Kia Optima Forums banner

Keeping Factory Deck, but want new speakers and subwoofer, what did you do?

36K views 26 replies 10 participants last post by  2015CFHOPTIMA 
#1 ·
So I have a 2015 Optima with the UVO system. The stereo system is rather lacking, but I want to upgrade speakers and add a subwoofer possibly while keeping the factory head unit with the UVO system as I have a back up camera and everything with it as well. I have searched these forums and found a few peoples systems. Now what I am wondering is what speakers you went with, which coverters, what subwoofers and amps, and cost involved in all this? Also what did it cost you to do it yourself vs having it installed? Thanks in advance. One of my local installers said don't even bother unless I upgrade to an aftermarket deck as the sound difference would barely be noticeable. I find that hard to believe. Hoping people on here will prove him wrong.
 
#2 ·
Since you have the a UVO head unit, I'm also guessing it came with the infinity setup. The easiest way to add a sub to you car is using a LOC. All you do is grab the signal from the rear sub and unplug the factory sub. Then you just run your RCA from the LOC to your amp. Then just run you power and ground cables also, and done. Thats what I use to run myself.

If your installer wont do that I wouldn't trust him to do a head unit change. As the LOC is much easier than changing the head unit. Especially if you have the premium sound (infinity). He is also lying, it would make a big difference. I think hes just trying to pull a fast one and make more money. I would recommend installing it yourself. it pretty straight forward.


Heres the LOC I used and recommend. It even has a base knob :thumbsup:

Scosche Line-Out Converter with Bass Control - Walmart.com
 
#4 ·
The biggest problem with the non-infinity deck is the lack of adequate processing. The biggest problem with the infinity deck is the crappy processing by the processor. At least on the infinity system, they play some mediocre door speakers down to 50hz. In truth, only the best 6.5" speakers can be played down to 50hz, and to do that in a door, the door must be absolutely solid and dead. The biggest problem with the sub is simply it's size and it's not mounted in a solid enough baffle.

As far as options, with the non-infinity deck there are a number of processors that can use the rear speaker signal to process the sound, and send it to the new amps. With the infinity system, the best option is to use a processor with optical input and get the signal from the head unit before processing. You will lose all stock audio and volume adjustments this way, but the sound will be much better, and you can adjust the volume with the processor
 
#5 ·
It unfortunately is the non infinitey deck. My biggest thing is wanting to keep my back up camera, but it seems no one makes a kit to make it work with the aftermarket systems. I do not have the subwoofer system, so sadly it is even worse.

---------- Post added at 06:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 AM ----------

Jery, he did say that I could put just a subwoofer in if I wanted to, but still recommended not to. He said the last optima he did that way was the same as mine and the guy came back wanting more because it didn't sound as good as he had hoped.
 
#7 ·
Okay sounds good. Like I said I am not against adding in an aftermarket head unit, but I wanted to retain factory Bluetooth, factory steering wheel controls and the back up camera. In all honesty the stereo just lacks the bass I want and that is all I really wanted to add.

---------- Post added at 12:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:54 AM ----------

So I have access to a Alpine Type R 10" subwoofer, a 10" sealed box, an Alpine MRV-M500 amp, free wiring kit, and possibly a used LC2I as well. All in would be about $300 and then having to install it. Does anyone have instructions on how to install this with the non infinity system? Would this be a good setup? Thanks
 
#9 ·
If your just looking to install a sub, the alpine type r is a great sub for a car audio branded sub. Klippel optimized, which is THE definitive measurement device for speakers. The audio control would work. That's the way I would go if you don't plan on replacing any other speakers. If you do think you'd replace the other speakers, I would look more towards a C-DSP from MiniDSP.
 
#11 ·
So now my question is, what kind of sub box should I go with for the 10" Type R sub? I have only had sealed in the past and so I have never really experienced what a ported box is like. I can tell you that 90% of my music I listen to is rock and country, while maybe 10% is actually rap type music. Just curious which would be best. I know my old sealed subs still hit amazing in a sealed for rap music.
 
