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Todd Stout · 08-27-2007, 10:47 PM

I got my front component speakers installed over the weekend and I'm really underwhelmed with the results. The sound of my system is very hollow and seriously lacking in any sort of bass from the front stage. The rear speakers do put out a little bass but it pretty much gets lost when the front speakers are active. I realize that I'm not running a subwoofer (or subwoofers) yet but I would think that an Alpine CDA-9885 connected to a set of Infinity Reference speakers would sound a lot better than they do at the moment.

The woofers for the componets are sitting in the stock plastic mounting plates down low in the doors (they fit with some modification with a Dremel) and the tweeters are in the stock location higher up in the doors. The cheap factory speakers didn't sound this hollow or lacking in bass when connected to the OEM head unit so I'm really at a loss at the moment. Granted the Infinity speakers sound better than the factory speakers with the Alpine but I was expecting better sound than what I am getting with this set up.

Any ideas as to what the problem is? Will using Dynamat (or a similar product) in my doors help? Will adding an amp and a subwoofer or two help? Are these Infinity Reference speakers designed to sound this hollow and lacking in bass? Is my Alpine perhaps defective? Did I maybe install something wrong? I still plan on adding an amplifier and a subwoofer or two but I'd like to figure out where the weak link is before I toss more money at this.

08-27-2007, 10:47 PM	#11 of 15
Todd Stout Member Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA Join Date: Jul 1999 Local Time: 09:10 AM Local Date: 09-06-2008 Posts: 1,182	Re: Why does my new head unit sound so bad? I got my front component speakers installed over the weekend and I'm really underwhelmed with the results. The sound of my system is very hollow and seriously lacking in any sort of bass from the front stage. The rear speakers do put out a little bass but it pretty much gets lost when the front speakers are active. I realize that I'm not running a subwoofer (or subwoofers) yet but I would think that an Alpine CDA-9885 connected to a set of Infinity Reference speakers would sound a lot better than they do at the moment. The woofers for the componets are sitting in the stock plastic mounting plates down low in the doors (they fit with some modification with a Dremel) and the tweeters are in the stock location higher up in the doors. The cheap factory speakers didn't sound this hollow or lacking in bass when connected to the OEM head unit so I'm really at a loss at the moment. Granted the Infinity speakers sound better than the factory speakers with the Alpine but I was expecting better sound than what I am getting with this set up. Any ideas as to what the problem is? Will using Dynamat (or a similar product) in my doors help? Will adding an amp and a subwoofer or two help? Are these Infinity Reference speakers designed to sound this hollow and lacking in bass? Is my Alpine perhaps defective? Did I maybe install something wrong? I still plan on adding an amplifier and a subwoofer or two but I'd like to figure out where the weak link is before I toss more money at this.