I'm the owner of a new 2012 Subaru Forester, and would love some advice designing a sound system upgrade. My goal is to improve the SQ, which is pretty bad.. I listen to as much Jazz as electronica, and am not aiming to win any SPL contests. I'm a bit budget constrained and will tackle the system in stages as budget allows.
Here's an overview of the current OEM system:
* Clarion based OEM head unit. No line-level output, unfortunately. There is a balanced subwoofer output, but it's mono only.
* 4 x 6.5" door speakers (front/rear). These are especially crappy OEM speakers buried down near my feet. The front doors are pretty shallow without a spacer -- 2-2.25". I think I can add up to a 1" spacer.
* 2 x sail panel mounted tweeters. They are crappy 3/4" tweeters, but having them does move the sound stage up quite a bit compared with the tweeter-less configuration in the base model. I think I can fit a 1" better tweeter in the sail pods with a little work.
Constraints:
* Equipment budget for this phase is $300.
* Amp is a Pioneer GM-D9500F. It has both line level and speaker level inputs, runs 4 x 75 RMS, and can be bridged into 2 or 3 channels.
* I want to maintain the same integrated functionality of the OEM head unit: bluetooth music streaming, rear aux in, rear USB port w/iphone support, steering wheel controls. I generally stream all music from an iPhone and haven't played a CD in years.
My initial thoughts on phase 1:
* Put 6.5" drivers in the front doors, 1" tweeters in the sail panels, and leave the rear speakers as is (probably faded down to 0).
* Keep the OEM head unit (for phase 1). Yes, this is a huge compromise. It seems like getting an equivalent unit with all the connectivity functionality and steering wheel adapters would eat up my phase 1 budget, and I just hate the sound from the current speakers.
* Run the head unit speaker level output directly to the amp.
* Soundproof the front door panels.
Phase 2 & 3:
* Replace the head unit
* Possibly put a MiniDSP inline for tuning
* Add a subwoofer in the cargo area
I have a bunch of questions:
What do you guys think about the approach for phase 1 and in general?
Any specific recommendations for the drivers and tweeters?
Thoughts on a crossover setup?
Here's an overview of the current OEM system:
* Clarion based OEM head unit. No line-level output, unfortunately. There is a balanced subwoofer output, but it's mono only.
* 4 x 6.5" door speakers (front/rear). These are especially crappy OEM speakers buried down near my feet. The front doors are pretty shallow without a spacer -- 2-2.25". I think I can add up to a 1" spacer.
* 2 x sail panel mounted tweeters. They are crappy 3/4" tweeters, but having them does move the sound stage up quite a bit compared with the tweeter-less configuration in the base model. I think I can fit a 1" better tweeter in the sail pods with a little work.
Constraints:
* Equipment budget for this phase is $300.
* Amp is a Pioneer GM-D9500F. It has both line level and speaker level inputs, runs 4 x 75 RMS, and can be bridged into 2 or 3 channels.
* I want to maintain the same integrated functionality of the OEM head unit: bluetooth music streaming, rear aux in, rear USB port w/iphone support, steering wheel controls. I generally stream all music from an iPhone and haven't played a CD in years.
My initial thoughts on phase 1:
* Put 6.5" drivers in the front doors, 1" tweeters in the sail panels, and leave the rear speakers as is (probably faded down to 0).
* Keep the OEM head unit (for phase 1). Yes, this is a huge compromise. It seems like getting an equivalent unit with all the connectivity functionality and steering wheel adapters would eat up my phase 1 budget, and I just hate the sound from the current speakers.
* Run the head unit speaker level output directly to the amp.
* Soundproof the front door panels.
Phase 2 & 3:
* Replace the head unit
* Possibly put a MiniDSP inline for tuning
* Add a subwoofer in the cargo area
I have a bunch of questions:
What do you guys think about the approach for phase 1 and in general?
Any specific recommendations for the drivers and tweeters?
Thoughts on a crossover setup?