More Power=More Harsh

[TurdFergueson2 5,000+ posts]

well I have an older premier deck, i believe the DEH-MP780. It was one of the best 5 years ago. Just wondering what getting a new deck would do for my SQ. definitely wouldn't even hesitate to get one if I knew it would help. What does my current deck lack?? just a 3 band parametric, ect..? what exact EQ specs should I look for in a new deck?? and I would consider going active, but have never done it so would need to familiarize myself with it
and helotaxi, thats a good idea to maybe go down to soCal. an excuse to head down there sounds good to me.

eddie

if you got a new deck that could do it, you could run an active setup. You have a decent amp for it. You would lose your rear fill unless you ran another 2 channel amp as well. Active is the way to go. there wouls be no need for the crossovers on the comps.

There are many more, but the most popular HUs for this are the Alpine 9887, Premier 800 or 880PRS, and a couple of older Alpines.

Then you could also get a different set of mids and tweets. Seas Neos are what I have. Good tweets, but fragile. Pair those with some nice mids and you will get the sound you want. I was gonna go with the mach5 6.5 mids, but I got a deal on some other mids. I might try the mach 5s if I ever get another car/setup. Heard nothibg but good about them.

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

The 800PRS (or 880) has a 16-band EQ and time alignment. TA allows you to delay your closer speakers so you can get a 'center' sound stage. You can also change to active which allows you to control the cross over point between mid/high and allow you to TA between mid/high. With upgrading to an Alpine 9887 or P800PRS you'll notice a big difference in your existing system.

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

if you got a new deck that could do it, you could run an active setup. You have a decent amp for it. You would lose your rear fill unless you ran another 2 channel amp as well. Active is the way to go. there wouls be no need for the crossovers on the comps.
There are many more, but the most popular HUs for this are the Alpine 9887, Premier 800 or 880PRS, and a couple of older Alpines.

Then you could also get a different set of mids and tweets. Seas Neos are what I have. Good tweets, but fragile. Pair those with some nice mids and you will get the sound you want. I was gonna go with the mach5 6.5 mids, but I got a deal on some other mids. I might try the mach 5s if I ever get another car/setup. Heard nothibg but good about them.

just wondering what you think is fragile about them. just the way the tinsel leads are, right?

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

just wondering what you think is fragile about them. just the way the tinsel leads are, right?

EXACTLY. Hot glue and soldering wires to the leads are a must with those tweets...

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

harsh speakers with more power and played louder = even more harsh sounding. I don't think you're going to get away from that with the comps you have.

There's a BNIB set of Boston Pro60's in the classifieds. I picked up one set from him for the GF's car and they sound quite good and get very loud off 80watts a side.

 

[efm80 10+ year member]

a 3 band parametric is ok but it doesn't offer a lot of adjustment. alpines parametric is a joke IMO. your old 780 had a 13 band graphic EQ. the 880 and 800 prs have a 16 band independent L/R EQ.
having more EQ and using it in the right spots can drastically improve the sound. it just takes some time to tune and test and tune again. it can take a lot of time and patience. my system always seems to get better and better with time.

but even still, w/o the help of my RTA, i would never have known that i needed to boost 500hz by 4db and cut 1.25k but 6db. i never would have tried making such big boosts or cuts, and at first i was still hesitant because they seemed so big, but i fixed those spots and it sounds a million times better. i also never would have confirmed my chosen crossover points.

actually my deck has only a 3 band parametric eq so I could definitely use more. I must have model number wrong. Would like to go active, cause I hear how good it could be if you tune it right, but I have no experience in going active nor do I know anyone who does. So this option might not be the best for me unless someone in Vegas wants to make $50 and can truly spend time, has experience, and tune it right for me?

also what is the diffrence between the 800prs and 880prs??

I did have one more idea. Now do you guys think 150watts is not enough power?? I highly doubt it and I know with the JL HD600/4 it is clean power. But what I was thinking is to just bridge the amp into two channels, it does 300watts x 2 and power the front infinity perfect components with that power. Of course I would turn the gain down to insure the cleanest power possible and then see if my Perfects sound better. I really doubt it, but just to insure that its not a power issue or something with the amp not really putting out a true 150 rms. This might be a dumb idea, but what do you guys think???

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

More power won't help the situation at all. 150w is plenty, and as you're realizing, probably too much for those comps. You're really gonna need new comps to get better sound at the volume that you seem to want.

 

[efm80 10+ year member]

More power won't help the situation at all. 150w is plenty, and as you're realizing, probably too much for those comps. You're really gonna need new comps to get better sound at the volume that you seem to want.

thanks bro, thats what I needed to hear gonna look into the cdt eurosports you talked about

eddie

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

the gains were set exactly to jl specs with the test cd and voltage meter so I don't think its that. do you think more power can make harsh components sound more harsh??
the attentuator is set to the lowest possible on crossover to -3db.

also its really not so much the treble, but more the mid frequencies. I love treble and brightness does not both me so much, but the harshness does. With my treble turned up it does not contribute to this blaring sound so much, but with the MID eq up on my deck causes this "harshness" to be really bad. I know I can turn it down and while it helps I lose alot of the mid sounds. I hate setting everything flat because then I do not like the sound of it as much. Sounds more muffled.

also the harshness happens only on some rock songs and is passed the 3/4 volume level on my deck. maybe I am just turning it up too much. can a headunit clip at high volume on it??

eddie

Before you ditch everything try to adjust the crossover back to zero instead of -3db. That will increase the highs, and MIGHT give you a more balanced sound that isn't so mid heavy or muffled. It may not do what you want, but it might improve the sound by giving you more highs to go with all those mids. Then maybe just a little light eq'ing could take out some of the mid harshness and still leave you with a pleasant balanced sound.

It will cost you nothing to try.

 

[kovemaster559 5,000+ posts]

this guy need a good EQ. (i cant wait for my threesixty.2)

 

[denali804 10+ year member]

Hertz mlk165's all day long.