Tweeter Noise. Due you suffer from a high pitched whine from your tweeters?
Subwoofer Burnout. Three common ways to kill a subwoofer or two!

Subwoofer burnout

Subwoofers can burn out for a number of different reasons. The most common are:

Underpowered amplifier causing clipping of the signal, which results in a ‘DC burn’. This is very common. Amplifiers, especially cheap ones, often don’t have anything like the power output claimed on the packaging. Manufacturers tell lies. People buy amplifiers on the manufacturers specifications, and their subwoofers melt down, and they blame the subwoofers.

Over-driving the subwoofer. Not many people have ears tuned well enough to recognize distortion of the bass. They just turn the volume up, and when the subwoofer gets so hot that it melts down, they are amazed.

The wrong sized box. If the box is too large for the subwoofer specifications, there will be insufficient damping effect on the cone, and it may hit the stops. Damage occurs inside the speaker where the voice coil has been hammering against the back of the magnet, because the box was too big. So subwoofer boxes should be carefully designed to match the subwoofer, not thrown together by an amateur.

Sometimes the damage is not evident until the next time you start the system up. If the speaker voice-coils have been overheated, and the insulation is charred up, short-circuit will occur when the voice-coil cools down and contracts.

If you buy a lot of stuff from the markets or a non-specialist shop, and it doesn’t all work properly, don’t be surprised. If you really want everything to work properly and reliably, a specialist store will recommend gear which works together. Yes it will be more expensive, but at least you get a good life out of it. Specialists have years of experience and know what things work well together. If you want to be your own expert, and assemble a collection of bargains, it’s a bit like building an engine with parts from ten different manufacturers. It might work, it might not. Don’t expect a specialist installer to make you a bullet-proof installation from your bargain collection. They can’t make a weak amplifier work stronger, nor make an over-rated subwoofer work like a high-powered subwoofer. BACK TO TOP

Tweeter Noise

High-pitched noises are usually caused by electronic ignition computer module and associated wiring. If the crossovers are located near any of these devices, the coils in the crossovers pick up induced noise. In some cars, such as BMW’s, these areas of interference extend as far as the rear window, because some of the modules are in the back of the car. Sometimes, the interference extends right up the wiring harness from the dash to the engine compartment.

A good way to check is to disconnect the input wires from the crossover terminals. If the noise persists, re-position the crossovers until it stops. If the noise goes away, the noise may be coming from the amp and its wiring. Re-position the RCA cables which run from the deck to the amp. If these RCA cables are loomed with the thick red power cable to the amp, they will pick up the noise from the magnetic field surrounding this power cable.

Tweeters don’t make high pitched noises if they are faulty, they are either open-circuit, or distort badly from loose cones etc. You can hear this distortion is coming from the tweeter cones; it has a scratchy sound which occurs at certain frequencies in the music. BACK TO TOP

iPod integration to your car stereo

An FM modulator is a little radio transmitter which converts the iPod audio output into an FM radio signal. Most of the inexpensive modulators just transmit into the cabin of the car and your car radio picks up this transmission.

All FM modulators are prone to interference from other radio stations. The manufacturers always tell you that there will be no problem but in my experience there is always some little community radio station around the city which makes your iPod inoperable when you drive into that part of the city. The government has flogged off every radio frequency in every city, so no matter what frequency you select for these devices, there is always someone else using it. In addition to the interference, the audio signal quality is deteriorated by being converted to FM, then back to audio. There is always information lost when you modulate a signal, and that compounds the quality which has already been lost in the conversion from full-range to MP3 or AAC.

The next step up is an FM modulator connected in-line with your car antenna cable. These cost a little more and they are marginally better than the types which transmit into the open air. You still get some interference from other radio stations.

The next level: we sell a range of adaptors which plug into the CD stacker socket if your radio has one of these. The radio then sees the iPod as a huge CD stacker. In doing this, you will probably have to discard your CD stacker if you have one. Since you are changing to iPod, you probably won't miss the CD stacker. This solution provides better sound quality than FM modulators because the signal is carried by a cable. Any solution which provides a cable interconnect provides greater bandwidth than FM modulator, and consequently better sound quality.

The third option is to buy a modern radio for your car. It will definitely sound better than the old factory radio. Factory radios are invariably underpowered and of barely adequate quality when compared to after-market radios. When you work out the cost of a good FM adaptor, plus the labour, there won't be much difference in the price.

There are many radios on the market with a 3.5mm line-in socket on the front and these start from less than $200.

For slightly more you can buy a deck with inbuilt iPod controls. These decks take over the iPod control and you change iPod tracks with the station-search buttons on the radio.

The next level up: Alpine make a couple of decks which were designed in conjunction with Apple and the front control panel emulates the iPod. These decks are up towards the $400 to $600 mark. If you are a real iPod aficionado these may be the best for you.

Contact us with details of your car or better still call into the shop and we can go through these options with you. BACK TO TOP

Quality installation will ensure your products will work to the absolute best of there capabilities so you can get on with what's most important. Driving! View our installation gallery and see first hand our commitment to quality installation.