Hey guys,

I just got finished with upgrading my premium audio on my 07 Vantage and I thought I would share it with all of you. I've always been heavy into high quality audio since my first car and it really hasn't changed much. I've owned the car for a little over a year now and I must say at first the exhaust was so intoxicating it made up for the lack of a true audio system and don't get me wrong I still love the exhaust, but I had an itch for a subwoofer upgrade.

So I decided to stay with all the existing door speakers and just upgrade the very lacking subwoofer. There are a few great options from JL audio my personal favorite manufacturer for subwoofers. You have two options for subwoofers that will fit inside the trunk on top of the shelf area. One is a dual 8 inch ported w3 subwoofer box made from JL audio and the other is a single sealed 13 inch TW5 subwoofer. Both fit on top of the shelf firing upwards to the hatch covers and both come with JL audio enclosures. They both sound absolutely fantastic compared to the stock subwoofer and really open up the entire system. If you want more output you can simply take the subwoofers off the shelf and place it into the trunk and it will perform better. You can simply have extra wire so you can easily place it back and forth if you need space inside the trunk.

Now if you're crazy like me and really want hard hitting deep bass you can go with a ported 10 inch w6 subwoofer enclosure made by JL audio. Now 95 percent of the people will be more than happy with the other two options because they are both loud and sound amazing, but they can't duplicate how deep the W6 sub hits and it sounds amazing as well like all JL subs. The W6 box has to sit inside the trunk, but I installed connectors that make it really easy to remove if I need the trunk space.

When installing the new subwoofer the old stock sub will not be used any longer, but what's great Is the new subwoofer is still controlled by our stock head units meaning I can decrease the subwoofer with the subwoofer controls in the head unit and bass controls. This gives you complete control over the sub to make it sound perfect for any music you throw at it. I still can't believe how great all 3 of the subs sound.

Now as far as the amp goes you will need to get a JL audio XD600/1 V2 amp which cost around $400 dollars. These amps push out 600 watts of true power and are very efficient so they won't drain the battery or dim the headlights. The prices for the subwoofers including enclosures are between $500-$630 dollars. So for around $1000 dollars you can get the subwoofer of your choice along with an amp. You will need wiring ran to the amp and a fuse holder, but those cost are inexpensive. If you're handy you can take this on yourself or take it to a well known car audio installer to install. I had mine installed along with adding a wireless Bluetooth device that allows me to use my iPhone for music. They had to install a switch inside the cigarette box in order to bypass the existing system due to the fiber optic wiring inside are cars.

So in all I spent around $2000 dollars for the new system. This is my least expensive system that I've ever owned since I was probably 20 and now I'm 35. for the money it's now probably the best sounding system I've had. The difference the new subwoofer makes is huge!

Let me know if you have any questions and I would be happy to help out a fellow audiophile. I know most of you will be more than happy with your existing audio, but for a true audiophile this is a must!!!

Justin

 

Thanks for the posting... good to hear that the JL upgrade made that much of a difference... The factory premium audio (for stock) is pretty decent, but a 'real' sub can definitely make a system.

I was planning for my 06 to at least get the MOST ipod adapter so I could hardwire my phone in when needed.... You went the bluetooth route.. Usually audiophile and bluetooth are not in the same sentence... have you done a back to back with the wireless connection vs a CD? Let me know what you think.

Post a pict so we can see how much trunk you used up.

Cheers!

 

This might be interesting to look into. The sub in the Premium Audio seems to be its weak spot. Everything else sounds pretty good at all volume levels with any music type. But some things cause the sub to distort pretty badly as the volume increases.

 

As far as the Bluetooth goes, I already had a cord ran but it had an issue and stopped working. So at that point I had the option to have another cable ran so it can be plugged into the iPod or go the wireless Bluetooth route. They talked me into the Bluetooth and I'm happy they did. I don't have an exposed wire any longer and I feel the sound quality is fine. Remember, we still have a CD player for your favorite music if needed.

