tamamontu Posted November 18, 2020 Posted November 18, 2020 I am looking at upgrading the audio setup in my kia seltos. It came with Bose 8 speaker setup with a bose amp including a small sub in the trunk. The sound doesnt have much clarity, its an integrated sytem and only got 3 eq settings treble, mid, bass. When i increase the volume i feel like the system is holding back the sound. I mean the treble, and bass is noticeable but not much clarity. I have got the treble set at +8, bass +5, mid -7 (scale -10 - +10). I took a look at the speaker in front door. It looks like a 6.5inch 2ohm speaker with a very tiny magent at the back. This is first experience with a Bose car audio. I would like to upgrade to better speakers while leaving the amp as it is. In my previous car i had alpine speaker and they were really gr8. I am new to this so excuse any stupid questions. I am also considering installing sound dampening mat inside the car. I dont want to go to loud db wise but more crisp and clear sound with nice bass.
GregWormald Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 Sound dampening will undoubtedly help. If the assumption that the problem with the Bose system is the speakers is correct, then I recommend you see a professional installer who well may have dealt with similar issues before. Matching speakers in an 8 speaker system is unlikely to be simple. Of course if it's the Bose amp then new speakers may make little or no difference. There are a fair few comments by those who opted for the Bose upgrade from the standard Porsche 718 system that indicate the need for lots of control tweaking to get good sound.
tamamontu Posted November 19, 2020 Author Posted November 19, 2020 Definitely considering sound dampening. thinking of installing Dynamat extreme or Focal DAM. Took the car to few audio places. Different opinion from all. One installer said tweeter might be an issue, second one recommended installing hertz DSP and tunning it, depending on how the current amp and rest of the setup interfaced. Other guy mentioned that its a tiny digital amp from bose so even changing the speaker wont help much as wont have enough power to drive them. Would need some sort of digital to audio decoder then hook up analog amp along with speakers. I am new to DSP's and digital interfaces for audio. Trying to understand how a DSP would change thing.
gat474 Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 I’ve been through this recently with a Subaru but had the poverty pack audio system to work with rather than the Harman Kardon option. Turns out it’s easier that way as the higher spec systems just mean there’s more to change/fix. Manufacturers are working with a whole lot of constraints with car audio ranging from budgets, quality of components, having to limit power usage in an already taxed electrical system, keeping the warranty claims down by limiting audio output to protect speakers from being over driven, using name brands to help sell cars, the most goes on. I strongly suggest you do your google research and seek lots of advice from installers. Visit the installers and check out what cars they are working on. You’ll need to consider replacing the speakers themselves as regardless of being a named brand they’re probably cheap and not capable of much more than they’re designed for. Look at replacing the amp and you’ll need to find out if you need load generating devices to provide a resistance load to the head unit. Amp replacement sounds like a must with heaps of different brands to consider. Door treatments are also a must in just about any car anyway. They make them quieter and give the doors a nice heavy feel. Your factory head unit and/or the Bose amp will have built in EQ which you’ll need to flatten. Look at eq systems either built in to an amp or separate to the amp. I ended up going with a simplified system using Morel 6 x 9 components in the front and two way in the rear. Audio control d4.800 amp with eq, audio control load generators and door treatments. Ultimately you’re restricted by tue factory head unit and you probably can’t change that will all of the other functions. My system is heaps better now than it was but the head audio is not as good as it could be. CD’s are good, USB is almost as good, fm radio not quite there and digital radio pretty flat and one dimensional. It is what it is I guess. Another thing to consider is how your audio system and related components work together. Subaru systems have two boxes. One being the head unit with nav, radio etc but there’s a separate box for some of the functions such as phone audio integration. I find that sounds like sms alerts, phone rings etc must be managed by this separate box and therefor come into the audio stream after the head unit. An unintended consequence of this is that an alert, such as an sms, comes over the speakers pretty loud now as the amp and speakers are louder than the factory system. The only way to manage this is to keep the gains on the amp low. Sounds easy but the output on your head unit will probably be eq managed with different eq at different volumes. The installer will want to tune the system at the best sounding volume range with the best sound on the head unit But this may mean the amp gains need to be high. A work around is to turn the phone to silent when you are in the car so tue audible alerts done come over the speakers. Hands free phone Audio will still work. No doubt I’m forgetting more than I’ve included but suffice to say do your research. Don’t just google seltos audio upgrades, look at other Kia and Hyundai upgrades and also Bose as they might be generic head units and assoc systems across the model ranges.
gat474 Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 Allow at least two to three grand but consider than what ever the cost of door treatment component is it’s money worth spending anyway.
Cloth Ears Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 On 19/11/2020 at 12:50 AM, tamamontu said: I am looking at upgrading the audio setup in my kia seltos. It came with Bose 8 speaker setup with a bose amp including a small sub in the trunk. The sound doesnt have much clarity, its an integrated sytem and only got 3 eq settings treble, mid, bass. When i increase the volume i feel like the system is holding back the sound. I mean the treble, and bass is noticeable but not much clarity. I have got the treble set at +8, bass +5, mid -7 (scale -10 - +10). I took a look at the speaker in front door. It looks like a 6.5inch 2ohm speaker with a very tiny magent at the back. This is first experience with a Bose car audio. I would like to upgrade to better speakers while leaving the amp as it is. In my previous car i had alpine speaker and they were really gr8. I am new to this so excuse any stupid questions. I am also considering installing sound dampening mat inside the car. I dont want to go to loud db wise but more crisp and clear sound with nice bass. Consider the return on your investment also. How long are you going to keep the car? And, when you sell it, a non-standard install will not make you a cent.
