speaker question

[EuroTunedVR6]

i recently bought infinity 3 1/2 inch speakers for the dash in my 190e and 6 1/2 inch componets for the back, the componets are on a 400watt amp and sound great, but the dash speakers seem to disort when its loud,i have it faded to the rear, about a 30/70 split and they still seem to distort, not a blown speaker kind of distorion but a theres to much power going to them, i solderd on the crossovers that came with them to filter out the low frequencys but they still distort alittle bit, thered powered off my head unit, an alpine 52wattsx4 but the rms of the head unit is 23x4 and its not even all the way up when they distort. can any one help me with this.. ive thought of every thing and still no luck, this is the first bad expirence ive had with infinity. every whos heard it says it sounds incredible but it still bothers me, my music has to sound flawless in my car.....is there somthin im missen here, the speakers say 35rms and 90peak but there not even gettin 35???

[carstereopro]

The physical limitation of a 3 1/2" driver is what is holding you back. A 3 1/2" speaker cannor produce midrange or low frequencies at mid to high volume levels. I'm sure they sound fine at low volumes, but they just do not move enough air when serious power is in play.

It doesn't matter what brand, power handling or location, a 3 1/2" speaker will not produce the type of sound you are looking for, especially if you are trying to compare them to a set of 6 1/2" component speakers.

In the last early 90's Benz I worked on, (about 5 yrs ago), I built door pods and installed a shallow mount 6 1/2" midbass, and put the tweet in the dash from a high end component set. They sounded great! This might be worth looking into.

[EuroTunedVR6]

thanks car stereo pro, what do you think about puttin 5 1/2 inch componets in the dash and just maken the holes bigger? thats what i did in the back, i had 4inch holes stock but i made then bigger and put 6 1/2's in

[carstereopro]

Originally Posted by EuroTunedVR6

thanks car stereo pro, what do you think about puttin 5 1/2 inch componets in the dash and just maken the holes bigger? thats what i did in the back, i had 4inch holes stock but i made then bigger and put 6 1/2's in

As long as you can make it look good, it will sound better than 3 1/2" speakers.

But one thing that is usually overlooked, the rear speakers are in a baffle, (the rear of the speakers sit in your trunk), in the dash, the baffle may not be as good, therefore the sound and performance may not be as good.

Just keep that in mind before you cut your dash up.

[EuroTunedVR6]

i was thinkin about gettin the foam baffels for all the speakers from crutchfield, i sealed the front speakers in the dash with silicone and they sound much better and bass response is alot better to, there was some kind of blower right under the speaker in the passenger side in the dash that was rattleing on high volumes, i moved it and it sounds much better, i think i might still get the componets because i like to listen to the music loud with out having to work the speakers hard, and i love the feeling when you musics already loud and its only at half volume and you can turn it all the way up without distortion

[kesslerbmw]

Get some cpacitors from radio shack and soder them in. It will cut out the bass just like a cross over would. get 100k for a 3 1/2 up to a 5 1/4... Thats what I have in with my factory speakers and it sounds awesome.

[carstereopro]

Originally Posted by kesslerbmw

Get some cpacitors from radio shack and soder them in. It will cut out the bass just like a cross over would. get 100k for a 3 1/2 up to a 5 1/4... Thats what I have in with my factory speakers and it sounds awesome.

All a capacitor does is provide a low frequency attenuation with a 6dB/octave slope.

They act as a "poor man's crossover network", filtering out low frequencies at a a low level. He'd get better results by turning the bass level down on the head unit, and that way he can actually adjust it.

His issue isn't bass coming out of his speakers, its lack of surface area in his front stage.