Stereo Upgrade Time V8V
Discussion
Although the premium stereo is decent, I find the gap between the sub and 4" to large for most of the music I enjoy.
I wanted to keep things looking as stock as possible. With one exception all speakers are going on stock locations, Amps hidden in stock location as well. Only the addition of a 6.5" behind the seats will deviate from the stock look.
Front speakers - Focal 5.25" 130AC1. Modifying stock holder to accept larger speaker.
Rear speakers - Focal 3 way component 6.5", 4"& tweeter. 165AS3 (This should help with the missing midbass)
Sub - 8" Massive Hippo84 dvc. 1000w
Amps - 3x Pioneer GMD-1004 90w RMS x 2 each. Almost double the stock amp ratings. Could go bigger on the sub but it will be plenty.
Center channel - I'll put a 4" Focal later bit keep it on the stock amp
I tackled the sub first tonight. Hope to finish tomorrow and start on the door speakers. Maybe rear on Sunday. All running on stock amp's. I'll swap amps next weekend. First let me state the sub I chose is huge. I have to modify the sub box significantly to get it to fit, and to add needed volume. Upgrading subwoofers in the stock band pass enclosure is a compromise at best, dismal failure at worst.
I had to trim 1/8" off one edge of the sub frame to get it to slide in. I also had to make 2 small notches in the stock hole.
Since the woofer is 5.75" tall, I had to make a .25" spacer to raise it up. Easy enough, I took the rubber sealing ring and moved it below. I also had to take the rubber boot off thre magnet assembly to give enough clearance to message thre sub in.
Close up showing seal ring below speaker rim.
To add volume in the ported chamber, I cut the top cover, removing the area that holds the spare bulbs and tow hook. I then cut a piece of 1/2 plywood for a new top. Screwed it in and sealed with silicone.
Yesterday I finished everything except the plywood top. Even with the ported chamber wide open its it's a huge improvement, and that's with the stock amp. The stuck sub tended to be tuned in too small a band and was in effect a one note wonder. Sealing it back up may create the same situation. If so, I'll open it back up.
I wanted to keep things looking as stock as possible. With one exception all speakers are going on stock locations, Amps hidden in stock location as well. Only the addition of a 6.5" behind the seats will deviate from the stock look.
Front speakers - Focal 5.25" 130AC1. Modifying stock holder to accept larger speaker.
Rear speakers - Focal 3 way component 6.5", 4"& tweeter. 165AS3 (This should help with the missing midbass)
Sub - 8" Massive Hippo84 dvc. 1000w
Amps - 3x Pioneer GMD-1004 90w RMS x 2 each. Almost double the stock amp ratings. Could go bigger on the sub but it will be plenty.
Center channel - I'll put a 4" Focal later bit keep it on the stock amp
I tackled the sub first tonight. Hope to finish tomorrow and start on the door speakers. Maybe rear on Sunday. All running on stock amp's. I'll swap amps next weekend. First let me state the sub I chose is huge. I have to modify the sub box significantly to get it to fit, and to add needed volume. Upgrading subwoofers in the stock band pass enclosure is a compromise at best, dismal failure at worst.
I had to trim 1/8" off one edge of the sub frame to get it to slide in. I also had to make 2 small notches in the stock hole.
Since the woofer is 5.75" tall, I had to make a .25" spacer to raise it up. Easy enough, I took the rubber sealing ring and moved it below. I also had to take the rubber boot off thre magnet assembly to give enough clearance to message thre sub in.
Close up showing seal ring below speaker rim.
To add volume in the ported chamber, I cut the top cover, removing the area that holds the spare bulbs and tow hook. I then cut a piece of 1/2 plywood for a new top. Screwed it in and sealed with silicone.
Yesterday I finished everything except the plywood top. Even with the ported chamber wide open its it's a huge improvement, and that's with the stock amp. The stuck sub tended to be tuned in too small a band and was in effect a one note wonder. Sealing it back up may create the same situation. If so, I'll open it back up.
