I was super happy with my infinity kappa perfect components in q-logic external kick-panels and the doors of my truck. Definitely put out lots of sound.
Kicker CS 5.25s too weak, any car stereo guys here?
- Thread starter CreepinDeth
- Start date
I was super happy with my infinity kappa perfect components in q-logic external kick-panels and the doors of my truck. Definitely put out lots of sound.
ChasUGC
TJ Enthusiast
Yeah, I blew out my Infinity speakers in one weekend. But, I drove them with a PDX-V9. Although, I didn't take them anywhere near their RMS rating. I guess I pushed them too hard. The combination of an amp and a headunit can be deceiving for total output wattage, especially when you add a distortion variable. A lot of headunits have high distortion rates near their maximum volume. I remember they started whining and the next day, nothing but a death rattle on the front two. A couple of days later, the back two went out too. Luckily, I got a warranty return on them.
How did you set the gains on those Infinitys you blew??
Reason I ask, fastest way to kill speakers is improperly set gains or frequency filters. Typically we set the volume to 75% and set the gains with an Oscilloscope to make sure it doesnt clip the sine wave.
I have to email Infinity to verify how they got their SENSITIVITY rating of 93db. If they are falsely advertising because the volume next to the kickers was about the exact same side by side. That tells me these are likely 90 db like the kickers and they rated them 93db with the falsely used 1w/2.83volts marketing scam.
If true, I am sending them back and noting that as the reason. I am not gonna play that game, I will get the Hertz instead
Reason I ask, fastest way to kill speakers is improperly set gains or frequency filters. Typically we set the volume to 75% and set the gains with an Oscilloscope to make sure it doesnt clip the sine wave.
I have to email Infinity to verify how they got their SENSITIVITY rating of 93db. If they are falsely advertising because the volume next to the kickers was about the exact same side by side. That tells me these are likely 90 db like the kickers and they rated them 93db with the falsely used 1w/2.83volts marketing scam.
If true, I am sending them back and noting that as the reason. I am not gonna play that game, I will get the Hertz instead
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ChasUGC
TJ Enthusiast
The Infinity's sound good, but if you put any power to them, they are gone. It would be the same if you had a stock stereo and really cracked it up, because you would be adding tremendous distortion. Distortion spikes will kill speakers just as fast. If you have Infinity's and keep them nice low and clean volume, they will probably last a while, and sound great. But, that really won't work in an open vehicle like a Wrangler. If you put a 50 watt amp on them, and crank up your headunit, they are gone. Although, Infinity Reference may be better than Infinity Kappa's, so that is a positive. Also, I had the 4x6 IK's in the front. They blew first, then the 5.25's. Once I put the 5.25 CDT's all around, it was like day and night. I also insulated the front speakers using polyfill behind them, which really brought them out more, and balanced the sound. I was losing too much sound into the dash. I can blast my CDT's and stand 25 feet away from my Jeep, and play many songs while washing my Jeep, and they haven't blown in 8 years. I recently upgraded my 125 RMS CDT's to the 150RMS version, and they sound even better. I really don't trust the Kickers, Polks or Infinity's with any amplified music. Their 65RMS and lower rating won't cut it for me in my Jeep. If I'm in the mood, and I have a long drive, I want to be able to crank it up on the highways for hours and not have to worry about blowing out my speakers.
As far as my gains and such, they were set professionally by an authorized distributor who sold me the amp and the speakers. This is why they took them back under warranty. I also make sure that my mp3 files aren't clipping too, because that can cause the same problem. I use a program like Soundforge or Cool Edit Pro to check them when they don't sound clean in the low end or high end. I will EQ them and Normalize them to make sure they aren't saturated or clipping. I also perform meticulous clip and pop checks and removal. This is why all my music sounds so clean and nice. I ripped most of my music from CD's and I always check the levels.
As far as my gains and such, they were set professionally by an authorized distributor who sold me the amp and the speakers. This is why they took them back under warranty. I also make sure that my mp3 files aren't clipping too, because that can cause the same problem. I use a program like Soundforge or Cool Edit Pro to check them when they don't sound clean in the low end or high end. I will EQ them and Normalize them to make sure they aren't saturated or clipping. I also perform meticulous clip and pop checks and removal. This is why all my music sounds so clean and nice. I ripped most of my music from CD's and I always check the levels.
Alot of bery good info, thanks
After talkin with Infinity Customer Service rep (what a shit show) and discovering the Infinitys are in fact rated with that new BS sensitivity rating system, theyre coming out, and being sent back
Im not playin that game of false advertising.
Crutchfield dont even carry them anymore for a reason
I ordered the Polk 5.25” components from Crutchfield
He also agreed the Infinitys cant handle the power. Plus they werent louder then the coaxial Kicker Cs, but did provide a better sound just because of the tweeter location
Im eager to hear the Polk DB components
He recommended them to match the Skar Audio TX65s
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-59TdtbYxPLw/p_107DB5252/Polk-Audio-DB-5252.html
After talkin with Infinity Customer Service rep (what a shit show) and discovering the Infinitys are in fact rated with that new BS sensitivity rating system, theyre coming out, and being sent back
Im not playin that game of false advertising.
Crutchfield dont even carry them anymore for a reason
I ordered the Polk 5.25” components from Crutchfield
He also agreed the Infinitys cant handle the power. Plus they werent louder then the coaxial Kicker Cs, but did provide a better sound just because of the tweeter location
Im eager to hear the Polk DB components
He recommended them to match the Skar Audio TX65s
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-59TdtbYxPLw/p_107DB5252/Polk-Audio-DB-5252.html
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ChasUGC
TJ Enthusiast
Yeah, my 4x6 in the front taught me a lot about an unbalanced 4.1 sound system. I tried to explain it all years ago, now I'll just digress. If you're happy, that's all that matters. Cheers.
