Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 22:35:23 +0100
Reply-To: Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Subject: Re: Speaker Wire Polarity?
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As far as which one is + and - it really doesn't matter except that all the
speakers should be wired the same, or else the sound will be off.
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I would beg to differ here... There is a reason for the polarity in sound
system speaker wires. If you have the speakers hooked up correctly, meaning
the (+) from the stereo actually ends in the (+) from the speaker, then you
will have a legitimate sound system. The LARGER connector is the (+), and
the smaller one is the (-).
If the (+) from the radio is plugged into the (-) of the speaker, the bass
will actually end up going IN to the speaker, instead of being thrown OUT to
your ears. It sounds awful, although granted, under normal listening
conditions you may not notice.... but with lots of power in a high end
system, you would notice.
I have also been told that it ruins the speakers, as it forces then to
"pump" in the opposite direction to what they were built.... although the
speaker materials these days can probably deal with most anything... maybe
the old cardboard ones were more sensitive to this.
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take a 9 v. battery and wire it up so you can touch the speaker leads and
observe the cone's movement
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Once again... I personally would not do this. Granted, it may not damage
your speakers, but if I pay good money on a nice set of speakers, the last
thing I would want to do is hook them up like a light bulb. You can easily
test polarity with a battery, and a lightbulb... or a tester.... you just
sometimes need a really long test lead, but you can tell that when you hook
up one, in the pair to the battery, and go to the other end, and use the
tester on the other ends... one will show a signal, the other will not.
Just mark the wires, and make certain that you get them in the right plugs
for correct polarity.
It is worth the extra pain in the ass.
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Will a 5.25" speaker produce better or more sound than a 4" speaker given
the same input?
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Generally a larger speaker will provide better sound... more bass, and a
fuller tone. What you need to watch out for is the power requirements of
the speakers, in relation to the power that your radio is putting out. If
you buy nice high-end 6x9 100 watt nominal rating speakers, and then power
them with your OEM Blaupunkt, which maybe was rated at 8-10 watts... then
you will have bad sound. You should not under power your speakers. If you
cannot give them the power they want, then you can put an amplifier in, and
then they will perform to their fullest potential.
Car stereo head units today can put out 40-50 watts of power, and have
enough power to drive relatively good speakers... these radios would also
have enough power to blow all your OEM speakers.
My advice would be to get a nice new radio with a CD player in it, and
replace all speakers. I put the Alpine 6x9 rear speakers in the wooden
piece below the rear seat... drilled the correct size holes, and screwed
them in. It has worked well for 7 years, and since I have been a little
less careful inside my Vanagon these days, the speaker covers are getting
rather bent up... but they sound great!
Just my 2 cents.. have fun, and feel free to Pmail me if you desire any
additional rantings or suggestions.
RSF
<º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{ <º)))>{
Robert S. Fish
Salzburg, Austria
1987 Wolfsburg Vanagon 2.1 GL Weekender
1987 Golf Cabriolet
1991 Golf
