LOW QUALITY "sounding" setup - thought would sound decent - help???

[skwidstyle]

ok so i have a pioneer deh older decent quality deck with a 7 band parametric (not one of the cheaper ones avail. at walmart). it sounded pretty decent just hooked up to 2 mid to low quality punch 40 watt rms coaxials in front doors & 2 mid quality alpine 80 watt rms in rear doors. now i hooked up a jbl gto 4 channel that pushes 80 watts rms to each of the 4 channels at 4 ohms, which all speakers are 4 ohms (100 watts/channel rms at 2 ohms). at first, it honestly sounded no "louder" at all, basically the same. i set the gains with the tone cd to where they are green for both front & rear. after about 2-3 days, the "loudness" or volume still sounds identical to just the power from the deck itself, yet even at lower volumes the highs just hurt my ears.

... now from what i have gathered, i believe that higher quality speakers with a 93-95 db rating (both sets of current speakers are 88db) would make a noticable difference in volume & sound clarity & would get what i expected out of that amp. my question is am i right in my way of thinking, that replacing the speakers will in fact give me the sound i was expecting from the amp? i was looking into replacing all 4 speakers with either INFINITY KAPPA 62.11i 6.5" - RMS Power Handling: 5-75 watts

Impedance: 2 ohms

Frequency response: 45-25,000 Hz

Sensitivity: 95 dB

... OR... HERTZ® ECX-165 6.5"

Sensitivity: 93dB/SPL

Power handling: 140W Peak / 70W RMS

Frequency Response: 60Hz-23kHz

Impedence: 4 ohm

... opinions? facts even better from those who know?

Click to read more...

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

Um.

Are the fronts component/coaxial? (nevermind i see coaxial)

Are the rears component/coaxial?

What crossover points are you using?

What db test tone did you use?

What head unit do you have?

This probably has alot to do with your tuning and choice of speakers.

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

Um. Are the fronts component/coaxial? (nevermind i see coaxial)

Are the rears component/coaxial?

What crossover points are you using?

What db test tone did you use?

What head unit do you have?

This probably has alot to do with your tuning and choice of speakers.

I agree, with those speakers and amp you should get a decent sound, do you have a sub stage? the reason im asking is , id you dont have one you might be trying to use these speakers as bass too which will not work

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

What db test tone did you use?

He has a JBL GTO EZ amp, which has a built-in peak meter to tune it with an included test tone CD. It's idiot-proof and it takes all of 30 seconds to set the gains.

Try making some cuts on your equalizer. I would start in the mid bands and experiment until you find something that immediately makes an improvement. Stick to cuts only, not boosts. When you get it sounding better you can turn the volume up higher.

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

He has a JBL GTO EZ amp, which has a built-in peak meter to tune it with an included test tone CD. It's idiot-proof and it takes all of 30 seconds to set the gains.
Try making some cuts on your equalizer. I would start in the mid bands and experiment until you find something that immediately makes an improvement. Stick to cuts only, not boosts. When you get it sounding better you can turn the volume up higher.

Didn't know that about that particular amp. Most amps don't come with test CD and all, why did JBL do it with this one?

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Didn't know that about that particular amp. Most amps don't come with test CD and all, why did JBL do it with this one?

It takes the mystery out of setting gains. You don't need any tools and there's no math to perform.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

Agreed, look at your equalization settings.

 

[DukeNut 10+ year member]

besides the hu equalization, how did you set the amp's crossovers?

 

[bbeljefe]

If the EQ is flat and treble burns your ears at low volume... that sounds like gain settings are too high to me. If the CD has 0db tones, use them to set the gains. If it doesn't get a flat 1k wav file.

 

[skwidstyle]

He has a JBL GTO EZ amp, which has a built-in peak meter to tune it with an included test tone CD. It's idiot-proof and it takes all of 30 seconds to set the gains.
Try making some cuts on your equalizer. I would start in the mid bands and experiment until you find something that immediately makes an improvement. Stick to cuts only, not boosts. When you get it sounding better you can turn the volume up higher.

... thank you very much for this info!!! i am a total noob to tuning & how to get the best sound & what not ... but DAMMM!!! - i see the eq has -6 on each channel for a reason!!! adjusted the eq -3 on middle setting, -2 on first 2 outward each way, -2 on 2nd out to the right & -3 on main treble (furthest out to right) ... -1 on furthest 2 to the left ... **** suddenly sounds amazingAMAZING on 55 (max volume 62) ... THANK YOU FOR THIS VALUABLE HELP!!!