What makes speakers scratchy when music's loud???

I just got a new clarion headunit. i have 6 1/2 exploids in front and 5 1/4 infinities in rear, i would think that with an all new setup it would get as loud as the headunit can go, but most songs, really loud, the speakers start to crack, scratch, ya know? what can I do? i dont know much about this stuff

thats not good!!!

heh heh

depends what kind of sound. seems to be clipping, or just plain ole distortion. HU amps do not provie good clean power (IMO) the cracking and scratching may be just too high of a volumne. Try lowering treble and bass settings. also try to NOT do that!

Given any power level, when you increase the volume of the sound to your speakers you will get to a certain region of volume where the speakers begin to distort. When you are at this volume, the speakers are no longer reproducing a clear signal... You have distortion. Moreover, small drivers/speakers are trying to reproduce frequencies that they aren't supposed to where you can employ the use of a bass-blocker/crossover.
More volume doesn't always equal clear sounds... especially in low powered systems (HU power only). That's why most audiophiles add an amplifier to increase the power to the speakers. That way, they achieve more volume with a cleaner signal.

cool, thanks. ok what exately is a crossover???
and, so an independent amp would provide more volume with less distortion???

a crossover is an elctronic unit that splits radio frequency at a desired rate, which in turn sends the high notes to your tweeters and mids, while the low frequency that we can hear and some we cant are sent to your subs, thats why in some systems you can feel bass without hearing anything, pretty cool.

As for the amp, it will only be as good as your speakers will allow, if they are not that good at handling the added power or have a higher resistance to power then they will still have some distortion problems, but with the added power and the ability to fine tune most amps, you can set it up so your amp will send the most amount of power with the least amount of distortion.

headunit amps do not have the power real amps due to the fact most don't have MOSFET design. ( i think) i believe pioneer has mosfet amps in their headunits, but my personal experience, its still weak and distortion city. speakers can only handle certain frequencies and thus a cross over will help alleviate sending frequencies beyonds it range to the speaker.

it depends on what you have in it power wise. it could be your amp, wiring, crossover. you could have some noise in your amp also. heres a good way to test distortion in your amp( IF YOU HAVE MUTE ON YOUR HEAD UNIT) first.. turn bass all the way down. then... turn treble all the way down... mute your Head unit.. finally... turn the volume all the way up. if you hear like a heartbeat or a thumping sound then that is the noise distortion in your amp. if your speaks are crackling they may be damaged and ready to burn out, but with sony and infinity they really shouldnt do that. anyways try testing the noise ratio in your amp and see if that works to your advantage.

MOSFET is a cooling chip that prevents overheating, it has nothing to do with power output.

Originally posted by purcivic98
it depends on what you have in it power wise. it could be your amp, wiring, crossover. you could have some noise in your amp also. heres a good way to test distortion in your amp( IF YOU HAVE MUTE ON YOUR HEAD UNIT) first.. turn bass all the way down. then... turn treble all the way down... mute your Head unit.. finally... turn the volume all the way up. if you hear like a heartbeat or a thumping sound then that is the noise distortion in your amp. if your speaks are crackling they may be damaged and ready to burn out, but with sony and infinity they really shouldnt do that. anyways try testing the noise ratio in your amp and see if that works to your advantage.

can't people overcome that noise at high volume with zero mute circuit? I would think that noise has to do with something else. am i wrong?

ok this is all new to me.
so, all i have are 4 speakers, no separate tweeters or subs, or ams. just HU and 4 speakers. if a crossover sends the right sounds to the right components, how would I benifit from it if all I have are normal speakers? thanks

Originally posted by crxlvr
MOSFET is a cooling chip that prevents overheating, it has nothing to do with power output.

huhhh ? a MOSFET is a power transistor ... it is used primarily in the power supply section because of it's high current capability. I believe some amps use them as their audio output devices as well.

Originally posted by 1993HondaCivic
ok this is all new to me.
so, all i have are 4 speakers, no separate tweeters or subs, or ams. just HU and 4 speakers. if a crossover sends the right sounds to the right components, how would I benifit from it if all I have are normal speakers? thanks

I don't think it would be worth the money to buy a crossover for a practically a stock system. Your new HU might have a crossover network built-in. Depends on how much you spent Iguess.

If you want to play your music louder and keep it clean without distortion, get a 4-channel amp. You HU probably puts out about 15watts rms per channel, and distorts the hell out of the music at high volumes. Your speakers can probably handle 35-50 watts rms so you're basically underpowering them. Get a QUALITY 4-channel amp, something that puts out around 35-50 watts rms per channel, and you'll notice a world of difference. You'll be able to turn up the volume much higher and still retain sound quality. Give it a whirl, I'll never go back to not using a 4-channel amp.

Originally posted by PaulD


huhhh ? a MOSFET is a power transistor ... it is used primarily in the power supply section because of it's high current capability. I believe some amps use them as their audio output devices as well.

haven't seen you since PH was up. what brought you back here?:)

Originally posted by PaulD
huhhh ? a MOSFET is a power transistor ... it is used primarily in the power supply section because of it's high current capability. I believe some amps use them as their audio output devices as well. PAUL!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

they made it a pay-per-view site at one time. Then all I could do was look at the threads I started .... so I just quit looking. I was only answering others' questions as best as I could, so it was no real loss to me except I like helping other people out.

