Help/Ideas Requested - Incredibly underwhelmed after 6x9 soundbar install

[sdk131]

So I purchased and installed the MB Quart 6x9 adapters for the soundbar and a set of Kicker 6x9s (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BLVEWLE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

and I have to say I am very underwhelmed. I was just looking for a modest improvement from stock, and not expecting any miracles. However, it seems only slightly better that stock....slightly. The bass is majorly lacking. Is the OEM head unit (i have the mid-level head unit with the 7" screen) just too underpowered? Or is the overall internal volume of the (now sealed....it was ported with the tiny factor speakers) soundbar too small and creating too much back pressure to let the 6x9s do much? It's been 20+ years since I was into big car audio installs, but i remember A LOT more bass/punch coming from 6x9s (even when just powered by the stock head unit) than I am now getting. Was there some sort of hidden crossover that is limiting the lower frequencies for the speakers in the soundbar? Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated. I was just looking for a modest improvement, and not interested in adding amplifiers or anything. Swapping out stock speakers on our last couple of vehicles has made a major improvement......up until now.

Sponsored

 

[mx5red]

Not sure about the base radio but with the Alpine, the sound bar has a very limited output. I put in aftermarket 6.5s and even fading all the way back the sound is weak. It’s like they purposely limited the output to that channel.

 

[sdk131]

Not sure about the base radio but with the Alpine, the sound bar has a very limited output. I put in aftermarket 6.5s and even fading all the way back the sound is weak. It’s like they purposely limited the output to that channel.

thanks for that observation! That is exactly it....even if i adjust the fader all the way to the back it seems as if is still only sending limited power there and/or only certain frequencies as if there is some sort of internal crossover in the head unit. Even if I max out all bass settings and fade it to rear only the sound quality is VERY unimpressive.

 

[Radio Guy]

I would recommend connecting an audio spectrum analyzer to the speaker leads in question then playing some white noise via an external source. There are some free audio spectrum analyzer programs you can download and use the line input of a laptop to make the measurement. That will tell you exactly what frequency ranges are sent to a particular speaker and if its got a high pass or if its full range and this will also show any equalization curves. Since there is a sub woofer under the rear seats of some JT models they could be only sending mids and highs to the sound bar speakers. I would guess the cross over freq range for the sub woofer is around 150Hz.

Another thing is using an enclosure too small for the speaker, that will restrict the bass response. Most car stereo speakers are not designed for sealed box or air suspension use, that is for a specifically designed speaker type. For sealed box or air suspension the speaker cone will have little to no built in suspension and the cone on the raw speaker out of the box will flop around compared to a speaker designed to have a vented box, those have a natural stiff suspension.

To get the most bass out of a particular speaker it must be used in an enclosure of recommended size. Car stereo type speakers are commonly mounted in doors, dashes, rear car decks, places with large areas behind them which are mostly open. That's what their internal suspension is designed for. Stick that same speaker in a sealed box smaller than a shoe box and bye bye bass.

Speakers designed for sealed box, air suspension use usually have a range of box sizes and you can get reasonable sounding bass down to a certain size box that will produce a bass peak around 80Hz before rolling off, then if you go smaller the bass just starts going away fast. Depending on speaker size and free air resonance, etc, sealed boxes getting under about half a cubic foot start roiling things off pretty bad for a 6" or 8" speaker. I suspect a 6X9 adapter for the sound bar is much smaller than .5cu ft. Some really small subs use extreme EQ to try and get the bass back with varying degrees of success.

 

[salsadoc]

Not sure about the base radio but with the Alpine, the sound bar has a very limited output. I put in aftermarket 6.5s and even fading all the way back the sound is weak. It’s like they purposely limited the output to that channel.

i noticed the same w my alpine. i only replaced the front and sound bar 3.5s w kenwoods. the front 3:5?kenwood smade a big difference with more clarity in the highs. i didn’t notice much difference w/ the 3.5 kenwoods in the sound bar.

 

[jebiruph]

So I purchased and installed the MB Quart 6x9 adapters for the soundbar and a set of Kicker 6x9s (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BLVEWLE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

and I have to say I am very underwhelmed. I was just looking for a modest improvement from stock, and not expecting any miracles. However, it seems only slightly better that stock....slightly. The bass is majorly lacking. Is the OEM head unit (i have the mid-level head unit with the 7" screen) just too underpowered? Or is the overall internal volume of the (now sealed....it was ported with the tiny factor speakers) soundbar too small and creating too much back pressure to let the 6x9s do much? It's been 20+ years since I was into big car audio installs, but i remember A LOT more bass/punch coming from 6x9s (even when just powered by the stock head unit) than I am now getting. Was there some sort of hidden crossover that is limiting the lower frequencies for the speakers in the soundbar? Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated. I was just looking for a modest improvement, and not interested in adding amplifiers or anything. Swapping out stock speakers on our last couple of vehicles has made a major improvement......up until now.

My base 5" has plenty of bass and volume with new speakers. https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/basic-speaker-upgrade.78065/post-1627216

Sponsored