What is likely cause of distortion.
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Joined: Jun 2017
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A lot of misinformation in here.
Yes, the oem speakers are abysmal and likely failing/being pushed past their limit when you have your volume turned up.
A fairly simple solution would be to replace the drivers. Though if you're doing that you may as well also amp them to get the most out of it.
Most component sets are 4ohm, so finding an amp to compliment them won't be tough.
for NVR I'd do cld tiles for 25% coverage on inner and outer door skin, plus door card
https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/products/cld-tiles
And just get speaker rings from modifry.
You don't need to use "slim" driver's anywhere, I was able to get some monster midbasses to fit without any trimming.
Yes, the oem speakers are abysmal and likely failing/being pushed past their limit when you have your volume turned up.
A fairly simple solution would be to replace the drivers. Though if you're doing that you may as well also amp them to get the most out of it.
Most component sets are 4ohm, so finding an amp to compliment them won't be tough.
for NVR I'd do cld tiles for 25% coverage on inner and outer door skin, plus door card
https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/products/cld-tiles
And just get speaker rings from modifry.
You don't need to use "slim" driver's anywhere, I was able to get some monster midbasses to fit without any trimming.
Joined: Feb 2007
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Some clarification on that - the Polks will fit the stock speaker bracket. If you want something bigger, then the modifry speaker rings are the way to go.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2016
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From: Vermont
I have a somewhat different take on this...
Generally, distortion at high volumes is caused by an amplifier "clipping" - an amplifier is driven past its ability to fully reproduce
a high-amplitude sound wave, so the top of the wave gets chopped off making a square wave.
That said, it sounds like this is a recent phenomenon. If it's the same music played at the same volume but now distorted, it could
be a mechanical failure of a speaker.
Another possibility is a change in headunit EQ settings - because low frequencies require much more power than high frequencies,
changing a bass-boosting setting could cause clipping.
On the other hand, if you're simply cranking the volume more, especially if you're going above 3/4 of the maximum, I think you need
more power. In this case. since you're not generally dissatisfied with your sound, I'd go with an easy to install mini-amp like the previously
mentioned Alpine KTP-445.
Whether you add an amp, change your speakers, or both, if you're even slightly handy I'd recommend DIY. Neither is particularly
challenging, and you're more likely to do it right than an underpaid, rushing, installer.
Generally, distortion at high volumes is caused by an amplifier "clipping" - an amplifier is driven past its ability to fully reproduce
a high-amplitude sound wave, so the top of the wave gets chopped off making a square wave.
That said, it sounds like this is a recent phenomenon. If it's the same music played at the same volume but now distorted, it could
be a mechanical failure of a speaker.
Another possibility is a change in headunit EQ settings - because low frequencies require much more power than high frequencies,
changing a bass-boosting setting could cause clipping.
On the other hand, if you're simply cranking the volume more, especially if you're going above 3/4 of the maximum, I think you need
more power. In this case. since you're not generally dissatisfied with your sound, I'd go with an easy to install mini-amp like the previously
mentioned Alpine KTP-445.
Whether you add an amp, change your speakers, or both, if you're even slightly handy I'd recommend DIY. Neither is particularly
challenging, and you're more likely to do it right than an underpaid, rushing, installer.
I am not generally dissatisfied with the sound - only at very high volume when I get this distorted sound. I could live with it by avoiding the very high volume, or I could spend money to try to fix it. Still uncertain which way to go.
I doubt very much that the speakers are physically broken - first, they sound fine at normal volumes, second, its a bilateral issue, not just one speaker. I don't think its eq settings, I have fairly normal eq settings and I did mess with that a bit to see if it was the cause.
Joined: Sep 2014
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Anyhow, padding the doors with sound deadening... stopped all "distortion."
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This clipping at high volume was my original gut feeling about this. I was guessing that the problem is more likely due to over running the amp in the head unit then any issue with the speakers. This issue has been present from the get go. It is not new.
I am not generally dissatisfied with the sound - only at very high volume when I get this distorted sound. I could live with it by avoiding the very high volume, or I could spend money to try to fix it. Still uncertain which way to go.
I doubt very much that the speakers are physically broken - first, they sound fine at normal volumes, second, its a bilateral issue, not just one speaker. I don't think its eq settings, I have fairly normal eq settings and I did mess with that a bit to see if it was the cause.
I am not generally dissatisfied with the sound - only at very high volume when I get this distorted sound. I could live with it by avoiding the very high volume, or I could spend money to try to fix it. Still uncertain which way to go.
I doubt very much that the speakers are physically broken - first, they sound fine at normal volumes, second, its a bilateral issue, not just one speaker. I don't think its eq settings, I have fairly normal eq settings and I did mess with that a bit to see if it was the cause.
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 11,339
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His sine wave shows classic crossover distortion. IIRC, this is not a function of the pre-amp. But, could be the phase inverter section, prior to the output stage. Or the DC offset of the output stage. Kinda find it hard to believe any modern-day, solid-state head unit (including OEM models) would show such a bad example of XO distortion. This is more common in the days of tube amplification and push-pull biasing of the output stage. Be nice to see his test gear setup. And how he calibrates it.
Last edited by windhund116; Jun 12, 2018 at 06:20 AM.
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I don't pretend to know the technicalities or the cause of it lol
Back when I was reading a lot on diyma I came across a good share of posts regarding it and was further swayed against that particular unit. It doesn't seem the TS has that particular one so it could just be a moot point.
I'd still suggest replacing the speakers, amping them, and enjoying decent sound quality. You can install it all within a day
Back when I was reading a lot on diyma I came across a good share of posts regarding it and was further swayed against that particular unit. It doesn't seem the TS has that particular one so it could just be a moot point.
I'd still suggest replacing the speakers, amping them, and enjoying decent sound quality. You can install it all within a day
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Joined: Jun 2017
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that Alpine powerpack amp does 90 Watts x 2 @ 4Ω Bridged, so pretty much any component set would work well for you.
Figure out your budget, musical preference, etc.. a lot of people here (and even this thread) suggest the Polk db line but I've never heard them
Figure out your budget, musical preference, etc.. a lot of people here (and even this thread) suggest the Polk db line but I've never heard them
Joined: Sep 2004
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From: NJ USA
There's absolutely no overlap in the installation of the amp and the speakers, so you might want to install the amp, and if you're
happy with the sound you're done, and if not you can move on to speakers.
There are two versions of the KTP-445 -
KTP-445A which is plug&play with your Alpine headunit, but is wired for 45w x 4 channels so all you'll get is 45w x 2 channels that you have
KTP-445U which is universal, so you'd need to splice wires into your existing headunit harness, but can be bridged to produce 90w x 2 channels
In addition, Pioneer makes a similar amp, the GM-D1004
happy with the sound you're done, and if not you can move on to speakers.
There are two versions of the KTP-445 -
KTP-445A which is plug&play with your Alpine headunit, but is wired for 45w x 4 channels so all you'll get is 45w x 2 channels that you have
KTP-445U which is universal, so you'd need to splice wires into your existing headunit harness, but can be bridged to produce 90w x 2 channels
In addition, Pioneer makes a similar amp, the GM-D1004