AntonyJ Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 It all depends on your budget and what you want from the sound in your Fiesta. I replaced the Speakers in mine with higher end Pioneers (not the Ford ones), and spent about the same amount on installation (materials, I did the work myself). Adding some SilentCoat Extra to the door skins; making very stiff mounts for the Speakers from ply and ensuring they were firmly secured; adding foam to the backs of the door cards to eliminate rattles and reduce external noise; mounting the tweeters on the dash to get better imaging and equalising path lengths. That's given me a (IMHO) huge improvement in sound quality for about £300. The stock HU isn't bad, but I only listen at modest sound levels (10-12 normally). If you push it further then the amp will start to distort as it's limited by the car voltage level (the main benefit of external amps is they have a step-up transformer). I find some types of music (rock mostly) do show up the limits, and I am tempted to add a small external amp. Probably a Vibe LiteAir as it's small enough to hide away under the dash. As for multi band equalizers like the CleanSweep or other more sophisticated devices, I'd want to be convinced I could really hear the difference in my car before spending £300. My advice to the OP is to go in stages, rather than spend a huge amount (£1000+) in one go that might not be worth it. The system is a series of modules that can be installed and replaced independently. Unless you're planning to enter a SQ competition, in which case you wouldn't be asking us for advice.... 1. The original Speakers are poor. Get decent quality speakers and install them properly (sound deadening, etc). Audition them first. Ignore any numbers thrown at you and stay away for cheap nasty brands that look impressive on the display in Halfords but are junk. 2. The decent speakers installed properly will have better bass, but if you still find the bass is lacking for your type of music, get a sub. Even the small ones that go under the passenger seat might do it for you. This will address the HU limiting bass at higher volumes. 3. If you listen at high volumes, or you find distortion is a problem add an amp. Again, avoid cheap nasty brands with impressive sounding wattages. You don't need huge amounts of power - it's a car not a stadium. 4. If you still find there are issues with the sound that you can hear above the road/engine noise and you can't dial it out by adjusting the (limited) options on the stereo, then look at a DSP correction unit between the stereo and amp. But I'd only do this after you've checked it out with a laptop running EQ software (e.g. http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/). And I'd want more than just multi-band EQ if I was spending that kind of money, I'd want full time correction as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunny Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 The factory fitted controls or bluetooth voice commands etc, none of that is effected, in fact none of that is even touched, the only thing touched is the actuale output from the HU, which is just the speaker cables. Heres a vid best describing it and hwo it works etc. ] Cheers fella. I'm aware it doesn't affect, or come anywhere near steering controls etc. That's why im favourign a cleansweep. I'm refering to the cleensweep being right for me, in the manner that what I require, is for a pre amp quality to the same level as a mid range HU, such as a £150 Alpine may provide... If the research turns up that it can do that, it justifies its £170 price tag (for the JL cleansweep i've seen), as it does what a typical aftermarket HU does, in providing good pre-amp outs to interface with decent amps and Speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strutter Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Ahh sorry dude I thought you might have been asking! Yes its fair to say it might be worth getting a new HU and theirfore bypassing the need for a CS at all (tho you can get an entry MTX one for about £120 which is good value I feel). but a few things to bare in mind. THe Din slots I have seen that replace the stock hug so you can fit a standard HU are about £80 - £120 that I have seen! If you remove the Stock HU, you are removeing all the controls you have in the car, Bluetooth/ voice commands and wheel controls..something I personally do nto want to loose. As far as I can tell from the circut layouts, the Cruise control on mine would be disabled. THose are my reasons for the CS...I also would see the CS cheaper and easier to install!..plus I knida like the looks of teh small screen. layout of the HU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strutter Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 It all depends on your budget and what you want from the sound in your Fiesta. I replaced the speakers in mine with higher end Pioneers (not the Ford ones), and spent about the same amount on installation (materials, I did the work myself). Adding some SilentCoat Extra to the door skins; making very stiff mounts for the speakers from ply and ensuring they were firmly secured; adding foam to the backs of the door cards to eliminate rattles and reduce external noise; mounting the tweeters on the dash to get better imaging and equalising path lengths. That's given me a (IMHO) huge improvement in sound quality for about £300. The stock HU isn't bad, but I only listen at modest sound levels (10-12 normally). If you push it further then the amp will start to distort as it's limited by the car voltage level (the main benefit of external amps is they have a step-up transformer). I find some types of music (rock mostly) do show up the limits, and I am tempted to add a small external amp. Probably a Vibe LiteAir as it's small enough to hide away under the dash. As for multi band equalizers like the CleanSweep or other more sophisticated devices, I'd want to be convinced I could really hear the difference in my car before spending £300. My advice to the OP is to go in stages, rather than spend a huge amount (£1000+) in one go that might not be worth it. The system is a series of modules that can be installed and replaced independently. Unless you're planning to enter a SQ competition, in which case you wouldn't be asking us for advice.... 