tamamontu Posted November 20, 2020 Author Posted November 20, 2020 (edited) Thats a valid point. From past experience of changing the speaker made a difference, it wasnt bose unit. So was trying to see if could do smaller changes to lift up sound clarity. Changing amp sound more work money wise. I was quoted approx 1.8k to 2k to install hertz h8 processor. Main issue is the amp interm of capatibility. As its driving 2ohm speaker, very limited option to change speakers. Hence expensive, focal 165 k2 are almost 1k. What sort of digital interfaces is used in these kind of units. Reading on diymobile.stereo forum says SPDIF interface is used by kia/hyundai. But this was a 2016 car. Edited November 21, 2020 by tamamontu
tamamontu Posted November 20, 2020 Author Posted November 20, 2020 On 20/11/2020 at 3:06 AM, gat474 said: Allow at least two to three grand but consider than what ever the cost of door treatment component is it’s money worth spending anyway. Planning to do door treatment first. I am considering installing focal bam or dynamat extreme + dyna liner. Any recomendations. Focal bam is much thicker, i mean its multi layer got foam + sound deadner + metal film. Havent used any before so not sure which way to. Is it recomended to install on floor also?
gat474 Posted November 21, 2020 Posted November 21, 2020 My installer’s advice was that for mid level jobs no need to go for the expensive options. They used Cars Builders’ brand in my Subaru. I have a Honda with dynamat in the front doors and I can’t tell a difference in the knock test. Floors? That’s a big job and the more you pull out of your shiny new car the more chance it will end up with rattling or squeaking panels. Cars aren’t really made to be pulled apart and put back together.
tamamontu Posted November 21, 2020 Author Posted November 21, 2020 10 hours ago, gat474 said: knock test. Thanks for your suggestion. Floor is definitely a big job, thats the reason for asking whether generally its recommended to do floors. I will start with door first to keep it simple and manageable. You also mentioned knock test what is it, i read it being mentioned in other forums aswell. I took further look around the bose amp, its a tiny digital amplifier with two automobile style connectors. I am guess the yellow one is some sort of input and the green one is output for the speakers. Yellow connector has got 4 red and 4 black wires along with few smaller guage wires.
GregWormald Posted November 21, 2020 Posted November 21, 2020 1 hour ago, tamamontu said: <snip>I will start with door first to keep it simple and manageable. You also mentioned knock test what is it, i read it being mentioned in other forums aswell. Remember to read the instructions. When I was damping the cabinet of my espresso machine (!) I was amazed at how little Dynamat was needed per panel to get the results. Before and after application knock on the panel with your knuckles to gauge whether you have the result you want.
tamamontu Posted November 23, 2020 Author Posted November 23, 2020 (edited) On 21/11/2020 at 8:03 PM, GregWormald said: Remember to read the instructions. When I was damping the cabinet of my espresso machine (!) I was amazed at how little Dynamat was needed per panel to get the results. Before and after application knock on the panel with your knuckles to gauge whether you have the result you want. Thanks for your suggestion. One more question, do we need to install Dynamat Liner also on the doors or is it generally mainly used on floor along with Dynamat extreme. If its recommended to use a combination of both, Does Dynamat liner come in bulk pack. Online search didnt show much. Has anyone used Focal BAM? I am thinking if Dynamat extreme, and liner needs to be used it might be more expensive than Focal BAM which seems to be a combination of both. Edited November 23, 2020 by tamamontu
GregWormald Posted November 23, 2020 Posted November 23, 2020 Now those questions are WAY beyond my experience. Good luck.
tamamontu Posted November 23, 2020 Author Posted November 23, 2020 On 21/11/2020 at 8:09 AM, gat474 said: My installer’s advice was that for mid level jobs no need to go for the expensive options. They used Cars Builders’ brand in my Subaru. I have a Honda with dynamat in the front doors and I can’t tell a difference in the knock test. Floors? That’s a big job and the more you pull out of your shiny new car the more chance it will end up with rattling or squeaking panels. Cars aren’t really made to be pulled apart and put back together. Thanks Gat474 to pointing to Car Builders, i had a look today at some videos and ready few general forums. They are economical as Dynamat and Focal stuff. I got some of their stage 1 & 2 sound deadning stuff. I spoke to the sales team and they suggested just to put small tiles behind the speakers of CLF. Will do the doors first.
tamamontu Posted November 24, 2020 Author Posted November 24, 2020 Finally got around measuring the speakers, one correction front speaker is 4 ohm and not 2ohm, (Multimeter battery issue) Center => 4ohm, 85mm Front mid => 4ohm, 148mm Front tweeter => not 100% sure multi meter showed 20ohm(apprx). There is a small cap in line so not 100% sure about this measurement. 32mm Rear => 4ohm, 145mm Center speaker
tamamontu Posted November 24, 2020 Author Posted November 24, 2020 I have install sound deading material and CLF inside the door. There is a plastic molded sheet which holds the windows in place behind the door trim. Is it recommended to install CLF on this sheet aswell.
Briz Vegas Posted December 5, 2020 Posted December 5, 2020 (edited) Not sure that you will get much out of this forum on car audio matters. Home systems that cost as much as your car or my car is a different matter. Car OEM stuff has always been a bit Big W in quality and Bose....well I am told they do a half decent noise cancelled travel headphone, but anything else is ....Bose basically. Eight speakers is most likely 8 shitty speakers, as is evident from the tiny magnets. I faffed about with basic car audio years ago and got best results from a half decent set of easy to drive aftermarket coaxial speakers and a brand head unit. Fancy Focal drivers deserve to be driven by more than ( to be brutal) a Bose clock radio Edited December 5, 2020 by Briz Vegas
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