Infinity Kappa speakers are distorting! Need Advise...

[marshmallow15]

oh btw...im also running a small kenwood amp and crossovers with my tweeters.

[zytariuk]

Is it like a big project to change the stock 22guage wires? How long did it take you?

[marshmallow15]

it was VERY easy and was 5 minutes per side with the help of my brother. remove your cd deck...then from the wiring harness, use 18 gauges wires. hook the copper + to the + wire for the front right speaker and same with the -, then use that same wire to hook up to the speaker directly. do the same with the front left, rear right, and rear left hooking them up to your deck's wiring harness. from here, you can remove the stock harness which was a whopping 1/2 pound. be sure to hide the wires in panels and have the wires running to the rear speakers run under the stock carpeting...easy to do.

[Sonicxtacy02]

AIM: lyricalxism02<BR>Yahoo messenger: sonicxtacy02 (add me to your list before IMing me or i'll hack you lol)<P>I'm glad you got your problem solved. I just hope you dont get charged a boatload for it. A short is something you could easily find yourself with time and patience. Let me know if you need any more help<P>As for the discussion on speaker placement, 5 1/4 speakers are barely gonna do anything for you regardless of where they are, but if you put them in the back you are basically just waisting electricity. Personally, i'd dump the 5 1/4 all together and opt for 6 1/2 mid range speakers to place in the rear (providing you have a subwoofer). If you have the time and skills go for a 6x9 set to custom mount. I also would recommend a pair of tweeters. They make a HUGE difference in sound stage. If the 100 buck ones in best buy are out of budget for you you can start with the 12 buck ones from radio shack or a similar store. Placement of tweeters is detrimental to the overall performance. Most people opt to put them in the door sail (triangle piece on inside of mirror), but mine are mounted on the side walls just behind where the window ends (by the coat hanger). I thought i was satisfied with my system when i had 4 speakers and 2 subs going, but after i added the tweeters it took it to a whole new level. When you sit on my car you are drenched in sound coming from all directions

[zytariuk]

When i take my car in on Thursday i'll ask him if it's just cheaper to replace all the stock wireing rather than finding where the short is and just fixing that one little problem.<P>If i were to get 6x9's...i would put them in the rear. HOWEVER, it would take a LOT of time and effort to actually make it 'look' half decent.<P>Question: Can i purchase JUST tweeters for my 5-1/4's later on down the road? Will they hook up ok?!?!? Because i know that i can buy some sort of component set of 5-1/4's as well.<p>[ August 07, 2002: Message edited by: zytariuk ]

[Sonicxtacy02]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by zytariuk:<BR><STRONG>When i take my car in on Thursday i'll ask him if it's just cheaper to replace all the stock wireing rather than finding where the short is and just fixing that one little problem.<P>If i were to get 6x9's...i would put them in the rear. HOWEVER, it would take a LOT of time and effort to actually make it 'look' half decent.<P>Question: Can i purchase JUST tweeters for my 5-1/4's later on down the road? Will they hook up ok?!?!? Because i know that i can buy some sort of component set of 5-1/4's as well.<P>[ August 07, 2002: Message edited by: zytariuk ]</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>It would probably take about an hour of work to fit them in. I mean you're not cutting through metal or anything, just cutting and shaving some of the plastic molding. And yes you can purchase tweeters seperately. The most effective way would be to also purchace crossovers for them but in reality all you have to do is connect them to your front speakers to make them work

[marshmallow15]

my 5 1/4 in the back are just there for my tweeter setup and are 'good enough' for me. my 6x9 in the front were custom mounted and worth the effort. i tried 6 1/2 in the rear with my front 6x9 and it heated up my headunit too fast with my amplifier and nearly damaged my other headunit.

[zytariuk]

lol! just because your head unit heats up does not mean it's gonna burn it out.<p>[ August 08, 2002: Message edited by: zytariuk ]

[Sonicxtacy02]

head units are built so that they will work under extreme temperatures. Most aftermarket units have aluminum fins that help dissipate heat. Adding amplifiers will NOT add heat to the head unit. If anything they will reduce heat due to the fact that the tiny amp on the head unit doesnt have to work as hard to produce the music. However it is possible to burn a head unit from extended use. My wally world pioneer head burned out during my 7 day trip from cali to VA. In fact it burned so bad it melted some of the molding inside the casing. You'll never see anything pioneer in my car again

