Very Little by Little, Upgrading the Subie Premium Sound

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:24 am

Good Day my friends, I pulled a disappearing act for a few months again, I am sorry...too many vdub probs...never got around to my raised floor install either. I shed a lot of blood sweat and tears on that Vdub but made the right choice...I traded it in with 106K miles and got this 09 Subie!:

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:31 am

So my question is...has anyone upgraded speakers in a Subaru with Premium Sound? Allegedly the car has 10 speakers and it actually sounds pretty damn good, but I have all this great PG stuff laying around my room now and am obviously going to use it : )...plus I desire my amped PG clarity.

The car has tweets in the A pillars so that is 2 of the speakers, the other "8" I am not sure about. I don't know if it is 4 2-way speakers or literally 8 additional speakers. Besides the tweets, the doors each have one speaker grille so either they are def 2-ways or they cram 2 full size speakers into each door...which wouldn't surprise me given the bass this system has.

Anyway, I hope to install my Pioneer 7800 DVD unit into this car eventually and am hoping my PG speakers are a fine fit, but I have def heard that Subaru speaker depth is somewhat limited.

Hope you guys can help me out. Nice to be back here.

Post by **Wakeup** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 8:36 am

Wow! Congrats! Nice car!
I am glad you are back! Welcome back!
And as far as speaker location?! I don't know...never really sat inside a subara before......

Did look around a tiny bit for you...

this guy has a subara probably 2008 model or something but might be similar. And has a write up of rammatting his car:
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/interior- ... hread.html
maybe you can see something in his pictures....

More:
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/interior- ... 9-wrx.html

good luck!

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:33 pm

Wakeup wrote:Wow! Congrats! Nice car!
I am glad you are back! Welcome back!
And as far as speaker location?! I don't know...never really sat inside a subara before......

Did look around a tiny bit for you...

this guy has a subara probably 2008 model or something but might be similar. And has a write up of rammatting his car:
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/interior- ... hread.html
maybe you can see something in his pictures....

More:
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/interior- ... 9-wrx.html

good luck!

Thanks Dude! I checked those out, both cars in the pics had single speakers, more than likely, it is single speakers in mine as well...though it would be cool if they did cram 2 in per door

. I will keep searching until I confirm or just open'er up and find out for myself

.

I am worried though that my PGs won't fit : (, from what I hear it is a tight fit in there.

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:38 pm

great choice!!!!, my friend in maine has one, and when he came down he insisted i drive it on a toll road near our house here, and let me tell you, thats a GREAT, FAST, EXCELLENT handling car!!! i got rsd 6.5 ( and ti6.5 elites to fit my audi doors, so i hope/bet u have no issues-good luck, and post pics!!! btw, did u have a car install with 2 rsd amps in the back? if not my bad, i remember seeing an install almost year ago when i joined with 2 rsd amps in back-if it was , can u send it (pics) 2 me? thanks-

Post by **smgreen20** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:32 am

Back when I worked for a sub contractor for SIA (the maker) I did the upgrades to the cars. Stereo, seats, spoilers, keyless entry, bla bla bla. It would be my guess that the other 8 speakers would be 4 coaxial speakers as that's what the upgrade was back in '97 by Pioneer IIRC.

Things have changed so keep that in mind, but back then they went from 6" paper cones w/a wizzer cone in all 4 doors to a plastic looking cone coaxial speaker. The amp was installed in the center console area.

gkitching · Post by **gkitching** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:14 am

Nice car!

Unfortunately, Subaru is usually one of the last manufacturers the aftermarket world (audio wise) makes anything for. As far as I know, there are no interfaces to keep the factory head unit. No install kits to replace the factory head unit or interfaces for replacing the factory head unit and maintaining the stock speaker system.

The only thing I could find in a quick search was an Aux input multiplier

These guys are usually the first to come up with interfaces and kits. They list nothing but replacement antenna info.

http://www.metraonline.com/default.aspx

Compound that with the problem that the factory amp outputs are actively crossed over. So line level converters on the speaker outputs would only give you certain freq ranges.

Depending on the head unit (navi or non-navi), it may not be possible to remove either based on how it ties into the car. At least at this point with no interfaces available. It's possible someone on a Subaru forum has come up with something that works. But I don't know of anything commercially available for that car.

Adding a sub would not be too difficult. Doing a full system will probably test you on how far you are willing to go to get that PG gear in.

EDIT: SMGREEN .. haha! I wish it were still that easy! I might still be in business if it didn't cost the consumer hundreds of dollars for just the interfaces needed in todays cars

Post by **stipud** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:44 am

The signal must be getting to the amp somehow. My car has the same setup... headunit transmits to amp, and amp is actively crossed over on all speakers. I just tapped in to the line-outs between the headunit and the amp. Incidentally this was a balanced RCA signal, which I fed into an A/C Four.1 to convert to a regular unbalanced 5v RMS feed. It also let me add an input for my iPod

You would think the WRX would have LOADS of aftermarket options; it's pretty much THE de-facto tuner car.

dwnrodeo · Post by **dwnrodeo** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:29 am

You would think the WRX would have LOADS of aftermarket options; it's pretty much THE de-facto tuner car.

