I replaced my headunit and everything is good there. I also replaced a lower door woofer and the new one sounds like crap. I tried another new speaker and it, too, sounded like crap. Could it be that it's a better speaker and moving too much air? Should I remove the foam cup it sits in (looks to be a weather seal. It sounds of rattling and kinda muffled. The new speaker sits in the hole just fine. I did have to drill out new mounting screw holes, but that's all the modding that was needed. Thoughts?

 

Disclosure: I'm not terribly skilled at car audio, but I'm good at electronics and radio!

Did the original speaker also sound like crap? Is it the lower woofer for the front or rear door? They are connected differently, I'm not saying that this is the case of your problem but something to consider. The front door has 3 speakers, the mid and high range are wired in parallel and then to the amp, whereas the front woofer is wired directly to the amp. The rears are wired in parallel and then to the amp. I have found that listening to an individual speaker/driver can be challenging because they are meant to each present part of the whole sound stage. I had to play with the settings on my aftermarket head unit to get the sound where I want it (and it still needs some work) because the amp takes care of a lot of the crossover, especially in regards to the lower frequencies.

 

Thanks for the reply! The original speaker didn't sound very bad. The mid has been removed until I replace it (hopefully, tonight). I have to take the panel off and play the audio from it. It's not so much volume, but it sounds like it's rattling and muffled. I'm wondering if not enough air is escaping and muffling the sound-- like a sub in the wrong box. Great to know about the mids and tweeters being wired in parallel. I didn't know that. Gotta love these oddities!

 

Did you try the original speaker back in the door, rather than trying two new speakers? It may not be the speaker at all, but the output from your head unit not playing nicely with the crossovers in the amp.

 

Indeed. It sounded fine. I did all this with the door card back on. I'm heading home soon and am going to listen to it with the card off to see if it's only when mounted. Thanks!!

 

Are the new speakers the same impedance as the old? Do they have the same (or at least similar) frequency response range?

 

So, figured it out...when I unplugged the radio between speakers, the radio reset the rear RCA outputs back to freaking sub instead of full. Forgot to check that again. Oops!! I'm an idiot. Hahaha! It sounds great now!!

 

Ahh, yes- check out my thread from a few days ago “my audio idiocy.” You are not alone in that mistake!

 

LOL! Well, I'm glad I'm not alone. It's funny-- no matter our level of experience, we're still not immune to simple mistakes. Hahahaha!