Anyone know car audio?

[jonnythan]

Here's the Q:

I just went from a Blaupunkt HU to a JVC (both retail around $300) and noticed a dramatic decrease in sound quality. No matter how I configure the EQ on the JVC unit the sound is muffled, there is no kick to the bass, and it just sounds bad.

Obviously I'm unhappy about this.. the JVC HU is better in every other aspect so I'm reluctant to switch back. So I'm looking for ways to improve the sound quality of the unit, and I'm wondering if a new amplifier is the answer. I don't know if that will help at all or if I'm just screwed so I'd like to hear opinions.

Would tossing in something like http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_2626.html make the system sound as good as it did before?

 

[Jason B]

Jonnythan, sound is such a subjective thing that this is a toughy. What sounds good to me, may sound like crap to you.
Did you do the install? Are the speaker polarities all the same? If one is out of phase with the others it will greatly effect the bass quality. Is the head unit the only thing that changed in the system?

Jason

 

[ShakaZulu]

The specs on the two units would let you know why they sound so different eg.

18 watts RMS/50 peak x 4 channels
CD frequency response 5-20,000 Hz
CD signal-to-noise ratio 105 dB

Sounds like the new unit is putting out less power per channel and therefore can't drive your speakers as well as before. If you start adding subs and amps, you need to add one for all the speakers, bass, mids, tweeters ect to keep it all balanced. Can get exspensive very quickly.....

 

[jonnythan]

The Blaupunkt is actually rated at less wattage RMS than the JVC (18 vs 20 x 4).

I did the install myself, but it's just wired to the factory wiring harness in the car. I just switched out the head unit.

I know very little about amps and so forth.. are you guys saying that putting an amp in will help? I'm not worried about installing it myself, I've ripped my car apart enough times and I'm familiar enough with electronics that putting in an amp doesn't bother me... but I don't want to spend the money if it's not going to put the kick back in the bass, etc.

I guess I'll try it and let you guys know

 

[Wildcard]

Long long ago in a place far away I instaled stereos for a living. My first guess is you have the speakers polarity reversed. Striped wire on one brand may not be the same neg/pos as a striped wire on another. Second step is to check the ohm load but that shouldn't make that big of a diff unless your cranking it hard....Good luck!

 

[jonnythan]

WOW!

The polarity on the right rear speaker was off. It was doing a hell of a job at cancelling the sound output of the other speakers. I should have known that's what the problem was when setting the fader all the way to the front yielded much fuller sound than setting it all the way to the back.

It still doesn't sound quite as good as the Blaupunkt, but it's entirely decent now.

Thanks for the tip Wildcard!