Stereo Noise, Static at Low Volume?

Hello,

I just installed a new Clarion DXZ765MP in a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT I used a Metra harness and soldered and heatshrinked all the connections. The Problem is when the stereo is at about 1 or 2 volume you can hear some static type noise. When you turn it up you really can't hear it, The noise is there if the car is off or on and it doesn't matter if it's on Tuner or CD. Also it doesn't sound any different with engine RPM. Now I am gonna look in to it this weekend but wanted to see if there is anything I should be looking for specifically? Maybe this is a common problem?

Thanks

do you know if the car has a factory amp? if you are unsure did you hook up a blue or blue / white wire from the radio to a blue or blue/ white to the metra harness? (blue is power  antenna blue/white is amp turn on some times the factory harness will use one wire for both so if only one is there check regardless of color) if so cut this wire if all sound goes away you have a factory amp and that could be the problem sence ther is no gain adjustment on factory amp just live with it or bypass the amp.

Josh gave great advice.

however, if you know for certain there is no factory amp I would reccomend checking the voltages.

Using a DMM insert the probes directly into the harness at the deck. Check ground, constant and accessory voltage while the system is operating at listen levels. It might not be a bad idea to check the impedance of all your speakers, although I doubt thats your problem. also check resistance to ground at all speaker wires,,you want the reading to be infinity. (open). keep the deck harness disconeccted while doing this check.

If your voltage readings are not to spec, go from there. If you are reading anything when testing continuity to ground with your speakers, fix that problem.

If all is good i would substitute a different deck to see if its a problem with your vehicles electrical system or an inherent problem with your particular deck.

Let me know what you find.If nothing I posted helps post back with the results and we can take it from there. thanks.

Clarion is good. But any brand electronics can develop problems from mishandling, improper install, or for many times as I see in my shop no real reason at all, it just went bad.

Since the deck is new it could be a lemon, this happens but if it is something in your vehicle or install you would be returning it for nothing so check it out first.

Good luck with it.

I was playing around with it tonight to see if I could find out anything more to the problem. Well the bass and treble range from -6 to +6 I have them on +5 well when it is on 0 the noise goes away? does this mean that I need to replace the speakers? I also was searching and found this from crutchfield.com

How do I eliminate hissing noise?
 
Answer
It is common, after replacing a factory receiver with a high quality aftermarket receiver, to notice a background hissing sound. The "hiss" is nothing more than the extended frequency response of the new stereo, and not a defect, or wiring problem.
The same holds true when a factory speaker is replaced with a high quality aftermarket speaker. The new speaker has a separate tweeter, which brings out the high frequencies. Any background hiss in the system will now be more noticeable, but should be relatively slight once the source music begins playing.

Again it sounds like the stock speakers just aint gonna cut it with this headunit. Am I right or understanding it wrong?

Ok, now things are a bit clearer (no pun intended).

The hiss you hear at low volume is different then what you initially described (a "static type" noise).

It is very possible that what crutchfeild stated is the source. I see customers at my shop occasionally with the same complaint. But installing new speakers can potetially compound this hissing you hear as most likely the aftermarket speakers will have better high frequency reproduction capability.

Your vehicle is only 4 years old but depending on how hard the speakers have been driven in the past, and the fact that the stock speakers are probably cheap paper cones, there is no reason a speaker swap should not improve the overall fidelity.

You may have very sensitive hearing at high frequencies, some humans are just that way. The "good" news is that this will diminish over time as you get older. Because I have damaged my hearing from being in a rock band and not using hearing protection, I probably would have to place my ear directly on the speaker to notice this hiss.

If you can live with or get used to it ,this deck can work for you...just keep the treble level down. If not you might need to find a deck with a higher s/n ratio, that may help but there could be some trial and error involved. As I discover more and more over time,specs are not always accurate (or truthful)... but, it's a starting point.

Hope I shed some light.

Good Luck.

Ok..so you basically have found a solution. Keep the volume up above the level of the "hissing"..or maybe theres a rattle snake living in your dashboard??  J/K But correct.....It is logical to assume that upgrading your speakers is going to increase the hiss you hear. The speakers on thier own are not increasing the hiss per say..., that is coming from the deck. They will simply make it more audible as a byproduct of the added high frequecy reproduction of the new speakers. (unless you use a raw mid and no tweeters at all, this would probably eliminate any "audible' hiss but leave a rather dull sounding system)

And nouse...age has not diminished my high frequency hearing as well...just years of abusing my ears. The Flecther-Munson curve for me looks more like a ski slope then a mountain range.

But I guess as I get older, I can only expect it to get worse. so guess I will keep needing more power and speakers until a I eventually become deaf. Judging sound offs and playing in a band ( I stand right in front of 8- 10'' and 2 -15'', and thats my "small" setup) has taken its toll.

Moral..don't be an idiot like me and use hearing protection. But on the bright side I don't hear hiss and minor alternator whine anymore *

Unfortunatly, to the best of my knowledge, there is no way to "fix" the hiss you are hearing without doing modifications to the internals of the deck . But this would void any warranty on the unit and could be expensive if you were to even find a qualified tech that would try to lower the "hiss" for you.

If you rememeber back in the days of tape decks, they were notorious for hissing problems. Virtually every manufacturer would use some kind of "noise reduction " circuitry (dolby a -z etc.) I would notice that is would lower the hissing, but at the same time , at least to my ear, it would "muddy" the sound quality, so I would usually leave the NR switched off.

The reason you hear the hiss is for the reasons Crutchfield stated and myself in previous replies.

Your options are to live with it, or mask it by keeping the treble low and volume higher then the hiss level (may not help on quiet passages or between songs/programs etc.) Or as I stated before, use a raw mid and no tweeters and sacrfice fidelity.

Now since I can not be there to hear this hiss for myself, I can't suggest that your particular deck has a defect. But since you state you only hear it at 'near muted levels" I will assume the deck is ok.

Some cheaper decks, like factory units are willing to sacrfice fidelity to lower high frequency noise, kind of like a "trade off" loosly put. I have also on occasion had customers complain to me about thier AM reception and sometimes even FM. They can't understand that it is inherant most of the time that the factory deck will seem to be performing better in certain metrics then the expensive aftermarket replacement, just a fact of life that most people are not as sensitive to this as others, just one of those things.

Like I also stated before, you might want to try a differeent deck as perhaps there is no way this one will satisfy you in it's present state. A possible option is you add a high quality 4 channel amp to your system. Find one with as high a S/N ratio as you can. (also remember not all the time are specs accurate). Have the gain set at the point where you have enough input for a comfortable listening level ,but the least amount of noise. This option may also allow you upgrade the speakers as will and still keep the noise out, or at least make it not as noticable.

I can't offer any more help for you. I can understand your concern but as I stated earlier, most listeners would probably not even notice this, or care....assuming of course that your deck is not defective, something I can not verify with the specifics I am given. 

Hope this helped your understanding.