Upgrading S3 audio

[ImS3ola]

Hello people. I've just picked up my S3 and i'm loving everything about it expect the music system. I'm looking to upgrade the sound, but i'm not sure what path to take. The car has the symphony double din head unit. I'm thinking about keeping this, but I may be adding SatNav+ in the future.

My normal route is just to replace front speakers and add an amp and sub in the boot. I'm not after big bass, so may just go for a nice ported 8" sub in the boot. I've been reading about these andymac sub enclosures which I believe come with a 6.5" JL sub. This seems perfect but i'm sceptical about how much bass a sub this size could produce, especially as it's in a small sealed enclosure. I assume it's very punchy and can't produce any low bass? If anyone has this installed and could give me their view of how it sounds, i'd be extremely grateful.

In also want to fit new front speakers - i've read that 5.25" ones can be fitted, but you have to watch out for the mounting depth. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Sorry for all the questions /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[dunk]

you would be amazed with the anymac stealth sub - i fitted one and its fantastic, and no loss of boot space.

i also uprated the front and rear speakers and the overall improvements are just fantastic

i used infinity kappa 50.5cs on the front (only 1mm spare space) and alpine 17cm coaxials in the rear with the andymac sub

 

[jojo]

I'm in the process of fitting mine, just aint got time to do it... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif... and it's getting ****** cold!

 

[ImS3ola]

Sounds interesting. Could someone who owns one give a mini review of how the andymac sub sounds. Obviously deep bass is out the question, but I would like a nice balanced sound.

Also, how much do they cost?

Thanks

 

[AndyMac]

ImS3ola, if you're anywhere near Southampton (or Bracknell) I can give you a demo of the sub in my wife's A3TS.
The cost is £70 for the enclosure (includes wadding, gold speaker terminals and wiring, finished in satin black)
JL Audio 6.5" sub - £85
Alpine V12 F400 amp - £90
Optional fitting - £60

If you want slightly lower down bass you can use the JL 8" unit, but this is almost twice the price and is severely restricted by the size of the enclosure.

 

[ImS3ola]

Hi Andy, thanks for the offer but unfortunately i'm in london. At the moment i can't really decide whether to go with a 8" sub, something like the JL Audio 8W3, and run it in a normal box in the boot, or go for the JL 6WO in your box. I know it's difficult to try and describe these things, but could you give a discription of how your box sounds in relation to the standard s3 bose setup.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[ImS3ola]

Could someone also advise how I would connect my symphony headunit to an amp. I assume the symphony doesn't have rca preouts. Is some type of adapter needed?

 

[dickys3]

Theres a mini review Here

Cheers
Rich.

 

[AndyMac]

It does have pre-outs but not the RCA type, you need the RCA pre-out adapter, however this will disconnect bothe the Bose amp and Bose sub/amp, so it is easier to tap into the rear pre-outs and remote on lead on the sub loom.
RCA adapter

 

[ImS3ola]

Thanks andy. I don't have bose so I think I may go for that adapter. I'm going to try and get an amp that has a remote bass control so I can control the bass independently of the symphonu hu.

If I get an amp to run the front speakers and a sub, can I still run the rear speakers off the symphony hu?

 

[imported_maviceuk]

ImS3ola

I did the MacSub route and never looked back - more Bass than you can shake a stick at

love listening to music in the car now - couldnt stand it before

full thread here stage by stage

http://www.audi-sport.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=1,10,15,105,200,900,1000&Board=a3s3&Number=115727&Forum=a3s3&Words=speaker%20upgrade&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=6months&Main=85034&Search=true#Post115727

 

[imported_maviceuk]

sorry

link didnt work /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

just do a search for "speaker upgrade" to find detailed thread

cheers

 

[ImS3ola]

Thanks for the link noggy - i think you've convinced me to go for andys enclosure.

I'm now on the lookout for some 5.25" components. I'm thinking about the alpine SPR-136a as i've had the 6.5" versions in the past and i've been impressed with them. Only problem is that they have a mounting depth of just under 3". Will this be too deep for the doors?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[lewy]

Focal 130v2 slims fit a treat - and sound mucho better than the Infinity's IMO.here I know they may be expensive (and French), but you'll never look back.
Lewy

 

[jediknight]

what is the model number of the infinity speakers you were talking about and where did you find them for £100?

thanks