1. The original speakers are poor. Get decent quality speakers and install them properly (sound deadening, etc). Audition them first. Ignore any numbers thrown at you and stay away for cheap nasty brands that look impressive on the display in halfords but are junk. 2. The decent speakers installed properly will have better bass, but if you still find the bass is lacking for your type of music, get a sub. Even the small ones that go under the passenger seat might do it for you. This will address the HU limiting bass at higher volumes. 3. If you listen at high volumes, or you find distortion is a problem add an amp. Again, avoid cheap nasty brands with impressive sounding wattages. You don't need huge amounts of power - it's a car not a stadium. 4. If you still find there are issues with the sound that you can hear above the road/engine noise and you can't dial it out by adjusting the (limited) options on the stereo, then look at a DSP correction unit between the stereo and amp. But I'd only do this after you've checked it out with a laptop running EQ software (e.g. http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/). And I'd want more than just multi-band EQ if I was spending that kind of money, I'd want full time correction as well. All good advice!..plus shop about the net and you can get some gret offers for teh front Speakers (Component 6.5" fit with some adaptors now available) for about £100 price ffrom a good stereo car brand! Most important thing there is deadening the doors...makes the biggest difference for the Mid-Range sound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nico. Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 time to scrap the idea i had and look at it all again then by the looks of it aint it!!!!! what Speakers brands etc people recommend? i not huge on my car Speakers tbh i dont think the brands i use with the dj equip make car Speakers lol... so 1st thing should do is get a decent set of speakers... sound proof the car up fit a amp somewhere sub it up and look into this CS?? been !Removed! good help all this btw (y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroodoN Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Yeah, AntonyJ and Strutter know what they are talking about. I found JL clean sweep for 206.99 pounds here if anyone interested. Let us know if anyone finds cheaper than this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strutter Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 time to scrap the idea i had and look at it all again then by the looks of it aint it!!!!! what speakers brands etc people recommend? i not huge on my car speakers tbh i dont think the brands i use with the dj equip make car speakers lol... so 1st thing should do is get a decent set of speakers... sound proof the car up fit a amp somewhere sub it up and look into this CS?? been !Removed! good help all this btw (y) Some thing you can consider, but jsut an idea of everything that can be done with a cheapesh budget. Speakers Mid-Driver with tweeter http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spl-dynamics-sd-6-2.html Pretty sure you would get away with a small amp like this, jsut comprises of two channesl for the front Speakers and a small sub http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/mtx-roadthunder-rt604.html Sub http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spl-dynamics-v300s4.html Sub INclosure http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/cad-jwb12-12-sealed-enclosure.html Thing to consider would be the like of material for sound deadening the doors/ then some money (not much) for the cables/ wireing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strutter Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Actually jsut thinking a MTX RegQ 3 channel is made JUST to restore the bass signal...and its about £70 which might be enough to get a decent sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savcom Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 time to scrap the idea i had and look at it all again then by the looks of it aint it!!!!! what speakers brands etc people recommend? i not huge on my car speakers tbh i dont think the brands i use with the dj equip make car speakers lol... so 1st thing should do is get a decent set of speakers... sound proof the car up fit a amp somewhere sub it up and look into this CS?? been !Removed! good help all this btw (y) It's all useful stuff. Not needed the Cleansweep as I popped a Becker in my BMW, but on the BMW5 forum I use there are many many posts about 'what speaker should I go for'? I don't (yet) know the Fiesta, but the advice I gave there is really not too dissimilar for the Fiesta: If you're not adding an amplifier then you should look for speakers with high sensitivity (i.e. they sound louder than less sensitive ones) so as high a figure as possible (89-90dB/watt). To get an idea of what I mean here, consider that a speaker rated at 90dB/watt will sound twice as loud as a speaker rated at 87dB/watt. Since you're only driving the speakers from the original head unit, then that makes a BIG difference!!If you don't like a bright sound then choose speakers with a silk tweeter rather than a metal one. other than that, unless you know the speaker you want then it's likely down to pot luck and price. At the risk of offending some people, the makes you should be looking at include Rainbow / DLS / Focal / Genesis / Alpine / Pioneer / Kenwood. It's hard to audition speakers (hence asking round for people who have done the upgrade) but if you can, you'll get an idea of the differences involved. Halford's is totally the wrong way to do it (too much ambient noise, no real choice in music, acoustics of a large shop cannot match those of a car etc.) but may be your only choice. There are no really meaningful reviews to speak of so you may end up going on gut instinct, but ask around on the forum and you may be pleasantly surprised at how willing others will be to suggest models and techniques. