JL Audio ZR Upgrade

[benamaster]

I currently have JL Audio 6.5in ZR Components and don't care for the sound they produce. At lower volumes the vocals are quiet and the midbass over powers them but at high volumes they get loud but sound harsh. I have a 450/4 powering them with an addition pair of XR Tweeters in the A-Pillars in a Cadillac Escalade. The Head Unit is a Kenwood DDX8017.

What would be some better components to upgrade to? I considered the Boston Z6 and some Focal speakers.

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[T3mpest 10+ year member]

My suggestion is get your tweets out of the A pillars. If your tweets are further away you'll find they might not sound so harsh at higher volumes. Then see if your tweets still need attenuation. (I'm assuming you toned them down since they were harsh at high volumes, if not do that first) Plus passively crossover speakers don't usually do well seperated that far away. Both speakers handle alot of info at the crossover point, messing up your soundstage in a critical area (2kish). I'd play with your install first, the ZR's are very nice, no reason to change when your not using them to full potential.

 

[954runner 10+ year member]

X2 on messng with the install. those are very nice speakers... i know my friend has the XR's and i love them... odds are there is a fix for ya that doesn't involve buying new speakers!

 

[benamaster]

I unplugged the additional tweeters in the pillars. I think that was the problem right there. I also went for the rear speakers and unplugged them too. I Bi-Amped the ZR's with a 450/4 and they do sound alot better than before they can go lower and sound alot better. I had the system installed but I think the installer overloaded the 450/4 with the additional tweeters and some coaxial speakers in the 3rd row. With just the ZR's it sounds good and with the front ZR's Bi-Amped it sounds quite a bit better.

I guess I didn't think it would make that much of a difference! Thanks

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

I unplugged the additional tweeters in the pillars. I think that was the problem right there. I also went for the rear speakers and unplugged them too. I Bi-Amped the ZR's with a 450/4 and they do sound alot better than before they can go lower and sound alot better. I had the system installed but I think the installer overloaded the 450/4 with the additional tweeters and some coaxial speakers in the 3rd row. With just the ZR's it sounds good and with the front ZR's Bi-Amped it sounds quite a bit better.
I guess I didn't think it would make that much of a difference! Thanks

No problem, you just learned one of the hardest and most important lessons you can learn in car audio. Installation is VERY important, even amazing gear can sound crappy if installed improperly. It's fairly easy to want to simply ugrade and throw more money at the situation. I'm glad you made it work out with the gear you already had.

 

[benamaster]

Thanks for the help!

I wasn't sure at first if it was the Kenwood Headunit DDX8017 or the Speakers and since it was "professionally installed" I didn't want to mess with it but I got tired of hearing that everything was set up right when it really wasn't.

I followed the JL Tutorial and set the Gain on the Amp properly and it sounds really good right now. It gets pretty loud too. The fronts sound great with 75 Watts going to the tweeter and 150 watts to the midbass.

Right now I have no rear speakers connected. Would it be wise to get another 450/4 for the rear? or something smaller? They are the same JL Audio ZR650's.

 

[dimond 10+ year member]

why go to through all that trouble/money with the rears, i say you shud just focus on your frontstage. Maybe do some sound deading.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

Thanks for the help!
I wasn't sure at first if it was the Kenwood Headunit DDX8017 or the Speakers and since it was "professionally installed" I didn't want to mess with it but I got tired of hearing that everything was set up right when it really wasn't.

I followed the JL Tutorial and set the Gain on the Amp properly and it sounds really good right now. It gets pretty loud too. The fronts sound great with 75 Watts going to the tweeter and 150 watts to the midbass.

Right now I have no rear speakers connected. Would it be wise to get another 450/4 for the rear? or something smaller? They are the same JL Audio ZR650's.

I'd say save the money and don't do rear fill. It'll end up being a lot of money for speakers you wont' really hear and will confuse your soundstage. If anything I'd spend some money harnessing the full power of your fronts. Maybe get some sound deadening. Try http://www.raamat.com. Rick (company owner) is a really cool guy and you can't beat raamat's priceerformance ratio!

 

[benamaster]

I have only one layer of Dynamat Extreme on the inside of the door. I see some people put it on the area between the door and the panel too. Should I do another layer of something like Raamat?