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

[1993HondaCivic]

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

[igo4bmx]

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!

[xivera]

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.

[1993HondaCivic]

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

[crxlvr]

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.

[igo4bmx]

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.

[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.

[crxlvr]

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

[igo4bmx]

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?

[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

[PaulD]

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.

[CXHatchback]

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.

[GSteg]

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?

[sparq]

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!!!!!!!!!!

[PaulD]

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.