I'm still trying to figure out where to tap in my BitOne HD. Pre factory amp or post factory amp. I don't want any idiot lights on dash.

 

It might be good to say HK or base, although I do not think the base system has an amp that is separate from the head unit.

 

HK

 

Good question... do we know if the signal is standard coming from the head unit? You know that's the best option, just may not be a viable option.

Personally I would do speaker level. My ears probably couldn't tell a difference.

 

Were you able to remove the error message on the dash?

 

The HK speakers might not be as cheap as people think, rare earth magnets do not need to be big and heavy to have the same strength of flux. A neodymium is very strong and small and light (but expensive), the speakers I put in my truck have them.

 

Have you tried putting sound deadener matt on the deck the sub is mounted too? I aplied some this weekend and it completely changed the dynamics of the base in the car.

 

What mat did you use and where did you stick it? Underneath the deck accessing from the trunk?

 

I used this. I placed it on the underdeck as pictured below.

Remember that with damping mat the best results are achieved when you cover 15% - 25% of the surface you want to dampen. Using more can actually cause you a lot more problems.

It's NOT wallpaper.

 

I used this. I placed it on the underdeck as pictured below.

Remember that with damping mat the best results are achieved when you cover 15% - 25% of the surface you want to dampen. Using more can actually cause you a lot more problems.

It's NOT wallpaper.

View attachment 93945

Great thanks. I too purchased the Noico 80mil ones. Is this easy to cut and do you need a roller? Can I ask why these locations specifically? Did you find them to be resonating with music?

 

This post is one place for those looking to dramatically improve the sound quality of the Alfa Romeo stereo system.

Some things that I discovered while upgrading my system. First is that the center channel is always on regardless of whether the surround is on or off. Also the crossover to the subwoofer is extremely poor. Vocals are also being fed into the sub making it strain to try to reproduce those higher frequencies. Simply putting an inline low pass 100mhz 4 ohm filter from parts express ($18) might help sound quality some for those not wanting to add or replace any of the speakers. Those looking to just replace the sub will need to cross it over also or it will not really improve sound even if sub is good. For those looking to do more here are some other options.

1. Easiest and cheapest way is to add a subwoofer such as the premade JL audio sub box with 10 inch sub, audiocontrol LC2i to get signal for sub and adjust for missing bass as volume is increased. Keep stock speakers. This will play very loud and will satisfy most people. I initially did this by adding a JL audio RD500/1 amp with the JL Audio CS110TG-TW3. The bass was clean, tight powerful and almost everyone who got in my car thought is sounded great. However, the stock speakers tend to have too much midrange and the tweeter can sound piercing at times and is hard to listen to for an extended period of time. If you like the treble in the stock radio you will love will absolutely love this upgrade. And yes I am very picky and an audiophile with a home system costing more than many people’s cars.

2. Next option is to replace with stock speakers however they are crossed over inside the amp so not sure how good this will sound since you can not use the supplied crossovers with the speakers. Not being able to use supplied crossovers will dramatically negatively effect the sound quality but would still likely sound better then the cheap little speakers supplied with stock sound system. You can see from pictures that stock speakers have a magnet not much bigger than a half dollar.
3. Since the stock amp is not sending out full channel signals you will be required to use a DSP unit in order to add an aftermarket amp. So your next cheapest option is to get a 5 channel amp with a bullt in DSP unit such as the audiocontrol LC-6.1200. This saves the expense of buying both a DSP and an amp. Then replacing the stock speakers will sound dramatically better since they will now use the supplied crossovers and have a full range signal outputting to them.

4. Most expensive option is to use an external DSP and an aftermarket amplifier. You can use a cheap LC6i but because the front speakers use all 6 inputs it you lose the fader in the dash. The best LC8i or JL audio fix 82 if you want to keep the fader working. I went with the DM-810 so I could hook up a laptop and completely customize each input, summoning on each output, adjust crossovers, in addition to 30 band EQ. Other similar options Focal FSP-8, Rockford Fosgate 3sixty3 and audison. There are probably plenty of others just look for 8 or more inputs since the Alfa uses 6 inputs on fronts alone. If you go this route i suggest you pick one that you can log into with a computer and equalize sound with a 30 band eq.

Now for which equipment to replace with. Front speakers are a 3 way component speaker so this limits what options you have unless you change to a 2 way component speaker and leave midrange empty.

