NFLblitze1

my front speakers are all crackling and shit and im assuming that i blew the front speakers. but what im wondering is, if i take my car to the dealership and have them replace the speakers, am i entitled to this or do i have to pay for the speakers? is it under warranty or what? i honestly have no idea, i was wondering if anyone has had success with this. because if it isn't under warranty ill just go after market, but if it is under warranty then i think i could save a few grand

Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

do you suspect that it was defective at the start??? unless it was, you'll probably end up paying for this on your own considering that iw was your fault. Although, it might have been their fault that they provided speakers that couldnt handle the output of the stock unit but......

BTW how did you 'blow' it?

Ron A

Unless they can prove that something you did caused the speakers to blow, which if it stock they probably can't, then the warranty should cover the repairs.

Speakers are like any other part, and they do go bad sometimes through no fault of the owner.

randoum

Go to the dealer... Say.. "My speakers are crackling, can you fix it.." 'nuff said. This would be covered under the warranty. After, keep the volume down, or invest in high end speakers.

NFLblitze1

personally me being younger and i know that the older crowd will frown upon this. but i like to listen to music loud and bass cranking and too much push and very loud music eventually led to a blow out, so when i play certain CD's and some songs at certain volumes its a horrible CRACKLING sound its absolutely terrible.

Dumont

I would think the speakers should be able to handle the max the oem amplifier can dish out without blowing them. If they did then sounds like Acura isn't using the right spec speakers. Or is this the same with any oem or "off the shelf" audio component, we shouldn't raise the volume to the max?

NFLblitze1

but if i walk in there, and im like, my speakers are crackling can you fix them, i think they might have blown, and he says no.....what should i say? i mean you know how dealerships are, they will lie to you and being that im 17 they won't pay me any respect.

Adobeman

I bet they will pick it up onder warrantee.....once.

To many variables in the mix ... mainly program content varies so much that the amplifier will need a wide gain range to meet listener expectations. For content that is generally "quiet" or "mixed low" you want the reserve gain. In the other hand, content that is "louder" (has more signal level) will need less amplification. So in the end it is usually pretty easy to overdrive, or clip, the signal. Throw in things like cranking up the bass and even more potential for damage.

Prolonged exposure to clipped power signals will damage (blow) speakers even if they are rated for much more power than the amplifier can deliver. In truth it is often "safer" to run an amplifier that is rated for more power than the speakers are rated for. The idea is the occasional over powering (within limits) is less damaging than an under-powered amp clipping the signal for long periods of time.

Sure, there are such things as "soft clipping" amplifiers but that's not always available or worth the additional cost.

In the end, if you think you are pushing it too much you probably are.

NFLblitze1

the one main reason i pushed it so hard was because i wanted more bass, and even with the settings on full with the subwoofer and the bass, it wasn't enough, so the louder i went, the more bass i got and eventually it drew from my speakers. because i blew my speakers, im not sure if i blew the sub, but there is annoying rattles in the rear deck so i just want everything fixed, if its not covered under warranty then ill just upgrade the system, im upgrading with a new subwoofer system anyways so if i get the new speakers under warranty then i won't have a problem with bass, i can just crank it up and keep the highs mids and lows at a reasonable level. but im hoping that it will be under warranty because it will save me a few grand

bluenoise

Thank you, Adobeman, for saving me a ton of typing. I was just going to post exactly the same thing.

If you hear distortion, turn it down. Something's going to give if you don't.

Otter

They replaced my front speaker. No charge at all.
I have Acura Care on it still.

NFLblitze1

My next question is......i bought my car at a dealership that wasn't so great, and were trying out Montclair Acura so were switching from Denville Acura to Montclair Acura for service. can i still get it fixed at montclair acura under warranty or do i have to bring it back to Denville.

DeathtoToasters

I don't agree with this. He should not have to keep the volume down. Amp manufactuer that would install a speaker that cannot handle the stock amp deserves all the cost of replacing the speakers and the labor.

There is not a single reason for him to have to keep the volume down.

It is like saying because he blew the tranny or engine at 80 mph he should not go 80 mph with the new engine or tranny. Totally unacceptable.

bluenoise

Any Acura dealer should be able to help you. I've gotten warranty work done at a dealer other than the one that sold me the car.

Adobeman

"Death", I respect and usually agree with you but in this case I can't . While it makes sense to try and match the power outut of an amp to the speakers, in practice it just isn't as important as people think. I hear people say, "Man these are good speakers, they can handle 200 Watts" The truth is that's no measure of quality and I can easily blow them with a 100W amplifier if I drive the amp to clipping for a good duration of time. Clipping = heat build-up in the voice coils = damage. The crackling you hear is usually a result of voice coils that have been damaged to the point of shorting or rubbing on the magnet poles.

What the manufacturer is trying to do is give you the range in the amplifier to attain a "reasonable", "safe (to your ears) " listening level with a multitude of input signal levels. If they limited amp's gain to the point of not ever being able to overdrive/clip everyone would be complaining they can't always get the music loud enough. Factor in enough headroom (safety) for when someone turns the bass all the way up, as NFLblitze1 has admitted to, and you really will have a system that, while very "durable", will be very "quiet".

The OEM system is really quite good for a stock system and can attain an SPL that many folks will be happy with. Those who want more will typically upgrade their systems if they want more SPL. If you want high SPL you need lots of very clean watts and to move big volumes of air.

Getting back on topic....
My guess is Acura just isn't seeing a lot of blown drivers and will replace then in warrantee as long as it isn't a habit forming for a particular customer.

samir786

Yes they will. they replaced mine. the speakers, for the most part, are supposed to be able to handle a bit more power than the stock amp.

NFLblitze1

did they replace all your speakers?

Otter

Only one was blown, so just the one. It just buzzed at high level volume.

ElmerHiggins

they replaced my sub, didnt even abuse it either, happened within 2000 miles! definitely a factory defect, i may have turned up the volume ONCE for not more than a minute, if it cant handle that then its not made well.

MR1

I guess I just disagree with most of you. I doubt that most factory or OEM systems can be maxed out for any period of time. If you are able to get them replaced once consider yourself lucky.

Try turning a TV, home radio, or OEM type home system up and see what you get. For that matter, try running the TL flat out and see what happens.

batdude

my wife will eventually have this problem (blown speakers) as she enjoys her hip-hop at unreasonable volume levels....

but

i look at blown speakers as an opportunity - to replace the crappy ones from acura with something decent - even if it's out of my my own pocket....

in the other speaker replacement thread here... i seem to remember that the front speakers were marked 2 ohm / 20w .... that's pretty sad....

and hi quality front speakers (and rears for that matter) can be had fairly cheap if you shop around....


doug

Adobeman

...and without clean power you'll blow them over and over again. If you upgrade the drivers then get good amps with lots of headroom and "honest" RMS/THD ratings.2ohm/20W rating isn't a problem. 2ohm is a bit odd for a single driver but the OEM amps are obviously stable at that load. And you might be surprised just how much 20 CLEAN watts will do. I'll take, and have taken, a 30W amp over many so called 200W amps. You need to really see the specs.Yes, but you will have to wade through the drivers that look "shiny" or have "pretty" magnets. Speakers are best listened to and not looked at.

batdude

i absolutely concur 100%.

i'm not talking about taking a trip to best buy and buying some bling crap with a made in china / JBL sticker on the box.

if the amp is indeed 2ohm stable - then speaker efficiency is much more important than anything else...



doug