Newb putting in a simple stereo, need advice
 

Hey, new to the forum, new to car audio.

I've got a suzuki sidekick that i've put a set of alpine S series speakers into, (2x4" (45rms), 2x5 1/4" (55rms) and a 12" sub).
I'm running the speakers directly from a 4 channel 25rms kenwood deck and the sub is being powered by a rockford 200m amp.

I hardly know anything about car audio and mostly put in the system since I had gotten it for cheap.

It is all functional and wired but I'm concerned that I'm sending too much low into the speakers themselves. When the system is on the speakers are bouncing in and out like crazy, i've put the bass level on the deck to minimum to stop it and don't pump the volume.

How can I reduce low's going to the speakers themselves so that I can have proper sound without blowing them out?
Would the best bet be to run them into a suitable amp so that I can filter the sound? is there anything other than another amp that could do this?

you need some form of a crossover.

what is the model of the headunit you are using?
most units in recent years have built in crossovers which can be applied to achieve this.



or get yourself a small 4 channel amp for the speakers. you would be doing yourself a big favour there. i doubt the headunit even puts out 25watts rms. probably closer to 16ish. which means your speakers are very underpowered!

Check if your deck has a high pass filter (HPF) option. If so, set it to at least 63hz

the deck is a kenwood kdc-mp145 I believe, I don't think it has a HPF.

I wouldn't mind putting in an amp for the speakers, I just can't find a cheap one at the moment.

also, it does have a LPF, it only has 3 settings, being 85, 120 and 160. The amp has a lp switch and its own cross over, should I still set the LPF on the deck?

Your deck has no way of filtering it's own speaker outputs so it is sending full range sound to all 4 speakers. Here's a cheapo solution for now......:thumbsup:

If you go to an electronics parts store and get 4 X 400microfarad capacitors and wire one inline on the positive lead for each speaker they will provide a -6db/octave HPF @ 100hz for your speakers. This should help with the bottoming out at higher volume but you still need to be careful with the volume control.......:smokin:

You can use either or both of the LP filters.....if you set the one in the amp you will not have to reset your deck if you lose power for some reason.

4 channels amps generally only come with one set of high (or speaker) level inputs, so if you use your present deck without some extra work you will lose your fader function.

I have been a KW deck fan for years, my suggestion for your first upgrade from what you have now would be one of the KW Excelon series decks......the model year is changing and if you can find a dealer with a KDC-X493 you can probably get it pretty cheap......:smilie_da Those decks have Xovers for their built-in amp channels as well as the RCA outputs and the extra power from the deck will run your speakers just fine......:smokin:

HTH

side kick eh....i have a 94 tracker there pretty close.....you can put 5 1/4 speakers in the front doors and beleve it or not you can fit 6x9 speakers in the rear if you cut yourself a hole

Yeah I built my own enclosures that take up the rear body openings above the rear wheels, but I only put in 5 1/4's in there and 4" speakers to replace the fronts.

The main concern for me here is keeping it cheap, replacing a deck I bought a week ago doesn't interest me, but I can get an amp for close to nothing at a pawn shop.

Also, my smallest speakers are 45 rms, does that mean that is the max rating of amp I can attach them too?
I only mention this because I can get a 4 chan 50rms amp for about $100, the only car audio shop offered me a 45rms KW amp for $300.

Can you buy crossovers independently?

Buying an amp that will overdrive your present speakers will not solve the problem and I can think of a couple of ways to use the $100 that will get you better sound.

If you want the best of both worlds, sell the 4" to someone and put the 5 1/4" in the front. Buy a pair of 6X9s and put them in the back. You will get a lot more sound in general and mid-bass in particular from the larger speakers all around. The deck power will suffice for now to drive them, if and when you decide to upgrade to an amp the larger speakers will sound even better....:thumbsup:

I assume from the sub amp that you are driving a 2ohm sub load.......if it is a 4ohm load there is another option you can think about......:smokin:

HTH