HELP PLEASE-did the shop misinstall my speakers/amp?

[ferret111]

OK......just had my JL Audio 300/4v2 installed along with a pair of Hertz HSK 130 comps and thus far I'm pretty underwhelmed.

To begin with, the speakers are breaking up at higher volumes but evidently the installer only ran two channels as opposed to bridging all four so it's just 75 watts rms per side, while they're rated for 100rms and I thought they could take alot more than that

When I asked the guy beforehand about biamping and/or running active he kind of brushed me off which I thought odd as I was paying by the hour as opposed to a flat rate, plus my instructions were for him to take his time and as a token of good will I even offered him my old amp for free which he kind of scoffed at but which was then later missing when the car was returned.

Also the midbass kind of blows but I guess that's not his fault, they're only 5.25's and still stiff and I'm not hearing those silky highs yet and smooth midrange that I've heard people rave about.

So I'm gonna take it in to another installer and have him once over the install and hopefully he can improve things a bit.

Is there anything I should mention to him or do you think he'll be able to diagnose this accurately? He's said to be quite good. I'll probably have him do some sound deadening/sealing for me also.

On the plus side..I finally have tunes again in my ride, I do hear some flashes of potential with these comps and I was also able to snag a pair of DCX Coaxials on the way out for $80 to try some rear fill.

[Pitmaster]

Next time "DIY".

[Driven Audio Tony]

Sounds like you need to be a little clearer about your expectations and how you want things done.

Have you gone back to the shop to review things with them?
What kind of vehicle?
Any door treatment?
What source etc are you using?

What made you choose that shop to do the install to start with?

[ferret111]

if i was unclear, my fault then, but they didn't exactly do much in the way of laying out options either...I'm not going back and as stated have found another shop I already like much better

Caddilac Deville, no door treatments yet, Clarion head unit

I chose the shop because they're the only Hertz dealer around and thought they would have the right experience

[Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX]

While it sounds shady... there are too many factors to say for sure...

Putting speakers in a car doesn't magically give you great sound... especially when you have expectations...

Leaving it up to someone else is, well, leaving it up to someone else... They aren't you, so when you are expecting them to do something like "you" would, you are often disapointed...

Did you take your gear to the installer and ask him to install it for you? Or did you buy the gear there??

I can tell you, without a doubt, installers typically hate installing gear not sold in store and typically this makes them care that much less about installing the gear you brought in... (sucks but it's true)

I'm speculating understand... Again, there are tooo many factors for "us" to be able to tell you why things don't sound right to you... from the car they went in, to settings, to locations, to to to to to....

[ferret111]

bought the speakers there and was supposed to also but a hertz hdp amp but they told me they were sold out when i got there so i had to go home and get my amp

i just want to know how to fix/improve the situation, as I said, I'll mostly leave it in the hands of the installer i spoke to on the phone but is there anything i should be telling him that i didn't do the first time around?

should these be run active? bi amped? bridged?

[Driven Audio Tony]

What year Deville?

Sounds to me like you need to review with them how you want them installed and what your expectations are.

You can run them active if you wanted to (up to 5K X-over on the 300/v2 if memory serves.

You could double bridge the amp - lot more power than is needed, but as long as your "listen" to the speakers and what they are doing - more power is better than too little

I don't think the HSK passive x-overs are setup to be run bi-amped, but I might be forgetting something there.

What do you like about the new shop vs the old one? Sounds like a pretty quick change in what you like?

[ferret111]

thanks that's really helpful...those are the kind of options i wish the shop ran by, the new guy is a shop owner and friendly while the first was an installer only at a high end stereo shop that has a car audio section

[ferret111]

2000 deville btw

[hpilot2004]

Run seperate speaker wire to each tweeter/midbass on each side and keep the passive crossover for the comps in the back next to the amp/s for simplicity of changing your setup if need be for the future. This way you can experiment if you want to with active or passive.

[abdulwq]

ALways DIY there are tons of tutorials.The installers sucks...First time i went to installer he asked me 300$ for HU ,amp and components install.

[gtsdohcvvtli]

Originally Posted by abdulwq

ALways DIY there are tons of tutorials.The installers sucks...First time i went to installer he asked me 300$ for HU ,amp and components install.

thats pretty much average

[07azhhr]

I did not see this mentioned but is it possible that the speakers need to break in before you truely evaluate the sound? I know my subs did and most comps that I have used have had too as well. The sound may still be bad after break in but to write off any part or install aspect right now might be a bit premature.

[Richv72]

Take the car back to the shop that did the work, make them fix it. I agree though with other posters that doing it yourself is the best, but since you already paid take it back.

[adrenalinejunkie]

Should've tooken the amp with ya' after you noticed there bad attitude. Actually, should've prevented them from working on the car... At least I would have. Live in learn.

[minbari]

Originally Posted by ferret111

OK......just had my JL Audio 300/4v2 installed along with a pair of Hertz HSK 130 comps and thus far I'm pretty underwhelmed.

To begin with, the speakers are breaking up at higher volumes but evidently the installer only ran two channels as opposed to bridging all four so it's just 75 watts rms per side, while they're rated for 100rms and I thought they could take alot more than that

When I asked the guy beforehand about biamping and/or running active he kind of brushed me off which I thought odd as I was paying by the hour as opposed to a flat rate, plus my instructions were for him to take his time and as a token of good will I even offered him my old amp for free which he kind of scoffed at but which was then later missing when the car was returned.

Also the midbass kind of blows but I guess that's not his fault, they're only 5.25's and still stiff and I'm not hearing those silky highs yet and smooth midrange that I've heard people rave about.

So I'm gonna take it in to another installer and have him once over the install and hopefully he can improve things a bit.

Is there anything I should mention to him or do you think he'll be able to diagnose this accurately? He's said to be quite good. I'll probably have him do some sound deadening/sealing for me also.

On the plus side..I finally have tunes again in my ride, I do hear some flashes of potential with these comps and I was also able to snag a pair of DCX Coaxials on the way out for $80 to try some rear fill.

Those should have been warning signs to run away. you are paying him to do a job. if they dont want to do the job the way you want them to, then find someone who will!

I wouldnt bother with rear fill. get the front stage right and you wont need it.

as you mentioned, find an installer that is willing to do what you wanted and chalk it up to experience.

[ferret111]

agreed

live and learn