3 way speakers for fronts

Focal 165AS3 $470.99 Great brand, well made plays on brighter side, very good speaker can handle lots of power.
Focal Access 165 AS 2-way component speakers
Focal PS 165F3 $999.99 Great Brand top end speaker very loud very good and extremely powerful speaker. Awesome speaker but very expensive
Focal PS 165FX Component Speaker Review
JL Audio C5653 $849.99 Great brand top end speaker, very balanced warm sound, sounds great but expensive
JL Audio C5 653 Component Review
Morel Virtus Nano 603 $749.99 High end speaker but have never heard them personally
Precision Power PPI P65C3 $249.99 Top notch speaker at a terrific price. Excellent reviews and sounds almost as good as the high end focals and JL Audio at a fraction of the price. Very good value and if cost is an issue go with this one.
Precision Power P.65C3 Component Speaker Review
Hertz Energy ESK 163L.5 $399 Not familiar with this one
Cadence QRS6K3 – $136.95 very inexpensive starting at $125 online no idea of quality
Brand X at Walmart $145.18 Great price doubt very good quality but probably better then stock speakers

https://www.caraudionow.com/best-6-5-component-car-speakers/
http://caraudiohq.net/best-6-5-component-speakers/
http://www.sakerracing.com/car-speakers/best-car-speaker-reviews/

Rear speakers are 6 ½ inch 2 way components that I would simply buy to match what brand you choose for front. Try not to mix brands as timbre gets messed up and dramatically effects sound quality.

Amplifiers

Anything less then around 7.25 inches will fit in compartment under the trunk, easily hidden out of sight

Inexpensive

soundstream Picasso Nano PN5.640D very small and amazingly powerful 5 channel amp very good value
RetroSound Technophonic not familiar with it
JBL GTR-7535 Nice amp fits well and allows you to stream Bluetooth directly to the amplifier

More expensive

The JL audio RD and XD series will fit right in there hidden out of the way.
Kicker 43CXA600.5 Good brand never heard amp
Memphis Audio 16-MXA5.750 Marine Amp just means more moisture resistant but very high quality and will fit nicely in hidden compartment. Good brand
Alpine PDR-V75

If you are willing to mount amp elsewhere then many more options become available.

So for disclosure I went with the JL Audio HD 900/5 for my amp. JL Audio C5653 in front, JL Audio C3650 in rear, audiocontrol DM810, and JL Audio CS110TG-TW3 for sub. I disabled center speaker and stock subwoofer. Sound is definitely studio quality and very happy with sound. Negative is disconnecting stock speakers puts a yellow speaker in the dash with warning stereo not available. Car is sensing the resistance of the speakers is gone. This is a little annoying. Stereo works fine but warning is always on. Audiocontrol rep tells me putting in resistors prior to DSP will turn off warnings might try it one day when I have time to kill. Draw on car is not very substantial with this amplifier as it is very efficient 80% less than standard amps. Very little heat generated and amplifier does not strain at all even at very high volumes as I have gain turned way down on amp. My biggest concern is the car’s auto shut off I have to turn if off every time I get in because I feel the draw at lights will be very hard on battery.

Where and how do you install the parts express inline low pass 100mhz 4 ohm filter?

 

It depends on whether or not it's an inductor or capacitor... or both! No matter what, you would find a place to tap into the speaker wires going to the subwoofer.

 

It has an input and output, and is a passive device, so no need for power.
"Parts Express 100 Hz Low Pass 4 Ohm Crossover" from www.parts-express.com!

https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/tech-diagrams/266-444--crossover--schematic.pdf

 

It has an input and output, and is a passive device, so no need for power.
"Parts Express 100 Hz Low Pass 4 Ohm Crossover" from www.parts-express.com!

https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/tech-diagrams/266-444--crossover--schematic.pdf

Does this help with the sound because ive used a harness to plug into the 6x9 rear deck speaker wire, then fed the wire from harness to a resistor, then wires from resistor to the high level input of the amp. Tanks mate

 

I put my oscilloscopes on the subwoofer wires last week and ran various test tones to see what sort of output and filtering the amplifier was providing. From memory there was a steep drop off between 100hz and 125hz (I didn't have a test tone between those 2 frequencies to narrow it down). Also, I don't think there was much output at 20-25hz but I may be confusing it with the actual audible output from my subwoofer rather than actual amplifier output.
What did surprise me was the ability of the front door speakers to play at 31.5hz (playing test tones with the subwoofer disconnected). They seem to handle that low frequency very well especially given they are a bass / mid bass driver and not a dedicated sub.

 

Yes, you are right. The connectors are keyed and thus that I I ordered will not work. Based on Mopar connector database, the same connector is in use with many Chrysler and Dodge models - e.g. Chrysler 300 MY2017 Premium 2 audio has the exact same connectors. I need to dig this a little further, since I'm sure that someone has made necessary connectors for at least some Chrysler / Dodge models.

