Sound System!

[mattie007]

Its never been amazing so could be a lower end job I guess.

[Jay-ZS+]

There are so many things that will effect the sound quality from the sound file, quality of media cd/mp3, headunit,amps,installation right down to the quality of RCA and speaker cables you are using. The Headunit is the inital part of the system with a top quality HU you will start off with the best possible quality but start off with a budget unit and the SQ will be instantly be lower and no amount of gold plated cables, high quality amps, silk coned speakers will make up for that intial loss. As James said you cant go off of brand name alone as all the 'household' brands make both high quality units as well as the budget ones often found half price in halfords! lol

Obviously the change of speakers alone will make the largest noticeable difference, thinks like how they are installed make just as much difference. One of the reasons id always recommend some sort of soundproofing, the more the better, just 'bounces' the bass back into the car rather than sending the soundwaves rattling though the body pannels!!! Theres often a massive difference between a loud system and a sound quality system.

[Ritchy]

i like a little bit of kick in my bass, but i dont like music too loud when driving bit off putting

[MGPete]

Some very true words of Jay there.

Switching from my previous Pioneer P70BT to my current HU (Pioneer Avic-X3 BT) gave a huge difference in sound. That was when I still had the OEM speakers in my Zed.

You should also always try to listen to different HU brands before choosing one. Pioneers are know to have a more piercing sound. When I was looking to get rid of the distortion in my ears from the high tones, we tried a Kenwood HU to see if it made any difference, and it did. The Kenwood sounded more pleasant for me, but still the high tones were not good enough.
Finally I opted for the Audison Bit One digital soundprocessor which gives me a 31 band graphic equalizer per channel... but that's not relevant now

Point is that good sound depends firstly on the expectations of the listener, secondly, as a result of point one, the choosen HU. From there on you can start upgrading which ever you want. As I said before, I know of people who have the complete OEM Zed speakersystem with just a woofer and the sound is good enough for them. Even just soundproofing the car can already make a huge difference.

[Dan1971]

Speaker upgrade and dynamat in my old Mk2 (now Sheppeyduo's) went a long way I have to say.

So, in a hatchback then, where would the dynamat go ? In the saloon it was easy enough as the speakers are housed on the back shelf, but as the one in the hatch comes out, where would the best place be to put some matting ?

[Jay-ZS+]

You cant really do it very well for the rear speakers on the hatch, just doing the front speakers would improve the sound.

On mine I did the whole boot floor, boot lid right the way up round the glass, took the rear lights out and all round where they are mounted and refit, up the outter skin of the rear quaters as far up as I could reach, then all round the numberplate, the inner and outer skins of the front doors. Then doubled it up in places. But that was pretty extreme must have spent £300 on dynamat got a discount for buying in bulk With the doors shut otherthan the wing mirrors vibrating you could hardly hear the music even though on the inside it would move a phone off the drivers seat!! lol

[Bobdope2002]

The Difference between my standard HU and the Sony Was mind blowing

the Xplod Setting on the Sony units is great