Something doesn’t seem right here.
A good way to kill speakers is by over loading your amp (distortion then kills your speakers).
I prefer to run a class-D amp that’s more than the speakers need. I back off the gain knowing my speakers are getting clean power bc the amp won’t overheat.
Years ago I chose a Steve Meade distortion detector over an oscilloscope largely bc the only way I’d get a scope is if I got a good one to nerd out with, and I didn’t want to pay that much for something I won’t use much anymore (I’m old Tomcat and Superhornet avionics nerd from my previous life).
With the detector, I’d adjust the gain to around 80% or so of my total volume iirc.
Now days I don’t do any of that stuff bc my ears know what sounds right. I set it up and tweak it multiple times under different driving conditions. I haven’t run full doors or windows in well over a year so I haven’t changed my settings that are currently dialed in for the open top.
After re-bedding my brakes again tonight, I paid close attention to the balance of the sound. I definitely have more output from my 5.25 dash speakers than my 6.5” tower speakers, but the tower speakers do a good job of assisting, and the sub completes it.
Edit: @CreepinDeth I failed to mention that the front has been louder since moving to enclosed half doors from tube doors. I may back off the front a little bit.
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Were you thinkin these components up front?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001O6OAUA#Ask?tag=wranglerorg-20
I noticed in the original specs you ir someone posted theyre using that new 2v / 1w measurement system to post higher DB ratings which Im not a fan of. However, I read some threads on mobile audio about them and alot of praise. They look pretty beefy so I may try them out
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ChasUGC
TJ Enthusiast
It really depends on how your audio system is set up. I don't really need tweeters directly in my ear. I prefer 5.25 all around, so that all speakers are producing the same sound quality, and then if I need to focus more volume for the front speakers to balance them, I will add a little polyfill to the rear of the speaker. I actually added so much polyfill to back of my front speakers that they overpowered my rear speakers. So, I took a little bit out until they were perfectly balanced according to my ear, at zero fade. I actually used the coaxial speakers so that all four speakers are identical. But, I am really a perfectionist in most aspects of my life, for the good or bad. I have been really happy with the CDT's, and like I said, they haven't blown out with my PDX-V9 in over eight years. If you look at the Google information regarding sensitivity, it really doesn't define speaker quality. If fact, I feel it is the opposite. I put enough power to those speakers to get volume, and what I want is quality and smooth response. CDT's deliver that. If I want to EQ the treble a little higher, they are really responsive. They are a smooth, strong and responsive speaker. They are well known for their smooth response. This is what I want in a speaker. I want smooth sound in my music. Whether it is Rock, Metal, R&B, Jazz, Classical, or Contemporary. I want my music to relax me. But, to each his own. This is just my take on it. I don't mean to offend anyone's personal preference. Cheers.
P.S. These are the 5.25 Coaxials that were referred to me by CDT Customer Support.
https://www.cdtaudio.com/coaxials/es5ex1.php
This is their homepage.
https://www.cdtaudio.com/cdtnew22/index.htm
You might want to contact them to make sure that the Components that you are interested in, are the lastest version. If you get them from a third party, the cost might be more than directly from CDT. CDT Customer Service is really responsive and helpful. Here is their contact information.
support@cdtaudio.com
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ChasUGC
TJ Enthusiast
Actually no, it’s more like de-tuning a high output engine to be more reliable for a given application (less heat equals reliable output).
There’s a gain knob for a reason.
In 15 years of building systems, I’ve never blown a speaker. You blew your speakers in a weekend. To each his own.
I went with a set of Morel Maximo 5 components up front. I fabbed up some tweeter mounts mounted to the door strap pin, which is the ideal location in most vehicles, even in a TJ. Dash mounted tweeters have abundant problems - distance from mid driver being too far as well as distance from listener being wildly different between the two - to name a couple. With kick panel tweeters the distance to your head between the left and right tweeters are much more equal than if they were on the dash where the left tweeter is in your face. It would be hard for even DSP to overcome this bad positioning.
I’m using a kicker key 200.4 amp to power the components, 1 channel for each mid and 1 channel for each tweeter (4 channels for 4 drivers). It’s great everything is powered well, but this amp shines because of its built in automatic DSP and built in crossover that matches the crossover point of the Morels.
You might think the sound stage would be too low with the tweeters mounted by your legs, but with the DSP ran using the microphone placed on the top of your seat, the sound stage is exactly where it should be - at the windshield. It’s quite amazing how well this works.
Rear sound bar speakers are polks that are greatly lowered in output compared to the front. I want the sound coming from in front of me. The rears only help to fill the sound in slightly, without you even noticing they are there.
This set up beats any average coax you throw in the dash, hands down.
I’m using a kicker key 200.4 amp to power the components, 1 channel for each mid and 1 channel for each tweeter (4 channels for 4 drivers). It’s great everything is powered well, but this amp shines because of its built in automatic DSP and built in crossover that matches the crossover point of the Morels.
You might think the sound stage would be too low with the tweeters mounted by your legs, but with the DSP ran using the microphone placed on the top of your seat, the sound stage is exactly where it should be - at the windshield. It’s quite amazing how well this works.
Rear sound bar speakers are polks that are greatly lowered in output compared to the front. I want the sound coming from in front of me. The rears only help to fill the sound in slightly, without you even noticing they are there.
This set up beats any average coax you throw in the dash, hands down.
If they were too lweak for you, look into the BLAM relax series. Inexpensive and 2ohm, play loud, crisp and clean with a simple amplifier like soundstream or soundigital.
If you want to go loud loud loud, then PRV is the way to go. Amps and speakers.
