? 2005 Mazda3- Crappy Audio: Should replace deck and/or speakers

[cbc]

"enjoy your new speakers and too bad about your hearing. if it's any consolation, pete townshend of the who has hearing loss too."

As will many others discover, I'm afraid , later on in life.
They are the only two ears you have - protect them!(peep)


justjames - sounds like you got the sweet hookup on that system. I assume that CC provided the 6.5 adapter rings as part of the install? I'm starting to really get tired of my oems now, there's a certain frequency that is getting on my nerves in the lower treble range that I can't seem to adjust out.
Time to start thinking of an upgrade...

 

[justjames]

justjames, cool. thanks for sharing. where did you get the speaker adapter plates from? i was thinking of going with 6 1/2 inch speakers but I was advised against it since I am really anal about noise and rattles which may happen.

enjoy your new speakers and too bad about your hearing. if it's any consolation, pete townshend of the who has hearing loss too. (boom08)

Actually the speakers plates came with the Kickers. How cool is that? Otherwise, wherever you have them installed, they should have plates that will adapt just fine.

As for Petey, well.. he's legally deaf from the reports I have heard over the years. Then again after playing concerts at ear splitting DB's for decades that will do ya in. Heh.

James

 

[cbc]

I've had a mini-epiphany , or
"Just Say No to ALC"

I have been mostly disappointed with the OEM HU/speakers sound quality.
To me it had always been overexaggerated in the bass regions & shrieky
in the treble region. The other day was sitting somewhere with a CD playing
& was again trying to tweak the controls to deliver a more realistic natural sound. I had read several people's comments about how having the ALC turned on provides the best sound from the stock setup & had dutifully followed that advice, leaving it set to level 3.
While sitting there, for the heck of it I turned the ALC completely off & listened. Hmmm..the bass sounded lots less boomy & distorted (in fact I brought up the bass from -4 to 0), & the treble had lost that nasty razor bite.
WOW! This suddenly sounded LOTS better than it had before!
To do a comparision, I re-engaged the ALC at it's different level settings, & was instantly rewarded with the horrible overloaded, distorted sound I had been used to before. I had been at the point of seriously replacing speakers in my 3 (which I still wil be doing at some point), but now with tis discovery, it is not quite so urgent any more. I've been listening to various CDs with the ALC disabled & can comfirm , at least to my ears, that the SQ is much much better with it off.

 

[blondee_yvr]

That's odd...it's my understanding the ALC is based upon how fast your going.

On another note. I had my stock speakers replaced the other day. The Infinity's sounded really good, but it was hard to hear much in the rears from the MTX's. Some tweeters in the door would improve would improve the highs. IMO, you don't need to replace the rear stock speakers unless you have passengers in the back.

 

[cbc]

Congrats on the new speaks!
True, the ALC works to raise the gain levels as you drive faster, but it also alters the overall sound somehow , as the Loudness switch on a home receiver does, emphasising the lows and highs artificially so that you can hear them better at low volumes, like when sitting at a red light.
Try it yourself - set your volume level to one you prefer with the ALC off, then enable it & listen to it with the car stationary. It most definitely changes the EQ.
Again, there are many people who prefer this sound setting, but I just think it sounds better without the ALC on.

 

[blondee_yvr]

Thanks CBC. I wish I got Infinity's in the rears.(ripped)
I do have a lot more bass in general and that's what I want, now I miss the supers highs. Oh well, can't have everything . (wink)

I was washing my car this evening, I turned off the ALC and I must admit, I couldn't tell the difference. Out of curiousity, I checked my manual. This is what it says:

"The automatic level control is a feature that automatically adjusts audio volume and sound quality according to the vehicle speed. The volume increases in accordance with the increase in vehicle speed, and decreases as vehicle speed decreases."

I will further play with the ALC tomorrow on the way to and from work as there will be lots of red traffic lights.

