replaced the 4 inch speakers in my van, as they were sun cooked and broken. Bought brand new Sony 2-way 100mm speakers for $40, fitted correctly and mounted tight, to a mechless USB player. they sound okay, but distort at not even normal talking volume. WTF? Used the supplied wiring, got terminals wired correctly etc, have NO bass going to them as I know 4 inchers are really for talk only, not rubbing or touching anything, and all connections soldered and heat tubed, so I dunno. anyone bought 4 inchers that are actually as good as the originals? Mainly just to listen to talkback, or "oldies" music. lol
gunhand,
Jan 30, 8:18am
$40 is all you need to know.
ambo11,
Jan 30, 8:22am
But surely $40 buys something as good as the original? lol.
franken1,
Jan 30, 8:31am
Is it a 1956 Morris Minor van?
ambo11,
Jan 30, 8:32am
Nope, '57
gunhand,
Jan 30, 8:33am
Well I don't know sometimes, Ive replaced speakers in modernish car with supposedly better ones and been kinda disappointed, little gain really.
franken1,
Jan 30, 8:35am
I was close. The original '57 speakers were worth around 20 pounds.
ambo11,
Jan 30, 8:35am
So maybe I didn't realise $40 didn't buy "top quality" speakers, but still, speakers shouldn't distort at not even talking volume. Any pointers to how much I should spend to get decent 4 inchers? Being a work type van the only speaker spaces are in the dash.
stevo2,
Jan 30, 8:50am
In My last van I chucked a set of 100mm Fusions ($40) up front and a set of Fusion 6x9's ($90) in the back and had good sound quality. They were all Fusion "Encounter" series which is their budget range. In this Van I have installed a set of 150mm component speakers in the doors and they are superb. Still tossing up whether to throw a set of 6x9's in the rear or not but the quality and quantity is so good that I dont need to. Are you sure the source is providing a quality output?
lissa25,
Jan 30, 9:01am
Is your stereo putting out more than the new speakers are rated for? Just a guess.
sr2,
Jan 30, 9:06am
I think it works the other way around!
vtecnet,
Jan 30, 9:06am
Sure, they are crap speakers, but they shouldn't be as bad as your describing, Distortion at low volume suggests the head unit is struggling, are you sure all is wired up correctly? is the head unit getting enough power? Make sure it has a good earth.
stevo2,
Jan 30, 9:07am
There is a saying as far as speakers go- "Garbage in - Garbage out"
monzaman,
Jan 30, 9:16am
About 8 years ago I got a pair of pioneer carresoria 4 way twin drive speakers plus 2 hiace mats for $20 on TM,perfect match to my pioneer 4 x 50W head set,and still sounding great now,they have two 3 inch and two tweeter speakers in each unit.
emmerson1,
Jan 30, 10:06am
Now I'm not entirely sure about this, but if the stereo is expecting 8 Ohm speakers and you new speakers are 4 Ohm, then it could be overdriving the output stage of the head unit.
Oops, just re-read OP, a mechless usb player is probably expecting modern speakers, but try to find the manual and see what it says.
dasfi,
Jan 30, 10:41am
A mechless CD player? , Probably half your problem, Actually need something decent, makes a huge difference also
quickbuck,
Jan 30, 10:54am
It's getting too late for you. Read it again. Machless USB Player. Means it Doesn't have any mechanical pars in it. Not some cheap generic Brand at all.
ambo11,
Jan 30, 7:19pm
Thanks guys for all replies, I never actually thought about the head unit being the problem. Its a brand new Domain mechless unit, so pretty basic. but surely it has enough goonies to put out decent sound through two little 4 inch speakers? Has good wiring, power and earth, (well I used the original Nissan wiring) and speakers are supposed to be 4 ohms.
jason18,
Jan 30, 7:25pm
A nice little amp would solve the problem.
skyblue17,
Jan 30, 8:02pm
I replaced my standard 4" with JBL GTO428 $150 a pair. Awesome improvement.
kazbanz,
Jan 30, 8:31pm
Ambo 1) Did you take 2 way or three way speakers out? 2)what was the sound quality of the original speakers? 3) How EXACTLY were the original speakers mounted? 4)are you sure they are indeed original speakers not aftermarkets slapped in there? 5) is the head unit new or as old as the van? 6)hows the head unit wired up? Sorry mate but theres a lot of potential issues I'm picking up from what you have posted. None of them to do with the speaker quality Sony four inch two ways are generally good to 100km/h driving and still hear the sound clearly.
ambo11,
Jan 31, 12:23am
Hi Kabanz, original speakers were plain brown, torn and sun damaged, one single paper cone. Old Mitsubishi brand I think, but def original. Sound quality of originals was better than these crap Sonys, even being torn. Mounting, screwed into a 4 inch enclosure from factory. NO movement of speaker, and not coming close to touching anything. Definitely original speakers. The head unit is wired in using the wiring from the old stereo. the unit I've installed is a 45Wx4. Sounds nice till human conversation volume, then one speaker distorts badly, as in annoying enough to just turn stereo off. I realise 4 inch speakers are the "Fiats" of speakers, but christ these are pathetic. My panasonic transistor in the shed sounds like a live AC/DC concert compared to these. In fact I was trying to listen to a song, when a butterfly flew past. that drowned out the speakers. In my mind they are just shit speakers, unit is wired in using factory wiring, soldered, heat tubed etc with polarity of speakers correct. I might even try to find some original Nissan speakers through the Nissan dealer, cos I could guarantee they will be much better than these Sonys. They were $45,don't have the model numbers but were guaranteed to work great with a "standard headunit", thats why I purchased.
kazbanz,
Jan 31, 12:35am
Ambo--matey they are more the Toyota corolla of speakers. honestly matey either theres something wrong with these actual speakers or theres something wrong with the install. for the record I tend to stick with fusion speakers but I've used four and six inch sony's with no issues. To be clear in case I misread---you crank up the volume and they distort to heck is how I'm hearing ya. Hows the balance set on the head unit?
ambo11,
Jan 31, 12:40am
Yep, only one distorts, and it starts at low volume. can't really crank up 4 inchers. will rip it all out and try new wiring to different power and earth to see what happens then. If it still does it I'll either go without a stereo, or get some 6X9s and mount them somewhere else. I'm still going with a fault on the one speaker.
lissa25,
Jan 31, 12:51am
Sounds like it is either wiring or speaker, you could swap sides with the speakers, if the crackly side stays the same it is wiring, if it swaps sides then you may have bought a dud speaker.
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