Major Distortion w/ aftermarket speakers

[NightBlade329]

Hey i have the polk 6501s powered by a kicker200.2 amp, and ever since i changed it from stock, it seems like fm/am radio is worst than before, and low quality cds are worst than stock too but high quality songs sound really good. My friend told me the problem was my stock head unit was amplify bad signals which is why it sounds like trash. Any ideas?

[Cups]

That's very much possible. If you upgrade to better speakers you will hear more of your music (including distortion). Many people after upgrading their sound systems to high-end ones stop listening to mp3's or home-made audio CD's because they can hear clicks or pops or even clipping that was introduced in the music during mastering or recording.

[RTexasF]

That is the reason I went with this between the factory head and the amp:

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=79

It cleans up the overly excessive equalization curves built in to the factory head unit. The amp receives a flat clean signal regardless of the source. It also gives you a hook up for an MP3 player although I didn't do that.

[NightBlade329]

aww that sucks, so my only options are,

1. New HU
2. Cleansweep
3. Take off my current amp?

[RTexasF]

There are other devices similar to the CleanSweep available.

Just a thought.......have you turned down the bass & treble on the head unit and listened to it that way? It's worth a little time to experiment with the settings and also forward & rear.

Not that this will work for you but mine is +1 bass, +1 treble, and +5 forward. Yours might be acceptable with negative settings on the B & T.

[RTexasF]

It's also possible that one speaker, or more, is hooked up incorrectly and is out of phase.

[Windchimp]

Did you adjust your crossover and gain controls properly when you installed the amp? Sounds like you may have the gain set too high:dunno:
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[NightBlade329]

yeah ive tried adjusting everything it just sounds bad if i crank it up loud on certain songs

[Cups]

Even stock headunit and many aftermarket ones will distort some songs at loud volumes. They're made like this so you can hear music recorded at low volume without the need to crank it up.

Is it bass or treble that distorts?
Is this the same thing as your older thread here (http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12903)?
Are you listening to mp3's or original CD's (not CD's made out of mp3s)?

- Leave amp gain at 1/2 or even a little less.
- Give the speakers a little time to break-in (~30-40 listening hours).
- If bass distorts, use high-pass filters at ~40hz (although you said FM distorts and FM doesn't go that low).
- Get a new headunit if you're okay with losing the pocket area.. or..
- Get a cleansweep or a 3sixty.

[NightBlade329]

thanks for the help, yeah i have my gains set 1/2 and its the treb that distorts and if i listen to some songs directly through my ipod from the usaspec adapter some songs sound good, but anything outside of that (cds radio) sounds like garbage

[Windchimp]

Your ipod have an adjustable output? This may explain a bit, since you say that anything coming from the HU sounds bad. If the ipod is louder (or softer) than a CD, that's part of your problem.

When you adjusted the amp gain, did you set it initially around 25%, then turn up the HU until it started to distort, back off a bit, THEN turn up the gain until you again start to hear distortion, back that off a bit....

Fine tune by adjusting the bass and treble down (below "flat"). And ALWAYS use good source material when doing this. Something with a well balanced spectrum - which means no "techno" or rap which is very bass-heavy (you need music played on real instruments, not manufactured by keyboards and computers). Even if it's not your style, I suggest "Money" from Dark Side of the Moon, which is a well mastered CD.