# Solved: Rear Car Speaker Distortion... Most of the time...



## ilikemetal (Sep 11, 2008)

This is an updated thread on my original issue concerning my ipods sound quality when playing through the USB port. Originally I thought the issue was with Ipod, but after doing some research (And wiring my dads stereo for fathers day) I discovered the most likely cause of the issue... I need an amplifier. Since I don't play my music very loud and I don't want to spend a fortune on an amp, I'm just looking for simple 2-Channel, 200 watt amp below 50 dollars.

HOWEVER, this does not account for the problem mentioned in my previous thread. I originally thought my ipod was the cause of the lack of sound quality. I discovered today, after taking off the speaker cover and turning on the rear speakers only, that my speakers distort almost all bass above 18 (Not very loud..) on the volume control for the most part. I do realize that speakers have a limit, and considering these are factory default speakers, there's a good chance that I just can't provide enough power for the level I want (Seems unlikely since its not that loud anyway).

Now the amp will clear up this issue once its hooked up, but I have a reason to suspect something else is wrong. The main problem in my previous thread was a strange increase in "Sound Quality" concerning the bass. I now know this is actually the speakers overcoming the distortion after reading up on the problem. My question is.. How is this possible if they aren't receiving enough power? This is most definitely a power related issue as the speakers and distortion disappear until I turn off the car (NOT the stereo).

So basically I want to nail down whatever is causing this before I go and shell out money for an amp. Recently I checked the wiring and soldered all the connections from the wire harness to my radio, which caused a very minimal improvement. I also looked at the speakers in the back of my car and they are wired correctly.

I have not tried reproducing this issue but it goes a little something like this (It has happened twice)....

1. Switch the stereo from stereo control to ipod control
2. Switch the stereo back to stereo control
3. Unplug the Ipod from the USB port and reattach it.

Again, this causes ALL distortion to vanish, even at higher volume levels. As long as I leave the car on the stereo will work perfectly fine until it is shut off. Turning it back on after this causes it to revert to how it sounded before.... I have some ideas as to what the problem may be, but I was hoping for some advice from other people before I went splicing into wires, lol.

NOTE: Turning the High Pass Filter to ignore all frequencies below 50 HZ with rear bass on (I.E. now the rear speakers only output 50-80 Hz) helped the distortion immensely, but it is still present.

Some of the specs and settings for my stereo/ipod:
- Ipod Model: Generation 2 Ipod Touch
- Stereo Model: Sony CDX-GT565UP
- Bass Input: Rear Bass Enhancement 1-3 (Distortion appears on all of these)
- Low-Pass Frequency: 80 Hz
- High-Pass Frequency: 50 Hz (See above, would like this off)
- DM+: Active (Restores quality on files after conversion)
- Input auto level adjustment: Off

***TLDR: Heavy rear speaker distortion when using rear bass enhancement. An amplifier is probably required but another issue is present. Sometimes when switching the playback controls and unplugging my ipod from the usb port, the distortion completely vanishes. The radio stays this way until the cars power is shut completely off.***

Sorry about the wall of text.. Anyway, thanks for reading if you did and any help would be greatly appreciated


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## Drabdr (Nov 26, 2007)

Hmmm... a couple of ideas/thoughts jump out at me. 

While factory stereo systems are generally of lower quality than an after-market system, they are at least decent, and are certainly engineered appropriately. I would think you should have sufficient power coming from the existing radio system to power the speakers. Granted, it's not as good as what you can purchase, , but my point is that it should be working OK. 

You will need to check the existing speakers to see if they can handle the additional amperage from an added amp. My feeling is you would need to upgrade your speakers also. 

How does the stereo work without using the IPod? Does it sound OK when the radio is playing, or do you have problems then also?


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## ilikemetal (Sep 11, 2008)

Drabdr said:


> Hmmm... a couple of ideas/thoughts jump out at me.
> 
> While factory stereo systems are generally of lower quality than an after-market system, they are at least decent, and are certainly engineered appropriately. I would think you should have sufficient power coming from the existing radio system to power the speakers. Granted, it's not as good as what you can purchase, , but my point is that it should be working OK.
> 
> ...


I recently found an old Ipod of mine and am certainly going to test that one as well. As for the amplifier.. I'm not going to buy that until I'm sure of what is going. The reason I have held off buying it because I want to know what on earth is causing this. I will try this with the aforementioned ipod and also with the radio, after which I will post the results here. I NEVER listen to the radio so I can't say how it sounds.


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## ilikemetal (Sep 11, 2008)

Problem solved.... Forgot about the loudness settings tendency to distort the sound beyond a certain volume level... DURR. Still would like to know why it didn't always distort though.


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