I installed these in a 2002 Taurus wagon with the factory radio/cd system and the sound is fantastic. I shopped around for a long time and even bought a pair of pioneer 5 x 7s which sounded worse than the factory speakers so I returned them. But the JLs are almost comprable to a decent home system. The tweeters are very smooth, and the overall sound is natural. Bass response is not window shaking but its got plenty of punch to make any type of music a joy to hear.These speakers never sound sharp or boxy, they sound open and provide great stereo imaging. You will NEVER experience listening fatiuge with these. I left the factory speakers in the tailgate for now but I am so pleased with the JLs up front that I may not need to bother with the rears.Again this is all being handled with the factory stereo system which has about 25 watts per chanel. These speakers cost more than some 2 ways but they are worth the money. Buy them! you will be very pleased. Add some real power to them like I did in the showroom and they just light up! These are the most impressive speakers I found. I compared them to Boston accoustis, MB Quarts, Polks, Infinity and regretably Pioneer. None of them sounded as nice as the JLs. What I heard in the showroom was even better once they were in the car, Thats impressive!