improve sound quality of "premium sound"

[tranceFusion]

Just got the 07 si sedan and I am dissapointed in the "premium sound". The bass especially seems quite muddy.

I want to improve the sound quality. I don't necessarily have a tight budget but I don't want to spend a load of money for marginal improvements. I don't know alot about audio equipment. I don't need to blow out the neighborhood - i just want it to sound good. I usually listen to electronic, rock, and rap..

can anyone give me suggestions of what i should do? are people who just replaced the sub happy with the sound quality? is it worth it to replace the speakers but not the head unit? or will the head unit hamper the sound quality?

Thanks for any help or links to other posts!

[achapman]

You can't just replace the sub. It gets like 25watts RMS. Meaning you could probably pee on it and achieve more xmax than the stock amp.

The 1st decision that needs to be made is, do you want a new headunit? I would hope so, if not, then you have another option. Getting a line output converter or an amp that accepts high level inputs.

Then replace the front speakers and get a nice 4 channel amp to power the fronts, and bridge the rear channels to power 1 10 or 12 sub.

[tranceFusion]

well when i was talking about replacing the amp.. i was thinking i'd use a LOC and add an amp for it..

[TommyD]

I'd gut the whole system. You need to replace every speaker, the sub, and amp all of them. You need to replace the head unit as well. You could do it for well under a grand. The pricey part of it will be installation. I'm going to do the same thing later this year and if I didn't want navigation (I do) I could get it all done for a just a little over 1k with install.

[Rollinj86]

I am also curious about this, any good info out there.

[tranceFusion]

Originally Posted by TommyD

I'd gut the whole system. You need to replace every speaker, the sub, and amp all of them. You need to replace the head unit as well. You could do it for well under a grand. The pricey part of it will be installation. I'm going to do the same thing later this year and if I didn't want navigation (I do) I could get it all done for a just a little over 1k with install.

What stuff are you planning to put in?

I expected it to cost more. I was thinking doing it myself. I don't know what I am doing, but I feel like kids working at a car stereo store aren;t going to know what they are doing either, and I will at least take the time to research it properly. what do you guys think?

I want to get navigation too but the more I read about it, the more I am convinced that a portable is the way to go.. you can take it with you when you get in a friends car, if a new model or technology comes out, its much cheaper to replace, if your car breaks down you can get out of the car with the gps and continue to use it, etc.. there are alot of nice portable units for like 300 bucks.

[Civic06SiR]

Replace the stock sub with a free air 8" sub, then get an amp to power it.

[Andre07FG2NBP]

The "kids" at the stereo shop probably do know what they are doing. I'm not a huge fan of buying crap (like audio) at Best Buy, but around here they know how to install stuff.

Just saying...

"kids" these days are getting out there and working more 'serious' jobs at a younger age it seems.

-Andre

[bikinpunk]

A major lesson to be learned. Never buy the more expensive model of a car to get the "premium" stereo.

[TommyD]

Originally Posted by tranceFusion

What stuff are you planning to put in?

I expected it to cost more. I was thinking doing it myself. I don't know what I am doing, but I feel like kids working at a car stereo store aren;t going to know what they are doing either, and I will at least take the time to research it properly. what do you guys think?

I want to get navigation too but the more I read about it, the more I am convinced that a portable is the way to go.. you can take it with you when you get in a friends car, if a new model or technology comes out, its much cheaper to replace, if your car breaks down you can get out of the car with the gps and continue to use it, etc.. there are alot of nice portable units for like 300 bucks.

I'm going to put either the Pioneer D3 Navigation unit in or the Alpine IVA-W205. The Alpine is nice because it will use the new Blackbird, so you get a portable unit and in-dash navi unit in one. If you want to use the portable, you simply eject it from the in-dash Alpine head unit and bam, you are portable.

I have decided on the Alpine PDX 4.100 amp for my interior speakers, and the Kicker C8 free-air sub. For components and 2 ways I'm going with the Alpine Type R's all the way around. The only piece I am missing is a cheap and small Amp to power the RMS 100 Kicker Sub. And I need to decide which h/u I'm going with. I'm waiting on reviews of the new Blackbird, and its' integration with the IVA-W205 before I start spending $.

[achapman]

Are you getting a component's?

