Firebird Nation banner

Audio Issue

1379 Views 14 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  zoltan
Hello everyone...

I have a 98 Formula and it has an after market audio system. The head unit is a Pioneer, it's fairly new, with bluetooth and lots of goodies.

I have Polk 6.5" component speakers (100 WATTS RMS) up the front in the doors and the same will be coming into the back (middle of the car) soon, I'll be putting the woofers in the middle then putting the tweeters up the back.

At the moment, I have a big issue with higher volume music. With the t-tops off, on a highway, I need the volume up. The music I listen to in normally powerful rock music, but I like a bit of everything.

When the volume is up, I get distortion - especially with the bass. I've spent a lot of time trying to tune it. The only way I can reduce the distortion in the bass is to reduce the SLA (sound level adjustment), but this means less volume.

I have been told various things in order to resolve the issue... one person suggested using an amp, the other person said I can achieve the same solution by using a head unit that puts out more voltage power.

The general consensus is that there is not enough power to work these speakers off the head unit I have right now.

What's your opinion?
1 - 2 of 15 Posts
The problem seems to me to be, your over driving your amplifier with bass turned up. Driving the amp high enough to clip the waves and make square waves will blow speakers.

Your solution is to get a more powerful amplifier to reproduce the strong bass you prefer without distortion. Keep in mind that amp power increase is not a linear event.

Every time you double the power of your amp, given the same speaker setup, you do not double the volume. You only increase the volume 3 decibels.

As an example, say you have a 25 watt per channel amp in your set up. If you go to 50 watts per channel, your volume goes up 3 decibels. For the next 3 decibel increase in volume, you would have to go to a 100 watt per ch amp. And for another 3 decibels, a 200 watt per ch amp would be needed.

Another aspect of volume would be your speaker setup. Good quality speakers will have in their specs, the amount of decibels the speaker will put out with 1 watt input @ 3 feet away.

Much can be gained by using more efficient speakers that can still handle the amount of power your amp puts out.

Example, say your speakers put out 80 decibels @ 1 watt. Buying a set of speakers that put out 90 decibels @ 1 watt would increase your volume over the less efficient speakers.

So in the end, a combination of more powerful amplifier, and more efficient speakers will make your music more enjoyable.

And don't worry about too much power blowing speakers. What blows good quality speakers is driving them to clipping. I've been using a set of Jbl home speakers rated at 60 watts on my home stereo for years. My amp puts out 300 watts per channel. I've never blown a speaker in about 20 years of use.

Because I make sure I never drive the speakers into clipping.
See less See more
You do have an amplifier. It's built into the head unit. As Tony has stated, to get the kind of bass and overall performance you are looking for, you will need an upgrade.
1 - 2 of 15 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top