VW Monsoon and Speaker OHM questions

[ChaoSki]

Hi, new here, have bunch of Car audio questions.

I have a 99 Passat with Monsoon system. Speakers are blown (sounds like carp) so I decided to get some new speakers. I decided to go with 2 pairs of Kenwood KFC P709PS components. I have a Clarion CZ-201 headunit btw.

Personally I would like to keep the speakers hooked up to Monsoon Amp, but I'm finding out that rear speakers run at 2 ohm (act as "subs") and my Kenwoods are 4 ohm.

Since Monsoon already has a crossover build in, I was going to hook up components (without Kenwood crossover) right to stock wiring. But I'm a little worried that the amp pushing 2 ohm to rears might kill them.

Also worried that the set up won't sound good AT ALL due to "who knows" frequency of monsoon system (not much info out there about these amps).

I do have an option of hooking up an old school Rockford Fosgate 200.2, but would prefer not to as I might end up with a sub set up. I also have an option to just hook it up the head unit directly....

What do you guys think?

Another question I have is about baffles, I bought these mostly to protect from water etc...but wondering if I should cut them in half or use the whole thing. Some say baffles might make it sound worse then without (or half baffle). What's a general opinion on these?

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[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Those baffles will definitely hurt performance. Car audio mids are almost always designed to play infinite baffle, which means a space behind the speaker that creates no back pressure on the cone as it moves, but that has a baffle separating front and rear sound waves. So knowing this, you can imagine that if you stuff those mids into a tiny foam enclosure (you are calling a baffle) will make it perform poorly. What will happen is the foam baffle will make the speaker act like its in a small enclosure, motor force on the speaker will not be adequate to overcome the resistance placed on cone movement, cone excursion potential will drop, and low frequency response will suffer as a result.

I dont know much about Monsoon systems, other than most people seem to gut the whole thing and start over. The rear speakers running at a higher impedance than the old stock ones means the amplifier will not be able to output its full potential power. And the fact you have no idea what the crossover is set to in the monsoon system would be a concern as well. Hopefully someone with more direct experience with a Monsoon setup will chime in.

 

[ChaoSki]

Sounds like I will have to cut the baffles in half and cover top half of the speaker from water.

But in general running 4ohm speakers on Amp line that pushes 2ohm will only put out less power then original correct?

I shouldn't have to worry about blowing the speakers right? I'm pretty sure when it's the other way around (2ohm speakers and 4ohm feed) it can cause an issue.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Sounds like I will have to cut the baffles in half and cover top half of the speaker from water.
But in general running 4ohm speakers on Amp line that pushes 2ohm will only put out less power then original correct?

I shouldn't have to worry about blowing the speakers right? I'm pretty sure when it's the other way around (2ohm speakers and 4ohm feed) it can cause an issue.

Ohms is a measure of resistance. Lower resistance means more usable power (basic physics). So going from a lower impedance to a higher one simply means increasing resistance... lowering output. But yes, going the other direction, to a lower impedance, can cause issues, especially if this means the amp produces more power than the speakers can handle, or if the lowered impedance is below what the amplifier can handle.

Cutting a (large) hold in the baffles will work fine, many people do this.

 

[ChaoSki]

Thanks, yea figured less power is actually not a bad thing. Current Monsoon is pretty loud (almost too loud).

now I'm just worried about frequencies Monsoon puts out...hope my speakers will sound ok. I can also try few things with Equalizer on my head unit.

 

[MONSONwarrior Premium Member]

I just installed some ID Chamelleon comps in a Passat with the doors like that and it's a pain, you've gotta buy the adapters, and in our case the basket was too big on the mid so we had to modify it. But the sealed doors didn't really sound bad to me at all, they still have low end response, but we should really deaden them.

 

[ChaoSki]

I have the adapters //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Did you have Monson in your Passat? Did you hook up 2way or components.

And if components, did you use speaker cross over or just left them out (I believe most leave them out)

 

[bjude1 10+ year member]

You should use the passive crossovers and hook the speakers directly to the radio. The Monsoon amp will put out half volume at 4ohms and that’s not a good thing. I personally would use the punch amp on a sub. Dampen the front doors and use expanded PVC to build sturdy plates. This will space the driver out of the door making the baffle a useless idea the speakers were made for a bit of moisture and if you have more than a little than that is a whole different problem.

 

[ChaoSki]

I installed the Kenwoods today. Here is few observations.

Speakers I took out were 4ohm front and rear. Made of paper.....surrounds were SHOT. THey looked EXACTLY like the speakers I took out of my none monsoon 99 Passat (1st one). So basically VW decided to use the same speakers as stock audio with Monsoon Amp. :sly::screwy://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/banghead.gif.8606515f668c74f6de0281deb475b6fd.gif

I noticed that stock components did have a tiny crossover at the tweeter and were wired up just like components speakers. After TONS of reviews I thought I would run into each speaker going into amp line, for 99 Passat monsoon, not true.

So I installed the 6.75 kenwoods exactly how intended, with crossover and all.

They sound AMAZING with the monsoon amp. What a difference.

I've had a LOT of car audio systems over the years (when I was younger)...and I have never heard tweeters/mids sound like this. I was very impressed. I'm also happy I stuck with Monsoon amp, no need to remove/replace.

Would def recommend these Components for $65 a pair, great bang for the buck.

Next week I'm off to 12" Kenwood Sub install with a Fosgate 200.2 old school amp. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif