| dmsmith |
I've read a lot in the forum about speaker upgrades and I am looking to upgrade the crappy bose speakers in my 2001 Touring/Nav. Most in this forum seem to like the Infinity's. I went to a local car stereo shop (Car Toys) and they claimed that just upgrading the speakers would cause major problems without changing out the amps because the stock speakers run at 2 ohms.
Based on what i've read on this forum, most seem to have been able to put these speakers in without any other modifications.
I think the salesman was just trying to sell me on a whole system with amps and HU instead of just the speakers.
Can someone confirm that these speakers can just be upgraded without other modifications such as replacing the Bose factory amps and HU?
thanks,
Dustin |
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| phins2rt |
quote:
Originally posted by dmsmith
I've read a lot in the forum about speaker upgrades and I am looking to upgrade the crappy bose speakers in my 2001 Touring/Nav. Most in this forum seem to like the Infinity's. I went to a local car stereo shop (Car Toys) and they claimed that just upgrading the speakers would cause major problems without changing out the amps because the stock speakers run at 2 ohms.
Based on what i've read on this forum, most seem to have been able to put these speakers in without any other modifications.
I think the salesman was just trying to sell me on a whole system with amps and HU instead of just the speakers.
Can someone confirm that these speakers can just be upgraded without other modifications such as replacing the Bose factory amps and HU?
thanks,
Dustin
dmsmith,
I think you answered your own question! Many have done this and there have been no problems, AFAIK. Good luck with the install!!:D |
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| TriumphDriver |
Me thinks the shop wants to sell amps and a big install price.
Save your money and buy speakers from online from Crutchfields or another discount auto electronic store. Unless you push loud volume on a consistant basis, upgrading the speakers will give you a lot of bang for the buck. |
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| dmsmith |
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I should pick up the infinity's from Cardomain.com (on sale for $52) and install them myself using some of the pics from this forum.
- D |
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| timbrwolf9 |
quote:
Originally posted by dmsmith
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I should pick up the infinity's from Cardomain.com (on sale for $52) and install them myself using some of the pics from this forum.
- D
Yes, even taking your time, it is only a 30-45 minute install time for all of the speakers. I would recommend disconnecting the factory tweeters when you install the Infinitys. |
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| loa3 |
| Increasing speaker impedance does not hurt the amp; decreasing it does -- can overpower it. Either the person you talked to doesn't know much about sound systems or he/she is just trying to sell amplifiers. I like my stock Bose speakers (old-age eardrums are very forgiving, apparently) and haven't tried to replace them, so I don't know for sure, but I would think the only downside to higher impedance speakers would be a slight reduction in max sound. And, since most auto speakers that I have looked at are 4 ohm impedance, I wouldn't expect there to be much reduction. |
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| renov8r |
Without getting too techincall, I do think it is useful to understand how IMPEDANCE effects AMPLIFICATION.
Basically anytime you put electric current through any useful device some of that current goes to "work" and some goes toward "resistance". (when you think of light bulbs & electric heating devices the resistance work is basically all you want, but most things are not like that, from TVs and computers to motors the resistance heating is a 'waste' that does not do the 'work' you want done...)
In the case of a speaker/amplifier you can imagine that the lower the resistance, the less 'waste heat' there is from the speaker end. BUT it turns out that AMPLIFIERS see less resistance as being "closer to a short circuit" thus THEY RUN HOTTER. If any power supply is attached to a short circuit --ZAP-- power supply is FRIED!
So speaker designers typically build relatively high impedance speakers mainly to make them FRIENDLIER to amplifiers -- a higher impedance load is easier to "drive", amps run cooler.
The game that Bose plays is by using LOW IMPEDANCE speakers they can rate the power output higher -- as the amp is facing less resistance more current flows. Sensitivity is generally specc'd relative to 2.83 VRMS (1 watt at 8 ohms) -- Bose "fakes" the power rating by a factor of FOUR.
The reality is that although they build the amps to drive a load that is close to a short circuit, the amps are otherwise VERY weak. You won't hurt the amps by using higher impedance speakers, but they have pathetic power output.
There is another thread where crmsnidol lists almost a dozen high quality 5-channel amps that are IDEAL to replace the factory stuff, and will slip right into the headrest storage area...
There are a whole host of factors that go into speaker "sensitivity" which is the measure of how LOUD the speaker given a specific input signal. The interaction between the the crossover design, strength of the magnet, the stiffness of the cone, the size of the voice coil, and even the type of surround/basket and enclosure ALL effect the sensitivity/loudness.
One can use VERY high impedance carbon diaphram drivers with truly minute amounts of power, though the sound quality is quite limited in frequency response.
Typical home audio speakers are designed for 8 ohms nominal, so that is a standard for home amps. Home speakers typically have a fairly complex crossover (R/C circuit -- the load is not purely resistive, the capacitators can store A LOT of energy) that displays a RANGE of impedances and require amps able to drive varying loads.
Car audio standard is generally 4 ohms. Less complex crossovers are common and the range of impedances is narrower.
Good Luck! |
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