Replace HU Or Get A New AMP?

[Goldenvodka]

Hi guys,

 

I am quite new to In Car Entertainment. I always wanted a better sound system for my vehicle but not gonna go too deep into it.

 

With the help of some friends we managed to install the following used items. ( KIA Optima K5 )

We have installed the following items 

 

1)https://www.pioneer.com.sg/sg/products-detail/index.html/?product=TS-A1606C

 

02 sets of above. Hence my vehicle currently has 4 speakers and 4 tweeter.

 

 

2) Used Sony subwoofer in installed boot. Ancient big ass type. ( Powered ) 

 

 

All items are currently connected to my stock HU.

Now I am looking for one last piece of equipment to enhance my music listening experience.

 

May I enquire if changing HU or adding an AMP would be more significant? 

Thanks in advance.

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by Lightsabre

[Qaz20]

What's your current headunit now?

[Ragingbull]

  On 4/20/2017 at 1:54 PM, Goldenvodka said:

Hi guys,

 

I am quite new to In Car Entertainment. I always wanted a better sound system for my vehicle but not gonna go too deep into it.

 

With the help of some friends we managed to install the following used items. ( KIA Optima K5 )

We have installed the following items 

 

1)https://www.pioneer.com.sg/sg/products-detail/index.html/?product=TS-A1606C

 

02 sets of above. Hence my vehicle currently has 4 speakers and 4 tweeter.

 

 

2) Used Sony subwoofer in installed boot. Ancient big ass type. ( Powered ) 

 

 

All items are currently connected to my stock HU.

Now I am looking for one last piece of equipment to enhance my music listening experience.

 

May I enquire if changing HU or adding an AMP would be more significant? 

Thanks in advance.

I have a pair of this hooked to my stock HU + mini 4ch amp from pioneer, even bridged them for more power, still the result wasn't very favorable.

IMHO I guess replacing the HU first would help in a better way.

[Goldenvodka]

  On 4/21/2017 at 2:00 AM, Qaz20 said:

What's your current headunit now?

Stock factory HU.

[Ishiwgao]

  On 4/21/2017 at 5:36 AM, Goldenvodka said:

Stock factory HU.

 

i dont know about Kia Optima HU, but nowadays car HU size not standard (at least for newer cars). make sure your HU size can fit those aftermarket 1 DIN or 2DIN units.

 

If can, i would recommend get a new HU rather than amp. an amp only boosts the signal to your speakers, but if the origin of your sound quality (from HU) is not what you like, then boosting or not will not help you any more. if possible, go to a shop where u can test different HUs with you current set of speakers and listen to which one give you the best kind of sound that you like. of course, make sure your HU can support your speakers (at least minimally).

 

after you change HU and you still want better quality, then you can move on to changing your amp to improve signal to noise ratio etc.

[Goldenvodka]

  On 4/21/2017 at 6:09 AM, Ishiwgao said:

i dont know about Kia Optima HU, but nowadays car HU size not standard (at least for newer cars). make sure your HU size can fit those aftermarket 1 DIN or 2DIN units.

 

If can, i would recommend get a new HU rather than amp. an amp only boosts the signal to your speakers, but if the origin of your sound quality (from HU) is not what you like, then boosting or not will not help you any more. if possible, go to a shop where u can test different HUs with you current set of speakers and listen to which one give you the best kind of sound that you like. of course, make sure your HU can support your speakers (at least minimally).

 

after you change HU and you still want better quality, then you can move on to changing your amp to improve signal to noise ratio etc.

I have checked around. My ride is indeed able to install an aftermarket HU: My current stock HU is able to power up all the installed speakers and subwoofer and I am quite ok with the sound. Hence I am looking into adding an amp to enhance the sound. However I have also received recommendations to replace HU rather adding an amp. Edited April 21, 2017 by Goldenvodka

[Ishiwgao]

  On 4/21/2017 at 6:30 AM, Goldenvodka said:

I have checked around. My ride is indeed able to install an aftermarket HU: My current stock HU is able to power up all the installed speakers and subwoofer and I am quite ok with the sound. Hence I am looking into adding an amp to enhance the sound. However I have also received recommendations to replace HU rather adding an amp.

