Speaker pods or not?

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How many have gone with speaker pods in their cars and do they make a difference to the sound?

I have cut my speaker holes in the side panels (same location as factory Evo).

I was planning on using the drain pipe and end cap design that has been used by some other builders but just wanted to get some insight as to whether those that have gone without any pods feel that the sound may have been improved with pods?

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Do you think they have improved the sound as I have read a lot of negative reviews about these items?

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Thanks for constructive responses!

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UltimaFAN said:

deadscoob said:

Probably same here.

How about getting something like an iPhone 6+ or Android equiv, make a housing for it and build in a charge cable. Toucan then use it for sat nav, various obd diagnostics, lap timer and if you want music just have a pair of bluetooth headphones?

This is exactly what I'm doing. I don't want to install a heavy and bulky standard car hifi system. My solution is a simple Android 7'' tablet with all the flexibility. No need to do a hole in the dashboard, just 3D print of a frame for a 10mm thick solution. The last version of Android can finally use the USB for digital audio output, then everything is now ready. The system is then 100% flexible, can be updated as you want, it is lightweight, it has the best processing power and it is much cheaper than car hifi or car computer.
The main functions will be:
- Integrated GPS with Sygic
- OBD II connexion, fully customisable with Torque pro
- Mediaplayer with some GB of music, but this is not the first goal.
With a little bit of research, you find quickly the best software and everything can be configured with a root access.

For the ones who are doing sarcastic comments about the hifi in an Ultima, I disagree with it. I believe that the solution I'm coming with can be customized to specific needs and it will perfectly FIT the Ultima roadtrip oriented and roadtrip2track car that I'm aiming at.

This sounds like a good solution as I am not keen on having a traditional stereo in the dash. Perhaps I could go this route but still hook it up to a small amp and speakers so that the passenger can listen too.

I don't want anything that's going to set off car alarms, just some entertainment if caught in traffic!