Audio thread- to KEF or not to KEF?

[denk0815]

This is very confusing. I'm actually not sure how this "Cambridge Car Audio" company is even allowed to call themselves that, considering there is a very long-established audio manufacturer in the UK called Cambridge Audio.

Of course they are not.

As promised, here are the final 3D printed versions of the front and rear speaker mounts, & Amp Mount, allowing you to upgrade your KEF audio to a far superior system. The front mounts allow you to transform from a 3" speaker to any 6.5" speaker, and the rear mounts allow you to install any far superior 5" speaker.

I’m able to produce both front and rear mounts on demand at a cost of £435 (Including postage if you’re within the UK). The mounts are 3D printed at 100% infill, not hollow or honeycomb.

The amp mount can also be produced upon request for £180, (formed from a single sheet of 5mm aluminium, plasma cut & folded into the perfect shape to mount in place of the cars original sub). All holes are pre-drilled and it’s made to take any Audison Forza amp. A 70mm Stainless-steel blanking plate (to cover the bottom free-to-air sub drain-hole).

Speaker wiring colour codes will also be included, saving you hours of time.

I’ve personally completed this upgrade to my own Emira and the difference is night and day – If you enjoy your music as much as the car, then this upgrade is definitely worth it!

I’m sure there will be many questions, and hopefully I’ll have all of the answers as the installation was completed by myself (plus taken 100’s of pictures along the way should these also be of interest).

Hey,
Thanks a lot! It's really impressive that you did this on your own.
I'm also very interested in implementing this, but unfortunately I'm blessed with two left hands and little patience.

Did you need any special tools (apart from the 3d printer)?
Did you insulate any other areas apart from the doors?


Many thanks in advance!

 

[KJWEmira]

Hi,
No special tools required, normal screwdrivers, ratchets & sockets, torx sockets, Dremal Multitool.
The only tool that most won't have in their tool kit is a crimping tool for the amp power cables, so I could connect direct to the battery.
I did purchase a nice set of plastic trim removal tools, so as not to damage anything - I've included the kit in the pictures - £20 from Ebay.
I used Skinz for sound deadening in the doors and the rear as shown in the photos attached. Then self adhesive acoustic foam over the top (only where the speakers will sound against).

 

[denk0815]

Hi,
No special tools required, normal screwdrivers, ratchets & sockets, torx sockets, Dremal Multitool.
The only tool that most won't have in their tool kit is a crimping tool for the amp power cables, so I could connect direct to the battery.
I did purchase a nice set of plastic trim removal tools, so as not to damage anything - I've included the kit in the pictures - £20 from Ebay.
I used Skinz for sound deadening in the doors and the rear as shown in the photos attached. Then self adhesive acoustic foam over the top (only where the speakers will sound against).

Really impressive!
Thank you very much, I think I will do the same or at least try it as soon as I finally have my Emira.

I'll write you a DM!

 

[Raskits]

Hi,
No special tools required, normal screwdrivers, ratchets & sockets, torx sockets, Dremal Multitool.
The only tool that most won't have in their tool kit is a crimping tool for the amp power cables, so I could connect direct to the battery.
I did purchase a nice set of plastic trim removal tools, so as not to damage anything - I've included the kit in the pictures - £20 from Ebay.
I used Skinz for sound deadening in the doors and the rear as shown in the photos attached. Then self adhesive acoustic foam over the top (only where the speakers will sound against).

Curious since you have door panel removed, can you tell if there are any access holes/bolts that can adjust the window tracks? Asking on behalf of some people here who are having wind noise issues on their windows. I know the window alignment can be a tad off causing some wind to leak in which is common on cars with frameless windows

 

[KJWEmira]

Curious since you have door panel removed, can you tell if there are any access holes/bolts that can adjust the window tracks? Asking on behalf of some people here who are having wind noise issues on their windows. I know the window alignment can be a tad off causing some wind to leak in which is common on cars with frameless windows

Hi Raskits,

Yes, there are rubber bungs located on the underside of the doors, remove these to expose bolts which are securing the bottom of the window guide rail to the door. Should these bolts not provide the desired adjustment, then you'll need to remove the main door card (only x2 10mm bolts), then remove the window motor and unclip wiring harness etc, then finally unbolt the black plastic inner door card for ultimate access. It's also possible to adjust the doors on the catches mounted to the body of the car, I don't believe there is any adjustment for this on the door itself.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of what I've described above, but I have seen the adjustment bolts and its straight forward, especially if & once the inner door card is removed.