 

in some sense, replacing HU also means adding an amp, because if you get a more powerful HU that can output more wattage, then that is the same as getting an amp already. of course, the power output from amp will be much higher than HU, so that's why sometimes adding an amp is necessary to support some new more powerful speaker, and that new speaker is then supposed to give you the nicer sound that you want.  

 

replacing HU just give you more options to play with to cater to what you want to hear, be it the sound quality or more basic things like bluetooth connection to your phone to listen to phone MP3 without connecting etc. 

 

for your case, if i were you, i would just leave it alone and not spend any money adding an amp since you are already ok with the sound. adding an amp will definitely enhance the sound like you said, but probably by a little bit only, and the benefit will not be as apparent to you as much as you think. 

[Qaz20]

Bro, mind sharing what's your budget range? Another option u can go into is a processor cum amp.

[Goldenvodka]

  On 4/21/2017 at 11:59 PM, Qaz20 said:

Bro, mind sharing what's your budget range? Another option u can go into is a processor cum amp.

About 300 max with installation?

[Qaz20]

300 with installation wun get u a good headunit to begin with.. My suggestion is save more $$ and 1 shot get a processor cum amp with installation that should cost in the region of around 1.5k.. But must go to the correct installer else $ wasted..

 

If u insist on spending the 300 now, i can assure you it'll be $$ down the drain.. Been there, done that... Hehee...

 

Listen to others setup to get an idea of how far away your setup is from theirs. There are also some cheap setup that sound much better than expensive setup. $$ is not everything in ICE, but it do plays a big part in buying you the proper stuffs.

[Goldenvodka]

  On 4/23/2017 at 10:02 AM, Qaz20 said:

300 with installation wun get u a good headunit to begin with.. My suggestion is save more $$ and 1 shot get a processor cum amp with installation that should cost in the region of around 1.5k.. But must go to the correct installer else $ wasted..

 

If u insist on spending the 300 now, i can assure you it'll be $$ down the drain.. Been there, done that... Hehee...

 

Listen to others setup to get an idea of how far away your setup is from theirs. There are also some cheap setup that sound much better than expensive setup. $$ is not everything in ICE, but it do plays a big part in buying you the proper stuffs.

 

Thanks. I have been reading up DSP since the last post.

 

Seems that DSP is the way to go instead of spending the amount of $$ on a HU. As I am very comfortable with the original HU and wish to keep the original look.

[Qaz20]

  On 4/24/2017 at 2:01 AM, Goldenvodka said:

Thanks. I have been reading up DSP since the last post.

 

Seems that DSP is the way to go instead of spending the amount of $$ on a HU. As I am very comfortable with the original HU and wish to keep the original look.

Good choice bro..

Let me know if u wanna listen to a 2 way simple setup with dsp..

I can help u arrange with friend (think his is stock headunit too)

 

Not to poison you, but to let u know what to expect when u wanna spend 1k+. But i'm sure u will kenna the poison. U can try mine too (3 way setup)

[Goldenvodka]

  On 4/24/2017 at 5:06 AM, Qaz20 said:

Good choice bro..

Let me know if u wanna listen to a 2 way simple setup with dsp..

I can help u arrange with friend (think his is stock headunit too)

 

Not to poison you, but to let u know what to expect when u wanna spend 1k+. But i'm sure u will kenna the poison. U can try mine too (3 way setup)

 

Possible to PM me which audio shop is specialize and have a big range of DSP to audit before committing?

 

TIA

[Goldenvodka]

After much considerations. I proceeded with the following.

 

1) Stock HU

2) DSP with build in AMP

3) Full active setup for all my speakers/tweeter and subs

 

 

Overall very satisfied with the results.

 

The next poison will be a new set of speakers/tweeter to replace my entry level pioneer speakers in the front and an audio card to expand my DSP hence the phone will talk directly to the DSP instead of going through the HU.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Goldenvodka

[Qaz20]

Good choice bro..

So what dsp u use?

[Goldenvodka]

I using this

 

http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/lng/en/helix/products/amplifier/v-eight-dsp.html

 

Reason being I wanted to run a full active set up with DSP.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Goldenvodka

[Qaz20]

Ic.. Didn't consider Audison 8.9