Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Muddy sound with replacements

I bought myself this car used (nice Alpine HU) last year, & replaced the stock 'non-premium' Ford speakers with their 'premium' speakers. Soon thereafter, I replaced those with some Sony X-plod 6x8's. However I still cannot get more than p***poor bass response. Here's the catch- they sound quite a bit better without the engine running. I know the exhaust drone naturally covers some of the bass, but I've heard better sound out of an 86' stock Escort.

Best Buy says I need an amp & sub since I won't get any quality bass out of 6x8's. I don't need my car to wake up the neighbors, but sucks when my wife out does mine with her stock speakers in her Matrix. Any tips? I wondered if I had a wiring problem from the head unit.

Factory amp was probably not bypassed (as it should be when upgrading to an aftermarket deck). This could be the cause of poor performance. Or, some of the speakers might be wired out of phase.

yes you will not get alot of bass out of a 6x8 speaker

try playing with the built in eq or filter so that the speaker only gets the frequecies that is can reproduce, that might help make them sound clearer

Thanks. I assumed since I have heard many 6x9's even those stock one's from GM, that I would get similar performance out of it. Are regular 6 inch or 6.5 better to go with in terms of sound reproduction? My wife has 6.5's and they sound quite nice for stock.

I have wondered about your point regarding the wiring. Do you mean the previous owner had placed positive wire on the negative post? When I ripped out the old speakers I noticed the person had used household speaker wire (small gauge as well) There was no premium amp in there. How decent of sound can I expect using 6x8's without an amp? Can y'all hear the bass without distortion?