Will spending only $200-250 on speaker upgrades be worth it?

[tracerit]

I tried 128 and 320bit rate mp3s and honestly can't tell the difference much if at all. Since I plan on keeping the car for a while, I'll gradually improve upon it.ilk take everyone's advice and go with sound deadening the environment first.Time to check out that large sound deadening thread haha

[radroach]

Originally Posted by tracerit

I'm mainly looking for an easy replacement using stock wiring and head unit and amp.

I can give you a tip on how to improve audio quality on the BRZ head unit. Try this before you start stuffing insulation in your speakerbox. Nobody else says the shit that I'm about to tell you, instead throw money at the problem or mess with the mix, which will totally screw with the sound. But trust me I'm the motherf**n truth when it comes to audiophile shit so read:

The problem is that the source volume control (SVC) levels are too high on the factory settings; bluetooth and satelite radio are being gained too high on their input. This makes all the levels, especially treble, way too high. The stock settings are like a guitar with a Boost Pedal overdriving the amp, for easy comparison. I first noticed these dynamics when listening to Willie Nelson on satelite radio, his vocals were coming through distorted. This told me the input levels were too high.

CD, bluetooth, and radios all have their own SVC, source volume control, found in the audio settings on the stock BRZ head unit. You can adjust the SVC, starting at +/-0dB; I put bluetooth audio around -10dB for instance and cut the volume levels on the device (aka bluetooth device). The BRZ manual has more info about these settings.

My settings are: music player's (android phone) volume is 50-60%. With the SVC levels cut to -10dB, it rounds the levels perfectly. I can crank the BRZ audio unit all the way up without distorting, giving me good volume and good clean audio headroom.

note, I do not believe in changing the EQ settings. My music was already mixed professionally in a recording studio, why would you want to mess with that? Adjust your SVC and volume output, and you can find the sweet spot to flatten out the sound and power from your radio. Leave the EQ to the recording industry professionals. No need to cut trebs or boost bass levels, they're already baked into the track.

[tracerit]

will give that a try. i only listen to music around volume level 20-25 i think. i don't crave too much bass or loudness.

[radroach]

Originally Posted by tracerit

will give that a try. i only listen to music around volume level 20-25 i think. i don't crave too much bass or loudness.

This will change your radio dynamics. It will cut all input levels by -10db, therefore you can turn up your radio more and still have clean headroom.

I have my radio cranked 100% and you can only hear the music a few feet from outside the car, not too loud at all.

My equation: low input gain + radio cranked = good classic sound with flat levels across treble, mids, and bass.

[KSC]

I was gonna make a similar thread.

I'd like the stereo to be a just a bit louder, but I don't really want to upgrade the whole system. I usually have the vol around 90% and its just not doing it for me. If I can hear myself sing, something's not right. I'm a terrible singer, too!

I've never been a "system" guy. Love music, but have always found stock to be sufficient. I just drove the wife's Altima today and 17/30 on her volume nearly shook my teeth loose.*I'm just surprised at how soft the stock setup on the BRZ is considering how small the cabin is.

Guess I'll adjust the EQ and see if that improves things.

[radroach]

Originally Posted by KSC

I was gonna make a similar thread.

I'd like the stereo to be a just a bit louder, but I don't really want to upgrade the whole system. I usually have the vol around 90% and its just not doing it for me. If I can hear myself sing, something's not right. I'm a terrible singer, too!

I've never been a "system" guy. Love music, but have always found stock to be sufficient. I just drove the wife's Altima today and 17/30 on her volume nearly shook my teeth loose.*I'm just surprised at how soft the stock setup on the BRZ is considering how small the cabin is.

Guess I'll adjust the EQ and see if that improves things.

From what I just wrote in my reply above your comment, the stock stereo doesn't have clean headroom at high volumes, often distorts due to the level of input gain, which is controllable via source volume control.

I think if you want to go louder, you'll want cleaner headroom. the stock stereo system settings only goes about halfway up before the speakers start to distort, so you'll probably want speakers with a higher rating. However, pay attention to what I said about SVC and you'll be able to limit the amount of distortion you get at high power.

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by radroach

I can give you a tip on how to improve audio quality on the BRZ head unit. Try this before you start stuffing insulation in your speakerbox. Nobody else says the shit that I'm about to tell you, instead throw money at the problem or mess with the mix, which will totally screw with the sound. But trust me I'm the motherf**n truth when it comes to audiophile shit so read:

The problem is that the source volume control (SVC) levels are too high on the factory settings; bluetooth and satelite radio are being gained too high on their input. This makes all the levels, especially treble, way too high. The stock settings are like a guitar with a Boost Pedal overdriving the amp, for easy comparison. I first noticed these dynamics when listening to Willie Nelson on satelite radio, his vocals were coming through distorted. This told me the input levels were too high.

