More details for KEF Audio

[Nova]

I lack responses to what I wrote (probably way too long) about the Emira car audio system, except for Nova’s kind comment about the “infinite baffle” term, I am VERY INTERESTED in hearing from others that have experienced that the Fresh Air subwoofer was subjectively nearly absent when the car was new, but suddenly sprung into action somewhere along the way and started to produce bass.

Some member have even suggested a piece of tape that covered a crucial area of this woofer, but worked itself loose. This is of course a (conspiracy) theory.

What I am looking for is honest experiences, and whether anyone feels that in the end the Fresh Air woofer works as intended and produce satisfying results that integrate with the rest of the audio system.

Or the opposite; that the Fresh Air woofer remains ineffective and largely absent even after the general Emira running-in period (1000 miles/1600 km or more) has ended.

Thank you

(I am still waiting for my car to be delivered, and my experience is limited to a couple of 3 hours each test-drives)

I described my experience here.

More details for KEF Audio

I don't have any credentials. Nothing scientific, just been a musician for 60 years, and worked in a recording studio for 3, as well as personal experience using many many different speaker systems over those years. No disrespect, but I've known field reps for various companies over the years...

www.emiraforum.com

To me, all speaker designs are about goals and acceptable tradeoffs. The fresh air subwoofer is probably working as intended and does generate healthy overall amount of bass that keeps up with the rest of the sound system - which is no small feat given that the 6x9 subwoofer has about a similar cone area as a standard 8" subwoofer. A subwoofer driver this small is constrained by physics in how much sound it can produce in the low end, especially below its Fs where it must be rolled off so that it doesn't run into over excursion at high playback levels. A larger, more robust subwoofer would not have this limitation and be allowed to "breathe" more. I believe if they had gone with a 10" driver, we would not have nearly as much to complain about.

So in the end I feel that the fresh air sub is "adequate" in that it doesn't call attention to its shortcomings, but does not match the caliber of the rest of the system and is definitely the weak point.

 

[EMIRADILEMMA]

Anyone knows how to tell if your car has a 340w which was originally stated on the specifications or updated 540w system? Are all production cars the latter?

 

[Eagle7]

Anyone knows how to tell if your car has a 340w which was originally stated on the specifications or updated 540w system? Are all production cars the latter?

I believe the change happened very early when they first started producing cars for the U.K. They may have done it before any actual customer cars shipped. All the ones for North America have the upgraded amp.

 

[Tokion]

To me, all speaker designs are about goals and acceptable tradeoffs. The fresh air subwoofer is probably working as intended and does generate healthy overall amount of bass that keeps up with the rest of the sound system - which is no small feat given that the 6x9 subwoofer has about a similar cone area as a standard 8" subwoofer. A subwoofer driver this small is constrained by physics in how much sound it can produce in the low end, especially below its Fs where it must be rolled off so that it doesn't run into over excursion at high playback levels. A larger, more robust subwoofer would not have this limitation and be allowed to "breathe" more. I believe if they had gone with a 10" driver, we would not have nearly as much to complain about.

Thanks Nova for all your useful input both in your most recent post and the previous post. Especially regarding “audio system reset” via the touch screen. On a recent test-drive of the Emira 2.0 Turbo (Mercedes AMG), we actually did do this, and experienced a positive result. I also believe you are entirely right that it would have been far better if the audio designers would have give for a 10-inch woofer with a much larger cone area (instead of the current 6x9). Unfortunately this most probably won’t be possible to fit in the same location; so the only possibility is to put an enclosure with a 10-inch into the luggage area behind the seats. I am fascinated by a certain bass driver from the German EATON company, and would at the same time also exchange the smaller 5-inch mid-bass driver with a suitable EATON. The 3-inch KEF drivers in the doors, can be changed to somewhat larger diameter KEF drivers (I personally want to keep the KEF personality of the system).

NOVA: Your technical observations and contributions have been very useful, and now each of us who care about audio quality can plan ahead and decide what to do.

At any rate; I plan to first of all drive my Emira stock standard, also regarding the car audio system, throughout the specified running-in period (and distance) as specified by Lotus. I intend to explore how much sound quality and performance I can get out of the unmodified Emira car audio system before I commence with carefully planned alterations.

 

[seriously]

Interested if anyone has a simple $500 solution for lower bass frequencies.

