New CDTs sound worse than stock speakers???

[Jamesr316 10+ year member]

Equip: Clarion HU, Audiobahn Sub Amp, Audiobahn Sub, Audiobahn 4 channel speaker amp, CDT component system.

For a while i just had the stock speakers in back, the RCAs from the HU going to the Sub Amp in the trunk and that going to the sub, and my CDTs wired and ran to the back but not hooked up because I was waiting on my speaker amp. I have gotten my amp, and I hooked it all up. The level of output on my CDTs are horrable. Way worse than stock, something cant be right.

I have isolated the problem by unplugging all but HU and the speaker amp and speakers getting power from the amp. I am pretty sure I have the crossovers wired correctly. It sounds as if someone is playing a song to you on the telephone really loud and you are 10 feet away listening to it.

Not sure what the prob could be.

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[ballstothewall 10+ year member]

How many watts to the speakers, where are they mounted, how big is the enclosure they are in?

Later

-Ryan

 

[Insomniac119 10+ year member]

Check the amp, I wouldn't powerd CDT's with an audiobahn amp IMO. Check the posative and negative, air leaking (unless it's infenet baffle), etc.

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like he might be under powering them. At least that's a common cause of that "distant" sound he described.

 

[Goldenknob 10+ year member]

how many pre outs does the HU have?

 

[lotas 10+ year member]

sounds more like an RCA problem to me

maybe you have 4channel selected on your amp instead of two, or maybe you have to use rca y-adapters for your HU, who knows, but I had a problem like this once, and it was an RCA problem.

 

[Jamesr316 10+ year member]

75 watts to the speakers. Were mounted in kicks.

The CDTs can handle 100RMS

I think the head unit has 1 preout, im not positive. Its an old clarion HU and I dont have a key to get it out. I did split the signal at the back to go to sub amp/speaker amp, but I also tried it with the original rca run to the back straight to speaker amp.

Don't have 2 channel selected on amp.

I am probably going to send the entire set back to CDT and have them test it and replace if nec. but would like to solve it if possible now. No matter how I set it up, it doesnt sound right.

 

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

Check the amp, I wouldn't powerd CDT's with an audiobahn amp IMO. Check the posative and negative, air leaking (unless it's infenet baffle), etc.

GEt off it.... I powered my CDT EF-61 CFi's with an audiobahn amp and it sounded Awesome, and I'll be using the same amp on the next speakers that are in the mail.

AUDIOBAHN AMPS AREN'T AS BAD AS THEIR SPEAKERS!!!!!

I havn't used the intake series, but my A6601T IS NOT A BAD AMP.

The problem lies somewhere else...

what series comps are they?

 

[Jamesr316 10+ year member]

GEt off it.... I powered my CDT EF-61 CFi's with an audiobahn amp and it sounded Awesome, and I'll be using the same amp on the next speakers that are in the mail.
AUDIOBAHN AMPS AREN'T AS BAD AS THEIR SPEAKERS!!!!!

I havn't used the intake series, but my A6601T IS NOT A BAD AMP.

The problem lies somewhere else...

what series comps are they?

A6004T amp,

EF-51CVi with Image Enhancement Kit

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

he didn't have them wired to the XO wrong? woofer/tweeter wires swapped. maybe explains the 'distant' sound? or would that've fried the tweeter on the first low freq. note?

 

[albarran9 10+ year member]

may be you can hook them up directly to your hu instead of your amp. or test them with a home recever unit. my friend had a sucky amp and had the same problem, then he hooked up the speakers to his home recever and they sounded fine. It might be the amp or the speakers, but you'll have to test every thing. check your gain on the amp and the settings on it also just to be sure

 

[Jamesr316 10+ year member]

i tried it on my home theater reciever, same sound. ****.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

they are prolly out of phase.

reverse the polarity on one of the crossovers at the amplifier (the input of the crossover, or the output of the amplifier, whatever is eaiser to acess)

and then listen. could be causing a HUGE cancelation issue //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

sometimes, they are placed the perfect distance apart, at the right ange, to cause terrible cancelation when wired in phase - hell, you never know - you might have accidentially wired one backwards //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

i tried it on my home theater reciever, same sound. ****.

that sounds like BS - because my CDT ef-51cv's and cl-62's sounded **** loud, and crisp as hell.

so i dont know where this is comming from. but hey, they could be duds (wich i doubt) or maybe your ears, are the ears of god - and only a bajillion-dollar speakers will sound good. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[AznRevlAzn 10+ year member]

hmm, iono what to say exept you either did something wrong, got a seriously 1 out of 921834601927512756-312 items that somehow are sh1tty, or you somehow blew them.

 

[AznRevlAzn 10+ year member]

oh yeah, is your amp set to high or full range? It cannot be set at low or you speakers = the dead and we'll have to beg for pics of the dead CDT's or GOOB will be on a banning spree and thus ban you //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif