Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio rewiring speakers

i replaced factory deck with clarion dzx615. after tracing the install i noticed that the speaker outputs lead to a factory amp. the sound is much better yet the speakers still distort quite quickly especially if any bass is added. would rewiring the speakers directly to the deck give better sound/volume? the second problem i noticed is that my 10" Kaption sub (powered w/power acoustik amp cr280 using sub preouts) provides little relative output unless the gain is on max. is the difference in volume between the speakers and sub due to the fact that the speakers are getting the amplified signal of the deck from the factory amp. third question has anyone tried any of the blaupunkt 6x8 speaker line. thanks for any advice.

karl

wire from the head unit for now. you got to replace the factory speakers if you want to really make a differance. Also something to think about get a good 4 channel amp Pheonix gold,or zapco and wire from that. that might help with sub.

You'll want to order the amp bypass kit from Crutchfield (888) 955-6000 for $20. It's very easy (about an hour) with the kit and makes a notable improvement. It's definately worth every penny.

I'm a little puzzled by your low sub output. The Clarion has got 4V pre-outs, so you'll most likely put the gain to minimum (unless your amp handles up to 8V worth of signal) to match the signal level between the HU and amp. It could possibly be your sub requires more power than the 170w you're sending it (assuming you're bridging the amp to a mono load with a SVC 4ohm sub). It's possibe that your sub could also be in an enclosure which is poorly suited to it.

Blau's are decent speakers. Nothing outstanding, but much better than stock.

thanks for the tip about the amp bypass kit. i haven't really looked too closely yet but do i remove the glove box to gain access to the wiring or am i able to go from underneath?

the kaption sub cve 104p was sold in a ported enclosure specificly for it so i assume the box is correct. before i added the clarion deck i was using the hi-level inputs of the sub amp. output levels of speakers and sub were matched at mid gain setting (min gain if i switched on bass boost!). so i don't know why the gain must now be on max with the new set up.

is the input to the factory amp from the clarion deck greater than the 4v preouts to the subamp. would this account for the difference in sound levels of speakers vs sub. when i disconnected the speakers, the sub alone sounded just fine at mid gain. i would really like to fix this problem before changing speakers.

thanx for your input

The glovebox just pops out.

I think I understand your problem now. With the stock system, the HU was sending an unamplified signal to the factory amp. With swapping out to a high-powered aftermarket deck and not bypassing the factory amp, you're now sending an amplified signal to the factory amp.

Bypassing the factory amp should take of your level matching problems and greatly reduce the distortion in your system.

i'll get the by-pass kit immediately. i find the stock speakers not that bad actually. i may not even change them if this works.

karl

The stockers are okay. I've heard much worse stock. Cutting the bass to them at 150Hz or so really makes an improvement in their sound too. You can pick up some bass blockers from www.partsexpress.com for $2 a pop.

Klee: I have blau PCxt573 in the back of my tour, I had them in the front but I guess I blew the driver side or something. They begin to rattle and then go bad. Mabey it was just me or the install but I probably won't buy them again I just put new Pioneer 6867's in and they sound great. Oh yeah use Dynomat if you can the stuff works!