Upgrade Stereo

[grasmere59]

My 2003 Exec has the factory amp fitted with the standard head unit,it is supposed to be the top system fitted but to be honest it's o.k. but not brilliant,what can i do with this set up to make it better,i don't want to fit an aftermarket head unit as i want to keep the mfd display etc but just wondered if theres anything i can do for better sound from this system?

[lozz]

have you got the jbl set up ?

shouid be ok if it is,


Try adiffernt cd mate, perhaps some prodigy might help

[grasmere59]

I assume it's a JBL setup but to be honest i did'nt check,all i saw was an amp in with the satnav unit in the boot area.

[waue1978]

If it has the amp it's a JBL. Should be a good set up, but if you want a bit more it may take some work. From what I've heard it can be a pain to change the stereo with the JBL set up due to the amp being there. You could always see where changing the speakers gets you.

[Bailes1992]

Estate sound systems are dire compared to the saloons. The little 10cm speakers cannot compete with the midrange you get from the 6x9's in the saloon.
I'm amazed by how good my standard stereo is!

Also Gra' it depends how much you want to spend. You could rip all the standard JBL stuff out and replace it with an aftermarket amplifier instead?

[Captain Jack]

For most people, the JBL system sounds OK but I am not most people. I've done a lot of messing about to get it to sound better, first by replacing the speakers - helped a little, then changed the JBL to an aftermarket one with the original HU - wasn't really that much better, then changed the HU to Alpine and Dynamatted the doors to death - now it's OK

I also put some mid-range drivers in place of old 6x9's in the custom rear parcel shelf as the original was made out of paper and rattled like hell.

Depends how far you want to go....

[grasmere59]

For most people, the JBL system sounds OK but I am not most people. I've done a lot of messing about to get it to sound better, first by replacing the speakers - helped a little, then changed the JBL to an aftermarket one with the original HU - wasn't really that much better, then changed the HU to Alpine and Dynamatted the doors to death - now it's OK

I also put some mid-range drivers in place of old 6x9's in the custom rear parcel shelf as the original was made out of paper and rattled like hell.

Depends how far you want to go....

So from your experience just changing the speakers didn't make a lot of difference then? I've a spare rear shelf i could mess with but then it would be a pain to remove when needed i would expect.

[Captain Jack]

I made my own shelf out of MDF but I guess you could reinforce the spare one somehow. Changing the speakers didn't do a lot for me to be honest (but there was an improvement) -it's only when I ripped the whole thing out that the real improvements were heard. If you do go replacing the door speakers, make sure it's only a mid-range driver rather than a 2/3 way driver/tweeter combos, as all the speakers in the factory JBL system are component ones.

[leestudd30]

Know mine hasn't got the jbl stuff but I changed the front door speakers for a pair of Alpine mids and they definately sounded better than the factory stuff. I'd already fitted a Pioneer DEH 7200 to go with it though.

[Captain Jack]

I think the JBL components are pretty well matched.

[grasmere59]

[quote="Captain Jack"]I made my own shelf out of MDF but I guess you could reinforce the spare one somehow. Changing the speakers didn't do a lot for me to be honest (but there was an improvement) -it's only when I ripped the whole thing out that the real improvements were heard. If you do go replacing the door speakers, make sure it's only adriver/tweeter combos mid-range driver rather than a 2/3 way , as all the speakers in the factory JBL system are component ones.


Your losing me there (only adriver/tweeter combos mid-range driver rather than a 2/3 way , as all the speakers in the factory JBL system are component ones.) ,have you got any makes models that would do,i'm a bit of a teckno biffa,(still use a Noikia 3410!)

[Captain Jack]

From the factory - mid-range component speakers are in doors (i.e. JUST the large woofer without the tweeter on top of it). Tweeters are in the dashboard - I never bothered replacing these. You do get a 2-way 6x9 speaker (mid-range with a tweeter on top of each speaker). I believe the filtering/x-over is done from the factory installed JBL amp. If you install your own amp, you need to connect up the cross-overs/filters that come with your component speakers.

My speakers are all Focals - http://www.focal.com/en/car-audio-sound ... 165-a1.php but these are pricey. There are cheaper alternatives.

[Gary406]

i dont know how its done but if you can add a small subwoofer in the boot. say a 10 inch one fitted with the standard radio then that should make a huge difference.

but all estates are usually sh*t anyway for audio .

my uncle has a V70 volvo and thats the same .