Blown speaker/s? Can a bad tweeter affect the door speaker?

Just got in my truck today and when I turned on the music I could hear some static and pops coming from what I think is the tweeter and door speakers on the driver side. Sounds like a dying speaker to me. I tested the other speakers using the fade option in the Sony AX7000 head unit I have and everything else sounds normal.

I’ve seen some threads mention the door speaker is downstream from the tweeter, but does that mean if the tweeter is dying it’ll make the door speaker sound bad too? Are both speakers dying?

Any suggestions would be great! I’ll have more time tomorrow to take a look at things.

 

You've got oem speakers with that Sony AX7000 head unit? Have you doubled checked all wire connections at the speaker and the head unit? A few things come to mind, possibly a bad channel on the Sony, a loose connection somewhere or the oem speakers slowly crapping out from the extra power from the Sony.

It would be worthwhile looking into a replacement speaker set. You could order something from Amazon and try it to see if it solves the popping/crackling. If so, it's the speakers. It wouldn't cost much. Many do kicker 6x9's in the doors and Subaru kicker tweeters in the dash. Or you could go with components (separate woofer and tweeter in the dash and front doors and a coaxial 6 1/2 or 6 3/4 in the rear doors. You could always add a cheap amp and sub too.

 

Crutchfield has free easy returns too and they can recommend something that would pair well. That's where I got my stuff from.

 

I’m leaning towards the speakers crapping out, but I was a little surprised to hear the driver door and dash tweeter going bad. Typically one speaker goes at a time, but I wasn’t sure if the wiring from a dying tweeter could affect the door speaker too.

The head unit I have is from this bundle: https://trailgridpro.com/products/sony-xav-ax7000-plug-play-bundle-16-19-tacoma/

That bundle adds a small amp as well so it’s sounding like too much power went through the speakers, although it did take a few months for that to happen.

 

Oh, built in 45w rms! It's definitely the speakers going out from too much power and not the Sony itself. I'd look for a set of speakers close to that rms rating or rated for 60w rms or less.

 

the connection between the door speaker and tweeter is handled in the tweeter wiring plug. a blown tweeter won't effect the door speaker.

but it really sounds like you weren't taking any precautions with adding in a crossover or anything to try to minimize extra unreproducible frequencies going to all of the stock speakers.

 

Yeah that’s on me, lesson learned. Never been much of an audio guy, my experience is mostly mechanical when it comes to cars. Still learning about audio stuff, it’s like a whole hobby in its own right. Sounds like it’s time for new speakers that can handle the power.

Would the amp in that head unit be enough for a sub as well? Any guidance to learning more about that?

 

no, the amp in the head unit is only for the main speakers. there's 3 options for adding a sub.

1. a powered sub. this is an all-in-one package that just needs power cabling, audio signal, and a place to stuff it.

2. passive sub and separate amp. the amp is separate here, need to add speaker wire from the amp to the sub, power and audio signal wiring, and find a place to stuff the sub and generally a separate place to stuff the amp.


powered subs are cheaper as a complete package, but are generally more budget-oriented, with lesser hardware, and lesser construction to meet that price point. they're generally down on power some, but they can be easier to install.

passive sub and separate amp is generally going to cost more, but because each part is a separate item, the quality of the parts is entirely up to your preference/budget. so the quality can be significantly improved, and the output can be improved, but the install complexity is slightly increased because the amp and sub aren't packaged together, so you generally lose more space with this option.


the 3rd option is to drive down to the local car audio shop, throw cash on the counter, make your demands on where it needs to fit, how you want it to sound, and how much you're willing to spend, then show back up a week later to pick up the completed truck.

 

I’m having a similar issue with my passenger side. I have an OEM head unit but an amp (5 ch) powering my sub and kicker door speakers. Listening to AM radio became unbearable due to the crackling. My XM and BT music seemed fine, but not ideal. I thought my tweeter was blown, so I purchased new ones only to realize that my front passenger door speaker was ~10% volume. The new speaker had the same result as the old, and wire connections looked good in the door (didn’t pull out headunit). What’s the most likely issue?