Car audio question

Elliott

Elliott

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
San Diego, CA
This got erased before I could check any replies so any help would be appreciated.

The problem is with the jeep's audio system. I have upgraded the head unit to a top of the line pioneer unit, 6.5" infinity references in all 4 doors, and decent quality tweeters. However it just is not loud enough, hardly a noticeable improvement over the stock setup. Only reason I need it to be loud is going 70 mph on the highway with nobby tires and turndown exhaust makes it hard to hear the music.

So the main problem is when I come to a complete stop, say at a stop light. The music gets significantly quieter when I come to a stop. This is clearly a power issue but what would cause this? Is it something in the head unit or like an alternator thing? My jeep came with the factory infinity gold package but when I upgraded to 4ohm speakers I bypassed the factory amp to run the speakers straight from the head unit. Any thoughts? Thanks.
 
I had a Pioneer Premier unit a few years back that would auto-sense the ambient noise level and auto-adjust the volume. Is yours like this, or are the lights going dim?

The radio draws alot more power than your OEM head unit, but honestly, what you need is an amp. even a 22w x 4 (RMS) will make a HUGE difference, but 50x4's are much more common these days.

Before anyone says it, IGNORE the lies on the front of the radio that say "55w x 4" - that's only if lightning strikes the radio at the exact moment the canons fire on AC/DC's "For those about to rock"
 
Yeah, you really need to get an amplifier. Those hu.s are only 16 watts rms. Get a quality 4 channel amp and be done with it. Dont skimp on cheap amps as this will just induce alot of engine noise into your system. You should be able to get a quality amp, such as an alpine MRP-250 40w rms X 4 for around 200.00. If you ever make it north on 52 I could cut you a pretty good deal.
 
I may end up getting an amp but would like to solve the initial problem first.

Its decently loud when I am cruising around town but like I said the volume fluctuates so much. If I could fix that problem I wouldn't even need an amp. Is this one of those built in features that quiets itself when coming to a stop? Any way to get around it?
 
Pioneer 7750

awww.miamicenter.cl_imagenes_productos_radios_imagenes_radios_pioneer_7750_gr.jpg
 
I looked for an owners manual to see if I could walk you through it. The fact of the matter is, you need to check the manual and see if it has some sort of "Speed Controlled Volume". That's a nice deck. Pioneer has some of the best internal amps on the market today. The built-in crossovers help immensely, too. If you need a hand setting the EQs and levels, gimme a call sometime and swing by. We'll have a party! I do recommend an amp, Infinitys are pretty hungry speakers. However, I'd hold off until you're sure the stereo is doing all it can do.

As for the current draw thing, most Jeep alternators I've dealt with put out significantly less current at idle than when they're moving. However, I doubt this is the cause of your problem. The battery would have to be nearly dead, too, and you'd notice this.
 
Bottom line is, that head unit puts out 22w RMS where most of your power is , your trying to run a 50w RMS speaker, the 50wx4 is PEAK power, and it'll only do that for a short time till the final amp in the head unit get hot, then you start loosing power. The louder you get, the hotter and the less power the internal amp puts out

Eventually, you could blow the finals out, either one channel or all together. Been there done that Trashed a real nice Clarion unit that way.

Most all of Pioneers head units are 22w RMS and 45-50 watt Peak.

You need an amp .

RMS Power
The amount of continuous power, measured in watts, that an amplifier produces is called Root Mean Square (RMS) power. The higher the RMS figure, the louder and cleaner your music sounds.

Peak Power
Peak power is measured during a brief musical burst, such as a sudden drum accent. Some manufacturers display peak power ratings on the face of their products. The RMS power rating is more significant, and we recommend using it for comparison purposes

Copied from Crutchfield Glossary
 
the owners manual can be had here http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/support/details/0,,2076_310070339_151934538,00.html

Pioneers do not have a autofade or speed control so you can forget about that

But high power car audio recievers and amps can suffer from loadness drops becouse of low voltage.

your reciever will push 50w x 4 chanels at 4 ohms at 14.4 volts peak, 22w continuous.
as the supplied voltage drops the power output drops at 12 volts it might be pushing 30w x 4 and 15w continuous.

so if your battery or alternator are weak and your voltage drops when you come to a idle your sound level comming from your speakers can drop.
 
How did you ground the radio? Make sure it is not just grounded through the ant. lead. Chrysler products typically have the ground seperate from the rest of the radio harness. It usually has a female plug or is a braided strap.
 
comppwizz said:
your reciever will push 50w x 4 chanels at 4 ohms at 14.4 volts peak, 22w continuous.
as the supplied voltage drops the power output drops at 12 volts it might be pushing 30w x 4 and 15w continuous..
Click to expand...

22 watts of radio-generated power is NOT the same as 22 watts from a quality amplifier, unless you like listening to a 1khz test tone.
 
comppwizz said:
the owners manual can be had here http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/support/details/0,,2076_310070339_151934538,00.html
Pioneers do not have a autofade or speed control so you can forget about that
Click to expand...

Not true! Open the manual (that you linked to) ;) and scroll on down to page 53. It talks about the "Automatic Sound Levelizer" or "ALS". That's exactly what this is. It has three settings, and is probably set to high, which I find extremely annoying too.

Elliot, that is a good unit and should sound great once set up properly. Pioneers use a very nice internal amplifier circuit. As long as it's not clipping, it should be loud enough to put you out of the car. It's never going to boom, you need a sub to get over the Swampuhs, but it will be loud and clean enough. RMS power is important, but so is looking at the THD at the claimed rated power. There's plenty of ways to make a cheap amp look powerful. I've seen amps that claimed 1000 watts into 4 channels that when I took apart, had amplifier chips like would be found in a cheap head unit. They were in a big aluminum case with a thick bottom plate to make them heavy. Flea market crap. People used to bring these things into the shop to get fixed, and we'd just kinda laugh. :flipoff2:

Argue with me all you want, but I don't think he needs to buy anything else until all options are exhausted. This has been my experience, which I got from installing systems for several years before doing it for a living. Also, I was an electronics tech for six years. Plus, I'm just an audio junkie from way back. Stick with the Pioneer deck for now. Heck, I'd give my lefticle for one of those! I'm a little tired of having decks that REQUIRE an external amp! As for the speakers, they'll be OK too. I would have recommended a different brand, but that's just my personal preference. :D Call me anytime, I think you have my # dude.
 
I stand corrected on the ASL
I own 3 Pioneer head units and none of them have that.
you know what they say when you ass-u-me somthing :)
 
Back
Top