Sound system check
 

So i just got a new RZ2 and the dealer upgraded the system, but i think it may be under powered, let me know what you think and if i should add an amp or anything.

2 - Samson S9HD
2 - Samson S7HD
Those are powered by a Alpine PDX F6, so 4 channel amp w/150 going to each RMS

8 - Wetsounds XS650
All of those are also powdered Alpine PDX F6.

1 - 12" Alpine woofer, not sure which one
Powered by a PDX M6

It sounds good, but it did get a bit distorted when i turned it way up, so not sure if that is b/c it is under powered or i turned it up to much.

I have no idea what the ohm and frequencies are set at, so any advice on that would be great as well!


I am considering maybe upgrading the tower amp if it would make it sound better

Yes, basically everything is vastly underpowered. Those amps are only rated to put out 150 per channel @ 14.4v. Depending if your play while sitting or running, your tower speakers are likely getting about 120w and the xs650s about 60w. Your trying to turn it up more to get more output but thats not how things work. At a certain point your input signal will clip from turning the knob up causing audible distortion (very bad for speakers). You need more power to get increased output, you could easily double the power to each speaker and things would sound great if done correctly.

FYI underpowering speakers does not cause distortion or damage if used correctly.

Your tower speakers are likely on a 4ohm stereo load with the in boats on a 2ohm stereo.

Those PDX amps are awesome for running a single speaker to each channel but unfortunately, they put out the 150w rms regardless of ohm load.

Talked to a pro today, said to put each pair of speakers on the four channels briged and then get a new amp for the interiors also suggested switching to all 9's if I'm not happy and selling the 7's. Or doing a 5 channel for the interiors and the sub and losing the mono amp, I only have 2 batteries so I don't want to over load them

Dan,
Yes, you would be much better off with four identical 8" tower speakers versus one pair of 6.5" and one pair of 8". The 8" will dominate and you'll not get a lot of contribution from the smaller/weaker 6.5" except for more horn. That is wasting some of the dedicated tower amplifier power.

More amplifier chassis with fewer channels versus less amplifier chassis with greater channels that sum to the same power will use the same level of current as long as we are comparing the same topology and base efficiency, like all Class D for example.

so i retuned the amps and it all sounds way better, still plan on doing some upgrading eventually but going to throw my money at bigger ballast first.

so i tuned the hertz on the woofer down to 80 from 120, thats WAY better, then adjusted the 7's at 110 hertz and the 9's at 85hertz on the crossover on the amp.

Now the interior speakers, those are set at 110 hertz on the crossover, is that right or should they be tuned down lower? Also on the amp there is a off, hp, lp, what should i have the towers and interiors set to.

Also which amp would be best to run all 8 of those interiors on if i wanted to upgrade that amp, and then use the 2 4 channels amps i have briged for each set of tower speakers. I may change the 7's up to 9's in the future as well, i didn't flip the switch on the back of the 9's to cut down the horn so the 7's are doing most of the horn and the 9's have more mid base.

Thanks for any help!

" i didn't flip the switch on the back of the 9's to cut down the horn so the 7's are doing most of the horn and the 9's have more mid bass"

lol, i mean i DID flip the switch

The switch in the nose of the XM9 controls a 1-ohm resistor in series with a 4-ohm tweeter. That's hardly an audible difference, if any, let alone when combined with another bright speaker.

I realize you set the smaller tower speaker at a higher crossover point to protect them, which makes sense at first glance. On the flipside, you now have two tower speakers going through a different phase rotation. Just another reason to use symmetrical tower speakers.