A while back I noticed that the front driver side speaker in my Mk 1 Octy was lacking in bass, if i turned the bass setting up then it would fart so I assumed I had blown the speaker. So today I changed the speaker and it has made no difference :confused:. The sound is clear and just as loud as the other side but there is no bass...

The wires are all connected in the back of the head unit OK (I had it out the other day to install a car kit) so I'm a bit stumped, the only thing I can think of is that there is a fault with the head unit :(. Any ideas?

Trundlenut

If the speaker wire from the speaker to the head unit is 100% in-tact then it seems likely to be the head unit.

Has it been used at high volume? My old 14" portable television was used as an alarm clock by putting it on maximum volume to make sure I'd wake up (I even slept through *that* once or twice hence the need to do it). There is just no lower frequency sound on the set at all now. So I guess the high volume must have killed it off.

If you have a lower-frequency cut-off/subwoofer setting, you could try fiddling with these so the speakers sound similar.

Could also be the fact that the door skin stops you getting much base as there is very restricted air space behind this.

You could cut a small flap (not hole) in this, however if you do this make sure you seal the sides of the flap such that water can not run down and into the car.

Also be aware that you shouldn't cut the flap too low or it will let water in in very heavy rain.

Effectively you want to cut a U shaped line in the door skin so it is still attached at the top.

Please note however that there is a debate as to wether cutting holes here allows water in.

I think it the head unit rather than the door skin. It used to be fine and then changed and I removed both of the speakers from the door and you tell the difference between them.

I've never had the volume up that high and the base still seems to be there in the back. It's just the front drivers speaker.

Ho hum, I'll live with it for a while and it still mainly works. The new speakers only cost £10 from Halfords - reduced from £60.

Another thing to check, especially if you are the second owner of the car is the speaker wiring inside the door.

The speakers may have been replaced at some point with aftermarket ones, and the original ones put back in at sale time. This could lead to the wiring being cut in the door, and then reconnected later. If the + and - are the wrong way round the bass will be cancelled out by the other speaker.

Ho hum, I'll live with it for a while and it still mainly works. The new speakers only cost £10 from Halfords - reduced from £60.

I'll have to go look for some 6x4's or 6 inchers

Just a thought then, but if the speakers have been changed they haven't done something silly like put the High Pass Filter for the tweeter on the input side of the speaker?

I think it's probably worth checking all of these before you spend out on a headunit. Also try moving the fade & balance to just the front drivers speaker and see if you get any bass then.

HTH

The speakers and wiring are all original and i checked the polarity before I wired the new speaker in as the exisiting wiring and speakers are not marked.

I've played with the fade and balance and there is almost zero base in the drivers door. I did that when I first noticed the problem.

I thought about trying to swap the left and right speakers round but they are all in one connector on the head unit.

Oh and when I said about removing both the speakers I unscrewed them and let them hang on the wires and you can tell the difference between the driver and passenger sides.

On the up side the new speaker sounds a lot better (I've only done the drivers door at the moment). The new speakers were ex display and marked as £20 in Halfords but the computer insisted they were only £10 and the staff couldn't overide it.

I have the same problem in my VRS.

What size speaker are the front ones, and are they easy to change?

Cheers

The speakers I bought are 170mm - oversize 6 1/2 inch. To change them all you do is prise off the grills and unscrew the speakers. Watch out though as there is no positive or negative marked on the speakers so I used a multi meter to work out which wires were positive, also there is a connection from the speaker up to the tweeter which you have to connect up or leave unconnected if you don't hae component speakers.

Oh, and the grills can be a pain to get back on, I've managed to crack one.