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OK, before I post I gotta just let you guys know that I have basically NO knowledge about car audio so I'm really going to need a lot of help.

So recently, my gf bought me 2 pairs of MB Quart RCE 216 component speaker sets w/tweeters and crossovers. The front pair have the speakers in the default cabin location and the tweeters mounted next to the door handles. The rear has the tweeters mounted in the hole w/the speakers so nothing bad to be cut out. The 4 crossovers are all set to -6db. I'm running the speakers through my deck 20 RMS (no sub or amp) and my sound setting is bass set in the middle with treble all the way down.

My problem is that these tweeters are absolutely KILLING my ears, i swear they feel like they are going to bleed sometimes. I already have the treble set to the lowest setting. What can I do about this? Is four tweeters too much for the car? Should I take the tweeters in the rear out cuz the front has holes next to door handle so can't do anything about that. Would getting a four channel amp help clear things up?

Also, what do you guys think I need in my car? Is 20 RMS not enough for the speakers and why? People always telling me you need amp for the speakers but I don' tthink i hear any visible distortion for the highs and mids. The bass is making my doors/rear panel rattle though which kind of bugs, but I don't think it's cuz of distortion right??? Argh my car is just a mess now and I almost wish i had my stock speakers back...

 
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Quarts have very bright tweeters and a lot of people don't like them for just what you have described. I think they are best mounted in a kick panel and as it takes some of the brightness away, imo.

I love my quarts but most people that ride with me don't.....

 
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How much do you think taking out the rear tweeters would help and would getting an Amplifier and running less power to the tweeters help at all you think?

 
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Does your HU have an equalizer built into it? For the treble setting, you may be able to select a higher frequency than it is at now to mute, that would make the tweeters less loud. You could also try unplugging the rears, it may or may not help. An amp will make them louder and clearer.

I personally love my Quart PSD's....perhaps the lower end lines have a harsher tweeter? I don't think mine are bad at all, and most of the people that ride in my car dont comment on it. My HU's "treble" is set at -1 (it goes down to -6) at 15, 000 hz. That provides a 1dB reduction at 15,000 hz at whatever slope my HU does that at....I dont recall. See if your HU is capable of doing something like that.

The amp option could work if you bought a 4 channel and bi-amped your fronts (1 channel to each tweeter, and 1 channel to each mid), and removed the rear tweeter. That would allow you to turn down the front tweeters with the gain for the tweeter channels.........

What is your budget for an amp?

 
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Hmmm... taking out rear tweets won't help any, since they're not angled toward the driver seat. I just got some infinity tweeters and you can hear them just enough. I'm running the four main speakers off an amp (all 2-way speakers) and the tweets are just hooked to the deck. An amp would AMPLIFY the sound, so that's why I chose to run tweets off the deck power. This way they will be less powerful. Mine are separate, as in no components. I think this is why yours are so loud. You may want to play with the crossover--maybe it has a level adjustment. Do not get an amp for the tweeters, as it will only make them louder and more annoying. I have my tweeters mounted in the triangles in the corner of the window, and they sort of point down a little. I think that's why they're not so sharp. I don't know what else to tell you except that it's the speaker if you have everything turned way down. See if your tweeters rotate or something so you can point them away from your ear. It will still sound good, but you won't have those highs pointed right in your ear.

 
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I saw an amp on Crutchfield. It's the Profile CA440 that powers 60w RMS x 4 at 4ohms. It's pretty damn cheap listed at $130 but sure i can find cheaper somewhere else maybe 90 dollars? I'm thinking there must be something wrong with this amp to be so cheap, so what exactly are the drawbacks of having a cheap amp exactly?

The main thing though, is I'm going to feel like a jackass if i buy an amp and the tweeters are still bothering the hell out of me because they sound so sharp/bright...I think i read somewhere in this forum that maybe the tweeters sound so bright because i'm running off a 19RMS deck that isn't feeding enough power, could that be the case? I also read something about clipping though i have no idea what that is.

Sorry for being such a newbie but I really appreciate the input. Oh, also I read about electronic crossfaders that can really give me the power to specify the levels to run my tweeters/speakers at, but heard they are very complicated and hard to set up? I dunno, plz help a guy out.

 
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THey arent bright because they are getting not enough power....if anything it will make them quieter. Speakers have the same charecteristic sound, regardless of the power level. More power just *basically* means they will be louder with less distortion. Read my post above, check to see if your HU has that option. Are the RSC crossovers bi-ampable?

 
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Hmmm, I don't know if this will help at all but I have a Sony CDX-MP450X. It's an MP3 deck and I got these specifications from a website.

