Hello

I recently replaced the Premium Sound head units in my '98 EL Fairmont Ghia with a single DIN head unit. This was a terrible mistake on my part as the audio exhibited from the speakers now sounds terrible.

The replacement head unit states that it is 4 x 52, therefore, I am making the assumption that the head unit can provide a maxium of 42 watts of power to up to 4 x speakers.

I have browsed a few speakers online but they all appear to be a minimum of approximately 130 watts. Is there anything wrong with running speakers that have a higher wattage than what the head unit can provide?

At this stage I simply want 2 x speakers in the parcel shelf and 1 x speaker in each of the front doors. Am I correct is assuming all speakers for my vehicle are 6"?

If anyone can provide me with any advice or recommendations I would be most grateful.

Regards




Anthony
ScanQld.Net

Sorry to hear the speakers are playing up mate.

Lets start from the top then ?

Yeah you are correct in assuming that the headunit can put out 52 watts to 4 channels (front left, front right etc...) and no there is nothing wrong with running speakers that are rated higher then the headunit is providing, they still sound the same.

Also the thing about speaker ratings is (and it'll get you almost every time) the speakers are rated in MAX POWER whereas most headunit are rated in RMS (Root Means Square), the latter being what you really want to look at and brag about

Always buy/research/ask about RMS power of speakers/amps/headunits and not just "What power does it put out" because they will always tell you max power to make things seem alot better then they may actually be.

And yes again, you are also correct to assume stock EL speakers are 6" front and back


Also, in what way does the audio sound 'terrible' now ??
Is it really quiet or distorted ??

Hope this helps

Ideally you should match your speakers power rating to your amps power rating. But that is in the ideal world where manufacturers actually label things honestly and to a usable standard. Your 52 watt per channel head unit in reality is probably in the range of around 14wrms per channel and it is really difficult to match this to 130w speakers which probably couldn't handle 130w either in reality.
It is similar to these cheapo amps that are "rated" at 2000w for around $300, yeah right!!!!!
So at the end of the day buy speakers that you like the sound of and basically ignore most power ratings that you see bandied around in car audio as it is mostly bs!!!!
Cheers, Outlawxr6...

More important than Power Output is quality.

What is the 4 x 52Watts doesn't mean squat if it is at 0.1 THD

THD = Total Harmonic Distortion. Indicates how much distortion the amplifier produces. The lower number the better the quality, a good figure is less than 0.01.

S/N Ratio = Signal to Noise Ratio. Indicates how much of the feed to your speakers is signal (music) and how much is noise. The higher the number the better, a S/N Ratio of 98 for example is 98% music and 2% noise.

What are the specs on your head unit?

Panda

52W, MP3/ATRAC CD, REMOTE, SILVER CDXS2210S

Amplifier

* Output Power: 52w
* Pre Out: Rear/Sub switchable
* Sub Woofer adjust: Yes
* EQ3(3-band EQ): Yes
* Bass/Treble: Low/Mid/High
* Balance: Yes
* Fader: Yes
* Low Pass Filter: Yes
* ATT: Yes
* SSM(Source Sound Memory): EQ3

Tuner Pack

* Tuner: SSIR-EXA
* TUX-032 (Variation): Yes(Q)

Tuner

* Preset: FM18/AM12
* Auto Memory: BTM
* FM[Tuning range(MHz)/step(kHz)/de-emphasis(µs)] 87.5~108/50/50: Yes
* FM[Tuning range(MHz)/step(kHz)/de-emphasis(µs)] 87.5~107.9/200/75: Yes
* MW[Tuning range(kHz)/step(kHz)] 531~1602/9: Yes
* MW[Tuning range(kHz)/step(kHz)] 530~1710/10: Yes
* FM:Tuning range(MHz): 87.5-107.9,87.5-108.0
* MW:Tuning range(kHz): 531-1602,530-1710
* FM:Usable sensitivity (75 O)(dBf): 9
* FM:Intermediate frequency(MHz): 10.7MHz/450kHz
* FM:Selectivity (400 kHz) (dB): 75
* FM:S/N ratio (stereo) (dB): 67
* FM:S/N ratio (mono) (dB): 69
* FM:Total harmonic distortion (1kHz, stereo)(%): 0.5
* FM:Total harmonic distortion (1kHz, mono)(%): 0.3
* FM:Channel separation (dB): 35
* FM:Frequency response(Hz): 30~15k
* MW/LW/SW:Sensitivity (75 O) MW/LW/SW(µV): 30/-/-
* MW/LW/SW:Intermediate frequency (1st IF)(MHz): 10.7
* MW/LW/SW:Intermediate frequency (2nd IF)(kHz): 450

CD Deck

* Mecha Deck: MG-611TA/K
* Installation angle: 45°

CD Changer Control

* CD-TEXT Display/scroll(Main Unit): Yes
* CD-R/RW playback(Main Unit): Yes
* CD-R playback: Yes
* CD-RW playback: Yes
* Multi Session: Yes(MP3)
* MP3 playback(Main Unit): Yes
* Atrac3plus(Main Unit): Yes
* MP3: ID3Tag Indication(Version, Title/Artist/Album): Yes(ID3ver2.4)

Panel Design

* Panel Type: slot Detachable
* Panel finish Colour: Silver
* Key Illumination: Red
* Display Devicel(LCD/FL/OEL/TFT): LCD
* Display Type(back light Colour/Lcd type): W.LED/13seg
* Display Colour(Colour Variation/Nega or Posi): Blue Colour/Negative

Display Panel

* Key Illumination: Red only
* Dimmer Adjust: Manual

Other features

* Clock: 12H
* Beep: speaker
* Security: Detachable
* Card Remote: RM-X151

User Interface

* Operation: Direct

CD

* Digital Filter(fs): 8fs
* D/A Converter(bit): 1bit
* Frequency response(Hz,dB): 10~20k,+/-1dB
* S/N ratio (dB): 120
* Separation(dB): 85
* Total harmonic distortion(%): 0.01

General

* Preout output level(V): 2
* Preout impedance(ohms): 220
* Maximum output power (4O, 1kHz)(W): 52
* Speaker impedance(O): 4~8
* Low (Xplod) (at 60Hz) (dB): +/-10dB
* Mid (Xplod) (at 1kHz) (dB): +/-10dB
* High (Xplod) (at 10kHz) (dB): +/-10dB
* Battery type: CR2025
* Chemical condition: Lithium Electronic
* Weight per single battery: 2.4g
* Battery qty per product package: 1
* Dimensions (WxHxD)(mm): 178x50x178
* Mounting dimensions (WxHxD)(mm): 182x53x161
* Weight(kg): 1.2
* Connector type: 16P
* Ant connector: JASO
* Trim Ring (Colour): PAINT(Silver)
* Eco Info: Yes

So my headunits S/N ratio of 120dB means what?