Anybody else have volume issues with their Mirage DE?

[Dontee]

On the Post of Mirage Quirks find the Test Audio post. See which speaker isn't working at the fullest. What i do in mine to make it a lil better. A: Put Bass like +3or 4 Treble higher and all. Fade +1 to Rear and +1 or 2 to Left. EF your passengers I want to hear my Black Sabbath, or AC/DC like your supposed too. Or one last thing. Come to me in NJ trade out of the Mirage and get your self a Mirage RF<-_-_-_-_- the Rocksford Fosgate edition. and your sound with that will be bumping. Have a good day hope this helps

[namco]

Its not your speakers under performing....

First off stock audio isnt setup for where you are sitting, which is why fading back and away from the driver seems to center the sound for you. My pioneer deh80prs does both auto position and time alignment so each door hits year ears at the same time. Stock radios play all 4 same, so the distance sound travels from the passenger door takes slightly longer than the one right next to you on the driver door. Fading near the passenger side is a cheap fix to trick your ears into thinking its even. The speakers arent under performing.

So for example, in the us we sit on the left, so if i fade 1 to 2 points towards the passenger side, it will level out the sound so it seems even. If i open windows however, being right next to the window changes the sound again, so going +1 or 2 on the driver side makes it seen even again.

Most higher end cars, for example toyota with their stock JBL systems, automatically are set up to handle said issues so you dont have to fade the sound. In our cheap mirage, no such feature is included. If you have the $$$ get a deh-80prs from pioneer, read instructions for the auto tuning, make it auto tune, and it will blow your mind......

Secondly the stock speakers are mids/tweeter combined, and the tweeter is part of the mids cone, which gives high pitches a better chance but isnt as good as a full on tweeter. I have my treble at full +6 and depending on type of music -2 to +2 for bass. Rock/metal gets +2 and trance/techno/d&b etc get -2

[namco]

Also, the rear speakers are NOT supposed to be as loud as the frontx its called rear fill and all newer cars do it. Sit in the back and you will notice its plenty loud back there.

Edit also, depending on source it will get louder/quieter. Some songs are recorded loud and some low. I notice one song might be uber loud the next is quiet. Even pandora radio cant get an even db level because of it.....

[Joni]

I agree, the speakers are too quiet. Driving at highway speeds I can't hear my audio books very well. It's so frustrating! Would changing the speakers make any difference?

[namco]

I agree, the speakers are too quiet. Driving at highway speeds I can't hear my audio books very well. It's so frustrating! Would changing the speakers make any difference?

No not at all. You have a few options though. The reason its quiet id that mitsubishi took away the ability for you to have distorted audio. With an aftermarket radio, its possible to blow speakers because of distortion. For example, my cheap pioneer distorts at 49, 48 is my max available level even though it goes up to 62.

New headunit paired with new speaker. New headunit will supply more power thus can easily bloe factory speakers. So new speakers are a must.

Oem headunit with audio processor and/or amp and speakers. Some companies make audio processors with its own amp and can buff up the oem unit to sound as good as an aftermarket one while also providing a louder signal. Other audio processors only process the signal requiring an amp to be purchased to finish the system.

You could try to use the oem headunit with just a speaker upgrade, but i do not know how the system will sound with this path. The oem speakers are 4 ohm 15 watts. You could snag 2 ohm speakers and the headunit will output slightly louder output. Will this overheat the oem headunit or cause premature failure i do not know because i didnt run a test to see. However in the audio world, less ohms means less resistance and more power. For example, 4ohms with my amp puts out 75 watts. 2 ohm puts out 150 watts. This is an amp however and its made to do so, the headunit may not like a 2ohm load. Also the increase in power wont be as much as an amplifier, maybe 15 watts on 4 ohm to 20 or 25 watts 2 ohm. The risk is up to you.

[Eggman]

I agree, the speakers are too quiet. Driving at highway speeds I can't hear my audio books very well. It's so frustrating! Would changing the speakers make any difference?

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However in the audio world, less ohms means less resistance and more power.

Maybe I'm wrong namco, but it is my understanding an amplifier is designed to put out so much power in watts. Changing speaker resistance won't make the amp more powerful. It might risk damaging the amplifier's final stages, but not make it more powerful. I see your point, though.

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Forum member laceygirl has reported improvement with replacement speakers.

Can I just say my speakers sound amazing...

Cyclopathic has this to say about replacement speakers:

You need -25-50hr for speakers to burn in. We installed 2 pairs of these: http://car-speakers-review.toptenrev...rs-review.html and they are huge improvement over stock. 4-way version was $45/pair at walmart.

After nickpon made a swap, the speakers didn't bring the improvements hoped for:

Just put 4 new speakers (these) in tonight. I was hoping to improve the overall sound quality.

The sound is much worse. The highs are better, but the lows are really bad. When cranked, the speakers hardly move.

I was actually impressed by the sound of the stock speakers, but the ones I've bought should be quite better. I'm a bit stumped. It's possible that it's the amp, but how could the amp have made the stock whizzer cones sound relatively good?

