base stereo BADLY needs EQ pre-amp

[mwhit02]

I upgraded to Polks MM6501 and a pioneer 225x2(peak) amplifier. I have to say, even with the crossovers set to the -3 setting for the tweeters, the sound up front is still to bright! Also, a lot of the "boom" of the crappy factory speakers is gone. I feel an EQ would really improve the "flat" sound I'm hearing. Any suggestions from those with the crap factory radio?

[H2O_Doc]

For what you'll pay for a good eq, you might look for a deal on a HU. Sometimes you can find a good deal on old model clearance sales.

I assume you turned up the bass boost on the amp?

[bigaudiofanat]

A new head unit will fix all man, your stock head unit is only putting out around 9 watts where a new head unit will put out around 22 watts RMS and give you way more control. Or you can always go with a JBL ms8 and use the factory head unit still.

[kenchan]

yah, even the stock speakers can sound pretty decent with just a HU swap. just cant turn it up real loud.

[RonRizz]

When I got my Z, and was waiting for my P99 to come in, I amped my stock speakers, running the factory head unit, with my amp crossed at 80hz. I was STUNNED when I heard how good they sounded with over 100 watts going into them. I assumed they would disintegrate under that load, but they sounded pretty amazing.

[ufoz8mycow]

You can get a basic double DIN headunit for like $150...

[bigaudiofanat]

Yep, JVC makes some really nice double din none touch screens. OP contact me if interested in pricing.

[mwhit02]

I want to keep the stock radio

[bigaudiofanat]

Originally Posted by mwhit02

I want to keep the stock radio

Than your options are, keep the sound like it is, add a amp with a Speaker level input, Use a LOC and add a amp, or use a JBL ms8 off the head unit and amp them that way (or processor and amp). Only problem with the first two are your still going to have limited control over your tuning.

[Tadpole]

If you change your mind about a HU, consider this one. Other than it being blue, it does have bluetooth, USB, and a pretty good 3 band EQ with separate treble, mid, and bass controls. The stock head unit just will not work for good quality sound.


Alpine CDE W235BT in Dash Double DIN CD MP3 USB Car Stereo Receiver w Parrot | eBay treble

[kenchan]

if you're going to swap the stereo, go for a doubledin with a 7" screen, get steering wheel control module, rear view camera. do it right the first time.

[Fountainhead]

Hi Mwhit02,

With 4 speakers and a 2 channel amp, how's it all hooked up? Are you running just the door spkrs and dash tweeters off of the head unit running into the power amp input? 9 watts is 6 volts AC into 4 ohms, so 6 volts should be more than enough to get your power amp into clipping with nominal level settings on the amplifier input level control.
I'm not sure how you've got it all connected. Also check the polarity of the + and - connections of all your speakers if you're lacking bass.
Oh, OK now I know what a Polk MM6501 is.

[mwhit02]

The front Polk components are powered off the amp , once I get the rear speakers, they will be powered by the H/U

[Fountainhead]

mwhito2,
yeah an EQ would improve matters but it's difficult to find an economical one that accepts spkr level inputs. I'm sure BAF can recommend something called a "line driver", a device that takes the spkr level input and changes it to a differentially balanced output to go into various devices and it theoretically flattens out the EQ, sums L & R to make a sub channel, and various other things. They're expensive.

If your EQ in the head unit (and the -3 or -6 dB switch on the crossover) won't drop the treble content enough, you could replace the resistors that pad the tweeter in your crossover with larger resistors. All tweeters are much more efficient (louder) than mid and bass, so they're always padded down with a resistor. This resistor is before the tweeter crossover section itself, so that it doesn't change the speaker impedance the crossover parts are tuned to. If you could double or triple this resistor value you can lower the tweeter level and drop it to match your bass/door drivers. If you pop the cover off of the crossover you'll see the resistor I'm talking about. I couldn't find a schematic of the MM6501 component set.

PS: Did you check your woofer's polarity? It's easy with a 9V battery, just touch the + and - of the speaker wire to the + and - of the 9V battery, (at the crossover) and the speaker should jump out. Don't hold it forever, just long enough to make sure both door speakers move out the same direction.

Also you can try changing the polarity of the tweeters, that can affect their sound also. Just swap the wires at the crossover output. Woofer polarity is critical, it determines whether or not you can hear bass or no bass. Tweeter polarity is less critical, as long as they're both the same. As far as absolute phase....in a car speakers are having to overcome so many hurdles to begin with that won't even matter anyway. I can't think of a worse place to listen to music than a car.