96 Explorer Speaker problems

[5.0YZF22]

Okay,
Ive got a 96 explorer XLT,when I first got it I replaced the head unit with a JCV KD-SH55, sounded alot better. I found explorer forums and started reading up on everything like crazy.

So I came across a nice deal on Alpine S570's (5X7) and had read some great stuff about them so I bought them for my car. Long story short I installed them and they sounded like crap, leaving me very confused. Now my HU is 4 x 50W, 200W total. So I returned them figuring there was a defect in them.

Kept reading up on the audio forums to a solution to my audio problems and figured I'd do the amp bypass, so i did the amp bypass, Stock speakers sound even better. So then I go out to my car today, and I was playing around with my head unit and I faded it to the rear right, and no sound from the speaker, so I rip off the door panel thinking the connection came loose but it hasn't so I take it a connection in the bypass has come loose? So then I played with the HU some more, I can't fade properly, I can fade from Left to right, but not front to back, it will just sorta fade quiter as I go from all the way F to all the way R.

So is my JVC head unit crap? I spent $300 on it when i first got it, I can't believe the $100 Alpines wouldn't put out any bass, my stock speakers absolutley killed the alpines, and the polarity was correct. I really would like some much crisper highs and plenty of bass without putting a hole in my pocket. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Bryan

 

[tmh6202]

Bryan,

There are so many variables there, I am not surprised you can't figure it out.

1. Did your new and old speakers have the same frequency response(?) - Probably not, and this will account for the greatest difference in the overall sound difference. While the A/M speakers usually have a wider frequency, but...

2. they typically are rated at 4 ohms, and the factory speakers are some times as low as 2, but the Ford premium's are 3. The lower the ohm rating, the lower the resistance to the amplifier. So, essentially wiring a 4 ohm speaker to a system that is designed to use a 3 ohm resistance speaker will result in less power going to the speaker. This is often considered a disadvantage by a listener.

3. The 50 x 4 rating given to your HU is an absolute total output. My guess is that unless you are listening at full volume, you are hearing the product of about 12-17 watts rms. Again, there are specs here that probably do not line up with your old factory HU. Sensativity, frequency response (again), THD %, and the list goes on.

Essentially every item you change in your system whether the "system is a head unit and four speakers, or a head unit, crossover, multiple amps and speakers, is going to change what reaches your ears.

As far as bypassing your factory amp. That will also deteriorate what you hear. Even though the factory does not use great amplifiers, the still tend to be better than ones installed in a head unit. Why? The head unit has alot of stuff inside of a relatively small space. If you look at your factory amplifier, and its internals, you will fond more there than in the HU. So, the amplifier in the HU must be made smaller to allow space for your tuner and cd/cassette components. Typically this means less quality as well.

So, to answer your question.. Do you like what the Hu does for you? You idea of crap is going to vary from anyone else's idea of crap. I looked at Crutchfield, googled it, and JVC's web site. There is no really detailed info on the entire unit available. The specs for the radi and CD player portion are readily available, but the amplifier specs are not. You can have, as this unit does, a fairly wide freq range for the CD (5 - 20000 Hz), but if the amp's freq range is only 50 - 50000 Hz, that will be the extent of what you can hear, thus rendering it as "crap" in my ears.

How long ago did you purchase that unit? It looks as if it has been discontinued to a while by JVC, it is not even available on Crutchfield's site any longer.

Hopefully this will help you out abit. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM.

Later - Todd

 

[ToneDawg]

In my own personal opinion, I ran new speaker wire from the 4 door speakers straight to my wiring harness to be powered by my HU Amp instead of using the stock amp, and the sound output is a whole lot clearer. Yeah, I have to turn it up a bit higher to ge the same sound level, 30 compared to 20 or 25 with the stock amp, but that's not too bad. The bass is cleaner, the highs/mid's are cleaner, and it sounds a whole heck of a lot better.

Bypassing the stock amp completely is the way to get better sound out of your aftermarket speakers...in my opinion anyways.

 

[tmh6202]

In my own personal opinion, I ran new speaker wire from the 4 door speakers straight to my wiring harness to be powered by my HU Amp instead of using the stock amp, and the sound output is a whole lot clearer. Yeah, I have to turn it up a bit higher to ge the same sound level, 30 compared to 20 or 25 with the stock amp, but that's not too bad. The bass is cleaner, the highs/mid's are cleaner, and it sounds a whole heck of a lot better.

