Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Time for a system. (Read 2795 times) previous topic - next topic

Time for a system.

I just went out to my car and I had forgotten that I put in all new speakers about 2-3 years ago. I this Arizona heat they have a tendency to dry out pretty quick, but they all look fine. Problem is if I turn the volume up so I can hear it, the speakers start to distort. I'm pretty sure it's because I have too many speakers and not enough power. I still have two old Alpine bi-amps around here some where. I need to hook them up and see if they are still functional. I don't need the power I did when I was young. Strange getting old...half deaf yet now the music always seems too loud.

Time for a system.

Reply #1 –
The butyl rubber surrounds on speakers hold up pretty well so I'm not surprised it hasn't gotten damaged from heat. Is the distortion from over-excursion and a twisting cone? You'd want to high-pass anything that isn't a sub, and oval speakers will flex in weird ways and cause noise. What exactly does the distortion sound like, and from which speakers?

For the most part, other than electronically-corrected d-channel amps becoming popular in recent years, amplification and speakers haven't improved.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Time for a system.

Reply #2 –
"For the most part, other than electronically-corrected d-channel amps becoming popular in recent years".

All new to me. Exactly what is that?

Time for a system.

Reply #3 –
Quote from: 86cougar;415596
All new to me. Exactly what is that?

I think these sum it up pretty well. I have bolded a description that basically tells us that it's a high switching frequency with signal monitoring.

http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/

What Are “ICE” Amplifiers?

The Ice Power division of Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen (B&O) holds patents on its “ICE” amplifier, which is basically a Class D switching design (Pulse Width Modulator) with variants that B&O claims reduce distortion to levels associated with Class A amps, while retaining the high efficiency of Class D switching designs. ICE amps use a very high switching frequency of 384 kHz, which B&O says is 20 times as high as the highest frequency the ear can detect. The ICE amps also use feedback control to minimize the effects of the PWM design.

In car audio, Alpine's PDX amplifiers and Eclipse's full-range XA amplifiers were the first on the market. JL has released their HD series. Others make them too, but I think the three above have been the most popular. Very small, powerful amplifiers that can fit anywhere. I have a PDX 4.150 and 1.1000 which have birthsheets that show they output 170Wx4 at 4ohms and 1100Wx1 at 4ohms. If I remember right, the 4.150 is closer to 250W at 2ohms and the 1.1000 is 1200 or 1300W at 2ohms.

1988 Thunderbird Sport

Time for a system.

Reply #4 –
The switching taking place at higher frequencies than the ear can hear is impressive. What I need to do next is go out to the car and check to see if all my speakers are the same @ 4 ohms. I figure one quad amp. at 25-50 watts should be plenty for me now and with the price of them now compared to when I bought my first system, it shouldn't set me back too much.

Time for a system.

Reply #5 –
Quote from: 86cougar;415617
The switching taking place at higher frequencies than the ear can hear is impressive. What I need to do next is go out to the car and check to see if all my speakers are the same @ 4 ohms. I figure one quad amp. at 25-50 watts should be plenty for me now and with the price of them now compared to when I bought my first system, it shouldn't set me back too much.

Yeah, you don't really need a lot of power for anything but subs. Full range speakers playing above 80hz don't take too much power to get loud, and speaker choice can make a bigger difference in output than an amplifier can. I would like to see headunits come more often with more amplification and a lack of CD loading mechanisms. They could fit 4x50w RMS into a deck easily with the class-D stuff. The problem is that the fuses and wiring in many cars can't handle the power...

Anyway, I can show you speakers that get loud with 8W (110db at 1 meter). They are obviously in a box and designed for output though. In a car, to do similar, you have to do a lot of fabrication.
1988 Thunderbird Sport

Time for a system.

Reply #6 –
Like I said, I need to find my amps. and test them to see if I have a good one. I just took a trip and I had my receiver hooked up to only my rear speakers and it sounded ok. Actually what it did was made me want to hook up a nice system again when I can find the time.