4200 Sound Upgrade from stock (non-auditorium)

CatmanV2

Member
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48,539
I can't see it working in the wheel well. Apart from anything else it's resting on a thin piece of plastic, no solid mounting.

Have to agree also that anywhere in the boot is probably sub (no pun) optimal

C
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
There is no room in the speaker void which is fairly obvious i guess but I am pretty sure it will fit under the parcel shelf towards the rear where it undulates back up again for the break light - there are however no grills for the displaced air to escape back there so as Matt said it could get a bit rattly

Cut my knuckles up a treat getting that speaker cradle out, I don't think it is technically possible but I have a super low profile stubby ratchet screwdriver that did the job with a smattering of determination

Silver lining... I found the source of an interior rattle (believed to be a suspension rattle until it was all checked over by Voicey during the recent annual service)... I always thought it sounded like it was coming from the parcel shelf, it is but not quite... the top panel that runs at the top of the rear right hand seat and runs back down to pillar where the rear glass is has a fixing below the parcel shelf which is completely loose. I only noticed it by accident but makes a racket when it's poked at... the fixing is at the rear left of the following photo showing the void under the parcel shelf with the rear right cradle removed - should be able to get a screwdriver to it

20180501_184151.jpg
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
I managed to squeeze the sub under the parcel shelf in the middle at the back by where the third brake assembly is. All wired in and sounding good. At full whack it is not too loud so it doesn't rattle the panels... but if it was in the boot it would have been difficult to hear for sure
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
I fit the front door speakers and tweaters today

Had both door cards off as the cross over wiring has to go back in the void. I used a hot glue gun to stick the cross over itself on to the metal work behind some wiring where it won't come away easily.

To fit the tweaters i prised them off the door card and removed the stock tweaters from the grille, they are stuck down so I prised them away with a screwdriver.

Then I used a razer blade to cut away some of the plastic so that the JL Audio tweater will fit in the space between the lugs... I popped a few dollops of hot glue on the back to hold it in place

I will go back in there another time to install the sound insulation and try to problem solve some issues with my electric windows... for now I wanted all the speakers installed
 

breezer

Member
Messages
229
You're welcome. What are your plans? "Just" speakers?

To be honest I just want to replace the fronts as one is somehow torn! For my purposes the sound system is good enough. I’ve certainly heard a lot worse OEM systems.

Glad I checked as I measured it with a tape measure and somehow got to 6” instead of 6.5”!
 

Navcorr

Member
Messages
3,839
Possibly yours have been changed at some point but am fairly sure the factory speaker was 6.5". At the risk of sounding patronising - which points are you measuring between? If you're not after improved quality why not just pick up a direct replacement from SopranoStu, PPCP, DA, etc.
 
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breezer

Member
Messages
229
Possibly yours have been changed at some point but am fairly sure the factory speaker was 6.5". At the risk of sounding patronising - which points are you measuring between? If you're not after improved quality why not just pick up a direct replacement from SopranoStu, PPCP, DA, etc.

They’re the same paper rubbish you usually get from OEMs. I measured screw to screw.

How much are the direct replacements? I can get some base level Alpines for £35 from CAD and they’re bound to be a bit better than standard, I’d have thought?
 

FIFTY

Member
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3,100
Yes get Alpine or better. Even the Auditorium speakers will be a cheap item made by ASK
 

claymore

New Member
Messages
16
The thought of dismantling the centre console, rear seats and shelf, plus door cards to install a 'total' sound system made me feel a bit faint. So I've gone for the minimum possible upgrade that seems to offer the most benefit. Agreed, the front door speakers are very poor quality, so it was simplest to do a direct replacement with a 2-way speaker. I disconnected the factory tweeter and installed a pair of 6.5" Focal ISC units (about (£90) wired into the factory woofer lead. These have a central tweeter which has an adjustable orientation, so it can be pointed upwards towards the driver.
Sound quality is noticeably superior and the problem of the 'pointless' rear shelf speakers can be mitigated by setting the fader in the NIT to be weighted almost totally towards the front speakers. I've also replaced the CD changer with the Yatour player, so almost 500 tracks on each SD card to listen to. It's obviously possible to spend £££ on top grade car audio, but I'd recommend this route as a painless way to achieve a much more tolerable cabin sound than the standard setup.
 

Gooner

Member
Messages
443
Sounds like a job well done.

I chose Focals as well, but a component version. Either way a massive improvement.
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
Nice job. Focals are a great brand... The components were a little over my budget (close to £170 at the time) so the JL Audio components were a good middle ground between the Alpine and Focal price points

Dismantling the interior was not difficult at all but the Amp was a little fiddly - of course if I knew everything I do now after completing the install i would have probably finished it in a fraction of the time with a little less frustration. I still need to go in and tidy up a little bit of wiring and install more sound proofing in the rear quarter panels and door panels
 

Gooner

Member
Messages
443
A bit of an update on my Focal component installation. I found the sound was not pleasant coming from the tweeters - too much high end overall and tiring to listen to. I realised that with no crossover, the tweeter was being driven by the full dynamic range rather than just filling out the detail at the top end. The only way to make it bearable on a long journey was to set the high end to the minimum on the equaliser.

I tried some Focal crossovers but I had the same problem I’ve read about elsewhere, which is that some crossovers upset the NIT which then shuts off the sound completely.

Fortunately I’d kept the old tweeters and noticed the 2.2 microfarad capacitor which acts as a high pass filter.
d4c6d529a4c8854e2b09e7cbbd381905.jpg


I removed it and soldered it to the Focal tweeter, in line on the positive terminal (any auto electricians probably want to look away now). I glued the capacitor to the speaker mounting.
09df3b419355abed24f47b03d3911642.jpg


I’ve tried it out and it sounds much better. I’ve got the equaliser set back to flat.

No doubt if I knew anything about what I was doing I’d have sorted this out a long time ago, but I thought my experience might help someone else.

I found this helpful page with a bit more information about capacitors as high pass filters.