speakers dont sound right!! please help!

[kdubb2772]

I have an 05' 4runner...I have a Pioneer avic-z-120bt HU 50wx4,front doors are MB Quart PVL216 6.5 2 way components peak 70 watts and RMS 140watts, rear doors are MB Quart ONX116 6.5 2 way coaxials 50-120 watts, also I have a MB Quart 1500d mono amp for my 12" sub. So the sub sounds Great!! the problem I am having is with the door speakers front and rear.....the sound is very clean but they sound very quite...for example with the stock speakers the volume would be at 12 and they would be loud.....with the new speakers I have to turn it up to about 22 to get them loud, and they just dont sound right.I have to turn the sub way down because it just over powers the music...when I do that the sound quality is just not up to par, specially when listining to a CD, Now when I bluetooth the music it sounds a little better but still about the same.
Im not sure if they are under powered or? please help if you can im not sure if there is some wiring I need to check or if I need to get an amp....hopfully I wont need to get an amp.


Thanks for the imput

 

[IanB]

Sounds like they are simply underpowered from what you've said here, those MB Quartz are made to be amped, they simply have a lower sensitivity than the stock speakers. You'll have to get used to using a different "scale" as far as the volume is concerned (loud is 22 now, not 12 like before) and set the sub up to match, or get an amp.

 

[kdubb2772]

ok I will look into getting an amp then...they just sound so quiet and you hear a little white noise when they are turned up.
thank you

 

[BucknutBob]

I second Ian's reply--MB Quart's are competition-grade speakers designed for external amps. A head unit amp is just not sufficient for proper operation of those speakers. Besides, if you're interested enough in good sound to get that level of speaker, why would you even try using the head unit for anything but a signal?

 

[kdubb2772]

Because I dont really know a whole alot about stereo equipment..and I read good reviews on MB and they were a good price. I thought it would sound good. Live and learn right?

 

[IanB]

Because I dont really know a whole alot about stereo equipment..and I read good reviews on MB and they were a good price. I thought it would sound good. Live and learn right?

They may still sound good, but you'll have to mentally adjust to 12 on the volume not being loud, instead you'll have to turn it up to 22 to get loud. Figure that out, and then tune the sub to match, and you could be perfectly happy without needing an amp at all.

That being said, those speakers will benefit from an external amp, but that's more money, complication, things to go wrong, etc. I personally don't want an amp in my truck, I'll run my speakers off the deck, and I'll like it. Loud stereo's in my youth have lead to some hearing loss, so I don't pound the system anymore anyways.

 

[BucknutBob]

Because I dont really know a whole alot about stereo equipment..and I read good reviews on MB and they were a good price. I thought it would sound good. Live and learn right?

Don't get me wrong--MB's are great speakers (I bought some for my first serious stereo for that very reason), but the beefier components necessary for high-end speakers makes them less efficient, so they require more power to produce the same level of sound as cheaper ones with less power. You don't need a "monster" amp to power them--something like 50-75W x 4 channels would work well. That 50x4 built-in amp can't match the specs of an external amp of the same power, and will distort as you turn it up (the white noise you described), while the dedicated amp will still sound clean. Either that, or sell the MB's and get something with a higher sensitivity rating--there are plenty of good speakers that will reproduce well at lower wattage ratings.

 

[Offroader5]

The fronts will not match the sub in terms of output simply due to the power you are feeding them. You are trying to power all of your front stage off of the HU and not an amp like the sub. The 50x4 that the HU says it supplies is the MAX power more than likely measured at 14.4 volts. When in reality, that HU may only be supplying the front stage with about 15-20 watts RMS (average wattage) and maybe even less if the truck isn't running (12.5 volts or so). The front speakers all by themselves would probably not sound bad, but when you have that sub screaming in the back much louder than the fronts, the front stage is not going to shine and feels left out.

Whether the sensitivity of the front speakers changed or not, there are two ways to make all the drivers in the car sound balanced. You either need to get yourself another amp for the front stage, or downgrade the power to the sub to more closely match the front. How far is your gain up on the sub amp?

Are you familiar with how to properly set the gain on an amp?

Since you only have the one amp...and it's powering the sub, you need to match the volume of the HU with the front stage since this is the weak link in terms of power in the system, then gradually bring in the sub to try and match the front.

First you should disconnect the sub. Whether this means turning off that output channel within the HU programming, unhooking the wires feeding the sub from the amp, or simply powering down (unhooking) the sub amp. This will leave only the front & rear doors connected for sound.

Next, start to turn up the HU volume, take note of when the door speakers start to distort. When they start to distort, this is the MAX volume that you should adjust to while listening...even later when the sub is hooked up.

Once you've found this MAX volume, bring the sub back into the system. First, turn the sub amp gain ALL THE WAY DOWN to start out. Now start to listen to something and turn the HU volume up again to that MAX that you observed earlier (even a couple notches down from that number wouldn't hurt).

Now that you have your front speakers screaming as loud as you safely should, start to turn up the sub amp gain slowly till it starts to blend in with the front. Don't go too high or you'll be back where you were hearing too much sub and it will sound unbalanced again.

This should be close. As close as you can get it with the equipment you have. Once you pick up an amp for the front stage, You'll need to redo the whole process again but have two separate gains to adjust that time around.

Hope that helps :biggrin2:

 

[Victor_inox]

Sounds like they are simply underpowered from what you've said here, those MB Quartz are made to be amped, they simply have a lower sensitivity than the stock speakers. You'll have to get used to using a different "scale" as far as the volume is concerned (loud is 22 now, not 12 like before) and set the sub up to match, or get an amp.

+1 what he said.

 

[riceandpho]

get an amp for the door speakers, hu power is not even at 50w, its more like 22x4 if even that, i need more power for myself, even 150w a channel from my jl amps isnt loud enough for me, i need more like 250+

 

[kdubb2772]

Looks like I will be getting another amp!! I did all the recommended except the amp...and still sounds quiet. Thanks everyone for the imput

 

[rickster_a1]

I second Ian's reply--MB Quart's are competition-grade speakers designed for external amps. A head unit amp is just not sufficient for proper operation of those speakers. Besides, if you're interested enough in good sound to get that level of speaker, why would you even try using the head unit for anything but a signal?

What he said above, I am probably going with a similar speaker and no way is a deck going to feed those enough power. I had 2 pairs (6.5's) in my C5 vette and they were being pushed by a Punch P400-4 channel amp.