Mopar Connection Repair Kit

connectors.dcctools.com

About the ETM output modes, one thing is for sure: Base Hifi manages the volume control within the ETM unit itself. By forcing the HK Hifi into Base Hifi mode, the volume control will work correctly. It might be that in this case the ETM will be in amplifier mode, but it is still better than nothing.

When I get necessary connectors and JL Audio amplifier, I will dig deeper into this.

The picture shows the Giulia Premium audio 2 (= HK) connectors. Premium 1 (= Intermediate) has only the two larger ones.

After some googling:
I believe I found the both connectors:

AXABH-CH3 | Axxess Integrate

Chrysler Amp Bypass Harness 2013-2018

axxessinterfaces.com

AXABH-CH4 | Axxess Integrate

Chrysler Amp Bypass Harness 2015-Up

axxessinterfaces.com

I have them both now on order and will report when having tested these.

Also this harness has both 22-pin connectors (but not the small one also required with HK Amplifier). The harness itself is intended for other purposes, but it does not matter as long as it has the connectors required for the purpose.

AX-ADDCAM-CH4 | Axxess Integrate

Chrysler Plug N Play Harness for AX-ADDCAM 2010-2017

axxessinterfaces.com

 

Is the ETM physically identical for the base model and HK? I assumed they were different i.e. one had built in amplification and the other didn't hence why I thought the HK might possibly not have any form of attenuating the line outputs.

The HK amp only has 4 audio inputs: Left, Right, Navi & Handsfree; or in brackets for the same inputs: Left Front, Right Front, Left Rear and Right Rear. Not sure which of these 2 combinations is correct but one would imply volume, fade etc is carried out at the amp and the other would imply volume, fade etc is carried out in the ETM.

 

ETM is physically the same on base model and HK. It's just running on different mode and I believe proxi alignment byte 112 controls it. Also, the datasheet of amplifier IC used in ETM also implies there is an amplifier and line driver mode built into it.

Byte 112: ETM Line driver mode / amplifier mode toggle. Value 0x00 = Amplifier Mode. Value 0x20 = Line Driver Mode

Based on Alfa Romeo documents, HK Amplifier has four audio inputs:

• Right front speaker
• Left front speaker
• Right rear speaker
• Left rear speaker

Since all channels are separately fed from ETM, Fade etc. can be done on ETM itself.

 

Also worth noting; my scope on the HK outputs shows no clipping even at full volume with 0dB test tones. It shows what looks like a slightly distorted waveform at all volume levels at the top of the sine wave peak but I get this when playing the same test tones through other systems at all volumes so may just be a scope resolution issue.

Also, if anyone is interested, the front door woofers have a high pass filter at about 40-50hz.

 

Did you measure this high pass filter with an oscilloscope on the speaker outputs?

 

Interesting, that confirms they wired my amplifier up wrong and got the wires on terminal 7 & 18 the wrong way round making my right hand woofer out of phase.

 

If so how do you fix it and do you reckon if they made the same mistake on all the HK systems? I have very minimal knowledge of audio and associated electronics. I am more of a mechanical guy!

 

So with my scope on pins 6 & 17 (labelled as either Left Front or Navi In) I had no signal when playing a 1kHz test tone at any volume level.
When I moved the scope to pins 4 & 15 (labelled as Left Rear or Left In) I saw a nice clean waveform with about 10v peak to peak. This was consistent from volume 1 through to 38. The only change was when I went down to volume 0 at which point I lost the signal altogether.
So it seems the Alfa multimedia document that I got the pin outs from is correct for the first set of labels and the ones in bracket are not correct i.e. THIS IS CORRECT:
Pin 4: Left in +
Pin 15: Left in -
Pin 5: Right In +
Pin 16: Right In -
Pin 6: Navi In +
Pin 17: Navi In -
Pin 7: HFP In +
Pin 18: HFP In -

And the alternative versions in brackets are incorrect for me. i.e. THIS IS WRONG:
Pin 4: Left Rear +
Pin 15: Left Rear -
Pin 5: Right Rear +
Pin 16: Right Rear -
Pin 6: Left Front +
Pin 17: Left Front -
Pin 7: Right Front +
Pin 18: Right Front -


So this confirms that the HK amp controls the volume and fade to rear etc. And it looks more than likely that the Sat Nav and handsfree Telephone inputs are sent separately to the HK amp too.

