Upgrading Picanto speakers

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Nuro

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Hi

Has anyone upgraded the speakers in their new shape Picanto? It has two tweeters in the front, 2 4" speakers in the dash and 2 6" in the back doors.

The sound isn't bad, but it's not great either, I would like to get a bit more range from the speakers. Now, the one car audio place said replacing the speakers with something better will already make a huge difference, costing around R1200 with labour. The other place said it will make very little difference, and I would need a speaker upgrade, with amp and sub, crossovers etc. , total price coming in at around 9K. I laughed.

I don't need a sound system on wheels. I just need a bit more range. Has anyone upgraded theirs? Any suggestions? I know from our previous Picanto the factory speakers were really terrible.
 
You can replace all the speakers for around R1200 maybe a bit less actually.

I would advice that you rather get a split system with active crossover as it sounds waaay better.
Not super expensive either, around the same range.

The person that quoted 9k was a chancer.
The only issue you may have is an underpowered head unit which would just require more volume.
 
Nuro said:
<snip>

I know from our previous Picanto the factory speakers were really terrible.
Click to expand...

...and I can confirm that they are indeed really terrible :D Doesn't bother me too much though as I usually only listen to 702 when I'm alone in the car anyway :whistle:
 
Nuro said:
Hi

Has anyone upgraded the speakers in their new shape Picanto? It has two tweeters in the front, 2 4" speakers in the dash and 2 6" in the back doors.

The sound isn't bad, but it's not great either, I would like to get a bit more range from the speakers. Now, the one car audio place said replacing the speakers with something better will already make a huge difference, costing around R1200 with labour. The other place said it will make very little difference, and I would need a speaker upgrade, with amp and sub, crossovers etc. , total price coming in at around 9K. I laughed.

I don't need a sound system on wheels. I just need a bit more range. Has anyone upgraded theirs? Any suggestions? I know from our previous Picanto the factory speakers were really terrible.
Click to expand...

The stock speakers are rubbish. I had to put in an active subwoofer just to make the audio sound decent and no I didnt put it in solely for extra bass. I took my car to car audio specialist in PE and the guy recommended putting in the subwoofer which will immediately make the sound inside the car much better.

I was sceptical at first thinking that I do not want bass just need it to be louder. What a big difference that box has made, ut takes up half my boot though:rolleyes:. What I like is that there was no cutting of wires and it's not permanent. It is connected with a single plug which I can just pull out and take the box out whenever I need extra space (not that the Picanto boot has much). He said that the problem is not so much the speakers but more the head unit which is also ridiculously weak. The rear speakers are also really poor. It cost about R2000 but was worth it for me.

Another option is to install a flat active subwoofer which has a built in amp, should give you better audio experience and take up very little space.
 

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Thanks guys. I was worried about the low volume on the head unit, so this confirms it.

@Fury05 Did you only do the active sub, or did you replace the rear speakers as well? A removable box sounds really good. I'll see if I can get a guy up here in Mordor to do it.

I have become so spoilt with the integrated bluetooth for calls and music, the audio output is the only thing that bugs me.
 
Nuro said:
Thanks guys. I was worried about the low volume on the head unit, so this confirms it.

@Fury05 Did you only do the active sub, or did you replace the rear speakers as well? A removable box sounds really good. I'll see if I can get a guy up here in Mordor to do it.

I have become so spoilt with the integrated bluetooth for calls and music, the audio output is the only thing that bugs me.
Click to expand...

I have a removal box with a 15"sub and a 550w amp.
No rear speakers only speakers in front, tweeters and passenger doors.
the sub makes a major difference but not if your speakers being used are shyte because then it's just going to be muffled bass.
A cross over will help in that it will split the frequencies to the correct speakers.
 
Electric said:
I have a removal box with a 15"sub and a 550w amp.
No rear speakers only speakers in front, tweeters and passenger doors.
the sub makes a major difference but not if your speakers being used are shyte because then it's just going to be muffled bass.
A cross over will help in that it will split the frequencies to the correct speakers.
Click to expand...

Rough ballpark figure for your setup? Looks like a sub is a must.
 
I popped one of these into the boot of my Civic and it made a world of difference. Granted it is only 50W RMS but it comfortably fills the gap left by the OEM speakers. It won't rattle your numberplate but you'd be surprised at how well it performs for it's size and power. It is not cheap, though, around R2000. You can buy cheaper powered subs from brands like Audiobank & Starsound, starting from R400 up to R1300, or go high end with something from Infinity, Dynaudio or Kicker (R3k+)
Pioneer-TS-WX210A-Space-saving-20cm-8-inch-Sealed-Active-Subwoofer-50W.jpg
 
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Nuro said:
Rough ballpark figure for your setup? Looks like a sub is a must.
Click to expand...

I paid about R1200 for everything but it was 2nd hand from a friend.
You can do it for the same price though, just don't go for anything too large because it's not necessary.
 
Nuro said:
Thanks guys. I was worried about the low volume on the head unit, so this confirms it.

@Fury05 Did you only do the active sub, or did you replace the rear speakers as well? A removable box sounds really good. I'll see if I can get a guy up here in Mordor to do it.

I have become so spoilt with the integrated bluetooth for calls and music, the audio output is the only thing that bugs me.
Click to expand...

Just did the active sub. I would suggest you look at the FLAT active subs I wish they were available before I bought mine., would've saved me so much space. It's okay though at least I can remove the box as and when I please.
 
Fury05 said:
Just did the active sub. I would suggest you look at the FLAT active subs I wish they were available before I bought mine., would've saved me so much space. It's okay though at least I can remove the box as and when I please.
Click to expand...

I've had to cut my box down because it took up more than half of my boot.
I cut it in half and ported it, works the same really.
 
Fury05 said:
Just did the active sub. I would suggest you look at the FLAT active subs I wish they were available before I bought mine., would've saved me so much space. It's okay though at least I can remove the box as and when I please.
Click to expand...

Oh and one more thing you don't realise is that your ears are actually missing the bass which the head unit and speakers fail to provide. The unit actually sounds loud enough when you get some bass going with the active sub. I've seen the official flat active sub specifically for the picanto on the net, will look for the link later on.
 
Phone two places today, and it ranges from between 2.5K to 3K for a flat active sub. Both offered me a Kenwood sub. Think Ill shop around a bit more.
 
Nuro said:
Phone two places today, and it ranges from between 2.5K to 3K for a flat active sub. Both offered me a Kenwood sub. Think Ill shop around a bit more.
Click to expand...

Check autostyle.co.za they have the flat active subs
 
Nuro said:
Phone two places today, and it ranges from between 2.5K to 3K for a flat active sub. Both offered me a Kenwood sub. Think Ill shop around a bit more.
Click to expand...

Kenwood is very good quality but unnecessary. Go for something cheaper the difference in audio quality will not be that noticeable unless you're a serious audiophile. Check the Star Sound Digital brand, had one of their subs and amps in my previous car and the quality was very good, better than expected.
 
G for the Targa brand as it's more reliable for everyday usage or if you really have cash to splash then it's Sony over Kenwood for me.
 
I've had this in my car for years and its been totally great. It adds a nice low end thump, and I can feel it even though the only space for it is in the boot, and my car's fuel tank is behind the back seat.
 
Ancalagon said:
I've had this in my car for years and its been totally great. It adds a nice low end thump, and I can feel it even though the only space for it is in the boot, and my car's fuel tank is behind the back seat.
Click to expand...

:wtf: Do you drive the mysterious BMW with the extra reserve tank behind the back seat?? :wtf:
 
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