Hey guys, I had a question about my car stereo. I'm kind of new on audio, so bear with me please.

I bought a used 98 civic ex not long ago, which had a Kenwood 50x4 headunit in it. It is hooked up to all four speakers plus the two tweeters in front. My question: Is the headunit putting too much power to the speakers/tweeters? The stereo does not seem to get as loud as the stock system would, and the louder it gets, it starts to distort quickly, particularly in the front from the tweeters. What's the deal with this, and how can I get rid of it, even if it means buying new speakers. I'm not sure if I want to get an amp or not in the future, but for now I wouldn't plan on it. Should I be looking for 40-50w speakers then?


Thanks a lot!

 

No. In fact, it's not enough power. Not matter what the claim of peak power is, HU's alone put out precious little power. Trust me, that stereo is not putting out anywhere NEAR 50 watts to each speaker. Your speakers are just going bad. OEM speakers are crap to begin with, but after about 4 years, the paper surrounds deteriorate and they start to make awful sounds particularly when playing bass.

 

What is the make and model of the HU"

The 4x50W is a peak or max power, the RMS rating is more like 4x15W - 20W RMS.

The first thing I would do is replace the stock constant power for the HU, [yellow lead on HU] run a fused 12ga - 10ga from the batt. to behind the HU and connect the HUs yellow to it, don't forget to cap off the stock constant power.

You will also need to run a ground strap from the chassis of the HU to the cars chassis, if you use a metal "L" bracket, [as you should be] from the back of the HU to the stock rear support bracket, a ground strap is not needed.

When HU has better current supply it will not distort as easily, it will also produce it's rated RMS output with very low, [within spec] THD.

If there is nothing wrong with the stock speakers they will work fine with the aftermarket HU, a lot better then with the stock HU. 94