 

So with my scope on pins 6 & 17 (labelled as either Left Front or Navi In) I had no signal when playing a 1kHz test tone at any volume level.
When I moved the scope to pins 4 & 15 (labelled as Left Rear or Left In) I saw a nice clean waveform with about 10v peak to peak. This was consistent from volume 1 through to 38. The only change was when I went down to volume 0 at which point I lost the signal altogether.
So it seems the Alfa multimedia document that I got the pin outs from is correct for the first set of labels and the ones in bracket are not correct i.e. THIS IS CORRECT:
Pin 4: Left in +
Pin 15: Left in -
Pin 5: Right In +
Pin 16: Right In -
Pin 6: Navi In +
Pin 17: Navi In -
Pin 7: HFP In +
Pin 18: HFP In -

So this confirms that the HK amp controls the volume and fade to rear etc. And it looks more than likely that the Sat Nav and handsfree Telephone inputs are sent separately to the HK amp too.

Did you test whether you could see Navigation or park assist tones on those additional channels?

If this is really how it works, then it is important to identify the right proxi alignment configuration to force the ETM back to standard Hifi mode. Summing all those signals after the amplifier makes no sense at all. I will test byte 112 and others in action as soon as I get the connector harnesses I now have on order.

 

Probably worth mentioning for those that are not aware; the 10v peak to peak voltage I saw on the line out equates to a 3.5v line out voltage (RMS). Not bad considering 4v is considered a decent head unit output (which is the most you will get out of a 12v headunit without some sort of line output amplification; 12v peak to peak is 4v RMS).

 

I can confirm that these two harnesses indeed work with Giulia OEM Amplifiers (Intermediate or HK) allowing total bypass of the OEM amplifier.

AXABH-CH3 | Axxess Integrate

Chrysler Amp Bypass Harness 2013-2018

axxessinterfaces.com

AXABH-CH4 | Axxess Integrate

Chrysler Amp Bypass Harness 2015-Up

axxessinterfaces.com

AXABH-CH4 is missing two mandatory pins required with Intermediate Hifi, but these can be salvaged from the small connector, which is not needed with Intermediate (ASK Group) amplifier. According to the pin diagrams HK does not have this issue.

Here you can see original amplifier totally disconnected. OEM harness is on the left and my home-made harness using two harnesses mentioned above is on the right.

Speaker tests work correctly for every speaker through this new harness. This simple device is valuable to perform the testing:

AMPIRE TST100 Tone Generator Speaker Polarity Tester

AMPIRE TST100 Tone Generator and Speaker Polarity Tester

www.ampire.de

Installation will be completed during the weekend. I will report the required proxy alignments here.

 

I can confirm that byte 112 controls the Amplifier / Line driver mode:

Byte 112: ETM Line driver mode / amplifier mode toggle. Value 0x00 = Amplifier Mode. Value 0x20 = Line Driver Mode

Byte 112 value 0x20
When the value is 0x20 ETM works in "Line driver / OEM Amplifier mode". In this mode the speaker detection is off, Volume control only works through external amplifier - fixed volume signal is sent to the OEM Amplifier and only in two channels. Other two channels are used to sent navigation messages and warning tones. Mixing of these signals happens on the amplifier and volume control, balance and fader are performed on OEM amplifier based on CANBUS signals.

You have to have an original OEM amplifier (either Intermediate - ASK Group or Harman Kardon) for this mode to make sense.

Byte 112 value 0x00
When the value is 0x00 ETM works in "Internal amplifier / Base audio mode". In this mode the speaker detection is on (you have to have resistors on outputs to avoid error messages; if resistors are not there you get audio system unavailable-error although everything works), Volume control on ETM works for the speaker outputs and navigation and warning tones are mixed to the outputs already on ETM. Basically this mode is the Base audio mode - it works exactly how the Base audio systems work.

Therefore, if you want to install new non-OEM amplifier without using Fix-82 or other solutions to "re-mix" the audio signals for external amplifier, you want to use this mode. The benefit of avoiding remixing is better sound quality, since OEM D-class amplifier on the signal path with remixing DSP is not doing good for the quality of audio.

About the bytes 31 & 47 you don't need to worry, these values will change to 0x00 when the OEM amplifier is removed.

In summary
This is the amplifier upgrade solution for all of you who want to upgrade Intermediate or HK amplifier to something else. You want to use this to simplify you installation and to get better sound quality. Having multiple non-necessary amplifiers and DSP's on your signal path is never good for the sound quality.

Order the harnesses mentioned in the previous post, built your own harness with these, install the amplifier, run proxi alignment and enjoy. Remember that before you change the proxi byte, the volume coming out from the ETM is at maximum. Just to avoid any loud surprises.

