Help with radio Equalization

[Zasker1]

So I have a question for the team here I've got a 2014 SLE using the stock head unit I am tapping the rear speaker signal and running it into a JL Audio XD to power the front hsk Hertz speakers and a separate JL Audio sub.

 

Per the picture below I am looking for some advice as to why the balance is so far off essentially if I have it centered the driver side speaker completely drowned out the passenger side, I can correct this by fading it heavily to the passenger side, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why I should have to do this as the Imaging should be almost perfect when the balance is set to Center

 

Any ideas

 

 

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[WhineyTTwins]

Why did you tap only the rear speakers?

 

So you changed out door speakers, both front and rear, and only used the rear speaker signal to run to the amp? Is that correct?

 

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[Jdkno]

I noticed the same thing in my 17 with base. I kicked it one notch to the passenger side to move the Soundstage to the middle of the dash. The path to your ear is shorter on the drivers side, it becomes more apparent as the power level goes up.

 

Not sure on how you have your amp set up, possible your gains on the right channel is set lower than left.

[Darth_Vader]

Sounds like a gain issue, dial your amp down all the way and bring it back in slowly until it fills your sound stage. As JD said, you're probably getting over powered from the speaker closest to you.

[Marv88]

Are the speakers a component set and if so did you replace the stock "mini midrange" in the top of the dash with the new tweeter?

[Zasker1]

So that Hertz speakers are component set right now I am tapping the rear

Tap rear signal --> JL audio amp --> Hertz crossover --> front door & Dash. --> JL audio sub

 

Stock front signal is being passed to the rear stock speakers

 

 

This seems to be how most folks are doing it however I feel like there is something wrong as the speakers essentially sounds like crap I can get into my daughter's Trailblazer that has a $50 set the Clarion 6.5 and in terms of clarity they blow my truck away.

 

In fact thr stock 2008 stereo system in my wifes Silverado sounds significantly better then my system

 

I'd love to be able to drop three grand on one of the new Alpine Factory fit decks but that's simply not an option.

[Marv88]

Gotcha and my guess is the left side bias became even more noticeable when you replaced the speakers(?). I see this issue frequently when upgrading to typical mid/tweeter component sets in these trucks as well as newer Tacomas with mids in doors and "mini midranges" on top of the dash (without being too technical it partially has to do with your down low door speakers now playing a lot of the frequencies the up high dash speakers were originally playing). With a passive system and these speaker locations the driver will always have some left bias as mentioned (unless you drive a Mclaren F1) and unfortunately It won't be possible to get a truly solid center image along with precise imaging without a fully active system along with a processor that does signal delay etc however you already mentioned you are not willing to go that route. There are however a couple of "mechanical" tuning tricks you can try to better "blend" the mid/tweeter and reduce the side bias..

First thing I'd recommend is reversing the polarity on the drivers side tweeter only. If it sounds better leave it and if not move it back. Do the same on the passenger side. If it ends up sounding best with one side different than the other try reversing both sides from there at the same time to see if that's better. If not move both back. Since the imaging cues from tweeter frequencies are amplitude dependent also try lowering the tweeter level on the drivers side via the adjustment in the passive crossover. One thing to note is that reducing the tweeter level on the drivers side will increase right side bias on the passenger side (same goes for moving the balance to the right). Almost forgot, do this with the rear speakers muted (too much high frequency from rear speakers can also cause issues with imaging). BTW, if you need more detailed help I'd be happy to chat with you by phone.

[WhineyTTwins]

Something doesn't seem right here. Even with upgraded or added speakers, you shouldnt be so overwhelmed on one side like such. If anything, it may sound "off". Got some pictures you can put up?

 

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[Marv88]

Based on the picture of where his balance is set it doesn't appear to me that he is "overwhelmed" rather it looks like he is a little "off" which I have experienced in numerous vehicles with these type speaker locations. If in fact he is overwhelmed on that side I would agree there are other issues.

[Jdkno]

Not certain but does the stock deck have DSP? If so you might be tapping signals that are not full range.

[Zasker1]

I will try to post up some pics later today I'm going to take the dash apart again and try a few of the suggestions here

[WhineyTTwins]

Do you have a good installer nearby that can take a listen to it? I would say to make sure your hearing was in good health but if it sounded fine with the OEM system and now it doesn't, I doubt that would be it. We can't see what you did nor troubleshoot it properly but an installer can probably figure out what is wrong just by listening and checking some settings. For all you know, the amp could be bad. Did you try switching the connections on the amp to see if the problem changes to the other end?

 

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