My radio upgrade results. Not very happy.

[RED LS1]

I know a lot of people here struggle with the idea of keeping the factory radio or going aftermarket. I'm not a major stereo head but I do love music itself so I needed just enough to play music from my phone and it to sound "good enough."

I decided I wanted to stay factory radio because I like the factory look and chrome knobs and such. I found a beautiful restored factory radio on ebay with a AUX cable input added for around $200. The radio was completely freshened so it should sound pretty good.

I replaced all 4 speakers with new Kicker speakers with good reviews. 3.5 in front and 4x10 in the rear.

I must say it just sounds like crap. There is no bass at all just distorted efforts at high volumes. The highs totally over power the rears so I have to keep it like 90% rear and 10% front.

I'm not looking for advice here but I'm just sharing my experience from a guy who chose the "stock" path. I'm really disappointed and will likely go all aftermarket in the near future.

 

[Turbo6inKY]

The stock radio's amplifier doesn't have enough shove to sound good.

 

[RED LS1]

Yeah. That's become clear. I just wanted to post the results for people searching this out out in the future.

 

[gusszgs]

Funny you mention this as I just installed new replacement rear 4x10's from Pioneer. The difference in sound is MUCH better. My car has the factory stock am/fm stereo cassette with the equalizer. So nothing fancy here and still retains the factory fronts.
It actually has some kick to it now........is was very much like what you describe prior to installing these. Wasn't looking for anything mind blowing, just a nice upgrade from the factory original rears. The original rears still worked ok but really had no drive at all.
Did you make sure you hooked up + and - correct on your new ones?

 

[bigballsbilly]

Maybe the polarity is wrong.

 

[TurboBob]

also, some of the fancier aftermarket speakers take more power to drive them.

Bob

 

[RED LS1]

Maybe I will do some searching on wiring to make sure I have the polarity right. I'm a little surprised at how bad a refurb radio and 4 brand new speakers sound.

 

[BuickMike]

I vote that things are out of phase too. Do this. Fade it all the way to rear and adjust the balance to one rear speaker at a time and see if you get more bass. If you do, then put balance back to center and see if the bass goes away. At this point just focus on getting the rears into phase. One of them is wired wrong. You just need to figure out which one and wire it correctly. Once you do that, then work on the fronts and do the same thing. If the fronts are out of phase, then put the balance to right and put the fader in the middle. If the bass goes away. Do the same for the left. Whichever side has the bass goes away will need the polarity reversed on the front. That should help a lot. If not, you need to get some 4X10's that have a higher sensitivity rating and lower power rating.

 

[gusszgs]

I read on GM's, to locate the negative on the rears the 'darker' wire of the 2 going to the speaker is negative.
It's tricky, cause the factory wiring is somewhat double striped on both wires.
Also, when I was researching what speakers to go with, the Kickers didn't seem to get the greatest reviews. Maybe the others guys are right, it's possible they need more amp drive from an upgraded system.

 

[RED LS1]

I think it's best I verify the polarity. Is there a diagram or schematic that shows which wire is definitely. the ground?

 

[BuickMike]

I think it's best I verify the polarity. Is there a diagram or schematic that shows which wire is definitely. the ground?

Front 3 1/2″ Speakers
Left Front (+): Tan
Left Front (-): Gray
Right Front (+): Light Green
Right Front (-): Dark Green

Rear 4″ x 10″ Speakers
Left Rear (+): Brown
Left Rear (-): Yellow
Right Rear (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear (-): Light Blue

 

[turbo nasty]

Factory speakers are 8 ohms factory radio is set up for this most aftermarket speakers are 4. Thats not helping things

 

[RED LS1]

I haven't had a chance to check the polarity. I'm thinking it will be done later this afternoon and i'll report back.

 

[RED LS1]

The dr. rear was reversed. Pass rear was good. I'll be checking the fronts later on.

 

[BuickMike]

Factory speakers are 8 ohms factory radio is set up for this most aftermarket speakers are 4. Thats not helping things

4 ohm rears won't hurt anything, however I believe the OEM fronts ran at 4 ohms and the rears were 8. At least in the CSII systems, the door and dash speakers were run in parallel and came out to a 4 ohm load.

 

[BuickMike]

The dr. rear was reversed. Pass rear was good. I'll be checking the fronts later on.

If you fade to the rear only, does it sound better? It should now. Fade to front and run the balance from one speaker and back to middle. If the bass gets louder when it centers, then you are all good. If the bass cuts out, then one is wrong.

 

[TurboBuRick]

Need power and good speakers. Now way around it.

 

[RED LS1]

Ok, so the driver rear and also the pass front were both reversed. I'm glad I posted here. It sounds better now. Not earth shattering but very acceptable for what I wanted. It's enough to keep the OEM radio now.

Here's my new dilemma. The passenger side front Kicker fits fine under the dash plate. The drivers side is buckling the plate up where the speaker is. I've heard of some mounting the speaker under the dash instead of over top of it. Is this a hard task?

 

[bigballsbilly]

I actually put double sided tape on the bottom of the speaker magnet and stuck it to. The panel under neath the dash panel. It is holdInfo right and not moving around.

 

[gusszgs]

Front 3 1/2″ Speakers
Left Front (+): Tan
Left Front (-): Gray
Right Front (+): Light Green
Right Front (-): Dark Green

Rear 4″ x 10″ Speakers
Left Rear (+): Brown
Left Rear (-): Yellow
Right Rear (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear (-): Light Blue

BuickMike are you 100% sure on the rears for the hookup? I found another thread that said the opposite (yellow and light blue were pos NOT neg) Not saying your wrong, just wanted them hooked up correct. Thx