Idiot guide required

[Anonymous]

I have looked all through the forum and most of the posts assume knowlede of amps etc.

I have always found that the cars I have owned the Stereo system has always been suffient for my needs (or I have upgraded as an option when buying a new car), but the Stereo is the 2 is the worst I have ever had and I need to do something about it.

We normally listen to the radio with only occasional CD use so I don't want to spend a fortune, so what is the cheapest way to improve the sound system?

Also, can anybody recommend somewhere in the Sutton Coldfield/Birmingham area that would carry out the recommended mods.

Thanks
Steve

[Tem]

We normally listen to the radio with only occasional CD use so I don't want to spend a fortune, so what is the cheapest way to improve the sound system?

Speakers.

The stock papercones are the worst part. If you only want decent quality, not the best, you should be fine with any decent set of speakers.

[filcee]

Ahhh, but ....

Speakers will never recover data that did not get sent by the headunit.

I have upgraded my headunit, but am still successfully using the stock speakers.

I bet that doesn't help mcuh though does it ... I'll get me coat.

[zud]

It might also depend on the year of car...  
I changed the speakers on my 2001, and got a significant improvement.  The stock Sony headunit isn't great, but with different speakers it's good enough for me.  
I believe that they improved the speakers in the 03 model... but the stock h/u got worse!   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

So maybe if pre '03 then start with the speakers, post '03 start with the h/u!

I haven't heard the '03, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm talking b****x!

[Anonymous]

OK, so it seems like speakers and reading Busters thread it would be the Focals and it seems easy enough to do myself.

I was prepared to pay a bit more than £130 so should I replace the head unit or add an amp to the existing head unit, either way could you give me an idea of price at the lower end of the scale.

Thanks

[markiii]

do the speakerts first and see what you think

[Liz]

I agree speakers made the world of difference along with half a tonne of dynamat! Still want a blingy Sony with the TFT screen though!  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

[Anonymous]

Steve,
Its hard to give you useful advice because there are so many things to concider so I will try and answer some general questions for you instead

1) why can't I turn my stereo up more than 25% ? (might be more but I never had a stock Head Unit)

There is more than one type of speaker distortion and most people over look the most  obvious ones and blame the speakers straight away but...

Simply put the RMS output on a stock unit it pitifully low. So it will very quickly start distort the signal going out to your speakers with varying results (a furry sound in the treble upto out right distortion of the vocals and bass at the top end).

This is no use if you ever drive on motorways or when driving with the roof down as you nearly always need to turn the radio up to get past the road/engine noise.

If you want loud then you need to consider changing the head unit and possibly adding an amp to the front speakers. This will give you  clearer quality of sound so you will be able to turn it up without the first type of distortion occuring.

In general you should not expect more than a Quarter of the stated Peak RMS out of any head unit that you buy unless you are buying the good stuff in which case you might get closer to what  they are stating. Some of the Apline Head Units require a direct power source from the battery and in return have very high RMS and very little distortion.

If sound distortion is a problem to you then you should start looking at changing the head unit.  (but it is not the first thing you should do!)

2) why do my doors/panels rattle when I crank up the volume?
what can I do about it?

This is the second type of distortion....

The doors in the 2 are horible for a sound stage as the plastic moldings are so light the energy given out by the speakers is transfered straight though them and they rattle like mad.  Thats the obvious statement out the way! Now what can be done to reduce this?  Getting someone to refiit the panels with Dynamat is the best solution as it makes the door heavier and thus harder to vibrate it also acts as a cusion so there is less room for the panels to travel.  The other side effect of this stuff is that it stops the sound leaking out the doors, and so it increases the bass frequencies of your speakers.  I recomend the dynamat 100%. I could not believe the difference it makes to the sound qualitly in the car!!!!

Of course if you don't like the sound of the stock speakers anyway then this on its own won't help you but it will go some way to reducing the panel noise and mean that you won't need to push the stereo to distortion
to get enough volume in the car...

The Speakers themselves are not that great (understatment!!!!) and the size of them makes it very difficult to generate bass and treble at the same time the easiest way to improve them is to cut out the bass frequency under 80htz  (this might be the wrong figure but it is a around there someware)  This cleans up the rest of the sound you get but it will sound tinny, as you will have no bass below a snare drum,
This is where a small sub comes in handy... more of that later though

Most car hifi people will tell you to do the dynamat and a set of speakers together as it reduces labour costs. Its up to you...  if you are used to stock car stereos then I would not go out of you way to change it as you will never go back and it is an expensive hobby...

3) What is the best way to get quality without  paying an arm and a leg?

Focus on what is wrong with _YOUR_  listening pleasure, not what the bod in a shop wants to sell you. You might find that just the dynamat and a crossover solves the issues you have. if all you do is listen to a radio then the sound quality you are used to is not that great anyway so racking up $$$ on something you  don't really appreciate is a waste of time and money.

