Car stereo with 1ohm available?

[dba7108]

The speakers in my R129 Merc SL are rated at 1ohm. The previous owner has put in a panasonic unit rated 4-8ohm so the sound is pretty naff. Can anyone recommend a way round this? Will I need to change the speakers? Can i use anything like an in line amp? Ive searched on the net but cant find a 1ohm stereo system. I would look to putting the original unit back in but I would like a modern unit with USB support.

Thanks

[fushion julz]

I would doubt the speakers are really 1ohm...It is very hard to make speaker of any type (other than a plasma tweeter) with such a low impedence. Much more likely is poor/lazy wiring that has created a 1ohm impedence presented to the amp/headunit...Each driver is more likely to be 4ohm or higher...
2 4ohm driver wired in parallel shows a (nominal) 2ohm impedence to the amp
2 4ohm drivers in series shows a 8ohm impedence 9again nominal) to the amp

The impedence is only nominal as it will vary over the frequency range.

I'd recommend some decent aftermarket component speakers....nearly all will be 4ohms.

The sound will subjectively improve as the impedence increases due to the increased damping factor any given amplifier will have; leading to better bass control and weight...Downside of increasing the impedence is a volume loss of 3db every doubling of the impedence (ie 4-8ohms or 8-16ohms).

[sl0wlane]

If you stereo is expecting 4ohm (usual for car stuff) and your speakers present only 1ohm load - you will eventually kill the amp in the head unit.

I suspect that, although each driver may be rated at 1ohm, once the components are connected via a crossover (assuming it's at least 2 way mid-top etc) then it may actually present a higher ohm load to the amp - probably at least 4 ohm.

At least, if it is presenting a 1 ohm load it should be nice and loud (while it lasts).

[sl0wlane]

hmm... looks like a fellow "speakerplans" user