B&O - Center channel speaker

[colinl]

Infinity Reference 3-1/2" 2-way REF-3032CFX

That's 3 ohm and isn't the stock center 8 ohm?

I wouldn't want even more output from the center or clipping. Maybe with a resistor in series?

Sponsored

 

[Darnon]

At one point in my speaker swapping I had a 10-ohm resistor in series for the center channel, but honestly I forget if I do with the Infinity.

 

[colinl]

At one point in my speaker swapping I had a 10-ohm resistor in series for the center channel, but honestly I forget if I do with the Infinity.

I've honestly thought about an L pad and no need for the knob to be anywhere in plain sight. Under HVAC, dash, maybe even in the glovebox. Never done anything like that, but I've also never had a center channel that the audio system really wants to be strong.

 

[Nw_adventure]

I thought the B/O center was a plug n play swap to the infinity- But the OEM has a soldered connection and a Molex lead and now it appears it needs an additional resistor added ? Hmm

 

[Darnon]

Never claimed it was plug & play. I just soldered that connector onto the Infinity.

 

[colinl]

Literally every speaker in the Maverick has some kind of connector that literally no aftermarket replacement will have.

So if you aren't holding an adapter that someone has already confirmed to be the correct fitment for that particular speaker, you should always expect to either cut the factory plug off ,or if it's feasible, you might be able to remove the adapter off the factory speaker to re-use it.

I nearly always cut the factory plug off the speaker wire.

Regarding the resistor that's discussed above as well as other threads. Others say it does work at 4 ohm. Personally I'm going to add a resistor to take it at least to 8 ohm because I don't want the center even more prominent or to clip at high volume. It's not uncommon for me to play my system at 25-30 volume, but if you play it under 20, clipping probably isn't a concern.

 

[Aaron F]

I wonder if something like this would drop directly in?
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...m-Cone-Full-Range-Driver-8-290-226?quantity=1

 

[colinl]

I wonder if something like this would drop directly in?
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...m-Cone-Full-Range-Driver-8-290-226?quantity=1

I found that in my research, also. The stock unit is a single driver like that also, not a coaxial.

I ultimately decided to try the Kenwood X3C and am pretty happy with it. I've got the second speaker but honestly was waiting a while to make sure I didn't have issues before I sell it to someone else.

I tested it with just the 4 ohm Kenwood but didn't really try to critically listen. I just wired in the 4 ohm 50w resistor and then buttoned it up. It has improved the soundstage in my opinion; the center is present, but not dominant. The silk tweeter is much smoother than the stock full range.

If someone wanted more center you can use it without the resistor but I would be cautious at high volume.

 

[Nw_adventure]

So what's the best resistor choice to tone down the infinity ?

 

[Aaron F]

I found that in my research, also. The stock unit is a single driver like that also, not a coaxial.

I ultimately decided to try the Kenwood X3C and am pretty happy with it. I've got the second speaker but honestly was waiting a while to make sure I didn't have issues before I sell it to someone else.

I tested it with just the 4 ohm Kenwood but didn't really try to critically listen. I just wired in the 4 ohm 50w resistor and then buttoned it up. It has improved the soundstage in my opinion; the center is present, but not dominant. The silk tweeter is much smoother than the stock full range.

If someone wanted more center you can use it without the resistor but I would be cautious at high volume.

Thanks for the info. I may be interested in buying that spare from you especially if you also have another resistor you could wire up to it. I definitely don't want the center overpowering or taking the chance that the in-dash unit can't handle a four ohm load long-term

 

[colinl]

So what's the best resistor choice to tone down the infinity ?

Any of the generic 50w 4 ohm resistors on Amazon should be fine. I bought this one, but there are also 2 packs. https://a.co/d/7lXebbU

 

[Nw_adventure]

Any of the generic 50w 4 ohm resistors on Amazon should be fine. I bought this one, but there are also 2 packs. https://a.co/d/7lXebbU

Thx - Assuming I need 2 , one for neg , one for pos ?

 

[colinl]

Thx - Assuming I need 2 , one for neg , one for pos ?

No, it's just one wired in series on the positive lead. I really regret not taking the time to take some decent pics.

The 2 packs are not significantly cheaper that's why I went with 4.

 

[Delbert]

Use an L pad rather than a resistor to attenuate the volume. An Lpad in its simplist implementation is just a variable resister. We used them all the time when building speakers back in the day. Drivers never seemed to match in volume.

This center speaker going to be hard to integrate into the system in the best of circumstances. Music broadcast on fm or even xm/sirius have been compressed to bring up the volume levels of the mid range frequencies that are steered to the center speaker. Use at least mp3 quality music burned on a jump drive to judge it. Better than mp3 is for the audiophile but less than straight mp3 recordings can do weird stuff. The variation in source material is incredibly varied today. There is little consistency. Even the same piece of music stored and broadcast in different formats can vary. The I heart radio app is like that. One station will be wonderful and the next completely awful. They don't stream the music, just give you the url for the stream done by others.

When I listen to music at home, I turn off the surround system and let the main speakers do their thing. The music was usually recorded to be listened to in stereo and not surround. Some music does really well in surround. I have an old Yamaha receiver with settings for different concert halls. You can really tell the difference, but only with the music that works well with it.


Hopefully, stereo mode turns off that center speaker and lets the other speakers set the sound stage. The standard connected touch does this pretty well. I would hope the upgraded system could match it.

 

[colinl]

Use an L pad rather than a resistor to attenuate the volume. An Lpad in its simplist implementation is just a variable resister. We used them all the time when building speakers back in the day. Drivers never seemed to match in volume.

This center speaker going to be hard to integrate into the system in the best of circumstances. Music broadcast on fm or even xm/sirius have been compressed to bring up the volume levels of the mid range frequencies that are steered to the center speaker. Use at least mp3 quality music burned on a jump drive to judge it. Better than mp3 is for the audiophile but less than straight mp3 recordings can do weird stuff. The variation in source material is incredibly varied today. There is little consistency. Even the same piece of music stored and broadcast in different formats can vary. The I heart radio app is like that. One station will be wonderful and the next completely awful. They don't stream the music, just give you the url for the stream done by others.

When I listen to music at home, I turn off the surround system and let the main speakers do their thing. The music was usually recorded to be listened to in stereo and not surround. Some music does really well in surround. I have an old Yamaha receiver with settings for different concert halls. You can really tell the difference, but only with the music that works well with it.


Hopefully, stereo mode turns off that center speaker and lets the other speakers set the sound stage. The standard connected touch does this pretty well. I would hope the upgraded system could match it.

I had no doubt a L pad would be better, but I didn't want another visible knob. You would definitely want to splice it into the ACM output to the center channel.

Instead I just took the easy route and am happy with a 4 ohm resistor.

Regarding music quality, I find Spotify ultra high quality to be sufficient. It's 320k bitrate. Tidal has 2 lossless quality modes but it uses a ton of data to stream in hifi or master quality.

https://www.headphonesty.com/2021/07/spotify-vs-tidal

Plus, I have a Spotify family plan.

Sponsored