Well welcome back Paul, we all missed yah... or at least I know I did :biggrin2:

since paul is back now, we can get REAL technical help :D

Originally posted by GSteg
since paul is back now, we can get REAL technical help :D Shut up bish... pretty soon ill be certified, wow isnt that a scary thought :bloated:

Originally posted by sparq
PAUL!!!!!!!!!! :eek:
That's what I'm saying! :eek: :D
Nice to hear from you man! :)

I am certifiable already .......... but that has nothing to do with car stereo.

for those who DON'T know me, I try to explain things using principles of math, physics, engineering, etc .. rather than relying on a lot of misinformation out there. I am not in the car stereo business, so I have no products or brands I am pushing although I do have my personal preferences based on experience or independent testing. If I ruffle your feathers, PLEASE don't take it personally - I am most likely just trying to get you to see something in another way.

I have the same problem as the guy who started this thread. Its simple, an amp will solve the problem. But amps are $$. lots of it. If you can afford it, get it. If you are like me and do not really like blasting loud noise, just don't turn it up so loud. Roll up the windows, close the doors, shut the moonroof, it will sound louder and cleaner. I have the Sony Xplod speakers too, the 6.5" ones. They are good speakers. But your internal amp on the HU just isn't powerful enough to drive the speakers to there full potential. Amps of a good kind cost around $200. I don't have any reccommendations, but you might want to try something that matches your current speakers and/or HU.

Originally posted by PaulD
I am certifiable already .......... but that has nothing to do with car stereo.

for those who DON'T know me, I try to explain things using principles of math, physics, engineering, etc .. rather than relying on a lot of misinformation out there. I am not in the car stereo business, so I have no products or brands I am pushing although I do have my personal preferences based on experience or independent testing. If I ruffle your feathers, PLEASE don't take it personally - I am most likely just trying to get you to see something in another way. "certifiable already" means what? :confused:

Originally posted by sparq
"certifiable already" means what? :confused:
You should know! You know... certifiable... to be in a [psychiatric] institution...
You are, too! :finger:














Then again... I am too... :smoker2:

Originally posted by crxlvr
MOSFET is a cooling chip that prevents overheating, it has nothing to do with power output.



Car audio is my specialty, and MOSFET is not a cooling chip. MOSFET, or Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors, are a more efficient form of transistor that have less resisitance. Thereby less heat, and cleaner, louder sound are produced over amps and HUs without MOSFETs.


As for your amp problem, a crossover is not your solution. CXHatchback hit it perfectly with the wattage speech. Your HU simply cannot push your 6 1/2 and 5 1/2 speakers efficiently. A crossover will rob even more of that dwindling power supply. So my advice is also to get a decent 4 channel and call it good, because you damage your speakers much more by UNDERpowering them as opposed to OVERpowering them. If absolutley necessary, a crossover can be used, but you dont even have subs or tweeters, so the options on your HU and that amp you get should filter frequencies sufficiently. Bottom line: you've already invested in a deck and speakers, so why damage them both by not powering your speakers efficiently? Get a DECENT amp, your system is only as strong as the weakest link in it.

Originally posted by crxlvr
MOSFET is a cooling chip that prevents overheating, it has nothing to do with power output.

Not true,
MOSFET is a type of transistor that is more efficient and cooler running for high power applications.

http://www.irf.com/technical-info/appnotes/mosfet.pdf


Also,

yeah, don't turn your speakers up so you hear noises that aren't supposed to be there. That's really bad for the speakers. If you want to listen to it that loud, buy an amp. It's far better to over power a speaker than underpower it. You can actually listen to music louder on factory speakers with an aftermarket amp than aftermarket speakers on a factory head unit / amp (as long as you have the crossover set high enough). All the noise you're hearing is just distortion in the amp of the head unit. That will eventually destroy your speaker.

although now i realized that j-spec already said all that and i wish i read the second page before posting... whatever... right on j-spec

I've found that alot of this cracking and scratching type noise can be poor connections . Starting at the head unit and ending at the speaker , there are connectors that can deteriorate through oxidization and/or arcing . The aftermarket hardware has nice RCA type connectors . They can benefit from being reseated now and then . Remember , the speakers will reproduce whatever audio signal reaches them .

another 2.5 year old thread......

Are you serious??? Can we just ban these kind of people?

im gunna use this to ask u a ? hai. Would you recommend a 16Ov.2? or something else for the money. the 15in. is looking pretty nice

I am not sure if this could help someone, but recently I was having issues with the left 5 1/4 two-way speaker on the dash on my van. It would have a scratchy sound, like if the tweeter was dying. I then inspected the speaker and found that one wire that goes from the woofer to the tweeter was not soldered 100%. The wire seems to be made of an elastic type of ribbon wire. So I grabbed my solder gun and soldered the wire to the tweeter. Now it doesn't have that scratchy sound anymore.

I think the scratchy sound I was hearing is while the woofer was moving, it would cause the tweeter's loose wire to intermit on/off. Hopefully this helps.

the wire from the speaker frame to the cone is made of braided wire to make it flexible. You'r lucky you didn't burn the voice coil when you soldered the wire

the wire from the speaker frame to the cone is made of braided wire to make it flexible. You'r lucky you didn't burn the voice coil when you soldered the wire
I guess I was lucky. I do have experience soldering delicate equipment. So I was careful to not use more than 20 watts to solder the piece together. It really didn't need that much heat. Nor did I need to keep the solder gun tip too long on the connector. It was such a simply process, and now the tweeter doesn't rasp as the woofer moves.

it depends wat u got and it depends on wat kind of amp u got i got 2 15 and a 500 watt amp it beat like crazy

Hmm, conversation died on this thread a few years back.