[tranceFusion]

Originally Posted by Andre07FG2NBP

"kids" these days are getting out there and working more 'serious' jobs at a younger age it seems.

come on.. don't tell me you have never seen a jacked up audio install.. nobody i see get their install is ever happy.. nobody at a car stereo store is going to treat your personal belongings with the same care you do, and none of them are going to have the time scour forums for advice to get around model specific issues..

Originally Posted by bikinpunk

A major lesson to be learned. Never buy the more expensive model of a car to get the "premium" stereo.

i bought the si to get the engine, not the stereo.

[tranceFusion]

Originally Posted by Civic06SiR

Replace the stock sub with a free air 8" sub, then get an amp to power it.

will this sound better than a boxed 10" or 2 closed up in the trunk?

i was going to keep/replace the rear speakers because i like my stereo faded to the back so i get a fuller sound..

thx!

[bikinpunk]

Originally Posted by tranceFusion

come on.. don't tell me you have never seen a jacked up audio install.. nobody i see get their install is ever happy.. nobody at a car stereo store is going to treat your personal belongings with the same care you do, and none of them are going to have the time scour forums for advice to get around model specific issues..



i bought the si to get the engine, not the stereo.

I didn't say you did. I was just making a statement. In my case I didn't want the Si, so I just bought the LX rather than pay the extra $1 or $2k for the stereo.

[achapman]

Originally Posted by tranceFusion

will this sound better than a boxed 10" or 2 closed up in the trunk?

i was going to keep/replace the rear speakers because i like my stereo faded to the back so i get a fuller sound..

thx!

I believe a sealed 10 or 12 will produce a greater frequency range in the box. Thus providing a greater listening experience.

And it doesn't make any sense to fade to the rear. You want most of the sound coming from the front stage and have the rears as just a filler.

[tranceFusion]

Originally Posted by achapman

I believe a sealed 10 or 12 will produce a greater frequency range in the box. Thus providing a greater listening experience.

And it doesn't make any sense to fade to the rear. You want most of the sound coming from the front stage and have the rears as just a filler.

i continually see this posted on here but i don't understand.

i don't want music to come from in front of me, i want it around me.. i don't care what a concert sounds like.. i have been to concerts with rear channels and they sound freakin awesome..

to me, i want balance, i want the sound all around.. the fronts need to be lower volume than the back since you sit closer to the fronts.

[r18power]

honda's sound system sux. & they actually know this. i'm waitin 2 c sumbody swap over the panasonic els from the acuras :) lol

[achapman]

The rear speakers are left in for fill which will provide you with all around sound.

I guess I don't know the technical reason but could look it up. Perhaps its the way humans perceive sound and what sounds best to us. Do it however you like, after all it's your car and you will be the one listening to it.

[bikinpunk]

Originally Posted by tranceFusion

i continually see this posted on here but i don't understand.

i don't want music to come from in front of me, i want it around me.. i don't care what a concert sounds like.. i have been to concerts with rear channels and they sound freakin awesome..

to me, i want balance, i want the sound all around.. the fronts need to be lower volume than the back since you sit closer to the fronts.

The main point is that if you're wanting true quality, it takes ALOT of work; I'm talking full on processing power, in addition to installation techniques that our civic severely hampers to begin with. Most people have a hard enough time getting their front "stage" to sound truly good (I'm not just talking treble and bass here).

In addition, to me, the biggest reason to run rear "fill" is because it's simply a waste of money. The cabin in a civic is smaaaaaall. If you've heard a properly tuned front stage, I can guarantee, seriously guarantee that you wouldn't miss rear speakers. I speak from experience. Heck, if you just give it a shot for a week, just unclip the rear speakers form the trunk; takes all of 10 seconds. Give it a listen for a few days. You might just find you agree that it isn't necessary. Then you'll open up your budget (and amplifier channels) to work on a solid front stage.

I'm not at all saying what you like is wrong. I'm just trying to give you a reason why you see this comment alot (and why you'll continue to see it from me). Maybe one day I'll go after rear stage, but for now I'm still trying to get my front stage set up "perfect" for me. That's a task in itself. And even then, it won't be in a civic. Maybe a Tahoe or larger SUV.

Good luck with whatever you do, though. I truly hope you understand that I'm not trying to persuade you or say you're wrong. Just giving you some reasoning into the logic of no rear fill needed.

[nilus]

+1 on everything he said. The rear is always just for fill, and if anything, it complicates the reflections already bouncing around such a small space.