Was hoping to have this finished already but spent the last 2 weeks in Oman, sadly no car to tinker with or drive. Been back 3 days and took one to finish the back speakers.
Started with Focal 3 component set. 6.5" Mid Bass, 4" mid and dome tweeter.
6.5" Mid Bass was fairly straight forward. Mounted in the rear side panel. Trick is to space it so the magnet clears the seat belt mechanisms. This is a fairly deep speaker and there was room to spare. Using the fiber panel is not ideal with out additional support and stiffening, I will tackle that on a later date. For now it is easily solid enough for function.
Now the difficult part. For now I simply hacked into the stock speaker frame and mounted the new speakers. Hogged out the hole for the old tweeter and bonded the new one in. At some point, when I have a free day, I will pull the mounts, scan them and 3D print new ones that match up to the new speakers. For now, it's not pretty. However it performs as intended.
Final result is clean as the grill covers the mid and tweeter. Cutting into the rear side panel resulted in a clean look in my opinion, however for some it is obviously blasphemy. For me, this is a daily driver, that will be ridden hard and put away wet.
As far as the sound. A nice improvement in the lower bass between the upper roll off of the sub and lower limits of the stock 4" mids. Overall clarity is much improved. The Alpine speakers are not awful by any means, however the focals are more crisp with better separation. By changing the fronts before the backs I could compare sound for several days. I even compared right to left after installing a single side. Not night and day, but enough to warrant the change.
The door speakers seem to be loud enough. The rear components want more power. The rear 6.5" is blocked slightly by the seat back. A few inches back would be more ideal, however there would be no open depth to mount.
I have 3 D class amps going in next. They will fit where the stock amps are currently. Other than the 6.5" Mid Bass I am attempting to keep things looking stock. I am taking the line level inputs before the stock amp and converting them to RCA, then into the amps. Will be running double the power on the front and rear, 3 times on the sub. Should be a tad louder, but more importantly cleaner at typical listening volume.
I also want to try a high pass filter on the front speakers so I can crank up the bass on the EQ a tad more for the rear speakers.
Started with Focal 3 component set. 6.5" Mid Bass, 4" mid and dome tweeter.
6.5" Mid Bass was fairly straight forward. Mounted in the rear side panel. Trick is to space it so the magnet clears the seat belt mechanisms. This is a fairly deep speaker and there was room to spare. Using the fiber panel is not ideal with out additional support and stiffening, I will tackle that on a later date. For now it is easily solid enough for function.
Now the difficult part. For now I simply hacked into the stock speaker frame and mounted the new speakers. Hogged out the hole for the old tweeter and bonded the new one in. At some point, when I have a free day, I will pull the mounts, scan them and 3D print new ones that match up to the new speakers. For now, it's not pretty. However it performs as intended.
Final result is clean as the grill covers the mid and tweeter. Cutting into the rear side panel resulted in a clean look in my opinion, however for some it is obviously blasphemy. For me, this is a daily driver, that will be ridden hard and put away wet.
As far as the sound. A nice improvement in the lower bass between the upper roll off of the sub and lower limits of the stock 4" mids. Overall clarity is much improved. The Alpine speakers are not awful by any means, however the focals are more crisp with better separation. By changing the fronts before the backs I could compare sound for several days. I even compared right to left after installing a single side. Not night and day, but enough to warrant the change.
The door speakers seem to be loud enough. The rear components want more power. The rear 6.5" is blocked slightly by the seat back. A few inches back would be more ideal, however there would be no open depth to mount.
I have 3 D class amps going in next. They will fit where the stock amps are currently. Other than the 6.5" Mid Bass I am attempting to keep things looking stock. I am taking the line level inputs before the stock amp and converting them to RCA, then into the amps. Will be running double the power on the front and rear, 3 times on the sub. Should be a tad louder, but more importantly cleaner at typical listening volume.
I also want to try a high pass filter on the front speakers so I can crank up the bass on the EQ a tad more for the rear speakers.
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