 

[Fasttoys]

A friend who has a Emira in the Dallas market has music studios and has a very picky ear. He was able to tap into the SUB amp in the rear behind the panel & is using a powered 10'' inch sub box. When he turns the system on it sends a signal to the SUB and turns it on at the same time, its seamless. I though it sounded really nice and compliments the KEF system. He turns the base down on the main OEM system, so the OEM sub is still active, other option you kill the OEM sub but was not needed. This keeps the OEM system in tacked and can be returned back to OEM in less than an hour. He is on vacation, but I could ask him on his return to post his solution. He said install was strait forward and only took max a few hours. On a scale 1 through 10 on difficulty I would give it a 4. Reason he did all the work and identified which wires to tap into the OEM systems in the rear for power to new powered SUB, ground and remote turn on. Sounded straight forward and resolves many of the issues we are complaining about. The new sub carpet matches the OEM carpet, and sub is sitting behind the passenger seat & unless you wanted to store some stuff behind one of the seats your good to go.

 

[Sandalwood]

A friend who has a Emira in the Dallas market has music studios and has a very picky ear. He was able to tap into the SUB amp in the rear behind the panel & is using a powered 10'' inch sub box. When he turns the system on it sends a signal to the SUB and turns it on at the same time, its seamless. I though it sounded really nice and compliments the KEF system. He turns the base down on the main OEM system, so the OEM sub is still active, other option you kill the OEM sub but was not needed. This keeps the OEM system in tacked and can be returned back to OEM in less than an hour. He is on vacation, but I could ask him on his return to post his solution. He said install was strait forward and only took max a few hours. On a scale 1 through 10 on difficulty I would give it a 4. Reason he did all the work and identified which wires to tap into the OEM systems in the rear for power to new powered SUB, ground and remote turn on. Sounded straight forward and resolves many of the issues we are complaining about. The new sub carpet matches the OEM carpet, and sub is sitting behind the passenger seat & unless you wanted to store some stuff behind one of the seats your good to go.

Probably similar to the ultra-compact 10" enclosure I have in my antique standard-cab pickup. It definitely does a lot for low-end fill, and response goes down to about 40 Hz if I recall correctly.

 

[Nova]

Interested if anyone has a simple $500 solution for lower bass frequencies.

I am partial to JL and their MicroSub products using a ported enclosure would probably fit very well and give you exceptionally good bass. You would tap the existing subwoofer output wiring.

 

[seriously]

A friend who has a Emira in the Dallas market has music studios and has a very picky ear. He was able to tap into the SUB amp in the rear behind the panel & is using a powered 10'' inch sub box. When he turns the system on it sends a signal to the SUB and turns it on at the same time, its seamless. I though it sounded really nice and compliments the KEF system. He turns the base down on the main OEM system, so the OEM sub is still active, other option you kill the OEM sub but was not needed. This keeps the OEM system in tacked and can be returned back to OEM in less than an hour. He is on vacation, but I could ask him on his return to post his solution. He said install was strait forward and only took max a few hours. On a scale 1 through 10 on difficulty I would give it a 4. Reason he did all the work and identified which wires to tap into the OEM systems in the rear for power to new powered SUB, ground and remote turn on. Sounded straight forward and resolves many of the issues we are complaining about. The new sub carpet matches the OEM carpet, and sub is sitting behind the passenger seat & unless you wanted to store some stuff behind one of the seats your good to go.

That would be a help to many who are interested. As your friend did I’m interested not only in adding bass but balancing with the KEF system. The KEF system can handle bass to a point and then its distortion. If you cut off the base from the KEF and add a low frequency external bass unit I would be worried about a gap in the sound spectrum. Ideally the LEF handles high and mid bass while an external unit handles low bass. Perhaps turning the bass down on the system effectively accomplishes this.

 

[Davebeats]

Interested if anyone has a simple $500 solution for lower bass frequencies.

I’m a little over $500 for the solution I went with
$300 Rockford all in one sub
$50 amp wiring kit
$200 that I gave my friend to help install it

 

[seriously]

I’m a little over $500 for the solution I went with
$300 Rockford all in one sub
$50 amp wiring kit
$200 that I gave my friend to help install itView attachment 49268

Where do you set the frequency cutoff? What settings on KEF? How does it sound overall? Balance, volume, quality?