 

I can also confirm that byte 112 controls the Amplifier / Line driver mode:

Byte 112: ETM Line driver mode / amplifier mode toggle. Value 0x00 = Amplifier Mode. Value 0x20 = Line Driver Mode

0x20
When the value is 0x20 ETM works in line driver mode. In this mode the speaker detection is off, Volume control only works through external amplifier - fixed signal is sent to the client and audio is sent only in two channels. Other two channels are used to sent navigation messages and warning tones. Mixing of these signals happen on external amplifier.

You have to have an original OEM amplifier for this mode to make sense.

0x00
When the value is 0x00 ETM works in amplifier mode. In this mode the speaker detection is on (you have to have resistors on outputs to avoid error messages; if resistors are not there you get audio system unavailable-error although everything works), Volume control on ETM works for the speaker outputs and navigation and warning tones are mixed to the outputs already on ETM. Basically this mode is the base audio mode - it works exactly how the base audio systems work.

Therefore, if you want to install new non-OEM amplifier without using Fix-82 or other solutions to "re-mix" the audio signals for external amplifier, you want to use this mode.

About the bytes 31 & 47 you don't need to worry, these values will change to 0x00 when the OEM amplifier is removed.

In summary
This is the amplifier upgrade solution for all of you who want to upgrade Intermediate or HK amplifier to something else. You want to use this to simplify you installation and to get better sound quality. Having multiple non-necessary amplifiers and DSP's on your signal path is never good for the sound quality.

Order the harnesses mentioned in the previous post, built your own harness with these, install the amplifier, run proxi alignment and enjoy. Remember that before you change the proxi byte, the volume coming out from the ETM is at maximum. Just to avoid any loud surprises.

Interesting. I've already cut my wires but can easily put them back together. And I've already upgraded by DSP as my old one didn't sum the high level inputs. So at this point I shouldn't really need to look to change anything. However, I get an annoying cut out for a fraction of a second on mids and tweeters when the powerful bass heavy notes hit (even with no bass speakers plugged in so I know it's not vibration / anything loose). And to try an minimise it I have to play around with gain setting on DSP and amps but that raises my noise floor too much. Maybe this is the solution but keeping my new DSP (well I've bought it now and it is very good). My only issue is that I already have 3 big amplifiers in my boot now and no spare channels to run the rear speakers as I'm still using the HK amp to run them at the moment but they are only on the minimum setting just for a bit of rear fill for the kids.
So the big question from me is how do I do a proxi alignment? Is this Alfa speak for a bit of coding? If so, do I just need MES or similar? I have a 2019 model so already have Epsonix's security gateway bypass device.

 

I can also confirm that byte 112 controls the Amplifier / Line driver mode:

Byte 112: ETM Line driver mode / amplifier mode toggle. Value 0x00 = Amplifier Mode. Value 0x20 = Line Driver Mode

0x20
When the value is 0x20 ETM works in line driver mode. In this mode the speaker detection is off, Volume control only works through external amplifier - fixed signal is sent to the client and audio is sent only in two channels. Other two channels are used to sent navigation messages and warning tones. Mixing of these signals happen on external amplifier.

You have to have an original OEM amplifier for this mode to make sense.

0x00
When the value is 0x00 ETM works in amplifier mode. In this mode the speaker detection is on (you have to have resistors on outputs to avoid error messages; if resistors are not there you get audio system unavailable-error although everything works), Volume control on ETM works for the speaker outputs and navigation and warning tones are mixed to the outputs already on ETM. Basically this mode is the base audio mode - it works exactly how the base audio systems work.

Therefore, if you want to install new non-OEM amplifier without using Fix-82 or other solutions to "re-mix" the audio signals for external amplifier, you want to use this mode.

About the bytes 31 & 47 you don't need to worry, these values will change to 0x00 when the OEM amplifier is removed.

In summary
This is the amplifier upgrade solution for all of you who want to upgrade Intermediate or HK amplifier to something else. You want to use this to simplify you installation and to get better sound quality. Having multiple non-necessary amplifiers and DSP's on your signal path is never good for the sound quality.

Order the harnesses mentioned in the previous post, built your own harness with these, install the amplifier, run proxi alignment and enjoy. Remember that before you change the proxi byte, the volume coming out from the ETM is at maximum. Just to avoid any loud surprises.

Also, if using low level inputs to your amps / dsp what are you using for a switched live / remote out to turn amps on? The power supply to the HK amp is permanently live so must be turned on via the canbus.

 

I'm not using low-level inputs. As said above, the low-level output mode from ETM is not useful to connect to non-OEM amplifier, since it is fixed-volume and navi voices + warning beeps are not mixed in the ETM. Also fader does not work.

