Your vehicle: what do you have, why do you like it, and what do you not like?

**Kobie** · 02-18-2019, 02:47 PM

I realized something I both love and hate about my car...
The Harman Kardon Sound System.
9 speakers (3 in the dash, 1 in each front door, 1 in each rear door and 2 in the rear shelf).
The sound is fantastic, BUT, finding suitable replacement speakers is almost impossible if you want to stick to the stock sound stage.
The left and right dash speakers (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, dash center is (midrange) 5.9 ohm, front doors (bass/midrange) are 2.4 ohm, rear doors (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, and rear shelf 6x9's (sub-bass) are 2 ohm.

Most aftermarket car audio speakers are 4 ohm which would mean I'd be losing half the volume level for the speakers (I was looking to replace the 6x9's only).
Luckily I found some JBL (by Harman) 6x9 speakers on clearance, brand new which were 2.3 ohm so I wouldn't be losing much in signal output.

They REALLY didn't make it easy to replace even just basic speakers, I love the sound, I just hate the proprietary way they put it all together.

Last edited by Kobie; 02-18-2019 at 07:40 PM.

**Ex Finn.** · 02-18-2019, 06:57 PM

Originally posted by Kobie

I realized something I both love and hate about my car...
The Harman Kardon Sound System.
9 speakers (3 in the dash, 1 in each front door, 1 in each rear door and 2 in the rear shelf).
The sound is fantastic, BUT, finding suitable replacement speakers is almost impossible if you want to stick to the stock sound stage.
The left and right dash speakers (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, dash center is (midrange) 5.9 ohm, front doors (bass/midrange) are 2.4 ohm, rear doors (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, and rear shelf 6x9's (sub-bass) are 2 ohm.

Most aftermarket car audio speakers are 4 ohm which would mean I'd be losing half the volume level for the speakers (I was looking to replace the 6x9's only.
Luckily I found some JBL (by Harman) 6x9 speakers on clearance, brand new which were 2.3 ohm so I wouldn't be losing much in signal output.

They REALLY didn't make it easy to replace even just basic speakers, I love the sound, I just hate the proprietary way they put it all together.

So what happened, the speakers blew up? Do you have the 900 watt setup that is available in the `19 RAM ?

**ChrisPlatt** · 02-18-2019, 07:12 PM

I lost the rear speakers in my old car.
I hope it's the speakers and not the output transistors in my in-dash car stereo.
I'll have to climb into the trunk to check in the spring.

I had been playing a commercially recorded CD recorded at very low level.
Consequently volume was set much higher than usual.

The next day I switched on the radio, which then played at extreme volume.
Back speakers went boom and haven't work since...

Chris

**Kobie** · 02-18-2019, 07:39 PM

Originally posted by Ex Finn.

So what happened, the speakers blew up? Do you have the 900 watt setup that is available in the `19 RAM ?

No, that's the weird part. The speakers themselves are fine, it was the basket that cracked and started rattling even at very low volume. I've never seen this happen, EVER.
I have what's known as the "AS3 Prestige" Harman Kardon system that nobody knows the actual wattage on lol. Even the official documentation is conflicting. It's a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero.

---------- Post added 02-18-19 at 09:46 PM ----------

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

I lost the rear speakers in my old car.
I hope it's the speakers and not the output transistors in my in-dash car stereo.
I'll have to climb into the trunk to check in the spring.

I had been playing a commercially recorded CD recorded at very low level.
Consequently volume was set much higher than usual.

The next day I switched on the radio, which then played at extreme volume.
Back speakers went boom and haven't work since...

Chris

9 times out of 10 it's the speakers that went. When they state the wattage of speakers, say, 300 Watts Max, many people think that means it can handle 300 watts all the time, but nothing more.
They can't. They can handle a spike up to 300 Watts for a millisecond or so and that's about it. Distortion plays a massive factor in the "maximum wattage" as well. You can have a 200 Watt amp powering a 400 watt speaker and still blow the speaker from distorted sound. Anyways, I got side tracked.... I'm pretty confident it's your speakers, unless they're powerful enough to suck all the power out of your radio.

Racer X 69 · 02-18-2019, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by Kobie

They REALLY didn't make it easy to replace even just basic speakers, I love the sound, I just hate the proprietary way they put it all together.

There should be aftermarket kits available that either make use of the existing mounts and grilles, or replace them with parts that look like they came that way from the factory.

**Kobie** · 02-18-2019, 09:39 PM

Originally posted by Racer X 69

There should be aftermarket kits available that either make use of the existing mounts and grilles, or replace them with parts that look like they came that way from the factory.

