When playing CD's with a lot of base - for instance music for Braveheart - the right speaker rattles or has a sound like the cone is torn. I removed the screen for it while the music was playing, and physically it looked perfect.

I am aware that the base speakers are uni-directional so that might be throwing me off.

After I'd bought the XF (via phone) in Texas, they were still going over the car and I was told that one of the items was that the right amp was out. Sometimes with even the music playing in the higher range, the sound coming out of the right speaker sounds muddy. Could a bad amp cause this?

I have a NOS Clarion VZ709 I'd like to install. It has 200W (in theory) - 50Wx4. It is set up for both a cell phone as well as XM - the later being the most important of the two.

Should my problem be the right amp (a) are they available (b) would the amp in the head unit act as a pre-amp or vice-versa? Or is it most likely the speaker?

I was given an answer to this but failed to print it out - what types of adapters would be needed for the speaker wires as well as the XF's separate amps?

I did read one thread where a different head unit was installed. The wiring looked a bit daunting but doable.

I'm just throwing this in, but many, many (pre digital) years ago I was reading a British car magazine where a head unit for sale was designed to automatically adjust the volume in accordance to the decibels in the interior. This should be a mandatory provision on all, at least middle to upper priced head units, in my opinion.

 

Many (most?) folks just use the speaker out wires directly to the OEM amp when installing a new HU. Worked for me just fine.

IMHO, the OEM stereo is...marginal. Many will argue, but I think it was...disappointing. I installed a Pioneer w/Bluetooth and Infinity (REAL Infinity) 2-way speakers in the doors with the "Most Bang" capacitors and never looked back. Great improvement all around.

There's a ton of threads for swapping it out. "Search" is our friend. I'm sure you know this.

 

Thanks for the reply. Do you have an opinion as to whether a bad right side amp might be causing the problem - or definitely the speaker(S)?

I have (real) Infinity speakers in my previous daily driver's doors, but still have it, '75 Alfa Alfetta GT and even though they're only 5" ones (space situation) at least they talk to my stomach, rather than to my lower legs.

You mentioned Most Bang capacitors. I read that thread and it sounds like something I also should do.

Are the two base speakers buried behind the seats fairly bullet proof?

Biba

 

Had the same thing happen to both my Limited and SRT. Right speakers started cracking at higher levels. I replaced the speakers in the Limited with 2 ohm Infinity Reference 6030cs. Perfect fit. I used JBL P660c components in the SRT and had to trim the opening to make fit. The JBL GTO608C are probably a better choice and lower priced. They have a new mounting system that should work fine, are shallow like the OEMs and the right power. The AMPs were not the problem. You'll have to live with the subs for now. They are a PITA to replace and I don't think there are any replacements without having to bastardize the mounts.

 

syfi, thanks for the info. Regarding the Infinity speakers, I assume you also used the tweeter. Does it just pull out from the door and is the new Infinity tweeter a direct fit? Or does the entire door panel need to be removed?

And where did you mount the crossover?

You didn't mention if you kept the head unit or not. If you switched it out, I'd like to know with what.

Biba

 

I had a Car Audio shop install them. They did have to remove the door panels but all the Infinity components were direct fit. Enough room to place the crossover inside the door behind the tweeter. OEM radio was still present. Later I swapped it out for a Blaupunkt Memphis MP66 which was also plug and play. Only thing it needed was a euro adapter for the antenna and a key kit both bought at Walmart. Swapped the radio myself and took maybe 30 min. tops!

I still have the OEM radio in the SRT simply because the JBLs make it sound great.

 

syfi, a late reply: I'm curious as to why you feel the JBL's are superior to the Infinitys. Both get very good reviews.

A concern of mine is the crossover. For the JBL's it appears as if the crossover is supposed to be mounted so that it shows. Is this correct? If so where?

In any event, how do you know how to set set the crossover once it is in the door? I'd much prefer to do one door at a time. It looks like a real pain - which is the reason I've put off buying speakers. Even if I did both speakers together but kept the door panels off. the fact that the panels aren't installed will make a big difference as to how they sound, compared to how it sounds all buttoned up.

And then, if you're not happy...

Also, I'm confused by whether this 'system' is two or four ohms. Right now I have both speakers up on Amazon and the JBL's give their wattage as being for 2 ohms, as does the Infinitys. But farther down on the JBL page, there is a big sign saying look for the 4 ohm sign! So what gives?

By-the-by, Happy New Year.

 

I've always been a JBL fan. I went with the 660c cause I got a great price on them. They're a little more toward the higher end then the 6030cs and seem to have a better mid punch. But like I said before I had to trim the speaker opening in the door with metal shears to make them fit because of a bigger speaker cage and magnet. The Infinity 6030cs work just fine without any mods and are a big improvement over the OEM Infinitys. As far as the crossovers go, we just installed them and tested the different settings before buttoning all up. I believe that you can mount the crossovers where you can access them by popping the door panel plate where you would do the “Most Bang” capacitor mod right by the tweeter, which you shouldn’t need with the adjustable crossovers. I haven’t needed to do any adjustments on either setup. The shop that did the Infinity install took around 2 hrs to complete. I ended up dropping the car off on a Saturday afternoon, walked next door to a conveniently located watering hole to watch a college football game and grab some lunch (), and went back to pick her up. Door panels are easy to remove and install. You can find instructions here on the forum. Both setups accepted the OEM speaker covers so no modding of the door panels were needed. And both the sets I quoted are definitely 2 ohms according to their websites.

The OEM amp is a single unit located under the passenger foot carpet. If it does turn out that the amp is bad you can wire the speakers directly into the Clarion pre-amps. Some members will say they prefer wiring direct which gives better control over left/right and fade adjustments. The OEM amp doesn’t allow fading between the woofers and the door speakers if I’m not mistaken.

One other thing I might add is with the door panels off, it's a good idea to install some sound deadening material. My doors do rattle a little at higher sound levels and I may go back in and apply some.

 

syfi, were you there when your speakers were installed?

I'm trying to figure out how to remove the tweeter, short of a bigger hammer. Did you happen to see how it was done?

Also, did the installer cut off the plugs for the speaker wires, then tap into them? It makes sense to do it that way, but wondered if he actually had new 'sockets'.

Biba

 

syfi, or anyone else who cares to jump in...I'd hardly call the speaker plug and play. For starters I've had to spend almost two hours slowly grinding down the edge that fits inside the smaller diameter outer edge of the speaker. I still can't get it to fit perfectly flush, so I'll still have more grinding tomorrow.

Do you recall where your Infinity's were made? These were made in Vietnam which I wasn't aware that they were into exporting electronics. I don't care where they were made as long as they're not forgeries. I understand that this is common with higher end speakers (which I don't feel these speakers fall under).

Crossover unit problem: There is of course two each connections for woofer and tweeters, but only one set of connections for the IN wires. Do you recall how your guy wired them? I don't see how it will work without separate woofer and tweeter inputs.

I'll add that while I've installed a number of speakers, I'm not at all familiar with crossovers, nor dual amps.

It doesn't make sense to me to install both the woofer and treble wires to the same input, but I don't see any other solution.

Biba

 

I should have added that I'm installing Infinity 6030cs speakers.

 

Mine was doing it too.

 

If you pull up the diagram.. you have inputs for front and rear channels at the amp.. the harness from the HU splices the two channels from the HU into 4.. you just have to cut at the amp and run new leads from the HU to it.

To clarify.. cut the rear channels loose at the amp and run (4) new wires from HU to splice in. This is with a new 4 channel HU.