replacing factory speakers

[Bear]

Quick question...I searched the thread a bit and found jazzy's thing to remove the stock headunit. I couldn't follow it at all. Does anyone have anything with pictures? My main thing is getting the piece around the shifter off.

 

Thanks a lot.

[itsme]

Quick question...I searched the thread a bit and found jazzy's thing to remove the stock headunit. I couldn't follow it at all. Does anyone have anything with pictures? My main thing is getting the piece around the shifter off.

 

Thanks a lot.

just pull the part around the shifter straight up(it snaps in), then on screw the shift knob.

[Fri501pm25]

quick question im changing the front and back speakers with infinitys going to a amp in the back....however i want to keep the stock unit where do i get my outs from the stock unit to go into my amp....

[itsme]

quick question im changing the front and back speakers with infinitys going to a amp in the back....however i want to keep the stock unit where do i get my outs from the stock unit to go into my amp....

Some people used something called "cleansweep" I just used the wires from the stock sub harness in the set and ran a LOC then rand that into a pre amp then to my amps.

[EJ252NA]

Has anybody here noticed that after replacing their stock front speakers that there is a hole in the frequency band?

 

Or is it just me?! I believe its lacking the 100-400Hz freq. range...

 

Anybody has experienced this?

[Boulderguy]

Has anybody here noticed that after replacing their stock front speakers that there is a hole in the frequency band?

 

Or is it just me?! I believe its lacking the 100-400Hz freq. range...

 

Anybody has experienced this?

 

If you removed your factory tweeters then you've got a hole in the speaker cabinet, so to speak. Sealing that up healed my midbass problem.

[EJ252NA]

If you removed your factory tweeters then you've got a hole in the speaker cabinet, so to speak. Sealing that up healed my midbass problem.

 

Yup I removed the factory speakers and replaced it with a new set of components, so I think that is not the problem.

[EJ252NA]

Any other inputs regards to the midbass problem?

[Boulderguy]

It's probably a backwave issue or an out of phase speaker.

 

Or bad music.

[gerbler]

Hello everyone, i'm fairly new to the Subaru crew and Boulderguy is pretty much on the money. Realistically, the power handling of a speaker is insignificant unless you have the power. the most important thing to remember is the efficiency of a speaker. as soon as you go to a component speaker set up, you will need an amplifier. better sound generally means a bit more money, but in the end, it is definitely worth it.

[EJ252NA]

It's probably a backwave issue or an out of phase speaker.

 

Or bad music.

 

Can you please explain further?

 

I have played all types of music already, and all has the same result...Does that mean all my original CD's sounds crap?

 

@Gerbler: The components are powered by a decent and matching power of amplifier, so I guess power is not the issue.

[Boulderguy]

Kidding about the music. Sort of.

 

Try this - set your fader to the rear speakers only. Better midbass? If so, there's something incorrect with your front speaker install. The most common problems are backwave or out of phase.

 

Out of phase means one of your speakers has the positive & negative reversed. it'll cancel out most noticeably in the midbass frequencies.

 

Backwave means sound from the rear of the speaker is affecting the sound from the front of the speaker. If you removed the factory tweeter & didn't plug that hole in the door panel appropriately then backwave is likely coming thru that point, canceling the midbass.

 

Quick test - cover those tweeter holes with your hands, both at the same time. Better midbass? There's your problem.

[EJ252NA]

Kidding about the music. Sort of.

 

Try this - set your fader to the rear speakers only. Better midbass? If so, there's something incorrect with your front speaker install. The most common problems are backwave or out of phase.

 

Out of phase means one of your speakers has the positive & negative reversed. it'll cancel out most noticeably in the midbass frequencies.

 

Backwave means sound from the rear of the speaker is affecting the sound from the front of the speaker. If you removed the factory tweeter & didn't plug that hole in the door panel appropriately then backwave is likely coming thru that point, canceling the midbass.

 

Quick test - cover those tweeter holes with your hands, both at the same time. Better midbass? There's your problem.

 

Hahaha! Thanks, will try those tests...If ever the tweeter test comes positive, if I cover that then how will the sound of the new tweets will come out? Btw, I put the tweeter the same location as the stock ones.

 

That is what I am doing now, I set the fader at 5 steps to the rear so that I get the better midbass response, would it matter if I used a spacer for my front midbass speakers? Cause I am using a 1 inch spacer at the moment.

[Boulderguy]

Nah, spacers won't change anything really. BTW, your speakers will sound MUCH better if you move the tweeter down by the woofer. Separating them the way you have them now makes the sound exceedingly bright & "in your face."

 

It's a long explanation as to why but here's another simple test for that - lay your seat all the way back (like you're taking a nap) & see if it sounds better in that position. What you're doing there is increasing the distance between the tweeter & your ears. If so, think about repositioning your tweeters. That will definitely help your midbass too.

 

When doing any of these tests, set the tone controls to "flat" or 0.

[EJ252NA]

Nah, spacers won't change anything really. BTW, your speakers will sound MUCH better if you move the tweeter down by the woofer. Separating them the way you have them now makes the sound exceedingly bright & "in your face."