4) Do I need/want a sub in my setup?

That is up to you really...  What it does is take the bass generation away from your little speakers in the doors and do the job properly. What they also do is increase the amount of vibration that your car bodywork has to deal with and to that end they can be an anoying source of rattles so if you do it, do it with care!

If you do go with a Sub you will probably need the new head unit too  as you will need a dedicated sub channel so that you can control the sub level independent of the volume  unless the Sub is active you will need an additional amp to drive it.  I bought a small active pioneer bass tube as it did everything in a small box that I can remove when I want the space in the luggage compartment back. There is an underdash unit but Im not sure how that works or what is involved in putting it in...

Kit is a personal taste thing but I would not hesitate to recommend  the Focal speakers and Dynamat...

I used Sextons to fit most of my kit but they are not the cheapest by any means, but when I had problems with the work they where always quick to sort it out for me  :-) :-) :-)  

I also used Leicester Car Radio. They are attached to a peugeot garage but the deals they they get are very good and they staff were very helpful I don't have the number anymore though...
 
All I started out to do was cure the rattling door problem  s:roll: :roll: s:roll: , so beware what you start ....

[Anonymous]

Peter, out of interest, what is the model of the Pioneer bass-tube that you have, how much was it and is it any good? I'm pondering over a small sub and like you, want something easily removable.

I've changed only my headunit (so far) on my '04 and the standard speakers seem to cope fine. I know I will notice a difference if/when I get round to changing them, but so far everything is OK. Looks from your avatar like you have a pre-03 so going on what has already been said, you might have worse speakers.

Hard to say really. Personally I would go for the headunit change first (if only to get better clarity), but then you are limited by the speakers. If you change the speakers, you are limited by what the stock headunit puts out. Ideally, change both the headunit and speakers  s;) s;)

[Anonymous]

Hi,
I bought it last year, and I can't remember the exact model number but a quick look on the web would suggest that it was a TS-WX10LPA they are based round a 100 watt amp and a 10cm cone in a very compact enclosure. They cost about £150 and are ugly as hell  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

BUT because you have not got the problems of  pushing the sound through a heavy boot lid it is more than adiquate to replace the base frequencies from your door speakers I was astounded when I heard mine for the first time     s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

I booted out my spare wheel (it's useless and crap!) and I use that as a storage bin for the usual junk, and keep the ones behind the seats free this seems to add to the bass as it echos round the bigger enclosure better. I also removed the end caps in the storage bin as well. I can fit a set of golf clubs in there now  :-) :-) :-)   with the tube in place!!

Regards,

Peter

[Anonymous]

i changed the head unit and added a small sub and i have to say that the stock front speakers are fine in my 03.

[Anonymous]

Seems you are getting some answers that don't all agree.  For what it's worth, I was in a similar position to yourself not too many months ago, for th evidence see my post  m http://tinyurl.com/5tf6h m

In the end, I decided to change both headunit and speakers.  Neither job is particularly tricky, though some confidence, experience and lots of forward planning getting parts and instructions together helps.  I persuaded 2 mates to help me out and we did the jobs, including going out to buy MDF (of which more later) in a morning.  I reckon it would have taken me alone a full day at least.  

Firstly, having removed them, I think the standard speakers are the cheapest, nastiest, pieces of rubbish I have ever seen fitted to any car.  I was really shocked by what poor quality they were.  If I was to start again I would, without question, replace the speakers first and then see what the sound was like.  We actually completed the h/u job first and with the door panels out the sound wasn't very good, but then it wouldn't be, would it, with the panels off.  PM me if you would like me to send you a std speaker, so you can see one without dismantling your car.  You need MDF spacers as you probably realise to fit the Focals.  Buster makes and sells these, but I (being a pedant and perfectionist) found the speaker cut-out a few mm too large and made replacements using Buster's as templates.  The Focal 165a's also may have been superceded, but they sound great.  Really clear and precise without being tiringly so.  For small speakers they give surprisingly good bass too.  

We found the h/u job a bit of a PITA, but it helps if you disbelieve spotty children on Halfords and insist that you need the RAV4 adaptor plate, if your car is 03-.  Even then, this doesn't really fit properly, needs lots of PERSUASION, but the result is good.  There's loads of info on the forum relating to h/u fitting if you search for it.  The Alpine I bought from Filcee is nice, I would buy another.  

hth
Andy

[Anonymous]

I bought a 2 few months ago and I simply love it but the standard sound system had to go. I since replaced the unit with an alpine the speakers with foculs and a kenwood amp, I can now really enjoy the music. It was fitted buy Sextons and the did a good job but i had a problem with the doors rattling. I bought some flashing tape from screw fix 225x10 and applied three layers all over the panels. Now the rattling stopped and the base sound even better  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[markiii]

i doubt he is still waiting for an answer

[kentsmudger]

But welcome to the club anyway!