Hi All,
New to the forum here. Bought a 2014 FiST with navigation and the Sony sound package 3-4 weeks ago and have been pretty disappointed with the stereo. Primarily the problems I have with it are 1) it doesn't get loud enough, i.e. during highway driving with windows down I can't really hear the music, and 2) the sound quality just isn't all that impressive. My previous car was a Toyota with a JBL system and it was head and shoulders above the Sony system in my FiST. I'm interested to see what others have done to solve these problems and have a few specific questions.
I think doing anything with the radio itself is impossible since it's so integrated so that means I'm left upgrading speakers and/or adding amplification. I was considering replacing the four door speakers and adding an amp. I see that the front doors have integrated tweeters near the door latches - does anyone know how those are hooked up? Is there a crossover in the door that splits a single channel between the tweeter and the regular speaker?
I'm hopeful that replacing the factory speakers and adding an amp is enough to wake the system up, but I've also considered adding a subwoofer. I noticed that there's some room in the back where the spare tire sits. I was thinking about ditching the spare (I'm rarely more than a few minutes from someone that can give me a ride if I got a flat) and putting a sub + amp in that space. Has anyone else done that? If so, got any pictures?
In terms of adding one or more amps, where's the best spot to route the power wire? Also, I assume I can get a converter to convert one of the factory speaker channels to an RCA for the amp but how do I handle the remote wire to turn the amp on if the car must retain the factory radio?
Also, if I add an amp to the factory speaker locations, I assume I'm going to have to do a bit of rewiring. Can anyone chime in as to how difficult that will be and if I'll need any special tools to do it (i.e. for removing door panels if I'd have to do that)?
Thanks for any advice!
New to the forum here. Bought a 2014 FiST with navigation and the Sony sound package 3-4 weeks ago and have been pretty disappointed with the stereo. Primarily the problems I have with it are 1) it doesn't get loud enough, i.e. during highway driving with windows down I can't really hear the music, and 2) the sound quality just isn't all that impressive. My previous car was a Toyota with a JBL system and it was head and shoulders above the Sony system in my FiST. I'm interested to see what others have done to solve these problems and have a few specific questions.
I think doing anything with the radio itself is impossible since it's so integrated so that means I'm left upgrading speakers and/or adding amplification. I was considering replacing the four door speakers and adding an amp. I see that the front doors have integrated tweeters near the door latches - does anyone know how those are hooked up? Is there a crossover in the door that splits a single channel between the tweeter and the regular speaker?
I'm hopeful that replacing the factory speakers and adding an amp is enough to wake the system up, but I've also considered adding a subwoofer. I noticed that there's some room in the back where the spare tire sits. I was thinking about ditching the spare (I'm rarely more than a few minutes from someone that can give me a ride if I got a flat) and putting a sub + amp in that space. Has anyone else done that? If so, got any pictures?
In terms of adding one or more amps, where's the best spot to route the power wire? Also, I assume I can get a converter to convert one of the factory speaker channels to an RCA for the amp but how do I handle the remote wire to turn the amp on if the car must retain the factory radio?
Also, if I add an amp to the factory speaker locations, I assume I'm going to have to do a bit of rewiring. Can anyone chime in as to how difficult that will be and if I'll need any special tools to do it (i.e. for removing door panels if I'd have to do that)?
Thanks for any advice!