#12 ·
Simply put, a sealed box will provide the smoothest in car response, at the trade off of being less efficient than a ported box. It will also have more distortion at the low end of its frequency range.

Ported boxes can be more efficient, and reduce distortion at the tuning frequency, but they roll off faster past the tuning point, and need eq to smooth out the response.

My last car used a ported 10, and eq to fix the frequency response. I generally listen to Metal, Rock, Classical, and Rap. With the occasional tuning sessions using extremely well recorded reference material.

My wife's Optima will have a sealed 12" sub, fully sealed and enclosed 8" midbass in the doors, infinite baffle 4.5" midranges in the dash, and tweeters in the sail panels. This is only for simplicity and to avoid obstructing her view.

My personal next car, will have four sealed 12" subwoofers, ported 8" midbass in the kick panels, sealed 4.5" midranges on the dash on axis, and full format tweeters on axis on the dash.
 
#14 ·
That is kind of what I want to do, except right now I am not replacing any speakers. It is going in on this coming Thursday so we will find out how it sounds I guess. I am just stuck between a ported and sealed box. Didn't want to take up a lot of room in the trunk really.
 
#15 ·
I went with a ported 12". it sounds ok, but I need to switch from a single 4ohm sub to a dvc 4 ohm or a single 2. The amp I's using puts out 200 watts at 4 ohm and 350 at 2 ohm.
Its a 5 channel amp and runs about 80ish per channel to the doors. just needs a little bit more.
 
#18 · (Edited)
The only speakers I replaced so far are the dash speakers . And amping those with the two front door speakers made a huge difference. I went with a ported enclosure and it sounds good. I have to figure a way to get more bass(air) in the cabin bc the trunk is pretty well sealed and the back of the seats which is made of hard plastic won't let as much bass inside. So I've let the back seat down but only behind the driver side and it sounds really good. All the bass comes in the cabin through there. So I think I'm gonna have to maybe cut out the section in the rear deck that is used for the factory sub, I've looked and its marked exactly where it goes just not cut out. I'm hoping that helps get more bass in the cabin so I don't ride around with half of my back seat down. Not that it doesn't sound good with the seat up just better with it down. My Focal subwoofer is a dvc 4 ohm 300 watt rms. And I'm running my 2 channel amp bridged to one coil @ 500 watts. So I have the gain set to about 300 watts and it sounds great
 
#19 ·
just you describing it sounds great! Good work!
 
#20 ·
I had it installed in a ported enclosure with the LC2I and it honestly sounds great. I am getting a great sound now for bass and for now I can live with the door speakers as is. I just need to put something in to ptevent the vibrations I am hearing coming from the tail lights and trunk lid areas
 
#22 ·
New guy here. Previous car audio manager/sales/installer...

Personally, heres what I would do:

If you are keeping the factory deck, I would upgrade to a 4 channel amplifier for your highs and a Class-D amplifier for your sub(s).

Your factory deck puts out VERY little power. Thats why your factory speakers sound so bad. Its the distortion. And they definitely cant put out the bass you so desire.

So, heres the setup: 4 channel amplifier powering your factory speakers. You would have to use the line-in for the signal input (meaning no RCA cables). You will lose fade/balance controls. But most people dont worry about that. You will have to run the speaker wires from the amplifier to the individual speakers. Not as hard as it sounds. You only want treble and midrange from these speakers. So set the crossover accordingly. Even the factory speakers will sound 20x better with proper amplification.

For the sub: You can actually use a line-in for the input here also. There are a few different ways to go. Class-D would be preferred. That means that it handles lower ohm loads (typically down to 2 ohms, some amps handle 1 ohm loads). I would go with a dual voice coil (DVC) sub. Best bang for your buck. Each voice coil will attach to one channel of the amp.

As far as sub sizes, it really depends on how loud you want to go and what kind of music. I go for music quality. A single 12" sub would be great. Alpine Type-R is my favorite by far. You can use a smaller enclosure for those. Make sure you get the right size box for what the sub calls for. And I dont really like ported boxes. They sound sloppy. I like the tight, accurate bass. And stay away from bandpass boxes. They are a joke.

