Audio installers, need help!
#1
09-19-2006, 03:10 PM
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Audio installers, need help!
Hey folks.
Ok, so, my honda. yes this is in a honda but i still have the problem and it sucks.
It is a 1984 honda civic. it had the origional am/fm casette deck and speakers and they sounded like crap.
I went to ultimate electronics and bought a decent $200 alpine deck and a $100 pair of Infinity speakers.
ive installed this stuff countless times without trouble. However, there was no wiring harness for this car so they had to hardwire it. They installed the stereo and i went home to install my speakers.
It sounds like CRAP! I mean, it sounds NO better than the stock deck and speakers that were all rotton.
When you turn it up, you gt the highs almost NO lows. The bass is nonexistant, it is EXTREMLY tinny and shrill. Also,m the more you turn it up there is a crackling and buzzing that come in as well.
it is a brand new deck and new speakers. Tomorrow im gonna yank the deck out and wire the speakers directly to the deck and see if the sound changes. If so, then i know i need to run new wires out to the speakers.
However, if not, could it possibly be a new alternator? as far as i know the alternator is stock. i recently replaced the battery (last week) so it should be the batt.
It really seems like there is just almost NO power going out to the speakers, and when you turn it up it and it gets that cracking buzzing i think it is the amps in the head unit clipping like mo'fo's.
could this be alternator? anyone run into this trouble when installing on old cars?
any help would be appreciated!
Ok, so, my honda. yes this is in a honda but i still have the problem and it sucks.
It is a 1984 honda civic. it had the origional am/fm casette deck and speakers and they sounded like crap.
I went to ultimate electronics and bought a decent $200 alpine deck and a $100 pair of Infinity speakers.
ive installed this stuff countless times without trouble. However, there was no wiring harness for this car so they had to hardwire it. They installed the stereo and i went home to install my speakers.
It sounds like CRAP! I mean, it sounds NO better than the stock deck and speakers that were all rotton.
When you turn it up, you gt the highs almost NO lows. The bass is nonexistant, it is EXTREMLY tinny and shrill. Also,m the more you turn it up there is a crackling and buzzing that come in as well.
it is a brand new deck and new speakers. Tomorrow im gonna yank the deck out and wire the speakers directly to the deck and see if the sound changes. If so, then i know i need to run new wires out to the speakers.
However, if not, could it possibly be a new alternator? as far as i know the alternator is stock. i recently replaced the battery (last week) so it should be the batt.
It really seems like there is just almost NO power going out to the speakers, and when you turn it up it and it gets that cracking buzzing i think it is the amps in the head unit clipping like mo'fo's.
could this be alternator? anyone run into this trouble when installing on old cars?
any help would be appreciated!
#2
09-19-2006, 03:52 PM
Did you check polarity to speakers, to check for this you hook a battery to the terminal of the speaker or wiring lead to the speaker but cannot be plug to the deck. If you hooked it up pos to pos the speaker should pop out correct,if you hook neg to pos the speaker will pop in incorrect. You only need a 1.5v batt for the test and maybe the cable at the deck is inverted unless you pull it out and verify. $100 is not alot for speakers and what you hear is what you get.
#3
09-19-2006, 04:15 PM
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Originally Posted by venom
Did you check polarity to speakers, to check for this you hook a battery to the terminal of the speaker or wiring lead to the speaker but cannot be plug to the deck. If you hooked it up pos to pos the speaker should pop out correct,if you hook neg to pos the speaker will pop in incorrect. You only need a 1.5v batt for the test and maybe the cable at the deck is inverted unless you pull it out and verify. $100 is not alot for speakers and what you hear is what you get.
I know 100 aint much, but for 100 it should sound a lot better than a blown speaker on an alarmclock/radio. there is DEFINATLY something wrong.....
100 speakers can sound pretty decent with a good amp driving them, they normally dont sound all that great with an aftermarket decks crappy external amps.... but this is way way bad.
i would guess that just about everything under 2000 hz is completely gone, replaced by popping static.....you can hear the voices but they sound so small and distant. it really sounds like the amps are severely clipping, which makes me think the headunit is not getting enough power...
#4
09-19-2006, 04:35 PM
I would check your audio settings through the head unit. Ive owned 5 alpines in my time and have been nothing but happy with them with zero problems. Obviously the car is old so I would run the speaker wire directly from the deck to the speakers. Id also make sure that the voltage is anywhere from 13.9-14.2 at the deck and that there isnt exposed wires anywhere along the alpine harness, back to as far as you can check on the honda oem harness. I think most alpines have media xpander, make sure its on 3 for all settings, make sure your speakers arent running out of phase, and check treble and bass settings. I know you can run out of phase through the deck too so just go through the whole thing and play with the settings.
#5
09-19-2006, 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by MattJ
I would check your audio settings through the head unit. Ive owned 5 alpines in my time and have been nothing but happy with them with zero problems. Obviously the car is old so I would run the speaker wire directly from the deck to the speakers. Id also make sure that the voltage is anywhere from 13.9-14.2 at the deck and that there isnt exposed wires anywhere along the alpine harness, back to as far as you can check on the honda oem harness. I think most alpines have media xpander, make sure its on 3 for all settings, make sure your speakers arent running out of phase, and check treble and bass settings. I know you can run out of phase through the deck too so just go through the whole thing and play with the settings.
