Car Sound System Upgrade

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Roobir

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Hi gents,

I'm looking to crank up the sound quality for my music (a variety between hard rock, metal, dub, and pop songs - depending who is driving with me). At the moment the sound is very clear and overall not bad, but I do wish to have a little bit more bass for the music. I used to have a Polo Vivo and Golf TSI, of which both had great sounding bass for my music. I would like to obtain a similar sound experience with my new car.

So I poked around on the Internet and it seems my car has 4x 5.25" (13cm) speakers (one for each door) and some tweeters (two) in the front dash that connects to my MediaNav. What would you recommend I do to get some better sound while driving? I was wondering if a simple upgrade of the 5.25" speakers would do the trick?

For example, I see these speakers at Makro:
https://www.makro.co.za/electronics/jbl-51-4-135w-component-speaker-system-286583EA
Would four of those be a good enough improvement to have a similar sound quality to a Polo Vivo 6 speaker solution?

Kind regards,
Roobs
 
Rather have a look if you cant fit the 6.5inch with adapters the mid base will thank you.
 
Apologies, it is a Renault Captur. I would really love to just open up the door panels and replace the speakers. Not to modify too much and risk losing the warranty.
 
If its the OEM speakers, toss them out and upgrade regardless of bass requirements. OEM speakers are built according to the financial people's specs.

Don't think you're ever going to get much bass from 5.25s so you're looking at adding an amp and subwoofer to cater for that. Many people associate subwoofers with the "doef-doef-doef" brigade but it doesn't have to be cranked to that level to add good quality bass.
 
You need: 4 channel amp, front splits, 1 sub. Call Tremor Audio and get it fitted. They will supply cabling and accessories. Just make sure the Wattage on the amp and speakers match up
 
Renaults used to have really good sound in them, what happened? The new clio has a terrible sound system as well? I still maintain my Fiesta and Vivo had better sound than most cars I've been in.
 
ChrisThomas said:
Renaults used to have really good sound in them, what happened? The new clio has a terrible sound system as well? I still maintain my Fiesta and Vivo had better sound than most cars I've been in.
Click to expand...

Renaultsport models have a good sound setup as well, even old ones.
 
ChrisThomas said:
Renaults used to have really good sound in them, what happened? The new clio has a terrible sound system as well? I still maintain my Fiesta and Vivo had better sound than most cars I've been in.
Click to expand...

Never in my life have I come across a car with good stock audio. The Burmester system in my step-dad's Range Rover Sport isn't even that good.

I recommend all people get an aftermarket audio place to hook them up with decent sound if they haven't already. Don't ever pay for 'premium' audio when buying a car. There is literally nothing at any price that won't be annihilated by a similarly priced aftermarket solution.
 
Subbed.
I've also been poking around to upgrading my Renault's sound.
It does seem like somewhat of a mission. There are some nice Focal plug and play kits available over the seas, but they cost way too much for my liking.
http://www.focal.com/renault/en/
 
e4et said:
Subbed.
I've also been poking around to upgrading my Renault's sound.
It does seem like somewhat of a mission. There are some nice Focal plug and play kits available over the seas, but they cost way too much for my liking.
http://www.focal.com/renault/en/
Click to expand...

I'm in the process of overhauling the audio in my new (secondhand) Honda Jazz, so perhaps my costs could give you an idea of the level of expenditure that you really shouldn't be underneath.

- Reusing my 12" Rockford Fosgate sub. Cost me R1.4k in my last car. You can skimp on the bass if you don't care much for it.
- Reusing my 4-channel JBL amp. Originally cost me R1.9k. Don't buy a crap amp, and make sure it's 4-channel.
- Alpine Type-G SPG-17CS 6" front splits for R1250 (from autostyle.co.za)
- Alpine Type-G SPG-17C2 6.5" rear coax's for R720 (from autostyle.co.za)
- 8x silent coat sheets for the doors - R520
- Redone subwoofer housing - R750
- Labour total - R850

That's R8140 if you're buying all of that new. If you aren't buying a new head unit you'll need a stepdown unit. I was quoted R545 for one. So you'll be looking at around R8500 for a whole new audio setup. That is more or less what I paid for my last full installation, and I loved my audio every time I drove my car.

I'll be replacing the plastic facia panel that houses my Jazz's crappy radio though, for R895. That will allow me to fit a double dinn Sony 68BT touchscreen head unit (R3695) in. There's also the cost of the unit that allows for the steering wheel controls to be hooked up again, which should be around R500.

Even if you aren't a bass head, I quickly discovered after my first installation that all genres benefit tremendously from good low range response.
 
Bryn said:
I'm in the process of overhauling the audio in my new (secondhand) Honda Jazz, so perhaps my costs could give you an idea of the level of expenditure that you really shouldn't be underneath.