You may want to think about getting a capacitor. It goes inline between your amp and the battery on the power wired. Helps prevent lights from dimming due to the power system being constrained.

Hope this helps. Any questions let me know.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Oh boy.

Class d does not mean it can handle lower ohm loads. Class d means the amp uses a switching power supply. That's it.

Dual voice coils doesn't mean better bang for your buck either. You can have great subs that are single or dual voice coil. Dual voice coil can sometimes increase power handling which lowers power compression. Other times, as in an xbl2 motor design, they use the second coil to significantly lower distortion.


Ported boxes only sound sloppy if they are poorly built, and you don't have good eq capability. Ported boxes actually lower distortion near the tuning frequency by limiting cone excursion. Single reflex bandpass boxes limit distortion above the tuning frequency. And dual reflex bandpass boxes roll off distortion above the upper tuning frequency, and lower distortion near the lower tuning frequency. Band pass boxes are the ONLY way to filter out harmonic distortion.

And last but not least, capacitors are just a bandaid for a poor electrical system. Upgrade your big three. If you still have dimming issues, you need a bigger battery and a high output alternator.

I ran 1000 watts to my last sub, 125 watts to each midrange, and 70 watts to each tweeter in my last build. It was a 98 dodge neon with the stock alternator, cheapie walmart battery, and 0 gauge wires. And not even on the most bass heavy of music did my lights dim.
 
#24 ·
So a 2 channel amp bridged down to 1 ohm is just as good as a class D amp thats 1 ohm stable? Nope. Will overheat. I know that Class D amps are switching amplifiers. Thats what keeps them cooler. That coupled with the fact that the low pass filters are already integrated means they are perfect for running subs.

Almost every setup Ive done for someone with 1 sub was a DVC. Even 2 subs. Yes, I think its better bang for your buck. More installation and wiring options. And yes, there are single voice coil subs that are great. I never said that there werent.

Most ported boxes Ive seen/heard werent as good as a sealed box. That is my personal opinion. I hate the way they sound and dont think they are accurate. Sure, for a slight range of frequencies they are decent. Overall, I like sealed.

Most people putting systems in cars arent upgrading the entire electrical system. I understand what you are saying about a band aid fix. But some people just want better sound without upgrading all of it.

Ive put plenty of systems in Dodge Neons. Ive seen a LOT of lights dimming. Thats even using 0AWG wires.

So, oh boy... I do know what Im talking about :)
 
#25 ·
I never said a 2 channel bridged to 1 ohm was better than a 1 ohm stable class d. I clarified what class d actually menat, because in your post, you very clearly said that class d was preferred and that that was because it meant it could handle lower ohm loads.

I still don't see how dvc is the best bang for your buck. Best bang for your buck, to me, means getting the sub and amplifier combination that does what you want for the least money. That could be svc or dvc, depending on what you want.

Ported boxes are actually more accurate if designed right. As said earlier, they lower distortion. If they are designed right, they will take the transfer function of the car it is installed in into account, and the peak in response will smoothly roll into the cabin gain. Furthermore, ported are on frequency range limited if they are purposely designed as one note wonders. One of the best subwoofer set ups I've ever heard was a 6th order bandpass box with two jbl 15"s. It was impressive enough to win a state sound quality championship in meca's extreme class, and would have been in th fight for a world championship had the transmission not failed.

Like I said, dead stock 12 year old alternator, 0ga big three, 0ga wire to the amps. No dimming. I could play skrillex at full tilt or the telarc 1812 recording and not once did the lights dim. Class ab on the front stage, class d on the sub. If your lights are dimming from music in a sound quality based build, something with the cars electrical is wrong.
 
#27 ·
Like to say thanks to everyone having input thiessen90 questions,I too have same car 2015 optima ex minus Navigation non infinity.I’m stuck on which audio control to go with.I’m putting Infinity door 6.5,Rockford P3 12” 4 ohm dvc.I’m not sure the dsp to go with or built in with amp.Possibly only have one amp to push all.Someone said losing controls on radio?Thats what I’m trying to avoid not to do.If that’s the case the maybe after market dvd navigation.Any suggestions on new head unit apple car play
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top