I've adjusted my windows & doors the best I can. I don't really get wind noise, however I do get a few drops of water onto the leather of the door card during washing.
I've had the complete driver's window rubber replaced under warranty because when I received the car this rubber was tucked up inside due to incorrect window adjustment - see attached pic.

I hope this helps?

 

[Jonas981]

I finally listened to the KEF today and man this stereo is shit. Wish I had stuck with base because I’ll be upgrading everything. The sub was clipping at like 65% volume. How has no one commented how bad it is?

I got the Bose upgrade in my Porsche GT4 and it’s just good, not great at all. But the Emira audio system is literally worse than a Kia.

 

[Eagle7]

I finally listened to the KEF today and man this stereo is shit. Wish I had stuck with base because I’ll be upgrading everything. The sub was clipping at like 65% volume. How has no one commented how bad it is?

I got the Bose upgrade in my Porsche GT4 and it’s just good, not great at all. But the Emira audio system is literally worse than a Kia.

Go into the infotainment audio settings, and reset the audio settings. I don't think they do that at the factory when they install everything. That should improve it.

 

[seriously]

I finally listened to the KEF today and man this stereo is shit. Wish I had stuck with base because I’ll be upgrading everything. The sub was clipping at like 65% volume. How has no one commented how bad it is?

I got the Bose upgrade in my Porsche GT4 and it’s just good, not great at all. But the Emira audio system is literally worse than a Kia.

Umm a lot of people came to the same conclusion. I think it actually breaks in and improves with time (controversial) but either way yeah not great. Good enough I say but certainly not premium.

 

[robrmon]

Umm a lot of people came to the same conclusion. I think it actually breaks in and improves with time (controversial) but either way yeah not great. Good enough I say but certainly not premium.

I simply find it too quiet.
I’ve already reset the settings per @Eagle7

 

[BlueFE2]

It's not very good. It does vary with different types of music and the source, but there is no question the sub is complete garbage. If you like music with prominent bass, good luck listening above 1/2 volume unless you turn the bass way down. That being said, the KEF mid/tweeters in the doors are not bad speakers, it's just that they are set up to fail in this car. I just started going down the rabbit hole, but my first instinct is to disable the sub and find an alternative.

 

[StefanK]

As promised, here are the final 3D printed versions of the front and rear speaker mounts, & Amp Mount, allowing you to upgrade your KEF audio to a far superior system. The front mounts allow you to transform from a 3" speaker to any 6.5" speaker, and the rear mounts allow you to install any far superior 5" speaker.

I’m able to produce both front and rear mounts on demand at a cost of £435 (Including postage if you’re within the UK). The mounts are 3D printed at 100% infill, not hollow or honeycomb.

The amp mount can also be produced upon request for £180, (formed from a single sheet of 5mm aluminium, plasma cut & folded into the perfect shape to mount in place of the cars original sub). All holes are pre-drilled and it’s made to take any Audison Forza amp. A 70mm Stainless-steel blanking plate (to cover the bottom free-to-air sub drain-hole).

Speaker wiring colour codes will also be included, saving you hours of time.

I’ve personally completed this upgrade to my own Emira and the difference is night and day – If you enjoy your music as much as the car, then this upgrade is definitely worth it!

I’m sure there will be many questions, and hopefully I’ll have all of the answers as the installation was completed by myself (plus taken 100’s of pictures along the way should these also be of interest).

Dear KJWEmira, thank you very much for your very interesting article. Can you image that you share your 3D printing data (speaker & amp mounts) with me. I Own a 3D Printer - so would prefer to print it by myself...

Kind regards
Stefan

 

[Honcho]

It's not very good. It does vary with different types of music and the source, but there is no question the sub is complete garbage. If you like music with prominent bass, good luck listening above 1/2 volume unless you turn the bass way down. That being said, the KEF mid/tweeters in the doors are not bad speakers, it's just that they are set up to fail in this car. I just started going down the rabbit hole, but my first instinct is to disable the sub and find an alternative.

Like others have siad the system needs to break in. Mine was much better after using for around 1k miles of driving. Also, there is a cabin vent just beside the sub which is likely the source of the distortion and not the actual speaker. You need to sort this out or any other sub will result in the exact same noise (like clipping) which is the sound of the vents flapping.

 

[Jonas981]

Like others have siad the system needs to break in. Mine was much better after using for around 1k miles of driving. Also, there is a cabin vent just beside the sub which is likely the source of the distortion and not the actual speaker. You need to sort this out or any other sub will result in the exact same noise (like clipping) which is the sound of the vents flapping.

Is there a video or something on how to fix the port vent, like just using soundmat or something?

I found that the stereo with sub off sounds "Decent", but the sub was clipping at half volume.

