GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hey. I have a Neptune AWD. Obviously, the AWD package comes with the 200-watt sound system. Okay, It's not "state of the art" by any means but for a factory system, it's not too shabby. My problem really is with the speakers. I haven't even really "cranked" the system yet, but there is already some buzzing coming from the rear speakers at low volume, especially when the radio-noise is talking (news, commercials, etc...). Do I REALLY have to replace these already??? I've only had the Vibe for three weeks!!! The speakers in my 2000 Sunfire were crap as well. I had to take them apart to fix the wire that goes from the connector to the voice-coil. Brutal! Do they upgrade the amp, add the front tweeters and just leave the original door speakers? If so, that bites! Also, is it really 200 watts? And, who makes the amp?

quote:Do I REALLY have to replace these already??? Mine sound great, may be your dealer can remplace them, if they are already busted.quote:Do they upgrade the amp, add the front tweeters and just leave the original door speakers? According what I heard, the stock speakers are the same in all Vibes.quote:Also, is it really 200 watts? For sure, it is not 200w RMS but 200w peakI already talk about this in a previous forum: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1363quote:It depends how the calculate the power of the amp.It could have very significant diffrence depend how you calculate power. It depends if this power is RMS, peak or peak to peak. As an exemple, lets take an amp who can drive from +10v to -10v with a 4 ohms charge. Basic eletronic sez: P= IxE, I=E/R.RMS W = (0.707xE)xI (0.707x10)x(10/4)= 17.667 W RMSNow if we take peak voltageW= ExI 10x2.5= 25 wIf we take paek to peak voltage20x2.5= 50wAnother way to calculate W is P= E²/RWith peak V 10²/4= 25WWith peak to peak 20²/4= 100 WIf we take the power of the stock amp 200WIn the worst casethis amp is 200w, 4 channels, so 50w each50=E²/R : E²=50x4 => 10v peak to peak, so from +5v to -5vRMS W will be (5x0.707)x(5/4)= 4.42 W RMS per channelIn conclusion, if it is written 100 W an amp, it is not realy false, but the RMS power could be as low as 17W. It just depend how they calculate the power. RMS power is alway the best way to see real power.That`s why you have to take care when you buy an amp, especially when it is written 800W on it (even more when it is a Pyramid amp)

Me too, how annoying! Noticed it on the first day. Have you found a solution?

If you're not afraid to deviate from stock, do yourself a favor and put in some decent aftermarket speakers. I'm real happy with my Cerwin-Vegas.

Hi...No solution really, it comes and goes. Right now the buzzing is gone. You too???I may complain to the dealer, but more likely I will get some BETTER aftermarket speakers. I think the sound can be vastly improved from the stock speakers. How's everything else going??? I'm really enjoying the Vibe!!!

So I replaced the rear stock speaks with a pair of Infinity KAPPA 62.5I last weekend. I also installed a 280 watt Kenwood 4 channel amp. I'm running the Infinitys off 2 of the channels. The sound in the rear has definately improved over the stock speakers. However, I think they are still way under powered. Each channel is only putting out 25 watts RMS. Also, wiring the amp in sucked. I tried to use the line level outs off the stock 6 disc head unit but there is not enough power in those wires to give the Kenwood amp. I then reconnected the stock 200 watt amp and took speaker level inputs off the speaker wire outs offf the stock amp. Much better but that frickin' stock amp system hiss is now being amped out my rear speaks. Sucks!!Does anyone know how I can come off the stock head unit and into my amp, bypassing the POS Toyota Amp under the passanger seat? The local stereo shop says I'm going to have to boost the signal some how. How do I do that?

Try either bridging your amp to give those infinities the power they need or getting a line output converter to turn the high level output from the stock headunit to an RCA signal that the amp will accept. Will sound better either or both ways.

So even though the stock head unit doesn't have RCAs a line converter will feed the amp what it is looking for? Sounds good. I'll have to check into that after Christmas. I haven't done jack for shopping. Mr. Procrastination, that's my name. Thanks for the info.

quote: I tried to use the line level outs off the stock 6 disc head unit but there is not enough power in those wires to give the Kenwood amp. Just a shot in the dark: Does the Kenwood have any kind of selectable attenuator at its input that allows it to be set to accept either high or low power input sources? I'm wondering if the unit was shipped with its input set to severely attenuate a high power source. If so, changing to a much lower attenuation would allow the lower power of the existing head end to adequately drive the Kenwood.

Im not sure about the Kenwood amp you have, but the potentiometer gains on most amps are usually only for RCA inputs and not high level inputs. This is because the RCA range is typically from 250mV to 4V, whereas high level inputs are typically b/w 3 and 13V. A line out converter is pretty much the same thing as a built in high level input, but a different aftermarket one may improve your sound, and allow you to use your gains since you would be using RCA's. This should decrease noise and allow to give the speakers more power, as long as you dont clip your signal. I would not recommend hooking the stock amp's output wires to the kenwood amp though, most high level inputs are not designed to take anything other than stock headunit power, ew 20W or less. To get the best sound, however, get an aftermarket head unit! Hope I helped.

Basically, I find the stock 6 disc-changer system good enough. I realize the sky can be the limit of the kind of systems one can put in and blow away the stock unit. However that is not something I want to do. I find the bass in the system adequate but I find the high end somewhat lacking. Has anyone installed a good tweeter in the system without changing out the main speakers? If so, is there an appreicable difference? I was thinking installing some titanium tweeters and it look like they are about 1" in size.Is the tweeter enclosure easy to take off? Any input would be appreciated.

The tweeter mount just snaps off-give it a pull. The replacement should be fairly easy and any good aftermarket tweeter should work. I dont' know if the factory set-up includes any type of crossover so I would buy one with a built-in crossover. Crutchfield sells several different tweeters that should work- I'm partial to Infinity myself but anything will be better than the stock junk.