Hey JKF,
I had a guy I know from a local high end car dealership install my aftermarket JVC head unit last year after I ordered everything from crutch field. The guy who installed it ended up having to wire the head unit differently because the adapter didn't work right and no sound would play. Ever since around that time my speakers have crackled when I play something with bass or even just mid tones. If I turn it up past around 30-35 depending on the music it distorts horribly. I think my speakers may be blown or could it be something with the head unit? I'm planning to upgrade my speakers anyway but I don't want to upgrade and then have them be ruined from a problem in the head unit. So anyone have any idea what it could be? Thanks!

 

If you are powering it with just the head unit, it is likely to distort. HUs are underpowered for most speakers. You don't say if they are stock speakers but they could be blown from sending distorted sound from your HI. Add a quality amplifier and speakers and see what happens, it will sound much better.

 

I have the upgraded stock sound system from 08 so I think I should already have an amp power the speakers with the head unit.

 

Then look to your head unit. How does your head unit connect to the stock amp? There are a couple possibilities...if it is connected through an adapter, are you using pre-amp outs or speaker level connections? There is a good chance your head unit is distorting. I can almost guarantee you the stock amp is also a problem. No matter what the lit says, it does not put out the power it claims. And if you are overdriving it with the HU, your just sending a clipped signal which is the biggest culprit of blown speakers.

You are thinking of replacing your speakers without changing your amp, then you will want to find 2ohm speakers since the amp is rated for 2 ohms. If you use 4ohm speakers, you will be effectively cutting the output power in half.

Your best bet, since you have an aftermarket HU is to replace the amp along with the speakers and you will see a definite upgrade. If you just replace the speakers, you risk eventually having the same problem.

 

Sounds to me like the factory amp is being over driven. I haven't worked on the premium JK sound system, but back in the day when I was doing car audio, we always had to bypass the factory amps because they needed a low level input and the speaker outputs are anything but that. Basically it was amplifying an already amplified signal which equals horrible distortion.