[priitkaru]

I'm planning an update to my Giulia's base audio system. I'm going to do it as a DIY and I chose the least complicated solution as it will be my first car audio system install.

For that I purchased an Audison AP5.9bit 5 channel amp with a DSP and all the necessary Audison Prima wiring harnesses to make it pretty much a plug-and-play affair.

The only wiring I'd have to add is speaker cables to the front and rear tweeters in case I decide to make the system full active or use components.

And here lies the complication – because of the peculiar positioning of the B-pillar in the Giulia in combination with my driving position and the suboptimal front tweeter placement, I seem to be getting most of my high frequencies not from the front tweeters but from the rear ones. My simple logic tells me that I should then focus on the rear tweeters more than on the front ones while replacing the speakers and configuring the DSP.

However, the overall consensus regarding stereo upgrades seems to be that the main emphasis should go to the front (by installing either component speakers or going full active) and the rear could be left either untouched or coaxial speakers will do the job just fine.

So, the question is whether I should do:

1. the regular "expert recommended" install:
   • separate tweeters / midbass at the front (either component or full active) and coaxials at the back; or
2. should I take into account the Giulia's specifics, my current experience and put emphasis on the rear tweeters as well
   • meaning component speakers both at the front and rear.

It's probably not good to get your high frequencies from two locations so perhaps getting rid of the rear tweeters would be better for the soundstage?

How have your dealt with this and how do you defend your decisions? Have you been able to get sufficient high frequency reproduction from just the front?

I attached some options from the AP5.9bit's manual.

 

[JeFizz]

I'm planning an update to my Giulia's base audio system. I'm going to do it as a DIY and I chose the least complicated solution as it will be my first car audio system install.

For that I purchased an Audison AP5.9bit 5 channel amp with a DSP and all the necessary Audison Prima wiring harnesses to make it pretty much a plug-and-play affair.

The only wiring I'd have to add is speaker cables to the front and rear tweeters in case I decide to make the system full active or use components.

And here lies the complication – because of the peculiar positioning of the B-pillar in the Giulia in combination with my driving position and the suboptimal front tweeter placement, I seem to be getting most of my high frequencies not from the front tweeters but from the rear ones. My simple logic tells me that I should then focus on the rear tweeters more than on the front ones while replacing the speakers and configuring the DSP.

However, the overall consensus regarding stereo upgrades seems to be that the main emphasis should go to the front (by installing either component speakers or going full active) and the rear could be left either untouched or coaxial speakers will do the job just fine.

So, the question is whether I should do:

1. the regular "expert recommended" install:
   • separate tweeters / midbass at the front (either component or full active) and coaxials at the back; or
2. should I take into account the Giulia's specifics, my current experience and put emphasis on the rear tweeters as well
   • meaning component speakers both at the front and rear.

It's probably not good to get your high frequencies from two locations so perhaps getting rid of the rear tweeters would be better for the soundstage?

How have your dealt with this and how do you defend your decisions? Have you been able to get sufficient high frequency reproduction from just the front?

I attached some options from the AP5.9bit's manual.

It sounds like it's going to be a fun project!

I would move the Front/Rear fader to the front a couple of ticks, and then just leave the rear speakers as is. I'm assuming you'll have more wattage going to the front, so that will also help. Having a proper sound stage in the front will help out with the high end, especially if you get the tweeter placement correct. Personally, I'd be looking to put the tweeters in the A pillar area on the door; the little triangle there is perfect. That way you don't need to mess with the dash at all, and you can aim the tweeters properly.

 

[Salty Dog]

Having recently done an active install w/ DSP I was confronted with similar dilemmas. I have opted to mount aftermarket tweeters in the factory dash locations and faded the front/rear towards the front as I had the same issue as you with the high end coming from the rear door tweeters. I also time aligned all the channels with the DSP which helps to further reduce the HF localisation issues caused by the rear tweeters.

Regarding running active components in the rear doors, it will be a challenge to get another pair of speaker cables into the rear doors for the tweeters. It will require drilling holes in either doors and chassis or drilling out unused pins (if there are any) in the existing multipin connector for the rear door wiring harness and running the speaker cable through the multipin connector. Both of these will create irreversible damage so I've opted for passive components in the rear doors. In my case the rear door speakers are on there for "fill" so passive is fine.

 

[shpuncik]

if you're a big fella than yes, you might hear rear tweeters

 

[Unique]

Front tweeters are

And here lies the complication – because of the peculiar positioning of the B-pillar in the Giulia in combination with my driving position and the suboptimal front tweeter placement, I seem to be getting most of my high frequencies not from the front tweeters but from the rear ones. My simple logic tells me that I should then focus on the rear tweeters more than on the front ones while replacing the speakers and configuring the DSP.

However, the overall consensus regarding stereo upgrades seems to be that the main emphasis should go to the front (by installing either component speakers or going full active) and the rear could be left either untouched or coaxial speakers will do the job just fine.

Front tweeters and midbass are the key. I upgraded them to JL Audio C7 elements with great results. And the stock tweeter location is just fine.
Rear speakers make little difference in the setup. Just leave them as they are.

 

[priitkaru]

Thanks for all your thoughts! I'm now confident in moving further with front speakers first and foremost. As I cheaped out on the amp and have just 4+1 channels, I'll not go full active anywhere but will use components at the front.

I'm thinking of going either with HERTZ MILLE PRO MPK165.3 or MPK165P.3. The main difference seems that the former is able to reproduce more low down bass with perhaps no need for a subwoofer while the latter is optimized for a setup with a subwoofer. As the cargo space in a Giulia is limited anyway, I'm tempted to install the MPK165.3's and skip the sub in the first phase. Which makes me think I should've gotten a more powerful 4ch amp instead of the 5ch one. But anyway.. 😃 at least the currently selected solution allows me to add a passive sub if needed (less wiring & stuff).