OK... I don't have my subs delivered yet, but I have installed a new 4 channel amp, the PAC line level converter and the new speakers. I have the stock, non-bose, single CD GM Head Unit with XM.

This is the amp I got: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFP5sJm...20&I=489AP1040 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFP5sJmHuCX/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=120&I=489AP1040)

These are the front door speakers: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFP5sJm...&search=6000cs (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFP5sJmHuCX/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?I=1086000cs&search=6000cs)

and these are the rear door speakers: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFP5sJm...&search=6012si (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFP5sJmHuCX/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=1086012SI&search=6012si)

The problem is... I don't think it sounds very good. I am kinda weak in the mid-range and it has an overall muffled sound to it. It sounds kinda like the old stereos that only had the "tone" knob with the adjustment turned down. It is much less than I was expecting.

Questions: Where am I weak? Is it the head unit? My amp? Speakers? If it is the head unit, would upgrading to a different stock HU help (i.e. the GM 6 disc luxury HU?) Should I invest in an equalizer? I really want to maintain the stock look.

I am concerned that I am limited by using only 6.5" speakers and I should add speakers. Comments?

I just spend a bunch of money on this and I am not thrilled. I am not sure what to do now. Any suggestions?

Jimbo

dont take this the wrong way, but you can definitely do better in hte AMP category. I am not a big fan of the cheapy profile amps. i think your door speakers are decent, head unit you wont know unless you try ans aftermarket with good quality pre amp outputs. converting is always dicey from an OE unit, although the PAC adapters will give you the best the head unit has to offer sound wise.

check your crossover and gain settings on the amp and component crossover, may be eliminating the mid range.

shop for a better quality amp

check the gain settings on the amp to make sure you have them turned up and have the crossover frq's set as well, that amp has both high and low passes on it. I cant remember if the PAC units have a gain switch as well or not maybe somebody will chime in withthat part if so check it as well as being turned up. As for upgrading the radio with the pac inverter it wount matter for the power is comming from the amp now instead of the radio( in the short version).

I have spent quite a bit of time adjusting gains, treble boost, crossover setting, etc on the amp. I was quite skeptical about the amp as well, but I got a very good deal on it and I have read some very positive reviews.

I know the power is coming from the amp, but it only amplifies the signal it recieves. I am concerned that the HU is not putting out a nice signal. The PAC works great.. there is no noise at all. Just muffled sound.

Any opinions on quality of the HU??

Jimbo

the head unit is not going to affect the sound as much as you think, sounds like you are picking up some distortion in line somewhere . check all your hook ups and polarity of drivers is huge , did you use stock speaker wires if so check polarity of the system with a 9volt battery , or a multi meter , touch the speaker leads with the appropriate +an- leads if you have the right polarity of each driver they will move out lightly in unison. also reverse the rca plugs and see what that does. If it still does not sound good replace the amp, your sound is only good as whats driving them, the infinity drivers are good drivers and very efficiant they should play loud with lots of treble , especially with components. also check all drivers are getting signals , realy read your amp manual, and make sure there are no switches turned on or off that shouldnt

OK... after reading the manual I realized that I was approaching it from the wrong perspective. I have now re-adjusted boosts, gains and crossovers. Sounds much better. Question I have now is... has anyone installed speakers in addition to the 4 stock door speakers? If so, where and what type?

I was warned by a friend that this may turn into an addiction. He may have been right.

Jimbo

you re jumping the road to get to the other side before you eaven looked to see if there was trafic, get your whole system installed, subs, frt, rear, tweets, then make final adjustments. you will be suprised at how loud and clear those mids and highs become with a sub , especially with a full x-ed -over system ,

everyone has heard teh saying youre only as strong as your weakest link. This is my opinion and only my opinion, not trying to start anything, but the factory head unit is the weakest link. you can cross it over all you want but if the radio cant reproduce the frequencies it doesnt matter, its like trying to listen to a subwoofer through a phone. it just doesnt work because the phone cant play 30hz. not saying you cant make it sound good just saying it wont sound great and once again this is all IMO

I agree ,BULLYDOG, good explanation, however I have done this hook up on somebody elses truck (a buddy) and it can sound realy well, I still think he just didnt read all about his amp switching and x-overs (does any body at first)

i personally wouldnt put the money i spent for my subs and amps if i didnt have an aftermarket head unit. Factory look is definately cool though as it adds some protection from theft. biggest thing here is though if it sounds good to you who cares what everybody else thinks:)

i disagree with the head unit being the weakest link, most CD player equipped HUs can reporduce the full audible range (20 - 20KHz) the amp in this case just wont cut it. i would also point out the stock stereo cables dont help, but should be adequate.

Done many installs of the factory units and no problems once you get everything tweeked out in the rest of the system

Well... here is the latest update:

I used all aftermarket wires: 4 guage wire for the amps, 16 guage speaker wires for the door speakers, 12 guage speaker wire for the subs. I have everything installed now and I just realized... my left rear speaker is BLOWN!! Any recommendations for what to replace it with?

