Distortion?

[Civvy]

for the last month i've been running some SONY XpLod 17cm 180w speakers in the back.
Theyre the only speakers in the car.
Head unit is a SONY XpLod cdx-ca900 (52wx4)

Now, the Bass is great up untill a quarter of the volume, when it becomes poweless or if i turn the bass off and turn the volume up high it doesent distort till about 3 quarters full. but, im used to being able to have use of full volume.

Is it because the speakers are 180w and the head unit is only 52w? do i need an amp???

Thanx in advance

[Bloodlust]

Headunits dont put out a true 52 watts of power, to be honest, I dont know exactly what they put out. From first thought, I would say something is wrong with your speaker preouts on your headunit. Is it a new headunit? Do you have the negative and positive hooked up in sync?

[Civvy]

yea! they sound perfect!! and i guess distortion is the wrong word to use but what i mean is they run out of breath in the lower volume range the head unit is 2003

[shepherd79]

sounds like you are trying to push too much bass into those speakers. any coax speaker will distord if you are going to push a lot of bass into them. that is why there are subwoofers. they are build to hold up to low bass.
i would say, turn the bass down, and get a sub

[davets]

a head unit will only put out a max of about 14~ watts rms and it tends to be very distorted from the get go(only exception i know of is the apline vdrive)

if i were you and i wanted the cheapest and best sounding for cheap solution, go to walmart and buy a cheap amp that does 50x2 rms at the ohm that your speakers are capable of and hook it up,

what i would do is get a decent component set up front and an amp that can do 100x2 and get rid of the rear speakers

[Civvy]

Nah, I'm still not convinced! The speakers are the same make and are designed to work well with that particular head unit!! The speakers are 1 month old and the head unit is 9 month old! I kind of agree that the system is trying to put to much bass to the speakers but as they were designed for the head unit should they be doing that at such a lower end of the volume? I'm really impressed with the sound upto a quarter volume it almost sounds like there is a sub on low volume in the back, because they are really bass'y.
I've had subs and the last two got stolen out of the wifes car. My plan is when i've got some more cash for the ice and not the engine and bodywork (for a change) i want 2 15" Kicker comps in the back. but in the meantime i wana suss these speakers out. they are sounding really good but at low volume and as i said if i turn the bass off completely they will DISTORT at about 3 quarters full volume = as if the deck can't power even the treble alone at high volume...no what i mean??
I guess what i want to know is, is it gona be worth while getting an amp? whats gona happen?
The setups i used to be happy with was simply standard (shyt) speakers with high treble sounds. turn the bass completely off and have my Sub running all the bass and it was kinda to my liking!
My head unit has also got a neat function where it has bass control and a seperate sub volume control!
Thanx guys

[davets]

the reason it distorts at 3 quarter volume is because the power coming form the head unit is a badly clipped signal and putting it up to 3/4 volume just makes it more apparent

just get a small amp like a 50x2 amp and amp those speakers, that would be the cheapest best sounding solution

[Civvy]

ok will do cheers dude

[davets]

no doubt, keep us posted

[Ludi Mali]

i dunno if it starts out as a badly clipped signal, at low volume the amplitude probably isn't high enough to reach the limits of the internal amp. Also, I dunno if that particular HU has a "Loud" setting, turn that off when you wanna crank the volume, that setting is designed to make it sound better at low volumes. If you add bass on top of loud I can easily see why your speakers would distort at 1/4 volume.

[HondaBoy]

i used to have that happen on my old speakers. i have 500 watt 6x9's in the rear deck. sounds like too much, but they dont run outta sound which is nice. also, now i have a new HU and they sound even better now with no sound run out. cant say so much for the fronts, i need to find some better 6in's for the doors. i may try powering my 6x9's with an amp for more sound. i'll try my 100 watt amp. its good for small speakers.

[Civvy]

I've sussed it chaps!!! I havent really been putting my mind into this one...bloody engine projects, and overlooked adjustments that can be made with the hu!

My hu has a inbuilt equalizer with various settings but also a custom one which i can adjust any sound i like!!! ...soo i've fine tuned it, turned down the bass in the lower rpm's and now it comes in at higher rpms!! ...marvelous!! just like a bigger turbo
Question is do u guys still want me to try an amp?

[accordlxi2.0]

yep, i had the same problem with my pioneer, the back had four 6x9's 1 set was 300watt's a piece and the other was bose stock. along with 5's up front
the the 300, would distort, then once you turn it louder all of em would.
i had gotten a jvc amp and that took care of the problem.

[davets]

def get an amp.. the sound will be 100% better

[88accordalltheway]

IMO, if you get an amp, the speakers will still clip. If the speakers cant handle the bass fromt he head unit, what makes you guys think theyll beable to handle it with a amp? I really dont understand anyones logic in this thread, i realy hope im missing somthing. Id say, get more coaxels and put em in the doors, then move on to subs if you want the bass. The head unit should put out enough power for all of the speakers(coaxels).

[Ludi Mali]

what i was getting at was, its not the speakers that are clipping, but the signal from the amp that is being clipped before it gets to the speakers.

[davets]

ludi mali hit it on the head.. the actual speakers them selves can most likely handle the power, its the signal the head unit is giving (head unit power is amoung the dirtiest power)

[Civvy]

O.K i've got an amp! 150w and they're sounding better! thanx guys! i wouldnt of bought one had i not of talked to u guys. Parked on the drive earlier with the bass up and low volume....opening the boot sounds like there's a sub in there!!
I think i've been spoilt by subs tho! trouble is...when u take the car on the road ...the road noise increases so u have to crank the volume and they become powerless again! gota get a sub!!

[Civvy]

Guys help! Since i installed this amp i'm getting inteference from the alt! I installed the battery live on the drivers side and the RCA leads on the pass side and i think my alternater already has a honda supressor on it? so what else can it be??
Its like revving up noise and gets louder as i put extra load on the alt.

[accordlxi2.0]

thier is another radio hoise filter by the ignition coil.
where do you have the ground wire connected???

[Civvy]

I know the one u mean but, i dont know as yet to answer. I know its clamped under the coil mount. ...didn't hink it had an earth wire!!!?