Notices
Audio / Security / Video Sound Systems, Alarms, Electronics

car speakers doesnt sound right

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 12-09-2011, 09:06 PM
  #1  
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
 
ray559527's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default car speakers doesnt sound right

i bought 4 polk dxi 650 speakers. i was going to get the polk db651 since they had many reviews for a good price, but the dxi650 was for 38 bucks a pair for an open box like new item. so i coulnt resist

after i got these i installed these right away. after installation i was surprised that the speakers didnt kick as good and as hard as i expected it kick.

the tweeters sound ok, there not that bad but not amazing

the bass is what really bothers me the most. at medium high volume the bass distorts. around volume 25-32 on a new pioneer 6300ub head unit

on certain songs the bass really kicks and distorts and other songs the bass doesnt sound as strong. so certain songs there is a lot of bass and other songs there is too little bass. i know differnt songs have differnt bass etc but its never really even. kinda hard to explain.

when installed these i was seriously disappointed. they didnt sound too differnt then the last speakers i had which came with the car but were somewhat upgraded. my COMPUTER speakers seriously sounds better. i cant go to my car to enjoy my music. its just regular music. this is what really bothers me the most. dont get me wrong tho, the speakers are ok. but thats all they are. they are ok.

so i want to know why the bass distorts?
the only possible factors i can think of is
the speakers are fake. (i bought it off amazon tho from newgen retailer)
the speakers were bad to begin with since its open box item.
and the speaker wires are bad and i need new speaker wires.

can speaker wires be the cause of the bad sound quality? cause the speaker wires i attacted it too is most likely stock. and im not sure if im suppose to replace the speaker wires also.

i really need some advice asap because i dont know if its just me or the speakers. cause i wanted to attactch these to an amp in the future but i dont want to amp these if they dont sound good to begin with. i rather get new pairs.

these are the speakers i bought, they are suppose to be good from all the reviews there was about them
http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-DXi...3495887&sr=8-1
Old 12-09-2011, 10:18 PM
  #2  
Honda-Tech Member
 
joeshmo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Western NYS
Posts: 1,137
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default Re: car speakers doesnt sound right

My bet is it is the installation. How are they installed? Stock speakers are often customized to fit the stock installation spot and replacing them with aftermarket speakers can cause "gaps" and cause the speakers to perform even more poorly. Seal the doors with sound deadener and add a baffle, will certainly make bass better.

Also try reversing the polarity. That might help. Or see if you can set an HPF on the hu.
Old 12-10-2011, 03:53 AM
  #3  
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
 
ray559527's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default Re: car speakers doesnt sound right

i installed the speakers with the adapter ring, im not sure what are the gaps ur talking about but there are no gaps inbetween the adapter and where the adapter fits

i have installed sound deadening on the whole door

ive messed with every possible setting on the head unit plus the hpf. i aleady got it sounding the best it can by messing with the settings with the head unit but i am still very disappointed.

im not sure what u mean by reversing the polarity?

do i need to replace the speaker wires from the stock wires? could this be a cause? cause i remember talking to a shop who sells car audio stuff and they said whenever they install speakers they use new and high quality speaker wire to ensure quality sound. now im not sure how much difference would this make or if this is necessary but this makes me think this is a possibility.

also as i mentioned its the bass that really botheres me the most. since it distorts on high volumes. im not talking about super high volumes where im pushing the speakers to the max but at volumes where you would turn it up to really enjoy the music.

also with the tweeters, i sware i enjoy the music a lot more from my computer speakers. the sound from my computer speakers are clear and crisp as the car speakers i have they are somewhat pretty clear and somewhat crisp but they just dont have that affect where it makes music sound amazing for some reason.
Old 12-14-2011, 07:29 PM
  #4  
fcm
Old Fart
 
fcm's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: kelowna, bc, canada
Posts: 26,173
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes on 14 Posts
Default Re: car speakers doesnt sound right

I am guessing the install also, you do not need the adapter rings, [adapter rings are for replacing 6-3/4" speakers, Honda/Acura use "standard" 6-1/2" speakers] the speaker needs a 5" diameter mounting hole, Honda/Acura that use a standard 6.5" speaker have 5" diameter mounting holes, mounting depth is 2" so they should fit, the only issue should be the mounting screw locations, Honda/Acura use a 3 hole system, your Polks are a 4 hole system, they will not line up with the stock screw locations.

Can you take a pic of one of the speakers installed and post it?

You should not need to change speaker wiring, stock wiring is good to 50W RMS.


Another possible problem is power, [current] for the aftermarket "high power" HU.

The 12V constant lead and ground lead in the stock radio harness is not capable of supplying the current a "high power" aftermarket HU requires to perform properly at higher volume levels, [amplifier will clip prematurely] resulting in distortion, most noticeable in bass response.

The fix is to run a fused 12ga power lead from the batt. to behind the HU and connect the HUs 12V constant, [yellow] to it, [don't forget to cap off the stock 12V constant so it can not short out], you will also need to run a 12ga ground lead from the chassis of the HU to the cars chassis, if you are using a metal back support off the back of the Hu to the cars dash sub fram or cars chassis the 12ga ground is not needed.

Leave the HUs ground lead connected to the stock radio ground and leave the HUs 12V acc. connected to the stock radio acc. lead. 94
Old 12-30-2011, 04:54 AM
  #5  
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
 
ray559527's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default Re: car speakers doesnt sound right

ok thanks for the info, sorry for the late response

i accutally found out why my speakers sound so bad in the first place.

my speakers got better after some time. i just needed to break them in. they sounded a little muffled and muddy in the beginning. after playing the speakers for a while they started to sound a lot better. i messed with a lot of settings from the hu and now its alot better.

im still not fully satisfied but they sound pretty decent now. also i found out another reason why the speakers didnt sound as full as it should. my car speaker location was bad. the front speakers are by the bottem so the sound doesnt travel as good as the back speakers which are by my head. so i only end up hearing most of the music from the back.

so to fix this problem i ended up buying infinity kappa 60.9 component speakers. im going to mount the tweeters in front of me so i get a full range of sound all throughout the car. i heard great things from infinity kappa so thats why i eneded up buying them

i accutalyl just got the speakers today and i have trouble figuring out the cross over.

on the cross over theres 3 input/output. the first one is (in) the second 1 is wf, 3rd one is tw

i think i have it figured out but i dont want to make a mistake.

the in stands for input, im pretty sure im supose to wire it to the speakers since the speakers have a in initial on the speaker wire. then i believe the tw is for the tweeters. but im kinda confused on the middle one which is the wf. i dont know what that stands for and im not sure if i need to attact it to anything. im assuming the wf is for the car speaker wire. but im not sure. any1 with answers please let me know as this is my first time installing components.

as far as pictures i have pictures but i dont know how to upload it.
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rfdphoto
Honda Accord (1990 - 2002)
1
09-11-2012 02:39 AM
patrickstar
Audio / Security / Video
12
02-19-2009 04:10 AM
04accordV6
Audio / Security / Video
12
11-24-2008 01:17 PM
mrdeadman
Audio / Security / Video
12
12-16-2005 07:59 AM
SPARTUS
Audio / Security / Video
2
07-02-2003 11:03 AM



Quick Reply: car speakers doesnt sound right



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 07:07 PM.