Auto speakers - 4 Ohm ok for stock HU?

[JHZR2]

Since I got my new truck, I was missing the left front speaker. All others are fine. Pulled the door today and tested around with a meter. Wiring is fine, speaker is open.

No idea what the impedance should be.

My other truck, which had a horrid aftermarket head unit, got Pioneer speakers, with the following specs:

TS-A6960F 6"x9" 4-Way Coaxial Speaker. Frequency Range 35 Hz to 24 kHz. Continuous Power Handling (RMS) 90 Watts. Maximum Peak Power Handling 450 Watts and Nominal Impedance 4 ohms.

I’ve been pleased with these. Might just get another set. Question is, will 4 ohm impedance be an issue?

FSM seems to permit less than that.
I assume if a multimeter is ok reading 3 ohms, that a 4 ohm speaker is permissible.

I’d prefer to not burn out my stock head unit.
I don’t blast music super loud.

Thoughts?

 

[RooflessVW]

Very likely that the factory speakers are 4ohm. If they are 3ohm speakers, 4ohm replacements will be fine. Try to find speakers with a higher sensitivity.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Most factory speakers are 4 ohm, except Bose and other "special" factory premium car stereos,which use 1-2 ohm speakers

 

[Rand]

typically door speakers are 4ohms which can read something else on a meter vs their rating.. ie 3.2 or 4.6

Sometimes dash tweeters or separate door tweeters are 8ohms to make them quieter and also because they have a lower power rating.

 

[Jake_J]

Car speakers are rarely anything but 4 ohm speakers, and the Chrylser 6X9" speaker in the photo is 4 ohm as well so there will be no issue with using the replacement Pioneer speakers.

 

[JHZR2]

Thanks all. Ordered another set of Pioneer TS-6960 speakers which were pretty good in the other truck, IMO/FWIW. Amazon should have them here tomorrow, so I ought to have at least one side installed…

 

[tshephard]

I have a Dodge that ran 2 speakers on "Front" - a 8 and a 4 for 2.67 parallel.

 

[NitroM3]

They are Chrysler speakers. Chrysler used everything in stock systems. And it was made in Mexico. Chrysler often substituted parts from one platform to another if they fit during assembly line shortages. They can be almost anything but judging by the MOPAR part number I would pull another speaker and check the ohms. If you don't match the factory ohm you could over drive the little amp which will heat it up or you could damage one channel or your speaker replacement.

The members helping you don't mean to be wrong guessing things but then its not there car and the stereo they may damage if they are?

 

[Hall]

There's no "standard" when it comes to factory equipment. With aftermarket, yeah, 4 ohms is definitely standard.

Can you check the other speaker's ohm value ? Being off +/- 1 won't be an issue.

 

[Rand]

The members helping you don't mean to be wrong guessing things but then its not there car and the stereo they may damage if they are?

The factory service manual he posted specifies 3-8ohms.. so not sure where this magic HU that fails at 4ohms is coming from?

It would of course be prudent to check another speaker as I am sure he is going to.

but the fact is that only you can provide the correct answer.. so carry on.

 

[JHZR2]

I have a Dodge that ran 2 speakers on "Front" - a 8 and a 4 for 2.67 parallel.

Maybe one of the Infinity systems?

My doors may be wired for the components, but the door cards are different…

 

[JHZR2]

There's no "standard" when it comes to factory equipment. With aftermarket, yeah, 4 ohms is definitely standard.

Can you check the other speaker's ohm value ? Being off +/- 1 won't be an issue.

Lol, good call. Why didn’t I think of that? Lol.

With the old dirty connectors and wiring…

 

[JHZR2]

They are Chrysler speakers. Chrysler used everything in stock systems. And it was made in Mexico. Chrysler often substituted parts from one platform to another if they fit during assembly line shortages. They can be almost anything but judging by the MOPAR part number I would pull another speaker and check the ohms. If you don't match the factory ohm you could over drive the little amp which will heat it up or you could damage one channel or your speaker replacement.

The members helping you don't mean to be wrong guessing things but then its not there car and the stereo they may damage if they are?