I don't have any pics at the moment and didn't take any pics of the other two sub boxes installed. The dual 8 w3s box and the single 13TW5 box both fit on top of the ledge inside the trunk so they don't take up any trunk space at all except the ledge. The 10W6 ported box sits inside the trunk so it does take up most of the trunk space. All of these subs can be removed in the matter of seconds if needed. Go to JL audio and click onto there subwoofer systems section and it will show all of the boxes they make. The dual 8 ported W3s are under the micro sub section of boxes, the sealed 13TW5 is under the power wedge section listed as a truck power wedge, and the ported 10 W6 is under the HO section which means high output. They will list all the dimensions for the enclosures.

The dual 8s and the single 13TW5 both sounded excellent and had about the same output. They were very punchy and sounded good with everything I played. They both sound better inside the trunk rather then on top of the shelf, but if you leave extra wire you can place them back in forth in 30 seconds. The 10 W6 is a totally different animal, it hits really deep and will pound you in the chest if you want. I have to turn the subwoofer all the way down with the wife in the car or she can't sit in it. With it turned all the way down its comparable to the other two subs. That's why I picked this sub, I can have it both ways!!

Justin

 

^^^^ what's a "CD Player"?

 

Lol! I hear you Karl!! I personally don't use my CD player at all.

When are we going to meet up so I can check out your new car?

Justin

 

A few nights ago I accidentally hit the CD eject button. Out popped Journey's Greatest Hits left by the last owner!

 

I find that the Sub in the premium audio is actually TOO much! I have it turned down most of the way.

 

^^^^ Like I said this is for an audiophile, the majority of the people who drive an Aston probably don't care a whole lot about the stereo being top notch. I know a lot only care about the exhaust which is breathtaking to say the least!! However the stock sub is the weak link in the system. It will distort easily at high volumes and the sound quality is very poor compared to the sound of the JL audio subs. With all of that being said it's probably one of the best stock systems I've personally heard, but I've never owned a stock system. I've had 10k dollar car systems in the past and have at least 10k just in product for my home theater.

 

Audiophile and car is an oxymoron in my view. You'll never get audiophile sound in a car. Save you money for your home stereo.

 

^^^^ maybe the term audiophile is a bit much. An audiophile on this site clearly doesn't take much. All I did was add a sub to the current system and now it sounds 100 times better. For someone who can install the new wiring and amp themselves it would only cost around $1100 dollars. That is a very affordable cost for the upgrade in overall sound quality. This suggestion is only for anyone who isn't happy with there current system.

You're correct about the audiophile sound compared to home audio, but it's also apples and oranges. Most people don't touch there stock car systems, so if they do I would call them an audiophile at least in the car category.

 

I don't know about that. My pickup has a sound system, that is probably better than my home 2 channel (Musical Fidelity, Rega, tube based CD player, etc). In reality, you can achieve a level of spacial accuracy in a car these days, that is tough to do even with many expensive home components. Even the most ardent audiophiles (I don't claim to be one, as most are whiny), are blown away by my pickup's sound system.

The Aston "premium" sound system is actually pretty decent for a factory system. The car is small enough where a DSP isn't really required (I use them in my other cars, except the Porsche) for Time Alignment, EQ, etc. The head unit is pretty confusing to operate, but the post signal path is nice and clean. It goes loud enough to hear most musical detail with the top down at highway speeds/

I haven't upgraded any of the factory system yet, as it sounds pretty competent for what it is. The bass on my system is way too much, so I have it turned down very far. I suspect using a quality driver like a Hybrid Audio, Rainbow Profi or higher end Focal (not my taste, but very fine speakers) would improve the soundstage in my Vantage, but its not really worth the effort for the improvement.

I'm in the middle of doing a sound system in our heavily modded 2011 Mustang GT, and that will be awesome!

 

I think it's a combination of frequency response and location. I've noticed the factory sub sounds a bit too "punchy", and without a lot of very low frequency push. Also, since it's behind the driver seat, I can "feel" the kick drums (which is probably why it feels so punchy), but the lack of the flowing low-frequency bass makes it seem like I'm missing a lot of very low end (I'd say below 50hz or so). Anyone else notice this in the premium system? Changing the settings didn't seem to help, as it seems to be a lack in the ability of the sub to produce good sounding LOW bass.

 

A while back there was a really good in depth assessment of the premium audio on PH.

Here is the link: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1260557

In summary the poster found that there is a hole in the mid-bass at 150hz and 500-800hz. so anything that helps fill that will improve the sound.