Hi All,

Well... this is my first post to the RRSport.co.uk forum, and from a new RRS owners perspective the info & community on this site is great! I've been reading up a lot on the forum over the past 4 weeks, whilst having a massive dilemma of what to buy - Porsche 911 C4S, or RRS TDV6 - two totally different machines, and equally desirable (IMHO). In the end the RRS was the choice to go with, and I'm the new owner of an '07 TDV6 HSE.

I'm posting this message as I've scoured the forum, and a bunch of other RRS sites but not found an easy and definative answer to the following:

I'd like to upgrade the quality of the audio in my RRS. The factory Harman Kardon system sounds OK, but I'd like it to be crisper, fuller, and more hifi like in it's quality. The sites I've found so far involve a lot of modifications, huge sub woofers in the boot, and massive amps all over the place. My aim to to avoid cutting the car, changing the stereo head unit, or having big boxes in the boot.

So...

1. Has any one changed the speakers in the front & rear of the RRS for better ones which still fit in the standard holes, and retain the grills (e.g. looks standard after being updated) If so what size are the speakers, and what brand / model did you go for.

2. Has anyone replaced the amp module (I believe it's under the passenger seat) with a better after market amp? - again what did you go for, and where was it fitted in the car?

3. Has anyone changed the fitted sub in the boot door for anything better (without a huge bass box in the boot)

Finally was it worth while? e.g. is the standard sterio unit the real 'weak link' in the standard system? Because it's so integrated with the car I really want to keep the head unit.

I did this type of unpgrade in the 2003 BMW M3 I've just sold and the results were fantasic, everything looked standard, and the sound was great.

Any suggestions, ideas, or feedback would be great!

Thanks in advance,
Chris.

My head unit produces good sound eniough, but if you are after more you can possibily get some replacement standard fitment component speakers.

Regards Pete Follow Us On Twitter @bellautos

I really like the stereo in my tdv8. My last bmw had a full system and im not touching the rangey.

If i was going to though i would definately look into using the alpine pdx amps (since their small and will fit under the seat ... plus they dont heat up).

Subwoofer wise if your looking to save space id box the Jl audio TW5 to the back of the seats if it doesnt fit in the tailgate.

Also look into something similar to the jl audio cleansweep to improve the signal from the factory headunit to supply the amps.

...then its a matter of how much you want to spend on components for the doors. Im sure theirs plenty of options since its not a small door car.

Good luck

Claws

My RR sport was in for a new starter motor last week and I got a brand new Disco Se - it had a better stereo in (same head section but different speakers and a woofer somewhere) , you might just want to go down to the dealer and have a look at that first - I think it was still HK but a better version.

It sounded better than mine although driving a disco for the best part of a week was a bit dull.

good luck Jaguar XKR Convertible
MY 2012 Range Rover Sport TDV6 Autobiography in Fujian White....Mmmmmmm
Range Rover Evoque 2.2 Prestige in white - gone
Porsche Boxster S White with lots of extras! Gone
Lotus Elise 2011 Touring for sunny days - gone!

Previously....
RRS TDV8 Black 57 Plate
645ci
Jag XKR Convertible (my wife still loves this car!)
BMW 530i
BMW 328i (I loved this car)
Golf R32

I must admit im sure my wifes D3 has got a better subwoofer in the tailgate than my RRS, hers seems to have more boom as standard.

If i adjust the woofer in radio settings up one or two pegs it matches hers.

May be its because she has no parcel shelf in the D3 and i have RRS im unsure.
But over all im happy with the sound from both cars.

Regards Pete Follow Us On Twitter @bellautos

Thanks all for your suggestions.

ViewWise - you're a great help. I will be looking in to the Alpine & JL equipment, this is just the direction I was after. As things progress I'll post an update or two in case anyone's interested...

Cheers!

The factory Harmon Kardon for me is one of the biggest dissapointments, my Lexus had the Mark Levinson 16 speaker sound system and i have yet to hear any other system that was better, maybe LR should cut a deal and start to install the ML systems

claws wrote:

Thanks all for your suggestions.

ViewWise - you're a great help. I will be looking in to the Alpine & JL equipment, this is just the direction I was after. As things progress I'll post an update or two in case anyone's interested...

Cheers!

i will have a look today and confirm exactly what is in mine, but i recently dded a sub box, an amp and some other little gizmo

The amp and the gizmo go in the concealed cubby hole that is half under the rear seats, half under the boot space, so nothing lost there

I then had this put in a box

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs_pages.php?page_id=245

Now, it is the lenght of the 2 rear seats that fold down together - so it still allows me to fold down the individual rear seat for any long stuff, but its also removable should i need to fold all seats down

The height is to just below the rear seats so its still concealed, and in terms of its depth, its tapered to fit the rake of the rear seats so no much wider than the sub itself at te top, and maybe only half a foot at the base

i really have lost very minimal boot space, and has transformed the sound of my stereo. I hardly have the bass on the sub turned up, but it means the rest of the speakers can concentrate on the mid and high notes.

All in very happy!!

I jus add a 1000 watt JL amp and a JL 13W7 speaker 1500 w RMS. built a custom carbon fiber speaker box that fitsd behind the panels. I''m upgrading the component speaker's with Focal 6.5's 3 way speakers wwhich will linked to a JL HD 650w amp. my trunk is not finnished yet everything is being refinished with leather etc. no carpet. Its by far the loudest speaker setup I've ever had. This sub makes my windows flex ourwards when it is turned up to only 19. the 13w7 is the best sub you can buy, I had the TW5's by jl aka the thin ones, but they sucked... if you want real bass go with the W7 line

Its still rough looking right now, almost done

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stretch felt to give shape,

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Nice work. Follow Us On Twitter @bellautos

ITCHY work! grinding, sanding and curring CF with pneumatic air tools is the itchiest I've ever been in my life. It was a long and hard process to do. The box is a beast though. its about 1/3 of an inch thick of solid CF. I added many layers but you cant tell in the pics. I also sound proofed my entire trunk arear with three layers of sound deadner. It sounds perfect, no rattles, and I also kept the stock radio. If I used a regular box, my tunk would be gone. That speaker requires 2.85 cubic feet for a sealed enclosure. by putting nearly the entire box behind the panels I saved my tunk space. 

Yes i can imagine it was very hard work ive made some enclosures in the past for some car projects i did and the hrs of labour that goes into a project like that is unreal.

How have you got the output for the amp/s from the standard radio ?

Do they have RCA/phono type plug out as standard.

Regards Pete Follow Us On Twitter @bellautos

yea that was my first box that i ever made. I gre up in Hawaii and surfed a lot, which is how i learned to work with fiberglass and carbon. I used a Hi/lo converter, and spiced it into the oem sub wires, so i can control the amp with the oem sub control on the stock radio. The hi/lo converter takes the regular wires an converts them into RCA's.

there is a wire loom that runs on the LEFT side of the vehicle (US) near the door jams. this is where the sub wires are located. that entire loom runs to the trunk area. I just spliced into the proper wires with the hi/lo converter and then ran the RCA's about one foot to the amp.

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