SnyperX's Stereo Upgrade Thread

[Brian_J]

I really considered the 10", but being I am a hard rock guy I wanted the bass to be more short and punchy and less long and boomy.

Is that a sealed enclosure? I don’t see that spec listed on the kicker website.

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[BootXL76]

Is that a sealed enclosure? I don’t see that spec listed on the kicker website.

Yeah, it’s basically the same thing just slightly larger
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-SoWNN...GjDBX-4t4hQ7SzeTznbSZ74aBQHtM4k4aAqIlEALw_wcB

 

[SnyperX]

HUGE update to my OP. Lots of pics.

 

[BootXL76]

HUGE update to my OP. Lots of pics.

Nice update and great steps/pics…
how you like it so far?

 

[SnyperX]

Nice update and great steps/pics…
how you like it so far?

It's a decent upgrade. I feel the highs are more defined for sure. I'll be updating my OP again with the tweeter install later. As for the mids, I am not sure how much they have improved. I will give the speakers time to get broken in. Is it an improvement over stock? Totally. Is it a huge improvement over stock? Eh. I'll reserve full judgement after the entire system is upgraded.

As for adding the sound deadening? That was worth the time. Door sound completely different than without.

 

[SnyperX]

Just providing an update to keep my post alive. Its been unseasonably cold here in April in Wisconsin so I haven’t worked on my Mav stereo project much. My next big update to my OP will be the install of the Kicker Hideaway sub and LC2. Stay tuned......

 

[Red Ryder]

I really considered the 10", but being I am a hard rock guy I wanted the bass to be more short and punchy and less long and boomy.

That's my genre too. Maybe I should have went with the 8", or one of the JL microsubs and an amp.
Definitely not looking for boomy. I want tight, punchy bass. And I don't need a ton of it either.

I called Kicker a few weeks afo regarding this question as I was concerned that I made the wrong choice. The advisor at Kicker said he'd go with the 10" for that genre (hard rock). It's not a long excursion woofer, just bigger and he said it would be as tight and punchy, but capable of deeper notes.

 

[dedMann]

For those going into the back for speakers. The rear mounts are unique and may need foam to fill the space. I’d also like to point out that tricky metal clip on the side of the seat trim just needs a poke to release. I used a long screwdriver to press the tab. BTW- how neato is the little magnet tab. Pretty strong for such a small magnet. The Infinity reference I used over powered the fronts and I to move the fader up to balance. Much more range, including bass!!

 

[uh50]

For those going into the back for speakers. The rear mounts are unique and may need foam to fill the space. I’d also like to point out that tricky metal clip on the side of the seat trim just needs a poke to release. I used a long screwdriver to press the tab. BTW- how neato is the little magnet tab. Pretty strong for such a small magnet. The Infinity reference I used over powered the fronts and I to move the fader up to balance. Much more range, including bass!!

Thanks for the info and photos. Seeing things in a photo eliminate misunderstandings and how they work, especially when we take things apart that may not be intuitive for some of us.

I'm still considering and researching speakers and like the sound of Kenwood, JBL, and Infinity. Also looking at PRV, Timpano, DS18, and Rockville, all of which have good reviews by professional sound critics. There are just so many that it's difficult at times to know which to buy and the personal reviews are just all over the place.

Sorry to bother you but I have a couple of questions. I looked back at your previous posts in various threads and did not find where you identified the exact speakers you used.

I'I'm curious about which Infinity Reference speakers you installed that over powered the front speaker? Have you replaced the front speakers also and if so, what did you use?

TIA

 

[dedMann]

Thanks for the info and photos. Seeing things in a photo eliminate misunderstandings and how they work, especially when we take things apart that may not be intuitive for some of us.

I'm still considering and researching speakers and like the sound of Kenwood, JBL, and Infinity. Also looking at PRV, Timpano, DS18, and Rockville, all of which have good reviews by professional sound critics. There are just so many that it's difficult at times to know which to buy and the personal reviews are just all over the place.

Sorry to bother you but I have a couple of questions. I looked back at your previous posts in various threads and did not find where you identified the exact speakers you used.

