Stereo Help - speaker noise

Hello there, I noticed there aren't very many responses in the audio and video threads so decided to just post here. I just installed new speakers, a 5 channel amp, and a subwoofer, and am getting some white noise coming from the speakers. I have a couple of remedies in mind but want to know if they make sense or if their are any better ideas out there.

- 4 gauge power wire from battery ran down left side of cab, speaker wire ran down right side
- speaker level inputs into amp
- white noise comes from all speakers and does not go away when amp inputs are removed, telling me the issue is not wires picking up interference between head unit and amp
- noise increases and decreases with the gain dials
- amp is grounded right behind where it is mounted with three self tapping/drilling screws to bare metal body

My thought is that I am getting this noise from a bad grounding location, or from an insufficient ground due to basically overwhelming the grounding capabilities of the body. My potential solutions are doing the big 3 upgrade which should increase the grounding capabilities of the body and chassis of the truck, or just grounding directly to the frame.

Also wondering if I could just do one piece of the big 3 to test this solution? (just upgrade the battery to body ground with the extra 4 gauge wire I have from the install, will that harm anything if I only upgrade that cable? Im assuming that would be fine.)

I would love to not drill a hole in my frame if I don't need to, even though I know that is technically the best true grounding location.

Any thoughts? here are some pictures for reference.

 

Have you checked the amp to make sure it isn't the problem? Before rewiring everything and troubleshooting the truck, I would hook up the amp to a source and some speakers outside of the truck and see if you get the same issue. Might save you a lot of time trying to find something that isn't there if the amp is the actual problem.

Good luck.

 

Good call, but I don't really have a way to do that. I guess I could hook it up to my home stereo speakers, but not sure how I would hook up a power and ground, or maybe bring my stereo speakers into the truck and see if they have the buzz, but I also don't have the remote turn on wire hooked up since they are speaker level inputs (and the amp turns on from sensing that). so would have to rig something up for that and not sure how I would do that.

 

just put a book shelf speaker in your backseat and wire it to the amp with a bit of speaker cable.

most noise like this comes from unshielded source/ signal cables. if you're using unshielded cables they need to not be running parallel to the positive power cable. Signal cables do not like electrical cables. in pro audio we keep extension cords and such far away from the mic cables and if they have to cross they do so at a 90* angle, a single spot for minimal interference.

 

who makes the amp?
also do you have your power wires & rca's shooting down bundled together / same area?

 

The amp is the infinity reference 7005a. bought from crutchfield, by all reviews and metrics seems like a very good unit.

No the signal and power cables are run along different sides of the cab. the only place they are close together is where they plug into the amp which is unavoidable. Also they are speaker level not line level inputs, which are more resistant to interference but not I would assume not immune to it, so they are not rca's at all just speaker wire from the crutchfield t-harness kit. Also when I take the input cables out of the amp the buzzing/white noise persists, leading me to believe it is a ground issue. Any thoughts on if my solutions will fix it? big 3 upgrade and/or grounding directly to the frame?

I might at least try to do the battery to body ground of the big 3 myself with leftover 4awg wire from the install. I also noticed that that ground wire right next to the battery is not on bare metal. so might take that off, sand the paint off and reattach.

 

My kicker keys have a bit of white noise with the factory radio. Someone claimed switching to an aftermarket radio solved the issue.

 

Interesting, I was hoping this wouldnt be the case but wondering if it is. Do you have an aftermarket amp? I could bypass the amp and see if it is still there but I assume it would go away. Havent tried though.

 

I'm running the factory radio in my 2017 with kicker key 200.4, kicker key 500.1, JL Stealthbox, Focal RSE-165 fronts and Focal RCX-165 rears. Secondskin damplifier pro 2mm on the inner doors and back cab wall.

 

I'll probably swap the head unit with a Sony 9500es from trailgridpro at some point.

https://trailgridpro.com/collection...MIhafigfewjAMViyVECB1VBQeDEAAYASAAEgKPEfD_BwE

 

Oh nice system. I got the focal plug and play kit from Trail Grid. Speakers and everything sounds amazing and the buzz is mostly not noticeable when the truck is running, just bugs me a bit knowing its there I guess haha

also need to get back in there and do some sound deadening, couldnt get the plug out of the drivers door so was unable to get in behind the speaker much so skipped it everywhere else for now too.

 

what is your gain set at? mine is like 1/3

 

also hows the volume level on your rear speakers? Mine is still pretty low, not nearly as bad as before but definitely quieter than the front. going to switch the inputs tomorrow and check if that makes the rears louder.

 

I'm assuming these input cables into the amp are coming out of the head unit? I would think you should sort out the grounding issue first like you are saying. If that doesn't resolve the buzzing then it could be the amp itself.
I am just speculating, i don't work on vehicle audio systems but i have worked lots of live audio gigs for some years and signal flow is signal flow.

 

I stuggled with a high noise floor/white noise for a while, even warrantied an audio control amp over it.
The only thing that solved it was an aftermarket HU with a opical line out.
I have an optical cable run to a DAC near my amps.

 

I forget what the gain setting is. I followed the key's programming sequence and set it based upon the light indication. I think I might have backed it off a little after that too. I've tried turning the gain all the way down and the hiss is still there. The rear speaker output is better than factory for sure, but it's still not on par with the fronts.

I really think an aftermarket radio would fix a lot of these things.

 

Im not going to pretend to know but another thing to investigate of youre using the factory radio.
Does the previous gen tacos have noise canceling feature imbedded in the radio like the 24's???
If so, get carista & turn it off.....

 

Yes they are coming directly from the head unit speaker output, and when unplugging I am unplugging them from the amp and the buzz continues. so yeah I might try a few grounding fixes and if that doesnt do it just live with it, unless I eventually replace the head unit itself. Thanks for the input!

 

Thanks for all the info. Makes me feel better that this is not just a problem that I am facing (slight white noise and little quieter rears even with new speakers and amps), I was hoping the new amp and new speakers back there would make them very comparable to the front, but I agree I think an aftermarket HU or maybe a line output converter would solve this, but dont want to lose some of the factory controls that the factory HU has and dont want to add more equipment to the system yet. Overall I am still very happy with the result I got. Also the focals are so sensitive that the gain doesnt need to be very high, and turning the gain down significantly decreases the white noise. Also thinking the sensitivity being higher might mean they are picking up more of that noise and translating it through the speakers? idk just spit balling. Thanks for the info though.

 

Interesting, I hadnt thought of that, thanks. Ill look into it but I kind of doubt it. Also since I dont think its the input signal, not sure that would fix but its definitely worth a try!