CD, bluetooth, and radios all have their own SVC, source volume control, found in the audio settings on the stock BRZ head unit. You can adjust the SVC, starting at +/-0dB; I put bluetooth audio around -10dB for instance and cut the volume levels on the device (aka bluetooth device). The BRZ manual has more info about these settings.

My settings are: music player's (android phone) volume is 50-60%. With the SVC levels cut to -10dB, it rounds the levels perfectly. I can crank the BRZ audio unit all the way up without distorting, giving me good volume and good clean audio headroom.

note, I do not believe in changing the EQ settings. My music was already mixed professionally in a recording studio, why would you want to mess with that? Adjust your SVC and volume output, and you can find the sweet spot to flatten out the sound and power from your radio. Leave the EQ to the recording industry professionals. No need to cut trebs or boost bass levels, they're already baked into the track.

Good advice here, but as far as music already mixed professionally in a studio not needing any more equalization, would that not require a studio-quality soundstage as well? Surely the car's inherently less-than-perfect audio environment could benefit from some EQ tweaking.

[Xdragonxb0i]

in the bespoke version there is a setting for "natural" and "feel" select feel

[radroach]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Good advice here, but as far as music already mixed professionally in a studio not needing any more equalization, would that not require a studio-quality soundstage as well? Surely the car's inherently less-than-perfect audio environment could benefit from some EQ tweaking.

IMO, the only thing wrong with the system's sound quality is the input gain levels from SVC. In a less than perfect setting with road noise, I suppose you might want to compensate by changing frequency response, but that changes the way your music sounds, and that's even further less than perfect.

Most of the music I listen to was made to be listened to in a car, so called "trunk bangers" where the bass is perfectly mixed and aren't distorted. Changing the EQ settings turns a crisp bass thump into a booming fart in this case, ruins the producer's vision for how these frequencies were supposed to sound.

[cruzinbill]

Originally Posted by radroach

IMO, the only thing wrong with the system's sound quality is the input gain levels from SVC. In a less than perfect setting with road noise, I suppose you might want to compensate by changing frequency response, but that changes the way your music sounds, and that's even further less than perfect.

Most of the music I listen to was made to be listened to in a car, so called "trunk bangers" where the bass is perfectly mixed and aren't distorted. Changing the EQ settings turns a crisp bass thump into a booming fart in this case, ruins the producer's vision for how these frequencies were supposed to sound.

You do realize that with the eq flat in the car the response is not actually flat..... I wouldnt really say it has a crisp bass thump from the factory anyway. Its more of a muddy mix of midbass while it tries to produce sub bass as well.

[radroach]

Originally Posted by cruzinbill

You do realize that with the eq flat in the car the response is not actually flat..... I wouldnt really say it has a crisp bass thump from the factory anyway. Its more of a muddy mix of midbass while it tries to produce sub bass as well.

I agree, what I mean is I'm normalizing the sound by reducing the gain (again via SVC) and upping the wattz, it gives a flatter, clearer response than simply running the radio stock at 50% volume. This keeps high amplitude stuff, bass, from jumping out too much and banging the speakerbox, also keeps trebs from jumping. My ears don't feel like they're going to bleed anymore.

( [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_normalization"]Audio normalization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] )

[xbreed]

Stock speakers are garbage. Replace them and you will get the sound you want.

[brianlo622]

Originally Posted by xbreed

Stock speakers are garbage. Replace them and you will get the sound you want.

That is a very misleading statement, especially if you are leaving everything else "stock". Higher-end speakers are usually more power hungry, and underpowering a set of speakers will not give you the result you want.

Now, if you do install an amp to power these new speakers, you will have to deal with issues such as resonance and such, and at that point, sound deadening becomes more critical.

[cruzinbill]

Originally Posted by brianlo622

That is a very misleading statement, especially if you are leaving everything else "stock". Higher-end speakers are usually more power hungry, and underpowering a set of speakers will not give you the result you want.

Now, if you do install an amp to power these new speakers, you will have to deal with issues such as resonance and such, and at that point, sound deadening becomes more critical.

Agreed, if it wasnt for having to deal with not having xovers on the oem speakers, I would say adding a small amp and deadning is all most would need to make the car sound good. Well and a small sub.