not happy with sound after upgrade!

[alistair197]

as you all know the standard components are shocking so I recently treated myself and brought some decent speakers costing £110 in total

But after installing them I still think they sound rubbish! I havent amp'd them up and Im using the existing headunit so I not expecting any miracles. But for what I paid I was hoping for something a little more impressive.

They cant handle much bass, and the sound isnt very clear.

These are what I have installed
Front
http://caraudiosecurity.com/ecx130-3-2-way-13cm-speakers

Rear
http://caraudiosecurity.com/sxe-1325s-13cm-200w-speakers

Basically has anyone else had a similar story? And is there a solution that dosent require a full install? thanks!

 

[GrumpyTwig]

In what way are they rubbish?

The OEM HU is a cheap piece of crap so you're probably going to need to change it. People will say change one or the other but in reality the whole OEM sound system is crap and if someone was really serious they should be relaying the speaker cables too with some better cable.

 

[Rogue]

As above really. Change your HU.

 

[FaithlessEmo]

As stated, the standard head unit just has a very cheap amp built in. Get a new head unit and you will see the benefit of the new speakers.
Quality of the standard head unit is dire! I prefer to open the windows and put the right foot down and listen to that sound track!

 

[Iain 007]

Is there a solution that dosent require a full install? thanks!

Unfortunately, No.

You'll need to change the head-unit for starters, then to get a decent sound you'll probably have to sound deaden the doors and especially the cavernous hole in the rear where the speakers sit then. I'd also amp them if you are looking for crisp sound at higher volumes...

...then you'll probably need a sub too.

 

[Mikeyjp]

as above, it because your HU sucks and you have not amp'd them

 

[BenW]

Standard speakers aren't actually that terrible once you stick a decent HU on them.

 

[chettle]

I was talking to a friend about this earlier. You dont necessarily need to replace the HU, you can get a processor to fit between the standard HU and an aftermarket amp. The lad competes in SQ comps, so i have no doubt hes correct, im just waiting on info back as to what this extra processor actually is

edit:

http://www.audison.eu/index.php?page=product&id=49

something like this

 

[GrumpyTwig]

I was talking to a friend about this earlier. You dont necessarily need to replace the HU, you can get a processor to fit between the standard HU and an aftermarket amp. The lad competes in SQ comps, so i have no doubt hes correct, im just waiting on info back as to what this extra processor actually is

Sorry but that's like putting a plaster on a sword wound.

I can assure you that once you've lost something in the audio chain you cannot get it back. Anything you do is merely masking its loss.
If you want good sound quality it requires better quality hardware for the digital to analogue conversion to start with.

The processor is likely just a second power/eq stage. It won't increase quality.

Please excuse the potential tone of the post but I would hate to see someone mislead.

 

[chettle]

Sorry but that's like putting a plaster on a sword wound.

I can assure you that once you've lost something in the audio chain you cannot get it back. Anything you do is merely masking its loss.
If you want good sound quality it requires better quality hardware for the digital to analogue conversion to start with.

The processor is likely just a second power/eq stage. It won't increase quality.

Please excuse the potential tone of the post but I would hate to see someone mislead.

Not completely. The quality isnt completely lost, the headunit dumbs down the signal appropriately for the speakers, the Bit One simply puts it back to the levels it should do.

My friend has one of these, and i will be trying it out on mine, so ill let you know how good they actually are.

They also allow you to set the time correction, little things but they all add up

 

[GrumpyTwig]

Not completely. The quality isnt completely lost, the headunit dumbs down the signal appropriately for the speakers, the Bit One simply puts it back to the levels it should do.

My friend has one of these, and i will be trying it out on mine, so ill let you know how good they actually are.

They also allow you to set the time correction, little things but they all add up

They're a waste of money if trying to increase sound quality, there is no magic out there to fix a bad quality source and there's much more to sound quality than just levels/EQ.

It's fine though if you just want to turn up the bass or EQ the output. But all you're doing then is adding more background noise back in too, unless it has a noise filter too? But then all that does is remove stuff from the signal and you end up losing more of the audio content or even add back in artifacts.

 

[chettle]

I couldnt tell u much else tbh! The lad that told me this competes in SPQ comps, and runs one, and seems to always be coming first/second in these spq comps (his last was mods, and came 2nd)

Im gonna get him to chuck it in mine for an afternoon and see how it compares

 

[GrumpyTwig]

What is an SPQ comp?

 

[ashtons99]

Its short for SPQR.....something to do with the Senate and the Roman People.....Frankie Howard used to walk round in a toga in Up Pompeii carrying a flag with it on!!!:book:

 

[chettle]

What is an SPQ comp?

SPQ is basically Sound Quality comps, where as SPL is about big dirty window flexing bass

 

[Kaspar]

I have a question. Not all 197s come with the Cabasse 6 CD changer, right? I've got one in my car and I wonder if that is as hopeless too? I'm thinking about changing my component speakers to get at least some bass, but would it still be a waste of money? (not looking to go to sound quality competitions or smth)

 

[GrumpyTwig]

I have a question. Not all 197s come with the Cabasse 6 CD changer, right? I've got one in my car and I wonder if that is as hopeless too? I'm thinking about changing my component speakers to get at least some bass, but would it still be a waste of money? (not looking to go to sound quality competitions or smth)

These are the kind of questions that deserve a new thread

No they don't all come with the CD-changer. In terms of it being good/bad it can't really do a lot wrong as from what I understand of the Renault cabasse kit and would expect all modern Cd changers they have a digital output between it and the HU so it couldn't in itself be blamed for any poor sound.

I'm going to say on the bass front while you might get a touch more and certainly a better defined low range out of some aftermarket speakers you're still not going to get a lot of bass.

In the Clio you have tiny 13cm cones basically mounted in an open baffle i.e it's not sealed in any way but for the most part there is a separation between the front and rear of the cone.
Open baffles are atrocious at creating any meaningful bass.

If you want really strong bass (doesn't bother me too much due to my taste in music) you might want to consider a small sub, though that in itself might require a new HU as well.

To get adequate bass I've had to change the speakers and HU as well as (blasphemy!) use a lot of low end EQ :thumb1: as I can't bring myself to fit a sub...

 

[BenW]

The bit-one processor linked above is meant to be a great piece of kit, whilst not as good as a high quality processor don't assume they're bad. When chettle was saying about the headunit dumbing down the sound, he's right. Standard fitment headunits attenuate the low frequencies to protect the speakers (this is what destroys speakers at high volume and 'blows' them) and the processors can compensate for this by bringing the signal back to where it should be (amplitude wise). They can also properly EQ the signal to either an ideal flat response or to suit your ears. What they won't do however is account for poor DACs etc. which means it will never be as good as a proper high quality headunit.

 

[RS200A&D]

I put Focal Utopia Be and deadening in the doors, Seas tweeters upfront, twin subs and Arc mini amps in the back, all fed through the factory HU and an Audison processor. The sound is fantastic. The guys who installed it gave me a long technical explanation about how the standard head-unit works just fine with a good processor. When I argued to the contrary and repeated stuff I'd read on forums they just rolled their eyes...

Here's a link to my install:

http://www.ozrenaultsport.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=22249

 

[Foxspeed]

What is an SPQ comp?

its a sort of maccy d's on a night except just bass going booom booom :s