I don't know much about ohm's but am wondering what happens if I replace the original 10 ohm with a new Kenwood 4 ohm?
I did replace it, I can hear the speaker but no music. Is this what's to be expected?

 

The correct ohm speakers are readily available so why install the wrong one

 

I was at Eklers, didn't know there was an ohm difference at the time until I took the original out. Can you answer my original question?

 

Why would shop at Ecklers? The radios amp will not support it.

 

Talon - Way back in the 80s when I was putting my 65 Coupe back together, the original radio speaker was MIA and at the time all I had was a replacement 8-Ohm speaker so that's what went in.
Later on I found out that it should have been a 10-Ohm speaker and on the other Midyears I've had, I did use the 10-Ohm version but on that 65 Coupe, the 8-Ohm 6x9 speaker is still in there and working.
Granted, I have side exhaust on all the midyears, kinda a throwback to when I put baseball cards in the spokes of my bicycles :-O, but when I do play the radio in the 65, it still works and no issue,
so it seems, to the radio.
Mike T - Prescott AZ

 

Where should I shop? So are you saying that's why no music yet can hear speaker?

 

Corvette central or Zip for Corvette only parts. You can get a 10 Ohm speaker any where place that sells automotive radios and speakers.

 

[QUOTE=Talon101;Can you answer my original question?[/QUOTE]

Talon
You'll need something similar for compatibility with OEM radio - ~8-10 ohm impedance; certainly not 4. Not sure if Electo - Tech is still a source, as the long time owner-operator passed away a few years back. It's a good starting point for you. And ...
... welcome to the forum. Most here will help you right out of the box.

 

I too have side exhaust on my 67, love just listening to them but had the heater core and wiper motor out so it seemed like a good time to replace the speaker too.
Glad your 8 ohm worked for you but wonder If the 4 ohm will work for me?

 

Ok thanks for that but still need to know if that's why I can hear the speaker but no music?

 

Can you explain what you mean by you can hear the speaker but no music?

The radio was designed to drive a 10 ohm speaker. This 10 ohm rating is the speaker "impedance" which is its resistance measured at a certain frequency ie 1kHz.

Using a 4 ohm speaker in a system designed to drive a 10 ohm speaker will stress the output amplifier as the lower impedance speaker will pull more current which may lead to a damaged / overheated output transistor.

Tom

 

Yes, before I changed it there was no sound at all when I turned on my mini eight track tape player with 60 amp booster. Now I hear noise from the speaker, just noise.
From what you're saying I'd better stop trying it or I'll damage the tape player! Right?

 

Thanks I just ordered a catalog from Zip, both of there Kenwood speakers are out of stock. I have a Corvette Central catalog, will have to call them as there's no mention of OHM's.
I'll need to take mine out and return it to Eklers and have a replacement ready to put in.

 

Tape player?? So, what radio do you have in the car...must not be a stock radio. Which generation of Corvette do you own? What year? Need more information on the radio you're using.
BTW, S&M Electro-Tech is still in business and is know for their quality products. Link below.
https://www.smelectrotech.com/produc...&category_id=9

 

The original radios were designed with a power transistor that required a matching impedance speaker of 10 ohms along with the coil mounted on the original speaker. If you use any other speaker design with the original radio, it will most likely overheat the power transistor and it will fail. An 8 ohm speaker can be used for a short time for testing, but is not recommended for the permanent installation. A 4 ohm speaker will most likely overheat the transistor in a short time. I would not try the 4 ohm even for testing.
That said, I am not a radio expert, so you can roll the dice if you so chose.
Was your original speaker bad? Is it an original Delco radio? Did the radio ever work since you have had the car? What is the 8 track? Sounds like you have an aftermarket radio in which case all bets are off. Look on the back or top of the radio on most radiors for a tag or stamp that will tell you 8 ohm, 4 ohm or 10 ohm speaker.
Ron

 

If you don't have a stock radio, you don't need a stock speaker. No C2 had a tape player.
A 4 ohm speaker will work with most aftermarket radios. You've got a bad radio, bad speaker, wired wrong, or a combination. Most aftermarket radios are stereo, stock was mono, so only one speaker. No one can help you without know what kind of mismatched parts you're using.

 

Agree with previous post, you have an aftermarket head unit.

You say you have a 60 amp booster, this sounds like tiny units they used to sell back in the day..
No offence, "power boosters" are usually tiny, inexpensive, not very well-made amplifiers. I'm sure the 60 "amps" it's advertising is max, likely putting out a fraction of that.

But what's important is that the output of any amplifiers is rated for a specific impedence. So, back in the day, 8ohm speakers were common (actually, still are in many applcations) . Your power boster is rated at 60amps (not sure why it amps, not watts), likely at 8ohms.

But, if you drop that impedence, to 4 ohms, you're halving the resistance, which doubles the power demand. That little, inexpensive, poorly made booster is now being asked to put out *twice* the power it was designed to. That would be difficult for a modern amplifier to handle, typically they have circuitry to manage different impednece loads. Your power booster is likely frying itself at that impedence load.

IF you want to test it, you could try putting in a 4 ohm resister in series with the speaker, but it likely will sound like ****. I'd just ditch the speaker and buy an 8ohm one (and get rid of that power booster and get a real amp :-) )

 

My reply was based on the "assumption" you had a stock radio installed.

What exactly are we trying to assess here is it factory or some aftermarket setup? Answers / suggestions will be different based on this.

 

it will overheat the original radio transistors

 

I've been using a mini 8 track tape player with a 60 amp booster for the dash speaker, worked fine with the original speaker until it didn't. The original radio, I replaced with a am/fm cassette player connected to two front and two rear speakers years ago. The radio never worked that well but the cassette player did, until it didn't.
I have a C2 1967 Corvette. Any input or advice will be Greatly Appreciated!!!