why would my speakers be like this?

Question

i got some different speakers for my car, my head deck is 50x4 and i got speakers that are 50 rms which was more than i needed, when i tried my new ones it doesnt seem to be a whole lot louder than the old speakers but it is louder, and i do get more bass but it gets distorted when louder. i tried to play with the cd deck settings and when it gets tuned for one song its bad for another and sometimes then the setting dont help as much, i have to turn the radio to max just so its somwhat loud, i think it may be that i used 16 gauge wire to go from the deck to the speakers, im not sure but what would hte problem be?

Answer 1

My first guess is that the head unit is not high quality. 50w RMS speakers should sound pretty good on most aftermarket decks unless the deck is waay overrated.
The distortion is from pushing the radio's amplifier too hard.

Do you like the music with the volume wide open? If so, it will take a good pair of speakers and a stout 4 channel amp to make you happy.

Answer 2

You don't need anything bigger than 16-gauge when you're wiring speakers to a head unit. The actual RMS output of a head unit is typically less than 20 watts per channel. The wire size is definitely not the problem.

I'd start by making sure your speakers are wired in phase. It's surprising how many people wire their speakers out of phase and don't realize it. Adjust your fader so only the front speakers are playing, and then adjust the balance all the way to the left or right. Do the same for the rear. If it sounds better with only one speaker playing than with both playing, then one of your speakers is wired with incorrect polarity.

Answer 3

Using thin wires surely will eat a good portion of the output of the deck. The speakers have to have the same impedance as the output of the radio/deck. Take a digital meter and measure the resistance of the wires. To do that - twist the two wires together at one end and measure at the other end. That will give you the total resistance. If it is a few Ohms - replace them with a heavier gage.

Suppose your radio has an output impedance of 4 Ohmper channel and your speakers are 8 Ohms each.... then you lose 50% of effective .power.

Answer 4

small speakers can not handle bass you need a high pass filter if its not build in to your head unit. use 125hz filter

Answer 5

if you just installed them give them some time to break in and they will eventually wear in like a fresh pair of shoes