Just installed an Alpine CDA 117 with the Power Pack and installed some Infinity 60.9cs components.

I was dissapointed by the sound. "Hollow" is the only way I can think to describe it. Mid range is almost non existent and there's no bass. I've done all of the tweaking possible with the Eq.

Do you think it's because the speakers are under powered?

 

In a word, yes, but that's not the only issue. The speakers present a ~2 Ohm load to the amplifier. You need a 'real" amplifier to handle that especially on the low end of the spectrum. This isn't to say that the Power Pack is a bad product. Given the right speaker it can present a terrific option for an Evo owner. This being said, power alone won't fix the problem. Car speakers are designed to work in an infinite baffle. For all intents and purposes, it means that the door has to be sealed. Deadening the inner door skin helps some, as well. Good luck.

 

I believe the power pack doesn't work with some of the CDA line. Check to see if yours is one of them.

 

I'm a noob at this, but I thought the 2 ohm speaker would be more efficient since 2 ohms is less impedence than 4 ohms. It sounds like I'm wrong though? So if I swapped in some 4 ohm speakers, maybe some CDT Audio's, I would get more balanced sound?

And thanks for the good info.

Not the case here.

 

If you sealed and deadened the doors, and replaced the speakers the Power Pack would work a lot better. I don't have any personal experience with CDTs, other than a set of tweeters and x-overs, as well as a number of the raw drives used in their products, so I can't comment on a model specifically. If it were me, I'd seal and deaden the doors and put the stockers back in, then listen to it.

 

But wouldn't you need less power to run to a speaker that has lower impedance?

 

No.

 

infiniti's are known to have less than normal bass. They are made to have a strong mid and sub backing them.

 

I still don't understand how lower impedance requires more power. Can you dumb this down a bit more or insert some kind of sports analogy?

And what do you mean by sealing the doors? How do you do that?

 

Imagine throwing a medicine ball that weighs 5lbs (4 Ohms) vs one that weighs almost twice as much (2 Ohms). If you're very strong, you can toss it just as far and keep doing it over and over, albeit at the expense of some energy and a tap on one's endurance. OTOH, if you're not an Olympic-level athlete - ie. the Power Pack - you can't toss the heavier ball as far to begin with, so doing it over and over is out of the question. (<grin> best I can do)


Go to caraudio.com; there's a sticky on the speaker forum.

 

 

Update - Had Image Dynamis CTX65cs Comp's installed yesterday along with some budget 6.5 Alpine 4 ohm coaxials in the rear. The system now sounds like it has much more life. I can hear midrange that wasn't present before and the silk tweeters make the high's sound so much better IMO.

I've got a full set of Infinity coaxials and components that are about 2 months old if anyone is interested!

 

im running that amp with alpine type r components. sounds AMAZING.