Car Audio: Just Installed Some Infinity Reference Speakers

[PCMarine]

Today I installed some Infinity Reference 6x8/5x7 speakers in my Ford Taurus (2 front, 2 rear and 2 tweeters) - but I kept my stock tweeters. These speakers are 180 watt peak, 60 watts RMS - and they are being powered by my Pioneer head unit 50 watts peak, 22 watts RMS.

The mids and highs are pretty good. They are clearer than factory speakers, but not a HUGE difference since the tweeters did a good job with the highs already.

However there is no bass/punch at all. My factory speakers were able to punch decently and these Infinity's are of much better quality (not made with a paper cone, etc.). It sounds like the bass is flat and "artificial". I didn't use the speaker connectors that directly plug into the factory harness, but instead soldered the connections instead and am pretty sure that I got the polarities correct.

I tested each speaker with the fade/balance, and each speaker performs roughly the same with bass reproduction.

Is this an issue with the speakers needing breaking in (as I hope) for the woofer develop lows? Or is it a power issue - even though 22 watts provided plenty of punch with just the factory speakers?

Thanks for your help
-Matt

 

[Anubis]

buy a sub

 

[PCMarine]

Sorry, and no I don't want to buy a sub or external amp to give the speakers some extra juice since I've already spent too much money and installing the amp would be a huge pain in the ass which I don't have time for.

But thanks for the suggestion anyway

 

[Anubis]

thats really the only way you are gonna get good bass tho, and i dont me ass shattering bass, you only need 1 10in sub and like 100 watts to it

 

[Kelvrick]

Just wondering, but did you rewire, or did you use the stock ones

 

[electricJ]

I have Infinity Reference 6-1/2" in both front and rear and definately noticed a lack of bass after installing those. Of course, I do have an amp + 3 10's so it doesn't matter to me. I'd highly recommend adding an amp and sub, there would be a world of difference when compared to your original stock setup. It really is not difficult at all; I've always considered it the easiest mod you can do to your car. Trust me, even being a noob at it, it would only take a few hours to install it cleanly.

 

[NutBucket]

Basslink. Probably about $100 or so on ebay, easy to install and compact. Results are quite impressive.

 

[glen]

Unless the laws of physics don't apply to your car, you won't get much bass without a sub. Low frequencies require lots of air to be moved. This means you need lots of surface area or cone movement.

 

[RagingBITCH]

I had Reference's in my old car - both 6.5 up front and 6x9's in the back. The purpose of aftermarket speakers is to give overall better clarity and sound. Bass is meant to be handled by an aftermarket sub. For what it was worth, the rear 6x9's in my car did fairly well in the bass department, as did the 6.5's up front.

My current car I have Alpines installed and noticed the same thing. All that went away when I put in my Basslink. It almost drowns out the rear 6x9's, which really is useless fill and only for the rear passengers.

 

[Apex]

The mid-sized infinity speakers are known to be rather lacking in mid-bass.

 

[NutBucket]

Or you could have bought Eclipse speakers. I noticed almost zero difference from stock to those. Course, everything else sounded much better

 

[phantom309]

You need more power. Your amp isn't driving the new speakers well enough. I had the same problem in my WRX.

 

[CVSiN]

Infinity is not known for its lows my friend...
Infinity are among the best for clarity and highs..
you will need a small base tube or another bass solution if you want balanced sound.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I would just bite the bullet and buy a sub. I went through the same thing with my car. Factory speakers actually sounded better for bass than the more expensive aftermarket ones but the mids and highs were much better in the aftermarket. I put a 2 Alpine speakers in the front and 2 Kenwoods in the rear but it didn't sound as loud as before. So I had a local shop install an amp and one 12" sub in a carpeted box and the sound is soo much better. I have a decent Pioneer detachable face CD player in the car which also improved the sound quality quite a bit.

I think I paid about $180 installed for the sub.

It's amazing how crappy the sound systems in most cars are.

 

[TheAudit]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Basslink. Probably about $100 or so on ebay, easy to install and compact. Results are quite impressive.

That's what I would do. Simple to install: it's quick, cheap and easy bass.

 

[Ilmater]

Ifinitys are horrible for bass. I'm sorry, but if you're smart enough to know that there are forums where you can come to for advice then you're an idiot for buying those POS speakers.

 

[Rob9874]

If you don't want a sub, an amp is your best bet. An amp can work wonders. 22W isn't going to produce much bass anyway. Your facotry speakers probably had more bass, but were higher output (lower clarity) speakers.

 

[ucdnam]

I have Infinity Kappas and no bass, but I knew that. They blow away the stock speakers and my music is actually clear at loud volumes. I plan to possibly add a sub in the future, but right now, amp and the kappas work fine for punk and rock music.

Once I listened to decent speakers though, I couldn't sit in most people's cars anymore and listen to their stock speakers. The worst thing is people with stock speakers who turn it up loud. You can't make out a word or sound being played.

 

[Beau]

another vote for an infinity basslink.

Easy to install, decent output for what they are.

 

[PCMarine]

Thanks for the advice guys. Now I know that Infinity speakers aren't good for bass I'll consider buying a basslink if I can get one used off ebay for <$150 or so.

 

[ivol07]

Originally posted by: TheAudit

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Basslink. Probably about $100 or so on ebay, easy to install and compact. Results are quite impressive.

That's what I would do. Simple to install: it's quick, cheap and easy bass.

I also installed some Infinity Reference speakers and wasn't impressed with the bass. I have a Basslink and it makes all the difference. It also comes with a level adjustment knob so you can lower the bass when you don't want to hear it so much. It's fairly easy to install as long as there's an easy way to get thru the firewall, and it's not very expensive.

 

[ivol07]

Originally posted by: PCMarine
Thanks for the advice guys. Now I know that Infinity speakers aren't good for bass I'll consider buying a basslink if I can get one used off ebay for <$150 or so.

I got mine for $180 new so you shouldn't have a problem getting a used one for that price...or maybe even a new one.

 

[sillymofo]

Dude... if you bass, you have to get a sub, otherwise, you won't. You might be able to get a little more umph out of them speakers if you have an amp pushing them, but that's about it. Get at least a 10, that way, you'll have bass in you car, and won't annoy your fellow drivers on the road, or the policeman two blocks away.