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For the past few months I've been working on my '85 Camaro and I was finally able to find and install a Delco head unit from around that generation of vehicles (the previous owner had replaced it but lost the face somehow). Unfortunately, the only speaker that worked was the front right one under the dashboard. I've been searching around to see what kind of speakers I should get but I keep getting mixed results; some say that 4 OHM speakers are a bad idea, some say it doesn't matter as long as you don't turn the volume up too high for a long period. I've looked everywhere I could think of, but the grand majority of online stores just sell 4 OHM speakers. I want to keep things as simple and original looking as possible, but I'm also afraid of potentially damaging something. Has anyone ever had any real experience with this sort of thing? Should I just be very careful if I do end up installing all four 4 OHM speakers? Any idea where I could possibly find 6/8/10 OHM speakers?
If it's any help, the manufacturer number for the head unit I got is 16169163.
Why not just buy some 8 ohm speakers? Running too low an impedance can damage an amplifier. It doesn't always but if the amp wants 8 ohms then an 8 or 16 ohm load is the move. You can add resistors to a 4 ohm speaker to convert to 8 ohm but that decreases sound quality and generates heat. You can also wire 2 4 ohm speakers in series to create 8 ohms.
but getting 8 ohm speakers is easy.
i haven't seen something that says auto reverse in a looooong time!
Why not just buy some 8 ohm speakers? Running too low an impedance can damage an amplifier. It doesn't always but if the amp wants 8 ohms then an 8 or 16 ohm load is the move. You can add resistors to a 4 ohm speaker to convert to 8 ohm but that decreases sound quality and generates heat. You can also wire 2 4 ohm speakers in series to create 8 ohms.
but getting 8 ohm speakers is easy.
i haven't seen something that says auto reverse in a looooong time!
I guess I was just not looking in the right places. I tried looking through the usual big brands (Best Buy, Amazon, etc.) but of course all they suggest is the 4 ohm speakers. I searched on Google at work and it didn't give me good results, I didn't think to try again at home haha. Thanks for the reply!
Also yeah, I got really lucky finding a refurbished radio on eBay that actually had a working cassette player (for a reasonable price too)! I was casually looking around for months but all I could find were either broken units, or ridiculously expensive semi-decent ones. Now I finally have an excuse to use all the Metallica and other rock band cassettes that that my uncle gave me lol
As a teen,i did not know any better and often used 4 ohm speakers-sometimes connecting them in parallel...nothing bad happened,but some amps got plenty hot.Actual ohms( and load) will vary with frequency.
Here is a direct comparison of 4 OHM vs 10 OHM speakers. In this vid factory speakers were used (2 4x6 10 OHM and 2 6x9 4 OHM ) then a different set of aftermarket speakers were hooked to the same factory Delco head unit; NOTHING ELSE CHANGED. The power supply is just an old car battery,..........
( I made a few incorrect comments ---> "resistors" should be "capacitors" and "4 AMP speakers" should have been "4 OHM speakers" )
The head unit in your car looks like it's from a 95 Buick Century and it uses the same exact DM165 AMP chips that all other similar 80's-90's Delco radios use.
Finding an aftermarket 4x6 10OHM speaker is nearly impossible,...... but there are still plenty of GM 4x6 10 OHM speakers still available. Some 4x6 speakers from the 90's use a different plug,... but that's simple to overcome by just installing matching plugs. ( Delco installed 4x6 4 OHM speakers in some cars too Like the Fiero - so be sure to check the OHM rating if buying used.)
Installing 4 4-OHM speakers isn't going to instantly "kill" your Delco radio,... but it WILL overheat & burn out the AMP chip(s) over time. How long it takes depends on how often you use the radio and how loud it's set while in use.
You could use a small amplifier that uses speaker level inputs, that will keep the radio from overheating. The amp is designed for a 4 ohm load so no problem and it has speaker level inputs so you would connect the speaker outputs from your factory radio to the amp and then the amp to the speakers. Even if you run it full volume for long periods of time it's better to burn up a $150 amp than a refurbished 80s radio. This amp is fairly small so similar output as a modern radio, you could also go with a bigger amp if you wanted, the small amp makes install a lot easier though. Sony XMS400D 4 Channel Mini Amplifier – Screaming Chicken
