I've had these speakers for awhile now and messed with every setting I can think of and they just don't sound good enough when the volume is turned 3/4 of the way up on most songs. I don't know much about stereos at all but if I got an amp to power them it wouldn't help would it? It seems like the more power would just make them sound worse when I want it really loud. At normal levels it sounds fine but the times when I want it loud I can't even turn it up because it sounds god awful.

What speakers would you look at getting just for the front doors that would be a better replacement? I'd like to keep it under 250 and if I needed an amp I wouldn't mind getting one but it would more than likely have to be used.

On a side note, does anyone know why my AVH4000 randomly goes mute? It seems if I hit a hard bump it will go into mute and fade in and out for a few days and magically get better. I soldered all the wires when I put it in but it's still messing up.

There are some Hertz HSK 165's in the classifieds, any thoughts?

 

Getting new speakers wont solve the problem. The reason it sounds so bad when you turn it up is because the Head Unit amplifier is clipping like crazy, causing speaker distortion. Your speakers are maybe seeing 4-8 watts of continuous power. Give them something more like 100 watts of clean power per channel, hell even 50. You will notice a huge difference in clarity. I installed 2 sets of those same polks in my brother's Escape with 50 watts per channel (4ch amp) and it sounds miles better than stock.

Also, until you improve the install and amplify your speakers its going to sound bad no matter what. Those Hertz are great sounding speakers, some of my favorites. But they wont sound good with anything less than 100 watts per side and you need some door treatments to reduce buzzing/vibration. Also better speaker location/aiming would help it sound better too. There are tons of variables when fixing bad sound.

 

I have those same speakers powered by an Alpine F300 and it sounds great. Everything that mSALL150 mention is correct. Its not the speakers though, you need to amplify them


Here is the Amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/s_500MRPF...0&ssi=0&tp=115

 

Any other amps that would get the job done that I might be interested in? What gauge wiring will i need and how much? Is there anything else for the install that I would need?

Keep in mind that I have the Polks in my rear doors as well so I would amp them as well.

 

This is a great amp that will take care of all four speakers. 8 Guage wire will get the job done. I have this amp behind my rear seat and I've never had an issue with heat. I actually have two alpine amps behind my rear seat. This one and a mono amp for my sub, I'm a really BIG fan of Alpine amps.

 

You can get that same amp from Amazon for $139

 

Profile and HiFonics are great budget brands. Same with the Crunch Pro series stuff.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...h+P5000.5.html
^ This will do rated for under 150, and give you the option of adding a subwoofer.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...08ZX700.5.html
^ Pretty good price on this, depends what your budget is. Both of these would probably need 4-1/0 ga wiring. Knu generally has the best deals on that, but go with a Kicker 1/0 ga kit for ease of installation.

Some Alpine stuff is okay, HUs are great and Type Arghs and SPX mids are proven performers. But the rest seems to be sub-par.

 

Side note, and something that I have done on several trucks, is that to avoid taking off the doors, simply run the output wires from the amplifier to the back of the headunit and tie them into the factory wiring harness. Its easy, quick, and stock wiring can handle the low power youll be putting though it.

 

The SPX pro tweeters are Vifa based ring radiators that sound wonderful above 4k. And also the Alpine F1 status components are Scanspeak built and some of the best available. But otherwise I agree.

 

So it seems I can go with any wire thats in the 8-1 gauge range? How many feet will I need for all four doors and a few feet extra just in case I'll need it?Any other things I would need for the install?

Any sites/brands I should look at wire wise?

Anyone have any thoughts on wiring it like this?

Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

Kicker sells wire direct, and knuconceptz.com deals with Knu wire.

You're gonna want 4 to 1/0 gauge, not 8 ga. These kits will include enough wire for you, so that you dont have to worry about it. And get about 4 times the length of your power wire (not including ground) to run wire for the doors.

 

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDe...rodID=KFX-AK44

And I would need how much of this?
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDe...m?prodID=KFX4R

This stuff is way over my head right now, if there are better options out there let me know what they are and links would be very helpful.

 

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDe...rodID=KOL-AK44
^This, and maybe get on the phone with them to add a few more feet of speaker wire. Dont know if 20ft will get you all the way home, but thats up to you and a tape measure to figure out.

If you're in over your head on this, be sure you know what you are doing when it comes to putting it into the truck.

 

Yea I'll read plenty of diagrams and write ups when I'm close to putting it in. I didn't do any of that for my HU and it ended up taking 7 hours for me to put the bastard in.

 

Your not powering a high powered sub. If you go with the Alpine amp 8 guage will work, its stated on the amp documentation. I can't speak for anything else. I showed you the Crutchfield link for informative purposes, I bought mine from 6ave.com. Its a great small amp. First thing first. If I was you I would hold off on the advice and educate myself. Keep in mind that your amplifying 4 50W RMS speakers. All you need is a good brand and price and your straight

Start here

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Learn...x?g=120&tp=115