Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Will impedance change if a full range speaker is broken down?

  1. Back To Top    #1

    Will impedance change if a full range speaker is broken down?

    To the point: on a full range 6x9 speaker the highs mids and lows are all connected in parallel. And its this wiring setup that ultimately determines what the impedance will be, correct?
    In other words, If I separated/split the connections of the mids and highs from the bass of 1 speaker into 2 different line inputs, would the over all impedance of the speaker change???

    More in detail: This is a personal side project I'm hobby'ing at the moment.... I'm running two 6x9's (4 way, 4ohm, 285watt RMS each) from an after market car stereo rated at 60w x 4 at 4ohms. Connecting them to the rear channels plus the custom enclosure I made for them allows them to sound pretty amazing at low and mid volumes. However at high volumes things start to get distorted very quickly.

    So I figured, why not split the highs and mids from the lows into 2 seperate lines.... This way, I could use the front channels of the head unit for the highs and mids and dedicate the rear channels to the lows only.

    But now I'm wondering if by having done this, if I have now changed the impedance of each speaker... To like 2ohms.... Which I know would be disastrous for the head unit.

    Thanks in advance for any help or tips.
    Last edited by Kornut213; 03-25-2022 at 06:40 PM. Reason: Edits

  2. Back To Top    #2
    Wave Shepherd - aka Jazzi Justin Zazzi's Avatar
    Location
    Northridge, CA
    Posts
    670
    Join Date
    Aug 2018

    Re: Will impedance change if a full range speaker is broken down?

    In general, a multi-way speaker (like the 6x9" you mention) will have the same nominal impedance for each of the sub-speakers. If you were to separate the tweeter, then the tweeter would be 4Ω nominal and the woofer would also be 4Ω nominal. In general. Broadly speaking.

    There are plenty of caveats and this also depends on the passive crossover components inside the 6x9" speaker (the capacitors and inductors and resistors). There are also times when you might use an 8Ω tweeter with a 4Ω woofer so if you were to split those apart then the resulting nominal impedances would be "mismatched" at first glance.

    However, if the crossover design in that 6x9" speaker is compatible with being separated liked you want, and you can successfully separate the sub-speakers in that 6x9", and you power them using different amplifier channels .... then you'll get about the same performance as before.

    Although I don't think this will fix your problem of the system sounding poor at higher volume levels, you are absolutely welcome to try it ...
    ... for science!


    If you'd like to troubleshoot why your system sounds poor at higher volumes, try using a different pair of speakers that you know can sound good at higher volume levels. If the system still sounds poor, even with the known good speakers, then your amplifier is likely the limiting factor in the setup. Or if the system sounds great with the other speakers, then the 6x9" speakers might be the weakest link.
    Measure with mics, mark with chalk, cut with torch, grind to fit, sand to finish, paint to match.
    Updated Justin tuning sheet (Justin and Erica tuning companion for SMAART and REW)
    Do it for them.

  3. Back To Top    #3

    Re: Will impedance change if a full range speaker is broken down?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kornut213 View Post
    To the point: on a full range 6x9 speaker the highs mids and lows are all connected in parallel. And its this wiring setup that ultimately determines what the impedance will be, correct?
    In other words, If I separated/split the connections of the mids and highs from the bass of 1 speaker into 2 different line inputs, would the over all impedance of the speaker change???

    More in detail: This is a personal side project I'm hobby'ing at the moment.... I'm running two 6x9's (4 way, 4ohm, 285watt RMS each) from an after market car stereo rated at 60w x 4 at 4ohms. Connecting them to the rear channels plus the custom enclosure I made for them allows them to sound pretty amazing at low and mid volumes. However at high volumes things start to get distorted very quickly.

    So I figured, why not split the highs and mids from the lows into 2 seperate lines.... This way, I could use the front channels of the head unit for the highs and mids and dedicate the rear channels to the lows only.

    But now I'm wondering if by having done this, if I have now changed the impedance of each speaker... To like 2ohms.... Which I know would be disastrous for the head unit.

    Thanks in advance for any help or tips.
    What @Justin Zazzi said about impedance.^^
    If you're running these off the head unit, that is the problem, you need more power. I don't know if it will help much to dissect the speakers.

  4. Back To Top    #4

    Re: Will impedance change if a full range speaker is broken down?

    Thank you so much guys.
    I pretty much knew these speakers were too big to be driven by the head unit.... My hopes, more or less behind separating the lines was based on the idea that by separating the lines, in retrospect, that would reduce the amount of power needed to drive (push) the speaker.
    However even if this were technically possible, having the highs and mids separated from the lows, they would both ultimately Still require a lot more power than what the head unit can provide per channel.

    I will be replacing the 2 6x9's with like 4 2way 6.5 (or four 3way 4") but either way, to be rated at like 40w RMS each instead.
    Thanks again for your input.

  5. Back To Top    #5

    Re: Will impedance change if a full range speaker is broken down?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kornut213 View Post
    Thank you so much guys.
    I pretty much knew these speakers were too big to be driven by the head unit.... My hopes, more or less behind separating the lines was based on the idea that by separating the lines, in retrospect, that would reduce the amount of power needed to drive (push) the speaker.
    However even if this were technically possible, having the highs and mids separated from the lows, they would both ultimately Still require a lot more power than what the head unit can provide per channel.

    I will be replacing the 2 6x9's with like 4 2way 6.5 (or four 3way 4") but either way, to be rated at like 40w RMS each instead.
    Thanks again for your input.
    its not that the hu can’t run the speakers, that’s nowhere near accurate… they can upto the point where the hu starts to clip, otherwise a normal amp would distort if you turn it down, the hu will clip at a lower level with a 6” as the smaller speaker will generally be less efficient at midbass freq

    swapping to 6” won’t help, they aren’t easier to drive, harder in fact

    have ypu deadened and sealed up your door? As if not you will get cancellation in the lower freqs and turn it up more, which also doesn’t help… most people just Chuck drivers in a car door and expect them to make bass by magic

    to illustrate why what your saying isn’t accurate I once did 144.7db with a headunit and 6 15” subwoofers in my spl van when I blew all my amps at a db drag show… how can a pioneer p77 hu run 6x15 if your assumption is correct?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Back To Top