I've purchased a Panasonic CD/MP3 car stereo from Frys (an electronics
shop) and had them install it in place of the factory unit. As soon as
I picked up the car I noticed clipping sound at low volume so I took
it back and they listened. They said that it was because of the
factory premium sound system and I would have to bypass it. I agreed
(cost $80) but later I received a call and they said it was because of
the 8 ohm speakers in the car. I'm losing confidence in the
installation guys and they are recommending speaker upgrades to 4
ohms. Does any of this make sense? I'm aware that home stereos are
normally 8 ohms and like I said this is a factory unit so why would
they be 8 ohm?
Thanks in advance,
Chris

I've purchased a Panasonic CD/MP3 car stereo from Frys (an electronics
shop) and had them install it in place of the factory unit. As soon as
I picked up the car I noticed clipping sound at low volume so I took
it back and they listened. They said that it was because of the
factory premium sound system and I would have to bypass it. I agreed
(cost $80) but later I received a call and they said it was because of
the 8 ohm speakers in the car. I'm losing confidence in the
installation guys and they are recommending speaker upgrades to 4
ohms. Does any of this make sense? I'm aware that home stereos are
normally 8 ohms and like I said this is a factory unit so why would
they be 8 ohm?

What you're encountering is very common. People put in new heads all the
time and find that it sounds worse than before. And it's quite common for
factory speakers to be 8 ohm (or more, or less). I'm sure they're telling
the truth. Having said that, if you feel ok about these speakers, then you
may be better served buying an amplifier rather than replacing all the
speakers. Consider both strategies.

On 26 Jan 2004 11:28:02 -0800, (Chris Moore)
wrote:

I've purchased a Panasonic CD/MP3 car stereo from Frys (an electronics
shop) and had them install it in place of the factory unit. As soon as
I picked up the car I noticed clipping sound at low volume so I took
it back and they listened. They said that it was because of the
factory premium sound system and I would have to bypass it. I agreed
(cost $80) but later I received a call and they said it was because of
the 8 ohm speakers in the car. I'm losing confidence in the
installation guys and they are recommending speaker upgrades to 4
ohms. Does any of this make sense? I'm aware that home stereos are
normally 8 ohms and like I said this is a factory unit so why would
they be 8 ohm?
Thanks in advance,
Chris

I just replaced the stock car stereo in my old Chrysler & it had 8 ohm
speakers. The first time I hooked it up to an old car stereo that was
not very powerful & said it could just drive 4 ohm speakers.

I got better results with it wiring the speakers in parallel (which
effectively creates 4 ohm speakers). I put 10 ohm resisters in series
with the front speakers so they would not be louder than the rear.

It sounded a lot better after that. There was more volume and less
clipping, but I gave up front-back fading (which was OK). I suppose
if you wired in variable resistors you could get the fading back.

Just another idea for you....Good luck!

"Ted Kulinski" wrote in message
...
On 26 Jan 2004 11:28:02 -0800, (Chris Moore)
wrote:

I've purchased a Panasonic CD/MP3 car stereo from Frys (an electronics
shop) and had them install it in place of the factory unit. As soon as
I picked up the car I noticed clipping sound at low volume so I took
it back and they listened. They said that it was because of the
factory premium sound system and I would have to bypass it. I agreed
(cost $80) but later I received a call and they said it was because of
the 8 ohm speakers in the car. I'm losing confidence in the
installation guys and they are recommending speaker upgrades to 4
ohms. Does any of this make sense? I'm aware that home stereos are
normally 8 ohms and like I said this is a factory unit so why would
they be 8 ohm?
Thanks in advance,
Chris

I just replaced the stock car stereo in my old Chrysler & it had 8 ohm
speakers. The first time I hooked it up to an old car stereo that was
not very powerful & said it could just drive 4 ohm speakers.

I got better results with it wiring the speakers in parallel (which
effectively creates 4 ohm speakers). I put 10 ohm resisters in series
with the front speakers so they would not be louder than the rear.

It sounded a lot better after that. There was more volume and less
clipping, but I gave up front-back fading (which was OK). I suppose
if you wired in variable resistors you could get the fading back.

Just another idea for you....Good luck!

Those would have to be some pretty big variable resistors, and they'd also
have to be dual gang.

When you go to that muxh trouble, why not just buy another set of speakers?

Mark,
Thanks for the speedy response. Can you recommend an amp that will
solve this for me? Budget is $100-200.

"Mark Zarella" wrote in message ...
I've purchased a Panasonic CD/MP3 car stereo from Frys (an electronics
shop) and had them install it in place of the factory unit. As soon as
I picked up the car I noticed clipping sound at low volume so I took
it back and they listened. They said that it was because of the
factory premium sound system and I would have to bypass it. I agreed
(cost $80) but later I received a call and they said it was because of
the 8 ohm speakers in the car. I'm losing confidence in the
installation guys and they are recommending speaker upgrades to 4
ohms. Does any of this make sense? I'm aware that home stereos are
normally 8 ohms and like I said this is a factory unit so why would
they be 8 ohm?

What you're encountering is very common. People put in new heads all the
time and find that it sounds worse than before. And it's quite common for
factory speakers to be 8 ohm (or more, or less). I'm sure they're telling
the truth. Having said that, if you feel ok about these speakers, then you
may be better served buying an amplifier rather than replacing all the
speakers. Consider both strategies.

On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 20:37:58 -0500, "Mark Zarella"
wrote:


"Ted Kulinski" wrote in message
.. .
On 26 Jan 2004 11:28:02 -0800, (Chris Moore)
wrote:

I've purchased a Panasonic CD/MP3 car stereo from Frys (an electronics
shop) and had them install it in place of the factory unit. As soon as
I picked up the car I noticed clipping sound at low volume so I took
it back and they listened. They said that it was because of the
factory premium sound system and I would have to bypass it. I agreed
(cost $80) but later I received a call and they said it was because of
the 8 ohm speakers in the car. I'm losing confidence in the
installation guys and they are recommending speaker upgrades to 4
ohms. Does any of this make sense? I'm aware that home stereos are
normally 8 ohms and like I said this is a factory unit so why would
they be 8 ohm?
Thanks in advance,
Chris

I just replaced the stock car stereo in my old Chrysler & it had 8 ohm
speakers. The first time I hooked it up to an old car stereo that was
not very powerful & said it could just drive 4 ohm speakers.

I got better results with it wiring the speakers in parallel (which
effectively creates 4 ohm speakers). I put 10 ohm resisters in series
with the front speakers so they would not be louder than the rear.

It sounded a lot better after that. There was more volume and less
clipping, but I gave up front-back fading (which was OK). I suppose
if you wired in variable resistors you could get the fading back.

Just another idea for you....Good luck!

Those would have to be some pretty big variable resistors, and they'd also
have to be dual gang.

When you go to that muxh trouble, why not just buy another set of speakers?

Well, its an old car, and I doubt I'll be keeping it that long. Also
have an old set of 8ohm speakers I liked pretty well, wanted to put
those in after it gets warmer if the head unit worked out.