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Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 12th 12, 12:34 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
Steve Stone[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 17
Default Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...

Foam speaker surrounds do not last forever, especially for my 2000 3ooM
with 35,000 miles.

In the past month the foam surrounds tore away from the speaker baskets
on both 5 1/2 inch front door speakers.
This is not due to abuse.
They just plain wore out.
Foam surrounds weaken with age.

Until recently Chrysler did not have ANY replacement speakers in USA
inventory.
My sources tell me in April they received a shipment of qty 1,400 of
these speakers to the USA.

Now the kicker.
A replacement at the dealers parts counter will set you back about $150,
which from what I hear is at least DOUBLE the wholesale price.

A blog post reports these speakers as being 2 ohms, only on the bass
channel, which could make it difficult to find a replacement in the
aftermarket world.

My temp solution was to run a bead of GE RTV silicone around the outer
edge of the speaker foam surround, reattaching the remaining foam
surround back to the basket and outer gasket.
Seems to work, but it may reduce freq response?

There are companies like Parts Express that will replace the foam
surrounds on your speakers for around $35 plus shipping, YMMV.

Have fun,
Steve



Ads
  #2  
Old May 12th 12, 12:35 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
Steve Stone[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 17
Default Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...

sorry, that should say 6 1/2 inch round speakers.
  #3  
Old May 12th 12, 01:14 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
MoPar Man
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 660
Default Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...

Steve Stone wrote:

> Foam speaker surrounds do not last forever, especially for my 2000
> 3ooM with 35,000 miles.


Interesting.

I have the exact same car (2000 300m).

I have the balance control (or fader control?) set so that only the rear
speakers get used.

There is something wrong with one (or maybe more than one) of the front
speakers. I don't recall (or don't know) if it's the speakers set low
into the door or the smaller speaker(s) mounted to the front corner of
the doors.

I was assuming that ALL the speakers were "standard" size (just as oval
6 x 9 has been a standard size for the rear deak speakers for 20+
years). I was assuming that when I get around to taking the door apart
and getting at the speakers, that I'd be able to easily get aftermarket
replacements.

Are you saying that these front speakers are (a) non-standard size, or
(b) non-standard impedance, or both?

When-ever I have the radio on, it's tuned to CBC news/talk or (on long
highway trips) I'll scan through the AM band for anything interesting
(coast to coast with art bell, art levin, WJR Detroit, etc). I don't
really put any emphasis or even try to seriously listen to music. I
have my Paradigm studio 100's and 40's connected to my Denon AVR 3300
for that.
  #4  
Old May 12th 12, 02:16 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
Steve Stone[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 17
Default Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...


>
> Are you saying that these front speakers are (a) non-standard size, or
> (b) non-standard impedance, or both?



My 3ooM has the base, 250 watt Infinity system. (I think it was 250 watts)
There was a higher output system available as an option.

The size is "standard". 6 1/2 inch round speakers are easy to come by.
2 ohm speakers that can handle that bass output are a bit harder to find,
unless maybe you check out a local music shop that handles guitar amps.

The closest I found online aftermarket were a pair of 3 ohm Pioneers
that once installed, could not handle the output of the system. The
Pioneers are now sitting on a shelf in my shack
attached to an ICOM IC-746 PRO HF transceiver. The morning 80 meter rag
chew sounds alot better with these speakers than the dinky thing ICOM
put into the radio.


>
> When-ever I have the radio on, it's tuned to CBC news/talk or (on long
> highway trips)


I feel your pain. Most of my long distance driving is accompanied by
CD's burnt with my choice of noise or an aftermarket IBOC tuner that
plays back on 107.7 I bought at a Radio Shack fire sale for $9.95 USD...
not that the end result of IBOC is anything to crow about, just gives me
more choices of what noise to listen to. Some of the sub channel
programming reminds me of early FM radio, a horse of a different color
compared to mainstream top 40.

Steve
73 de N2UBP


  #5  
Old May 12th 12, 02:47 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
MoPar Man
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 660
Default Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...

Steve Stone wrote:

> My 3ooM has the base, 250 watt Infinity system. (I think it was 250
> watts) There was a higher output system available as an option.