Bypassing the stock amp completely is the way to get better sound out of your aftermarket speakers...in my opinion anyways.

'97 X 5.0 AWD, Sunroof, Green, Tan Leather, Pioneer DEH-P760MP, Pioneer 4-Way 6x8's in all 4 doors

You have an a/m HU and speakers, 5.0 is using the stock speakers. I would expect you to have better sound, and would really question the investment if not.

 

[ToneDawg]

Yeah...but he said that he bypassed the Amp and the 5x7 Alpines were not as good as stock...that is very odd. You could run new speaker wire to all 4 doors and see if that helps. You did not have your polarities crossed/mixed up whenever you wired the 5x7's up did you? Just a random question...I am not sure why else the aftermarket speakers would be worse than the stockers...that is very confusing...

 

[davesexplorer]

well he said they sounded like crap.. I dont know what that means.. could be a lack of bass or highs or both? Or something else?

I dont know the specs of the aftermarket speaks but the stockers were made for the low power recieved from the factory amp - thus made as a complete system, wheras his setup was an aftermarket HU probably somewhere around 14-20 watts rms to each speaker, with each speaker handling what like around 50 watts or more?

 

[GreenExploder]

Hey bro,

I have the SAME problem,except my Explorer is a 97.I bought the same Alpine speakers today,and the two back speakers sound great,but the front sound like doo-doo.I switched around the wiring because the stock wiring doesnt tell you wether or not its + or - ,and still nothing good.So tomarrow im going to rewire the fronts and see what happens,I have a JVC HU also.My HU has side to side though,along with front to back.The back get LOUD and I dont even have them Amp'd yet,do you guys know of any good amps I can get for these 200watt speakers?Thanks alot and ill check this post later to see some input


-Jay

 

[5.0YZF22]

woah, Lots of replies !

By crap, I mean no bass, and they just weren't loud at all. Yes I had the polaritys right. I bought the plug in adapter and double checked that the wires were correct. And they were.

Bypassing the amp did help, it was more clear, crisp and didn't break up when I cranked it up more. Like ToneDawg said It just has to be at say 20-30 to be at the same level as the stock radio at say 10.

What JVC HU do you have Greenexplorer? I have an KD-SH55(KD-Sh77 is a similar model to that). When i installed my alpines the front actually sounded better on mine. I did the same thing you did, switching around polaritys, everything, and got nothing.

I'm looking to get a nice 4-channel amp at this point to give the speakers the power they need, if that is indeed the problem.

Bryan

 

[MeDiCX]

I have the Alpine S570s. They are not the best bass producers by far (I got them for the mid/high quality, not bass reproduction). They will definately sound better w/ more power. Dynamat was a night/day difference for me but I have a 1st gen X.

 

[GreenExploder]

Hey guys,

The HU im running is a JVC KD-AR3000.It pisses me off so bad bro because I just get these speakers and my back doors are LOUD and sounding great but the front sound like crap.It has to be the HU because when I got the car the speakers sounded fine,even the front sounded good.Since I replaced the stock reciever with this JVC I have always had problems with the front speakers.I have tried everything,switiching the wires around,new speaker wire straight from the HU to the speakers,wire from the back speakers to the front,still not NEARLY as loud as the back.So today im going to get a new HU and see if thats what the problem is,if it still doesnt work than fords suck.Lol.Ill leave some feedback as soon as I replace it.Later

 

[PlorerPimp]

lol i have alpine s570's also... i only have them in the front but as soon as i get some money i will be purchasing the back also.. my fact amp is disabled 2. after i messed with my head unit a bit, i changed some setting i forget what it was called, but i went from nothing to 170m? or something like that and i was able to crank it way more then i cud b4.

 

[GreenExploder]

I traded my JVC HU for a Sony CDX-F5510 and it sounds great.All though the EQ could be alot better,it solved the problem of the speakers sounding very low.I wouldn't suggest running a JVC HU with these Alpine's specificly because of this problem.Anyhow the speakers sound great and there not even amplified,so im happy.Hope this helped.Cheers.

 

[avallejo]

96 Explorer Speakers

So what is the verdict? Which speakers are the best for your 96 Explorer? I have a 96 Eddie Bauer and I am in the market for some new speakers. What do we say? Alpine? Polk Audio? Pioneer?