Infinity Speaker Disappointment

[Kamaaina]

I just replaced all four of my OEM speakers (6x8 w/ whizzer cones) with Infinity speakers and I'm a little disappointed with the sound. I mean, they sound super clear and the high notes are awesome but I lost some bass. I have to set the bass setting all the way to max just to equal what the OEM speakers had half way. I triple-checked the wiring and the polarity is correct. I feel I should have kept the OEM speakers and just installed some satellite tweeters. I'm have the stock AM/FM/CD/Cassette head unit and just wanted to improve the sound; seems like the improvement just shifted from good bass/midrange to good midrange/high.

 

[kalel33]

Which infinity speakers are they...the reference series do not have the bass production of the kappa series.

 

[DrellMSU]

You probably would of improved the sound more by replacing the Stock CD player with an aftermarket one..

Right now your HU doesnt supply enough power to the new speakers to even get them anywhere close to running with optimal power.

DRellMSU

 

[Kamaaina]

I know the stock head unit doesn't have that much power but why do I have more bass with the stock speakers than with the Infinity? The Speakers have model number 6802CF. Are these good speakers? For the price I paid I expected them to be.

 

[Ru Dawg]

I agree with Drell, one of the worst things to do to a speaker is underpower it.

 

[Kamaaina]

I bought the speakers from Circuit City and I should have read the reviews first. There's a couple of reviews that say the same thing as me.....there's less bass. Still can figure why the stock speakers have more bass. I don't blast my stereo so not having enough power is not an issue, the OEM head unit has adequate power for my listening level. Oh well, I learned my lesson...read the reviews before buying.

 

[davesexplorer]

stock speakers are optimized for the little power they have.... when you move to bigger speakers, magnets v.c's etc. they like to have more power as well...

 

[Kamaaina]

Now that makes sense!! I don't know what else I can do to boost the bass a little. I guess I'll just get used to it. But if I find some cheap add-on tweeters I'll put the OEM speakers back in and pack away the Infinity ones. Maybe I'll try to adapt them into my wife's Cherokee.

 

[kalel33]

Ill add on to what he said too. Your factory speakers are a simple system, like one woofer, the infinity can be a 2-way or 3-way. The more speakers within a speaker, the more power is needed to push them. You get much better highs because of the separate tweeter. If you just buy a tweeter and add the factories back in then you are thus just doing the same thing the infinity's are doing. The power will be split: some power going to the tweeter and some power going to the woofer, thus, you will lose power to the woofer and not have as much bass as you had previously.

 

[Kamaaina]

But do tweeters actually draw that much power that it chokes the woofer? I thought that tweeters require very little power compared to a woofer. Bear with me everyone......I'm learning.

 

[ohe_boy]

having an electronics background, current will flow in the path with the least amount of resistance. tweeters have less resistance than the woofer so most of the power will be delivered to the tweeters. if you want to keep those infinity's, i suggest up grading your stereo or purchase an amp to power those speakers.

 

[kalel33]

Also, for every one watt of power it takes to produce highs, it takes 5 times that much power to produce bass. As for the tweeter question, It depends on the quality of tweeter. Poor designed and sounding tweeters dont pull as much power but high quality ones tend to draw the power they need to run.

 

[expo5.0]

the "bass" from your stock speakers was actually just distortion, eh?

 

[Kamaaina]

Thanks everyone for the valuable information. With all of the above said what would be a better 6x8 speaker for my application, here's the specs : Infinity 6802CF - 49hz-21Khz response, 92db sensitivity, 180 watts peak, recommended 2-60 watts or Pioneer TS-G6840R - 35hz-22Khz response, 90db sensitivity, 150 watts peak, recommended 2-30 watts. Seems like the Pioneer would respond better to lower watt applications (like mine) and has a lower frequency response. What do you all think?

 

[raginraj]

if those are the pioneer 3-ways then i can tell you they sound pretty good, even running straight off the factory HU. i'm thinking of getting a set as well... although i'm pretty sure i'm going to get a new HU at the same time.

 

[Kamaaina]

The Pioneer speakers are the 2-way ones. I don't believe in the hype of "1-1/2" mid-range & 3/4" tweeters" of 3-way speakers. To me anything smaller than a 3" is a tweeter, that's way I just want a 2-way speaker. Would the extra low freq response of the Pioneer over the Infinity be noticable? And what about the 2db difference in sensitivity?

 

[kalel33]

Infinity makes clear and more accurate speakers, and the db level indicates that the infinity makes more sound with less power: 92db vs 90db. The higher the number the less wattage it takes to produce the same strength of sound.

 

[Kamaaina]

Thanks "kalel33".....what about the frequency response between the Infinity and the Pioneer? The Infinity goes down to 49hz but the Pioneer goes down to 35hz. Is it noticeable?

 

[expo5.0]

they will both sound like hell when playing below 80 hz anyways

 

[DrellMSU]

Get the Pioneers but also if you can afford it get a 4 channel amp... doesnt have to be anything spectacular..

I think I saw where the factory ford radio is 6 watts RMS per channel.... thats 24 watts Total...

You could get an inexpensive amp that is from 15-30 Watts RMS per channel...and that would make a noticeable difference.

But yes the 35 compared to the 49 would make some difference bass wise... probably not a lot. I agree with EXPO too, I had to Xover my pioneer 3 ways to get rid of some of the distortion bass.

DRellMSU