weird aftermarket car stereo issue

[cprince]

So I finally decided to put the JVC KD-R200 head unit that I bought brand new two years ago into my '87 BMW 325e. I pair the head unit up with two pairs of Clarion SRG1621R 6.5" speakers. I ran new speaker wires into all four speakers--and they are from one spool(14 gauge). The issue that I'm having is that the two rear speakers are louder than the two front speakers, and I can't for the live of me figure out why. The right front seems to be a little louder than the left front speaker too. The strangest part is that some FM stations and some MP3 songs seems to sound more balance than other, but, besides the EQ setting, there is no other option that I can think of that would cause the head unit to do this. I checked all the wiring, and I'm planing on resoldering everything, and use heat shrink instead of electrical tape. Maybe even swapping the speakers around too! Before I go and tear my new setup to pieces, does anybody experience this issue before? What did you do to fix it? Thanks!

 

[jlee]

Try swapping the speaker wires to the HU and see if the volume variances move around?

 

[cprince]

Try swapping the speaker wires to the HU and see if the volume variances move around?

hmmm...I'll try that. But what blows my mind is that the speaker wires came from the same spool. I'm going to re-crimp all the speaker connections too!

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

I would remove the stereo and set it up outside of the vehicle with equal lengths of wiring going to each speaker and see if the problem remains.

If so, you should reasonably be able to say it's the headunit. It could also possibly be cabin acoustics or maybe some of the speakers are under-performing, but I would think it's the headunit first.

Oh yeah, you checked the front/rear fade and left/right balance? I've had some come from the factory really skewed, and sometimes have to adjust it for the vehicle.

 

[96Firebird]

How do they sound when you sit in the driver's seat? I'm thinking along the lines of the poster above, where JVC increases the output to the rear speakers a bit to compensate for the distance, and do the same with the front passenger speaker. This is supposed to make it sound good for the driver, but most of the time it doesn't. Check some of the settings in the HU or read online to see if this head unit has something like that...

 

[alfa147x]

I'm not a car stereo expert but while you were feeding the speaker wire through the car. Could you have stripped the insulation off of the wire?

 

[basslover1]

I'm not a car stereo expert but while you were feeding the speaker wire through the car. Could you have stripped the insulation off of the wire?

If that were to happen, which it can very easily, the wire would short to ground which causes static and drop-outs.

 

[cprince]

Have some more time to look at it today and I've reached the same conclusion with most of you that JVC sends more power to the rear speakers--and more bass too. None of the settings matter and I checked all the connections--again. Oh well...too late to return it now since I bought it over two years ago and just now getting around to install it If it continues to bother me, I'll swap the front and rear speaker wires(can't really do the fader since it puts more bass to the rear).

 

[Paperlantern]

95% of all head units will do this because typically a car will have smaller, lower watt rated speakers in the front and the larger drivers in the rear, you will get more sound from lower rated drivers when you push lower watts to them. You installed four identicle speakers all the way around. You might look into installing some component 4 inchers up front and see if it helps balance the volume for you.

 

[DaTT]

I still think its the fader.

 

[Bacstar]

Just the nature of car audio, especially when you start upgrading components. You'll start to notice things which then causes you to spend more money. Your rears are probably bouncing off your rear window, your right front depending on location in the doors may sound louder since it has a more non-obstructed path to your ears, etc. etc.

In my old car, what started out as just a simple speaker change turned into a multi-thousand dollar project. I ended up changing and upgrading everything. I had an Alpine head unit that allowed you to adjust each speaker delay and volume to tune it or focus the sound to any position in the car. After playing with it over the months and years, I had it set just right for me the driver.

 

[cprince]

I still think its the fader.

The fader is at 00(F06-00-R06). I can balance using the fader, but it seems like all the bass are pumped to the rear speakers. The front sounds like cheap speakers with no bass, but the front and rear are the same speaker model. I think it's the head unit, but there is no setting that makes a difference. I e-mailed JVC yesterday and waiting to hear back from them.

 

[Paperlantern]

I already explained what's happening, they are going to tell you the same. Less bass goes front because front speakers are typically smaller and lower wattage. More bass and wattage rear to the larger drivers. You have same size all around, it's going to produce less sound up front.

 

[DaTT]

I already explained what's happening, they are going to tell you the same. Less bass goes front because front speakers are typically smaller and lower wattage. More bass and wattage rear to the larger drivers. You have same size all around, it's going to produce less sound up front.

Well I will agree with you to a point, by the sounds of it, it is a dramatic difference and sounds like something is wrong.

Did you make sure the positive is on the positive and neg on neg?

 

[cprince]

Well I will agree with you to a point, by the sounds of it, it is a dramatic difference and sounds like something is wrong.

Did you make sure the positive is on the positive and neg on neg?

Yup! Double check the wiring the other day, and will probably triple check it tomorrow. I'm thinking about just giving up and buy another head unit. I had a Sony five years ago and it worked well.

 

[DaTT]

Have you had the speakers hooked up to your factory head unit? Or are they new with the new head unit?

 

[slugg]

Maybe this is obvious but... How does it sound with the rear speakers disconnected?

 

[darkw]

Reviving this thread, as I'm having the exact same problem.

I've bought and installed a pair of SPR-50s to the JVC KD-R200 unit, and I'm getting almost no bass at all from the front speakers (the back ones sound submerged in water).

Tried fiddling with the settings and no significant change. If I up the bass all the way there's bass but it sounds pretty bad (about as bad as the back speakers which are the ones that came with the car 8 years ago).

I'm guessing a two channel amp will resolve this issue, but I'm trying to cut back on expenses (already spent 250$+ on the speakers, shipment, taxes and installation).

Thanks in advance.


darkw... Please do not "revive" a thread such as this but post one of your own due to this threads age...

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