I'm not talking about fitment, plenty of speakers will fit in both the cutout and have a depth suitable for the original speaker grills. I'm talking about the actual impedance (sensitivity to voltage input). The stock speakers don't actually have a counterpart in the aftermarket, and you can't just buy the stock speakers new (trust me I looked).
When I mentioned that the basket cracked, I'm talking about the back side of the speaker along the surround where the screw holes are to mount the speaker. The surrounding edge of the actual basket (that the speaker surround/suspension is attached to) is what cracked. I think I started my reply by totally misunderstanding what you were talking about lol. It's hard to explain what happened without a diagram/picture.

Racer X 69 · 02-19-2019, 03:01 AM

Originally posted by Kobie

I'm not talking about fitment, plenty of speakers will fit in both the cutout and have a depth suitable for the original speaker grills. I'm talking about the actual impedance (sensitivity to voltage input). The stock speakers don't actually have a counterpart in the aftermarket, and you can't just buy the stock speakers new (trust me I looked).
When I mentioned that the basket cracked, I'm talking about the back side of the speaker along the surround where the screw holes are to mount the speaker. The surrounding edge of the actual basket (that the speaker surround/suspension is attached to) is what cracked. I think I started my reply by totally misunderstanding what you were talking about lol. It's hard to explain what happened without a diagram/picture.

So the metal frame of the speaker broke?

Is the car out of warranty?

**Kobie** · 02-19-2019, 01:38 PM

Originally posted by Racer X 69

So the metal frame of the speaker broke?

Is the car out of warranty?

Yes, and most definitely out of warranty (even if it was new) since SAAB no longer exists

**ChrisPlatt** · 02-19-2019, 05:18 PM - **1 Like**

Clipped sine waves = square waves. Loudspeakers aren't designed to reproduce those!

Crutchfield still offers excellent customer support for auto sound installations.
For most vehicles various options are listed including models which fit without modification.

Chris

Racer X 69 · 02-20-2019, 11:49 AM

Originally posted by Kobie

Yes, and most definitely out of warranty (even if it was new) since SAAB no longer exists

Someone who is handy with a TIG welder should be able to fix the broken frame.

Or you might find one in a wrecking yard.

**Just1MoreDave** · 02-22-2019, 10:28 PM

I would hope that Harmon Kardon supplied a similar system to a car with higher production numbers, and maybe find speakers in one of those.

The SLK seems to have a speaker in the way of any interior project. Each one has a complicated locking connector that kind of looks like it just pulls off, but absolutely doesn't. There is probably a dealer service tool, but the DIYer has to poke and prod them just right to unplug them.

niblue · 02-23-2019, 07:21 AM

Here's a picture of my most fun vehicle (more so even than my SLK) - it's the one in the middle. We came quite close to losing it in a fire at the storage facility where we keep it, and this was a quick shakedown since we got it back. It's got a little bit of cosmetic damage to some plastics to get repaired, but that's superficial and it's useable again.

lesmore49 · 02-23-2019, 09:16 AM

Originally posted by niblue

Here's a picture of my most fun vehicle (more so even than my SLK) - it's the one in the middle. We came quite close to losing it in a fire at the storage facility where we keep it, and this was a quick shakedown since we got it back. It's got a little bit of cosmetic damage to some plastics to get repaired, but that's superficial and it's useable again.

Nice RV. What make is the chassis...what engine /transmission does it have ? That size RV has always had an appeal.

niblue · 02-23-2019, 09:37 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by lesmore49

Nice RV. What make is the chassis...what engine /transmission does it have ? That size RV has always had an appeal.

It's on a Ford Transit rear while drive chassis, with twin wheels at the rear. The engine is a 2.4 turbo diesel and it has a 6-speed manual transmission. It's quite fast for a motorhome - easily capable of sitting at 85mph - however the fuel consumption is drastic if you drive it like that!

Most RV's in Europe are Fiat based but quite a few are rear-wheel drive Ford Transits like ours.

We carry a small motorbike most of the time as it fits into the garage in the motorhome:

**ThorSanchez** · 02-23-2019, 09:52 AM - **1 Like**

I think I've found a new greatest car ever to haul the kids to soccer practice in: The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo. A 600 hp all-electric wagon with instantly available Torque of the Gods. I'm sure it'll be reasonably priced, and on my list of cars to get in a few years.

