New setup is the Sony MEX-N4300BT 4x55 watt
front speakers are 4x6 Boss BE464 200watt
rear speakers are 6x9 Boss BE694 500watt


I've been adjusting the EQ to no avail
There is no real bass and the sound is very tinny, lots of distortion at high volume. Do these speakers need to be amplified? I really expected better than stock sound and this is terrible. I know it's not a high end set up, I'm not looking for Rockford fozzys or competition bass.

I would appreciate some direction, thanks in advance!

 

The rear speakers your using a 4-way speakers,... not exactly made for great bass; more like a "all in 1' speaker. The factory speakers made for that mounting location were a duel cone woofer.

Regardless of what else is done - If I were in your shoes - I'd return the rear speakers and find a good duel-cone speaker for the rear sail area. I did NOT check these things for mounting depth and fitment,... but here's a few speakers to give you an idea what I mean. ( The "Kicker" 6x9s seemed to have the lowest frequency response at 30HZ)

 

I use 4 ways in the front and 2 ways in the back. with a set of 12s in the rear.
FRONT
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TS-A4670F-4-Way-Coaxial-Speaker/dp/B07GZRCYXN/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=pioneer+4x6+speakers&qid=1587751335&sr=8-1
REAR
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-TS-D69F-2-way-car-speakers/dp/B0777TNY6Z/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=pioneer+6x9+2way&qid=1587751356&sr=8-6
SUBS

 

Don't get me wrong I like boss hardware but the speakers I have used in the past are all trash and cant handle 30w RMS without blowing up.

I have tried the 4x6 and 6x9 skull series and Chaos series

 

Not a fan of Boss anything, but that may or may not be your problem.

The first thing you need to check is to make sure all the speakers are in-phase. Meaning make sure the positive and negative wires coming out of the head unit are going to the positive and negative wires of the speakers. If one of more of these wires are crossed it will cause a phasing issue and can make the best of speakers sound tinny and bass-less.

If you used the supplied wiring with the speakers, one will have a bigger connector than the other and a stripe on one wire so, the actual connection to the speakers should be “good”. Depending on the brand, the stripe could indicate positive or negative. If you used that wire and know what the stripe indicates and it’s easy to get to the wiring to the head unit double check and make sure all the positive and negative wires from the speakers and the head unit match up. If not, you have a phasing issue and fixing that should make a difference.

If you can’t easily get to the wiring, or you used speaker wire other than supplied with the speakers, you can test by ear. Fade all the way to the front, and balance all the way to the left, turn the volume up as high as you can before it distorts, then bring the balance to the center where both speakers are playing. If things get louder and the bass increases, then they should be in-phase (that may or may not mean they are wired correctly though – hold that thought). When you bring the balance to the center, if the bass drops off when both front speakers are playing, one of the wires to one of the speakers is crossed (the speakers are out-of-phase). Don’t do anything yet.

Now, fade and balance all the way to the left rear and do the same test. As above, when you bring the balance to the center, if the bass drops off when both rear speakers are playing, one of the wires to one of the speakers is crossed (the speakers are out-of-phase). Don’t do anything yet.

Next, balance and fade all the way to the left rear and use the fader to bring in the front speakers. If when both are playing the sound is fuller/better, then they are probably in-phase. Do the same for the right side – fade and balance to the right rear and use the fader to bring in the front speaker. If it sounds worse when you bring in the front speaker, they are out of phase and one wire to one of the speakers is crossed.

Depending on what you find will determine if you have one or more speakers out-of-phase and will tell you which wires are crossed.

Do those tests and let us know what you hear/find out. Depending on the results will depend on which wire or wires you would need to change over.or whether or not the speakers just plain sound bad.

 

I gotta chime in as well n say never ran any of the boss lineup but have never heard anything good either about them. But I agree that some different speakers in the back should greatly help the sound out like some 2 way ones.