Category: Speaker Upgrades

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

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

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

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)

May 6, 2016
Elegant BMW Audio Upgrade in a BMW 4 Series

BMW Audio Upgrade

As we all know BMWs are one of the best manufacturers to date and produce some of the best looking vehicles on the market. Also, with their mean looking body styling and excellent engine power they are very favourable over some of the lesser spec vehicles. While the exterior and the interior of the vehicle looks phenomenal, the audio is often not quite up to par. That’s where we step in with our BMW audio upgrade systems.

Keeping the look of the vehicle very standard is one of our top priorities. Many customers come to us with the proviso that the vehicle remains standard looking where nothing stands out from the ordinary and we appreciate that. If the original audio system doesn’t include tweeters we will order replacement tweeter panels from BMW. This allows us to mount the tweeters in the factory location. Once the planning and discussions are out of the way then comes the best bit, the installation.

Installation

Installing the Audison Prima mid range and tweeter kit properly to the BMW 4 Series is one of the first stages to getting a better audio experience. These 2 speakers alone give a good increase in sound quality over the poor quality factory ones. Once the speakers have been fitted the next stage is to add an amplifier which will greatly enhance the sound.

For this vehicle we used an Audison AP8.9Bit 8 channel amplifier, bridged into 4 channels for extra power. We used this as we were also amplifying the factory under seat woofers. All our installations are done properly and we take pride in this. Consequently this may take some time but will make sure your vehicle is safe, and more importantly sounding amazing! One of the customer requests was to achieve good clarity at high volume. By using the adjustable DSP built into the Audison amplifier the customers needs were fulfilled. Using the right sized cables for the amplifier also enabled full use of the amplifiers potential.

A BMW audio upgrade of this spec would be in the region of £1300.

December 1, 2015
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 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

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.

March 25, 2015
Speaker Upgrade in a Landrover Defender

A speaker upgrade in a Landrover Defender is a must for anyone living in Sheffield. For any people that own a Defender, you will all know how poor the vehicle sounds. They aren’t necessarily built for audio quality. They generally have a set of 4″ speakers in the bottom of the dashboard facing the floor and the odd ones then have a tweeter on top of the dashboard firing at the windscreen. These systems both lack quality, volume, clarity and just about anything good in a speaker system. Most Landrover Defenders in Sheffield don’t even have any rear speakers. Replacing the speakers is a fairly simple task. Using a more substantial speaker you can gain a far superior sound quality to the factory speakers.

If you want a big improvement to your Landrover Defender, then we recommend a set of 3 way component speakers. Also, in the rear a set of 6.50″ coaxial speakers to the roof area. Doing this upgrade will give you audio for the rear of the vehicle as well as a big jump in quality for the front of the vehicle. A front set of 3 way components consist of a dedicated 6.50″ midbass driver, a 4″ midrange driver and a tweeter. All the speakers are fitted neatly to the vehicle, with no detriment to the interior. The rear 6.50″ coaxial speakers are secured to the roof area to give a rear surround sound.

What’s Your Budget?

A speaker upgrade in a Landrover Defender can cover most budgets, depending on the quality of sound you are after. If rear speakers don’t interest you, then you could spend more money on the front speaker upgrade. This would benefit the sound in the front of the vehicle, which is the most important seat in the vehicle. This is because it’s the driver is the one spending the money on the improvements.

In addition to speakers, another improvement to the sound quality of the vehicle would be to use some soundproofing material. This will quieten down the vehicle and help to reduce road noise inside the cabin area.

One more improvement would be to add an amplifier to the speakers to give them extra power. This in turn would give much better quality, clarity of sound and more volume.

April 5, 2013
Sheffield Car Audio Company Evolve Closes It’s Doors

Where have all the Audio Specialists gone?

Another Sheffield car audio company Evolve closes it’s doors in Hillsborough. This highlights the costs involved in being a car audio/security specialist in Sheffield. The major concern of most customers is whether or not the company they are paying good money to work on their pride and joy have any Public Liability Insurance to cover any mishaps or accidents. Unfortunately most back street, mobile or one man band companies can’t afford this expense. This is putting your vehicle at risk. They don’t have any insurance cover to be working on it in the first place. This insurance is even more essential in this day and age. More and more vehicle manufacturers are using ‘Can Bus’ and ‘Fibre Optics’ when building their new models.

Having come across many companies in Sheffield who profess to be professional when it comes to quoting on jobs, but when the job is done it looks and feels less than professional. There is only one company left in Sheffield that can fulfil the needs of the customer which is Source Sounds. They are insured to work on any vehicle and have the all important insurance in place if the need should ever arise.

Installation

If you were a customer of the companies that have recently closed their doors, namely Evolve and Technicar, then Source Sounds will be able to cover all your needs. They can provide you with a professional service with excellent product and vehicle knowledge. They have a fully equipped workshop with all the tools needed for integrating into the Can Bus and Data systems. The shop always has stock of good quality audio brands such as Hertz, Audison, Rainbow, Alpine and Kenwood.

If you live in the outlying areas of Sheffield, namely Rotherham, Doncaster and Worksop then don’t worry. Source Sounds are within a few minutes of the M1 motorway. They are only a quick drive away and are still your local Independant Car Audio Specialist.

February 20, 2013
Good Quality Copper Cable

Quality over Price

Good quality copper cable is becoming more and more rare due to the steady increase in the price of Copper. Many companies have been selling cheap poor quality power cable otherwise known as CCA (Copper Coated Aluminium). You can distinguish this from true copper cable by it’s lightweight feel and appearance as you look at the end.

Here at Source, we genuinely don’t rip-off any customers, but we feel very strongly about this. If you use inferior materials in your audio system, then the results aren’t going to be as good as what you expect. The cable won’t conduct as much power, so your 1000w amplifier won’t produce anywhere near as much power thus resulting in not as much bass or volume.

The power cable we use is good quality copper cable from two companies JL Audio and Audison Connection. Both these brands excel in their quality control so you can expect good results when using their cabling products.

Power Cable generally comes in 3 main sizes (classed as Gauge) 0g, 4g and 8g. The lower the number, the thicker the cable, 0g being the thickest. The size of cable you need to use is determined by the amount of current each amp draws. In the majority of cases if you are using one amp only then 8g power cable would suffice. Anymore than that and you would have to upgrade to 4g cable to get the added benefit of using the extra amplifier. In high-end or high-powered installations you would expect to use 0g power and earth cable to get everything out of the products you are using.

To see if your power cable needs upgrading, call into the shop or call us on 0114 257 1550

February 28, 2011
Dynamat Sound Deadening

One of my biggest niggles in Car Audio Installations is people not using the right products for the job.

There are many ‘so-called’ sound proofing products on the market but NONE of them are anywhere near as good as DYNAMAT. Dynamat sound deadening is a material which turns vibration into low-level heat and dissipates it through the top metal layer.

Do you ever find yourself turning the stereo up the faster you drive?

The general feeling for sound deadening is it stops rattles from panels in the boot when you fit a subwoofer, but you can use it for so much more than that. Even if you aren’t upgrading the speakers in your vehicle, Dynamat will make your standard stereo sound better as it also stops ‘Road Noise’ getting into the cabin area. The amount of road noise increases as the vehicle speed increases. The majority of this noise comes in through the doors as they are the thinnest metal part of the vehicle. If this noise can be reduced, then not only will the cabin environment be quieter but the audio system will sound much much better due to less vibrations affecting the output of the speakers.

Call SOURCE now on 0114 257 1550 to get your vehicle Dynamat-ed

February 28, 2011