2014 rear speaker replacements - too quiet
12/24/14, 09:10 AM
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2014 rear speaker replacements - too quiet
Hi all -
I have a 2014 GT convertible with shaker 500 and OE Ford nav. Recently I replaced the stock front component speakers with some Alpine SPS-517. These are 4 ohm, 75W RMS each. The improvement in sound quality was excellent, so I decided to replace the rears with the same speakers.
In the rear, the same Alpines are very quiet with no bass, compared to the OE speakers. (I switched off Driver mode, and set fader 100% to rear to check them). I soldered the original plug connectors onto the Alpines so polarity is correct. I suspect the amp is not sending enough power to the rear to drive the 4 ohm Alpines.
This is odd since I have seen several videos where new (4 ohm) rear speakers have improved sound quality in 2010-12 cars. Is power to the rears different for 2013-14 or for nav systems?
I dont really want to put an amp in just to drive the rears, so is my only option to install the best 2 ohm speakers i can find? (I destroyed the OE speakers taking the plug connector off).
Thanks in advance for any help
I have a 2014 GT convertible with shaker 500 and OE Ford nav. Recently I replaced the stock front component speakers with some Alpine SPS-517. These are 4 ohm, 75W RMS each. The improvement in sound quality was excellent, so I decided to replace the rears with the same speakers.
In the rear, the same Alpines are very quiet with no bass, compared to the OE speakers. (I switched off Driver mode, and set fader 100% to rear to check them). I soldered the original plug connectors onto the Alpines so polarity is correct. I suspect the amp is not sending enough power to the rear to drive the 4 ohm Alpines.
This is odd since I have seen several videos where new (4 ohm) rear speakers have improved sound quality in 2010-12 cars. Is power to the rears different for 2013-14 or for nav systems?
I dont really want to put an amp in just to drive the rears, so is my only option to install the best 2 ohm speakers i can find? (I destroyed the OE speakers taking the plug connector off).
Thanks in advance for any help
12/24/14, 12:08 PM
#2
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The part number for the front and rear speakers used from the factory is 6u5t-18808-ca, 6x8 speakers, 4 ohm, 25 watts.
You replaced them with 5x7, 4 ohm, 75 watt speakers.
In the door, nearest to you, these will sound pretty good, I imagine, and they're in a smaller enclosure than the rears.
However, they are smaller than the original, and so you should expect less air movement, and that would be why they don't work as well in the rear package tray, especially with the large volume of air that trunk has in it in comparison to the door's volume of air.
You would have been better off getting a bigger speaker in the back, there's plenty of room, and modding the package tray to accept it wouldn't have been a large deal at all, I'd say.
But the one thing you DO NOT want to do is plug a lower ohm resistance speaker into that Shaker system. It is set up for 4 ohms *or greater*. Meaning that 4 ohms is as low as you can go.
Putting a 2 ohm speaker will simply allow too much voltage/watts to run through the circuit, the next best thing to an actual short circuit, and kill the amp.
You might actually want to take that part number, and just get another set of the factory ones for the back, or get 6x8 or 6x9 speakers instead, but do not go below 4 ohm. Match it up best you can on the ohms.
You replaced them with 5x7, 4 ohm, 75 watt speakers.
In the door, nearest to you, these will sound pretty good, I imagine, and they're in a smaller enclosure than the rears.
However, they are smaller than the original, and so you should expect less air movement, and that would be why they don't work as well in the rear package tray, especially with the large volume of air that trunk has in it in comparison to the door's volume of air.
You would have been better off getting a bigger speaker in the back, there's plenty of room, and modding the package tray to accept it wouldn't have been a large deal at all, I'd say.
But the one thing you DO NOT want to do is plug a lower ohm resistance speaker into that Shaker system. It is set up for 4 ohms *or greater*. Meaning that 4 ohms is as low as you can go.
Putting a 2 ohm speaker will simply allow too much voltage/watts to run through the circuit, the next best thing to an actual short circuit, and kill the amp.
You might actually want to take that part number, and just get another set of the factory ones for the back, or get 6x8 or 6x9 speakers instead, but do not go below 4 ohm. Match it up best you can on the ohms.
12/24/14, 02:50 PM
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The part number for the front and rear speakers used from the factory is 6u5t-18808-ca, 6x8 speakers, 4 ohm, 25 watts.
You replaced them with 5x7, 4 ohm, 75 watt speakers.
In the door, nearest to you, these will sound pretty good, I imagine, and they're in a smaller enclosure than the rears.
