How to set your fader to make stereo sound better

[vividjazz]

Proper setting of your front-to-rear fader and left/right balance controls is important for optimum staging and imaging in your system.

Too much sound in the rear of the car (sometimes called "rear fill") will often eliminate staging altogether, forcing sound away from the front of the car, while too little rear fill will sound dull. Too much sound on one side of the car or the other will add an unrealistic element to the imaging.

To adjust fade and balance, play a CD you are familiar with and turn the rear speakers on full with the fade control. Listen to the rear speakers, and then slowly turn the fade up in the front speakers just until you can't tell the rear speakers are playing anymore, then ease off a tad. You're probably close to optimum setting when the front staging is such that the rear speakers provide little more than ambiance and space to the sound.

Test it by going full on the front speakers (without losing the position you just attained). You'll hear an immediate loss of spaciousness in the sound with the rear speakers faded all the way down. Return to your optimum setting.

[ahcash]

Vividjazz, on the stock stereo.. I can hear that the left side speakers are louder than those on the right.. are they normal?? Could be because I am sitting on the driver side and I could hear more left to the right??

[vividjazz]

ahcash said:

Vividjazz, on the stock stereo.. I can hear that the left side speakers are louder than those on the right.. are they normal?? Could be because I am sitting on the driver side and I could hear more left to the right??

Your spot on. To center the stage from the drivers perspective you need to give a bit more volume to the passenger side by fading with the left and right adjustment.

If you carry a passenger all the time in the passenger seat and you care about how it sounds to them then the center position is the best compromise because fading it to the drivers adavantage will make it sound even more off for the passenger.

It would make things easier if we sat in the center of the car but unfortunately we don't.

[ahcash]

vividjazz said:

... To center the stage from the drivers perspective you need to give a bit more volume to the passenger side by fading with the left and right adjustment.

Vividjazz, if I am hearing more from the left due to sitting at the driver seat.. isn't it correct to say that I should give a bit more volume to the driver side's speakers rather than the passenger side so that I can hear more from the right and bring it to the balance.

[vividjazz]

With it centered the drivers side should be sounding louder than the passenger side when your in the drivers seat if it doesn't either something is muffling the speaker (ie. a leg) or something is up with the speaker on that side (drivers side).

A guy the other day was saying how his passenger side was louder. Turned out his drivers side speaker was completely shot with no sound coming out of it at all. A continuity test on the speakers terminals failed so wasn't a prob with the wiring from the headunit to the speaker but the speaker itself.

Might be an excuse to toss the factory paper cups and get some nice speakers.