Centre Speaker Upgrade

[GE90]

A recently released installation of the speaker and first impressions from the US.

https://youtu.be/c9lJQl3EMis

I have a few left from the latest stock at the moment.

Cheers

[seanaodh]

I installed the speaker upgrade last night.

Thanks to GE90 for sending it out very quickly and even though Irish customs had their say, it was in my hands in a couple of days.

The kit is really well put together, and comes with detailed instructions even though the process is very simple.

It took about 15 minutes, most of which was spent digging in the shed finding a torx bit that I could get in at the screws (the windscreen gets in the way). The harness and bracket fit perfectly. The grill on top of the speaker comes out really easily with a small pry tool.

Before



After




Sound impressions

The most important bit, did it make any difference to the sound? I queued up a few songs that I know well, and have been listening to in the car recently to test out the new setup. I was worried that I wouldn't notice any difference but to my ears the change was immediately noticeable. I like my audio gear and have a few decent setups at home so I like to think I have a decent ear for this stuff, but I'm not a complete audiophile. 

I have the HK setup in my CS and when I originally set up my EQ I added quite a bit of extra on the low end because I felt the existing system lacked it. Post the upgrade I actually turned down the bass EQ because the new speaker has really helped fill that out.

I also noticed more clarity to the sound. I'm really pleased with the change so far. It was evening time and I only listened to a handful of songs in the driveway so I'll continue to test, but initial impressions are really really positive.

Thanks to GE90 for packaging up the upgrade in such a simple way.

[GE90]

Thanks very much for this feedback; it's useful for forum members to read honest observations.

As I have fitted this upgrade in much all variants (standard, HK, Focal etc), I have heard for myself how well it works with all.

Cheers.

[GE90]

I’ve been busy this week making up another small batch of these. I love mine and the feedback that I’ve received has been fantastic. If anyone would like one or has questions just shout.

Many thanks.

[KFiddy]

any idea what this would cost to get to Australia? or any chance of the 3D print or bracket?

[GE90]

Hi,

Welcome! I’ve sent a couple to Australia, the last being earlier this week.

The postage was £22.90, tracked, which we didn’t think was too bad.

Many thanks.

[neiln20]

Def will be doing this mod! Just waiting for my Temu trim removal kit to arrive :-)

[JoeGTI]

I fitted this to my 8.5 Clubsport a couple of weeks ago. Very worthy mod! My car has HK audio and I was a bit underwhelmed with it to be honest. Really expected it to have a bit more ooomph than it does. This speaker upgrade definitely gives a more "fuller" sound.

Re trim removal, the grill over the speaker pops off very easily. I do have a trim removal kit but it's not strictly necessary. A thin plastic wedge, maybe even the edge of a credit card, would probably do the trick.

[GE90]

any idea what this would cost to get to Australia? or any chance of the 3D print or bracket?

Hi, I've sent one very recently and was surprised at how reasonable the cost was all things considered.

Please drop me a message if interested.

Many thanks.

[GE90]

I fitted this to my 8.5 Clubsport a couple of weeks ago. Very worthy mod! My car has HK audio and I was a bit underwhelmed with it to be honest. Really expected it to have a bit more ooomph than it does. This speaker upgrade definitely gives a more "fuller" sound.

Re trim removal, the grill over the speaker pops off very easily. I do have a trim removal kit but it's not strictly necessary. A thin plastic wedge, maybe even the edge of a credit card, would probably do the trick.

Thanks for the feedback Joe, much appreciated.