Sounds awful!

[TurboTer]

OK guys, I have pretty good (180w) 6x9 speakers and it sounds really bad no matter what radio I put in. I had a $375 CD player in and it still sounded horrible. I took it out and put in in my 1991 Grand Am with STOCK speakers and it sounded pretty damn good (let's just say it blew the sound away of the GN). It's not the speakers either. I borrowed for a week the best of the best 6x9's and it still sounded only slightly better, with bad bass and all. All in all, what I'm saying is that I know for a 100% fact it's not the radio or speakers. So why is this? Is stock speaker wiring on an '87 GN that terrable? Do I just need to re-wire it with fatter speaker wire, or could it be something else?

 

[Rayk]

The wiring in our cars isn't very good but not enough to make your 6 x 9s sound really bad. You didn't say whether you were amplifying or running the 6 x 9s from the Head unit. If you're running an amp check to make sure the the power and ground wires are of sufficient size and tightened down good.

But, here's what I really think may be your problem. Do you have 4 x 10 to 6 x 9 adapter baffles in the rear deck? I drove my car for almost 6 years with a pair of Sony 3 way 6 x 9s in the rear deck (amplified) and never new why they didn't sound right. Until, I discovered that they were bolted directly to the rear deck with no adaptor. I picked up an adaptor at the nats in May and that made all the difference in the world. Just another possibility for you to consider.

 

[TurboTer]

Originally posted by Rayk
The wiring in our cars isn't very good but not enough to make your 6 x 9s sound really bad. You didn't say whether you were amplifying or running the 6 x 9s from the Head unit. If you're running an amp check to make sure the the power and ground wires are of sufficient size and tightened down good.

But, here's what I really think may be your problem. Do you have 4 x 10 to 6 x 9 adapter baffles in the rear deck? I drove my car for almost 6 years with a pair of Sony 3 way 6 x 9s in the rear deck (amplified) and never new why they didn't sound right. Until, I discovered that they were bolted directly to the rear deck with no adaptor. I picked up an adaptor at the nats in May and that made all the difference in the world. Just another possibility for you to consider.

Currently, I have no amp at all. Just stock front speakers, and 6x9's in the rear, with an updated CD player (JVC Chamelion). I do not have any adapters on the rear speakers. I secured them with those plastic zip things police use to cuff people. It is tight and in place really well. Does this matter? If yes, what is the proper part called, and where can I get it?

 

[Rayk]

The problem with bolting them directly to the rear deck is that the 6 x 9 shape is a mismatch for the 4 x 10 cutout in the rear deck. Part of the sound is bounding off of the metal of the rear deck and there are about 1 inch holes on each end (10" vs 9").

You can get the adaptors at any stereo installation shop or look online for a vendor that sells Metra Stereo installation kits. Here is the link to the Metra Factory site in Daytona FL:

http://www.metraonline.com/home.htm

 

[mcss383]

Originally posted by TurboTer
I do not have any adapters on the rear speakers. I secured them with those plastic zip things police use to cuff people.

If you didn't go back and trim out the metal, fiberboard and insulation to a 6x9's size, then its just like Rayk said, THATS the problem.

The small wiring won't hurt or change the sound of the speakers, thats just the voodoo that speaker wire manufactures cram down your throat. The only thing they do is reduce volume due to a much larger resistance (compared to a larger guage wire). When you are running a small deck power, the voltage across the stock wiring is small enough that the increased resistance doesn't matter, but when you install a higher powered head with higher voltages, then your not getting all the power the head should be putting out.

 

[Audiowizard]

Another thing to take into consideration is the excursion of the cone and surround which is making contact with the sheet metal if it is flush mounted. It also can damage voice coil with continuous contact. The 6 x 9 adapters are inexpensive and work well.

 

[Rayk]

Originally posted by Audiowizard
Another thing to take into consideration is the excursion of the cone and surround which is making contact with the sheet metal if it is flush mounted. It also can damage voice coil with continuous contact. The 6 x 9 adapters are inexpensive and work well.

I'm sure there are some 6 x 9s that might get damaged by hitting the sheet metal deck on high volume excursions. However my Sony XS-6933 3-Ways were hitting the deck for about 8 years with no apparant problems. As soon as I installed the adapter baffle they began to sound as if I'd just bought brand new speakers. What a difference!