Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Aero 8 S5 Sound System

Some reference material in case anyone is interested.

My series 5 A8 has the factory sound system in it. I've decided to upgrade it (well, I think it's an upgrade at least) so I thought I'd share what I've found as a reference to anyone else interested

Factory system

- There is no head unit to the system, just a 3.5 mm jack to plug into inside the glove box
- There is a Alpine MRV-F300 50w power amplifier fitted under the plate that the passengers feet rest on (4 small allen key screws to get to it)
- The rear speakers are middling 6 x 9" Pioneer units fitted underneath plastic covers inside the hood storage compartment
- I THINK the door speakers are 4" round Pioneer units (yet to be confirmed). In my opinion these are the weakest point of the OEM system

The original system works pretty well. I've added a £25 bluetooth interface that plugs into the audio jack - So now it's Iphone / Spotify - Bluetooth link to £25 interface - Output to 3.5mm jack - Into concealed Alpine Amp - Pioneer speakers.

My particular problem with this setup is that the 4" door speakers really cannot deal with Low frequency sounds very well, they overload at roughly 30% volume. PS - I'm not a Drum N Bass yoouf .... think Clapton, John Mayer maybe SRV if I'm feeling a bit racy.

Changes

- I've removed the Alpine Amp and adjusted the output settings (you can download the user manual on the Alpine website by searching for the model No) On my car everything was switched off and / or set to 5/10 on the dials as installed, there's a decent gain to be had from doing this alone
- I've bought "Kicker" 6x9 and 4" speakers to replace all the originals. Total cost about £450 and I've only fitted the rear ones so far (straight in, no mods, wiring or cutting needed) they are MILES better !
- This weekend's job is the fronts, watch this space

Although you're ahead of the curve having an Aero with space to accomodate larger speakers than a trad, a sub woofer is really required. Your Alpine can feed same via its low pass filter.

Hi Richard.

Agreed ...... but where to put one ?.

I've read road tests that mention the latest MMC (Supersport from memory) factory installs using the panels of the car to generate low frequency sounds. I wonder how ?. Next stop google !.

Under seat if you have the depth, the one I used is designed for just that. Mine is upside down and out of sight in upper part of passenger footwell.

The 3.5 jack will only boost whatever the input signal produces. I added a bluetooth head unit hidden in the foot well.

This boosted the signal before the amp and meant I could make adjustment to bass and treble and balance throug the head unit.

Update

The front speakers are Alpine 6 x 4's .... middling quality (roughly £50 / pr)

The door card was a pig to get off. A number of plastic "nails" that were very tight, Loads of Velcro and a single small screw on the top of the speaker mesh (that you cannot get to until the mid section is removed.)

Suggested plan of attack if you ever need to remove speaker / lower door card

- Get a proper trim removal tool (metal type an end a bit like a small claw hammer)
- When you have the above under the plastic nail, slide a steel rule under the tool's heel so that you have something to lever against without destroying the door card.
- You have to be brutal to get them out ..... and you are probably going to need new ones to re assemble with
- The mid section is the first bit to get off (4" wide section that sits below the mid level wooden arm rest) - start at the front (just velcro) there's a single nail at the rear
- Once this is off you can get to the screw in the top of the speaker grille
- Then remove the bottom section to get to speakers (you dont need to remove the upper section at all for this job

I've messed up by buying 4" rounds to fit. I could do this, but decided to order a 2nd set of Kicker 6x4's now I know thats the size fitted - "do it right, do it once" methinks.

When I fit the above I am also going to fit a small Pioneer (underseat type) Sub Woofer above the passengers knees - I've measured available space as 300w x 200d x 60h

Just another weeks wait now for bits ........

I have the same 6x4 in the front door of the Coupe. I looked into replacements and could only find two options in the UK. Both were big brand but fairly bleah in both sound quality and power terms. I did not bother changing them in the end.

If the S5 is like the door of the Coupe/S2 the depth of the mount is an issue so you cannot get a round+deep speaker without a lot of work and non-flush mounting. The depth means you cannot easily fit a large magnet high power speaker. It will also impede your foot path getting in and out if you go for a raised mount.

I used the amp in the head unit to power the fronts and then bolted a better set of 6x9 Focals in the back to replace the factory upgrade ones. I put in a 2 channel class-d amp for the rears to try and control them. To be fair the side exhausts and dB level in the hard top Coupe means I am fighting a loosing battle so I just accept it.