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02-18-2019, 02:47 PM	#1666
Kobie Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Bowmanville Photos: Albums Posts: 1,211	I realized something I both love and hate about my car... The Harman Kardon Sound System. 9 speakers (3 in the dash, 1 in each front door, 1 in each rear door and 2 in the rear shelf). The sound is fantastic, BUT, finding suitable replacement speakers is almost impossible if you want to stick to the stock sound stage. The left and right dash speakers (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, dash center is (midrange) 5.9 ohm, front doors (bass/midrange) are 2.4 ohm, rear doors (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, and rear shelf 6x9's (sub-bass) are 2 ohm. Most aftermarket car audio speakers are 4 ohm which would mean I'd be losing half the volume level for the speakers (I was looking to replace the 6x9's only). Luckily I found some JBL (by Harman) 6x9 speakers on clearance, brand new which were 2.3 ohm so I wouldn't be losing much in signal output. They REALLY didn't make it easy to replace even just basic speakers, I love the sound, I just hate the proprietary way they put it all together. Last edited by Kobie; 02-18-2019 at 07:40 PM.

02-18-2019, 06:57 PM	#1667
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	Originally posted by Kobie I realized something I both love and hate about my car... The Harman Kardon Sound System. 9 speakers (3 in the dash, 1 in each front door, 1 in each rear door and 2 in the rear shelf). The sound is fantastic, BUT, finding suitable replacement speakers is almost impossible if you want to stick to the stock sound stage. The left and right dash speakers (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, dash center is (midrange) 5.9 ohm, front doors (bass/midrange) are 2.4 ohm, rear doors (midrange/treble) are 2.5 ohm, and rear shelf 6x9's (sub-bass) are 2 ohm. Most aftermarket car audio speakers are 4 ohm which would mean I'd be losing half the volume level for the speakers (I was looking to replace the 6x9's only. Luckily I found some JBL (by Harman) 6x9 speakers on clearance, brand new which were 2.3 ohm so I wouldn't be losing much in signal output. They REALLY didn't make it easy to replace even just basic speakers, I love the sound, I just hate the proprietary way they put it all together. So what happened, the speakers blew up? Do you have the 900 watt setup that is available in the `19 RAM ?

02-18-2019, 07:12 PM	#1668
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	I lost the rear speakers in my old car. I hope it's the speakers and not the output transistors in my in-dash car stereo. I'll have to climb into the trunk to check in the spring. I had been playing a commercially recorded CD recorded at very low level. Consequently volume was set much higher than usual. The next day I switched on the radio, which then played at extreme volume. Back speakers went boom and haven't work since... Chris

02-18-2019, 07:39 PM	#1669
Kobie Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Bowmanville Photos: Albums Posts: 1,211	Originally posted by Ex Finn. So what happened, the speakers blew up? Do you have the 900 watt setup that is available in the `19 RAM ? No, that's the weird part. The speakers themselves are fine, it was the basket that cracked and started rattling even at very low volume. I've never seen this happen, EVER. I have what's known as the "AS3 Prestige" Harman Kardon system that nobody knows the actual wattage on lol. Even the official documentation is conflicting. It's a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero. ---------- Post added 02-18-19 at 09:46 PM ---------- Originally posted by ChrisPlatt I lost the rear speakers in my old car. I hope it's the speakers and not the output transistors in my in-dash car stereo. I'll have to climb into the trunk to check in the spring. I had been playing a commercially recorded CD recorded at very low level. Consequently volume was set much higher than usual. The next day I switched on the radio, which then played at extreme volume. Back speakers went boom and haven't work since... Chris 9 times out of 10 it's the speakers that went. When they state the wattage of speakers, say, 300 Watts Max, many people think that means it can handle 300 watts all the time, but nothing more. They can't. They can handle a spike up to 300 Watts for a millisecond or so and that's about it. Distortion plays a massive factor in the "maximum wattage" as well. You can have a 200 Watt amp powering a 400 watt speaker and still blow the speaker from distorted sound. Anyways, I got side tracked.... I'm pretty confident it's your speakers, unless they're powerful enough to suck all the power out of your radio.

02-18-2019, 08:15 PM	#1670
Racer X 69 Moderator Man With A Camera Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: The Great Pacific Northwet, in the Land Between Canada and Mexico Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,064	Originally posted by Kobie They REALLY didn't make it easy to replace even just basic speakers, I love the sound, I just hate the proprietary way they put it all together. There should be aftermarket kits available that either make use of the existing mounts and grilles, or replace them with parts that look like they came that way from the factory.

