If speakers are distorting is gain set to high or is the power handling limit reached

[TheGrandpa]

like title says, im curious if i bridged my amp instead would my speakers be louder or is this all the power they can take. My speakers distort when the hu volume is at 30 of 35, r they distorting b/c that is how my gain is set? or can i send more power to them for them to be louder?

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[Flex68 10+ year member]

Bridging is not ur answer....

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

need more info, what is the equipment?

 

[West]

If your speakers are clear at low levels but start to distort at high levels. They cannot take anymore power, you need higher RMS speakers if you want it louder...

 

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

Or he is clipping them from headunit signal.

 

[TheGrandpa]

im running 80 to each side, i guess ill just have to go with higher power handling, thanks guys, I'll probably just run them as rear fill but strictly midbass, their pioneer coaxials with some pretty nice midbass, not very low extension but crossed at 80hz 12db slope is about as low down as they can go without sounding bad, i can bridge my amp for 200 watts x 2 at 4 ohm, what speakers would you recommend, 6.5" 2 way components, around 250-400 range

 

---------- Post added at 10:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 PM ----------

 

Or he is clipping them from headunit signal.

that would mean the gain is set improperly? I didnt use a dmm just by turning to 3/4 volume and setting to just before distortion

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

cdt hd 61 a components from me

 

[TheGrandpa]

hat unity? clarus looks a bit pricey for me, Image Dynamics, Focal, Rainbow?

 

[CHEMMINS 10+ year member]

im running 80 to each side, i guess ill just have to go with higher power handling, thanks guys, I'll probably just run them as rear fill but strictly midbass, their pioneer coaxials with some pretty nice midbass, not very low extension but crossed at 80hz 12db slope is about as low down as they can go without sounding bad, i can bridge my amp for 200 watts x 2 at 4 ohm, what speakers would you recommend, 6.5" 2 way components, around 250-400 range 

---------- Post added at 10:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 PM ----------

 

that would mean the gain is set improperly? I didnt use a dmm just by turning to 3/4 volume and setting to just before distortion

Well basically you said you set the gains at 3/4 of max volume. So thats about 27 on the dial. You set the gain so you could hear distortion there. Going to 30 on the HU is going to increase the distortion you heard at 27. No you can not turn the volume up any more. Set your gains at your desired level you want to listen to on the HU.

 

[TheGrandpa]

i hear ya, obviously its just not going to be loud enough for me in its current state

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I'm not convinced buying new speakers is entirely what you need to do. 80 watts really isn't a lot of power, and with careful tuning a whole lot of speakers should be able to handle that with ease and common sense. You're not using all of that power all the time, either.

Raising the high pass filter will help with power handling. Turning off bass boost, loudness, or turning down your bass or mid EQ settings will help. I don't know what head unit you have so I can't give specific tips. If you find the treble is too loud, for example, don't compensate by cranking the midrange up. Turn the treble down. This will help avoid distortion at high volume levels.

As a general rule, as power handling of speakers goes up the sensitivity must go down. What I mean is you can't assume a 150W RMS speakers is going to be louder than a 75W RMS speaker. That's without getting into the different ways sensitivity can be measured, plus the way RMS ratings are made up.