...I think I'm getting some buzzing or clunking from the door and I suspect it's the factory tweeters on my 03 P5. I didn't disconnect them when I installed the Kappas and I'm starting to wonder if that was a bad idea:

1) The weird noises concern and annoy me--might be worth it to make that stop
2) I read just tonight that the factory setup is outputting 25Wx4 for the fronts--would disabling these tweeters somehow cause 50W to be routed to my two Kappas? TOTAL NEWBIE ALERT HERE!

If they should be disconnected, what would you recommend--just cutting the wires, or removing the solder and taping the wires off, or what?

Thanks!

 

Try disconnecting the tweeters first and then go from there. The buzzing noise is coming from the speaker or the door vibrating? Also, what size driver is in the door (the Kappa speakers)? Your deck may be having a hard time pushing the tweeters and the front speakers if it is only two channels are running all four speakers.

Mister T

 

Disconnect by cutting or de-soldering?

The Kappas are 5x7/6x8.

Any thoughts on the 25W/50W question? I guess the analogy would be water pressure--if I have two hoses flowing 25 gallons of water an hour and I cap off one of the hoses, the other will now be flowing somewhere approximating 50 gallons of water an hour, right? Does wattage on stereos work the same way?

It's hard to tell what's causing the rattling--it's just a guess at this point that it's the tweeters.

 

The tweeters should just be able to be unplugged so that if you sell or trade in down the road you can just plug 'em back in. I cut my factory 6x8 speakers, but kept them as well as the plugs so I can splice in to them when time comes to trade in. As far as power is concerned, your deck is rated at 50 watts max per channel and 25 watts RMS, you are probably getting 25 watts <realistically>. Try disconnecting the tweets and see what haps.

Mister T

 

And you read this where? The factory SPEAKERS are rated to handle 25 watts MAX, while your factory deck puts out about 12 watts per channel MAX. That means 12 watts to EACH speaker/tweeter combo, and 12 watts to each rear speaker.

I would disconnect the factory tweeters, and see what happens. Fact is, the stock deck is very very weak, and you're probably just pushing it too hard trying to get some more volume. It is possible that you have damaged one or more of your speakers/tweeters by sending nasty distortion to them. DON'T PANIC! Just start by disconnecting the stock tweeters, and see if that helps. You can continue to disconnect individual speakers until you isolate the source of the noise.

And just a tip - if you want it loud, and you want it clear, you want an amp. No if's and's or but's. No matter how weak the stock deck may be, you can destroy ANY speaker hooked up to it by overdriving the DECK and sending distortion to the speakers - even speakers rated to handle 50,000 watts can be blown by 20 watts of distortion. Be careful with the volume ****!

~HH

 

HH, you're just trying to make me spend more money...

just kidding

I know, I should probably look at an amp. The problem is that I've mostly been very satisfied with the SQ from this setup. The factory pseudo-sub really isn't that bad for adding a little bass. The factory rears are pretty much useless and I have the fader at about 80% front, 20% rear for a little fill.

My problem is that I don't know if noise I'm hearing is from:

a) the new speakers rattling the door panels and/or the stock tweeters;
b) the stock tweeters fighting the volume; or
c) distortion from the underpowered HU.

I worry if I put in an amp, I'll end up with more noise overall because the extra power will cause more panels and connectors, etc. to rattle--does that make sense?

The Kappas are great...and I'd like to throw in the fact that I highly recommend XM Radio--it's fantastic!

 

just wondering if it was the tweeters causing the problem and if they went away. Let us know.

Mister T

 

Haven't had a chance to disconnect them yet. Been working all weekend getting our house ready to list! Possibly tomorrow night, though--I'll report back.