Hi all,

I've just taken delivery of a MY15 SE to replace my MY12 GS which caught fire over Easter. I knew the audio in the new car wasn't going to be as good as my old GS (lacks a subwoofer for starters) but I'm a bit surprised it's as bad as it is to be honest. It's a real disappointment and has set me thinking about relatively simple ways to improve it.

I haven't got much of an appetite for ripping the car apart so am looking for some simple upgrades. My thinking at the moment is to leave the door speakers as they are but to fit some OEM outer dash speakers and power them (and the existing door speakers) using one of these Kenwood KAC-M1804 amps. It's not massively powerful (which doesn't bother me too much) but seems easy to install, is physically small, has speaker level inputs and doesn't seem to require a power connection directly to the battery (which I'm assuming would be a pain to route through the firewall).

As anyone done anything like this?

Can anyone suggest a suitable location to mount the amp - is there room behind the glovebox maybe?

I'm also thinking about retrofitting an OEM subwoofer to give me some bass but that will need a separate amp and WILL need a power cable to the battery.

I haven't done anything like this for many, many years so I'm a bit 'rusty'!

Decades ago I had a very expensive hi fi & installed it all myself. It's all changed now. Although it is plug & play in some respects, it has to plug into the car system so you need the correct parts. Otherwise you are going to have to rebuild the whole thing.

You may want to look at this thread.
http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic23292-120.html Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Last edited by Lightwater on 5th May 2016 10:46 pm. Edited 1 time in total

I suggest the first thing to do is to download the electrical diagram for the "low-line" ICE system which will give you a good overview of what you have to work with and help you decide what you want to do.
Power is available in the rear junction box for power to run an amp/subwoofer. This is where the main fuses/power is for the ICE. Power is also available in the CJB in passengers footwell, no need to run a line directly to battery. MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
Cruise ECO Data
Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
Picture In Motion
4x4i screen (WIP)
Digital Broadcast TV
Meridian Rear Media with WIFI
Factory Powered Tailgate
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
Reverse Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

Thanks, Stuartc, for the info on the power in the rear - I don't know why I didn't think of that myself!

I have a copy of a MY09 wiring diagram which has given me some clues but I've no doubt MY15 is different so I'll have to stump up some cash for TOPIx and download the proper one.

Do you happen to know the size of the door speakers? I've seen some reports that they're 13cm and others that they're 16.5cm. I ask because I have some 16.5cm Pioneer speakers spare that would be ideal for the front doors...if they'll fit.

Lightwater wrote:

Decades ago I had a very expensive hi fi & installed it all myself. It's all changed now. Although it is plug & play in some respects, it has to plug into the car system so you need the correct parts. Otherwise you are going to have to rebuild the whole thing.

You may want to look at this thread.
http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic23292-120.html

Yes, things were much simpler the last time I considered doing anything like this! Mind you, I think the basic audio system in my car is so basic that it's certainly feasible to tinker with it.

StephenMG wrote:

Thanks, Stuartc, for the info on the power in the rear - I don't know why I didn't think of that myself!

I have a copy of a MY09 wiring diagram which has given me some clues but I've no doubt MY15 is different so I'll have to stump up some cash for TOPIx and download the proper one.

Do you happen to know the size of the door speakers? I've seen some reports that they're 13cm and others that they're 16.5cm. I ask because I have some 16.5cm Pioneer speakers spare that would be ideal for the front doors...if they'll fit.