Category: Sealed Enclosure

  • Are you unhappy with how your BMW sounds?

    Are you unhappy with how your BMW sounds?

    If you have landed on this page then you are more than likely aware that the sound in your BMW isn’t what you hoped for. Are you unhappy with how your BMW sounds? Would you love the facility to have better, louder & higher quality sound at your disposal? Then Source Sounds in Sheffield have a solution for your needs!

    After taking delivery of your new BMW you expect the vehicle to come with pretty much everything, and in a fashion, it does. How the vehicle drives on the road is fantastic, the interior is lovingly trimmed in the highest quality material that gives the driver an atmosphere that can only be described as heavenly.  However, one area that most BMW’s elude in expectation is the audio and how much quality it lacks! Poor audio quality in BMWs is far too common and Source Sounds have that specialist touch to transform your vehicle into another dimension of acoustic quality.

    Source Sounds have designed many different BMW audio upgrades that we think will give the driver the solution they need. These range from a simple speaker upgrade running off the factory head unit to a full blown audio upgrade. 

    Starter Audio Upgrade

    are you unhappy with how your BMW sounds? Rainbow 4" component kit

    This is our starter “off the shelf” option that gives your vehicle the clarity and distinction it needs. The first thing Source Sounds do with any audio upgrade in a BMW is upgrade the front door speakers.  One of the options we use is a Rainbow 4″ component kit designed specifically for the vehicle. The speakers are fitted into the vehicles OEM locations which means the factory look of the vehicle is maintained. This component kit is powered off of the original factory BMW stereo and with both doors lined with Skinz soundproofing comes in at around £379.99 fitted. 

     

    Better Audio Upgrade

    ap4_9_bit_prosp

    Are you unhappy with how your BMW sounds? The next level of upgrade also uses the same speakers from the starter pack and adding an amplifier. The Audison Prima AP4.9BIT 4 channel amplifier is the weapon of choice for this package. This amplifier has a built in processor to fine tune the sound for the driver. The Rainbow 4″ component kit is powered from 2 channels of the amplifier. The existing BMW under seat woofers are maintained and powered from the other 2 channels. This gives added depth to the sound without changing the woofers themselves. Again, with both doors lined with Skinz soundproofing, the cost comes in at around £1259.99 fitted. 

     

     

    Best Audio Upgrade

    Are you unhappy with how your BMW sounds? Rainbow 8" under seat woofers

    For the next stage of a sound upgrade in BMWs, we offer a third package utilising the Rainbow BMW specific speakers. In this package, Source Sounds keep the same front door speakers from the first 2 packages.  Adding to this, we replace the under seat speakers for a pair of 8″ mid bass woofers.  An Audison AP8.9BIT 8 channel amplifier is then utilised, but bridged as a four channel for extra power. This amplifier will give 4 x 130w of power to each under seat woofer and front door to achieve a much higher standard of audio enjoyment. The front doors will also be lined with Skinz soundproofing and this upgrade comes in at around £1699.99 fitted. 

     

     

    Bespoke Design

    Are you unhappy with how your BMW sounds? If so, the above systems are an example of what we offer. A bespoke system can be designed to suit your needs. You will need to come down in the vehicle for us to take a look at the vehicle. This way we can get a feel for what you need and give you a solution.

     

    Please note: for all of the upgrades above, you may require additional tweeter pods from BMW, approximately £40-£100 + VAT (vehicle dependant)

  • Sealed or Ported? That is the question we get asked a lot

    Sealed or Ported? That is the question

    The most commonly asked question we get at Source Sounds is whether a subwoofer works best sealed or ported? In our opinion there is no definitive answer to this as everyone has their own opinions and preferences. All of us here at Source Sounds in Sheffield prefer the sound of a sealed subwoofer enclosure over the sound of a ported enclosure.

     

    Sealed or Ported? Rainbow Hammer SW250 sealed subwoofer enclosure
    Sealed Enclosures

    A sealed subwoofer enclosure uses a specific volume of air for the type of subwoofer. As the woofer moves, it pulls the air forwards and backwards with no pressure loss which allows the subwoofer to reproduce the low frequencies more accurately than a ported box due to the air inside the enclosure acting like a shock absorber, allowing the subwoofer to move with more control thus giving better controlled sub bass.

     

    Ported Enclosures

    Sealed or Ported? That is the question. Hertz EBX250 ported enclosure

    A ported enclosure is something that is a little more tricky to build due to the nature of the box. For the subwoofer to perform to it’s optimum the port has to be a specific size. This includes correct measurements for the width, length and shape of the port. You can’t just stick a hole in a sealed box and turn it into a ported box. Having a ported enclosure allows the subwoofer to take advantage of the frequencies produced at the rear of the subwoofer. This reinforces the low frequency response of the subwoofer. This lower frequency response however will only sound good at whatever the tuned frequency of the port is.  This tuned frequency can be adjusted by altering the airs resistance to motion inside the port which is accomplished  by changing the length and width of the port.

     

    In summary, ported enclosures can typically offer better low-end extension as well as greater output around the tuned frequency whereas a sealed enclosure will give a better frequency response across all frequencies with a more controlled output, which is why here at Source Sounds in Sheffield we prefer the sealed enclosure as it gives better sound quality overall than a ported subwoofer enclosure.