Stereo Speaker Volume

[cobra04]

Recently installed a new stereo, (MIL-MR50) Power output is 40W X 4. Have to replaced the front speakers 1 is not working. the old speakers were Honda 4 ohm 8 Watt. To start with I just changed out the 1 speaker that wasn't working to see how they would fit I noticed though the volume on the new speaker is lower then the volume on the old speaker on the one i haven't changed yet. The new speakers are 4 ohms and a max of 160 watts. (Ultimate T2-4021). I really don't know **** about speakers, I was wondering if the new speaker is lower in volume because of the higher watt rating.( are the old speakers been forced to work to max because of there lower watt rating, and the power from the new stereo). thanks any info would be helpful

[faithtalker1]

Maybe since the factory speakers were only 8 watts there is some kind of built in protection in the electronics that may be holding the new speaker back. Something to limit output as to not blow the factory speakers from pushing to much power through them. The other thing is maybe you have to have all the speakers wired before it will function properly. I have also heard of impiedence as in microphones. One other thing is I always seem to over look the obvious. What is your fade function set at? I was having problems here a while back with my air conditioning on my 2008 Toyota it was blowing warm air. I called the dealer and set an appointment to have it looked at. Then a few days before the appointment I remembered that my son had detailed my truck and had wiped down the instrument panel. This truck is designed with dual heat and air and has a selection mode that says sync on the passenger side. This allows one person to enjoy a different tempature than the driver. This was set to heat instead of sync and was causing my side not to blow as cold. Just a few thoughts, might be a bunch of **** I know, but I was a little bored. But the first thing I would check is the stereo settings for your fade and balance on the stereo. Seeing how the side you change was blown I am sure they probably had the fade turned entirely to the other speaker. Let me know if any of this works as the fade sounds more plausible than any of the other crap lol

[WingAdmin]

The newer speakers are quieter because their sensitivity is lower. Sensitivity is measured in dB/1w/1m - basically they put a microphone one meter away from the speaker, put 1 watt of signal into the speaker, and measure the output in decibels. The more sensitive the speaker, the louder the output.

Cheaper made speakers tend to have lower sensitivity. Your "160 watt" speaker is also a misnomer - manufacturers commonly rate their speakers with ludicrous wattage values, assuming people will think, "more is better." It may well handle 160 watts - but at 20% distortion, and for only a very brief peak - which is unlistenable. Amplifiers are rated very similarly - a common consumer amplifier rated at 160 watts is more likely capable of producing 20-30 watts of actual listenable signal.