 

[cbc]

"adjusts volume level & sound quality" pretty much confirms that it does *something* to it, most likely a boost at both ends of the frequency bands.

So you say you have less treble response than before? Is this because of not having the OEM A-pillar mounted tweeters working now?
As far as the rears go, you can always upgrade them at a later date.
Hopefully someday I can get a set of the Alpine 6X8 components in front (with a separate tweeter), and a matching pair of the coaxial-mounted versions for the rears. All I need is $$....sigh...

 

[blondee_yvr]

yeah, the ALC does make a difference but oddly enough I can't notice it on every song or tune which is interesting. bass is definitely more pronounced with the ALC on.

i wouldnt say I have less treble than before. but I had an 06 loaner with side pillar tweaters and I cant help comparing the two. I can still remember the highs and I was hoping the infinity's would be similar since they sounded very bright in store.

the infinity's are really sweet in the front but in the rears with the MTX it's like there is almost nothing there...it's actually quite pathetic. If I didnt know better, I would say the sensitivity is around 70 db but officially they are rated as 92db. Funny though, the MTX's were more $$ than the Infinity's online. I ordered them from Cardomain.com and I would order through them again.

The installer had some problem with the back installation with the connectors and he had almost missed re-installing the speaker cone. I am glad I watched. I wouldnt want to go through that again, but at least I wont need to splice any wire if I have to change the speakers (which I probably will later on). Yes, all we need is more money.

 

[cbc]

Any improvement in sound by adjusting the front to back balance, perhaps? I have mine set to "R5" I think, which seems to give me enough rear fill, but the A pillar tweeters still keep the front imaging strong.
Yikes on the installer almost forgetting the rear driver!!! I remember taking my Focus into Circuit City to have an aftermarket Sony HU installed & watched thru the windows as the two guys barely paid attention to what they were doing whilst yakking at each other about cars, parties, girls, etc
Suprised one of them didn't lose a finger !(crazy)

 

[blondee_yvr]

Yup. R5 works, I had that today but once again, it can vary from song to song. The overall sound from the rears though is quite muffled.

I wonder if the MTX's require more juice to run them but the specs are similar to the Infinitys?

I sure wish I had those A pillars though. Perhaps one day that can be a project of mine (if I keep the car...the crappy A/C is driving me nuts).

 

[cbc]

bummer on the muffled MTX's. That is the main problem with mixing speaker brands in audio - most times there is enough of a difference to be audible, & not in a good way. =(

 

[justjames]

bummer on the muffled MTX's. That is the main problem with mixing speaker brands in audio - most times there is enough of a difference to be audible, & not in a good way. =(

I bit the bullet and invested in a full system myself. I am running all kicker speakers here. 1 kicker comp 10" sub, 1 2channel kicker amp for the sub and 1 4 channel to run the kicker mids and highs in the doors. Got an Eclipse CD3000 HU to top it off. I'm having to get used to the new "pocket" of the Metra kit, but I guess I can put stuff in there (I got a Sticky Pad that fits perfect in there from Wal Mart)

I will say this.. it sounds AWESOME! But this setup will set you back some cash.

 

[rotwiler]

Nice, you went with the Infinity's up front...I'm back to the stock hu now, just looks better imo.

 

[blondee_yvr]

bummer on the muffled MTX's. That is the main problem with mixing speaker brands in audio - most times there is enough of a difference to be audible, & not in a good way. =(

Oh, damn. Why didnt anyone tell me this? (glare) The MTX's were more expensive than the Infinity's too.

Ya think I should return the MTX's and pay the shipping and restocking fee? Actually, scratch that thought, I'd have to mess with the rear door panel, I seen how much of a hassle the installer had with it. I know I'd screw something up and end up taking it to the dealer.