Whilst you are in there!

I would recommend looking at the cable path from the dash through to the door. This is normally VERY tight so replacement speaker cable to improve that is not an easy option. Do make certain the wire protection through the body/door opening is solid or the wires will short leading to full-on sleepless nights.

Catching up, missed the sub comment.

The installation chap I use said the only option he could recommend would be to custom cut some Ply and shorten the passengers footwell end. Essentially the passenger would put their feet on it. Under the carpet. He said he could put a good 8" and amp in the unit.

He also said it doubted it would be usable in the closed Coupe without causing vision blur and making the passenger quite uncomfy! I have it down fairly low and listen to the side pipes with the windows down as I intend to remain a hooligan yoof and do like drum'n'bass, dance and phonk when I am driving.

The factory did offer an optional rear speaker upgrade pack for the Coupe. It was an amp tucked in the boot along with said Pioneer 6x9 speakers in the rear panel. In the Coupe the amp is well buried down low in the boot up against the petrol tank which is directly behind the bulkhead.

Always happy to be corrected as I am not as hands on as you. Happy to answer any questions via DM if it helps a fellow Aero sufferer/owner.

Re the new cars system, it uses the panels as the drivers but needs a very different solution. There are some good reviews on it on youtoob.





Part of my home system.

There is no such thing as too much bass (as long as it is good and not flabby and nasty)

The latest OEM stuff looks like they have been putting some effort into it (& realising it's important). It's certainly needed as these are not straightforward cars to fit high end stuff into.

My upgrades are now complete. I've removed the original Alpine speakers and replaced with Kicker KS series - 6x9 in the back, 6x4 in the doors (I've also got some 4" tweeters that I have yet to find a spot in the car for)

Finally, Ive added a Pioneer WX140DA sub woofer fitted over the passengers knees. The OEM Alpine class D amp remains in place (under passengers feet).

Some of this is pretty straightforward (rear speakers). The door speakers are easy once you have managed to get the door card off, which is tricky.

Finally, there's the Sub. This is a bit of a compromise as it's only a basic model. However, it does fit (just) in the space available and can't be seen in normal use of the car. Considering thats its fairly basic (£170) it's still fairly punchy and still has a tight, controlled response up to about 75%. Actually better than I'd expected.

Total spent was about £600

Overall, the sound system is signilficantly better than OEM. It's highs have a richer texture and the lows are punchy and better defined. The acid test .... "play something you like" and it's easy to get drawn in and start enjoying it lift you and become part of the drive.

Box. ticked.

Hi Alistair,

That's some home setup .... I'm guessing the neighbours must be at a fair distance !.

Nothing quite like a really good Hi Fi - close your eyes and you could be there :-).

PS - you were right about the cables through the door. Crappy chinese "single strand like a hair" copper and sure enough one broke and made intermittant connections - took me 3 hours to find and replace it

In my experience a really good HiFi playing a well-engineered recording will actually sound a great deal better than the live sound in many auditoria - the sole exception for me being listening to David Gilmour at the Royal Abert Hall, where the sound was utterly sublime.

Sadly for me, but rather beneficial to my wallet, these days my hearing is pretty much shot so I'm perfectly happy streaming AAC to the active monitors in my studio..

I gave up trying to get big sounds in the Aero's. The daily AMG E63 has been tweaked with different speakers and an amp upgrade. Modern cars can be difficult to tweak as they are all designed as one.

The HiFi stuff is down the end. I worked as a saturday boy in a HiFi shop when I was young and became a bit obsessed. Built it over the following years.

LP12 combo
Townshend Rock T/T
Micromega dual CD unit(s)
Exposure active amps/psu 3way, older but well matched to the....
Linn Isobarik active speakers which have been rebuilt.
In a normal home it could be described as having substantial bass.

I have to say the Funktion One stuff sounds remarkably good for a nightclub system. Not absolute HiFi but in the Chapel it sounds wonderful. Fed from a Mac using Apple Music at top bit rate.

I moved to the Old Chapel in Dartmouth a while back. 16C stone Chapel, one huge volume. There is an AirBnB about three feet separated from me. When they get too loud I just turn the Funktion One up to half and knock the pictures off their walls. I have had to blutack all my stuff down. If a things worth doing......its worth overdoing.