RAOH92

Hi Guys! First post here (long time reader)

I recently had a new system installed in my 04 TSX. The speakers sound great, but I get an occasional Snap sound from all of my tweeters. It sounds like a pebble hitting my windshield. I can reproduce the sound by cutting off the A/C. On top of that, my FM reception is not as good as it used to be. Could my Amps be interfering with the Rear-window Antenna? Any Ideas on whats wrong and how to fix it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm using the Stock H/U (gotta have the in-dash changer), JL four channel 450/4, JL Monoblock 500/1, Focal 165K2P components in the front, Focal 165CV Coax in the rear doors, The rear deck speakers are disconnected. Oh, and I'm running 1 JL W6v2 ProWedge (damn that thing looks sharp). I think it's Monster Cable all around, and no LOC (thanks Eldude). Let me know if you need any more info. Thanks ahead of time everyone.

P.S. Just had my car Detailed and Damn it looks sexy

virtualbong

I get that snap sound as well, but I haven't done a thing to my system and it only happens when I have my windows rolled down. It scares the crap out of me when I'm driving on the highway. Don't know what it is so I can't take it in for service because it only happens when I'm driving on the highway.

RAOH92

Anyone come up with any ideas? This thing drives me nuts, especially considering how much it cost me. Any input would be really appreciated.

matchbox

I have the same problem. It seems to come and go, louder or softer. I think, for my car, it corresponds with the radiator fan switching off.

I would be interested in any recommended fix.....

Thanks.

RAOH92

Mine's the same way, like it's causing some sort of feedback. Maybe there's a way to block it, or shield from it. Anyone else have the problem with Radio reception after an install? Any products out there that can boost the signal (without boosting the noise)? I think I read about an internal antenna somewhere.

RAOH92

Suggestions anyone? Eldude, I hear you're the resident "Car Audio God". I'd love to hear some feedback from a pro

miltcharlie

That is so funny.
I had that happen to me for the first time about 5 days ago.
I thought rocks were hitting my windshield. But there was no one in front of me.
After I realized it was my stereo. (I had my station on Xm 44).
I switched the station and it went away.
WEIRD!

Was everyone listening to XM?
Could it be a XM thing?

dark inspire

it could be poor quality burned media, i know some of my CD's that i burn from MP3 have lil quirks and glitches that sound like rocks hittin the windshield, its not pretty

elduderino

The FM reception is well documented herein - most CLass Damps seem to jam the FM amp in the C pillar. JL seems to do it least of any but they all seem to do it to some degree.

As far as the tweeters making noises when electrical things are done in the car... I would try grounding the shield wires at the OEM amp (the ones that the instructions say grounding doesn't usually do anything to) and I would consider running a test lead from the amp ground terminal to the OEM amp ground point and see if that helps.

If the HU is putting out a blip of DC offset when these things happen, it might not have as good a filter as it used to... we could either try adding a filter or try inserting a ground loop isolator (just because the transformers should block any DC) and see if the problem is solved by that. If it is... I've still never tried a Jensen Isolink, but it might be worth it...

Brewmaster

Interesting stuff ..

This started happening to me after I cut in an Aux In splitter on my XM. I had just temp twisted everything together and thought it might be an intermittent ground problem .. I only hear it on XM and thought it must be the new splitter. Well this weekend I soldered and cleaned up all my connections and it's still there .. much quieter but still there and still only on XM. I'm going to bypass the splitter tonight and see if it goes away.

RAOH92

It happens regardless of the music source or volume. I have an "04" so no XM. The volume of the sound does vary, but is not affected by the volume setting. I could be in the middle of switching disks and I may still hear it. The only time that it will not happen is if the radio is powered off.

Eldude, Thanks for chiming in. I've considered the GLI, but haven't heard too much about it. Could I lose sound quality if I have it installed? I really appreciate the info and I'll talk to my installer about it.

As far as the reception is concerned, I don't listen to it that much, I guess the loss in quality bothers me. Anyone here ever convert an "04" radio to an "05" radio with XM?

elduderino

The HU's are EX-pensive.