Therefore only amplifier mode (byte 112 = 0x00) makes sense with non-OEM amplifier. And my JL Audio VXI 600/6i amplifier starts fine if it detects signal on inputs. VXi - on the other hand - provides remote out, which can be used to start subwoofer. The "low level" and "amplifier" inputs are the same thing with VXI amplifier.

 

I'm not using low-level inputs. As said above, the low-level output mode from ETM is not useful to connect to non-OEM amplifier, since it is fixed-volume and navi voices + warning beeps are not mixed in the ETM. Also fader does not work.

Ah yes of course, sorry, I was thinking about my own system where I might try connecting the line out into my DSP.

But then that brings me back round; forgive my ignorance on the internal workings of the ETM, but, if you are using the high level output surely the ETM is using a built in amplifier to make the signal high enough to be heard adequately through a speaker? If this is the case then why would you want to use the small (and therefore probably less capable) built in amplifier over the bigger (and probably slightly more capable) external amplifier? Both will probably apply EQ but isn't it better to bypass the ETM internal amplifier and use the intermediate / HK amplifier high level outputs instead? The only upside I can see to this is it saves you summing the different outputs to make a complete signal. But this is relatively easy.
UNLESS, all outputs from the ETM pass through it's internal amplifier but when the proxy is set to HK mode it attenuates them first. This makes no sense though; amplify then attenuate just so you can amplify again?

 

Also, I have ordered the full MES kit now. I tried to connect with my laptop and a bluetooth ELM327 ODB dongle and a Carista one. Although my laptop connected to both I couldn't seem to get MES to read either of them so have to wait for the MES one to arrive now. I am considering whacking my old DSP that has a remote volume controller into the car temporarily and use that to control the volume until I can do a proxy alignment.

 

bluetooth dongle won't be able to do proxi alignment

 

OK thank you for the explanation. Obviously I understand the less poor quality components in the signal path the better, I just didn't see the logic in using a built in amplifier over an external one but as you explained it has to pass through the ETM amplifier regardless then I will try the line output maybe today (taken from the HK amplifier input) until my MES cables turn up then I can do the proxy alignment and make it high level again.

 

Remember that if you change the ETM to amplifier mode, you cannot use OEM HK amplifier anymore for any purpose. It has to be disconnected totally. So you need to find an another solution for your rear channels.

 

This post is one place for those looking to dramatically improve the sound quality of the Alfa Romeo stereo system.

Some things that I discovered while upgrading my system. First is that the center channel is always on regardless of whether the surround is on or off. Also the crossover to the subwoofer is extremely poor. Vocals are also being fed into the sub making it strain to try to reproduce those higher frequencies. Simply putting an inline low pass 100mhz 4 ohm filter from parts express ($18) might help sound quality some for those not wanting to add or replace any of the speakers. Those looking to just replace the sub will need to cross it over also or it will not really improve sound even if sub is good. For those looking to do more here are some other options.

1. Easiest and cheapest way is to add a subwoofer such as the premade JL audio sub box with 10 inch sub, audiocontrol LC2i to get signal for sub and adjust for missing bass as volume is increased. Keep stock speakers. This will play very loud and will satisfy most people. I initially did this by adding a JL audio RD500/1 amp with the JL Audio CS110TG-TW3. The bass was clean, tight powerful and almost everyone who got in my car thought is sounded great. However, the stock speakers tend to have too much midrange and the tweeter can sound piercing at times and is hard to listen to for an extended period of time. If you like the treble in the stock radio you will love will absolutely love this upgrade. And yes I am very picky and an audiophile with a home system costing more than many people’s cars.

2. Next option is to replace with stock speakers however they are crossed over inside the amp so not sure how good this will sound since you can not use the supplied crossovers with the speakers. Not being able to use supplied crossovers will dramatically negatively effect the sound quality but would still likely sound better then the cheap little speakers supplied with stock sound system. You can see from pictures that stock speakers have a magnet not much bigger than a half dollar.
3. Since the stock amp is not sending out full channel signals you will be required to use a DSP unit in order to add an aftermarket amp. So your next cheapest option is to get a 5 channel amp with a bullt in DSP unit such as the audiocontrol LC-6.1200. This saves the expense of buying both a DSP and an amp. Then replacing the stock speakers will sound dramatically better since they will now use the supplied crossovers and have a full range signal outputting to them.