Yeah rotwiler, I am really surprised at how much bass the Infinity's have in our 3. Definitely didnt hear that in store. The stock HU definitely looks much better

 

[johnirwin]

OEM Headunit has lower out put to the rear

tested the output to the rear speakers using a line level converter. The rear outputs are much lower than the front outputs. This would explain why fading to R5 (R8 is full rear) would have good results.

wonder if the front tweeters (a-pillar) and door speakers are parallel wired (less load on head unit)


http://coffeechaser.com
http://innerurban.com

 

[blondee_yvr]

tested the output to the rear speakers using a line level converter. The rear outputs are much lower than the front outputs. This would explain why fading to R5 (R8 is full rear) would have good results.

wonder if the front tweeters (a-pillar) and door speakers are parallel wired (less load on head unit)


http://coffeechaser.com
http://innerurban.com

Thanks John. With my MTX's I really would have to crank it up high even at R5 or R8. Makes me wonder if the stock speakers are 94 db or higher because the MTXs are 92, the same as the Infinity's up front and do sound better. I think someone here posted not to replace the rears.

 

[rotwiler]

The 92db 94db etc really doesn't have a real world effect on how good they sound or not.. standards are so different.... I know the Infinity's are a efficient speaker and so are most Alpines, so it was the main reason I went for them up front. I think I would have done the Infinity's in the back too instead of the Polk's since the infinity's sound so good. I have some Infinity Kappa series 2ohm speakers in my Z28 and they sound really good...but I have a factory amp running at 2ohms in my z28. I'm still running the stock stereo in the MZ3 and sounds fine for no amp running the door speakers..I do have the 12 inch sub now and getting ready to add a 500 watt rms amp I have laying around. I bought a really nice custom made molded fiberglass 10 inch sub box off ebay for around $100 off ebay and came with a JL audio 10w0 and fits like a stealth box in the rear right of the MZ3(takes up zero space and looks factory)..but I think the airspace is slightly small, I added some fiberfill and it made the bass a little deeper, but I need a 10 to work in a super small enclosure for the best sound...the JL wants a little more than the box has..kinda sucks, because it is a great little setup if the airspace was a tad bit bigger.

 

[blondee_yvr]

The Infinity's are aweosome in our 3's. The in-store setup didnt do them justice. It's a huge difference. I think I may at some point swap out the MTX's with Infinity's in the back...maybe. I would like to hear a set of Infinity's in the front and rears just for the heck of it.

Sounds like you have really decent system there, rotwiler. That's awesome.

 

[blondee_yvr]

*bump*

Was in my gf's 2000 Jetta today and I was just listening to FM and damn, the bass was a helluva lot stronger than in my 3 with the Infinity and MTX's.

Me thinks of going the sub and amp route. Can this be bought cheaply, if so, how cheap (without buying from ebay)? I'd have to get a professionally installed like I did my speakers.

Also, do they have amps that work like the aux-mod where I can connect an IPOD, XM or Sirius? How about a volume leveler to increase the sound of the speakers in the rears which are so weak?

 

[Zero Cool]

*bump*
Was in my gf's 2000 Jetta today and I was just listening to FM and damn, the bass was a helluva lot stronger than in my 3 with the Infinity and MTX's.

Me thinks of going the sub and amp route. Can this be bought cheaply, if so, how cheap (without buying from ebay)? I'd have to get a professionally installed like I did my speakers.

Also, do they have amps that work like the aux-mod where I can connect an IPOD, XM or Sirius? How about a volume leveler to increase the sound of the speakers in the rears which are so weak?

The FM in the 3's is pretty weak in the bass. the biggest problem i see with adding a sub, is how to connect it. i have not yet seen a line out on these radios. however i did see a trunk spare tire mounted subwoofer system that i think is from a P5! so maybe there is a plug already back there i dont know.

If i can aquire a stock radio, i will do a little reverse engineering and see how hard it is to add Line outputs. But first, i need to aquire a stock radio to work with....

Your radio does have a "volume leveler to increase the sound of the back speakers"! Its called a fader!