Type | Coaxial, Tweeter |
| Additional Features | Multi-direction pivot tweeter system |
| Antenna Location | Car |
| Subwoofer Diameter | 2.75 inches |
| Color | Black |
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