Can an OEM Radio handle 8 ohms?

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

Okay I have a 2002 Grand Prix GT, I just replaced ALL the speakers in the car. My question is will I be able to use the OEM or some JL Audio tweeters (TR650-CSI from a set of components that we used but never used the tweeters I have laying around because I bought some Pioneer TS-G1342R 5.25" 2 Way speakers and the vocals from the back are over powering because the tweeter that is higher up I had to cut the line so the only tweeters are on the 5.25" in the door. So I just wanted to be able to hook them back up and get some more vocals near the front. I looked around and found If i were to wire then up in parallel I believe it is the Ohm's would drop to 2 which would be VERY bad for my radio(its the stock one for now). I also remembered that I could hook them up in series and the Ohm's would raise to 8 if I remember correctly. Would the head unit be able to handle an 8 ohm's with the extra tweeter? I will be within a month or 2 ordering a Kenwood KDC 252U or some other HU for my car. Also for the JL Audio tweeters I could only find one of the cables that had the crossover thingy in the wire, with like a capacitor hopefully you know what I'm talking about. Would I be able just to use the OEM crossover/capacitor thing's with the JL Audio tweeters?

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[goingdef 10+ year member]

ohms don't raise/drop the capacitor thing your talking about lets certain tones pass through as others are blocked so at any given time your only seeing one load(tweeter) or the other(mid-driver) on the amp so if the mid-driver is 4ohm and the tweeter is 4ohm all you will be running is 4ohm if connected correctly through a passive x-over.

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

I may have said it wrong. If I add a tweeter with the in-line x-over wired in parallel with my Pioneer speakers that are at 4 ohms wouldn't it drop the ohms to 2 ohm's?

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

I was doing more looking and found this "A crossover presents a very high impedance to frequencies below its crossover point, so for those frequencies, the total impedance remains close to the 4 ohms of the 6 3/4" speaker. Technically the higher frequencies above the crossover point will still present a 2-ohm load, but a relatively small amount of power is required for the high frequency drivers, so it won't cause a problem for the head unit." Wonderded if this was right in some way and I could just run the tweets in parallel.

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

I was doing more looking and found this "A crossover presents a very high impedance to frequencies below its crossover point, so for those frequencies, the total impedance remains close to the 4 ohms of the 6 3/4" speaker. Technically the higher frequencies above the crossover point will still present a 2-ohm load, but a relatively small amount of power is required for the high frequency drivers, so it won't cause a problem for the head unit." Wonderded if this was right in some way and I could just run the tweets in parallel.

Just go scoop a cheap dmm and wire and test, see what you end up with as a final load.

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

Was anything that I found that I quoted near correct?

 

[goingdef 10+ year member]

pretty much right, I just know from wiring and trying/testing and then reading up on why the results are they way they are.

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

If i replace the stock tweets with JL Audio ones I have laying around can I just keep the original in-line passive x-over thingy and they will be fine? Also thanks, I really wanted the extra vocals in the front.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

lets start from the beginning.

Q. I also remembered that I could hook them up in series and the Ohm's would raise to 8 if I remember correctly. Would the head unit be able to handle an 8 ohm's with the extra tweeter?

A. yes the HU is fine with 8 ohms, but power would drop to half, so the net gain would be zero. halve power to a speaker = -3dB. run two speakers = +3dB

Q. Also for the JL Audio tweeters I could only find one of the cables that had the crossover thingy in the wire, with like a capacitor hopefully you know what I'm talking about. Would I be able just to use the OEM crossover/capacitor thing's with the JL Audio tweeters?

A. Depends. crossovers are speaker specific in both frequency response and impedance. likely, the factory crossover is so high it should be fine, but you need to look at the value of the factory capacitor and then reference a chart to see what the crossover point would be - noting you only get a 6dB/oct roll off. Best to either find the other JL crossover (which is probably 12dB/oct or 18dB/oct) or use the one you have to measure each component and build a duplicate.

I was doing more looking and found this "A crossover presents a very high impedance to frequencies below its crossover point, so for those frequencies, the total impedance remains close to the 4 ohms of the 6 3/4" speaker. Technically the higher frequencies above the crossover point will still present a 2-ohm load, but a relatively small amount of power is required for the high frequency drivers, so it won't cause a problem for the head unit."

Q. Wondered if this was right in some way and I could just run the tweets in parallel.

A. yes, that quote is correct. you could wire in parallel and probably be fine - but you need to have separate crossovers for each tweeter, designed for the tweeters. then parallel before the tweeter. since very little signal strength is present at high frequencies, the load should be just fine.

Q. If i replace the stock tweets with JL Audio ones I have laying around can I just keep the original in-line passive x-over thingy and they will be fine? Also thanks, I really wanted the extra vocals in the front.

A. see above. you need to determine the value of the stock capacitor. tell me that and i'll tell you if it is appropriate. otherwise, you can just buy stand alone 12dB/oct crossovers designed for 4 ohm tweeters with a crossover point around 4kHz. that is pretty safe.

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

Thanks, I'll look at them tomorrow. So basically you're saying everything will be fine? Also if the value of capacitor is off, would it damage the speaker? I might just use the factory tweeters if I cannot find, the other crossover (assuming factory tweeters are fine). I hate messing with the door panels. Thanks!

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

No, not saying everything is fine until I know more. Yes, the wrong value could result in blown tweeters.

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

I'm just going to use the OEM tweeters, that should be fine right? I'l just have to connect them - to -/+ to + on the door speakers right? Parallel

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

OEM tweets are 6 ohm so il only be pushing like 2.4 ohms, also the jl tweets are to big to fit so I won't worry about it thanks you were a lot of help

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

Just got the driver side done holy crap what a difference

 

[Russosaur 10+ year member]

OH MY GOD, The strut broke as I was putting the door panels back on heard "bang" and the driver side rear tire has a spring laying on it FML -.-