Stereo distortion

[Yellowtique]

I have a brand new 2005 206 with stock 4 spkrs and Clarion system. They look great but sound terrible. The spkrs distort as if they are grossly underpowered at not high volume, like 4 bars on the display. I looked at the owners manual and it is supposed to have 52 watts per spkr max but a measley 17 watts per spkr mean. The 17 sounds really puny. Is this the problem ? I am not happy with this stereo system at all. It looks like it would be powerful but it does not deliver. Suggestions. Other experiences ? Help !!!

[Dr.John]

Although I have an older (XMD-1) system with the upgrade amp, I too think the sound is pretty lousy. From my experience, it's not the purported wattage of the system, but the quality of the speakers that are the culprit. I would investigate replacing the stock speakers with higher quality units.

[nms1991]

The 05 come with Polk Momo speakers and they need an Amp to power them and sound good. Do you really believe radio manufactures output spec, because i do not most are over rated.