Anyone who only upgraded the center dash speaker?

[scottaz]

After putting in my Dash Design mat, it tamed that blaring midrange and I can now hear the tweeters better. Helped reduce that hard widow/ dash sound of the Ranger Raptor. Nice side effect. Not huge but better.

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[Buellsox]

I personally love the center channel and run the system in surround sound mode. Listen to a lot of metal & industrial so I’m a fan of it being a bit “bright”. I noticed a big difference after doing the cc. Like the last post I also did the Infinity 2-way and find it to be a perfect balance. I had JUST that speaker in a couple days before doing the Focal 6x9’s & tweeters upgrade and then adding a Hertz 10” sub running off a Punch 300.1 through a Kicker Keyloc DSP.
The Infinity 2-way is a big upgrade over the stock B&O. And like the post above I also sound deadened the opening and did a haphazard foam ring around the speaker. Worth the hour & 1/2 of work to re-wire it and s/d the opening in my opinion.

 

[Redun]

Been busy with work so I haven't logged in in quite some time.

Sorry to burst any bubbles, but I actually ended up reinstalling the stock speaker. I tried the 350 first and then the 270s. My initial impressions with the 270 was based on comparing it to having just had the 350s installed. The 350s were awful imo with the tweeter firing directly into the windshield sounding uncomfortable. I could see someone older with hearing loss thinking it sounds clearer, but...ehhh.

After having the 270s installed for a few weeks I noticed that mid range frequencies just didn't sound right and it seemed like sound was getting lost at some frequencies. I felt the stock system had a weak mid range, and I eventually found the smaller Kicker 270 center speaker actually made that even worse after I took off my rose tinted glasses.

When I went back to the stock speaker after having the 270s in for a while, the mid range was immediately louder and the center is noticeably louder and clearer with the stock speaker - I think it is just much more sensitive than the Kickers. I was literally plugging one in then the other back to back playing the same music. I also did some measurements with a pink noise filter and the Kickers were both losing midrange and amplifying the highest frequencies (which explains why the sound was piercing at times), but it wasn't something I could correct with an EQ without screwing up all the other speakers. The overall volume from the center also measured significantly lower with both kicker speakers than with the stock speaker. This was EXTREMELY obvious after I unplugged the tweeters in the A-pillars. The stock center would sound twice as loud in the mid range changing the speakers back to back.

Ultimately I decided that if I replace that speaker it just isn't going to work well without having the entire system tuned.

I'm not saying that some people couldn't perceive a subjective improvement but I will stand by that changing the center speaker without buying a DSP and having a professional tune the entire system is going to objectively fuck up the balance and accuracy of the sound.

Interesting, I noticed the volume diffeence with the 270 but prefer it with the focals, it was way too bright/much with the OEM centre for me so the kicker has toned it down nicely. I did consider unplugging also as it does sound cluttered as someone else said but I think the 270 is subtle enough now?

 

[JrHDRanger]

I upgraded to the 270 and it sounds much better. I added an inline bass blocker from Crutchfield, but ran into an issue I haven’t been able to resolve. Once the unit is turned off there is capacitor discharge from the blocker and there is a popping noise that repeats for several minutes. I’ve checked grounds and connections and it’s all good. Timing issue with the signal and amp turning off maybe. Still have stock amp. Any suggestions?

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