From the LHS/300M/LH service manual:

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION / AUDIO SYSTEMS

There are four different system combinations available on the LH models.

They are a Base, Midline, Infinity l, and Infinity ll system.

BASE SYSTEM
The Base System includes:

² AM-FM stereo radio with cassette player.
² Two 6.5 inch round, full-range speakers in the front doors.
² Two 6 x 9-inch, full-range speakers mounted in the rear shelf panel.

MIDLINE SYSTEM
The Midline System includes:

² AM-FM radio with cassette player.
² AM-FM stereo radio with CD/cassette.
² A compact 120 watt power amplifier with four output channels.
² Two 2.5 inch, round single-cone speakers in the lower front corners
of the front door windows.
² Two 6.5 inch, round single-cone speakers in the front doors.
² Two 6 x 9-inch, coaxial speakers mounted in the rear shelf panel.

INFINITY l SYSTEM
The Infinity l System includes:

² AM-FM stereo radio with cassette player and 4 disc in-dash CD
changer.
² AM-FM stereo radio with CD and cassette player.
² A 240 watt Infinity power amplifier with six output channels
² One 2.5 inch, round single-cone, spatial imaging speaker in the
center of the instrument panel.
² Two 2.5 inch, coaxial speakers in the lower corners of the front
door windows.
² Two 6.5 inch, round single-cone speakers in the front doors.
² Two 6 x 9-inch, single-cone speakers mounted in the rear shelf panel.

INFINITY ll SYSTEM
The Infinity ll System includes:
² AM-FM stereo radio with cassette player and 4 disc in-dash CD changer.
² A 360 watt power amplifier with nine output channels, one for each
speaker location.
² One 2.5 inch, round single-cone, spatial imaging speaker in the center
of the instrument panel.
² Two 2.5 inch, coaxial speakers in the lower corners of the front door
windows.
² Two 6.5 inch, round single-cone speakers in the front doors.
² Two 6 x 9-inch, single-cone speakers mounted in the rear shelf panel.
² Two 2.5 inch, round speakers mounted in the rear doors.

=================

So basically, do you / we have speakers mounted in the rear door
panels. Off hand - I don't know if I have those or not.

Also from the manual - a table showing speaker impedances:

MIDLINE 2.5” FRONT OR WINDOW SPEAKER 13 - 16 OHMS
INFINITY 2.5” FRONT OR WINDOW SPEAKER 3 - 5 OHMS
MIDLINE - ALL OTHER SPEAKERS 6.5 - 8.5OHMS
INFINITY - ALL OTHER SPEAKERS 2 - 3 OHMS

According to a diagram, the rear door speaker is located immediately
infront of the inside door handle.

There's no drawings showing the speakers themselves.

> The size is "standard". 6 1/2 inch round speakers are easy to come
> by. 2 ohm speakers that can handle that bass output are a bit
> harder to find, unless maybe you check out a local music shop
> that handles guitar amps.


I think that it's no big deal to use 4-ohm speakers. Impedance is
usually a function of frequency - so you're not going to find any
speakers that have a flat impedance profile anyways.
  #6  
Old May 12th 12, 03:59 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
Steve Stone[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 17
Default Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...


> I think that it's no big deal to use 4-ohm speakers. Impedance is
> usually a function of frequency - so you're not going to find any
> speakers that have a flat impedance profile anyways.


Thanks for the details,

The front door speakers are labeled Infinity Spatial Sound System on the
magnet.

Steve

  #7  
Old September 24th 12, 08:27 PM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Infinity speakers foam surrounds failing at record rates...

My 99 Chrysler 300M Infinity front speakers had suffered the same foam rot and rattled BADLY. I tried good quality 4 ohm speakers but they didn't sound good. Poor impedance match may be the cause but I'm not certain. I went back and used silicone sealant to repair the OE 2 ohm speakers. They now sound a lot better than the 4 ohm ones but not as good as they (the OE 2 ohm speakers) originally sounded when new. The rattle is 100% gone but the bass is weaker than when new. I think the cone is more constrained by the silicone sealant repair than it was with the original foam. Still, its a dirt cheap fix for front speaker rattle and the rear speakers give me enough bass. BTW my 99 300M still runs great. Just keep an eye on those steering bushings and replace them with OE Chrysler parts when you experience the slightest bit of steering free play. Most aftermarket bushings are trash, they wear out in 5000 miles. They are subjected to high heat from the engine and the Chrysler ones last a long time. If you ignore these bushings in a high miles 300M you are risking a TOTAL loss of steering control.