I wish i had a multimeter, ill have to get my buddy over.
the wierd thing is it sounds EXACTLY like the 22yr old stock Am/Fm Cassete deck with the Stock paper moth eaten cones.
im hoping it is just wiring from the deck to the speakers, and hopefully not something further upstream.... maybe alternator... dunno... that car has some wierd issues... the tail lights dont come on for about a minuit after you turn them on. lol.......
#6
09-19-2006, 05:13 PM
i doubt they are component speakers for $100... but if they are component speakers then thats why you have no bass... infinity component sets have absolutely no bass at all. heck even their regular speakers lack bass. if you checked the polarity and thats correct then im not sure what else it could be, check your connections i guess. make sure nothing is grounding out.
#8
09-19-2006, 05:42 PM
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Originally Posted by floppy
on second thought... $100 on speakers, im assuming thats four speakers... were they used???
I can't imagine that being a problem with the alternator...
I can't imagine that being a problem with the alternator...
This is NOT normal infinity speaker sound, you are all SEVERELY underestimating how bad this sounds. I have installed many systems and i know how the infinity cheap speakers sound with the deck speakers, ive used them before, ive installed probably 15-20 decks, helping out my buddys and installing thier gear, ive installed amps, subs, speakers, the entire gamut.
What i am hearing here is performance of such an INCREDIBLY low level that something HAS to be wrong. If you heared it you would understand.
I bought this system for a total of 300 bucks, i did not expect much. i just wanted the ability to play CD's and the stock speakers were completly shot, the foam surrounds were rotted away, and the sound was seriously like an 1980's alarmclock radio with a blown speaker.
But i know the level of performance this should put out, and it should be LEAGUES beyond what it is doing. There is clearly something wrong. Im not expecting bass heaven, im expecting something that does not make my ears bleed to listen to
Right now, the Alpine deck and Infinity Speakers sound EXACTLY like the 22year old stock deck and the 22 year old rotted speakers.
im just trying to find possibilitys of thae cause. I dont believe it is the deck, or the speakers, and i sure as hell know it is not my expectations.
the sound im getting is very tinny, very shrill, has no bass, no low tones at all, and once it is past a normal speaking volume it distorts very very very heavily, static, poppy. I know a couple hundred dollar speakers and a deck wont do a whole lot, but every time ive dealt with aftermarket speakers and decks they have ALWAYS sounded tolerable and listenable. this LITERALLY gave me a headache when it was playing for about 1-2 min while i was trying to figure out what was wrong....
my car seems to have electrical problems.... i replacd the battery, im thinking of replacing the alternator soon. I guess i should check all the grounding and stuff...
Anyways, i think im gonna take mattj's suggestion and try the speakers directly off the deck wires.
something is just horriby wrong on this.
#9
09-19-2006, 06:43 PM
Could be a limitation of the enclosure or you just bought the same crappy speakers as far as rms power or both. Post some pics or model #s so we can see exactly what you got. I have infinity components in my truck and they sound excellent of course its not $100. Are you sure they didnt sell you a pair of walkman speakers 
#10
09-19-2006, 07:03 PM
I wouldn't say it's the alternator because everything hooked up to it would be acting funny when you cranked up your stereo. I would be guessing that the tweeters in your speaker could be busted, and if there are no tweeters than your speakers are probably just junk. 100 bucks should have got you a pair of 3 or 4-way speakers. If your tweeters are busted than you can really tell it when you crank it up.
BTW, weren't you having problems with the tail lights on this car? It could be that you're rice tank is running low, or the octane of the rice you're using isn't quite fhigh enough...
BTW, weren't you having problems with the tail lights on this car? It could be that you're rice tank is running low, or the octane of the rice you're using isn't quite fhigh enough...
#11
09-20-2006, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by venom
Could be a limitation of the enclosure or you just bought the same crappy speakers as far as rms power or both. Post some pics or model #s so we can see exactly what you got. I have infinity components in my truck and they sound excellent of course its not $100. Are you sure they didnt sell you a pair of walkman speakers
no enclosure, these are just door speakers. I connected them to the deck and it still sounds the same.
i still think it is a probelm in the power or something, the stock 22 year old system sounded identical.
i dont expect bass heaven, but it should sound better.
oh yah and someone asked, they are not coaxial speakers with the tweeter sticking out of where the dustcap normally would be. tweeter works fine, the distortion is coming from the main driver.
#12
09-20-2006, 01:16 PM
Originally Posted by Jack The Ripper
Ill get the model numbers tomorrow. lol...
no enclosure, these are just door speakers. I connected them to the deck and it still sounds the same.
i still think it is a probelm in the power or something, the stock 22 year old system sounded identical.
i dont expect bass heaven, but it should sound better.
oh yah and someone asked, they are not coaxial speakers with the tweeter sticking out of where the dustcap normally would be. tweeter works fine, the distortion is coming from the main driver.
no enclosure, these are just door speakers. I connected them to the deck and it still sounds the same.
i still think it is a probelm in the power or something, the stock 22 year old system sounded identical.
i dont expect bass heaven, but it should sound better.
oh yah and someone asked, they are not coaxial speakers with the tweeter sticking out of where the dustcap normally would be. tweeter works fine, the distortion is coming from the main driver.
if its really that bad then something is grounding out... check check all of your wiring behind the head unit.
also make sure you have a good solid ground on the actual ground wire. if thats not a solid ground it could be trying to ground through the speakers or somewhere else. it doesnt sound like its a problem with the actual speakers, it sounds more like a wiring problem. again i doubt its your alternator because as long as you have a battery the radio should work fine. if your car starts then the battery has enough power the run the radio.
just check all the wiring.
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