Anyone gone this route?

How did they find the existing speakers with an improved HU?

Jono

Hi Jono

I went this route opted for Kenwood mask head unit and changer. found the sound to be a lot better. Trouble is that the replacement head unit is a lot more powerful and whilst it sounds a lot better when you turn it up you find the weakness of the speakers again with distortion.

Next upgrade was to install 8" sub with built in amp which provides all the bass you need.( unless you are a bass junky!) Turn down the bass on factory speakers and they can then take more volume without distortion. (a good compromise as reccomended by friends in the trade)

However have now gone the route of fitting custom fit speakers all round and the improvement is dramatic!!!

Its a bit like the tuning thing, its a slippery slope.

Paul

yes indeedy paul, a very slippery slope.

before i got rid of my first RS, i was looking to start changing the ICE setup but never got around to it.

new RS coming next week, already chipped with full milltek - i can sense the need to do something already!

i fancy satnav as a starter i think.......

im thinking of changing all my speakers in my RS to rockfords, hope they are better and i notice the difference

I went for Pioneer components front and rear.

Rears no problem to fit but slightly fiddly.

Fronts however have larger magnets on than factory and ended up cutting away small part of Window bracket on door internal to fit. No structural implications but just be aware of the size of magnets and possible need to cut.

Once this was done i was still able to retain the waterproof cup behind speakers.

I see from other threads reccomendations to do away with this cup, apparently leading to better sound with factory speakers but personal opinion is that all you are doing is allowing bass to go into door cavity rather than car and dry speakers definitely sound better than wet ones.

Paul

I thought the idea of removing the water proof cup WAS to let the sound go into the door cavity. This would probably allow greater air movement and hence better sound quality......I suppose it's kind of like a sound enclosure thingy(??)

SkodiRs

Dunno exact theory just a feeling that you would be actually losing bass to the cavity rather than the car. aren't enclosed subs more efficient than free air subs?

It is possible the cup provides too little air movement hence supposed improvement on its removal. quite happy to be proved wrong on this and interested to know, am sure someone knows more about this than me.

i was interested to know if improvement was perceived rather than actual, because speakers less likely to distort with more air space behind them.

Paul

All comes down to personal preference.

I prefer the speakers without insulation behind them (particularly in the boot), as this allows the door/boot to act like a speaker enclosure. Also the insulation won't be reflective, so it's a question of either losing the bass into the insulation or allowing it to reflex through the enclosure...

Rob.

Paul,

I dunno either....was just suppositioning.

I haven't removed the foam cup and am happy with the sound quality I get. The Infinity are not a "dance" (lots of bass) orientated speaker so you can get them to distort at higher volumes but 95% of the time they are great.

Cheers.

Adrian.

Jono,

Changed the stock head unit in my fab for a Kenwood HU and multichanger. Kept stock speakers and added amp/sub in the boot. No complaints at all (I think the fab speakers are slightly better than in the octy?)

Adrian / Rob

I agree with both of you on your points and if i did not have sub in boot would probably investigate further, Head set is on -3 bass loudness off and with slight bias towards front speakers. Less Bass on door speakers means less chance of distortion = higher possible volume but still with good bass from sub. I'm talking nice amount of Bass in car, not "hear it coming down the street" type.

like you say personal preferences, mine sounds good and would not want to get

Think they might be the same speakers (ETKA will say for sure), but the Fabia mountings are better both in terms of acoustic design and positioning. Likewise with the Superb...

Rob.

Originally posted by YellvRS in this post

would not want to get

Stimps,

the factory speakers in the Octy vRS are supposed to be upgraded from the basic models (L& K might also have them)but having seen the supposed basic ones in another octy it was difficult to tell where the upgrade had taken place. (The Badges on the grill possibly) Am actually surprised that the sound was as good as it was. Much Much better with replacements.

its possible that the siting of the Fabia speakers gives a better sound reproduction?

Paul

Originally posted by robmawer in this post

I'm not sure if they would get wet - I've never had cups on mine, all I have is a plastic sheeting at the rear of the enclosure. But if you're happy with it, then there's no point in messing...

Rob.

Mines a late 2002 car, remove cups and straight into door cavity. Have they changed or did you put plastic sheet in place?

:confused:

waahay just worked out how to quote! ( i think!)

Paul

I replaced my HU unit for a CD single disc player straight away - only because all my music was on CDs and a tape player is as much use to me as a chocolate fireguard!

However, as mentioned above, the new HU is quite powerful and at high volumes the speakers (left hand more so) do distort. This does only happen at head-banging volumes though.

Have now installed a Rockford Fosgate amp and Dynaudio 10" sub in the boot now, so I tend to have the HU volume down lower than I used to as the sub produces major bass (something the speakers struggled to do.) I think the next move is some 90W/100W door 13cm speakers, but this is a low priority now. Anyone know what wattage the standard Fabia 13cm speakers are? If they're already around 70W/80W I may not bother.

:cheers:

Originally posted by devonutopia in this post

If they're already around 70W/80W I may not bother.

:cheers:

I would be surprised if they are rated that high, just had a look at old Octy ones but it is not marked on them. New pioneers rated at 220W Driven off 4 x 45 Kenwood HU

Surprised thought Fabia had bigger front speakers than 13's

Paul

Originally posted by devonutopia in this post

Anyone know what wattage the standard Fabia 13cm speakers are? If they're already around 70W/80W I may not bother.

Dunno, but I'd say ignore the wattage ratings as they won't tell you how good a speaker sounds - indeed, neither your amp nor sub are rated *that* highly in terms of power, but it still sounds awesome!

Rob.