Hi. I had this on the ICE category, but have not received any replies...hoping I can get better feedback here....

Here goes:

 

I am looking to upgrade my "under warranty" VRS to help with the long motorway commute. My listening is Audio books, Bollywood, Classical, Queen, Lenka, Adele type of music.

 

I have been given the following as an option

 

speaking to a installer whos worked on a VRS fabia before I was given the following suggestions:

 

Option 1

Focal PS165 front component speakers mounted on MDF collars

Enhance EHSW8ACT 8" active Subwoofer

Dynamat

 

Option 2:

Focal PS65 front component speakers mounted on MDF collars

Focal Ibus 2.1 8" active subwoofer with inbuilt 2 x 55watt amplifier for front speakers http://www.focal.com/en/plug-play/250-ibus-21-3544059750129.html

Dynamat

 

 

1. Any views on the above? I prefer option 2, cox...well coz it's all focal !

2. Doing some more research I see I can get teh PSS165 v15 at a very good price. Are they worth the extra tenner on top of the standard 165 ?

3. I dont have heated seats so no worries over vents under the seat, but wondering if someone with a size9 can still sit in the rear passenger seat and have his feet on the floor without stepping onto the focal underseat ?

 

thanks

D

If your going to have an amp for the sub anyway, you might aswel amp the front speakers too. Should give you a much better result and take the stress off the headunit during heavy listening

If your going to have an amp for the sub anyway, you might aswel amp the front speakers too. Should give you a much better result and take the stress off the headunit during heavy listening

 

My thoughts exactly. I checked out the difference between the focal ibus 20 and the ibus 2.1 The ibus 2.1 is a amp and asub, and geared to provide a good 2.1 channel....I think, I will re-check with the installer.

has anyone installed an underseat sub. THe ibus dimensions are 71.5 x 344 x 250mm so wondering if it will fit nicely ?

 

cheers

D

Hi there. i finally managed to confirm my speaker upgrades as follows:

 

Front Speakers: Focal 165 v15

Sub: CS 110-Wx

Amp: JBL GT0-3EZ

 

All sounds good, however I have sensitive hearing and the "static"/whitenoise is killing me, when there is no music being played.....seems like the I am using the High level output to the amp, because my Swing HU does not have RCAs.

Is there anything I can do ?

 

All sounds good, however I have sensitive hearing and the "static"/whitenoise is killing me, when there is no music being played.....seems like the I am using the High level output to the amp, because my Swing HU does not have RCAs.

Is there anything I can do ?

 

Is the gain on your amp turned up high enough?

 

The Swing runs out of steam at around 15-17 volume in my experience. At that point sound quality degrades noticeably. If your amp is set up correctly, you shouldn't ever have to turn your swing stereo up to that level.

 

If your amp IS set up properly, and you are getting nice loud music BELOW 15-17, then it's possible your amp hasn't got a good earth. You should have an earth cable of the same diameter as the power cable, it should be short (less than a metre, ideally) and it should be strongly bolted to an unpainted part of the chassis. If you've got a bad earth, you'll get whining/hissing etc. through the front speakers.

 

The lack of RCAs shouldn't be a problem, but I've noticed that the Swing stereo does seem to mess with the EQ at certain volumes. I plan on fitting one of these to try and combat that, but I don't yet know how much of a difference it makes. It also gives you a nice high-voltage RCA output to use with the amp.

 

http://www.audiocontrol.com/17612/645207/OEM-Integration/Two-Channel-Line-Out-Converter-with-AccuBASStm-and-Subwoofer-Control----LC2i.html

Another option is to install an Audison Bit-Ten. There are other makes of processor I think Alpine do one.

This will take the high level output from the Head Unit and level the EQ all off (clean the sound) and provide RCA to your amp.

The sound outputted can also be modified to suit you and the car, might need an audio specialist to do this properly.

 

I want to get one of these for my monte just need to save up as they aren't cheap.

I posted a similar answer about the gains on your other thread - copied below:

 

 

"Congrats on getting the upgrade, looks to be an interesting set up. I would suggest the first thing to look at about the 'noise' issue is the gain settings on the amp. This answer on Yahoo explains it well:

 

http://answers.yahoo...04162649AA0kGnO

 

Did you install yourself or did you get it installed? If it was installed, maybe ask the installer to check the levels and converter position (high -> RCA)

I gather with that amp, it comes with high level to RCA converters? The position of these can make a difference to the noise as it can pick up interference if placed near to power wiring etc.

 

Hope that helps!"

 

I'm interested to know what you think of the JL Sub package, they seem very good value - does it perform well?

Zouche: I had the same chap that installed yours. Real, nice chap and took his time, meaning it wasnt a rushed job. I did go back and check and lol the gains were too high....I think I played with the settings and saw the amber/green/red lights on amp "guiding" me to a right level for a green light. Just realised it was too high.  Setting it low has main the sound less distorted/painful, but the hiss is still there.

Marky: The Audison Bit-Ten looks expensive!...I'm not even going to google it, as the wife will kill me. I need to keep under £50. I know you can get cheaper, but it's not just a speaker to rca...I need to make sure it will be clean and no hum.

 

JL Sub: Very compact and nice. It can go loud, but I like it hard and quiet. Couple of tracks of the "Django unchained" album sounds wicked, especially the shotgun!

Marky: The Audison Bit-Ten looks expensive!...I'm not even going to google it, as the wife will kill me. I need to keep under £50. I know you can get cheaper, but it's not just a speaker to rca...I need to make sure it will be clean and no hum.

 

Your right the Audison Bit-Ten is not cheap, about £300.00 or £20.00 if the wife asks

 

However used correctly (hence the need to get a proper installer to do it) the Audison can clean up the sound from your Head Unit and then be re-tuned for your specific speakers/car/audio tastes.

 

In your case it's not what you are after. But it gives you something to save up for

Glad that you found the guy to be good for you - he took his time on mine as well, which was nice, although on mine the gains were set rather low, which now turned up give a lot more oomph!

 

Interesting about the JL... I have a very compact sub, and although it sounds good (now the gains are higher!), I always like a little more bass.

Interesting observation on my part....I always thought that the road noise or having the volume louder when driving was "drowning" out the hum, and that I could only hear it when listening when driving at a slow speed or listening to soft audio, like an audiobook. However, I noticed it is worst when I brake. The moment I take the foot off the brake, the hums becomes markedly less....Hmmmmmm !