Dead thread revival here: After MUCH jerking around with Scosche adapters that didn't work, I found this thread and did my own version of reusing the stock adapters with "Crutchfield recommended Top Seller" $50/pr Kenwood KFC-1666S 6.5 2-ways screwed in from the front, no zip-ties, annnnnndddddddd ..... THEY SOUND WORSE than stock HHR speakers (all highs, no bass). I tried with and without baffles, tinkered with all the head unit settings. I'm going to try not to repeat the mistake with the rear doors. If I had it to do all over again, I would have just put in the ACDelco replacements for $32/each.

 

Not sure what you were expecting from a 28 dollar set of speakers but if you want better sound you should increase the budget a bit.I see you paid way too much for them so I would call Crutchfield. I am pretty sure they will price match at the very least but if you want to go through the hassle they will surely let you exchange them for something better.Adding some sound deadener to the doors will also make a big difference in the quality of the sound.

 

I did buy them from Amazon but the Crutchfield price was stuck in my head, I wasn't "expecting" greatness, but with the recommendation/reviews from Crutchfield and Amazon being so high, my expectations were indeed overly optimistic. I can't remember a more disappointing stock speaker replacement experience in the last 30 years, but what I've concluded is that the stock HHR speakers are quite good and I was taking them for granted.

 

All subjective, of course. And you can adjust the hi, mid, and lo in the radio settings. The trouble with those trash OE speakers is that they’ll just fail again.

I used a pair of cheapie ($20 on closeout) 5-1/4” Kenwood 4-ways (so even less bass) in the front for good presence, but put 6-1/2” Kicker 2-ways in the back seat, for adequate bass. After tweaking the range setting, It sounds decent at low volume. Loud is out of the question with the limited wattage of the base radio, of course. If I want a bit louder in that car, I’ll get a cheap little amp and a small subwoofer in cargo bay where the Pioneer Premium sub woulda gone.

Warning: the connectors inside the door are usually corroded, so don’t use them. Also, watch your polarity.

Since we’re rounding out this thread, I’ll mention again the available adaptors.

 

I did tinker with the audio settings. I'm planning on trying to rescue the mission by putting woofers (or stock) in the back doors. While I was testing, the intermittent LR door speaker started working, which highlighted how little bass coming from the front Kenwoods. My OE speakers lasted 172K miles and all failed during the same hot/humid week except the Tweeters - but my HHR hasn't seen much rain/snow and has no rust.

I somehow got the wrong Scosche adapters that look right and don't fit (Cobalt fitment, not HHR) based on a reviewer saying they worked great in his HHR. I spent WAY too much time trying to make those adapters work before finding this thread. The Kenwoods screw right into the front of the stock speaker frames after you cut out the birdcage and tear out the speaker itself.