Elise S2 - To Sub Woof or Not to Sub Woof That's the questio
Discussion
Hi All,
so as a DiYer I've no issue fitting my own car stereo, the Elise (S2) likes to try and slice your hands apart but I managed it on both S2's I've owned no problem.
Having a life and driving other vehicles constantly reminds me how bad the sound quality is in the Elise (well perhaps that's unfair, not bad just not brilliant). Anyway, rather than throw four perfectly good speakers out I wondered if I should invest some pennies in a subwoofer. The stereo I have a Pure Highway H260DBi supports the use of a sub, so should just be a question of power and plugging one in...
Don't get me wrong I'm now beatbox super yobbo teenager who wants everyone else to hear my base as I come down the street but I would like to improve the quality of the sound I get and whilst sometimes I like to turn it all off and listen to the sound of the engine growling at me because yet again I've forgotten to check the oil !, sometimes like real people I like to listen to my music too.
It is my only car so is getting used fairly regularly, so something practical I can hide away on the back shelf or under a seat or somewhere else inconspicuous would be great...
Budget is basically whatever I can get in terms of birthday money and I wouldn't rule out a second hand unit...
Also while I'm on about it... it appears that the aerial (now under the front of the car) doesn't work... The DAB aerial I've stuck to the windscreen also seems to not pick up any DAB signals anymore too... any suggestions for what to check? How replacable is the aerial and can you have a DAB aerial under the front cover like the standard one?
Any suggestions ? (Polite one's please) :-)
Thanks in advance and all the best....
Paul.
so as a DiYer I've no issue fitting my own car stereo, the Elise (S2) likes to try and slice your hands apart but I managed it on both S2's I've owned no problem.
Having a life and driving other vehicles constantly reminds me how bad the sound quality is in the Elise (well perhaps that's unfair, not bad just not brilliant). Anyway, rather than throw four perfectly good speakers out I wondered if I should invest some pennies in a subwoofer. The stereo I have a Pure Highway H260DBi supports the use of a sub, so should just be a question of power and plugging one in...
Don't get me wrong I'm now beatbox super yobbo teenager who wants everyone else to hear my base as I come down the street but I would like to improve the quality of the sound I get and whilst sometimes I like to turn it all off and listen to the sound of the engine growling at me because yet again I've forgotten to check the oil !, sometimes like real people I like to listen to my music too.
It is my only car so is getting used fairly regularly, so something practical I can hide away on the back shelf or under a seat or somewhere else inconspicuous would be great...
Budget is basically whatever I can get in terms of birthday money and I wouldn't rule out a second hand unit...
Also while I'm on about it... it appears that the aerial (now under the front of the car) doesn't work... The DAB aerial I've stuck to the windscreen also seems to not pick up any DAB signals anymore too... any suggestions for what to check? How replacable is the aerial and can you have a DAB aerial under the front cover like the standard one?
Any suggestions ? (Polite one's please) :-)
Thanks in advance and all the best....
Paul.
I've heard of some people installing a DAB antenna, got a new head unit but didn't bother with the arial (I just use Spotify).
You can get much better sound just be switching out the stock speakers, I'd probaby start with that. I looked at how installing a sub would work (mainly out of curiosity) and there are a couple of solutions - behind driver or footwell, neither of which sound particualry good (apparently), and have their own compromises.
For behind the driver there this one:
Which sites behind the driver's seat. From what I've read by customers is prevents the seat from being pushed fully back - no good for taller people like me. Possibly not an issue for LHD Elises.
.. and there's this one, too:
Made by a guy called Chuck Risen in the States.
They both only accommodate fairly small subs, too, so aren't going to sound great, and obviously also use up the storage shelf, which is surprisingly useful in an Elise, given there's virtually no storage elsewhere...
The other solutions seem to be located in the passenger footwell and vary between crap and very DIY. There was an LHD one which won't work in UK cars which didn't look to bad, for what it was. There are also the cheap and nasty powered subs, but those sound awful and look gash. Plus they compromise the passenger seating position and are susceptible to getting kicked (and damaged) too. Worth remembering that the Elise is probably the worse car for audiophiles this side of a Seven, too, realisitically it's still going to sound crap.
I replaced the speakers and head unit in my car and put in a marine (!) amplifier - intended for boats but it's nice and small and light. While it sounds a lot better than stock, in retrospect I wouldn't have bothered, as it still sounds crap compared to a normal person's car and a subwoofer really wouldn't do much else other than cost a few hundred quid, add a couple of KG and compromise things even more.
You can get much better sound just be switching out the stock speakers, I'd probaby start with that. I looked at how installing a sub would work (mainly out of curiosity) and there are a couple of solutions - behind driver or footwell, neither of which sound particualry good (apparently), and have their own compromises.
For behind the driver there this one:
Which sites behind the driver's seat. From what I've read by customers is prevents the seat from being pushed fully back - no good for taller people like me. Possibly not an issue for LHD Elises.
.. and there's this one, too:
Made by a guy called Chuck Risen in the States.
They both only accommodate fairly small subs, too, so aren't going to sound great, and obviously also use up the storage shelf, which is surprisingly useful in an Elise, given there's virtually no storage elsewhere...
The other solutions seem to be located in the passenger footwell and vary between crap and very DIY. There was an LHD one which won't work in UK cars which didn't look to bad, for what it was. There are also the cheap and nasty powered subs, but those sound awful and look gash. Plus they compromise the passenger seating position and are susceptible to getting kicked (and damaged) too. Worth remembering that the Elise is probably the worse car for audiophiles this side of a Seven, too, realisitically it's still going to sound crap.
I replaced the speakers and head unit in my car and put in a marine (!) amplifier - intended for boats but it's nice and small and light. While it sounds a lot better than stock, in retrospect I wouldn't have bothered, as it still sounds crap compared to a normal person's car and a subwoofer really wouldn't do much else other than cost a few hundred quid, add a couple of KG and compromise things even more.
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