Hi guys.

Just wondered if anybody has changed there standard speakers for something abit better? If so, what?

I popped into a local car audio shop today and got talkin to a nice bloke there. He says the standard headunit (swing) and cables will all be up to the job in the Fabia (apparently Skoda speaker cables are already pretty good, unlike hondas etc). He recommended some JL Audio c3 speakers. Says they are brilliant and idea for what i want. Also, they can be concealed in the same space as the normal speakers (tweeters too) so you wont even be sble to tell theyve been changed by looking at them.

Anybody else done similar?

I can have it done for around £300 fitted plus the cost of the sound deadening, so im really considering this after christmas sometime.

He showed me his car with the same speakers in. Only 6 of them plus 2 subs and amps (hooked up to some expensive headunit) and they sounded brilliant. Clarity was brilliant. Obv mine wouldnt sound that good though haha.

Cheers in advance

Hi,

I had some Hertz ESK 165s fitted to the front doors of my vRS along with MDF spacers and dynamat sound deadening (invisible to see - looks standard). 

As well as this I had a 4ch amp fitted (Focal) and a slimline Hertz sub in the boot. 

 

The sound is fantastic and I am very happy with the upgrade. I can't speak for having the speakers on their own upgraded, but having the whole lot done is a massive improvement and sounds great with the standard head unit. The wiring through the doors was kept standard as it is a real pain to route cable into the door.

The kind of setup I have was around £800 fully fitted. I saved some money and bought the speakers and sub used (ending up costing £600ish). If you can stretch the budget and do the lot, do it - you won't regret it!

 

I would say £300 to just have the front speakers done sounds a little pricey. It's only 2 hours labour max for the speakers. Having said that, I don't know the price of the speakers you have been recommended.

Thanks for the reply!

So did you have to get a high level input on the amp in order to run it off the swing?

Id love a sub too, he said he could build a small (6 or 8 inch i think he said) sub into the side of the boot (the recess where between the back of the wheel arch and the back of the car). Reckoned it would be just enough to massively improve the low end but not too powerful obviously due to the size. He could do this at a later date if i so wished.

The speakers are £250 a pair (theyre convertable speakers so can be used as componant as id have it, or coaxial if space is an issue). So with 2 hours fitting, i guess £25 an hour sounds about right?

Also mate, was there plenty of room in there? Any problems fitting in the door speakers? Enough depth?

Cheers

Hello there,

 

Yes the amp I bought takes high level input. Works very well - no interference or problems running directly from the head unit - sounds quality is very good indeed.

 

A sub makes an enormous difference to the sound, even a small one works great. This is the one I have:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hertz-Car-Audio-EBX-F20-8-Slim-Flat-Subwoofer-Box-/380526397048?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item5899240678

 

Very compact and tough, can be laid flat and shopping piled on top of it without an issue!

 

The JLs that you have been recommended look good, butI would probably prefer a speaker that isn't a convertible if I was only going to use it as a component set - a dedicated component I would imagine to function better than one made for dual purpose. 

 

There was no issue getting the components behind the A-pillars. The door speakers I bought are quite deep, so needed careful measuring with MDF collars making to make sure they clear the window and then the door trim. The benefit to having a sub is that the door speakers no longer need to reproduce the full range of sound, cutting some of the lower bass allows them to go louder and therefore distort less as well as there being less excursion so they won't hit your door trim.

 

If at all possible I would get it all done at once - maybe go for less expensive speakers or go used? I had a mobile fitter do the install on mine (not really cheaper but more convenient), he supplied the amp and wiring, I bought the sub and speakers.

 

The difference is amazing, and I love the system I now have!

Brilliant, your being very helpful to my decisions here, many thanks .

That sub looks good. Doesnt take up too much space either by the looks of it, thst was what put me off having a sub box.

He let melisten to those speakers in his car, and it sounded brilliant. Clarity was awesome. So that pretty much sold them to me. Obviously it wouldnt sound that good in the fabia due to the swing radio and his was running through an amp dedicated (2 sets in the front and one set in the back) for the speakers and an amp dedicated for the 2x12" subs he'd built into the back of his mk2 golf gti. However i do know what they are capable of so wont be restricting me if i get the bug and want to keep making it sound better and better.

