FAQs
When I turn my music up, my headlights dim. How come?
Your headlights dim because your system has caused a drop in the available voltage level of power for your car's other, less necessary accessories (headlights, engine, etc.). Voltage drops can be caused by an accessory's large current demand, like an amp struggling to produce a loud bass note. Get your battery and alternator checked. A low battery can overload an alternator, drawing power away from your system. If everything checks out okay, you could be making such large demands on your electrical system that an upgraded alternator may be necessary. A "stiffening" capacitor can also be installed. A stiffening capacitor is like an extra power supply for your electrical system; it keeps a small reserve of 12V power. See your installer. If your car won't start after you play the stereo for a long time with the engine off, try paralleling another battery into your system.
My system "pops "when I turn it off. How do I stop it?
As you power-down, transient signals in the processor sometimes find their way into the signal path. The amp transmits them to the speakers, and POP! Add some "turn off delay" to your head unit. See your manual, or your installer. Or, read this: You can add delay by adding a 1N4004 diode in series with the processor's turn-on lead, with the striped side towards the equalizer. Then add a capacitor in parallel, the (+) side of the cap to the striped (processor) side of the diode; the (-) side of the cap to ground (not the radio or eq chassis, connect it directly to the car chassis). Fiddle with the cap value to get the amount of delay you need before the eq shuts off; not too long, just long enough to make sure the amp is off before the eq powers down (220 - 1000 uF). Make sure the cap is a polarized electrolytic, 16V or higher, and remember that the diode introduces a 0.7V drop on the remote wire, which can cause the processor to power down before the rest of the system. There will be a quiz.
Do round speakers sound better than oval speakers?
For all practical purposes, yes. A round cone is more rigid than an oval-shaped cone. At higher sound levels, an oval-shaped cone will distort more. Oval-shaped speakers are made to please the rear deck space considerations of many cars. One advantage of 6x9s, though, is that ovals have more area, and thus move higher air volume and produce more bass.
Where should I put my tweeters for best performance?
The best thing to do is install the rest of the system and leave the wires for the tweeters long. Grab a buddy (you've got one, right?) sit in the front street and have them hold one tweeter while you hold the other. (This helps you get them separated by the width of the car, something you'll find very hard to do by yourself.) Play some music that you're familiar with and put the tweeter in different locations with your buddy mirroring your placement. Listen for "staging" and "imaging." When you find a spot that works well, mount them there, if you can. If you can't put them where they sound the best, compromise by mounting them on the front door frame (inside, opposite the side view mirror) facing the space between the two front seats.
How do I tell if my speakers are in or out of phase?
If your speakers are out of phase, imaging will be vague and bass output will be reduced. To ensure that your speakers are hooked up in phase, check to make sure that the positive and negative leads are connected the same way to both your speakers and your receiver or amp. Make sure red is connected to red, black to black, etc. Check for correct phasing... With a 9-volt battery. Disconnect the speaker wire from the amp. Touch the wire you think is negative to the negative battery terminal (the big one). Touch the positive wire to the positive battery terminal (the other one). If your speakers are wired in phase, the speaker cone will move "out" and stay there. If they are out of phase, the driver cone will move "in" and stay there. (This won't help you for tweeters, only midranges and woofers. So when you're wiring your tweeters, be careful. Do it right the first time.) Phasing is never absolute in car audio situations, since speakers are rarely facing the same directions. Phasing differences mostly affect bass. Is your system lacking bass? Try changing the phase on your sub system. 90% of the time, that's the key to more bass!
How do I use my faders and balance settings to make my system sound better?
Proper setting of your front-to-rear fader and left/right balance controls is important for optimum staging and imaging in your system. Too much sound in the rear of the car (sometimes called "rear fill") will often eliminate staging altogether, forcing sound away from the front of the car, while too little rear fill will sound dull. Too much sound on one side of the car or the other will add an unrealistic element to the imaging. To adjust fade and balance, play a tape or CD you are familiar with and turn the rear speakers on full with the fade control. Listen to the rear speakers, and then slowly turn the fade up in the front speakers just until you can't tell the rear speakers are playing anymore, then ease off a tad. You're probably close to optimum setting when the front staging is such that the rear speakers provide little more than ambiance and space to the sound. Test it by going full on the front speakers (without losing the position you just attained). You'll hear an immediate loss of spaciousness in the sound with the rear speakers faded all the way down. Return to your optimum setting. Setting the balance is more difficult, so it's always a good idea to leave the balance fader at the "12 o'clock" position. That's as close to equal as you're going to be able to hear with your own ears.
Can my car stereo really hurt my ears?
Sure. Prolonged exposure to sound pressure levels above 85dB will cause permanent hearing damage. Professional audio competitions specify the use of hearing protection devices for their contests, especially at higher volume levels. You can test the dB level of your car stereo with a Sound Pressure Level Meter (available at electronics stores). If you're disoriented and your hearing is sort of muffled after you've been listening to your car stereo, or you hear ringing in your ears, then turn it down! If you have to shout at the person in the passenger seat, and you're not angry with them, then it's a good bet that your stereo is too loud. For the sake of your hearing, turn it down.
http://www.polkaudio.com/car/
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Parallel vs.Series?
Wanna play it loud? Try wiring your subs in a Parallel hook-up. A Parallel hook-up lowers speaker impedance (for example, when two 4-ohm subs are wired together, their impedance equals 2 ohms), and the lower the impedance, the more current is delivered. This higher current makes for some real volume, especially in your subs. But your amp's gotta be able to handle low impedance to be wired in a Parallel hook-up. Parallel hook-ups suck a lot of power, and can really damage an amplifier that can't handle low impedance. Check your specs before you attempt a Parallel hook-up.
A Series hook-up increases impedance, drawing less current from your amplifier (which is, in turn, less efficient). But it's usually easier for an amplifier to handle speakers in a Series hook-up.
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