Gaining Clarity
 

I've been trying to find a cheaply prices but decent set of 4" speakers for awhile and local options left me with the infinity kappa or focal 100 ca1. I picked up the Focal in hopes that they would sound decent, but they sound like absolute ass. The sound isnt clear, the midrange sucks... highs are lacking etc. I've owned type-S that have sounded better. I realize that I'm only using the access line, but I was expecting more out of them.

I bought them mainly for staging, to bring a bit of sound to the front of my vehicle as my components are in the rear deck, but like I said they are completely underpowering and cant be heard. I'm not running any bass to them yet they still bottom out. Can I run a 100ohm resistor or something of the such to clean them up?

I am powering them off deck power (KDAVX44) and it is making me wonder if they'll sound any better running off my rear speaker amp being a JL300.4

opinions?
This is what I'm running excluding subs/sub amps
http://pebuzz.com/img_1206371839.jpg
http://12.41.28.254/pioneerpremier/TSC720PRS.jpg
http://www.caraudio-store.de/images/...cal_100ca1.jpg
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/8017/jl3004ra5.jpg

I ended up running another set of wires for the fronts and set the amp to h/p. Sounds much more lively now. Amplification sure makes a difference

4" speakers generally have no mid bass. Especially when theyre mounted in the dash of most cars, which aren't usually enclosed due to lack of space. You imagine how a woofer would sound with no enclosure. Not very good at all. If you want ACTUAL good sound, you generally want to run a component set in kick pods or custom door enclosures. You need more surface area for more mid bass, you need to have the speaker enclosed or somewhat enclosed, and amping it would bring it more to life.

So by the sounds of it, it's not the speaker thats the issue. It's a whole whack of contributing problems that is the issue. Amp will help the speaker be louder and clearer, but might still be lacking the mids.

What kind of vehicle is it btw?

Its a 90' 4runner. The speakers are on the lower portion of the dash but thanks to swivel tweeters they point somewhat at me. They are in stock ported enclosures with a bit of insulation. Think I may add my MB quart tweeters/crossovers to the A pillars but overall I am very satisfied with the amplified setup. The tweeters are no longer clipping at critical points. I'm working on dual 6.5" pods for the summer truck, cant wait till they're installed early spring.

The 80's and 90's Toyota speaker locations were terrible. In the dash facing downwards is about the worst place to put some speakers. That said, custom pods in the doors for 6.5's is the cheapest and best option IMO. If I were you I would rethink the front stage and start from scratch if you want to see impressive results. Doesn't have to be a real expensive set up either - just a set of decent 6.5" comps in MDF baffles built out from the door and maybe a couple of tweets up in the A-pillars in angle or flush-angle mounts. Power those full active from the 300/4 and you are set!

Sounds like a plan ^^ I'll strip my old pods out of the b2200 as i'm already building duals, and use a spare set of 6.5 type-s I've got laying around

Makes sense. Most decks don't have crossovers, where most amps have at least an High Pass setting which should help clean up the sound.

Good to hear it worked out. Focals are kick ass speakers. I'm actually more amazed they fit in the dash.

Why is that? I had a hard time fitting them, especially the driver side. The tweeters stuck out way to far for the flush mount grills and using 4" instead of the 4"t (extra tabs) sure made it tricky to put the trim back together.

Why? Well I'm sure Toyota wasn't expecting you to replace their $1 made in china speaker with a $150+ speaker.

Most factory speakers have PUNY magnets on them. Most good aftermarket speakers are not a direct replacement. A good speaker has a decent sized magnet, so it usually requires a certain finesse to get them in. By getting them in I do not mean cramming them into the door just so they fit. I mean custom spacer, sound deaden, tweeter relocation, etc.

So if your new speakers fit easily, that means you didn't get a good enough speaker. If not, you're good to go ;) j/k.... kinda