C30 Electrics : Retrofit High Performance Audio

[niggly]

Originally Posted by BOBAD

The biggest bang for your buck, in my opinion, would be to add a pair of quality speakers up front, coupled to a dedicated audio 5-channel amp (e.g. a Hertz) a sub. and sound-deadening material (I use SkinZ) inside the front doors.

The High Performance Audio system that you mentioned only sounds good to people who have never heard a real high-quality sound system.

It needn't cost the earth either as even budget-level dedicated equipment will sound better than the systems sold by Volvo......

Note: You don't need 8 speakers, you only need a pair of good quality tweeters and mids up front. (e.g. Audison Prima).

Adding rear speakers only serves to destroy the sound stage for the driver and front passenger.

Retain the standard head unit. This avoids hassle with the CANBUS system and allows you to retain the waterfall unit...... and, as a bonus, no re-coding is necessary

A sub. is a must no matter what your taste in music is....... I listen to mainly jazz, blues and classical music and would never be without a decent sub.

You can spend a small fortune getting the sound quality you want (I did !) but it is perfectly possible to spend not very much at all provided you choose your equipment wisely, and believe me, a 4 x 40w amplifier a la the Volvo High Performance unit is not spending it wisely !

Have a read of this link and see if it helps (Choose the "Joy" option as this contains budget equipment):

http://www.fourmasterscaraudio.co.uk/your-car/general/




P.S. If you are ever in the area you would be welcome to have a listen to the sound system in my C30 to see just how good it is possible to make a Volvo sound provided you choose the right equipment (and throw enough ££££ at it.)





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BOBAD, so if I just changed the front speakers in my C30 would it be a big improvement? Tweeters and mids or just mids? What sort of price range constitutes 'decent' mids?
I'm not an audifile by any means but do really enjoy my music in the car.
The HP Audio is so integrated in my C30 that I can't see changing it is any sort of option. It displays andis the input for loads of the settings for other things on the car. For example, mirrors fold or not fold.

[BOBAD]

Originally Posted by bondbill2k2

.......My main problem is i'm stuck with the stupid decision Volvo made that if you have the bluetooth option they removed any form of external input (USB and AUX)......

I am focussed on sound quality pure and simple and have no need for Bluetooth, Aux, USB etc, all of which get in the way of achieving ultimate performance for listening to music !








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[Missing Lincs]

Going back to the original question about upgrading to High Performance. I looked into this and in addition to the extra hardware I found that I would need to add/change wiring. Volvo list a different wiring loom for different audio configurations and this was backed up by what I found ie no extra connectors for amp or anything else.
One simple mod you can do and the wiring should be present, add tweeters to the rear doors. I bought a set from a breakers for a few pounds and they made a real difference to the sound clarity.

[iainmd]

I'd echo the above. Adding tweeters to the rear doors adds clarity to the sound on basic/performance audio. I paid £20 from a breakers for the two speakers and that improved things considerably. The V50 with performance audio still doesn't have the punch of the high performance in my S40 but it's a lot better than it was.

[BOBAD]

Originally Posted by niggly

.......BOBAD, so if I just changed the front speakers in my C30 would it be a big improvement?

Hi Niggly. No, it would be a waste of money if you don't add a dedicated and reasonably powerful amplifier to drive them. Plus, the doors need to have sound-deadening material installed. The stock head unit is acceptable only because of the difficulty in replacing it by an after-market unit. (Thanks Volvo.)

A 'decent' quality set of front speakers, e.g. Audison, or Hertz, would be in the region of £200.... Audiophile quality would cost a lot more.

Don't fit any speakers to the rear unless you want to destroy the soundstage at the front.

That lot would cost a bit, but the improvement over anything supplied by Volvo would be outstanding.

Good luck whatever you decide......

[TheFiend]

I used to be quite enthusiastic about ICE and all my previous cars have had amps and upgraded speakers.... My last 2 cars even got custom built subwoofer enclosures designed so that I didn't lose any usable space within the boot area.

I've had my C30 for 4 years now and it's the first car I haven't done upgrades on the sound system. I'm actually quite happy with the sound quality of the High Performance Sound system fitted by Volvo.

[Sasha94]

My car has BT audio, do some that have the phone not have that feature? When you press mode on the stereo does it say BT?

[BOBAD]

Originally Posted by TheFiend

.......I'm actually quite happy with the sound quality of the High Performance Sound system fitted by Volvo........

If you are happy with the supplied system then it would be a total waste of time and money to consider upgrading it.

For those of us who are not happy with the supplied system there is no choice but to upgrade - it all depends how much pleasure you get from listening to music played on audiophile-standard equipment.

Everyones ears hear music differently and unless you can detect the difference between the standard-fit audio system and a dedicated sound-quality system there is no point in spending the effort (+$$) tio achieve it.







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[Missing Lincs]

Originally Posted by BOBAD

If you are happy with the supplied system then it would be a total waste of time and money to consider upgrading it.

Good advice. It's what each individual's happy with.

Some people like to have features, eg bluetooth phone/audio, usb etc and reasonable sound. I do think you need to at least experience a real top end system to be able to compare.

I also think that the environment in a car is a big factor. It's not like listening at home, you are sat in a small, funny shaped, metal box with road, engine and wind noise. It's never going to be perfect.

[TheFiend]

Originally Posted by BOBAD

If you are happy with the supplied system then it would be a total waste of time and money to consider upgrading it.

For those of us who are not happy with the supplied system there is no choice but to upgrade - it all depends how much pleasure you get from listening to music played on audiophile-standard equipment.

Everyones ears hear music differently and unless you can detect the difference between the standard-fit audio system and a dedicated sound-quality system there is no point in spending the effort (+$$) tio achieve it.

When I have sold cars in the past I remove the upgrades... I still have my amps and speakers... But as I am happy with the existing Hight Performance System I don't feel the need to change it.

In fact at the moment I am in the process of converting one of the subwoofers, a Rockford Fosgate one removed from one of my previous cars, into a custom build subwoofer for a home cinema system.