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strutter Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 THo just on that list Genisis have gone now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savcom Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 THo just on that list Genisis have gone now. Yeah, sad. But still some available as old stock. The pity is the quality of their amps will no more grace our cars. :( (says he with a Profile Two ready to install in the Beemer once the weather gets warmer..... B) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrobins64495 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Does anyone know where you can get a decent set of Speakers fitted etc proffesionally. Since the one i've spoken too appears off the mark from what you have been saying. I'm Northampton based, but can travel 100 miles in either direction. I've googled but cant find anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonyJ Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Some thing you can consider, but jsut an idea of everything that can be done with a cheapesh budget. Speakers Mid-Driver with tweeter http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spl-dynamics-sd-6-2.html Pretty sure you would get away with a small amp like this, jsut comprises of two channesl for the front speakers and a small sub http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/mtx-roadthunder-rt604.html Sub http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spl-dynamics-v300s4.html Sub INclosure http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/cad-jwb12-12-sealed-enclosure.html Thing to consider would be the like of material for sound deadening the doors/ then some money (not much) for the cables/ wireing. Yeah, pretty much anything from the middle of this page downwards will do the job: http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/speakers/component-systems/6.5-inch-comp-17cm.html It just depends on your budget. Ideally Speakers should be auditioned as they all colour the sound in their own unique ways. For what it's worth, these are the ones I installed: http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/pioneer-tse-170ci.html which are relatively low efficiency (88dB/w) so I had to turn up the volume a notch or two (as Savcom correctly points out, if you want high volume with the standard head unit, go for 91db/w like the SPLs Strutter linked to). If you're tempted into the higher end stuff, you should wander over to the talkaudio.co.uk forum, where there are pletty of people who will help you spend serious cash... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroodoN Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I have done some research and it looks like there are other similar devices like JL cleansweep: * JL Clean Sweep * Rockford 3sixty (360) * Audio Control Lc6i * MTX Re-Q5 Re-q5 seems to be the cheapest one but it wont programm itself like cleansweep. The same thing is with audio control LC6i and it slightly more expensive. Rcokford 3sixty is very expensive, has many functions and you can use it with palmtop or other device to control it (via bluetooth). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strutter Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 THe Q5 is good for what it does, but as you say you need to set it up once and hope your happy with it, also good if you happen to listen to just one type of music. THe JL is still best overall but again its not a cheap device. and I think the 3Sixty, as good as it is, would be overkill for myself even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk7_Rbj Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Audison also do a 'Bit One' My friend has just had it in his A5 and it seems to really do the job Also allows for preset EQs and things for easily setting your system up for different types of music etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strutter Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Yea but an Audison Bit1 is like about 500 quid or something! lol Id want a monkey to come in the box as well that was trained to install it for that price lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroodoN Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Audison stuff so expensive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeZS Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Has anyone gone ahead and fitted the speakers/cleansweep etc.? Im looking to do exactly the same just thought id ask on some advice speaker wise, what sort of things are any good? Possibly going down the Alpine route, found the PXE-H650 processor/cleansweep, brand new posted from the US for £180, bargain, twice the price on the Uk based car audio websites! Looking for some Alpine 6.5" comps for the front and a 2/3 channel amplifier depending on whether I decide on getting a sub or not. Is it not worth upgrading the rear speaker? Also what what to people recommend for mid price wiring kits/speaker wire? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Ford UK Shop
Sponsored Ad
Name: eBay
Ford Model: FordUK Shop
Ford Year: 2024
Latest Deals
Ford UK Shop for genuine Ford parts & accessoriesDisclaimer: As the club is an eBay Partner, The club may be compensated if you make a purchase via the club
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.