Cough, evo, cough.

Post by **Bfowler** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:58 am

here is a cool headunit install. he took forester DIN pockets and made it look pretty stock

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gr-i-c-e-se ... tenna.html

gkitching · Post by **gkitching** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:32 am

stipud wrote:The signal must be getting to the amp somehow. My car has the same setup... headunit transmits to amp, and amp is actively crossed over on all speakers. I just tapped in to the line-outs between the headunit and the amp. Incidentally this was a balanced RCA signal, which I fed into an A/C Four.1 to convert to a regular unbalanced 5v RMS feed. It also let me add an input for my iPod

You would think the WRX would have LOADS of aftermarket options; it's pretty much THE de-facto tuner car.

Ya, I'm not sure. I can't say I've done any of the new ones personally. Although I think if there were no other issues, these interface companies would have something available. Usually when there is a total 'bail out' on a particular car, it's because there is no demand for it or there is a problem that may not be practical or cost effective to overcome. Allot of systems in the newer cars now have both signal and data transfer to interpret. But like I said, I haven't done one of these to say for certain. But I'm sure someone on a car specific forum has probably tried. That would be a good place to find out for sure.

And yes, there are tons of performance mods available. But audio upgrades for Subaru in general over the years have been pretty much low on the totem pole.

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:09 pm

gkitching wrote:Nice car!

Unfortunately, Subaru is usually one of the last manufacturers the aftermarket world (audio wise) makes anything for. As far as I know, there are no interfaces to keep the factory head unit. No install kits to replace the factory head unit or interfaces for replacing the factory head unit and maintaining the stock speaker system. The only thing I could find in a quick search was an Aux input multiplier

These guys are usually the first to come up with interfaces and kits. They list nothing but replacement antenna info.

http://www.metraonline.com/default.aspx

Compound that with the problem that the factory amp outputs are actively crossed over. So line level converters on the speaker outputs would only give you certain freq ranges.

Depending on the head unit (navi or non-navi), it may not be possible to remove either based on how it ties into the car. At least at this point with no interfaces available. It's possible someone on a Subaru forum has come up with something that works. But I don't know of anything commercially available for that car.

Adding a sub would not be too difficult. Doing a full system will probably test you on how far you are willing to go to get that PG gear in.

EDIT: SMGREEN .. haha! I wish it were still that easy! I might still be in business if it didn't cost the consumer hundreds of dollars for just the interfaces needed in todays cars

D'oh! This isn't good at all

. So it sounds to me that as of right now, I won't even be able to get my Pioneer DVD unit in place of the stock headunit...that's terrible...I did find something by Scosche on Crutchfield for the 08 which should be the same thought I have Premium sound but who knows if it will even really fit...and then like you said, there are no interfaces showing as available for this car.

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:11 pm

so is ur turbo? whats the hp on that one u got... looks clean. i like the new look. wish i could afford one...

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:14 pm

smgreen20 wrote:Back when I worked for a sub contractor for SIA (the maker) I did the upgrades to the cars. Stereo, seats, spoilers, keyless entry, bla bla bla. It would be my guess that the other 8 speakers would be 4 coaxial speakers as that's what the upgrade was back in '97 by Pioneer IIRC.

Things have changed so keep that in mind, but back then they went from 6" paper cones w/a wizzer cone in all 4 doors to a plastic looking cone coaxial speaker. The amp was installed in the center console area.

I bet it is 4 coaxes...I dunno how the heck they get it to sound so great bass-wise...must be sealed real nice.

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:16 pm

stipud wrote:The signal must be getting to the amp somehow. My car has the same setup... headunit transmits to amp, and amp is actively crossed over on all speakers. I just tapped in to the line-outs between the headunit and the amp. Incidentally this was a balanced RCA signal, which I fed into an A/C Four.1 to convert to a regular unbalanced 5v RMS feed. It also let me add an input for my iPod

You would think the WRX would have LOADS of aftermarket options; it's pretty much THE de-facto tuner car.

Def loads of aftermarket engine mods, it is gonna be a bummer if I can't get my sound mods going...I am also surprised at this info.

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:18 pm

deathcloud wrote:so is ur turbo? whats the hp on that one u got... looks clean. i like the new look. wish i could afford one...

2.5 Boxer Motor, Turbo, 265 hp

. It hauls...I have never driven fast cars but it would be incredibly easy to get yourself in trouble with this mother f-er

.

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:20 pm

gkitching wrote:
stipud wrote:The signal must be getting to the amp somehow. My car has the same setup... headunit transmits to amp, and amp is actively crossed over on all speakers. I just tapped in to the line-outs between the headunit and the amp. Incidentally this was a balanced RCA signal, which I fed into an A/C Four.1 to convert to a regular unbalanced 5v RMS feed. It also let me add an input for my iPod

You would think the WRX would have LOADS of aftermarket options; it's pretty much THE de-facto tuner car.
Ya, I'm not sure. I can't say I've done any of the new ones personally. Although I think if there were no other issues, these interface companies would have something available. Usually when there is a total 'bail out' on a particular car, it's because there is no demand for it or there is a problem that may not be practical or cost effective to overcome. Allot of systems in the newer cars now have both signal and data transfer to interpret. But like I said, I haven't done one of these to say for certain. But I'm sure someone on a car specific forum has probably tried. That would be a good place to find out for sure.

