Upgraded the headunit to a Pioneer and the Z has Sony speakers all around.... 6.5's in the doors and 6x9's out back. Running off of my 50x4 amp..... but still sounds like junk. Can't turn it up past level 50. Anyone know what gives or any ideas?

Jeff Bedford wrote:Sony speakers

In the most constructive way possible, that's your problem.

What kind of 50x4 amp? Some of those are just IC's that don't actually have any real power supply or transistors.



"In Oldskool we trust"

Running a Phoenix Gold QX4150

Well there is or could be lots wrong here.

First thing Sony anything is just crap.

But I think you have other issues. Are you sure that the speakers are wired in phase. Easy way to do this is get a 9 volt battery.

Then disconnect the speaker wires from the amp. Get someone to watch the speaker. Touch the speaker wire to the battery. If the speaker cone is moving towards the person watching or pushing up or out that means you are in phase. Just look at the positive and negative on the battery.

Do this for all 4 speakers.

Next is turn the gain control on the amp to min. And turn off bass boost if you have it. Check crossover settings on the amp. For your set up if not using a sub set to full range.

At the deck turn off bass boost. And set your treble and bass to zero.

Find a sound you like and turn the volume up past half way. Then turn the gain up on the amp till you just hear the speakers distorting.

Then get back up front turn the deck down and start to set your bass and treble setting.

That should work out good for you.

Rember the gain on the amp and the volume control on your deck are not designed to be maxed out. Just like the speedometer on your car is not ment to be maxed out.

Hope this helps you.

Honestly... Level 50 is usually the MAX on Pioneer headunits. Mine would scream at 35...

Yea, change your settings. You can also get baffles/ boxes that bolt behind the speakers in the factory spots to increase the sound and quality.


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Jason Burten wrote:

First thing Sony anything is just crap.

I disagree with you on that one. It depends on what Sony product you have. I had and a CDX-C780 that I would put as one of the best head units ever made. And from that Era the only thing that would to it would be a c-90. So not all sony products are junk. Everything else this poster said is spot on.

Well eventually i;m gonna change out the speakers to Fosgate's and run 5.25 components up front and sone 2-way 6x9's out back. Maybe run a 2nd amp to a SMALL 10" box. I wanna keep pretty much all my trunk usable. Possibly fiberglass something into the spare tire well

The Sony's crackle pretty good when i turn it up. Thinking that may be part of the problem.

Look into some Boston 6.5 components.

If and when i get something else i'm lookin at a set of Kaption 4x6's for under a hundred bux

4x6 speakers..... And we are back to the original post.

Just to add a little on to what Jason Burten explained. Some people say that some speakers depending on where they are at in the car etc can sound better in and out of phase with each other.

So what I did when I finished my car up ages ago was to set my driver side speaker phased properly, then flip the passenger side out of phase. If the music sounds flatter flip it back. Then do the same with the driver side. Driver side out of phase and the passenger in phase. Then try both out of phase. Go with whatever sounds the best to you. Then repeat with the back speakers.

Honestly I noticed the biggest difference doing this with my tweeters.

I NEVER ran rear speakers. I hated how they muddied the sound from the front. I just got better speakers for the front and ran more power to them. My back seat passengers said that all they could hear was the sub but I never had a lot of people back there. The more speakers you run the harder it is to make them work right together especially if youre mixing brands.

I agree on the no rear speakers I don't run them either.

The set up procedure I gave is just with a good 4 speaker setup.

And as far as sony goes in 20 years plus of installing car audio Sony is just junk.

Install a good set of 6 1/2 speakers up front and a good set of 6x9 in the rear. If you like rear fill. And build or buy a good sub box and call it a day.

We will have to agree to disagree. They had a small period in the late 90's where they made some of the best decks you could by. But it was only the Moble ES series.

Nothing to disagree on. That's when I was installing Sony product. Was garbage then.

And always came back with cd loading issues. Or people always complained about them not sounding good.

Was always a easy sell to upgrade them to a better head unit.

And back in the 90s when Sony was selling kids toys. Always got a laugh. Due to the commercial having kids saying "My First Sony"

And then move forward to Sony explode. There is a catchy name for stereo gear. And it lived up well to its name.

They made great televisions back in the day and same with some other things. But car audio was never a strong point for them and never will be.

I hooked a 12" Sony Xplod to a battery charger, filled it full of kerosene and lit it on fire.