[Sonicxtacy02]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by zytariuk:<BR><STRONG>Lets say i did have an amp powering my front speakers, and had the rear speakers (5-1/4's 55RMS) running off my deck. My system SHOULD be just as loud as my friends....correct?<P>He's got a 230Watts total and i would have 260Watts....see where im coming from? Excuse spelling, im in a hurry.<P>[ August 06, 2002: Message edited by: zytariuk ]</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Sorry i didnt see this question before. Logically you're correct, you would have more power to produce sound. However the components of music production. He may just have better components. Better components have better RMS ratings and THATS the rating that truly matters<P>Another thing that i dont think you realize is you cant look at the MAX power of the unit when you're dealing with things. You said you'd be running the rear speakers off the unit. What you would have to look at is the max power PER channel. Not all that power is gonna transfer to the rear speakers once you amp the fronts. Fronts would be receiving power from both the amp and the head unit still. Thats too much power for the front speakers and you'd have to adjust the GAIN control on the amp to compensate. Shortly put adding an amp to your front speakers wont do anything for the rear speakers.

[zytariuk]

Hmmm so what amp would you recommend i get based on the specs i provided in the first post? Im confused on the 400Watt x 2 stuff as well :\.<P>P.S: I really appreciate your help bud :]<p>[ August 08, 2002: Message edited by: zytariuk ]

[sheller]

Ok, here's my 2 cents worth. Personally, I've never had any problem with stock wiring but I don't hook 1000 watt amps up either. But, if you are having a short anyway, you are probably better off just upgrading. Even if it is a little more spendy than just fixing the short, at least you are taking a step forward. <BR>Your stereo (any stereo) is all about moving air...that's how it makes sound. The deeper the sound, the more air it needs to move at one time. Power is a necesssary component to that. An amp will provide cleaner power than a similarly rated receiver (i.e. 4 x 45 watts). So you'll see better results (louder, less distortion) using the amp. The other component is the speakers. Good quality speakers are better able to make sound without distortion due to better quality materials. They will also generally have a higher sensitivity to the power it does get. That will give more sound at a set power level than a cheaper set. You do have to remember though, with speakers size does matter. You have some good speakers but do to their size, they can only move so much air. They just can't make the deeper sounds and by sending signals to them with that sound, you are wasting power. Not only that but you will be causing distortion at higher volume levels...the speakers are trying to make the low sounds they just can't do it. <BR>I think after getting your wiring done, your biggest gain will come from putting a subwoofer and amp onto your system. When you do that, somehow get rid of the bass signal going to your speakers. You can do that by either adjusting your receiver if it won't effect your sub or by cap'ing them (it is something you'd put on the positive wire just before the speaker that filters out certain frequencies). If you want more after that, by all means get an amp for your main speakers. The advantage to most better quality amps is that they have filters on them. This would allow you to adjust the frequencies that would be going to your speakers anyway...helping you get rid of the bass. <BR>I hope this helps.<P>Steve<BR>6 1/2 Eclipses front and back<BR>Rockford Fosgate RFX9400 receiver<P>Soon to have an Aura 475 amp and a sub

[Sonicxtacy02]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by zytariuk:<BR><STRONG>Hmmm so what amp would you recommend i get based on the specs i provided in the first post? Im confused on the 400Watt x 2 stuff as well :\.<P>P.S: I really appreciate your help bud :]<P>[ August 08, 2002: Message edited by: zytariuk ]</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR>I would recommend a 200 watt amp for the front speakers, i'm currently running the mtx.. its cheap and gets the job done. As far as your back speakers, chuck em for some new ones lol.<P>amps come with ratings like 400x1, 200x2. 400x1 means if you were running one speaker (mono) it could produce up to 400 watts to that one speaker. 200x2 means if you were running 2 speakers (stereo) its gonna produce 200 watts to each speaker. Im not even gonna attempt to explained bridged mode.. you'll just get confused more and wont use it more than likely.

[marshmallow15]

and another important thing when buying an amp...for example if you buy a 200x2 PEAK for your front speakers, DONT GET IT. that peak means that itll get the 200 watts on a certain time, and wont be continuous. what you need to look for is a 200x2 watts RMS which means it will continuously give you 200 watts on those two components you hook it up to. sometimes stores advertise the peak power amps to get rid of them and they like to trick you...look for the amps that show the '400x1 rms' or something similar.<P>oh and by the way, my other headunit did burn out because of the 6 1/2 and 6x9 working together. i daily drove my mx3 a lot and it just burned out badly.

[zytariuk]

200watts to each speaker in the front! The RMS ratting on my front speakers is only 75Watts (that's 150Watts total). I would burn em' out if i put a 200x2 amp on them....would i not? Not to mention that watts the deck is pumping to it too!<P>Should i not be looking at like a 75x2 amp? Because that way the speakers will be getting the exact RMS all the time. Which is what i want...right?<p>[ August 08, 2002: Message edited by: zytariuk ]