Unfortunately, iv been into my home audio in the past, having a half decent seperates set up at home, iv aquired an ear for quality. Unfortunately for my bank haha.

Yeah having a sub will take the strain off the mids, so are likely to last a lot longer too, which is always good .

Mind me asking what genre or music you listen to? Plenty of bass with the sub in then? Do you find you get many rattles?

Im tempted to go back after christmas and tell him to do it, on the condition that he fits sound deadening to the inside of the doors while hes at it, for £300

Having thought about used, i dont know if i want to spend alot of money having it all fitted and not know the history of the speaker. If its been continously over driven or whatever.

How long did it take the mobile man to do the whole lot?

Thanks again, your being a true help!

Edited 17 December, 201312 yr by Otaylor38

No problem! 

 

I've found that it doesn't matter how you listen to car audio speakers - in a shop, in another car - you won't get a true feel for the sound of them until they are actually fitted to your own car - the acoustics of the inside of the car vary so hugely from model to model. Having said that, you can at least usually tell how bright they are and how much low end they might be able to handle. I f you are happy with the sound and the price of those, I'd say to go for it! 

 

I am entirely happy with mine, I can't see they will need to be upgraded anytime soon and are only £130 new... I take your point about the risk with used equipment, I knew the history of the ones I was buying, so wasn't concerned. Buying blind would be an issue though.

 

I am in the same boat with home audio - it's a bloody expensive hobby!!

 

As for types of music, I really listen to almost anything, from classical, through vocal folk to drum&bass/dubstep, so the speakers get a fair workout! The bass is ample and very tight, whilst still going very low. I was really surprised by the sub i chose. it is only an 8" driver, but that 10" passive radiator gives it a real boost - very clever system. It is very nice and compact, it is only the depth that has to be accommodated and at 4 1/2" it takes up very little boot space - quite important in the little fabia's boot. 

As a bonus, the amp I had installed had a remote control for the bass level, so I can turn the sub up and down from the drivers seat - very handy to tune it for different music.

 

I get no rattles at all from the rear of the car - at the moment I have a tiny vibration from the front right door trim at the top. I can tell where it is coming from (window glass trim) so shouldn't be difficult to stop. If I am playing at high volume the door trim can give a little rattle on the bass notes - it stops if my arm is lightly on the arm rest. As it is most of the time, this doesn't worry me.

Definitely get the soundproofing done and the more the better. It doesn't seem to matter what brand you choose, they all do the same job, you pay more for certain labels I think.

 

It took the mobile guy longer than he thought it would as he had to fiddle around with the depth of the speaker MDF collars - initially they were too thick and the cone hit the trim when working. In all for the whole install, it took about 7 hours (with a few breaks). He didn't charge me any more than his original quote though (4 hours) so that was great! He did a great job and nothing is visible from inside the car, until you open the boot of course.

 

Glad to be of help, if you were closer you could have had a listen!!

Fantastic. Looks like its going to get expensive then, if i get the bug with the car like i did with my home system haha.

Id of loved to have a listen, but it is abit far haha. Cheers anyway.

Thanks again for taking the time out to give me such useful information .

Ill wait until after christmas, then get them fitted. Then after that ill look into having a sub fitted similar to yours . I would love to have one built in, but not sure i can warrant the money. Ill cross that bridge when i come to it.

Cheers again mate

No problem.

 

Things like this always get expensive....!

 

I look forward to an update and seeing what you get sorted.

It is a bit of a trek, I used to work in Derbyshire a few years back, Burnaston to be exact

 

Good luck with it!

 

I'm about to have my speakers upgraded to the Alpine DLX-Z17PRO's in the front doors, with an SWR-T12 subwoofer in the boot

 

Front Speakers:

http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=325

 

Subwoofer:

http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=185

 

Amplifiers: PDX-M12 & PDX-F6

http://www.alpine.com.au/showProduct.php?pid=9

 

All this should match up nicely with the head unit I had installed:

http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=292

Edited 19 December, 201312 yr by maccab36

Looks like a nice set up that mate. Let me know how you get on .