New Speakers Quieter Than Old Ones?

[No Crust Racing]

Replaced all 4 factory 6x8 speakers in the missus Madzda6 (Non-Bose) with these (Which I see have also dropped in price... bastards).


http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/car-sound/car-speakers/cadence-xs682-6-x-8-2-way-speakers/527254


They are quieter than the old ones for a given number on the volume (though clearer as there was a damaged speaker previously).


A few things come to mind.

Is it because the factory head unit does not have enough juice to drive them properly?

Have I possibly wired them incorrectly?

In the rears both wires on the loom leading into the speaker were carrying 5+ volts. So I was unsure which way to hook them up but everything seemed to "work" when I connected them. Does it matter?

In the front, there's separate tweeters so there's 4 wires on the loom, only 2 had voltage, the other 2 had the same colour as the tweeters, I joined one voltage and one tweeter together per input to the speaker. Again everything "worked" and the tweeter worked as normal.

They just don't seem to have much punch and require higher numbers on the volume to match the old speakers for decibels.

When test front, back, left and right individually, they all sound the same to me volume/clarity/base wise etc.

Edited May 18, 2014 by ActionDan

[No Crust Racing]

Everything I'm reading tells me it's because the new speakers are 4ohm.

So maybe I need an amp as well, annoying.

[gtr jet]

I had the same issue with my XR6 Turbo when I swapped the speakers out. Similar to the ones you used.

I'm guessing it's because the factory speakers don't need as much power but even when I installed an aftermarket headunit they didn't produce as much bass as the factory speakers.

They were a lot clearer though and handles much more power.

An amp should make a pretty big difference to them.

[No Crust Racing]

Yeah consensus is an amp will solve it, but that also means two LOCs, I'm talking with a local car audio installer who works at one of the places in town and comes highly recommended, very helpful and basically telling me everything I need to know - even install which is how he makes his money.

I may just source a cheap amp and have him install it.

[Got a Pulsar]

May be silly but... Are you Sure you have them wired correctly?

If you have the wires around the wrong way on one side, they will be out of phase and some frequencies will get cancelled out.

Just a thought.

[No Crust Racing]

This has been suggested, I'll have to test it.

[nicr4wks]

The original speakers didn't have +/- markings? Often they'll be printed/stamped near the terminals and can be nearly impossible to see without good light and viewing angle.

Also you can test the ohms of the factory speakers with a multi meter if they're not marked.

[No Crust Racing]

They use a custom plug in the top of the speaker. I could not see any special markings but will triple check.

[junkie]

It's probably the sensitivity of the new speakers, lower than the originals and hence lower volume at the same input levels.

[gtr jet]

It's probably the sensitivity of the new speakers, lower than the originals and hence lower volume at the same input levels.

That's what I was trying to say but couldn't remember what it was called haha.

[No Crust Racing]

Is this the same thing as talking about the impedance/resistance being 4ohms and not 2?

My plan is to buy a 4 channel amp and some LOCs.