8 replies to this topic

[DarkStallion]

Hey fellas,

Relatively noob audio guy here, just after some basic advice for my daily.

I have an R31 Skyline Wagon, It's an executive so it only has 2 speakers up front.

I have a
Pioneer headunit (Not sure of model, can get info if necessary)
2x 6" 2way JVC 220w speakers
400w Pioneer 2 Channel Amp.

Now, I get decent level of volume, but once there's anything with bass in it, i get distortion and rattle. I am quite certain it's just the speakers as they are old and were probly abused as they were in my brothers car when he bought it (had a large system). I thought that getting and amp would clear them up, but all it's managed to do is increase the volume and clarity and a lower level, but the previous symptoms still remain.

All I'm after is some speakers that are going to give me good sound at relatively high volume and have good bass tones. I'm willing to spend about $150-250 on a pair of 6" speakers but I really have no idea what I'm looking at, so I'm here for a kick in the right direction.

Not looking at fitting a sub as I often need the bootspace.

Any suggestions on what to look at will be greatly appreciated.

[robfitzi]

Just check the rms specs on those speakers,they might be 220watt max.the amp gains may be up too high,set them to normal on both channels.don't bridge the channels,400 watts into 220 not good.
If those speakers were ill treated there could be a tear in them which would sound awful.
Any decent 2way speakers with 100 - 150rms would be fine.just need to check those gain levels.
happy Easter

[jamiebosco]

At the higher end of your budget I'd look at something like these,especially if you're going sub-less
http://www.soundmast...-Speakers/SR65/

I heard the model under these (SC range) and they had really good midbass for the price,made me want to demo the Boston Pro range,but couldn't find any locally

jamie

[shiny_car]

Some factors that cause premature distortion include:
*feeding too much bass to the speakers: can't expect 6.5" to loudly play subbass, so it's a compromise between 'how much' bass, and 'how loud' the bass is; the more bass you feed, the less loud it can be before the cones reach max cone excursion (mechanical limits) and start to distort; if you want it louder, they'll only cope with less bass; use the highpass filter on the amp, which I presume it has
*quality of installation: air leaks/gaps around the speakers don't help; they need to be solidly mounted to the doors (eg: mdf wood spacers/baffles); air leaks and service holes in the doors can be sealed over using self-adhesive sound deadener (eg: Dynamat Xtreme); if you leave leaks, there's less bass

Higher quality speakers will help, but unless you factor in the above, you may not achieve what you want. And of course, only a sub can play subbass loudly and properly.

Hertz, Boston Acoustics, Morel, DLS, etc. Check them out.

[muzzy66]

I'm with Shiny on this one - his advice will not lead you astray

[DarkStallion]

thank you very much for the responses. There's not many forums that you can get proper responses without being flamed on your first post. Greatly appreciated.

I've had a bit of a mess around with it, played with gain levels and what not and i still not getting a good sound. Its more a lack of that bass depth in general, even if you minus the distortion out of the equation.

I'm definatly going to have a look at some of the brands suggested and i'll have a look and come back with my results.

Cheers once again.

[DarkStallion]

http://www.ebay.com....=item2c5cd2361e

Looking at these, opinions?

[jamiebosco]

There's a massive thread on here about them.

I have a set of them and think they sounded very nice and are good value for money,I also upgraded after a few weeks
IMHO they are most likely fakes

[~Spyne~]

feeding too much bass to the speakers: can't expect 6.5" to loudly play subbass, so it's a compromise between 'how much' bass, and 'how loud' the bass is; the more bass you feed, the less loud it can be before the cones reach max cone excursion (mechanical limits) and start to distort; if you want it louder, they'll only cope with less bass; use the highpass filter on the amp, which I presume it has

Probably the most important part of shiny's advice. A lot of n00bs expect speakers to play bass, when they simply aren't designed for it. A typical 6-6.5" speaker will happily play down to 100Hz at most volume levels. Once you start asking it to play lower, the quality and output are reduced. Ask that speaker to play down to 50Hz at loud/daily volume and you can expect it will start reaching its mechanical limits, bottoming out and starting to distort.
Ask it to play full range, which many people do, and you're now feeding 40Hz, 30Hz on some music, to those speakers and they are EASILY reaching their limits and distorting quite audibly.
This is where two things are very important when running sub-less;
* either be sensible with the volume, so you don't damage the speakers by asking them to play subbass information at loud volumes, or even better
* use a high-pass filter, so that the subbass information is cut from the signal at an increasing rate. ie. Using an 80Hz/12dB filter will mean that at 80Hz, the signal is 3dB down compared to higher frequency information. At 40Hz, the signal is 12dB lower and at 20Hz the signal is 24dB lower. Running sub-less I'd even be inclined to run a steeping slope if possible.

And DO NOT use 'LOUD' or 'BASS BOOST' features, this is a sure way to kill full-range speakers if you're not careful.