Aftermarket Tweeter Help

[FRS1010]

So I have a 10" sub, Polk audio 6.5's and 1" tweeters with Polk audio crossovers and kenwood 3.5 coaxial speakers. My amp is a 5 channel kenwood amp running everything. Head unit is a sound stream touchscreen from crutch field.

My problem is everything sounds really good except for the tweeters. I'm getting a scratchy sort of distorted sound even at low volumes. I have them going to the crossovers and setting -3db. I have my amp running the HPF for that channel and still sounds like crap no matter how much I mess with the settings. My 3.5's sound great though up front. I even purchased another set of 1" tweeters and still the same results.

I finally just got frustrated and just took out the tweeters and only powering the 3.5 up front which sounds great but wondering if anyone knew what I might be doing wrong in my setup? Would it better just to get different 3.5's for more highs up front?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[GaDgeT]

any chance you got the tweeter and woofer RCA's back the front? Sounds like you're sending low freq to the tweets and they are distorting..??

try swapping over the inputs on the xovers or RCA's on the amp

** at very low volumes, dont wanna pop a driver!

5channel? running active? can you turn down the tweeter volume on the amp?

[FRS1010]

Originally Posted by GaDgeT

any chance you got the tweeter and woofer RCA's back the front? Sounds like you're sending low freq to the tweets and they are distorting..??

try swapping over the inputs on the xovers or RCA's on the amp

** at very low volumes, dont wanna pop a driver!

5channel? running active? can you turn down the tweeter volume on the amp?

I thought that too and double checked my connections. Everything is hooked up right. On the crossover I have the 3.5 and tweeter wired in for each side. The input from the crossover goes directly to the amp. My 3.5s sound great and unfortunately I can't adjust the tweeters anymore other then the little switch from the crossover allowing me to go from -3db, 0db and +3 db. The 6.5's have their own channel and then the subwoofer has its own. I'm using one channel each to split the signal for my 3.5s and tweeters via the crossover.

[thill]

Have you considered eliminating the 3.5's and seeing how the tweeters and 6.5 sound together in a 2 way setup? With coaxial and dedicated speakers in the dash you are essentially running 4 tweeters from the dash, correct?

[FRS1010]

Originally Posted by thill

Have you considered eliminating the 3.5's and seeing how the tweeters and 6.5 sound together in a 2 way setup? With coaxial and dedicated speakers in the dash you are essentially running 4 tweeters from the dash, correct?

So swap out the the 3.5s from the crossover and use the 6.5s in its place and just run the 3.5s directly to the amp?

Or eliminate the crossover with the 3.5's all together and just run the 6.5s and tweeters on their own channels along with the sub?

I figured utilizing the crossover it would allow me to retain the 3.5s because I can split the signal essentially running 2 speakers, tweeter and 3.5 on one channel.

[thill]

Originally Posted by FRS1010

So swap out the the 3.5s from the crossover and use the 6.5s in its place and just run the 3.5s directly to the amp?

Or eliminate the crossover all together and run the 6.5s and tweeters on their own channels along with the sub?

I am not a car audio expert, but I am thinking it might be best to just take a step back through process of elimination. Don't take this the wrong way, but I suspect most audio experts would not recommend running coaxials and dedicated tweeters side-by-side in the dash.

So I would start with just taking out the 3.5's and hooking up the tweeters and 6.5's to the crossover per the manufacturers instructions (these should be run off the dedicated amp, not the head unit). This is a true 2 way setup. See how it sounds. If you are still having issues and everything is crossed over and connected properly, you may have a bad set of tweeters.

If you really want the 3.5's I would leave the 6.5's and tweeters hooked up to the crossover and then run the 3.5 directly off the amp, but you are probably talking about needing a DSP and EQ to integrate all this, and I still would not recommend running coaxials and tweeters side by side in the dash. I would get a 3.5 midrange component speaker.

[FRS1010]

Originally Posted by thill

I am not a car audio expert, but I am thinking it might be best to just take a step back through process of elimination. Don't take this the wrong way, but I suspect most audio experts would not recommend running coaxials and dedicated tweeters side-by-side in the dash.

So I would start with just taking out the 3.5's and hooking up the tweeters and 6.5's to the crossover per the manufacturers instructions (these should be run off the dedicated amp, not the head unit). This is a true 2 way setup. See how it sounds. If you are still having issues and everything is crossed over and connected properly, you may have a bad set of tweeters.

If you really want the 3.5's I would leave the 6.5's and tweeters hooked up to the crossover and then run the 3.5 directly off the amp, but you are probably talking about needing a DSP and EQ to integrate all this, and I still would not recommend running coaxials and tweeters side by side in the dash. I would get a 3.5 midrange component speaker.

I will try that and see how it sounds. I wouldn't think having the 3.5s in the crossover and running the 6.5s directly to the amp would interfere with the tweeter sounds???

Please forgive me in advance but what Is the problem running coaxials and tweeters side by side?

I'm no audio expert either and I appreciate the advice. Im sure its a simple fix. I will give this a try and go from there.

[thill]

Originally Posted by FRS1010

I will try that and see how it sounds. I wouldn't think having the 3.5s in the crossover and running the 6.5s directly to the amp would interfere with the tweeter sounds???

Please forgive me in advance but what Is the problem running coaxials and tweeters side by side?

I'm no audio expert either and I appreciate the advice. Im sure its a simple fix. I will give this a try and go from there.

Coaxial speakers have a built-in tweeter. By adding coaxial speakers vs component speakers (which have no tweeter) you have effectively added four tweeters to your front soundstage. Four is not always better than two in this case and could be the reason why you are having a hard time integrating all this

Also, what model is your Polk speakers/crossover? I am guessing it is a 2 way crossover not a 3 way?

[FRS1010]

Originally Posted by thill

Coaxial speakers have a built-in tweeter. By adding coaxial speakers vs component speakers (which have no tweeter) you have effectively added four tweeters to your front soundstage. Four is not always better than two in this case and could be the reason why you are having a hard time integrating all this

Also, what model is your Polk speakers/crossover? I am guessing it is a 2 way crossover not a 3 way?

Oh wow now I feel even more stupid lol. Now I see why my Kenwood 835C 3.5s sound great by themselves. As mentioned before I might just leave as is then since its decent enough up front but will try the switch around first to see if its fixed.

Here's the link to them from amazon: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000P0R6LQ"]Polk Audio DB6501 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component System (Pair, Silver):Amazon:Car Electronics[/ame]

Thanks again!

[thill]

Originally Posted by FRS1010

Oh wow now I feel even more stupid lol. Now I see why my Kenwood 835C 3.5s sound great by themselves. As mentioned before I might just leave as is then since its decent enough up front but will try the switch around first to see if its fixed.

Here's the link to them from amazon: Polk Audio DB6501 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component System (Pair, Silver):Amazon:Car Electronics

Thanks again!

No problem. I would try the Polk 6.5's and tweeters together off the crossover first since the were all designed to work together and see how that sounds.