Upgraded from factory to Alpine CDE-9846, but 2loud!, what happened? speaker+heatunit mismatch? Options

[JediFonger]

i've got a '99 Toyota Celica GT. i hated not being able to play mp3 CDRW's/CDR's, so i upgraded haphazardly because i was also installing a new alarm system yesterday.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/prod...?model=CDE-9846
^got that installed yesterday. i didn't have a chance to demo it much last night when i picked up the vehicle... but this morning, i tried playing stuff. the unit plays all the way upto 20+ in terms of volume... but anytime i approach 4 or 5, all of my speakers are distorted. it's 16w RMS, what the heck is going on? i didn't upgrade anything else, ONLY headunit. it's just 2much power and overbearing. the speakers are distorting like crazy if i play too loudly. i can't get a clean sound, loud sound, just muddy sounds. what could be at fault?

i don't have $ to upgrade to new speakers... i just wanted the capability of mp3 playback, which it does.

[JediFonger]

i am a n00b, sorry =(. i bought this last may (2005).

where are the 7th and 8th speakers? oh... lol. you're counting the speakers on the corner of the doors. i shee. =). i count them as "1" (tweeter vs. woofer) speaker.

anyway, i have NO idea that there was a separate amp. where is the amp located? v. curious. i already threw away the old headunit. i hope it didn't cost a lot of $. i didn't think i could sell it on ebay for a reasonable price. ah well, it's been tossed.

what're the spex on the factory amp? if it's lower than my factory amp, can i bypass the amp and amplify directly?

is this somn easy i can do myself? i don't mind taking it back to shop, it's just i'm curious about it myself =). easy/hard? i'm a bit handy, not much. i've done oil changes (yeah, yeah yeah i know, a trained monkey could do that as well), simple filter changes. but mechanical, not2much.

meanwhile, this place let me hear it before i left. i didn't spend a lot of time with it in the shop, i was more concerned with the alarm and how it worked. the sole reason of buying a headunit was just to get MP3 playback. =). i knew it sounded a bit strange, but i didn't really give it the full test, so i couldn't demand the guy to change anything i didn't know. i also didn't know there was a factory amp!

thxguys, you guys rock =).

This post has been edited by JediFonger: Nov 17, 2006 - 6:30 PM