[JUSTIN808]

After reading all of the posts,
Here's what I ended up doing to upgrade my base HiFi stereo

JL Audio XD800v2 8 channel amp
JL Audio CS110-WXv2 Sealed 10" bass wedge.
Technic Harness
Power cables

Amp setup
channel 1,2 front left , front right
channel 3,4 left under seat wofer, right under seat wofer
channel 5,6 rear left, rear right
channel 7,8 bridged to run JL sub in trunk.

Up grade was $815 and sounds better then my e92 HK system.

My goal was to add clarity and deeper and more bass. This set up accomplished it well.

Just thought id share my build. Let me know if you have any questions.

[smaide]

So the stock speakers are still the speakers you're using? And also do you have any pics of the new look with the 10" sub in the trunk/ any comparison shots? Looking to do something similar.

[JUSTIN808]

yes using stock speakers. no pics but ill take some for you and post. its just a standard small 10 jl enclosure wedge.

[JUSTIN808]

because the amp has crossovers I can control the amount of bass and power going to stock speakers.

all low frequencies are going to the 10" sub.

[bri1042]

I am a recent convert to the "terrible stock amp must go first" camp. You made the right move...that little thing is evil.

[strig1]

Would you consider buying new speakers on top of this upgrade, such as the focal or bavsound? Or does this upgrade seem like a big enough improvement from the HIFI System.

[bri1042]

Replacing the amp is worth the money. Replacing the speakers is also worth the money. I think everyone needs to answer the question of how much they want to spend based on their own needs. If you don't listen to music very loudly, or the music you listen to is frequency biased (mostly bass, or a ton of treble with little midrange, or whatever) you may have a different answer to your question, Strig, than the OP or myself. Depending on where you live, you would be well-served to consult a professional and include specific details in your conversation (such as "I listen primarily to '80's Metal" or "I love me some Country!") to tailor the solution for your needs.

If you look at what the various pro's that post on here do for their Stage 1's and 2's, you'll see examples of great balanced systems that they use to tailor the sound for their customers. Upgrading sound on these cars isn't a Best Buy thing, it's an individual choice.

To end a long story: All the upgrades are worth doing for the person who needs them to be happy, and all of them are unnecessary for someone who just listens to Talk Radio.

[GL888]

Originally Posted by JUSTIN808

After reading all of the posts,
Here's what I ended up doing to upgrade my base HiFi stereo

JL Audio XD800v2 8 channel amp
JL Audio CS110-WXv2 Sealed 10" bass wedge.
Technic Harness
Power cables

Amp setup
channel 1,2 front left , front right
channel 3,4 left under seat wofer, right under seat wofer
channel 5,6 rear left, rear right
channel 7,8 bridged to run JL sub in trunk.

Up grade was $815 and sounds better then my e92 HK system.

My goal was to add clarity and deeper and more bass. This set up accomplished it well.

Just thought id share my build. Let me know if you have any questions.

Mate,

What about the centre speaker??

[JUSTIN808]

No power to center speaker. I listen to hip hop mainly and some musicals like wicked jersey boys etc.

[JUSTIN808]

Originally Posted by strig1

Would you consider buying new speakers on top of this upgrade, such as the focal or bavsound? Or does this upgrade seem like a big enough improvement from the HIFI System.

For me changing the speakers are not needed. I did think I may have to before installing amp and sub but after install I see no real need.

[strig1]

How many Watts RMS are being run to the sub?

[JUSTIN808]

its running on a bridged channel. about half gain. amp says 100W per channel but not sure if its rms

[Joe Huh]

does it sound well-balanced at driver seat w/o center speaker?
when I unpower center speaker it sounds skewed to the left.
I thought a DSP is necessary if you dont power the center one

[bri1042]

Getting the system balanced is very difficult without a dsp or the center channel as we are sitting so close to our left side (or right for the folk with steering wheels on the other side) speakers. If the Balance setting had more steps to it, life would be easier but the proper balance always seems to be hard to find.

On the plus side of the whole thing, unbalanced or not, at least we get proper stereo channel separation with the Center unplugged...

[GL888]

Originally Posted by JUSTIN808

After reading all of the posts,
Here's what I ended up doing to upgrade my base HiFi stereo

JL Audio XD800v2 8 channel amp
JL Audio CS110-WXv2 Sealed 10" bass wedge.
Technic Harness
Power cables

Amp setup
channel 1,2 front left , front right
channel 3,4 left under seat wofer, right under seat wofer
channel 5,6 rear left, rear right
channel 7,8 bridged to run JL sub in trunk.

Up grade was $815 and sounds better then my e92 HK system.

My goal was to add clarity and deeper and more bass. This set up accomplished it well.

Just thought id share my build. Let me know if you have any questions.

Do you have any photo's of the installation that you would like share with us?

[JUSTIN808]

Originally Posted by GL888

Do you have any photo's of the installation that you would like share with us?

sorry I didn't take any photos. I just used the other threads with photos to do the install. Pretty easy and fully reversible back to factory.