On Friday, May 11, 2012 4:34:07 PM UTC-7, Steve Stone wrote:
> Foam speaker surrounds do not last forever, especially for my 2000 3ooM
>
> with 35,000 miles.
>
>
>
> In the past month the foam surrounds tore away from the speaker baskets
>
> on both 5 1/2 inch front door speakers.
>
> This is not due to abuse.
>
> They just plain wore out.
>
> Foam surrounds weaken with age.
>
>
>
> Until recently Chrysler did not have ANY replacement speakers in USA
>
> inventory.
>
> My sources tell me in April they received a shipment of qty 1,400 of
>
> these speakers to the USA.
>
>
>
> Now the kicker.
>
> A replacement at the dealers parts counter will set you back about $150,
>
> which from what I hear is at least DOUBLE the wholesale price.
>
>
>
> A blog post reports these speakers as being 2 ohms, only on the bass
>
> channel, which could make it difficult to find a replacement in the
>
> aftermarket world.
>
>
>
> My temp solution was to run a bead of GE RTV silicone around the outer
>
> edge of the speaker foam surround, reattaching the remaining foam
>
> surround back to the basket and outer gasket.
>
> Seems to work, but it may reduce freq response?
>
>
>
> There are companies like Parts Express that will replace the foam
>
> surrounds on your speakers for around $35 plus shipping, YMMV.
>
>
>
> Have fun,
>
> Steve


  #9  
Old September 25th 12, 01:52 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
Ashton Crusher[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,874
Default Why did you double-space and full-quote and top-post (was: Infinity speakers ...)

It wasn't double spaced on my newsreader, yours must have a problem.
And there was nothing wrong with that being top posted. It worked
just as well, just as this one does either way.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:48:24 -0400, MoPar Man > wrote:

wrote:
>
>(...)
>
>It's bad enough that you top post.
>
>It's bad enough that you top-post while fully-quoting a previous post.
>
>But when you double-space the quoted material, that is just stupid.
>
>I'm seeing a LOT more door-knobs posting from google-gropes where their
>quoted material is posted in double-spaced format.
>
>Anyone know why?



It wasn't double spaced on my newsreader, yours must have a problem.
And there was nothing wrong with that being top posted. It worked
just as well, just as this one does either way.
  #10  
Old September 25th 12, 04:36 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.chrysler
MoPar Man
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 660
Default Why did you double-space and full-quote and top-post (was: Infinityspeakers ...)

Ashton Crusher wrote:

> It wasn't double spaced on my newsreader,


This is what I see. The following (below) was the quoted material from
boing's post - I'm copying it exactly as I see it.

Note the double-spacing, and note that all lines (even the blank lines)
begin with the quoting character ">"

Look at how the original looks on google-gropes:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...b?dmode=source

You'll see the double-spacing there.

==========================

On Friday, May 11, 2012 4:34:07 PM UTC-7, Steve Stone wrote:
> Foam speaker surrounds do not last forever, especially for my 3ooM
>
> with 35,000 miles.
>
>
>
> In the past month the foam surrounds tore away from the speaker baskets
>
> on both 5 1/2 inch front door speakers.
>
> This is not due to abuse.
>
> They just plain wore out.
>
> Foam surrounds weaken with age.
>
>
>
> Until recently Chrysler did not have ANY replacement speakers in USA
>
> inventory.
>
> My sources tell me in April they received a shipment of qty 1,400 of
>
> these speakers to the USA.
>
>
>
> Now the kicker.
>
> A replacement at the dealers parts counter will set you back about $150,
>
> which from what I hear is at least DOUBLE the wholesale price.


(etc)
 




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