I know the Beats system is 2ohm but I have 4ohm Kenwood excelon 3.5s for the dash and 4ohm Fosgate 6.5s for front doors that I would like to use unless the power would be cut too low. Anyone have experience using 4 ohms with the Beats?
Would 4 ohm speakers in dash and front doors be OK in Beats system?
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Can be used and 4ohm on amp rated for X amps at 2ohm, would then cut that in rated power in half
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You will be fine. The Kenwood and RF speakers are going to be higher quality speakers to begin with, so the sound difference between them and the stock speakers will be affected by many things, nominal impedance being only one variable in the equation.
If your replacements were the wrong kind (3 way or 4 way El Cheapos, for example) and had a smaller or seriously shifted frequency range, you might try to compensate by adding volume, which may be lacking with higher nominal impedance speakers.
But your replacements should be more efficient and have at least as good a frequency range as the stockers, plus they will not distort until higher volumes than the stockers, if at all. So you won’t be tempted to push the volume higher and higher into distortion land, as you will attain the desired sound level at a volume level within reach of the new, higher quality speakers on stock amp power.
In other words, you’re overthinking it on this one. Install the speakers and go for a drive. You won’t regret it!
If your replacements were the wrong kind (3 way or 4 way El Cheapos, for example) and had a smaller or seriously shifted frequency range, you might try to compensate by adding volume, which may be lacking with higher nominal impedance speakers.
But your replacements should be more efficient and have at least as good a frequency range as the stockers, plus they will not distort until higher volumes than the stockers, if at all. So you won’t be tempted to push the volume higher and higher into distortion land, as you will attain the desired sound level at a volume level within reach of the new, higher quality speakers on stock amp power.
In other words, you’re overthinking it on this one. Install the speakers and go for a drive. You won’t regret it!
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Hard to say. The reduction in power from the amp to the speakers is simple physics. If all else remained equal (you could magically convert a speaker from 2 to 4ohms) you'd simply get a reduction in speaker output. It wouldn't be half as loud because the power vs perceived loudness is not a linear relationship. For most people, a reduction in sound level by 10db approximates a halving of volume. That implies a 10-fold reduction in power. So for the same speaker with different impedance, the actual reduction in volume would probably be minimal. However, if the newer speakers are more efficient, that may be enough to overcome the loss in input power. Hard to say without having all the speaker and amp spec's.
Personally, I'd wink at the impedence difference if that got me higher quality and/or higher efficiency with the new speakers. I suspect FCA cheaped out on the speakers moreso than on the amplifier.
Best,
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One scenario in which the speaker upgrade in question could be disappointing would be if the replacement speakers were spec’d for more RMS wattage than the factory amp can provide.
I don’t know what the factory amp in this audio package is rated to deliver, but I’m going to guess it’s something like 25w RMS x 4/6 channels.
If the replacement speakers have an RMS rating significantly higher than that, the higher nominal impedance will play more of a factor in the resulting sound…and not a good one.
On the other hand, if the replacement speakers are spec’d for RMS wattage that’s within the factory amp’s capabilities, then I say full steam ahead with the upgrade!
I don’t know what the factory amp in this audio package is rated to deliver, but I’m going to guess it’s something like 25w RMS x 4/6 channels.
If the replacement speakers have an RMS rating significantly higher than that, the higher nominal impedance will play more of a factor in the resulting sound…and not a good one.
On the other hand, if the replacement speakers are spec’d for RMS wattage that’s within the factory amp’s capabilities, then I say full steam ahead with the upgrade!
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