19 watts RMS/50 peak x 4 channels
CD frequency response 10-20,000 Hz
CD signal-to-noise ratio 90 dB
FM sensitivity 9 dBf

It doesn't have an EQ on it methinks. The only sound levels it got is treble, bass, rear/front fad, and balance.

 
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Sorry, but I can't understand some of the things you are saying, it's like alien language to me hehe. What's an HU? How can i tell if RSC crossovers are biampable?

This is a link to the compoenent set i got if that's any help at all.

http://www.mbquart.com/2003/en_US/pr...&model=RCE+216

 
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HU=head unit=your cd player

biampable means when you connect the crossovers, are there seperate inputs for the tweeter and woofer? if yes, than you could amplify the woofer more than the tweeter.

mt guess is that clipping may be occuring. i know it has been said you can't put too little power to a speaker. this is true in the case of people sayign too small an amp blew their sub. however you are operating these speakers in a power range they were probably never tested in. i can't get the manual to open, but i know my PSD series recommend 60-130 watts of continuous power (RMS). that HU puts out maybe 8-10W RMS before the signal goes to crap.

now about that power that the speakers are getting. obviously some will go to the tweeter and some will go to the woofer. but how much goes to each, is it split 50-50? heck no. the tweeter is probably getting 3-4 times the power of the woofer. thus if the crossovers are biampable, you can control how much power each gets better.

i would say thank your gf, and then sell them and get new speakers you have heard and like. this can be a picky subject, as personally i love my quarts. the other option is get an amp and try it out, at least operate the speakers as they were intended to be used. we can tell you it's clipping, we can tell you maybe to ditch the tweeters in the rear, but 10-1 says you still won't be happy with the sound you end up with. JL has some pretty soft tweeters, ask around and you can hear some other ones to look for.

 
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Or you may want to get regular speakers and get the tweeters separately. Either way, you need to listen to other speakers and see which ones you like.

 
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So, I looked up a review of the Quart speakers and apparently they are biampable, so maybe I should try out the suggestion above since I'm going to need to buy an amp no matter what. So, what kind of amp do I need to power speakers/tweeters like this. THe speakers power handling is listed as 60-130 watts with an impendance of 4ohms. An amp I was looking at was the Profile CA440 which puts out 60W RMS X 4 at 4ohms. It's cheap as hell though and I think i might be buying a shoddy product. A friend of mine told me don't buy no name brands cuz it will suck, but why will it suck exactly? Will it distort easily or something? Alsok, I'm planning to add a sub after awhile prolly get Infinity Basslink to save time/space. Maybe if i run the power to everything the treble will sound right?

 
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try ditching the rear tweets by fading all the way forward and see how that sounds. the highs are probably bouncing off the glass and giving you a lot more than you want, i would say ditch those tweeters and just use the woofer in the rear. you really aren't going to be able to drown out the harsh sounds with more bass though.

cheap amp usually just means it's output is either
a) not as clean or
b) overrated powerwise or
c) more susceptible to noise and interference

it's been said many times that installation is key, and you can make cheap stuff sound good. profiles aren't the worst cheap amps, IMO, and it would be fine to use that amp for the woofers (in the biampable setup we have discussed).

 
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I think imma try out that method with the Profile Amp. Thanks for the help man cuz i really needed it!

 
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When i get the amp and Sub (Infinity Basslink), will i need a capacitor?

 
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you will never under any circumstances known to man ever need a capacitor, and anyone that tells you so should be shot

 
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I have two amps and a HU running 6.1 speakers. All the install places keep telling me how a cap will make my system so much better. But I know better than that And a cap still needs power to charge. Where does it get the power? Well the alternator of course!

 
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a 1 farad capacitor will lower the instantaneous draw on the battery by about 50W. on a 200W system it might stop dimming. other than that, it will change the time that dimming occurs by maybe a couple microseconds. (time constant = 1/(R*C))

 
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If i'm reading this correctly you've moved your rear tweeters to the front of the car. MB Quart's tweets are definetly very bright. An extra set up front would definetly mean overkill. Either remove them or move them to the back of the car with their midbass drivers.

Caps are awesome for people that are having slight to modertate dimming in the headlights (or other electrical systems in the car) and don't want to spend 200 bucks on a new battery or 250 on a new alternator + installation.

 
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I have MB's in in the fronts my civic and I got them running off a JL Audio 4300 series amp and they are pretty clear. The clarity helps out a lot especially when you have some how powered subs, me I am pushing 2 10w6v2's and you need the highs with them ....what I did was turn the highs gain down and its perfect.......and the JL amp is great with the built in crossover. I also just brought a new cap.... getting it put in tomorrow..."if we have power in the area" .

peace


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