lukeb

Hi,
Hope someone can help me with this one!
Had my SC430 for about 6 months now, and when I first had it, I was constantly amazed at the sound quality from the stereo. However recently I have noticed it just does not sound the same anymore, and when playing around with the stereo, if I faded the speakers to the rear whilst music is playing, the rear speakers are very quiet, hardly any sound at all compared to the fronts.
I am sure however that it was not always like this and I used to get more sound out of them.
Strange thing is, I have a parrot system connected (put in by previous owner) which only uses the rear speakers and when I play music through that (not advisable anyway as the sound quality from the back speakers only lacks the high frequencies of the front speakers), the volume is fine, which makes me think the speakers are not damaged and it must be a problem with the amp?
Any help on this most appreciated, so I can know where to look and begin the project to restore the sound system to its former glory!
Thanks!

Harold57

So the rear speakers are still putting out sound, not muffled or distorted just very quiet? Here are some simple questions:
Is the fader turned up?
Can your Parrot affect the fading position?

JohnnyCake

If I do a "blind" balancing of the system so that I am not influenced by where "zero" is, I find that my fader is set way towards the rear. Otherwise the rear speaker are too quiet.

The bottom line is that if it sounds great, it sounds great, regardless of what the balance shows.

mandyfig

I do the same. I am on R2. Sometimes a music style will prompt me to do R0. So I slide from R0 to R2.

The only thing is that I hardly open up my stereo door. So that's the hassle. Wish we could adjust from the steering controls (talking about stock...no need to suggest upgrades..lol).

But I am happy with my set up. What I do not like is when she starts saying tone it down...

ShawnOk

iTrader: (1)

I will say that I have upgraded my entire sound system including a stand alone JL 8" W7 Subwoofer in custom trunk box powered by a JL A1200 275w amp. But specifically, I upgraded the rear speakers to JL Audio 4ohm speakers as they were very weak as described above. Since our system is an 8ohm system, these rear speakers are putting out double the power, and thus sound twice as loud as the stock. There has been a huge topic of discussion about burning out the amp by using 4ohm vs OEM 8 ohm speakers. I took a calculated risk since I'm running OEM resistance on all other speakers. I have been running my setup for about 4 years and never had any amp problems and I seriously bump my system all day long. Secondly, since there's more power out of the rear speakers I actually have to turn my fader to F2. I know you said not interested in upgrades mandyfig, but not sure if you meant specifically the head unit. If you're interested in just a rear speaker upgrade, it might improve your sound. Just something to think about.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

....the 4in rears are a midrange speaker & not designed to play the highs. The ML system was designed with the thought of a concert hall, so each speaker is crossed over to play certain frequencies to give the car a full sound.If you turn the fader to the rear, you will hear music,but it will be lower than the front,because it's only picking up mid sounds or notes. When you fade to the front, you will get a full range sound because of the door tweeters,door mids & door mid bass speakers. Imagine your surround sound system at home, you get specific sounds out of different speakers & depending on where they are positioned, you'll get a full experience of what you're looking at. If you feel like you're not getting the same sound experience as before, could it be the cd's or station that you're listening to ??? Cd's that are burnt usually aren't as clean as factory produced cd's....just a thought

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

..Shawn & I talked about this years ago, I have been running my ML system with 4ohm speakers for about 7yrs now, without an issue.I loved the way the ML system was crossed over,so didn't want to ruin the "ambience of the surround sound". I replaced the ML speakers with Boston Acoustic (6x9--tweeter/woofer,front door) & (4in--tweeter/mid,rear)....and man what a difference. I used the factory amp & crossover's to power everything inside the car, then added a 10in Rockford Fosgate woofer & 500 watt Rockford Fosgate amp to give me more bass....so far so good

lukeb

Texsexlex - thanks for your comments about the mid ranges. I think I initially got the wrong idea of what was wrong!
Having gone back and played around with the balance and fade a bit more, I think I can now see what the problem is. I suspect I have a speaker out on the drivers side door and also possibly the subwoofer in the rear, which is causing the noticeable loss of power/sound quality.
Aside from the standard factory ML replacement speakers, which are rather pricey, can anyone suggest any alternatives that can be picked up cheaply that will still fit, and that are also available to buy in the UK?
I have also seen some threads mention buying repair kits for the speakers.
Has anyone had experience of these and do they work?
Thanks all for your help and comments!

ShawnOk

iTrader: (1)

Well, I believe the first question you should consider if going with an alternative speaker is whether or not you want to stay with the 8ohm OEM resistance or if you'd be ok with 4ohm?

Harold57

There is also the speaker repair route that costs about $25, IIRC.

Bgw70

The rebuilds will be fine...IF, your speakers still make noise! If they make noise, just look on eBay and search for "SC430 speakers". The rebuilds will be about $25US as Harold said.

If you hear no sound from the speaker, you may have a problem with the speaker connection to the magnet, or said another way, to the speaker coil and you might as well replace the speaker.

Bgw70

Harold, what is IIRC? Tks

Helogadget

"If I Remember Correctly"

Harold57

Thanks Helogadget. Sorry about the acronym Bgw. (I get lazy sometimes.)