 

[seriously]

so I stayed in my car after coming home and was listening to some EDM (illmerica to be specific) as loud as I am comfortable - about 60%. Solid, clear bass no distortion! I was surprised yet again at how pretty good this system is. It definitely did not sound like this when new. For a sportscar I don’t really need better. I am going to stick with the stock system for a bit before considering an upgrade.

Cabin noise at speed is still a different and real issue as is the sound when windows are open. Otherwise if you are not happy with the system I would highly recommend you give it a few thousand miles and see what you think after.

 

[Fasttoys]

A friend who has a Emira in the Dallas market has music studios and has a very picky ear. He was able to tap into the SUB amp in the rear behind the panel & is using a powered 10'' inch sub box. When he turns the system on it sends a signal to the SUB and turns it on at the same time, its seamless. I though it sounded really nice and compliments the KEF system. He turns the base down on the main OEM system, so the OEM sub is still active, other option you kill the OEM sub but was not needed. This keeps the OEM system in tacked and can be returned back to OEM in less than an hour. He is on vacation, but I could ask him on his return to post his solution. He said install was strait forward and only took max a few hours. On a scale 1 through 10 on difficulty I would give it a 4. Reason he did all the work and identified which wires to tap into the OEM systems in the rear for power to new powered SUB, ground and remote turn on. Sounded straight forward and resolves many of the issues we are complaining about. The new sub carpet matches the OEM carpet, and sub is sitting behind the passenger seat & unless you wanted to store some stuff behind one of the seats your good to go.

Alex will post in a few days, I showed him what I wrote about his set up, enjoy when he post he is very knowledgeable.
Picking up my new Toy Thursday or Friday. Crome lugs first thing to go, then PPF after detail.

 

[Davebeats]

Where do you set the frequency cutoff? What settings on KEF? How does it sound overall? Balance, volume, quality?

It's all personal preference, but I have the crossover on the amp/sub just slightly above 50Hz, and the bass setting in the audio menu of the Emira at -6

 

[marc1adrien]

I've noticed the stock bass is just fine with windows closed, but can sound like it's popping with windows open. My assumption is this is because the car's cabin is no longer enclosed. With windows closed it's more than adequate for me, though i would like to listen to it louder at times with windows open.

I wonder if there's a way to tie an open window to lowering bass? I'd imagine that would be a software thing.

 

[crestima]

Not wanting to stir things up more than they already have, but I'm leaving the KEF system as is for now, living with its shortcomings, the weak subwoofer being the biggest for my ears. I'm definitely hoping for the so called break-in improvement that some have already reported here to be real and to occur with mine as well, but not keeping my hopes too high on that.
Having read the many comments regarding the inappropriate placement of the sub and the potential detrimental effects, the one odd design in my view is that there's so direct open mesh grill on that panel cover piece for the sub's sound and vibration to freely enter the cabin. I'm definitely no audiophile expert, but is that purposely designed that way for this type of sub?

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

Playing around with the EQ settings on my Spotify app in conjunction within the cars audio EQ system settings, I was able to get the car to sound 10x better.

It's now good enough that I no longer have the desire to replace the system

 

[seriously]

Playing around with the EQ settings on my Spotify app in conjunction within the cars audio EQ system settings, I was able to get the car to sound 10x better.

It's now good enough that I no longer have the desire to replace the system

What settings worked for you? I use pandora which doesn’t have EQ but I might switch to Spotify if the EQ makes a big difference.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

What settings worked for you? I use pandora which doesn’t have EQ but I might switch to Spotify if the EQ makes a big difference.

In the Emira I set the Bass 3, Mid -2, Treble 2

In Spotify I set the streaming over cellular and WiFi to the highest quality, and then for equalizer I set this curve

Once you do that, listen to either of these song and enjoy

 

[Nova]

In the Emira I set the Bass 3, Mid -2, Treble 2

In Spotify I set the streaming over cellular and WiFi to the highest quality, and then for equalizer I set this curve View attachment 49407

Once you do that, listen to either of these song and enjoy

This is the stereotypical V shapped EQ curve. There used to be a dedicated "loudness" button on stereos for applying just this curve at low listening volumes. Looking at photos of vintage stereos that had built in EQ sliders, you would frequently see this shape. Its effect is boosted bass for an energetic feeling and boosted highs for the sensation of detail. It can be fatiguing to listen to for a long time. On a good sound system tuned for accurate reproduction, it's the equivalent of putting ketchup on a steak. But, some think the KEF system is fast food grade hamburger, so it's probably fine.