# Tweeters too loud (or Midbasses too quiet?)



## dummptyhummpty (Feb 4, 2006)

I'm having issues with my tweeters being too overpowering. It's to the point where my ears start to hurt and I have to turn off the radio. Things get better if I turn up the bass all the way on the headunit, but I feel that I shouldn't have to be doing that. Either way, doing so doesn't completely resolve the issue. I have HAT Clarus 6-2 speakers powered by a DLS A4 amp and a Pioneer DEH-P80MP headunit. The tweeters are mounted in the factory location (doors) and are set to the -3 DB setting on the passive crossovers.

When I first had the speakers installed, I had absolutely no midbass or bass. This was resolved by installing the speakers differently. Then, I was having issues with distortion and my tweeters/speakers popping. I changed out the factory headunit to the Pioneer and also realized I was overpowering my speakers-I must have misread the specs and thought I could run the speakers bridged on the A4. Next, I was having issues on bass heavy songs with what I can only describe as interference from the low bass notes causing a warbling effect on the verbal parts of the song. Using the high pass crossover on my amp helped with this, but in the process I lost a lot of bass which has worsened my overpowering tweeter issue.

It's probably worth mentioning that I usually drive with the windows open which I'm sure is also contributing to this.


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## smgreen20 (Oct 13, 2006)

Give a complete rundown of what you have and HOW it's set up, xover points/slopes, what chs of the amp are powering what, speaker locations for those of us unfamiliar w/that car.


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## dummptyhummpty (Feb 4, 2006)

smgreen20 said:


> Give a complete rundown of what you have and HOW it's set up, xover points/slopes, what chs of the amp are powering what, speaker locations for those of us unfamiliar w/that car.


The Pioneer DEH-P80MP is connected to DLS A4. The rear channel of the amp (left and right) is connected to the HAT passive crossovers which then go to the midbass and tweeters. The amp's front channel is unused. The A4's highpass is currently set at 60Hz/12dB. The passive crossover appears to be at 5700Hz/12dB.

Here is a picture of the speaker locations (not my car).

Let me know if I can provide any details.


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## SpeedEuphoria (Sep 15, 2010)

separate and run the speakers actively off all 4 channels and you get much better tune-ability between midbass and tweet.

Although I thought HAT were supposed to be good?

As for the distortion in the midbass, try putting some egg crate foam of similar behind the midbass inside the door to stop reflections of the backwave.

You also need to seal the doors off so its like an enclousure for the speaker and you'll get much better midbass


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

SpeedEuphoria said:


> separate and run the speakers actively off all 4 channels and you get much better tune-ability between midbass and tweet.
> 
> *Although I thought HAT were supposed to be good?*
> 
> ...


It's the install accompanied by a lack of knowing what he is doing , hence the popping and the tweeters, etc..,

You can not get it set up right with any speakers.

If he searches for NPDang threads and understands what he is reading he can seal his doors up right.


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## dummptyhummpty (Feb 4, 2006)

SpeedEuphoria said:


> separate and run the speakers actively off all 4 channels and you get much better tune-ability between midbass and tweet.
> 
> Although I thought HAT were supposed to be good?
> 
> ...


Thanks, I'll try going active and see if this helps at all. I'll also try putting some egg crate foam behind the midbasses. The shop that installed the speakers did appli sound deadener to seal the doors, but I will double check to make sure nothing has come loose.


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## dummptyhummpty (Feb 4, 2006)

Oliver said:


> It's the install accompanied by a lack of knowing what he is doing , hence the popping and the tweeters, etc..,
> 
> You can not get it set up right with any speakers.
> 
> If he searches for NPDang threads and understands what he is reading he can seal his doors up right.


Thanks. Anything specific I should be looking for? I think I've read his threads in the past, but will read over them again.


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

active should be able to fix it. im sort of in the same boat, running passive. only problem i see is that my power will go down a lot when i go active, which is ideal for the tweeter, i just hope it pushes the mid bass enough to keep up with my subs still.

if u dont have subs, u should be able to keep the gains low on the tweeter, and push the mids good and have a good sound and be able to crank it without it hurting ur ears.


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## brocken (Apr 26, 2010)

I've run into the same problem before (tweeters being too loud). My guess is your 2 channels of the amp are not enough to power that full passive set. That would be why the tweeters sound louder, they don't need as much juice as the mids.
Active like the other guys said would work. Or you could bridge your amp if it has that feature.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

> Also, you can sometimes reduce annoying door mechanism rattles by applying a bit of thick grease to the part.
> 
> The next thing I like to do is seal up any large holes in the door panel. Doing this very noticeably increases the bass output. I like to use plexiglass since it's somewhat cheap and weatherproof... and also looks nice. It's also much sturdier than trying to stretch sound deadener over a large hole. Cut out a piece that fits your hole, use a bit of silicon, liquid nails, or other thick adhesive/sealant and then slide it in. These panels can be easily removed with a screwdriver worked into the edges if maintenance on the door is needed.
> 
> ...


_
might be something here you could use ^^^^_


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## dummptyhummpty (Feb 4, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies everyone and I appologize for not replying sooner. I've been busy at work and by the time I get home it's too dark to do anything. I'm working the early shift this week and since I had to remove my door panel for another project, I decided to take a closer look at the install I had a local shop do.

Looks good so far.








As they showed me previously, it looks like they sealed the door up well.








Wait, what? There's still an open hole here! They sealed the bottom half of the door with sound deadener and then sealed the factory weather seal to the door with some kind of caulk. It wasn't holding up too well and I suspect that's part of my problem. I'm guessing they didn't want to remove the airbag to apply deadener behind it.








Since I have everything off, let me take a look at the hole behind the speaker...







W.T.F?! That's the hole they cut? Let's compare this to Jeff's install. I'm guessing this is the source of my issues. I'm so speachless right now, and I feel like calling the shop and asking for an explanation. That is certainly not what we discussed having them do. This is why I DO NOT trust car audio shops.


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

Having the tws closer than the mids is a call for hot tws.
Install them further away or use more attenuation on them.
Tws suffer from early reflections that makes them sound hotter too.
Try them close to the woofers or move them to the dash close to the windshield. (firing up is not the end of the world)
The kicks are a good option too.


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## tanakasan (Sep 8, 2007)

^^Good info! Tweets off axis can be your friend.

If you are already -3 on the passives, try the active path. You have the amp channels already! Does that Pio HU support active?

Or you could try a small resistor on the tweets to lower the level a bit. Maybe go for a good sound with the passives @ 0 or +3 so you have some adjustment.

Try raising the mids HP to 80...or more. You can always go back.

Robert


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

dummptyhummpty said:


> Since I have everything off, let me take a look at the hole behind the speaker...
> View attachment 22686
> 
> W.T.F?! That's the hole they cut? Let's compare this to Jeff's install. I'm guessing this is the source of my issues. I'm so speachless right now, and I feel like calling the shop and asking for an explanation. That is certainly not what we discussed having them do. This is why I DO NOT trust car audio shops.


*OUCH !!*


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## Volenti (Feb 17, 2010)

ouch allright! not only is it a pathetic little new moon sliver of open space, it's at the top so it'll conveniently fill with water...

Though the hole at the rear of the door really isn't a big issue and IMO, sealing it up wouldn't have any audiable effect in the frequency range that speaker's handling.


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