However, they are smaller than the original, and so you should expect less air movement, and that would be why they don't work as well in the rear package tray, especially with the large volume of air that trunk has in it in comparison to the door's volume of air.
You would have been better off getting a bigger speaker in the back, there's plenty of room, and modding the package tray to accept it wouldn't have been a large deal at all, I'd say.
But the one thing you DO NOT want to do is plug a lower ohm resistance speaker into that Shaker system. It is set up for 4 ohms *or greater*. Meaning that 4 ohms is as low as you can go.
Putting a 2 ohm speaker will simply allow too much voltage/watts to run through the circuit, the next best thing to an actual short circuit, and kill the amp.
You might actually want to take that part number, and just get another set of the factory ones for the back, or get 6x8 or 6x9 speakers instead, but do not go below 4 ohm. Match it up best you can on the ohms.
You replaced them with 5x7, 4 ohm, 75 watt speakers.
In the door, nearest to you, these will sound pretty good, I imagine, and they're in a smaller enclosure than the rears.
However, they are smaller than the original, and so you should expect less air movement, and that would be why they don't work as well in the rear package tray, especially with the large volume of air that trunk has in it in comparison to the door's volume of air.
You would have been better off getting a bigger speaker in the back, there's plenty of room, and modding the package tray to accept it wouldn't have been a large deal at all, I'd say.
But the one thing you DO NOT want to do is plug a lower ohm resistance speaker into that Shaker system. It is set up for 4 ohms *or greater*. Meaning that 4 ohms is as low as you can go.
Putting a 2 ohm speaker will simply allow too much voltage/watts to run through the circuit, the next best thing to an actual short circuit, and kill the amp.
You might actually want to take that part number, and just get another set of the factory ones for the back, or get 6x8 or 6x9 speakers instead, but do not go below 4 ohm. Match it up best you can on the ohms.
For the rears, the Alpine 5x7 dropped straight in.
The issue I found is sensitivity: at 83 db, the HU can't drive the Alpine speakers well enough - no bass.
Thanks for info on the ohm rating - reading up online, now I understand the sensitivity of the speakers is the issue, not the impedance.
You are probably correct about the Alpine fronts sound good because they have subs with them - the rears dont of course. Certainly the Alpines in the front are much clearer at mid and treble than the OE speakers. I can compensate by biasing the HU towards the rear but then i lose too much bass from the subs in the front. I think the only answer is to get a pair for the rear with 93 db sensitivity like these Polk (4ohm, 93 db)
12/25/14, 10:31 PM
#8
Mach 1 Member
On my 2013 I have install a set of Infinity Reference 6832cf and they are 93db and I still find the rear speakers to be very underpowered....
In my 05 I had the same issue but when I installed an aftermarket radio it really wake them up. So I really think that it is by design that the OEM Head Unit keeps power level very low to protect their cheap speakers
In my 05 I had the same issue but when I installed an aftermarket radio it really wake them up. So I really think that it is by design that the OEM Head Unit keeps power level very low to protect their cheap speakers
12/26/14, 09:00 AM
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On my 2013 I have install a set of Infinity Reference 6832cf and they are 93db and I still find the rear speakers to be very underpowered....
In my 05 I had the same issue but when I installed an aftermarket radio it really wake them up. So I really think that it is by design that the OEM Head Unit keeps power level very low to protect their cheap speakers
In my 05 I had the same issue but when I installed an aftermarket radio it really wake them up. So I really think that it is by design that the OEM Head Unit keeps power level very low to protect their cheap speakers
Best solution would be to install an amp but I prefer to spend the money on a gt500 spoiler to go with the gt500 quad tips I just got😬
12/27/14, 06:51 PM
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I just installed a set of GT500 quad tip mufflers today and for some reason I seem to have lost all interest in rear speakers...
The mufflers do sound awesome but anyway here is the verdict of my unscientific rear speaker evaluation.
I got the Polk DB571 (93db) from Amazon and installed one in the rear to compare it to the Alpine SPS-517 (83db) already installed.
Before anyone asks, polarity is correct on both and I fitted foam to the backside of all speakers to seal it to the mount. I also sat in the middle of the back seat for the test.
I biased the HU 100% to rear (so no bass from the subwoofers in front doors) and switched it from L to R to compare the rear speakers. The Polk is louder than the Alpine, and also has more mid range. There is little bass on either speaker (there was more on the OE speakers). I didn't put the OE speakers back for comparison since I snipped the wires and used the connector off them. I think the OE speakers were louder than the Polk, but sound quality (obviously) not as good.