 

It's a long explanation as to why but here's another simple test for that - lay your seat all the way back (like you're taking a nap) & see if it sounds better in that position. What you're doing there is increasing the distance between the tweeter & your ears. If so, think about repositioning your tweeters. That will definitely help your midbass too.

 

When doing any of these tests, set the tone controls to "flat" or 0.

 

 

Ok thanks will try to do that....and keep you posted...

[112 dB]

It's a long explanation as to why but here's another simple test for that - lay your seat all the way back (like you're taking a nap) & see if it sounds better in that position. What you're doing there is increasing the distance between the tweeter & your ears.

 

That's part of it, although it is a pretty big part. Keeping the tweeter and midbass close to one another also helps reduce the path length difference (and related volume and phase issues) between the tweeter and midbass.

 

There were some older MB Quarts that used to have the tweeter mounted on a bridge over the midbass, and KEF had a series of speakers where the tweeter was mounted in the middle of the driver through a hollow pole piece. I'm sure there was a bit of a tradeoff in this kind of configuration (smaller tweeter, etc.) but I found my Quarts to be quite nice.

[djsnoops]

the 09 legacys have 300+ watt harmon kardon sound system! wtf so mad lol

[EJ252NA]

@Boulderguy: Tried all the test but nothing seems to work, really had to set the fader 5 steps to the rear to get the fullness of the midbass...

 

Is it because of the factory setting of our HU for the stock speakers?

[havanisda]

the 09 legacys have 300+ watt harmon kardon sound system! wtf so mad lol

385-watt 9-speaker Harman/Kardon® http://www.subaru.com/sub/media/glossary/icon_2.jpg audio system with 7-channel amplifier/equalizer, subwoofer. Digital Signal Processing (DSP), 6-disc in-dash CD changer, MP3/WMA capability and Speed-Sensitive Auto Volume Control (SVC)

[Cornelius]

385-watt 9-speaker Harman/Kardon® http://www.subaru.com/sub/media/glossary/icon_2.jpg audio system with 7-channel amplifier/equalizer, subwoofer. Digital Signal Processing (DSP), 6-disc in-dash CD changer, MP3/WMA capability and Speed-Sensitive Auto Volume Control (SVC)

 

All models? I have 2009 legacy stw diesel, (honey comb mask and momo leather steering wheel) but i didn't get that harman kardon package, it makes me mad also :-) but stereo is almost good, i wonder what speakers would be good replacements for the stock ones?

[Boulderguy]

@Boulderguy: Tried all the test but nothing seems to work, really had to set the fader 5 steps to the rear to get the fullness of the midbass...

 

Is it because of the factory setting of our HU for the stock speakers?

 

That tells you that your front speakers aren't setup up correctly - you're getting good sound from the back but not the front using the same signal.

 

My advice would be to remove the new tweeters from their current locations up high in the door panel & re-position them where the midbass drivers are (in "coaxial mode," so to speak).

 

If your speakers aren't designed for this there are still ways to do it, talk to a qualified shop. Here's a pic of a simple way to do it - http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=8431&d=1122449092

 

Then replace the stock tweeters in the stock tweeter location but do not connect them - this will fill that hole & seal it against backwave. You could also just stuff some black foam in there.

 

Last step would be to cover the front doors with a layer of sound deadener like Dynamat, in theory sealing up the holes in the sheet metal as much as possible. You could skip this step if you're strapped for cash, it's not as significant as moving the tweeter & plugging that hole.

 

I could get into long explanations as to why this will sound sooo much better than what you have but it's all been said many times here before.

 

If you search for "speaker placement" or "tweeter placement" you'll probably find a wealth of info.

[havanisda]

All models? I have 2009 legacy stw diesel, (honey comb mask and momo leather steering wheel) but i didn't get that harman kardon package, it makes me mad also :-) but stereo is almost good, i wonder what speakers would be good replacements for the stock ones?

I don'tknow if your in the US but according to the US site they all get it except the base model 2.5i. http://www.subaru.com/shop/model_consideration.jsp?model=LEGACY

[EJ252NA]

That tells you that your front speakers aren't setup up correctly - you're getting good sound from the back but not the front using the same signal.

 

My advice would be to remove the new tweeters from their current locations up high in the door panel & re-position them where the midbass drivers are (in "coaxial mode," so to speak).

 

If your speakers aren't designed for this there are still ways to do it, talk to a qualified shop. Here's a pic of a simple way to do it - http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=8431&d=1122449092

 

Then replace the stock tweeters in the stock tweeter location but do not connect them - this will fill that hole & seal it against backwave. You could also just stuff some black foam in there.

 

Last step would be to cover the front doors with a layer of sound deadener like Dynamat, in theory sealing up the holes in the sheet metal as much as possible. You could skip this step if you're strapped for cash, it's not as significant as moving the tweeter & plugging that hole.

 

I could get into long explanations as to why this will sound sooo much better than what you have but it's all been said many times here before.

 

If you search for "speaker placement" or "tweeter placement" you'll probably find a wealth of info.

 

Thanks man, you've been a big help! Will try to do that also...

[Boulderguy]

Sure. And remember while the tweeters seem unrelated to your midbass problem it will actually help quite a bit.