4. Most expensive option is to use an external DSP and an aftermarket amplifier. You can use a cheap LC6i but because the front speakers use all 6 inputs it you lose the fader in the dash. The best LC8i or JL audio fix 82 if you want to keep the fader working. I went with the DM-810 so I could hook up a laptop and completely customize each input, summoning on each output, adjust crossovers, in addition to 30 band EQ. Other similar options Focal FSP-8, Rockford Fosgate 3sixty3 and audison. There are probably plenty of others just look for 8 or more inputs since the Alfa uses 6 inputs on fronts alone. If you go this route i suggest you pick one that you can log into with a computer and equalize sound with a 30 band eq.

Now for which equipment to replace with. Front speakers are a 3 way component speaker so this limits what options you have unless you change to a 2 way component speaker and leave midrange empty.

3 way speakers for fronts

Focal 165AS3 $470.99 Great brand, well made plays on brighter side, very good speaker can handle lots of power.
What Hi-Fi? | Tech news and reviews
Focal PS 165F3 $999.99 Great Brand top end speaker very loud very good and extremely powerful speaker. Awesome speaker but very expensive
Search - PASMAG is the Tuner's Source for Modified Car Culture since 1999
JL Audio C5653 $849.99 Great brand top end speaker, very balanced warm sound, sounds great but expensive
JL Audio C5 653 Component Review
Morel Virtus Nano 603 $749.99 High end speaker but have never heard them personally
Precision Power PPI P65C3 $249.99 Top notch speaker at a terrific price. Excellent reviews and sounds almost as good as the high end focals and JL Audio at a fraction of the price. Very good value and if cost is an issue go with this one.
http://www.pasmag.com/car-audio/test-reports/3641-precision-power-p65c3-component-speaker-review
Hertz Energy ESK 163L.5 $399 Not familiar with this one
Cadence QRS6K3 – $136.95 very inexpensive starting at $125 online no idea of quality
Brand X at Walmart $145.18 Great price doubt very good quality but probably better then stock speakers

https://www.caraudionow.com/best-6-5-component-car-speakers/
http://caraudiohq.net/best-6-5-component-speakers/
http://www.sakerracing.com/car-speakers/best-car-speaker-reviews/

Rear speakers are 6 ½ inch 2 way components that I would simply buy to match what brand you choose for front. Try not to mix brands as timbre gets messed up and dramatically effects sound quality.

Amplifiers

Anything less then around 7.25 inches will fit in compartment under the trunk, easily hidden out of sight

Inexpensive

soundstream Picasso Nano PN5.640D very small and amazingly powerful 5 channel amp very good value
RetroSound Technophonic not familiar with it
JBL GTR-7535 Nice amp fits well and allows you to stream Bluetooth directly to the amplifier

More expensive

The JL audio RD and XD series will fit right in there hidden out of the way.
Kicker 43CXA600.5 Good brand never heard amp
Memphis Audio 16-MXA5.750 Marine Amp just means more moisture resistant but very high quality and will fit nicely in hidden compartment. Good brand
Alpine PDR-V75

If you are willing to mount amp elsewhere then many more options become available.

So for disclosure I went with the JL Audio HD 900/5 for my amp. JL Audio C5653 in front, JL Audio C3650 in rear, audiocontrol DM810, and JL Audio CS110TG-TW3 for sub. I disabled center speaker and stock subwoofer. Sound is definitely studio quality and very happy with sound. Negative is disconnecting stock speakers puts a yellow speaker in the dash with warning stereo not available. Car is sensing the resistance of the speakers is gone. This is a little annoying. Stereo works fine but warning is always on. Audiocontrol rep tells me putting in resistors prior to DSP will turn off warnings might try it one day when I have time to kill. Draw on car is not very substantial with this amplifier as it is very efficient 80% less than standard amps. Very little heat generated and amplifier does not strain at all even at very high volumes as I have gain turned way down on amp. My biggest concern is the car’s auto shut off I have to turn if off every time I get in because I feel the draw at lights will be very hard on battery.

I’m thinking of buying a Stelvio but I’m concerned about the poor sound quality. I would like to upgrade the system also but is the signal of the head unit good enough to get a good final quality?

