Sound upgrade?

[isojet]

Hi all, recently purchased an E320 Sport 07 plate in our most loved and hated colour, Black. I'm contemplating upgrading the speakers, not that the sound is bad but i feel it lacks that certain ooomph with some of the cd's i play, the cars fully loaded with satnav etc so i don't want to change any of the looks or make any visual changes to the car but would like to upgrade the system by about 30% through the speakers and possible a bigger external amp, has anyone had any experience or used any specific company to undertake this sort of modification, Thankyou

 

[gIzzE]

Add an amp first, the speakers are really good, just the amp in the nav you have is pretty weedy.

Once amped those speakers are capable of kicking out some pretty nice sounding stuff.

 

[sinewave]

Wouldn't mind 'mapping' my sound too!

Do 'non HK' sound systems have a sepparate Amp or is it inbuilt to the comand in some way?

If sepparate where is it?

 

[npuk]

Isojet as you have Comand it has a seperate AGW amp which is in the boot. The speakers connect to the AGW not the headunit.

 

[gIzzE]

I would just put an new amp on the front speakers and see what you think, it will make a hell of a difference.

 

[sinewave]

So are there two Amps on cars with comand?

Gizze, you state just put an Amp on the front speakers!

Where is this amp and how much space is there?

Conversley does this mean the rear speakers use the Amp in the boot?

If so is this mounted next to the DVD NAV unit in the boot?


If so what is the OE Amps output and what manuf's would members recommend who've done this mod?

 

[gIzzE]

The head unit is just a control unit, think of it as the fascia with the actual radio in the boot hidden away.

You would upgrade this as you would any oem head unit.

Best get an amp which takes a speaker level input, take the front channel outputs and put them into your new amp and then connect the cables to the speakers into the outputs of your new amp.

You need an amp that can handle around 12v input, 15v ideally.
Many can that take a hi level input, plus with it all in the boot it makes it a very easy install.

 

[Alps]

everything is via the audio gateway in the boot, you need something like Audison bitone, there are other makes also but i cant remember, they are like a high level speaker convertor which equalise and level out the signal to pre-outs so you can add amps.

 

[isojet]

Hi and thanks for the input gentlemen, sounds simple enough but i can guarantee i'll stuff it up somewhere and end up in tears, i'm going to contact an audio excellence dealer tomorrow and book it in with the experts, lol at least then i can shout at someone if they balls it up. I'll let you know how they get on and what system/amp they install and the end sound performance also the costs etc. Thankyou.

 

[gIzzE]

I really wouldn't, they will sting you big time.

I know I could get that singing for £150 and and hour installing it.

 

[gIzzE]

Just say that you would like something simple like the Alpine MRX-F30 added to your car.

Alpine MRX-F30 4 Channel Amplifier | 650 watts MAX POWER


This will upgrade you 4 speakers with some decent amplification, for a Class D amp at around £160 it is pretty impressive.
I am a bit of an audio snob and I would have one.

It will turn on when it senses a signal, so it is litterally a case of cutting the wires going to your speakers from the audio gateway, putting them into the amps inputs and outputs and then running a mains and negative to the battery, which is also in the boot.

As I said, hour tops, more like 30 minutes.



Take it to a car audio place and I bet they will want to sell you line convertors, signal interface processors and all that ********.
Fine if you are going to go for it and install some nice £600 Morel speakers and sound deaden the whole car, but if you just want a bit more control and allow it to go louder without sounding shrill the above will do that.

 

[sinewave]

Looks a good Amp that gIzzE, might av 2 av a crack at that next week or so!

I've not looked yet but are the speaker wires labeled for the front and rears and is the 'Audio Gateway' mounted next to the Sat Nav DVD?

Pix would be good if poss?

 

[isojet]

Thanks gIzzE, ok I'm going to take your advise and go for this alpine amp, hopefully all the wiring for the speakers are marked or numbered in some form so even a numpty like me can perform this relatively easy task. Took the car to an audi expert today for an opinion and it all started to get a bit dreary, yawn yawn he started banging on about putting a sound box or base box in the boot, seemed alrite but then he showed me the box and basically I'd end up loosing half the boot space, I said to him I wanted about 20 % better sound quality not vibrate my wheels off with 2000 watts. ok I'm going to crack on and do it myself, bloody amateurs, thanks all.

 

[isojet]

Audio expert not audi, missed the O..

 

[Troon]

would like to upgrade the system by about 30%

I wanted about 20 % better sound quality

Give it a couple of weeks and you won't need to do anything...

 

[MD5]

Thanks gIzzE, ok I'm going to take your advise and go for this alpine amp, hopefully all the wiring for the speakers are marked or numbered in some form so even a numpty like me can perform this relatively easy task.

I'll be interested to see how you get on, so good luck, and any pics would be appreciated.

 

[gIzzE]

The wires aren't labelled, but search google for audio gateway pin outs.

I am in a hurry but I will look later to see if I still have them.

 

[isojet]

Ha how very observant Mr Toon ok would it be better or more precise to say " a bit louder at times" and leave the exact percentages to the professionals such as yourself

 

[isojet]

Ok thanks gIzzE, i'll run a search on google for audio gateway pin outs and see what comes up.

 

[Alfie]

Rockford Fosgate make some cracking small amps in the Punch range. I'm amazed at their size and power.

By small I mean the size of a couple of cigarette packets!

I plan to install one with some Morels and dynamat in my new car........