New speakers installed; volume super low but also distorting
 

I went to install some 4" kickers in my Jetta.. When I tested them, the volume level was super low compared to the fronts (so low that I didn't even notice they were working until I switched the fader to the rear) but at the same time, they are super distorted sounding. The cone is pounding hard but barely any sound is coming out. The stock speakers didn't do this and I didn't touch anything else except for the speaker swap.

Any ideas? I also tried some other speakers and they do the same thing..

How old is the Jetta? Is it as factory amplified system perhaps?

sounding 'super low' is a relative term as people will have different definitions of this. that being said, if everything is status quo it does sound like a phasing issue. to solve the phasing issue (if that is in fact the problem) take ONE of the speakers and reverse the positive and negative wires.

The car is an 87 with a regular, non-amplified system.
I swapped the front speakers the other day and everything went as smooth as butter.

xzman, I've tried reversing the terminals and it's doing the same thing either way. And when I say "low" volume, I mean so low that I can't hear that they're on if the fader is set to 0 because the fronts drown out the sound of the rears.
Then when I go to turn the volume up, it gets minusculey louder but the cone starts to pound and distort. Never had this happen before lol driving me mad.

what kind of headunit? it could be a low pass crossover either passive or electronic built into the headunit.

It's a 90's Pioneer tape deck to which the stock speakers that were hooked up yesterday sounded normal.

hmmm...well the fact that the factory speakers worked normally tells you that the head unit and wiring are ok - which ultimately points towards the speakers. are they new? if so you can probably return them to place of purchase for a replacement. if not then if you're in the area feel free to drop by and we can meter them out and check to make sure the speakers themselves arent damaged

did it say Aktiv on the front speakers? Wasn't there something funny about having to rewire the rear speakers from the front doors?? It's been a while for me since I've worked on one..

When you figure out the wiring, you should turf the 4" speakers and cut out the rear deck for 6x9's.. hehe.

Not an Aktiv system, just a plain old 4 speaker setup. I just wanted to replace the stock speakers with something half decent (while keeping things stock looking since I wanna go for Collector plates next year).. The front's were replaced with no problems whatsoever and then the rears have this issue..

I tried other speakers and they're doing the same thing.

Probably a good idea to pull the stereo out and see what's behind it and how it's wired. Or disconnect one speaker and see if the sound is better. If it is then speakers are out of phase like previously mentioned... Is it possible they're screwed down too tight and warped, or they're touching the factory grills perhaps??

so the only thing that sounds 'right' in there are the factory ones? are you replacing size for size? ie you're not trying to put a 4 inch speaker into a slightly larger hole? if you are, make sure there are no gaps around the speaker as that will cause the sound waves to cancel out. when a speaker moves forward it creates a soundwave - it also does it when it moves backwards. if the front and rear waves arent isolated they will cancel eachother out. its like just holding a speaker in your hand while its hooked up, nothing separates the waves so it sounds like poop

I just tried hooking the speakers up with and without mounting them.. I tried to swap the neg and pos as well and it's still the same. The stock speakers as well as these replacements are both 4"

Check impedance.

Most aftermarket speakers are 4 ohm. Factory systems - who knows?

Incorrect phase should not cause that noticeable of a difference in volume - at least not on a 4 inch full range.

It sounds like the front speakers could be 2 ohms. This will make them sound twice as loud as the rears effectively.. What kind of speakers are the fronts? What do you have for the rears?

There also may be some resistance in the speaker wires going to the rear which may cause distortion and/or 'quietness'. Did you try and hook up the rear speakers at the deck (basically not using the wiring going back to the speakers)? Try to test them out closer to the deck to see if its the deck's amp or the line itself.

Don't some Pioneers allow you to run subwoofers off the rear output? Is this feature turned on perhaps? Or a x-over of some sort..?

Guess we all want to help... and I'm curious to know who will win the prize.. :)

I've figured it out! Embarrassing really...
So Pioneer headunits have a "Front Imagine Enhancer" feature that was turned on. Basically what this does is cut the high and mid frequencies from the rear speakers and just leaves the lows. Fucked if I know why anyone would want this..

Anyway now that it's turned off, all is well. Fuck you FIE button!

It allows one to run subwoofers off the head unit..

Weird.. isn't that what the RCAs are for?

True that's what the RCA's would be for normally. The Pioneers feature allows you to run the subs or subwoofer without adding a separate amplifier.

Front Imaging Enhancer............ cool, kind of.

Pioneer decks are supposedly capable of running 4 ohms bridged mono when you bridge 1+2 or 3+4. Its about 80 watts. Not too many other decks can do that!

the FIE is actually a pretty cool feature if you don't want to add external amps.

Info on FIE here: Selectable FIE (Front Image Enhancer)
This function shifts the sound focus forward electronically, without having to adjust the fader control,by cutting off high frequency signals to the rear speakers. It gives an extremely clear sound image in the front of the car, without attenuating dynamic bass response from the rear speakers .

Found here: http://www.pioneer.eu/uk/products/25...table_FIE.html

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