Left speaker rattle problem.

[EchoNoise]

I have a bit of an issue with my left speaker, once my volume is around 13+ my left speaker starts to rattle like it has a screw that is loose, and is bouncing around or something.

My guess is that it has to be replaced or something along the lines of that. But I can't seem to get my head around to getting the speaker grille off the door panel.

I'm new to the whole car modifications of cars in the 2000 year range

It's quite annoying, I tried to make an audio recording, but it doesn't seem to pick up properly with the microphone.

So has anybody got any ideas on what I should try? I wouldn't mind replacing my whole speaker range to Pioneers if possible too.

Cheers!!

[teK--]

You don't remove the speaker grill; it's the whole door interior trim which comes off which will then reveal the speaker. You may be able to visually identify what is rattling (it could be the speaker surround deteriorating and leaving the cone to flap around.

If you want to replace the speakers then in some cases you can gut the stock speakers and then fit the new speakers into the plastic frame, however otherwise you need to make new baffles out of MDF (coat them in resin to ensure they are waterproof) or some type of plastic sheet. You might luck out and the speakers you buy come with baffles that can fit straight into the door though (My Alpine Type R Splits came with plastic baffles that are a 3 bolt mount and appear to be perfect for a straight bolt-in for my doors, but I haven't found time to doublecheck yet).

[EchoNoise]

Cheers!

Do you know if there is anything out there that might help me take the door off. Last time I took a door frame off my old Mazda, the hinge spring took off and took ages to get it all back together again, lol.

[EchoNoise]

So does anybody know how to take the door frame off?

[EchoNoise]

Nevermind

I found a great link that helped me.
http://www.salisburystreet.com/wrx/speakers/

I think I might just replace my whole speaker set. Either Alpine or Pioneer...

Any thoughts?

[teK--]

A really good tool you should buy is a panel/pop-it removal tool. It looks like a 2 pronged fork and is angled at the end so you can get the tool under the clips then lever them off. It is MUCH easier and faster than having to pull them out by grabbing the panel; you can also risk breaking the clip or cracking panels that way. I bought one on Ebay for around $5.00.

Depending on your budget you may want to look at other brands. The most important spec I look at when I first consider a set of speakers is their sensitivity (expressed as db/1W). The higher this rating the louder they will be for a given amount of power you give them. The Alpines and Pioneers don't seem to have very good sensitivity. (In hindsight I should not have bought my Alpine Type R splits as they are rated at around 87dB/1W but I had a big gift voucher at JB Hifi and their other speakers in the price range were crap).

For example before my Hertz HSK165's blew, they are rated at 92dB/W which is very very good, basically 5dB louder than the Alpines at any given power. 5dB to the human ear is almost 50% louder!

Look at Hertz, Morel, Eclipse if you are willing to spend around $450.00 for splits. Otherwise if your budget is more like $350.00 then the JL Audio Evo TR are pretty good. They are rated at 91dB/1W. For cheaper around $250.00 or so you can't go wrong with JBL.

[EchoNoise]

Thanks for that advice, I'll have a look around once my tax cheque comes back, haha.

[GTB Liberty]

For example before my Hertz HSK165's blew, they are rated at 92dB/W which is very very good, basically 5dB louder than the Alpines at any given power. 5dB to the human ear is almost 50% louder!.

teK, dB being logarithmic that doesn't quite work.

+3 dB is necessary to be perceived one sound source as louder to another and +10dB is perceived as twice as loud. BUT that doesn't mean 5dB is 50% louder.

However, your comment on sensitivity is most correct. Also consider that it is under powering speakers often leads to melted coils due to clipping, that is the AMP can't drive the speaker any further so the cone stands still at excursion and just generates heat.

Always over power. As long as your careful you'll be fine. Over excursion of a speaker is very easy to hear - clipping not so. In my recording studio days I ran my 90 Watt speakers with 600 Watt monoblock amps. They are still in operation in my living room today 15 years later.

[teK--]

Actually I just re-read my post and realised my error. I meant that the Hertz were almost TWICE as loud. (since 6dB is perceived as being twice as loud, and the Hertz were 5dB more efficient).

[cpitts]

Actually, before you jump into ANYTHING, what model car do you have?

Get that door off and simply check all the screw mounts and cables are stuck down. Chances are it's just a loose wire rattling or something similar. If it IS the speaker being dead, then that's a bigger exercise. Depending on what car you have, a simple single/split speaker replacement may leave you a bit wanting compared to factory....

[GTB Liberty]

Actually I just re-read my post and realised my error. I meant that the Hertz were almost TWICE as loud. (since 6dB is perceived as being twice as loud, and the Hertz were 5dB more efficient).

Tek

About Decibels (dB)

Prepared by Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D.
Trace R&D Center University of Wisconsin-Madison
What is a Decibel (dB)?

A dB or Decibel is a logarithmic unit of measure of the ratio between two numbers.
dB and Power (20dB = 100x)

When talking about power, 3dB represents a ratio of two to one or a doubling of power.

* Thus, a gain of 10dB would represent a ratio of ten to one for power - so 10 dB be 10 times the power
* A 40dB power gain would be 10,000 times the power.

dB and Voltage gain (20dB = 10x)

When talking about voltage, 6dB represents a ratio of two to one or a doubling of voltage.

* 20dB would represent a ratio of ten to one for voltage - so 20 dB would be 10 times the voltage.
* A 40dB voltage gain would be 100 times the voltage.

dB SPL (Sound Pressure Level) (20dB = 10x)

The term “SPL” stands for sound pressure level. SPL measures are taken with respect to the minimum threshold for human hearing. A 20 dB difference in SPL represents a ratio of ten-to-one in sound pressure.

* Thus, a 40dB SPL would be a sound pressure level that is 100 times greater than the sound pressure level of the quietest sound that normal human hearing can detect.

Perception of Loudness (20dB = 4x)

Interestingly, our perception of loudness is not the same as sound pressure level. Although the actual formulae
is somewhat complex, as a rough rule of thumb, an increase of 10db SPL is perceived to be approximately twice as loud.

* Thus a 20 Db gain would seem to be about 4 times as loud.
* And a 40 Db gain would seem to be about 16 times as loud.

From http://trace.wisc.edu/docs/2004-About-dB/

Sensitivity is a dB SPL measurement.

The incorrect use of dB happens often.

[teK--]

^^ Thanks for that . Whether it's 50% or 200% I know for sure that the Hertz were substantially louder than the Alpine! I really miss them actually...

Juggling whether I fit the Alpines into the Subie or whether I sell them (they are near new and were in my old car for only 3 months before the car died) and buy something different.

[cpitts]

If you want the Alpines to be twice as loud, simply deaden the door with sound deadener. Save money on buying new speakers and put it into doing the install properly.

[teK--]

The doors were already sound deadened when the Hertz were in there (inner and outer skin plus inside of door trim). The Alpines were a straight changeover I just had to make new baffles. I know what you're suggesting though, but the fact is that there is still 5db of sensitivity between the two speakers

Sorry to the OP for hijack!

[cpitts]

Seriously, a speaker in an undeadend door v's deadened in the manner you've stated is like chalk and cheese.

The 2/3 layer deadening you're talking about would easily double the pressure levels back into the cabin. It's made that difference every time I've done it! You don't need half the volume dial to make the same noise in the car.