- Reusing my 12" Rockford Fosgate sub. Cost me R1.4k in my last car. You can skimp on the bass if you don't care much for it.
- Reusing my 4-channel JBL amp. Originally cost me R1.9k. Don't buy a crap amp, and make sure it's 4-channel.
- Alpine Type-G SPG-17CS 6" front splits for R1250 (from autostyle.co.za)
- Alpine Type-G SPG-17C2 6.5" rear coax's for R720 (from autostyle.co.za)
- 8x silent coat sheets for the doors - R520
- Redone subwoofer housing - R750
- Labour total - R850

That's R8140 if you're buying all of that new. If you aren't buying a new head unit you'll need a stepdown unit. I was quoted R545 for one. So you'll be looking at around R8500 for a whole new audio setup. That is more or less what I paid for my last full installation, and I loved my audio every time I drove my car.

I'll be replacing the plastic facia panel that houses my Jazz's crappy radio though, for R895. That will allow me to fit a double dinn Sony 68BT touchscreen head unit (R3695) in. There's also the cost of the unit that allows for the steering wheel controls to be hooked up again, which should be around R500.

Even if you aren't a bass head, I quickly discovered after my first installation that all genres benefit tremendously from good low range response.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed post.
I'm pretty sure we would basically need everything new, apart from the head unit. So yeah, it would definitely be sound advice to be prepared to spend anything in the region you're referring to.
But like you say, if you loved the sound, it makes the money spent on it worthwhile.
 
e4et said:
Thanks for the detailed post.
I'm pretty sure we would basically need everything new, apart from the head unit. So yeah, it would definitely be sound advice to be prepared to spend anything in the region you're referring to.
But like you say, if you loved the sound, it makes the money spent on it worthwhile.
Click to expand...

If you don't need a new head unit, then yeah, I would budget for R8.5k.

Not only is good quality audio a joy to listen to every day, but it's quite fun blowing your passengers away with your audio. I don't think I've ever had someone in my car not pay a complement. Everyone can appreciate superior sound quality.

Oh, and make sure you don't use a cheap looking audio place to install everything. Even if you need to order the parts online because a brick and mortar store has markups that are too high, at least have them charge you for the labour and do the actual installation. You don't want the world of pain and frustration that often follows a cheap installation. You'll only pay once if you get it done right.
 
+1 for Tremor Audio in Midrand. Brilliant service :)

Re the Renaults, one of the above comments said their sound used to be good... I have to agree, for stock sound, it's great! Blaupunkt speakers in the 2000s
 
Roobir said:
Hi gents,

I'm looking to crank up the sound quality for my music (a variety between hard rock, metal, dub, and pop songs - depending who is driving with me). At the moment the sound is very clear and overall not bad, but I do wish to have a little bit more bass for the music. I used to have a Polo Vivo and Golf TSI, of which both had great sounding bass for my music. I would like to obtain a similar sound experience with my new car.

So I poked around on the Internet and it seems my car has 4x 5.25" (13cm) speakers (one for each door) and some tweeters (two) in the front dash that connects to my MediaNav. What would you recommend I do to get some better sound while driving? I was wondering if a simple upgrade of the 5.25" speakers would do the trick?

For example, I see these speakers at Makro:
https://www.makro.co.za/electronics/jbl-51-4-135w-component-speaker-system-286583EA
Would four of those be a good enough improvement to have a similar sound quality to a Polo Vivo 6 speaker solution?

Kind regards,
Roobs
Click to expand...

From what i've read, almost anything is better than the standard speakers that come with the car.
See the link below. This is what is used in some ot the replacement kits for the newer Renaults:
http://www.soundslimited.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_122&products_id=2567
And also
http://www.soundslimited.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=39_132&products_id=2571

From this link: (you might want to google translate this one :-p)
http://www.acr-helmond.nl/audio-upgrade-sets-acr/renault-clio-iv-audio-upgrade-soundsystem-2.html
 
Bryn said:
Oh, and make sure you don't use a cheap looking audio place to install everything. Even if you need to order the parts online because a brick and mortar store has markups that are too high, at least have them charge you for the labour and do the actual installation. You don't want the world of pain and frustration that often follows a cheap installation. You'll only pay once if you get it done right.
Click to expand...

+1 on This.
I'll definitely not attempt this by myself.
 
I recently purchased Kicker 6.5" speakers for front and rear doors from Takealot. Was half the price than from a store or installers. I had a 4 channel amp and had everything installed by an installer for R800 including amp wiring . Cost for speakers from Takealot was R1450 and cheapest quote from installer was R3100 excl. installation and wiring.
 
I was at the Renault dealership today to ask about the speakers. I wanted to know the easiest way to open the cover so that I can replace it with better speakers. The technician informed me that the warranty will then be voided for the Media Navigation head unit as well as all wiring and speakers included in the sound system. :sad: I just want some better speakers.
 
ahoudet said:
+1 for Tremor Audio in Midrand. Brilliant service :)

Re the Renaults, one of the above comments said their sound used to be good... I have to agree, for stock sound, it's great! Blaupunkt speakers in the 2000s
Click to expand...

My brother had a Clio 2 and the standard sound wasn't blow your mind great but it was a hell of a lot better than the current renault, and he had a tape deck in his :D
 
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