I've got an issue with my front (door) speakers crackling when I turn the volume up about half way. It crackles on the low (bass) beat/notes. Not sure why it happens.

I've got a head unit with 4x 50w outputs, and an amp in the back (behind the bench seat) that powers two 8" subs and two 3" speakers. The speakers/subs in the back never crackle/distort.

The front door speakers are 4". Not sure on peak/RMS power. They're upgraded speakers, a PO put them in.

What would make the speakers "crackle" like this? Do I need to hook them to a small 2-channel amp from the head unit? Is this sort of thing usually an issue of not getting enough power?

Thanks in advance!

 

Hard to tell how hard the PO pushed those speakers, my guess is they've been "blown". Most head units have about 17 watts per channel, perhaps the upgraded 4" speakers weren't of a good quality?

In a car stereo situation its possible too little power has caused this however it's not completely out of the question. Most often something like you're describing is simply a matter of material fatigue or being over driven. After all a great tune just demands being heard L O U D!

Get a good set of speakers designed specifically to handle the per-channel wattage of your amp/head unit.

HTH

 

Okay. My head unit has outputs that supply 50 watts max and 20w RMS.

Not sure of the quality of the speakers, but they sound GREAT under the volume where they crackle.

Is there a way to test the issue to determine whether it's an issue of bad speakers/power issue? Just don't want to throw money at something then figure out the issue is something else. If I get speakers, what would be good ratings to follow given my head unit peak/RMS output. Under or over the head unit numbers? Will too much power kill them, or will starving them for power kill them?

 

In general:

-Speakers will be rated to handle either your RMS or average power as well as the occasional peak. Whatever the RMS its momentary peak will be about twice that. (This is because some musical passages will be louder or contain a lot more bass notes that are accompanied by higher wattage inputs in order to re-create the sound. The crackling you hear is called "voice coil over excursion" meaning its bottoming out so to speak which causes the distorted sound.

-Too little power will kill good speakers quicker because solid state amps "clip" or go into momentary distortion that can exceed 1,000 (one thousand, sometimes more) times the highest rated power output of your amp. The low power tends to make us increase volume which is the main culprit in clipping onset. You could run massive power amps into relatively lower powered speakers IF the volume level were never increased too high OR the power amp has a max level setting. This would allow you to "tune" the power output at the amp but (unwisely) allow you to run the head unit at its full volume setting.

You either have blown speakers or an internal problem with the head unit or external power amp. My first best guess is the speakers because severe clipping of the electronics results in almost complete failure of everything, at least if continued to operate without being repaired. Speakers tend to be the weakest link though.

If this a stock Ford OEM head unit or aftermarket? Stock or changed out speakers?

 

Aftermarket head unit with outputs rated at 20w RMS, 50w max. Aftermarket speakers, installed by PO, but not sure on what their rating is.

 

having the same problem!

 

1. I've had people tell me my front speakers aren't getting enough power, and I need to put a 2-channel amp in to power them.
2. I've had people tell me that the speakers are trashed.
3. People have said that my wiring is bad (doubt it since it's the exact distortion sound on both sides)

Haven't gotten far yet... Been happening for a long time now...

 

Its nearly impossible knowing what's really happening since we're not listening to your speakers ourselves. I'm going on what I know about sound systems in general and blown auto/truck speakers by experience.

Sadly sometimes there's no real way to know what's what until digging into something--we can only give you a few possible ideas. I will repeat since the speakers are unknown they're the first place I'd look.

Hope you get this sorted out---nothing worse than bad sounds outta an otherwise great system!