Vibrating fire is awesome.

The Xplod series was pure @!#$. The Moble ES was top of the line. It sounds like you never worked with it. We aren't talking the big red @!#$. This stuff was gold. The amps would push a 2 ohm mono load..bridged. The Mobile ES changer had an optical output to the digital EQ.

I wouldnt have had a lot of experience with stuff that came out when I was 8 yrs old

I worked with Sony Mobil Es. It was ok for the time.

Then I worked with Rockford fosgate Symmetry system. Was really very cool.

Then I worked with pioneer I think it was ODR. That was also very cool.

Then I spent most of my time working with Alpine F1 status product. Which also is very cool.

And I still run alpine for my head units. Focal for my speakers and sub. And audison for my amps.

So that covers all the high end stuff I have worked with. Thank you.

Jason Burten wrote:I worked with Sony Mobil Es. It was ok for the time.

So by bare minimum you just contradicted your blanket statement of "First thing Sony anything is just crap. "

Wow really.

It was ok for the time. By being ok it was nothing great and still garbage or crap. No one back in the day was winning with Sony Mobil ES or back in the day it was also called Mobil BS.

So please keep your Sony products that you think are awsome.

Reality is Sony is crap plane and simple.

Hope this helps you out.

And if you know so much about car audio please help out this guy instead of defending a product that is dead and gone and was nothing special to begin with.

And you can take your biased opinion and cram it. I brought up a counter to your point of 'Everything sony is crap". You are showing how little you know about product with your opinion. You obviously don't know the Moble ES product line for the cheap @!#$ at wal-mart.

You aren't the only person on here who has installed, and there are other people here with as much or more knowledge than you.

If you want a good system try this. Use a good 6 channel amp. All in one since you want to keep your trunk space.. Use the two front channels to a good pair of 3 way Components. Don't go cheap on those, you get what you pay for. If you can find a set of q-forms pick those up. Solid them up with some pray on Dynamat. Put the 4 inch and the tweeter in those. the 6 inch will go in the doors. If they can handle the power bridge 4 of the channels down to two channels and power the speakers with that. The more power you give the components the better they will sound.

There are several options for a sub enclosure in the trunk. The two side pockets in the back behind the tail lights are a nice place to pack in a 10 inch sub.

I won't take my opinion and cram it. Junk is junk. And by the looks of the info you gave buddy you shop at and maybe work at Walmart. Because you are hung up on Sony.

Telling Some one to buy a 3 way set up is the only way to get good sound is false. And using Q fourms are ok. But if you have the money to waste on premade plastic,you could pay a shops to build you good set fiberglass kick panels.

I agree that there are others on here that are better than me.

But you sure as hell are not one of them by the postings you have made here. And by you defending a line that myself and many others find to be a cheap line of product that will not give you the best sounding system.

So take care and enjoy your 1990 Sony stereo. While me and the others move on with new gear and new stereo systems.

Learn how to read. No where did i say that my set up idea is the ONLY way to good sound, just one way to get it. It seems like you have a bit of trouble actually reading what someone is telling you. You were the one that said " Everything Sony makes is junk" I simply provided one reason why that statement is wrong. You really need to get off your high horse. I have a feeling that no matter what I had suggested you were going to attack it.

There is a difference to pointing out a wrong statement you made and "being hung up on Sony".

When you say "Sony anything is just crap" you are saying Everything Sony has made,does make and will make is crap. And that is not the case. Maybe if you had said "Sony car audio is crap" Or something a little more directed it would have been accurate. But ANYTHING SONY? really? The only thing I am really attacking is your statement. Maybe everything car audio made my sony is crap now. I have no idea. I don't buy that kind of Audio. Maybe you should choose your words a little more wisely next time......Welcome to the internet kid.

I like my high hores and I know how to read.

So why don't you learn to build a car audio system first.

I will say what I want about Sony. As I feel it is all crap. But there car audio is the top of the @!#$ pile. Just like you.

And as far as me being a kid. I am older than you ohhh little kid. So listen up to ppl that know more than you.

And as far as the Internet goes it is a great place for kids like you to come in and be tough because use in real life you would have the crap beat out of you.

And if I ever do get the chance to meet you I would tell you all this in person vs having to do it over a computer screen

So piss off and have a nice life. And try to be a big man one day.