The Metra 82-7302 kit is what I got. The pictures on the Crutchfield site look exactly like mine.One more question...the Metra 82-7302 speaker adapter kit...on the Crutchfield website it says not compatible with my vehicle. Is that why you had to trim a few tabs off, or did you by chance order another iteration of this kit? Thanks.
Thank you sir!The Metra 82-7302 kit is what I got. The pictures on the Crutchfield site look exactly like mine.
I see in the video that you listen to NPR also.Taking stock of the current situation
For readers who do not like to look at graphs, I have made two short video clips with my phone, switching between front and back balance. The difference in bass in the music is not very illustrative for this clip, as it is dominated by the sub-woofer. Since the back door tweeter is obstructed by the front seats, the back fade should sound darker to begin with. But in the radio.mp4 clip, one can hear the voices having less low end boom when switched to the front speakers, which I believe is in part due to the reduction of the ThD at 180Hz. I have long forgotten how the stock speakers sound in comparison, but you can just perform the test in your car and decide if these changes are small or significant. The tonal balance is more related to the setup of the test (e.g. where the phone is located), so one needs to listen past that difference and focus on what is more natural sounding, not what is clearer or brighter sounding.
The video clips can be accessed in my album below.
I don't want to take away from OP's response, but I believe the absolute best solution, that keeps most of the OEM appearance, trunk space and has maximum effectiveness, would be the replacement of the OEM subwoofer with an aftermarket subwoofer. You can do this in two ways, direct in the hat shelf in the identical place of the OEM sub, or mounted firing through the ski-pass. Acoustically, both should be similar if not identical, but the hat shelf is the cleaner looking solution. Depending on the subwoofer chosen, the hat shelf may very well require reinforcement and sound dampening to avoid rattles and vibrations, and is therefore the more expensive mounting option. If I were to go for that option, I would pick a low-profile subwoofer that is known to work well in infinite baffle applications, such as the JL Audio TW5 subs, but I'm sure there are others. A competent installer should be able to help you with that. I would advise against the placement of a generic subwoofer enclosure inside the trunk, unless you are ok with a "disconnected" sound of the bass, and many trunk rattles (as you need to turn up the volume dramatically to get the sound waves out of the very-well sealed and insulated trunk). good luck.I see in the video that you listen to NPR also.Have you made any more changes? I was hoping to read where you changed out the rear sub. I'd really like it to have a little more punch, and a bass control knob so I can adjust it independently of the rest of the speakers. Right now it just feels too soft. There are a number of songs I have that contain some already subtle bass that's minimally audible in what one would call a really good system, where in this audio system if I didn't already know that the sound from the song was there I wouldn't even be able to listen for it to hear. I find myself really straining to hear a hint of the subtleness of it.
Thanks for the reply. My preference is to just swap out the OEM sub with one that will give me more punch when I want to turn it up, along with allowing me to hear the subtleties in other songs where the low bass frequencies are meant to be less pronounced. Perhaps I didn't look well enough but I haven't seen anything about the specs of the OEM sub. RMS rating, size, sensitivity, etc. And maybe I'll have to had a small mono amp and bass knob to an aftermarket sub to give me the control and sound I'm looking for. Just looking for info and options.I don't want to take away from OP's response, but I believe the absolute best solution, that keeps most of the OEM appearance, trunk space and has maximum effectiveness, would be the replacement of the OEM subwoofer with an aftermarket subwoofer. You can do this in two ways, direct in the hat shelf in the identical place of the OEM sub, or mounted firing through the ski-pass. Acoustically, both should be similar if not identical, but the hat shelf is the cleaner looking solution. Depending on the subwoofer chosen, the hat shelf may very well require reinforcement and sound dampening to avoid rattles and vibrations, and is therefore the more expensive mounting option. If I were to go for that option, I would pick a low-profile subwoofer that is known to work well in infinite baffle applications, such as the JL Audio TW5 subs, but I'm sure there are others. A competent installer should be able to help you with that. I would advise against the placement of a generic subwoofer enclosure inside the trunk, unless you are ok with a "disconnected" sound of the bass, and many trunk rattles (as you need to turn up the volume dramatically to get the sound waves out of the very-well sealed and insulated trunk). good luck.
Thanks for the reply. My preference is to just swap out the OEM sub with one that will give me more punch when I want to turn it up, along with allowing me to hear the subtleties in other songs where the low bass frequencies are meant to be less pronounced. Perhaps I didn't look well enough but I haven't seen anything about the specs of the OEM sub. RMS rating, size, sensitivity, etc. And maybe I'll have to had a small mono amp and bass knob to an aftermarket sub to give me the control and sound I'm looking for. Just looking for info and options.
The short direct answer is no, I am not planning on changing the sub:I see in the video that you listen to NPR also.Have you made any more changes? I was hoping to read where you changed out the rear sub. I'd really like it to have a little more punch, and a bass control knob so I can adjust it independently of the rest of the speakers. Right now it just feels too soft. There are a number of songs I have that contain some already subtle bass that's minimally audible in what one would call a really good system, where in this audio system if I didn't already know that the sound from the song was there I wouldn't even be able to listen for it to hear. I find myself really straining to hear a hint of the subtleness of it.
Thanks Aurally. After I made the post I considered it more and started considering going with just the rear door speakers to see if it gives me what I'm wanting to hear. I did a little measuring with a couple songs that I have in my collection on some studio speakers so that I can see what frequency it is that I'm not hearing in the car and it turns out that it's (the sounds I'm not hearing) playing at about the 65Hz range. I can easily hear it on the studio speakers, but I'm straining in the car to even recognize that it's there.The short direct answer is no, I am not planning on changing the sub:
- In order to adhere to my original premise of not changing the amplifier, I would need to find a sub driver that is more efficient than the current one, and with higher excursion and lower distortion.
- It would take a lot of effort for me to take out the sub and measure it. But based on what I have seen in the other OEM drivers, I think it's a good assumption that it would be difficult to find a suitable replacement in the first place.
More philosophical, I don't think replacing the sub adds to the enjoyment, for the following reason:
- Most people want bass "punch", and has little to do with the subwoofer. As someone hits the kick drum, the punch comes from the overtones it generates, and how well these overtones are time aligned. That is where the mid-bass (40-200Hz) makes a bigger difference. This is addressed by changing the door speakers, not the subwoofer.