Any idea of what's going on here and if there is any fix? The way I bought these speakers would make it pretty much impossible to return, and buying a new head unit isn't an option...if I can't improve it then I'm just gonna put the stock ones back in, sell the Kenwoods, and cut my losses.

There are some DIYs on the subject. Here's an example for speaker replacement:
DIY Front speaker replacement
Here's one for a more expensive upgrade:
HOW-TO: Stereo / Speaker / Amp Installation (Radio/Speaker/Inner Door Trim Removal)

I would be inclined to start with a more efficient set of speakers and see how that turns out. If it's to your liking, then great. If not, then consider spending more cash on another radio and/or amplifier.

The right set of speakers matters, and it might make just enough difference without the cost and complexity of replacing the stock radio.

I like the features of the Mirage stock radio. There are some functions I would like to see improved, but as it is integrated with the Mirage ECU I would have concerns over any problems a replacement might cause.

Good luck Joni and let us know how you tackle this.

[namco]

Ohms law my man. Cannot be ignored.

Power = volts squared / ohms.

So

p = 5 squared / 4

P = 25 / 4

P = 6.x watts

Replace ohms resitance with 2 ohm speakers

P = 25 / 2
P = 12.5

However, some amps including oem amplifiers have issues doing such a change in power because the components used may not be suitable for a 2 ohm load. Unlike my amp which is certified 150 at 2 ohm and 75 at 4. Putting a 1 ohm load would blow up aka ruin my amp. The oem headunit uses 4 ohm speakers. I dont know its db rating for sensitivity of said speakers so i cannot comment on that. If another person put in 4 ohm high sensitivity speakers (91db) its very possible for it to be slightly louder. And i also do not know if the oem headunit will like a 2 ohm load. ON that note, many aftermarket headunits built in amplifier although rated for only a 4 ohm load, usually can handle a 2 ohm load putting out a bit extra power. However, i do not know about the oem unit.

Im deep into car audio as i currently run a setup people always rave about because it is loud AND clear. No distortion. I have my driver front and rear speakers wired together to a 2ohm load and my passenger front and rear wired together to a 2ohm load. My amp gives both sides 150 watts. However, with proper tuning as i stated in my original post, the aftermarket headunit distorts at 49 so i cant go over 48, otherwise tuning the amp would be pointless because it would always distort.

I recommend checking out youtube videos on the SMD-DD1 unit. Its a distortion detector used to tune the power output of headunits and amps. I never tested the oem mitsubishi headunit for distortion but from my ears perspective (with bass and treble at 0) there is zero distortion at 45 because mitsubishi took out the ability to distort by giving us a lower number, much how i have my own boundry of 48 on my pioneer headunit. I suspect the real max vol of the mitsubishi headunit to be 50 or higher, but is locked out so people have crystal clear sounding audio.

[Eggman]

I thought Ohm's law described the relationship of the electrical properties of volts, current, and resistance.

The measurement for an electrical watt is volts x amps = watts, while working in direct current. Alternating current, such as audio applications, need to account for reactive components but is basically still volts times amps.

Reducing an electrical load does not make an amplifier more powerful than it is.

Again, I get the premise of what you are trying to say. However, I also get the sense there might be a misunderstanding about Ohm's law and Watts.

Wikipedia pages for further reading:
Ohm's law
Volt-ampere
Watt

[namco]

I thought Ohm's law described the relationship of the electrical properties of volts, current, and resistance.

The measurement for an electrical watt is volts x amps = watts, while working in direct current. Alternating current, such as audio applications, need to account for reactive components but is basically still volts times amps.

Using an electrical load does not make an amplifier more powerful than it is.

Again, I get the premise of what you are trying to say. However, I also get the sense there might be a misunderstanding about Ohm's law and Watts.

Wikipedia pages for further reading:
Ohm's law
Volt-ampere
Watt

First off, ohms law is not 1 simple equation....

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Pie_chart.svg

Secondly, if im wrong, why do 99.9% of car amplifiers output more power at 2 ohms than 4 ohms? You cannot break the industry standard with your lack of knowledge man. Its like you wanna fight me to feel smart.....

[Eggman]

First off, ohms law is not 1 simple equation....

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Pie_chart.svg

Actually, it is. I'm quite familiar with the equation. Like I said, it describes the relationship between electromotive force (expressed in volts), current (expressed in amps) and resistance. Please don't confuse calculating watts with Ohm's law. I have never seen an equation for watts as you have described, and I'd like to know where you get it from.

Secondly, if im wrong, why do 99.9% of car amplifiers output more power at 2 ohms than 4 ohms?

What you are describing is a reduction in impedance to the flow of electrical current. Think of it as water through a pipe. Increasing the size of the pipe may allow more current to flow, but it does not change the capacity of the source to provide any more or any less than it is able.

You cannot break the industry standard with your lack of knowledge man. Its like you wanna fight me to feel smart.....

I'm not trying to break any industry standard any more than you claim to get an amplifier to perform more than it's design allows, and I'm not fighting you! I would, however, like to see where you get your calculation of wattage as I've never heard of that before. I am impressed that your are self-taught, and applaud your efforts there. These are difficult concepts to learn in a classroom, much less on one's own.