Initial Results after adding Tweeters

[Chriscpm]

I added some tweeters to my Emira. While I had the door panel off, I added sound deadening material to the inside of the door, and to the inside of the plastic that holds the 3 inch driver.

I used an Alpine Tweeter. The end result is great. But the path there is a bit weird.

I've done tweeters 3 times. In my first c8, it was the same deal - no tweeters in the base sound system. Someone in a forum was pitching a set of $500 tweeters. I just did it myself. I think I used these same Alpines, but I'm not totally sure. The tweeters just wire in parallel with the front driver. It was a bit better.

In the Emira, I did the right side first. I tapped into the wiring under the plastic piece just inside the car. I pulled the door panel so I could figure out which wires were going to the driver.

After the right side, the tweeter just wasn't enough. I was bummed. When I did the second side, I forgot to put in the filter that shipped with the tweeters. Then it was - oh wow! So I pulled the filter out of the first side and now both sides have a super nice high end. To me, it pulls the sound way up into the windshield, almost like surround in your house. I can hear the guitar more like it's supposed to be too.

As a reference song I like - Another Brick in the Wall - Part 1, from the remastered The Wall Album. Gilmore's guitar just floats along. I couldn't be more happy there.

Then for something modern, I like - Zed's Dead - Ecstasy Of Soul. Same deal on the highs. But the Bass is decent too. I'm talking at near max to full max volume. Metallic is decent. I need to check Rush.

I do have an amp and Audioquest LC2i line level converter from another car. I was going to add a 10 or 12 inch sub to really crank. I'd only need to buy a speaker and enclosure. But I might just stop here. It's that good. We'll see.

$80 and 5 hours of effort and the system is way better.

Chris

 

[centerpunch]

Do you have photos showing the details of the installation?

 

[Beachbum]

Do you have photos showing the details of the installation?

I was going to ask similar: Where did you put them?

 

[Chriscpm]

I was going to ask similar: Where did you put them?

Here you go.

The car has a spot for the tweeters. Lotus just didn't use any. They said there is a tweeter in the 3 inch driver. True, but this is way better up in the high dash area. That picture is a bit dark. I just slipped it in from the bottom and put some foam in there to hold it in place.

If you pull the screw out, you can get more access to the bundle of wires. The tricky thing was to cut open the protective outer layer without cutting my finger or cutting through the whole bunch of wires. I just cut a bit at a time.

Then the plastic tool to slip the rubber piece back over the plastic piece. The plastic piece literally pops out without tools.

 

[centerpunch]

So you put the tweeters behind the grilles in the a-pillar, right?

There's another thread that also discusses this.

KEF Audio Upgrade Parts - Now Available!

This is a really impressive effort, given the amount of hours you would have sunk into this, so my hat is off for that :tiphat: I'm taking a suck-it-and-see approach to deciding what mods to apply to the car over all, but I'm super jazzed that somebody has gone to this effort and has provided...

www.emiraforum.com

.

 

[Chriscpm]

So you put the tweeters behind the grilles in the a-pillar, right?

Yes. They barely fit through the opening. They are reasonable snug with foam push in behind. No glue.

 

[centerpunch]

Yes. They barely fit through the opening. They are reasonable snug with foam push in behind. No glue.

So you didn't remove the a-pillar trim, you just maneuvered the tweeters up into position?

 

[Chriscpm]

There's another thread that also discusses this.

I saw that one. That is a LOT more work. New wires to every speaker would be tough. Everything he does is better. But more expensive and more work.

 

[Chriscpm]

So you didn't remove the a-pillar trim, you just maneuvered the tweeters up into position?

Yes. Much easier. I couldn't figure out how to pry the grills off.

I know another owner in the Miami area. I'm going to try going to his place to do an A-B comparison. If anyone is in Miami, let's check it out.

 

[RyanGphoto]

Yes. Much easier. I couldn't figure out how to pry the grills off.

I know another owner in the Miami area. I'm going to try going to his place to do an A-B comparison. If anyone is in Miami, let's check it out.

I'm not in Miami but would love to get your feedback on this.. I would love to do this as I feel like the high end is REALLY lacking.. I would love to add a sub, but honestly that's a lot more of an undertaking than I want someone doing to my car (I can't do this type of work myself)..

 

[centerpunch]

After the right side, the tweeter just wasn't enough. I was bummed. When I did the second side, I forgot to put in the filter that shipped with the tweeters. Then it was - oh wow! So I pulled the filter out of the first side and now both sides have a super nice high end.

I think the crossover filters that come with the speakers are there to filter out low frequencies to protect the tweeters. But I guess they could also reduce the gain. Still surprised it sounds better without them.

 

[Orchardbike]

I think the crossover filters that come with the speakers are there to filter out low frequencies to protect the tweeters. But I guess they could also reduce the gain. Still surprised it sounds better without them.

That’s exactly what the crossover is intended to do. If you remove them, the tweeters will see the full dynamic range of the head unit output (unless the head unit has a separate, filtered output, just for tweeters). I can’t see how removing the filter will not end up with the tweeters blowing up.

 

[Nova]

I found some pictures of the "crossover", as shown below. It's a 3.9uF capacitor and a 1 ohm resistor in line with the tweeter. Rough calculations puts the -3dB point at about 6kHz, plus the 1 ohm resistor reduces the output of the tweeter by about 1.5dB. This in total possibly would explain why removing it makes the tweeter sound a lot more prominent. Another consideration is which set of wires is being tapped from the front speakers - there are two sets of wires, one for the tweeter and one for the midrange. If the tweeter wires are being tapped, it *may be* okay to run the Alpines without the "crossover" network because the signal to the KEF tweeter is already high-passed, likely somewhere between 2kHz to 2.5kHz. If the midrange wires are being tapped, I would correct this by tapping the tweeter wires instead.