Jimbo

replace with what you have(warrenty?) then you can put bass blockers going to the speakers and use them mainly as mid/highs and use the sub to fill in the thump. Also make sure the polarity is correct on the speaker moving outward with the battery test, just dont hold the battery to the wires to long.

replace with what you have(warrenty?) then you can put bass blockers going to the speakers and use them mainly as mid/highs and use the sub to fill in the thump. Also make sure the polarity is correct on the speaker moving outward with the battery test, just dont hold the battery to the wires to long.

Speakers were wired correctly wrt polarity. My amp has a built in crossover, so no bassblocker is required. I think it is just that shallow design that killed it. The speakers never really sounded good. I think that was my biggest problem from the beginning. I have already ordered a pair of these: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-QsyqnxJHWsL/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=107DB675&search=db675 to replace the blown ones.

Jimbo

brand new speakers do not just blow , unless your adjustments were horible, and you sent the amp into clipping , (which I suspect with a low quality amp , that your running, ) I still would be subjective of your hook ups Infinity is known for their ability to produce high dcbl. drivers, (aftermarket that is ) and play clear.

distortion is what blows speakers if youre playing bass through them, which you are, since you have the factory head unit, thats the problem. i always get a head unit with the separate sub out RCA. It lets you take the bass out of the speakers that werent meant to play it and put it to the speakers that were, the subs. the less bass you play through the door speakers the better it sounds. some bass is ok in them but not much. once again all IMO.

depth will not blow a speaker. incorrect polarity, or, in your case i think it is too much power. check the rms rating or your speaker ( 50W) and what the amp is putting out (80W). nothinng will last long like that. crossover setting will not help overload. match your driver to your amp output or vice versa.

everybody is right, distortion (from an amplifier clipping, or reversed polarity,) is a direct way to blow drivers, very few times have I seen GOOD clean power of 80wts blow a 50 wt. rms. driver ,clean left over power does not blow drivers because you are not overdriving the amp , depth will not blow a midrange driver (usually most are designed to be rolled off in a infinite baffel, ) however having your x- over wrong can fry a midrange driver, especially if you send a 40hz. signal to it at moderate levels, you basically bottem out the spider in the cone and it will heat up and burn up the voice coil.That said,I think you may have fried your drivers before you eaven new it , by methods mentioned above, (especially if both drivers are bad, chances of a manufacture sending you 2 bad drivers is nill) again let this be a lesson learned do tuns of research first, and then If your still not capable PAY to have it done

Alright I`ll give the lowdown on the stereo. First the stock head unit pre-amp outputs are pretty minimal in terms of voltage try to find a head unit with at least an 6 but preferably 8 volt outputs (they sound awesome and oh so clear) if your looking for clarity but it may cost you some bucks try Eclipse. They have been the best head units I have ever used I recently bought an alpine, "what a piece of crap." Secondly if looking for amp pay a dollar a watt, thats the going rate for an good amp (remember to look at rms or continous power rating NOT PEAK). As far as amps I am running 2 XTANT amps, (alpine,soundstream, jl, eclipse, kenwood are some good names)excellent power and the best clarity I`ve witnessed but again can get expensive Infinity makes great speakers but try Boston Acoustics or MB quarts and building a small enclosure in the door if your really into the stereo thing (IE by a speaker enclosure for the doors plastic or whatever and coat it with dynmat to give it a lttle more thump. As far as wiring use Monster XLN speaker wire it has insulated coating that will keep out noise. And noise coming out of the speakers is usually the power cable to the amp and sometimes RCA cables are to close together they`ll pick current from the altenator. Some people don't think wiring means that much but when I was a car audio installer I thought it made a world of difference. But like the other guys said its the head unit you have to start with. (sorry that was a little long, but I like stereo questions so fire away).

speschl88 - did eclipse get rid of their skipping problem? ive never had a cd player skip that bad. it was 4 years ago though so im sure they have

[quote=C.A.P] very few times have I seen GOOD clean power of 80wts blow a 50 wt. rms. driver ,clean left over power does not blow drivers because you are not overdriving the amp

unless you push too much base and the cone cant handle it, very easy to do. it does not take much.........

ski1.... I agree, if he didnt have the x-over set properly and he pushed a 40hz or lower signal to the mid range driver, also If you run free air(INFINITE BAFFEL) and push to much bass through them thier history,

You guys seem to be making stuff up as we go along. I posted earlier that my polarities were correct, I have a hi-pass crossover, so low freq distortion was not an issue. Only one speake was blown. I must have just gotten a bad speaker.

Jimbo

could have been a bad speaker like you stated, since everything is in check, would replace with what was already there(your aftermarket speakers) and just check the pol (I know you said correct but in this case tripple check before install) also look behind the speaker mount to see if anything is forbiding the speaker cone to move. Is it the mid range part or the tweet in the speaker bad, if the tweet it could have had a bad hrz blocker on it from the factory. Also check the wiring at the amp if it has the terminals where you strip the wire and screw down, make sure that the pos and grd arent touching by a thread of cable as well. Sounds like you got it all worked out so let us know when you get the new speaker in if it does it again.