Upgrading speakers on 1958

[Onandoffroaddriving]

Setup	Resistance	Power Source	Wattage	Voltage	Amperage	Equalizer Impact (Before)	Equalizer Impact (After)
Factory (4Ω + 8Ω)	2.667 ohms	Head Unit (12W)	~12–15W	~6–6.93V	~2–2.6A	Stable, no cutouts. Designed for 2.667 ohms.	~10–12W, ~5.5–6V. Cutouts unlikely.
Factory (4Ω + 8Ω)	2.667 ohms	BeatSonic (25W)	~37.5W	~10V	~3.75A	Stable, no cutouts. Matches stock load.	~30–35W, ~8–9V. Cutouts possible.
Aftermarket (4Ω + 4Ω)	2 ohms	Head Unit (12W)	~12–15W	~5–6V	~2–3A	Possible clipping, cutouts if protection engages.	~10W, ~5V. Cutouts possible.
Aftermarket (4Ω + 4Ω)	2 ohms	BeatSonic (25W)	~25–50W	~7–10V	~3–5A	Cutouts likely due to protection or instability.	~30–40W, ~7–9V. Cutouts likely.

Grok "AI" produced this in response to the questions about speakers and beatsonic in the 1958 trim wiring.

 

[Rubicon15]

This is very helpful information. Based on the 4ohm + 8ohm theory, installing the JL 350’s in the dashboard is a no brainer at 8ohms. I definitely want to avoid the system shutting down as described at all costs.

 

[SOCAL250]

Made front dash speaker brackets for 3 inch speakers. Let me know if anyone wants it. I can print it.

 

[rslundquist]

In the 1958 trim, the corner dash and front door speakers are wired in parallel. Crutchfield Notes say the factory speakers are 4 ohm door and 8 ohm dash. My research reports that aftermarket 4 and 4 ohm speakers reduce the circuit resistance to 2 ohms and changes the electrical demands on the amp/headunit. Many amps are not 2 ohm stable. I don't know how all the electrical factors work out exactly, but reducing the resistance can increase the wattage output from amps that are stable lower (from say 50w to 65w). I'm guessing this is how the 3 ohm infinities killed the equalizer, the combined resistance would be 1.5 ohm I think and presumably further increasing wattage draw from the amp and through the equalizer.

I don't know the speaker wiring is setup on the other trims, they both have external amps.

I put these factors into grok and chatgpt, the both outputted the same answers of the 3ohm speakers in parallel combining to 1.5 ohm and causing a 67W draw from the beatsonic setup. The two 4 ohm speakers combine to 2 ohm and draw 50W.

Good options may be to use an upgraded 4 ohm door speaker without a dash speaker or with the 8ohm factory dash. My system upgrade last week had upgraded doors, no dash speakers, factory headunit only, and sounded signficantly better than original that had dash speakers. I figure only the four door speakers with the extra beatsonic power would be really good, but not having what people call the "front soundstage" enhancement lifting the perception of voices higher in the cabin. Different levels of better...

The Beatsonic install guide has it working with the factory 4 and 8 ohm speakers in parallel... which seems like it would exceed its own stated 4 ohm spec. Perhaps that's not so far off spec that they see it as still safe? Some Crutchfield advisors say that smaller speakers draw less current, affect the electrical dynamics less, and it's all a bit more complicated than simply two 4 ohm in parallel makes 2 ohms.

My project plan is to route an external amp 40w through the factory wire and equalizer to the doors alone (new wiring for dash) and am now wondering if that may be too much for the equalizer. Crutchfield tech studied what he could find online and advised to try with carefully testing of the gain levels. It'd be 40w at 4 ohm, rather a Beatsonic perhaps 50W at 2 ohm.

Did you see much about how the equalizer is wired in?

In the 1958 trim, the corner dash and front door speakers are wired in parallel. Crutchfield Notes say the factory speakers are 4 ohm door and 8 ohm dash. My research reports that aftermarket 4 and 4 ohm speakers reduce the circuit resistance to 2 ohms and changes the electrical demands on the amp/headunit. Many amps are not 2 ohm stable. I don't know how all the electrical factors work out exactly, but reducing the resistance can increase the wattage output from amps that are stable lower (from say 50w to 65w). I'm guessing this is how the 3 ohm infinities killed the equalizer, the combined resistance would be 1.5 ohm I think and presumably further increasing wattage draw from the amp and through the equalizer.

I don't know the speaker wiring is setup on the other trims, they both have external amps.

I put these factors into grok and chatgpt, the both outputted the same answers of the 3ohm speakers in parallel combining to 1.5 ohm and causing a 67W draw from the beatsonic setup. The two 4 ohm speakers combine to 2 ohm and draw 50W.

Good options may be to use an upgraded 4 ohm door speaker without a dash speaker or with the 8ohm factory dash. My system upgrade last week had upgraded doors, no dash speakers, factory headunit only, and sounded signficantly better than original that had dash speakers. I figure only the four door speakers with the extra beatsonic power would be really good, but not having what people call the "front soundstage" enhancement lifting the perception of voices higher in the cabin. Different levels of better...

The Beatsonic install guide has it working with the factory 4 and 8 ohm speakers in parallel... which seems like it would exceed its own stated 4 ohm spec. Perhaps that's not so far off spec that they see it as still safe? Some Crutchfield advisors say that smaller speakers draw less current, affect the electrical dynamics less, and it's all a bit more complicated than simply two 4 ohm in parallel makes 2 ohms.

My project plan is to route an external amp 40w through the factory wire and equalizer to the doors alone (new wiring for dash) and am now wondering if that may be too much for the equalizer. Crutchfield tech studied what he could find online and advised to try with carefully testing of the gain levels. It'd be 40w at 4 ohm, rather a Beatsonic perhaps 50W at 2 ohm.

Did you see much about how the equalizer is wired in?

Very informative Onandoffroaddriving. The 4 ohm speakers I have in the dash now sound louder than the rest of the speakers.

The equalizer for the 1958 trim is under the carpet under the driver's seat. I didn't get to see how it's wired, but do know that the passenger side rear door is not wired through the equalizer. For some reason it is direct wired. When I fried the 1st equalizer, I still got sound out of the rear passenger side door.