Stereo Sound Quality
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
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From: Kensington MD
Stereo Sound Quality
A few years ago I installed a Kenwood DDX573BH. I made no other changes to the stock stereo system. At the time I think I was just excited to have a "modern" stereo system in the car, with Bluetooth and a touchscreen, but now I'm finding the sound to be kind of...muddy. Is that because I should have made some other upgrades at the time (amp? speakers?)—are the stock speakers simply not good enough? I don't blast the sound, so I don't really need "loud."
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There are a ton of threads on this .. but the short version is that the speakers are horrible, there is a bose DSP that sits between the head unit and speakers that doesn't play nice with any other head unit .. so, you likely also installed a converter from an outfit like pacific audio (PAC). The "subwoffers" in the doors are about the size of paper plates and weigh about the same, and the "amps" driving them are smaller than a deck of cards (someone back in the day tested their output, and they're at about 12 watts rms, and incredibly, incredibly sloppy).
The headunit is a good start. Next step would be to swap out the speakers -- I have may setup in my sig, there are tons of write ups on what others have done.
Next step would be to put in you own amp and ditch the subwoffers (actually, I'd just do it all at the same time).
NONE of this is difficult. Wiring the 'vette is surprisingly easy.
The headunit is a good start. Next step would be to swap out the speakers -- I have may setup in my sig, there are tons of write ups on what others have done.
Next step would be to put in you own amp and ditch the subwoffers (actually, I'd just do it all at the same time).
NONE of this is difficult. Wiring the 'vette is surprisingly easy.
Last edited by JMG2; Dec 16, 2023 at 02:10 PM.
Night Owl for life
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From: Bugs Bunny should'a made a left turn here
You can start by changing your twiddlers in the door. This may help clean up some of the muddiness
However the only way you can have a satisfying audio outcome is to have a dedicated amp powering quality door speaker replacements IMHO
Then...add some bass
However the only way you can have a satisfying audio outcome is to have a dedicated amp powering quality door speaker replacements IMHO
Then...add some bass
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
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From: Kensington MD
Melting Slicks
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'00 'vette 6spd vert, AA super, cam: 531RWHP/ 467lb-ft RW TQ|| C7 Seats || Full leather Interior: Interior Pics Here || Speakers: Morel Hybrid MW6 MKII //Audiofrog GS25//Hertz DSK 130.3
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From: Bugs Bunny should'a made a left turn here
Le Mans Master
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From: Brighton MI
Check out Post #48 in my Grand Sport thread to see what I did...
Grand Sport Project
There are plenty of folks who built far more "killer" systems than mine, but I can tell you that this system sounded GREAT and was more than loud enough for me!
Good luck with your project!
Grand Sport Project
There are plenty of folks who built far more "killer" systems than mine, but I can tell you that this system sounded GREAT and was more than loud enough for me!
Good luck with your project!
Racer
Joined: Oct 2021
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From: Maine
To improve your sound for now try moving your fader to the rear mid ranger speakers and re-EQ the sound. reduce some of the low 63hz and some of the frequency above 100 to 120hz then just push the highs around 5 to 6khz. If your head unit has a good EQ you can fix the issue for now until you decide what you want to do.
I added a sub and pulled all the lows out of the door speakers it made a big difference.
I added a sub and pulled all the lows out of the door speakers it made a big difference.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2022
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If your ears understand any type of decent audio quality get rid of anything from the factory. You can get some decent speakers for $300 to replace all 4 of the factory ones. JL, Morel, Focal entry level speakers are all solid. A good single din unit is $200ish and a 10-12in Sub with a small mono block amp and box $300
If you want to spend a little more get a 5 channel amp or one of the small class D Alpine amps that can fit behind the radio or in glove box to drive the 4 main speakers vs the head unit.
If you want to spend a little more get a 5 channel amp or one of the small class D Alpine amps that can fit behind the radio or in glove box to drive the 4 main speakers vs the head unit.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
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From: Kensington MD
I've been doing some more research, and this stuff is incredibly confusing. So apparently the door "twiddlers" are 3-1/2" and the door woofers are 8"? Do I replace both of them with a 2-way? Do I connect the new speakers to the wires for the twiddlers, or the woofers? I assume I have to bypass the Bose DSP somehow.
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From: US
If you buy a metra adapter (like, $30 on amazon), you can fit both 2.5" mids/6" or 8" woofers in the door . I ended up bypassing the boes dsp by just running new speaker wire-- it's trivial, and since you have the door panels off, may as well -- you can easily do it without taking anything else apart that isn't already.
Depending on your head unit, it should power your speakers with no problem. Again, depending on your head unit, you could get something like this:
Alpine KTA-450 Power Pack Compact 4-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield
It's TINY, and designed to mount on the back of alpines ilx-650 head unit (which is also very slim). But the amp has standard inputs and outputs, so it will work with any head unit, and you should have tons of room in the center console behind the head unit to mount it.
Depending on your head unit, it should power your speakers with no problem. Again, depending on your head unit, you could get something like this:
Alpine KTA-450 Power Pack Compact 4-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield
It's TINY, and designed to mount on the back of alpines ilx-650 head unit (which is also very slim). But the amp has standard inputs and outputs, so it will work with any head unit, and you should have tons of room in the center console behind the head unit to mount it.