I would contact JL and see if they have any suggestions...

RAOH92

lol, I figured it would be. I remembered reading about the guy who converted a non-navi to navigation. Figured if someone went through all that trouble, I wonder if anyone had done non-XM to XM. It couldn't be half as bad as the Navi conversion (price aside). If only I waited 3 more months. What took them so long to release the "05"!?

RAOH92

Oh, I also get a bit of a high pitch whirring sound (the least of my worries compared to the snapping sound). Would a GLI filter that out too? and could I lose sound quality if I used one?

elduderino

The RPM-related whirring sound is an installation issue. How much usable volume do you have? If you can't get close to 40 on the volume control, the F gain setting needs to be turned down.

A GLI MIGHT help, but might not, and might affect SQ as well. The Jensen Isolink is the best sounding GLI ever from what I hear (I've never needed one, and I didn't need one with my JL amp when I had it either).

After trying an Icelink on the 2005 OEM HU and getting noise on XM yesterday, I'm starting to suspect that maybe a cheaper GLI should be spliced into the XM audio line.

Hey, RAOH92, try *temporarily* unplugging the XM plug from the HU. It's on the bottom of the HU - you just pull the pocket out. I wonder if disconnecting that plug would prevent your popping sound...

RAOH92

I think that last message is for BREWMASTER, eldude. BTW, I've read a lot of your posts(great stuff), and you seem to help out everyone with their audio setups (thanx). But what are the specs on YOUR stereo? I'm sure you've posted before, but nothing recent that I've noticed aside from the JL amps.

stphy32

How do you like that W6v2 ?

virtualbong

elduderino - Why can't you be in the Northeast area. I would have you purchase everything for my TSX and install it too. I like the fact that you're on this board and are trustworthy. I sometimes get sketched out by small audio shops like the ones we have here in Mass.

miner

I have the snapping sound too but I think it is coming from the A-pillar. The snapping conitues after turning off the stereo BUT stops when turning off the AC.

elduderino

Hey, virtualbong, check out www.sound-in-motion.com. They do Manny's cars : )

My system is currently a demo system for the store - we are using all DLS at the moment. UP6 components up front, MW110 10" sub in the trunk in a fiberglass enclosure OR Genesis 6x9 woofers in the rear deck (either / or with a toggle switch), and a DLS Classic CA41 50wx4 amp.

f few have heard it here in PDX or at the Seattle owner's meetup recently.

I have been thinking of putting the amp in the trunk (currently it's under the passenger seat) and adding a parametric EQ, but I like the stealthy approach.

RAOH92

How do you like the DLS speakers? I've heard good things about them.

Originally I intended on getting MB Quarts all around, but I heard they were bought by Rockford (sigh). I listened to some Boston's but the high's were always a bit harsh for me. Then I compared the Focal's and they just had a better all around sound (to my ears). It was a bit of an impulse buy, and I couldn't resist 25% off the K2P's.

Overall, I love the way they sound, but something just doesn't sit right. Maybe it's the Staging, or maybe I'm not used to having such solid MIDS. Do you think I should move the Tweets to the inside part of the side mirrors, or keep them in-dash?

BTW, I love my W6v2. I was amazed by the sound quality and the tight bass. I would recommend it to anyone. Plus the Jl Prowedge is very compact and leaves me with a very usable trunk, which was one of my main goals. Didn't really do anything custom except for the amp rack on the roof of my trunk. My goal was to keep it factory looking, without doing anything too permanent. I'll try to get some pics up.

matchbox

Well, I have an auxillary sound source plugged in through a soundgate snhond3. I added a GLI (Radio Shack) there. It helped, I think. The noise is quieter, but still there. As I said before, for my car, the noise seems to occur when the cooling fan turns on and off...

Jottle

Back from the dead..did anyone resolve this snapping issue? I have a completely stock tsx that has the same problem. Speakers snap when A/C fan shuts off. It does this with the audio system on or off.

Jottle

bump