The owner of this 2015 Porsche Macan S recently dropped into Extreme Audio for some help with the stereo system. He purchased the car recently and it had all the features he wanted, except for the premium Bose stereo. The sound system was very dependent on the center channel, and he wasn’t thrilled with its output capabilities. We designed an upgrade that would work with the factory-installed source unit and provide the staging and tonal balance he wanted.
JL Audio Amplifier and Integration Processor
We started the project by installing a JL Audio FiX86 integration processor. The FiX processors can combine signals from the tweeters, midrange and woofers in the front of the vehicle and undo any equalization or signal processing. The output of the FiX86 feeds to a JL Audio VX800/8i eight-channel amplifier. We configured the amp to drive a set of tweeters in the dash, new mids and the factory 8-inch woofers in the doors and a subwoofer trunk. The tweeters and mids are all wired to dedicated channels in the amp and have up to 75 watts of power available to them. The 8-inch woofers in the doors are bridged to the remaining four channels of the amp and can receive up to 200 watts of power to deliver clean and clear bass. The amplifier is mounted beside the battery at the very back of the cargo area.
Porsche Macan Speaker Upgrade
The next step was to upgrade the front speakers in the vehicle to improve the clarity and detail of the system. We added a set of Audiofrog GS10 OE tweeters in the dash locations and a set of 4-inch Audiofrog GS40 midrange speakers in the doors. The GS10 OE speakers use the same motor and dome as the regular GS10 tweeters but forego the grille and chrome mounting rings. Since the tweeters are completely concealed, those components aren’t necessary.
System Tuning with the Digital Signal Processor
Once we had the new equipment installed, we used the digital signal processor built into the VX800/8i amplifier to tune the system to work with the output of the center channel. We applied equalization to each of the new speakers to make their output match that of the center channel where they are playing the same sounds, then adjusted the output levels to provide a smooth and natural soundstage that fills the front of the vehicle.
Richmond’s Car Audio Upgrade Experts
The client returned to Extreme Audio, eager to hear the stereo upgrade in his Macan. He hopped in for a listen and was thrilled! If you’re looking for an audio system upgrade for your car, truck or SUV drop by Extreme Audio in Midlothian or Mechanicsville. You can also reach us by phone or e-mail using our contact page.
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