If I bias the HU to 1 or 2 clicks to rear, the overall sound of the system is very good, both for rear seats and drivers seat. I also settled on +1 for bass and +2 for treble. I listen to house music mostly while driving - obviously your HU settings will depend your speakers and what music you listen to. So in summary: unless you are adding an amp, get 93db speakers rather than 83db. Having said that, I have 83db Alpines in the front and they sound good but they do have subwoofers right next to them. I suspect the 93db Polks would sound a little better all round but i am Ok with Alpines in the front (they are vastly superior to the OE front speakers) and for me i dont think its worth another $60 to install Polks up front.
The mufflers do sound awesome but anyway here is the verdict of my unscientific rear speaker evaluation.
I got the Polk DB571 (93db) from Amazon and installed one in the rear to compare it to the Alpine SPS-517 (83db) already installed.
Before anyone asks, polarity is correct on both and I fitted foam to the backside of all speakers to seal it to the mount. I also sat in the middle of the back seat for the test.
I biased the HU 100% to rear (so no bass from the subwoofers in front doors) and switched it from L to R to compare the rear speakers. The Polk is louder than the Alpine, and also has more mid range. There is little bass on either speaker (there was more on the OE speakers). I didn't put the OE speakers back for comparison since I snipped the wires and used the connector off them. I think the OE speakers were louder than the Polk, but sound quality (obviously) not as good.
If I bias the HU to 1 or 2 clicks to rear, the overall sound of the system is very good, both for rear seats and drivers seat. I also settled on +1 for bass and +2 for treble. I listen to house music mostly while driving - obviously your HU settings will depend your speakers and what music you listen to. So in summary: unless you are adding an amp, get 93db speakers rather than 83db. Having said that, I have 83db Alpines in the front and they sound good but they do have subwoofers right next to them. I suspect the 93db Polks would sound a little better all round but i am Ok with Alpines in the front (they are vastly superior to the OE front speakers) and for me i dont think its worth another $60 to install Polks up front.
12/30/14, 12:26 PM
#11
Mach 1 Member
Sounds like you got it pretty well ironed out. I'm debating whether its worth it or not to mess with my rears. To go along with what you guys discussed above.. A big reason the OE speakers appear to have more bass and sound louder is their spec'd to match the OE head unit(power, sensitivity, ect). The OE HU is low on power and tuned/filtered to help preserve the life of the cruddy OE speakers. Since they are matched to each other you are most getting the optimum performance from them. The after markets are designed to work with a higher quality, unfiltered signal and more power so they will not be optimized by the stock HU. Hence, they seem quieter and don't put out as much bass.
12/31/14, 11:01 AM
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Sounds like you got it pretty well ironed out. I'm debating whether its worth it or not to mess with my rears. To go along with what you guys discussed above.. A big reason the OE speakers appear to have more bass and sound louder is their spec'd to match the OE head unit(power, sensitivity, ect). The OE HU is low on power and tuned/filtered to help preserve the life of the cruddy OE speakers. Since they are matched to each other you are most getting the optimum performance from them. The after markets are designed to work with a higher quality, unfiltered signal and more power so they will not be optimized by the stock HU. Hence, they seem quieter and don't put out as much bass.
I would have preferred them to put even cheaper OE mufflers on since I changed them anyway.
Overall though, Ford is doing a great job - though a problem they may have with the S550 onwards is that there are fewer weaknesses and so less things to mod for customers like us that love to do that stuff.
1/2/15, 08:08 AM
#13
Mach 1 Member
Agreed. Looking at it from Ford's view: Mustang is an awesome value and since they know customers love to mod them anyway, they put the money into the engine (and interior for 2010 and 2013 onwards). So for the sound system, install the cheapest possible speakers that give just about acceptable sound, knowing that customers will upgrade anyway. Just would be nice if the Shaker HU put out a bit more power - but then they would have to spend more on better OE speakers, which means something else has got to be downgraded.
I would have preferred them to put even cheaper OE mufflers on since I changed them anyway.
Overall though, Ford is doing a great job - though a problem they may have with the S550 onwards is that there are fewer weaknesses and so less things to mod for customers like us that love to do that stuff.
I would have preferred them to put even cheaper OE mufflers on since I changed them anyway.
Overall though, Ford is doing a great job - though a problem they may have with the S550 onwards is that there are fewer weaknesses and so less things to mod for customers like us that love to do that stuff.
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