Stereo & Electronics - kappa's sound like $h!t

i have had them in my truck for a while now. 6.5 up front 4.6 plates in the back.now i have talked to some people and they say they need a amp to sound good.is this true.i have the stocker head unit still so that might be why as well, but i figured they still should sound better then stock. all replies welcome :confused:

some speakers require a little more power than the stock head unit can provide to be in the right power range.if you got a aftermarket with more power it would help quite a bit or you could put an amp on stock HU.I would changr to aftermarket though.

You're more than likely underpowering the speakers. And the more volume you add, they just become more distorted. It's time either get a new HU or buy any amp to push them.

Or Both..

Ok as far as the kappa's go, you aren't even coming close to reaching their potential. For the kappa's i definitely recommend an amp. These things get very loud and stay very clear with power. If you are just going to use head unit power than i would have recommended the infinity reference series, they still sound good on less power. Lastly, you HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR HEAD UNIT!!! Factory head units probably rms about 12 watts X 4 which f*cking sucks!!! If you don't want to but an amp, i would suggest buying a strong head unit. Panasonic has a new head unit that does 70 x 4 wrms which is outstanding for a head unit. Just a couple thoughts. Good luck.

thanks fellas.i kinda figured that it was the stock shit hu.but i still thought they should sound better.the ones in the doors are 230 watt max and the plates are 180 i beleive.i will just have to up grade. thanks

Also, the kappa 6.5 woofer takes awhile to break in before it sounds really good. I bet since you have been under-powering them, they haven't completely broke in yet either.
When anyone comes to me for install questions, the very first thing I tell them to upgrade is their HU, then the speakers.
Just my $.02. Good luck.

I had them and my GF had them with the Monsoon HU and they sounded good. I have since added an Alpine HU and ithey are powered from HU and still sound pretty damn good. :)

i had know idea that they needed too get broke in.if that is true.i have had them in for about 2 months. :)

i have had them in my truck for a while now. 6.5 up front 4.6 plates in the back.now i have talked to some people and they say they need a amp to sound good.is this true.i have the stocker head unit still so that might be why as well, but i figured they still should sound better then stock. all replies welcome :confused:

if the ydont sound better than stock then they may be out of phase and that will make them asound like ass

kappas need power for sure ... i have doubled the power rating on them with good results

not that they sound like ass.the highs are great but the bass is bad really bad.i will gust have to upgrade to a new hu and amp.thanx :)

If it is a bass prob you are having, there is a good chance you are have a phase probs. A quick way to check is fade to the front and and then putbalance to the right then pull it back to the center, if the bass comes back once it is centered you will know it is in phase. You could also try switching one of the speaker terminals swapping the - and the + around and see if it sounds better. Good luck

Ok as far as the kappa's go, you aren't even coming close to reaching their potential. For the kappa's i definitely recommend an amp. These things get very loud and stay very clear with power. If you are just going to use head unit power than i would have recommended the infinity reference series, they still sound good on less power. Lastly, you HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR HEAD UNIT!!! Factory head units probably rms about 12 watts X 4 which f*cking sucks!!! If you don't want to but an amp, i would suggest buying a strong head unit. Panasonic has a new head unit that does 70 x 4 wrms which is outstanding for a head unit. Just a couple thoughts. Good luck.

That Panasonic is suppose to put out 280 watts RMS? Does it have an external amp and what size power wire is it running?

Most HU's you run into aftermarket wise will push like 15 to 20 watts RMS x 4 and the monsoon HU's will keep right up with most of them and push like 17 watts RMS if I remember the spec correctly on a test I read once. (on a delco HU of a few years ago, similar to the monsoon HU though) There was that one Alpine HU that required a 10 gauge wire to run and it was suppose to push more power than most HU's but my educated guess would be that the Panasonic HU you speak of is 70 x 4 MAX power.

HTH!

Ted

If it is a bass prob you are having, there is a good chance you are have a phase probs. A quick way to check is fade to the front and and then putbalance to the right then pull it back to the center, if the bass comes back once it is centered you will know it is in phase. You could also try switching one of the speaker terminals swapping the - and the + around and see if it sounds better. Good luck
i made sure that the + is + an -is -. i am just thinking like every one said underpowererd. :cheers: :cheers:

That Panasonic is suppose to put out 280 watts RMS? Does it have an external amp and what size power wire is it running?

Most HU's you run into aftermarket wise will push like 15 to 20 watts RMS x 4 and the monsoon HU's will keep right up with most of them and push like 17 watts RMS if I remember the spec correctly on a test I read once. (on a delco HU of a few years ago, similar to the monsoon HU though) There was that one Alpine HU that required a 10 gauge wire to run and it was suppose to push more power than most HU's but my educated guess would be that the Panasonic HU you speak of is 70 x 4 MAX power.

HTH!

Ted Ted's right... Any amplifier in any head unit is going to be a small IC, (Integrated Circuit) and a small heatsink. That's how they fit them inside the chassis of a radio. The highest RMS output you are going to find is around 15-20 watts. That's it. A main reason for this is the difference in size of the power supplies of the two types of amps, IC, and outboard. The Outboard amp will have a much bigger power supply, allowing more current to flow through the amp, enabling it to get louder without distorting. Simply put, Which one do you think can make more power?:

http://www.myonlineimages.com/Members/snootch/images/Untitled-1.jpg

Also, if you REALLY gotta have it now.... I'd suggest a powerful 4-channel amp:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39744&item=5716553925&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW#ebayphotohosting
then a nice pair of 6-1/2" components:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32819&item=5715651453&rd=1
And a single 8" sub:
http://www.audioperfect.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=67_3_54&products_id=291

I'll estimate this'll probably run you about $700-$800 with materials, if you do some serious shopping, and are able to find some deals. Good luck! http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif

Not meaning to repeat myslef, so I will expand on my previous post :) . I read on another forums feedback (5 different reviewers, all of the reviewers) said that the Kappas can take as long as 6 months to break in.
And when they finally did, they sounded awesome.
So get your new head unit turn it up (like I needed to tell you that :P ) and give it a couple of months. I think you will be pleased.

dam you guys have been a big help thanks a bunch.

Ok sorry, it was 70 x 4 max, my bad. But that's still a hell of a lot of power from a head unit. And yes i know head unit power isn't as clean as a dedicated amp but for the money it's still a pretty cool bonus.


http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelList?storeId=11251&catalogId=11005&catGroupId=11085

It's the second one down by the way.