Rep Power: 235

Now first off this is not my car and I did not install them. It is still in a 7th gen though, a 2001 to be exact. But the speakers are playing at different volume levels. You can sort of fix the problem by fading it to the back but it still doesnt sound that great. Would having different wattage speakers for the front and back cause this problem?

Im pretty damn good with audio knowledge, I just normally pick the same class of speakers (ex. Type R Fronts and Type R Rears).

Thanks for any help, it bothered me when I was in my friends car.

 
Rep Power: 0

Hey BJanzen,

By nature, the front speakers should sound louder than the rears, as they are closer to you. However, if the rears sound unusually quiet compared to the rears when the Fade control is set with no preference to front and rear (usually marked as '0' or with the fade control set in the middle position), there could be something wrong. Here are a few scenarios that could cause this problem.

1) Rear speakers require more power than front speakers. If your fronts and rears are not from a matched series (like Type R, for example), one set of speakers might have a higher sensitivity rating than the other, causing it to play louder with the same wattage. The difference here would be more apparent if the head unit, not an external amp, is driving the speakers. Pop the speaker covers off and see if you can determine the make and model.

2) Poor speaker wire connections/deteriorated speaker wire. A loose connection or deteriorating wire can cause a big drop in perceived volume and will also impart a distorted, scratchy, fuzzy quality to the sound. Set your fade control so that you can only hear your rear speakers, then turn up the volume to medium-loud. Do they sound full, or more like a radio tuned slightly off-station? If it's the latter, check the speaker wire connections both at the head unit and at the speakers.

3) Mismatched amp volume settings. You didn't mention the signal chain of your system - does the head unit drive the speakers directly, or does it feed an amp? If your system has multiple external amplifiers, check for differences in onboard volume and eq settings between them.
If your system only has one multi-channel amplifier, check for differences in volume and eq settings for each channel or stereo pair, if your amp has these settings.

4) Blown tweeters. If the rear speakers have tweeters, and they are blown, their sound will have a muffled, muted quality, and perceived loudness will be lower. Fade all the way to the rear and play some material with lots of detailed high frequencies, like a string quartet or a jazz trio. Listen closely for detail - if it sounds like there's a blanket over the speaker, the tweeters could be blown. Likewise, if the sound lacks low frequencies and sounds very thin and tinny, the woofers could be blown, which will also lower perceived loudness.

5) Malfunctioning head unit. It is unlikely, but possible, that the head unit's amp circuit is not working correctly. If all other options fail, try speakers with a different head unit, if possible.

 
Rep Power: 235

Hey thanks for the input man, I tested some other rears for him and it made a major difference. I threw in Type S 6x9s and it sounded better, so I guess Ill leave it like that and give him those speakers.