I would also consider swapping out the sub with a better one, but is it the sub that is bad, or the amp that is bad? And is the amp using normal connections? Hopefully not some weird proprietary fiber optics like BMW systems.

I haven't heard the base audio system yet, but how bad is it, considering their upgrade is so weak.

 

[Nova]

Is there a video or something on how to fix the port vent, like just using soundmat or something?

I found that the stereo with sub off sounds "Decent", but the sub was clipping at half volume.

I would also consider swapping out the sub with a better one, but is it the sub that is bad, or the amp that is bad? And is the amp using normal connections? Hopefully not some weird proprietary fiber optics like BMW systems.

I haven't heard the base audio system yet, but how bad is it, considering their upgrade is so weak.

Try doing a reset of your audio system settings. After that, keep all your EQ settings flat. Listen to that for a bit before deciding what to do to improve it.

The main issue with the subwoofer is the driver size. It's too small. Consequently, there is a significant low end roll-off after about 40Hz, which doesn't deliver the impact that people anticipate from modern premium car stereos.

I'm not sure about the subwoofer amp - it's likely a "booster" that is receiving analog signals from the main amp that contains the DSP. But this is just a guess. Some users are putting a small 10" sealed/ported sub on the rear article shelf as a replacement. They are tapping the amplifier's output to get the bass signal. This may be something you are interested in. It's not an incredibly complicated install but will cost about $1000 including parts and labor.

I'm not aware of anyone who has heard the base audio system. It might not be that bad.

 

[Honcho]

Is there a video or something on how to fix the port vent, like just using soundmat or something?

I found that the stereo with sub off sounds "Decent", but the sub was clipping at half volume.

I would also consider swapping out the sub with a better one, but is it the sub that is bad, or the amp that is bad? And is the amp using normal connections? Hopefully not some weird proprietary fiber optics like BMW systems.

I haven't heard the base audio system yet, but how bad is it, considering their upgrade is so weak.

Not that I know of. I've attached an image of the type of vent that is in there. The vent flaps move with very little pressure and if you stop them from moving you're likely to stop fresh air getting into the cabin. I opened up access to the sub area and played bassy music, then figured out things from there. I can't remember exactly what I did but I may have put sound insulating foam between it and the sub (leaving a gap so as not to cover it) to stop the sound waves moving the flaps.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

Silly question, but if we replaced the subwoofer and the speakers with the exact same size but higher quality speakers, would that be an easy/simple solution for dramatically improving the quality?

 

[Nova]

Silly question, but if we replaced the subwoofer and the speakers with the exact same size but higher quality speakers, would that be an easy/simple solution for dramatically improving the quality?

The KEF Uni-Q speakers themselves are pretty good, IMO. I've not seen convincing arguments that replacing them will improve audio quality in the Emira. Sure, I've seen arguments, but not convincing.

The subwoofer is a 6x9, and I doubt it'd be easy to find another subwoofer of the same size to fit in the OEM enclosure. In general subwoofer performance is a pure physics exercise. To get more/better bass, you need larger drivers with more excursion. It would be a lot easier to just get a replacement 10-Inch subwoofer versus trying to find a replacement 6x9 sub driver that improves performance and can fit in the stock location.

 

[Jonas981]

The KEF Uni-Q speakers themselves are pretty good, IMO. I've not seen convincing arguments that replacing them will improve audio quality in the Emira. Sure, I've seen arguments, but not convincing.

The subwoofer is a 6x9, and I doubt it'd be easy to find another subwoofer of the same size to fit in the OEM enclosure. In general subwoofer performance is a pure physics exercise. To get more/better bass, you need larger drivers with more excursion. It would be a lot easier to just get a replacement 10-Inch subwoofer versus trying to find a replacement 6x9 sub driver that improves performance and can fit in the stock location.

Ok that explains it, a 6x9 is not a sub woofer by any audiophile standards. I will probably remove it and have a custom enclosure done on a 10-12”. Thanks.

 

[Nova]

Ok that explains it, a 6x9 is not a sub woofer by any audiophile standards. I will probably remove it and have a custom enclosure done on a 10-12”. Thanks.

Before going the full custom route, try something like a 10 inch JL micro sub. Any custom install you use will be something every similar but much higher cost.

 

[Jonas981]

Before going the full custom route, try something like a 10 inch JL micro sub. Any custom install you use will be something every similar but much higher cost.

Are you saying that will fit where the 6x9 is?
My friend owns a car audio shop and will do this for me just for parts, so should be cheap. I also have a year old JL 10” and alpine amp in a truck that I don’t drive, so parts would literally just be the fibreglass or MDF.