R36 Audio upgrade

[Swallowtail]

Well my audio upgrade is done...



ArcAudio ks125.4 amp housed under the passenger seat. This is a high quality 4 x 75W (into 4 ohm) amp. Plenty enough power... goes quite loud.

Door speakers all replaced with Alpine SPX17REF 2-way speakers.

I'll take some photos tomorrow of the amp mounting (you can see it if you put the passenger seat right back).

Had about 1/2 hour with it on the way home, and it's a lot gruntier than the stock system, a lot more control in the bass and midrange, and just generally places everything a lot more cleanly. No subwoofer installed, but the bass is tight and you can feel it through the car. Testament to a well-built car, the whole thing doesn't rattle when it's going hard.

RRP value of the amp and speakers and the unit to connect the RNS510 to the amp is about $2500. Installation was on top of that.

Anyone in Brisbane wants to have a listen let me know. Northfield at Moorooka did the job, very happy with it so far.

EDIT - now I ned to decide what to do with the stock stuff - keep it for when I sell the car to put back in, or ebay it...

[Swallowtail]

Two really ordinary iPhone pics...

The speakers box and the amp installed under the passenger seat (seat right back)

[Rocket36]

Do all the speakers fit so everything looks factory? You may as well get another amp and sub (just a single 10 inch or something) now too.

[Swallowtail]

Speakers are 100% factory look behind existing door panels.

The bass is big and tight, TBH it doesn't need a sub. I'm not into overblown woozy bass. There would be nowhere to put it and keep it all factory looking anyway.

[Lance B]

Looks good. Would the speakers be worth the change by themselves?

Are the tweeters crisp and clean? What about the mids?

Would you say the bass is better than the stock speakers?

[Rocket36]

Those speakers need a decent amp to get the most out of them. I've had similar in older cars - before I grew out of my "oonst oonst" days! LOL!

[Swallowtail]

Yup, agree with Rocket - the speakers wouldn't be a patch on what they deliver without the guts of the amp driving them.

Tweeters are crisp yes, bass is 1,000,000% better than stock LOL.

All round it is a very nice upgrade. Sound stage and placement is clear, and for a sub-less system it goes damn low, but still tight and controlled. Apom is going to come by for a listen in the morning...

[Lance B]

Yup, agree with Rocket - the speakers wouldn't be a patch on what they deliver without the guts of the amp driving them.

Tweeters are crisp yes, bass is 1,000,000% better than stock LOL.

All round it is a very nice upgrade. Sound stage and placement is clear, and for a sub-less system it goes damn low, but still tight and controlled. Apom is going to come by for a listen in the morning...

Excellent. Thanks for the info. I look forward to Apom's review of your "new" system.

[gripmoto]

I tried to do a similar thing with mine but the installer chickened out pre- delivery said he couldn't fit a amp under the seat and I would loose balance control. Does your stock balance and fader still work?

[Swallowtail]

I tried to do a similar thing with mine but the installer chickened out pre- delivery said he couldn't fit a amp under the seat and I would loose balance control. Does your stock balance and fader still work?

Yes, works fine... Northfield at Moorooka did mine. We've actually tweaked the balance / fader a bit so it's more setup for me as the driver than the rest of the car.

It's a fairly small amp too size-wise (but not in oomph!)

[Radius]

Yes, works fine... Northfield at Moorooka did mine. We've actually tweaked the balance / fader a bit so it's more setup for me as the driver than the rest of the car.

It's a fairly small amp too size-wise (but not in oomph!)

The upgrade looks worth all the initial order-issues . Well done getting a great solution with the dealer!

Did you mean biasing balance toward the left and fader to the front? I tried out both the Dynaudio and standard systems before settling my order. Speaker placements the same in both.... found that both systems seemed very side-dependent ie. in the driver's seat sound stage seemed to come predominantly from the right front corner.... things improved somewhat with re-balancing toward the front-left. Did you have the same issues post-upgrade or did you find an inherent improvement?

And since you've had the opportunity to see the OEM equipment - was the standard speakers / amp of any quality? Did it indicate who's the manufacturer?

[apom]

Ok, now for the review of the Swallowtails upgraded audio system.

Firstly, a huge thanks to Swallowtail, it was great to catch up this morning and compare notes. He has certainly done a huge amount of reading and research into add on bits, and using the existing items to their full potentional.


The sound system...

The upgraded sounded system is a significant improvement over the stock system. If you are into audio in any decent form, its money worth spending (something else I need to buy now ) The overall image is much much cleaner, their is a very nice clarity right across the range. I was expecting just the top end to be much more detailed however even the bass is very detailed without being too obtrusive. On one track we played there was a bass guitar that came in mid track and it was perfectly placed in the sound stage, easily disguishable but not overpowering. The is more than enough proper bass and there is no need for any subwoofer, not even in the slightest!

He also showed me the MDI interface, works brilliantly with the iphone preserving all the playlists etc and duplicating ipod menu options in the phone. If you need that connectivity, again a worthwhile option, although it wouldnt be the top of my list as the capacility on the HDD would be sufficient for my music selection.

The other part we played with internally was the Fiscon BT upgrade that he had installed himself. Again, this is a worthwhile upgrade, especially if you are on the phone in the car with any regularity. The syncing with the phone allows the system to fully realise its potential by giving you full integration with your contacts etc both on the centre screen and the in the dash. This will be also on my shopping list (It was an expensive visit and I am not finished yet!!)

We also discussed the different features of the sat nav unit and Swallowtail has found a way of importing POI's into the system that works brilliantly

Lastly, I also checked out the towbar install on the car. when standings at the rear of the car (with the tongue remove) you cant even tell the car has the capacity for one. This was sorta on my shopping list at the time but I held off as a) I hadnt seen it in the flesh and b) didnt want to pay the LCT on it with the new purchase. But now definitely will be done at first service. (if not sooner)

So... all in all, a great visit and nice to meet one of our new moderators! thanks again.

<Now.... towbar $1800, fiscon $800, Sound upgrade $3000... looks like i need to start saving!!>

[Swallowtail]

Thanks Apom, and ditto - good to meet you too.

First to answer radius' questions -

1. Yes, I have the balance / fader set slightly to front left. Places things much better for the driver. And as I am the only one who really cranks it up then that's fine!

2. The stock stuff is Blaupunkt, and it looks and feels crap. The speakers are lightweight and flimsy, and the amp is small and puny... but if anyone wants to buy them let me know...

Apom, thank you for your kind comments... glad you enjoyed! I will burn a copy of the Nav DVD (that you already own ) with those extra POIs as discussed. I am happy with the sound upgrade, planning on giving it a good workout over the next few weeks!

I'll have to see if I can try to use the towbar and see if it works to plan. Be interesting to see if it's been wired properly so that the rear parking sensors disable when the trailer is on.

One thing with seeing Apom's wagon - it's a hot looking car the R36 wagon. VERY nice... Got to be one of the best looking wagon's on the road I reckon. And the auto tailgate is uber-cool...

Unfortunately my car was filthy this morning so we didn't do photos (cleaned it this afternoon). Next time...

[Radius]

Thanks heaps for your info Swallowtail! And glad to hear apom's wagon looks good too =) Now I just can't wait for mine to arrive. Cheers!

[Lance B]

Swallowtail,

All sounds very good (pun intended)

Did they have the amp in stock?

I am thinking of going the same route as you, can you advise how they connected the amp up to the main deck and speakers? The reason I ask is that some of the original equipment amps in these cars need the output of the deck and their output to the speakers is already split into low/mid/high.