zoltman1991

ML. Is it an impedance mismatch? Speakers are of course single voice for him. I thought the amp also had an incidence rating of four ohms.

Would it also be best to get an additional multichannel amplifier? I’m thinking of adding a four channel amplifier to hit the two dashes and the 2 6x9. But now, as it stands, a simple swap was very disappointing to me.

ilkinandr

yeah kickers are 4ohm and standard system is 4ohms. When I did my swap I lost a bit on volume but there was definitely more separation in lows, mids and highs. ML is 8ohm or 16 ohm speakers I have a diagram I will upload later. But you are definitely under powering with ML amp.
I got myself the following amp for standard system https://a.co/d/426BPo4 but haven’t gotten to wiring to it yet. 2 channels to dash, 2 channels front doors, 2 channels to rears and 2 channels bridges to sub.

zoltman1991

so that’s where the problem was. I am effectively halving the output. So definitely best to go aftermarket amp. Currently have a 4 channel (haven’t also installed)

considering 6 channel now. (I have dedicated low driver 15” with 1000rms &#129316

ok so another question.
-when installing after market amp, tap into speaker output from amp into LOC, then from amp to speakers at newly cut amp source? Can ML amp handle not having a load on the channels? Don’t want to risk messing anything up.

zoltman1991

WAIT WHAT I TYPED DIDNT SOUND RIGHT. If I have 4ohm load speakers when amp is rated at 8ohm, would that damage the amp? How did you get away with it without driving amp under rated impedance? How would that also decrease volume? What exactly is decreasing volume. Shouldn’t it actually half 2x higher due to 1/2 ohm load? I know more than the average person when it comes to car audio, but still a lot I don’t know.

ilkinandr

well amps can be rated for 1,2,4,8, etc ohms. So if amp supports it there will be no issues. If amp does not support it then you can overwork it and mismatch can fry it. Issue is, no one knows what these amps actually support. As for wattage. If amp 50w@8ohm it should be 100w@4ohms but that’s not always the case. Also 4ohm speaker will draw more power than 8ohm speaker. If amp is not powerful enough and can’t provide the needed current, Which is why you get lower volumes. Not to mention speakers are not exactly 4ohms. Some can give you rating between 3 - 5 ohm. So ones closer to 3 would be even more underpowered.

zoltman1991

So certainly without a doubt adding the amp soon.
so back to that.. do I tap in from 6x9 to provide wide signal ranges to LOC, then output from amp into speaker wires at the source (the recently cut wires). Or is it better to run wires to speaker directly? I feel the former is best for many reasons.

also, best to use 6x9 for input? To maximize range? Of course amplifier will have its own crossover so I can finer tune each channel.

ilkinandr

Here are the images of documents with speaker and amp specs. Honestly they make no sense. It states that Pioneer system is 292w max and ML system is 1800w or 150w/ch. But if you look at speaker watt rating it says pioneer speaker are 20w and 32w for sub and ML is 4.2w and 6w for sub. How the F are they driving 150w into speaker thats rated for 4.2w????????

ilkinandr

I dont think that 6x9 provide full range signal. Someone already posted what they had to tap into but you need a DSP to combine multiple channels.

alextv

If the ML amp rated at 8 ohm impedance is capable of doing 4 ohms the volume would be louder. Sounds like it can't and was overloading the system causing the lower volume. Continued use that way most likely would have damaged the amp. It is never a good idea to go away from specs. Of course if there is a particular speaker you want to use an impedance matching transformer could be used. I have seen many an amp blown by using wrong speaker.

LeX2K

Which ones exactly?

These are the best 3.5" speakers I've tried, and I've tried probably 10 different ones.

I can't stress enough that for bespoke systems like in your Lexus matching the speakers to the system is very important. Problem is getting it right requires trial and error.

zoltman1991

I had the KS series, but now attributed to impedance mismatch.
Going to likely get a 6-channel amp so I can give them 50 watts with its proper 4ohm load

LeX2K

I have a pair
https://www.kicker.com/47KSC350
They are excellent my 2nd favourite 3.5" speakers. Remember, every speaker has a break-in period you shouldn't pass final judgement until you put 20+ hours on them.

zoltman1991

Yup! that's what I have. Found out it's due to impedance mismatch of ML amp. Going to add a 4 channel amp soon.
ALSO, they are rated at 55w. My alpine 4 channel will send out 55w.

Will this be problematic? I feel these may handle a bit more than 50, so im hoping 55 will be safe.

LeX2K

No that won't be a problem. I ran 15 watt speakers driven by a 70 watt amp for a few weeks no issues. Sure if I really cranked up the volume I could have probably smoked the speakers but you shouldn't be listening to music anywhere near that loud. 70 watts x4 is VERY loud. I mean actual, legit 70 watts not the ridiculously exaggerated specs on so many audio products.

Which amp do you plan on using? This is what I have
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_210MPS...MPS-4-400.html
Neat thing it accepts line in or high level speaker input, same inputs. I have not tested the high level input option, all you need to do this is speaker to RCA adapters.

zoltman1991

I have Alpine S-A32F. 55w into 4ch.
Using a Fosgate P500x2 for the 6x9 for 150w into each.

I plan on getting an LC7i for the LOC.
It's going to be a b and a half to tune/set/install, but I think it'll be worth it. Any tips or advice?