Aftermarket dash speaker recommendations?

[Tofferf]

Hey all. I installed the Kicker Key 200.4 amp and was unimpressed with the factory speakers afterwards. I bought 6 new speakers and immediately noticed something was as wrong. The dash speakers sounded blown out. I installed Kicker 47KSC404 4” on the dash and they are absolute trash. I pulled them and now the mid/bass tones don’t sound terrible anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to put up there?

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[Aurongel]

Pretty much any speaker you shove into the dash will clip past volume level 17~ish when using the Kicker Key amp.

I have never found a way around this and I doubt the brand of speaker will affect it much. Most of the real “oomph” you’ll feel in the front will come from the kick panels anyway.

 

[Tofferf]

Pretty much any speaker you shove into the dash will clip past volume level 17~ish when using the Kicker Key amp.

I have never found a way around this and I doubt the brand of speaker will affect it much. Most of the real “oomph” you’ll feel in the front will come from the kick panels anyway.

It was clipping at around 10 :/

maybe I’ll just put the stock ones back in.

 

[gaaangs]

You need bass blockers for the front 4 inch speakers or are they are going to clip and sound terrible at higher volumes.

 

[jasonkosi]

It was clipping at around 10 :/

maybe I’ll just put the stock ones back in.

What do you have your front gain set to on the amp? I recently changed all my speakers out to Kickers and needed to have the front gain setting all the way down to prevent clipping, even with 300hz bass blockers on the dash speakers.

 

[FreddieLee]

To prevent clipping, the amplifier needs to be powered by the battery, not the head unit. As you turn up the volume, you are attempting to draw more power than the amplifier can draw from the head unit, so it clips. I have no idea why anyone would sell a harness that draws power from the head unit.

OP, the KS series speakers are not trash. Unless you have base blockers, and correctly tune the amplifier, anything you install will sound like trash. The Kicker Key is a plug and play amplifier, but you have to do your part post-installation.

 

[Tofferf]

To prevent clipping, the amplifier needs to be powered by the battery, not the head unit. As you turn up the volume, you are attempting to draw more power than the amplifier can draw from the head unit, so it clips. I have no idea why anyone would sell a harness that draws power from the head unit.

OP, the KS series speakers are not trash. Unless you have base blockers, and correctly tune the amplifier, anything you install will sound like trash. The Kicker Key is a plug and play amplifier, but you have to do your part post-installation.

Thanks for the reply. Ordered some bass blockers. I was just confused because the stock speakers sounded fine but the KS were really really bad out of the box. I'll also check the gain. It's my first car stereo project since the late 1990s

edit: it was the gain on the amp I never adjusted it after removing the stock speakers. The Kickers don't clip now that I turned the gain all the way down. Thanks for the help, all!!

 

[ILoveToDrive]

You need bass blockers for the front 4 inch speakers or are they are going to clip and sound terrible at higher volumes.

Is the reason bass blockers are needed on the fronts but not the pods is that the fronts are running through the kick panel speakers on the same channel? I am going to install the 200.4 Kicker key amp for the fronts and pods. I’m hoping all issues are resolved.

 

[tokyo]

Is the reason bass blockers are needed on the fronts but not the pods is that the fronts are running through the kick panel speakers on the same channel? I am going to install the 200.4 Kicker key amp for the fronts and pods. I’m hoping all issues are resolved.

I was wondering this as well.. was it ever answered?

Also wondering why speakers with built in crossovers (like the Hertz) still need bass blocker? Doesn't the cross over act like a band pass filter? Is it just a heat thing?

 

[Pressurized]

I was wondering this as well.. was it ever answered?

Also wondering why speakers with built in crossovers (like the Hertz) still need bass blocker? Doesn't the cross over act like a band pass filter? Is it just a heat thing?

No, the built in crossover only protects the tweeter... The little 4" needs it's own crossover. And if you are applying decent power, it should be at least a 1200hz bass blocker. Because those little 4" mids will pop badly at lower frequencies... 300hz isn't high enough.

Let the kick panels fill below that... I'm running the Infinity REF series 4" coax because I think they sound way better than Kickers. Mine have a 600hz bass blocker on them.

 

[tokyo]

Thanks!

Interesting that the frequency response (defined by Critchfield as: The range of frequencies the speaker will reproduce (lowest frequency to the highest)) of the infinity speakers are listed at 75-21khz but they can’t really reproduce below 600?

Maybe they technically can.. just not well?

Forum never disappoints, learning a lot!

 

[MHerm]

Just to add to the thread. 300hz bass blockers are perfectly fine for the 4” in dash speakers. I’m using kicker KS series 4” and they handle any of frequencies above that. As for clipping…changing the speaker WILL not change the signal being received by the factory head unit….and adjusting the gain on the amp most likely won’t do anything to compensate…because the signal that it’s receiving from the factory head unit is what is being “amplified “ by the amplifier. The Ford factory unit is sending a very strong signal via the speaker level inputs to the after market amp. I am using the audio control LC-5.1300 and my volume will range between 15-20 before I see that the amp is clipping. Just because it sounds good and it doesn’t sound distorted does not mean the signal is not clipping. The Audio Control amp has lights that show you if the signal is clipping. Hope this helps.

 

[ASlaugh]

Just to add to the thread. 300hz bass blockers are perfectly fine for the 4” in dash speakers. I’m using kicker KS series 4” and they handle any of frequencies above that. As for clipping…changing the speaker WILL not change the signal being received by the factory head unit….and adjusting the gain on the amp most likely won’t do anything to compensate…because the signal that it’s receiving from the factory head unit is what is being “amplified “ by the amplifier. The Ford factory unit is sending a very strong signal via the speaker level inputs to the after market amp. I am using the audio control LC-5.1300 and my volume will range between 15-20 before I see that the amp is clipping. Just because it sounds good and it doesn’t sound distorted does not mean the signal is not clipping. The Audio Control amp has lights that show you if the signal is clipping. Hope this helps.

Thanks!

Interesting that the frequency response (defined by Critchfield as: The range of frequencies the speaker will reproduce (lowest frequency to the highest)) of the infinity speakers are listed at 75-21khz but they can’t really reproduce below 600?

Maybe they technically can.. just not well?

Forum never disappoints, learning a lot!

Most manufacturers list their 4" speaker respond down to 75-100Hz. They do respond to those frequencies and sound pretty good when you are sitting in your garage at relatively high volume. When you get out on the road, the volume needs to up to overcome road noise, especially with a soft top.
I installed the JBL 4086 amp, which has a programmable DSP. In playing around with the filters, I found a little more sound from the dash speakers at 300Hz vs 600Hz. Going lower than 300Hz didn't make a difference, so I left it there.
People focus on the sound and forget that the low frequencies can damage the small speakers. They will last longer if you install bass blockers. Especially when you consider that without bass blockers, they are exposed to frequencies down to 10Hz, which is really hard on them.

 

[LCW]

Swapped mine with Alpine SS40 I think the model was. Rear pods too.

That was a couple weeks ago when I also put in a Kicker sub and Ford “Fusion” amp.

Finished the complete swap today with some Kicker kick panel speakers.

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