Monsoon amp & aftermarket headunit = double amping?

[MichelleRoze]

Last year when I got my Alpine CD player installed, the tech at Best Buy, said that the monsoon amp did not need to be disconnected. The amp in the new Alpine head unit and the monsoon amp would not be a problem. So, they (as I've been told) plugged the new head unit into the speaker wires as if there was no other amp in the car.

Well, now the sub in my door speaker as pooped out on me. I'm going to take it apart and see if there is any physical damage or maybe wire issues or something. But could the head unit amp in the Apline and the Monsoon amp cause double amping and blow my speakers? It's been less than a year since the install....these are stock speakers. And when I first got the new head unit, I listened to my music LOUD! with LOTS of bass.

Any ideas?

[dmbluebeetle]

I think your door speaker has pooped out on you. The OEM radio is not a "line level unit" (low voltage outputs) which means that it also has internal audio chips like a normal radio would have.

[The Cheat]

no, you just blew the speaker.

the monsoon amp is more or less a signal processor as opposed to a quality amp. been running aftermarket decks in monsoon (and before that, bose) vw's for 10 years now, never caused issues...the speakers just aren't great to begin with. with some proper alpine type-r components, your sq will be much better and your bass will be crisper.

[MichelleRoze]

come to find out, it works ok when balanced, but the bass cuts out on the passenger side when it's fully on that side. the driver side did that sometimes too. otherwise its ok. and sometimes the speaker would just lose base in and out during a song. i think we're going to try an amp bypass and see if that helps.

[The Cheat]

Originally Posted by MichelleRoze

come to find out, it works ok when balanced, but the bass cuts out on the passenger side when it's fully on that side. the driver side did that sometimes too. otherwise its ok. and sometimes the speaker would just lose base in and out during a song. i think we're going to try an amp bypass and see if that helps.

well, you could try that, but that would require new wires run to the speaker...not hard, but i question if it's worth it. if i know the speakers are dying, i don't try anything any funky, i just turn the bass down.

it's no big deal though, new speakers aren't that bad for price, and the sound quality is MUCH improved.

barring that, i have a couple monsoon drivers if you'd like them, i'd do $25 shipped for both, just let me know.

[sean_fabanich]

wait...whats the impedance level of the monsoons speakers....can you still run all of them off just a headunit? sounds like a lot of work instead of just changing speakers...

[The Cheat]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

wait...whats the impedance level of the monsoons speakers....can you still run all of them off just a headunit? sounds like a lot of work instead of just changing speakers...

in the case of the beetle, this is the impedance rating and how it's done:

rear drivers: 2ohm (but they can handle 4ohm)
front drivers: 8ohm
front mids/tweets: 8ohm (they run the same circuit)

i've run 4ohm components off the monsoon amp before with desired effect, but in reality, if you accept the monsoon amp as a giant eq, then it does its job well. as an amp, it's extremely underpowered (100x2 peak, 75x2 peak), but it's not a bad thing.

the factory deck is the big holdback though, with an aftermarket, the signal is much cleaner and the speakers sound much more powerful.

the amp also has built-in filters as well, which is kinda cool.

i was playing around on a buddy's gti with monsoon and was able to get into the diagnostics mode, where you can edit filters and crossovers. it sounds much like a decent aftermarket setup now, much less muddy in the back and much more powerful up front (where you want it).