Until my new WRX arrives in a couple of weeks the dealer has lent me a MY01 to potter around in, and whilst the car is clearly different in many aspects to a MY05, I am horiffied at how bad the standard music system is, and expect that this will probably be the same on an MY05.

My question - is it just the head unit, the speakers or is it all crap and should it all be ripped out and replaced.

If this is the case, I am not a particularly technical or dextrous person and while I can handle a head unit change I'm not looking forward to making new frames/mountings for speakers, does anyone know of any direct replacement speakers which fit in the standard housings?

Has anyone done a simple audio upgrade who could recommend a decent system including head unit and replacement speakers for 4/500 quid?

I know I should have checked before parting with my hard earned but I didn't buy the car for its stereo - I just couldnt imagine it being so bad.

I'm not asking for perfection, just something useable.

 

On my classic it's terrible. However since fitting the H&S backbox I find myself listening to the stereo less and less. Flat four burble is a much nicer soundtrack

 

Good point, i've got PPP which sounds excellent so to a large extent I agree if using at weekend. Unfortunately as I do at least 500 motorway miles each week, to be honest from experience I would get pi$$ed off before too long without having the choice to listen to the exhaust note or the jukebox.

With the standard stereo setup, I doubt you can hear over the exhaust note at 80mph

 

Picked up MY05 WRX in March and yes the ICE is really bad. I have now sorted the speakers by taking out the factory rubbish and putting Alpine in there place.

This has made a difference but i am left with not enough power to drive them properly.

Ive got a decent Sony black screen player from my last Scooby but i wont fit it because a single din player in a double din opening to me just doesnt look right.

After 2 months of asking and searching i have now ordered a double din Pioneer H/U which i hope will both look and sound the part.

Should be here Thursday so fingers crossed.

Hope you are pleased with you new 05 but dont expect too much from the stereo.

Mick

 

I don't own a MY05 or been in one so I need to be careful with my reply here. Typically the standard head-unit in 'most' vehicles ranges from poor to 'okay' with most needing to be replaced if you want richer sounds. The unit cost of the re-badged stereos isn't cheap via dealers but they're usually the cheaper units piped out from Kenwood, Sony, Blaupunkt, etc.

With its tiny cockpit, my MR2 Turbo with complete Kenwood install emits a superb and 'rich' sound. Surprisingly, my MY00 classic with just a Kenwood head-unit is equally as impressive and I have no desire to change anything else (unless something breaks.)

I find the sound quality in my wife's MY01 WRX somewhat lacking and put this down to the rear speakers which have been moved from the parcel shelf (classic) to the doors. There's also a standard head-unit though.

My advice would be to change the head-unit anyway -- it's bound to make a difference. If you then find the system is still lacking then perhaps look at changing the rear speakers, but I'm confident you won't need to.

Jonts.

 

I'm afraid the system is sadly lacking.

Although I'm only at the start of sorting the sounds in mine out (hampered by the fact it's a lease car, so technically not mine to butcher) I'd recommend the following, in order. I'm only at stage 1...

1) Replace the front speakers. These are simply awful, and look like they belong in a 70s tranny radio. Their only saving grace is they have a separate tweeter, and they fit the holes without any spacers.

2) Replace the headunit. After replacing the speakers, you will lust after more power to drive them properly.

3) Add some form of subwoofer system. Although I can't speak from experience, I'd suggest using rear shelf mounted ones as a good solution, assuming you're not going after a 'max-power sound-off' type solution.

I wouldn't recommend doing anything with the rear ones, other than disconnecting (and maybe burning them as revenge). They're tiny, and fitting anything decent would probably be a pain. Maybe if you have 'important' rear seat passengers to think about you could do something about the rear audio, but even then I'd suggest shelf mounted ones.

I believe that as you increase the power capability then varoious bits will start rattling, so you'll need to add sound deadening material such as dynomat (or whatever it's called). This should help the sound even before rattling sets in.

Oh, and (assuming this hasn't been moved) check the ICE section of the forum.

 

Thanks for replies so far - seems the consensus is that most of the standard stuff is ****!


Just had a look at the back shelf and noted that there does appear to be a speaker aperture - or at least 2 holes which look like speakers might fit.
Problem is they seem to be a rather odd shape and I doubt a 6x9 would fit.

Anyone used these holes on the back shelf on a new age and what size speaker have you used?

 

Just thought I'd throw this suggestion into the pot.

You could try just adding a small sub, say a 10inch. Don't know if the standard head unit has a dedicated sub output so may need to wire into existing speak cable and then use a cross-over to cut out the higher frequencies.

This will allow you to pipe all the bass through the sub, taking the strain off the standard speaks which would now be used just for mid and high frequency sounds. In turn the volume can be wacked up as most of the distortion comes from the smaller speaks trying to cope with the deeper sounds.

It is suprising how much better a system sounds with a dedicated sub. Downsides are that you loose some boot capacity and need to be able to run cables from the battery and head unit through to the boot which requires some work if you don't want the cables visible.

I have a MY01 and think the Stereo is adequate. If I were to upgrade though I would add a new headunit along with a 10inch sub and amp (amp can be located in the boot with the sub or under the passenger seat as an alternative).

 

Got my new Pioneer FH-P4100R unit yesterday and fitted it in no time tonight. Definitely a big improvment with looks and sound but i agree that i now need a small sub to give some low down punch.

The speakers in MY05 are just so small in the front and rear doors and although i managed to get 13cm Alpines in the rear doors there still not man enough. With hinsight i agree that the best plan would have been to simply loose the rear door speakers and look at something on the rear shelf. The trouble is with the rear shelf i just keep looking and scratching my head ??.

What can i fit in that rear shelf that is going to look and sound good. There are holes in the shelf base but on mine one side has something fitted in it (I havent a clue what it is?)

Has anyone actually fitted speakers in or on the rear shelf?