02-18-2019, 09:39 PM	#1671
Kobie Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Bowmanville Photos: Albums Posts: 1,211	Originally posted by Racer X 69 There should be aftermarket kits available that either make use of the existing mounts and grilles, or replace them with parts that look like they came that way from the factory. I'm not talking about fitment, plenty of speakers will fit in both the cutout and have a depth suitable for the original speaker grills. I'm talking about the actual impedance (sensitivity to voltage input). The stock speakers don't actually have a counterpart in the aftermarket, and you can't just buy the stock speakers new (trust me I looked). When I mentioned that the basket cracked, I'm talking about the back side of the speaker along the surround where the screw holes are to mount the speaker. The surrounding edge of the actual basket (that the speaker surround/suspension is attached to) is what cracked. I think I started my reply by totally misunderstanding what you were talking about lol. It's hard to explain what happened without a diagram/picture.

02-19-2019, 03:01 AM	#1672
Racer X 69 Moderator Man With A Camera Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: The Great Pacific Northwet, in the Land Between Canada and Mexico Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,064	Originally posted by Kobie I'm not talking about fitment, plenty of speakers will fit in both the cutout and have a depth suitable for the original speaker grills. I'm talking about the actual impedance (sensitivity to voltage input). The stock speakers don't actually have a counterpart in the aftermarket, and you can't just buy the stock speakers new (trust me I looked). When I mentioned that the basket cracked, I'm talking about the back side of the speaker along the surround where the screw holes are to mount the speaker. The surrounding edge of the actual basket (that the speaker surround/suspension is attached to) is what cracked. I think I started my reply by totally misunderstanding what you were talking about lol. It's hard to explain what happened without a diagram/picture. So the metal frame of the speaker broke? Is the car out of warranty?

02-19-2019, 01:38 PM	#1673
Kobie Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Bowmanville Photos: Albums Posts: 1,211	Originally posted by Racer X 69 So the metal frame of the speaker broke? Is the car out of warranty? Yes, and most definitely out of warranty (even if it was new) since SAAB no longer exists

02-19-2019, 05:18 PM - 1 Like	#1674
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	Clipped sine waves = square waves. Loudspeakers aren't designed to reproduce those! Crutchfield still offers excellent customer support for auto sound installations. For most vehicles various options are listed including models which fit without modification. Chris

02-20-2019, 11:49 AM	#1675
Racer X 69 Moderator Man With A Camera Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: The Great Pacific Northwet, in the Land Between Canada and Mexico Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,064	Originally posted by Kobie Yes, and most definitely out of warranty (even if it was new) since SAAB no longer exists Someone who is handy with a TIG welder should be able to fix the broken frame. Or you might find one in a wrecking yard.

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02-22-2019, 10:28 PM	#1676
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	I would hope that Harmon Kardon supplied a similar system to a car with higher production numbers, and maybe find speakers in one of those. The SLK seems to have a speaker in the way of any interior project. Each one has a complicated locking connector that kind of looks like it just pulls off, but absolutely doesn't. There is probably a dealer service tool, but the DIYer has to poke and prod them just right to unplug them.

02-23-2019, 07:21 AM	#1677
niblue Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Posts: 181	Here's a picture of my most fun vehicle (more so even than my SLK) - it's the one in the middle. We came quite close to losing it in a fire at the storage facility where we keep it, and this was a quick shakedown since we got it back. It's got a little bit of cosmetic damage to some plastics to get repaired, but that's superficial and it's useable again.

02-23-2019, 09:16 AM	#1678
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,337	Originally posted by niblue Here's a picture of my most fun vehicle (more so even than my SLK) - it's the one in the middle. We came quite close to losing it in a fire at the storage facility where we keep it, and this was a quick shakedown since we got it back. It's got a little bit of cosmetic damage to some plastics to get repaired, but that's superficial and it's useable again. Nice RV. What make is the chassis...what engine /transmission does it have ? That size RV has always had an appeal.

02-23-2019, 09:37 AM - 2 Likes	#1679
niblue Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Posts: 181	Originally posted by lesmore49 Nice RV. What make is the chassis...what engine /transmission does it have ? That size RV has always had an appeal. It's on a Ford Transit rear while drive chassis, with twin wheels at the rear. The engine is a 2.4 turbo diesel and it has a 6-speed manual transmission. It's quite fast for a motorhome - easily capable of sitting at 85mph - however the fuel consumption is drastic if you drive it like that! Most RV's in Europe are Fiat based but quite a few are rear-wheel drive Ford Transits like ours. We carry a small motorbike most of the time as it fits into the garage in the motorhome:

02-23-2019, 09:52 AM - 1 Like	#1680
ThorSanchez Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,805	I think I've found a new greatest car ever to haul the kids to soccer practice in: The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo. A 600 hp all-electric wagon with instantly available Torque of the Gods. I'm sure it'll be reasonably priced, and on my list of cars to get in a few years.