I was a bit surprised to see Mexican speakers since my truck was made in one of the USA plants, but I guess a cheap source is a cheap source.

But to the point of burning up a little amp… thoughts on this thing:

KAC-M1824BT | Amplifiers | Car Audio | Car Entertainment | KENWOOD USA

KAC-M1824BT Compact Bluetooth 4-Channel Digital Amplifier

www.kenwood.com

I do have another thread on Bluetooth but might as well mention it here. Might it be worth it to take the line level outputs from my HU so I have AM/FM radio and the original look, but use one of these for Bluetooth?

I suspect the outcome would be better than an fm modulator…

I would use OE wiring other than maybe the front doors which would be simple to fish.

 

[Hall]

The factory service manual he posted specifies 3-8ohms..

IMO, that FSM is written very generically and maybe for covering multiple models with different speakers. It's really only indicating how to check for a dead speaker. You're not going to have a single speaker with an ohm value fluctuating 5 ohms.

 

[Hall]

Lol, good call. Why didn’t I think of that? Lol.

With the old dirty connectors and wiring…

You think those are 6 ohm speakers then ? I don't know if they'd increase by 2 ohms from age (corrosion, dirt, etc).

 

[NitroM3]

My 2005 GT PTCruisr factory speakers were 6ohms . When I changed the sound system everything came out and was upgraded. That included the factory sub and amp. and head unit. Btw it’s a Chrysler with some parts manufactured in Mexico.
The first rule in replacing factory speakers with out upgrading the head and amp so have the best sound quality and not take the chance to damage other stereo system componets is match the factory ohm of the speakers.

 

[NitroM3]

The factory service manual he posted specifies 3-8ohms.. so not sure where this magic HU that fails at 4ohms is coming from?

It would of course be prudent to check another speaker

but the fact is that only you can provide the correct answer.. so carry on.

I didn’t give the correct answer only a caution and suggestion on another thought to consider. And I looked into a few members posting history having knowledge of a vehicle sound systems or at least if there were any true audiophiles . I can’t say what I learned because someone would surely complain

 

[NitroM3]

Thanks all. Ordered another set of Pioneer TS-6960 speakers which were pretty good in the other truck, IMO/FWIW. Amazon should have them here tomorrow, so I ought to have at least one side installed…

Those will sound good. I would suggest to adjust your bass to a lower setting if you listen to moderately loud music or music with a lot of bass .

Btw I looked at your signature picture. Stock springs,retainers and rocker shaft? Is it for just a picture or does it represent more.

 

[NitroM3]

I was a bit surprised to see Mexican speakers since my truck was made in one of the USA plants, but I guess a cheap source is a cheap source.

But to the point of burning up a little amp… thoughts on this thing:

KAC-M1824BT | Amplifiers | Car Audio | Car Entertainment | KENWOOD USA

KAC-M1824BT Compact Bluetooth 4-Channel Digital Amplifier

www.kenwood.com

I do have another thread on Bluetooth but might as well mention it here. Might it be worth it to take the line level outputs from my HU so I have AM/FM radio and the original look, but use one of these for Bluetooth?

I suspect the outcome would be better than an fm modulator…

I would use OE wiring other than maybe the front doors which would be simple to fish.

Kenwood has nice quality imho almost everything . That amps is a good medium level amplifier that will bring most any 4 Channel sound system to life. The factory speaker leads will be fine . It is doubtful you would clip the speakers before you would just turn down the sound level because of distortion anyway. And if you cheated and turn up to much gain your sound quality would go down.

 

[tshephard]

Maybe one of the Infinity systems?

My doors may be wired for the components, but the door cards are different…

Mine was '16 BASE - very cheap, no manufacturer noted except Chrysler.
My point is, a single speaker (uni, bi, co, whatever) does NOT tell you what the system expects - only that wiring point.
Dodge had wired the dash and door together as "Front".

I have found they often go 'below' 3 ohms on 12 v systems - creates higher currents on the lower voltage, net watts goes up.
I have found speaker manufacturers will call anything below 3, "2" in marketing speak.

No guessing involved.