Sudden loss of bass in car

[Jure]

Hi,

I have a VW Passat with factory speakers, there is a tweeter and a 6.5'' speaker installed in each door. Some time ago I replaced the old head unit with a Kenwood KDC-BT500U. The sound quality remained about the same as before and a wide range of sounds could be heard.

Recently I noticed the sound lost depth, it seems that the high frequencies now overpower the lows. When I put my ear next to any of the bigger (6.5'') speakers I can hear a faint / muffled sound coming out.

I have tried changing the head unit's settings which had little effect on the sound.

I assume the speakers are connected correctly because their connectors can be inserted in only one way. There is no visible damage on the speakers.

Could this be a head unit issue? Is it possible that all the speakers have gone bad at once?

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[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

u may have a grounding issue.. check behind hu see if any wires loose or touching metal.. or if u wired anything anywhere at all on car recently start there..

 

[ronin1717]

If the unit has a factory reset, try it to me sounds like a HU settings issue,

Does the issue exist using all sources, cd, radio,bt, ect or just one particular.

As stated above a loose wire could be a possibility

Blessings

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

Check your grounds ..they can cause lots of issues especially in a v dub ..make sure your head unit is grounded separate from the factory ground wire ..

 

[youdoofus]

Hi,I have a VW Passat with factory speakers, there is a tweeter and a 6.5'' speaker installed in each door. Some time ago I replaced the old head unit with a Kenwood KDC-BT500U. The sound quality remained about the same as before and a wide range of sounds could be heard.

Recently I noticed the sound lost depth, it seems that the high frequencies now overpower the lows. When I put my ear next to any of the bigger (6.5'') speakers I can hear a faint / muffled sound coming out.

I have tried changing the head unit's settings which had little effect on the sound.

I assume the speakers are connected correctly because their connectors can be inserted in only one way. There is no visible damage on the speakers.

Could this be a head unit issue? Is it possible that all the speakers have gone bad at once?

do you have a DMM (digital multimeter)? Check the impedance of the drivers if you do. Maybe the drivers fried. Could have shorted the passive crossovers as well.

 

[Jure]

Everyone thank you for your suggestions.

I removed the head unit and found no loose or uninsulated wires behind it.

After a factory reset the sound became deeper, the highs are lows are now more balanced. I tried a factory reset before but maybe keeping the head unit disconnected from the power source helped somehow...

Check your grounds ..they can cause lots of issues especially in a v dub ..make sure your head unit is grounded separate from the factory ground wire ..

Why is it necessary for the head unit to be separately grounded? Why not use the factory wire? The factory ground wire was used for years with the old head unit and a couple of months with the new one without any issues.

do you have a DMM (digital multimeter)? Check the impedance of the drivers if you do. Maybe the drivers fried. Could have shorted the passive crossovers as well.

I have a digital multimeter. Can I measure the resistance trough the speaker wire connector or do I have to connect it directly to the driver? Is the passive crossover connected between the driver terminals (similar to the capacitor behind the tweeter)?

 

[youdoofus]

Everyone thank you for your suggestions.
I removed the head unit and found no loose or uninsulated wires behind it.

After a factory reset the sound became deeper, the highs are lows are now more balanced. I tried a factory reset before but maybe keeping the head unit disconnected from the power source helped somehow...

Why is it necessary for the head unit to be separately grounded? Why not use the factory wire? The factory ground wire was used for years with the old head unit and a couple of months with the new one without any issues.

I have a digital multimeter. Can I measure the resistance trough the speaker wire connector or do I have to connect it directly to the driver? Is the passive crossover connected between the driver terminals (similar to the capacitor behind the tweeter)?

You're gonna want to do it directly to the driver without anything else connected to it