I'I'm curious about which Infinity Reference speakers you installed that over powered the front speaker? Have you replaced the front speakers also and if so, what did you use?

TIA

I did the rear speakers first to have an idea of how much difference they made alone. I originally sourced 6.5" Alpine component fronts and the matching 4" for the back. While poking around; I noticed the Infinitys' had a lower frequency range. I wanted to fully exploit the sound the stock system can provide. I find the stock stuff to be kinda muddled yet tinny(lol). If the speakers alone don't open up the sound; then I will add a Kicker Key 200.4 amp/dsp. I don't think the stereo is really REALLY horrible. It just needs some equalization and speakers that stress less from being pushed.

Infinity Reference Rear 4"

 

[DCM26]

I did the rear speakers first to have an idea of how much difference they made alone. I originally sourced 6.5" Alpine component fronts and the matching 4" for the back. While poking around; I noticed the Infinitys' had a lower frequency range. I wanted to fully exploit the sound the stock system can provide. I find the stock stuff to be kinda muddled yet tinny(lol). If the speakers alone don't open up the sound; then I will add a Kicker Key 200.4 amp/dsp. I don't think the stereo is really REALLY horrible. It just needs some equalization and speakers that stress less from being pushed.

Infinity Reference Rear 4"

How does it sound now, just curious??

 

[dedMann]

How does it sound now, just curious??

the Infinity is very clear and carries some decent tone. I had to adjust the fader forward to balance the sound out. Even with the Alpines swapped into the door!

 

[Gullzway]

How do you like the Pioneer 4" in the back?
I have the lariat lux with b&o and everything sounds good to me except the atrocious rear speakers.
I put the same pioneer 4-in in tonight and they definitely sound better, nothing exceptional. Not sure if more expensive speakers would sound any better due to just being powered off the head unit I assume.

@dedMann thanks for the tip on the clips in the rear panels. I managed to not break anything.

 

[spuds_mackenzie]

I'm curious as to how much more can be gained from the B&O system by just adding a Kicker Key.

 

[daemonic3]

Just providing an update to keep my post alive. Its been unseasonably cold here in April in Wisconsin so I haven’t worked on my Mav stereo project much. My next big update to my OP will be the install of the Kicker Hideaway sub and LC2. Stay tuned......

Looks like there were never any further updates on this thread... I am very interested in your results with the LC2i...

My situation: My daughter and I both agreed the audio needs work. For the '23 (perhaps it has changed) the only way to get the B&O was a Lariat Lux, which would be basically a $6k upgrade just for the stereo when I just wanted her to have a basic XLT but decent sound.

Anyway, I thought a simple solution would be to add a tube or underseat sub. No real spot for a tube but found we could hide a 8" underseat behind the rear seats. I got an Alpine 8" PWE-S8. It is T-tapped from the front right door speaker. For power, it was super easy to come off the hybrid accessory battery right under the rear passenger side seat.

Here's the problem as many already know... the rolloff of all the speakers is bad and the sub just doesn't see the full low range it needs. We can get a lot of mid-bass but not low bass. Nothing we can do on the head unit "eq" nor the gain on the sub can fix bad signal from the source. UNLESS we add a line-output converter that corrects for rolloff!

I got a Kicker 47KEYLOC as it had great reviews and easy setup steps. Well, first problem was the speaker detect for turn-on only works in the 2.5-6V range, and the DC offset of the head unit was 7.4V! It would not turn on the KEYLOC reliably. So I found a switched 12V supply and sent it to the KEYLOC. And now for the worst news...

I could not get enough signal to the KEYLOC for it to do any of its self-correction. I cranked the head unit volume all the way up playing the pink noise track, and played with the input gain on the KEYLOC, and the LED's on it could only register that it gets "high" range and only if I had max volume and max gain. It just could not find low frequencies or even mid! So I have given up on the KEYLOC. It needed signal about 250mV AC swing and I could only get about 20mV on the pink noise track!

So now I am considering trying the L2Ci, but again worried it does not see enough signal. (The Apline PWE-S8 works completely fine detecting a "turn on" from the DC offset, and a signal from the speakers). If you can share results that it works I will order one.

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