Hi guys,

I need help. I've got a base Cobalt coupe, installed new Kenwood deck and 4 new speakers, but I still don't like the sound . Still not clear enough. My next purchase is a sub, but I was also wondering if a tweeter kit would help. Anyone installed some in their base car i.e. 4 speaker base kit, no tweeter?

 

Your next move should be purchasing a 4 channel amp to amp those speakers. Look at the specs on those speakers and see what the RMS rating is in watts. Match an amp up that way. Stay away from tweeter kits. If you want better highs you need to get a component speaker set instead of a coax. You may also have to do some custom mounting if you want tweeters. Send me a PM if you need more help.

 

^^^adding tweeters may not improve the situation, he may just get crap sound from the tweeters too.

what head unit and speakers did you get? can you please provide model #'s?
how was it wired, through the existing wiring, or new speaker wire?

i've been installing car audio on the side for 9 years now, hopefully i can help you figure out how to improve the situation.

 

39.99$ speakers=crappy sound and bad head unit isnt gonna help

 

yup, crap in usually equals crap out

 

I put the Kenwood KDC-MP528, 200 watts (50x4) , Kenwood KFC-1669S 6 " front speakers, Pionneer 6x9 3 ways in the back (from my old Cavalier).

The dealer who installed it said the deck can push the 4 speakers no problem.

I'm used to my Grand-Prix Gt's 8 speaker system, and my Mustang's Mach 460, so I guess I am a bit difficult when it comes to sound.

I'll try the tweeters and a 10" Sub, should fix my problems.

Thanks guys .

 

i looked up everything you have, here's my suggestion...

10" sub, yes...something that can handle 300 watts and gets a full 300 watts should do it--put the right power to whatever you choose, underpowering is what blows speakers and makes them sound crappy.

tweeters, no...get an external amp for your current speakers--
try a kenwood KAC-8402, i found it for $167. it has 60 watts RMS by 4, your head unit only has 22 watts RMS (they list 50 watts because it looks better, but that's peak power). even if you got a lesser powered amp with 40 watts RMS, you'll still notice a huge difference.

 

Thanks GSsoccer!

I'll try the amp first. Do you know if the Sony Explodes are any good?

 

what is your budget for the amp?

 

No. Driving an amp into clipping(square waves) which causes excessive wattage to go through the voice coil without enough motion of the cone to keep it cool blows speakers. You'll never blow a speaker by underpowering it.

 

and an amp is driven into clipping in most cases because the user turns it up too high because there isn't enough power to get the desired volume.

i.e., underpowering is what blows speakers in some cases.

 

You just contradicted yourself.

Underpowering a speaker will not blow it so it is incorrect to state that underpowering is what blows speakers. Driving an amp into clipping(square waves) is what blows speakers, which may happen because the clean output is not loud enough to the listener.

 

Clipping kills speakers, period, whether you call that underpowering or not is up to you. What happens is you can tell the amp to go higher and it will try until it hits the voltage rail. At the voltage rail the signal cant go any higher so it flatlines. This causes the speakers to extrude out just like a DC source and with all that current flowing into the speaker without cooling it overheats and dies.

If you are underpowering a speaker you just have to be careful. You can easily run a 200watt sub off 20watts, just dont expect it to get as loud as a 200watt amp would. If you try to make it then yes it will attempt it, but then it will clip and distort. Thats the thing about amplifiers they will try and do whatever you tell them to do, if you try and tell them to go up to a million volts, they will try, but then hit a voltage rail and stop.

That being said, you can run a 20watt amp into clipping all day long and it wont hurt a 200watt sub just because there is so little power there compared to what the sub can handle.

Anyway, bad sound... your not gonna fix that by just changing out parts. $20 says the guy who tossed in your speakers used the stock cobalt wiring which I have a feeling uses some type of chassis ground system somewhere, for some reason the wiring im cobalt induces some serious noise. First thing I would do is change out the wire, your gonna have to anyway if you are gonna run anything nice. Second stay away from sony, if you have the budget go RF punch, excellent stuff for entry level, sounds amazing, you wont be disapointed. They are one of the few co-axes that I find have the crossover set properly so they sound really nice. Right now everything car audio is on sale at the mom and pop stores, so now is the time to pick up stuff. Get yourself a nice amp in the 200watt range for your highs and a nice sub amp in the 2-400 watt range and you'll be happy. As for brands I still recommend Rockford, you cant go wrong... I know someone will say infinity, alpine, etc and yes they are good, but RF is a sure bet for someone new into it.