To those who aren't sure about upgrading the rear speakers, it's certainly a personal preference thing. I'm no audio engineer but I've built systems for my past 2 vehicles, and I personally hate the "fronts only" approach. I prefer immersive sound, front and rear.

if you're on the fence, I suggest turning the fade on your radio all the way front and having a listen

Mine came a week ago and I've been staring at the box on my porch ever since. Install in a couple days, hopefully (apartment living sucks!)...

I have a similar opinion and that's why I was really happy when OEM Audio+ decided to add the rear speaker option.

Personal preference is fine, it just needs to be remembered that except for SACD and DVD-A formats, music was never intended to have sound coming from behind. Car audio is the only place people do this.

There are processing tricks that work in a car to make rear speakers still sound correct, but it requires running them with a lot of time delay, and with the left and right speakers inputs reversed.

would love to hear OEM audio response to this! is this accounted for in the tuning DSP?

The rears are tuned to add to the front Mids and enhance them from what they told me

Hey everyone, i ordered the 4" mid range and 4" rear speakers today. i will most likely install next week and give you all my opinions of the upgrades!!

It sounds like they may be using some steering algorithm then, which is good. The idea behind it is to add a sense of ambience or space to the front speakers, not just to play the same thing in the back as in the front.

^sounds about the same as what Daniel told me a month ago wen I called

My 450Q goes in tomorrow!

let us know how it sounds! I'm getting mine next week

Looks like there will be lots of reviews of the Reference system with the new rear speakers in the next few weeks. I'll add my review once the system arrives and I get it installed. Probably about 3 weeks out.

I'm really interested in what difference just the rear speakers make in addition to the Reference 400CF.

I don't have mids on the dash in my Australian BRZ. I could do with some more mid punch, and the stock rears are horrible.

Reference 450Q installed and rocking!
 

Ordered my FR-S Release Series 2.0 back in October, and the 450Q with color-matched sub and free rear speaker upgrade in January. Got the car mid-March and the system late-March. The install wasn't too bad, following the docs provided and the YouTube videos. Only had a couple hitches. First, the dealer installed after-market LED running lights, and ran the wiring for the switch through the same grommet I needed for the power wire. Had a buddy help me get the wire pulled through the grommet, which was the only thing in the install I needed a 2nd set of hands for. Second hitch was the door speakers had no sound. Checked all my connections (speakers, amp, radio) but couldn't find anything wrong. Shot an email to Daniel at OEM, and he immediately called me back, talked through the issue, then sent me a quick 1-page fix on how to install a wire tap on the OEM harness, behind the radio. After dropping $2 at Radio Shack for a pack of wire taps, and another 15 minutes to pull the radio and install it, everything is working great. The sound is much fuller and richer than the stock system, but I knew that was going to be case, since I installed a Reference 400 in my 2012 tC a few years back.

I cannot say enough about OEM Audio+ and the great guys that work there: Daniel La Blanc, Dan Ramirez, and Sandy Lirag (COO and co-founder). Spoke to all of them over the couple months while my 450Q was being built, painted, and tested. The system can seem pricey, but it's well worth the money, for the superior sound, pre-configured tuning, plug-n-play install, and support. Here's what the Lunar Storm color-matched sub enclosure looks like:

Does adding the 4" mid range and 4" rear speakers require sending the amp back to OEM to be reconfigured? (I already have the OEM Audio + Reference System 400CF installed)


Also, on my factory head unit what does the DSP setting do? It has low - med - high choices. I have had it in the off position but I have read differing opinions.


Are you all using the recomended settings - Natural? Sometimes I think that the FEEL selection sounds better? Would like to hear what some of your settings are that you feel sound best.


Thanks!