And yes, there are tons of performance mods available. But audio upgrades for Subaru in general over the years have been pretty much low on the totem pole.

I may check out a WRX specific forum, not many people on the couple Subie forums I joined have heard much about the 08s and 09s yet.

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:20 pm

damn... i hate u! envy! I have a 2005 mazda 3 and my dream first car was a black 2005 wrx but it was more than i could afford monthly and my parents wouldn't help me out THAT much. but im happy with my car. But that thing is so clean. almost looks like a lexis

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:33 pm

deathcloud wrote:damn... i hate u! envy! I have a 2005 mazda 3 and my dream first car was a black 2005 wrx but it was more than i could afford monthly and my parents wouldn't help me out THAT much. but im happy with my car. But that thing is so clean. almost looks like a lexis

Thanks man, I love it. I wanted a car that I wouldn't feel the need to mod because I am 26 and trying to streamline some things in my life. I have played with a couple cars and paid dearly for it and really am still paying dearly for it since I charged everything at the time...check out the link to my old car, the Colt...that was pricey...and a bad choice even though I loved every second I spent in it...I regret having spent the money then for a car that is a skeleton now inside because I just tore it down and sold everything a couple years ago when I was unemployed and needed cash...live and learn

.

The stock power on this and AWD made it the easy choice over the 09 GTI I was looking it despite the reasonably higher monthly payment.

denim · Post by **denim** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:40 am

Looks like a fun car to work on. Would love to see your projects.

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:00 pm

Bfowler wrote:here is a cool headunit install. he took forester DIN pockets and made it look pretty stock

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gr-i-c-e-se ... tenna.html

Fowler, You're the man!

I registered on this forum and spoke with this guy directly. I'm all pumped up now, doesn't look like it will be too much of an issue for me to get this going when I am ready...I may have to wait until the weather stops sucking but it's gonna happen. Not sure about speaker depth yet but I will get all of these answers as time goes on.

The PAC steering wheel control interface he used is not compatible with my headunit so I may have to forgo those to use my Pioneer 7800DVD in but I guess I could also always change headunits...but I absolutely love these Pioneer units...so many sound manipulating features, I doubt I will want to change. Losing the steering wheel controls will be a small price to pay to get this upgrade going.

rlockwood · Post by **rlockwood** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:00 pm

www.nasioc.com

as for subie aftermarket, theres tons out there.. But as a converted honda guy, everything was way cheaper for the hondas, and usually better quality as well. To the extent that Ive been SERIOUSLY considering starting my own company.

that 2009 wrx is a monster. I just wish it had some fking fender flares. Looks too much like a corolla, but its quick!

This is the only pic I have of my wrx.. weathers been shitty lately, and I dont really want to take pics of it in its "winter state". It also lost the lip awhile back driving over an elk carcass

Phoenixcolt · Post by **Phoenixcolt** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:52 pm

rlockwood wrote:www.nasioc.com

as for subie aftermarket, theres tons out there.. But as a converted honda guy, everything was way cheaper for the hondas, and usually better quality as well. To the extent that Ive been SERIOUSLY considering starting my own company.

that 2009 wrx is a monster. I just wish it had some fking fender flares. Looks too much like a corolla, but its quick!

This is the only pic I have of my wrx.. weathers been shitty lately, and I dont really want to take pics of it in its "winter state". It also lost the lip awhile back driving over an elk carcass

Yeah this weekend I am going to invest some time in nasioc.com, I have been hearing a lot about it, I am sure I can find some answers there.

Yours looks good btw! Very nice...and I know, mine is also in winter state and I don't want to take any additional pics...that one above is a few days before I picked it up, right before 10" of snow fell, haha...and it hasn't been clean since then but winter is winter...

Hey what year is yours? It is before they had the monster jutting out scoop...that must be the one they call bug eyes right? I like it a lot...and f deer carcasses for tearing off your lip.

I had a VW Golf before this so you can imagine how sick this new one felt coming from 100hp econoboxes.

rlockwood · Post by **rlockwood** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:55 pm

yeah, mine is a 2002, "bugeye" back then there was no USDM STI, so no big scoop. Mine actually has a carbon fiber JDM STI scoop on it now, though.

Also, if you end up wanting to modify this car, I'd reccomend looking at the Accessport from Cobb. Its a fairly spendy piece (~600) but its worth every penny, imo.

cool to have another suby guy on this forum..!

MINI COOP · Post by **MINI COOP** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:29 pm

euhm, I'm driving a subby to

it is a 2.0 (not turbo charged!) impreza plus from 2002 (the bugeye). in belgium it is not affordable for a youngster to buy a turbocharged model

the mounting depth is indeed nothing, but you can easily make a ring from 18mm wood, put it on the chassis and put the doorpanel back into his original place. this gives you a bit more space to put some speakers.