Car audio distorting at high volume when bass hits

[davidwk]

Hey everybody, I’m new to car audio and also new to this forum and looking for someone who knows more than me who might be able to solve my issue. I’ve done some basic looking around the internet, but I figured actual people might provide more insight.
I drive a 2003 Chevy Impala
My headunit is the Sony XAVAX1000
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-6...-media-receiver-black/6283607.p?skuId=6283607 which has a built in amp.
The front door speakers came stock with 6 1/2s and a tweeter, I removed the 6 1/2 and put in these speakers https://www.jbl.com/gt7-gto9/GTO629.html?cgid=gt7-gto9
The stock wiring split the wires between the normal woofer and the tweeters, so I used the two wires from that were connected to the stock woofer to go into the new JBL speaker. (This is what I was advised to do by a Crutchfield audio support person via email)
In the back, I replaced the 6x9 stocks with https://www.crutchfield.com/p_109CL9630M/JBL-Club-9630.html?l=E
The head unit comes with a crossover option in the settings, and when I turn up the frequency on high pass filter, the distortion is reduced. (I don’t have a sub, so I assume when I turn up this filter I’m basically just taking the low frequencies out as there’s no sub attached to the system).
I play my audio from my phone, which is playing music from Spotify downloaded at the extreme setting (320 kbit/s). I use either usb to play music through Apple CarPlay, or I have also used Bluetooth. I don’t notice much of a difference based on which method I use to connect my phone to the head unit.
The distortion occurs only when I am playing the music at a high volume, and only when the bass is very low/deep and heavy. It makes the rest of the song playing sound muddy until the bass goes back away, and then the mids/highs will sound clear again.

Thank you to anyone with some advice, all of it is appreciated!

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[Bobbytwonames 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like you set your gains with the volume too high to begin with. Turn your bass gain down and turn your HU until distortion starts setting in. Then, adjust your bass gain at that volume. Just my $.02

 

[baldwaldo99]

Can you take a picture of the wiring that you used to connect the new jbl 2-way ? Is there an active or passsive crossover going between the Sony, and both the Jbl and the stock tweeter? The best way i have found to troubleshoot this kind of issue is to start at the beginning and make sure your install is correct for the materials that you have. It sounds like you are running the tweeters and the JBL on the same channel which may be the reason for the distortion. Try unhooking the stock tweeters. Unless you are running components or a separate crossover for the front channels, having that separate tweeter running off the same speaker wire as the JBL coaxials is going to cause issues. Try that first and let me know.

 

[davidwk]

Can you take a picture of the wiring that you used to connect the new jbl 2-way ? Is there an active or passsive crossover going between the Sony, and both the Jbl and the stock tweeter? The best way i have found to troubleshoot this kind of issue is to start at the beginning and make sure your install is correct for the materials that you have. It sounds like you are running the tweeters and the JBL on the same channel which may be the reason for the distortion. Try unhooking the stock tweeters. Unless you are running components or a separate crossover for the front channels, having that separate tweeter running off the same speaker wire as the JBL coaxials is going to cause issues. Try that first and let me know.

Here’s what the wiring looks like in the speaker compartment. I don’t have any pictures of how the wiring looks behind the head unit. I didn’t install the head unit myself, I bought it from Best Buy and they gave a free install so I figured I’d save myself from messing something up and ending up worse than I started.