Audio Upgrade Advice

V

Victronox

Member
Hi everyone - I am a proud owner of a new 2009 FX50 - Umbria Twilight - DVD/NAV Package. Only 2200km so far!!!

I live in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia (Vancouver) and just visited a reputable Audio installer. I was enquiring about upgrading my speakers to improve the overall quality of the factory system. The advice I got was that nothing could be done to signifcicantly improve the sound quality....the speakers are custom made for the vehicle and new speakers would be a waste of time and money.

I was, of course, a bit surprised, having read quite a bit on these forums about people replacing the stock sub's and speakers.

I'm looking for a second opinion; either from IS members directly or advice on quality installers in the Lower Mainland that I can visit and work with on an upgrade.

PS: I visited Ralph's Radio in Vancouver .....

Thanks!
 
it all depends on how much your willing to spend.
if you want to only spend a few hundred, you can replace just the speakers with the bostons. This will sound a little better but if your looking for louder & cleaner the price jumps up over $1000 easy

I'm sure if you let us know what your budget is we can help guide you in the right direction to spend it all and then some.

BTW, I hate places that think they know it all. I went into one place and kinda got the same response you did. They told me it was impossible to add the stuff I wanted to add. All the crappy low-end electronics they had in their shop should have been a dead givaway that they sucked.

I think you should try another shop.
 
I installed a 12" Sony Xplod last week with a 1300W amplifier, and i have a 2009. The sound from the sub is amazing, and i had them add a manual override on the sub (basically a small knob separate from the main system to just control my new sub), and drill the knob through one of the dead switches on the lower left of the driver. The whole set-up is really clean. In terms of upgrading the speakers, the shop told me that there was no point unless i was going with something high end, because you won't get the same effect that the Bose gives. They even left my Bose sub connected so that I could remove the box for long trips to use the trunk space. If it were me, i would say save some money, and just add a nice THUMP
 
1200 can easily get you into a new sub setup..couple of amps...replacement of the bose speakers. It WILL sound better...just not significantly. I think EG3 did his already with Boston's. Talk to him about the increased quality.

Later on you can add on a sound processor to get rid of the bose eq'ing... Like the RF 360.2 or JL's cleansweep. That will bring out the musicallity of the system even more.

But for something very nice..look at $2000 to replace everything out...shops usually charge a lot for labor just to bypass the bose amps. Which is why lower quality (or lazy) shops just say nothing can be done...they don't want to go through the hassle and effort of bypassing the Bose unit. It is time consuming, there are ALOT of wires to bypass..but it can be done by any reputable shop.
 
I know EXACTLY what you need, funny thing is I too have an '09 and was researching the same thing a few hours ago. I don't like the factory BOSE system's sound.

Check out CRUTCHFIELD and select OUTFIT MY CAR. There you will get a few products that you can connect to the factory stereo that will allow you to get better sound and adapt amplifiers and better speakers.

One of the things you need is AudioControl LC6i (it's a factory sound processor)

Item description: AudioControl's LC6i processor allows you to add aftermarket amps, speakers, and subs to your factory radio, so you can enjoy better sound without losing factory features. It accepts speaker-level signals from your factory radio or amplifier, so you can use it with any system.

I read some reviews of the Cleansweep, and some people are recommending this product over that one.

I HOPE THIS HELPS OR POINTS YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

p161LC6iG-f-1.jpe
 

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I installed Boston Acoustic speakers in my old Pathfinder and I was quite happy with them. Much better sound than the factory speakers we have in the FX.
 
LC6 is a line converter not a processor but it is pretty nice. Bose equalizes at the amps so if you plan on adding your own amp you don't need the clean sweap. If you want a processor look at the rockford 3sixty.

If your budget is about $1200 and your not doing the work yourself, you can replace stock speakers with bostons and then add a amp for a seperate sub. This will sound a little better mainly because of the sub. If you want to make a real impact then you'd have to double that budget.
 
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