 

@Unique

Apologies for the long and perhaps boring post...
Following my service at Alfa last week I tried connecting straight to the ECM again. This time it sounded ok when I connected before making any adjustments other than I appeared to be picking up what sounded like white noise someowhere along my signal path. As previously it was almost at unlistenable volumes even as low at 10. First thing I did was turn my amps gains right down and this got rid of the noise (they were almost at peak as a cure for the ETM cutting out a high volume). After adjusting the gain on my DSP (marignal change) then the amps it does seem to sound better than before even before I did any EQ or tuning. Bear in mind I still have the OEM tweeters in as I am struggling to get the covers off.
For any other's out there, I checked the ETM output with a 1kHz 0dB sine wave on my scope and got a clean signal up to volume 28. On volume 29 it was clearly clipping. I tried various other frequency test tones (all at 0dB) and all were clean at volume 28. Previously when using the HK amplifier, even at full volume, there was no visible clipping so I suspect even at full volume the ETM or HK amp are not actually at their peaks (maybe due to having to split the signal up into so many channels, I don't know). The ETM output is noticably louder than the HK amp outputs too. Maybe this is a symptom of having to sum up all the channels with the HK amp.
As a work around for the rear channels (I don't really use them but may have on the lowest possible setting using the fader so the kids can hear something other than pure bass) I connected the rear output from the ETM direct to the rear speakers outputs of the HK amp. Works very well. Obviously not as loud as my amplified front outputs but does what I need it to do.
The sat nav volume was ridiculously loud compared to the music even with it on minimum but bizarrely when I corrected the gains it now works correctly. Not sure why but it corrected the issue.
Also, even though I changed byte 112 to 20 using MES and the volume control etc working correctly, if I disconnect plug B from the HK amp (the one with the canbus connection) my odometer starts flashing indicating an proxi misalignment. Not a problem for me as I have cut the wires I need but if someone with a HK amp is planning on doing this and buying the plugs as Unique did then they will need to find out what else needs changing with a proxi alignment.
I started carrying out a basic tune then my car went mental. I soon realised this was due to my battery going flat even though I had my car connected to my trickle charger. Perhaps it wasn't connected properly, or just couldn't keep up with all the works I was carrying out over the weekend and maybe Alfa had my ignition on playing music whilst in the workshop (which would normally be OK if i didn't have 3 big amps in the boot). All charged up now and all errors cleared so hopefully do a bit more tuning tonight or try and get those tweeters out again.

 

The ETM clipping level is great information, thanks! Did you test it with any speakers or load resistors attached, or just straight into the DSP? What's your DSP's input resistance?

 

Internal amplifier outputs has to have resistors. Without those ETM detects "OMG, I cannot detect speakers"-error and associated error messages are being shown in the dash. Some DSP's have internal resistors, which you can enable. Those should also work fine.

~ 20 ohm resistors are good; no point of having less than that. These work well:

AC-LGD 20 - AudioControl

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www.audiocontrol.com

 

Internal amplifier outputs has to have resistors. Without those ETM detects "OMG, I cannot detect speakers"-error and associated error messages are being shown in the dash. Some DSP's have internal resistors, which you can enable. Those should also work fine.

~ 20 ohm resistors are good; no point of having less than that. These work well:

View attachment 99651

AC-LGD 20 - AudioControl

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www.audiocontrol.com

Yes, I know the ETM requires load resistance to avoid warning lights. The higher the resistance the less load there will be on the amplifier, thus less likely to start clipping. This is why I asked what type of load there was when the distortion measurements were taken.

 

Fellas, any tips on some speaker upgrades for the standard 8 speaker audio system? My car is a 2019 QV with base stereo.I personally find the base sound much nicer and warmer than the HK audio I had previously in my earlier Giulia, I am listening to a lot of Hi Res music via Tidal these days. While this sounds good, I feel its missing that dynamic range. I don't yet wish to add a sub woofer or an external amp as the car is still in early warranty and I don't want to mess with it at least not yet. So I am hoping a simple speaker upgrade will sort out the sound for not a great deal of expense.

I have gathered the base speakers are 6.5" (165 mm) 4 ohm 20W RMS made by JVC/Kenwood . I will be just looking to replace the speakers with like for like or thereabouts.
I like to a lot of old school and 90s Rock, intrumental with some blues, world music etc. thrown in with the occasional rap and RnB, so a wide range of music. I want the sound to be Warm, well rounded and detailed without any harshness whatsoever and a solid tight bass line. Sort of like the sound that comes from my Yamaha amp paired with my Q Acoustic 3020i speakers.

Any suggestions for replacement speakers? I am not looking to spend more than $200-300 per pair of speakers, and I will need 2 pairs to do the fronts and back. I may very well leave the tweeters alone but if there is a possibility to change the tweeters with a crossover that is ok too. My main intent is the door 6.5" woofers.

I have seen some Focal, Alpine speakers in the price range. Given the factory speakers are 20W (RMS?) what would be a good enough match for the factory amp/ETM. Not sure what the oem ETM is rated at. Any suggestions gratefully received.

I have determined the 3 ear speaker adaptors for the Mito, Giulietta and Fiats will work along with the cable connector adaptors for those. So all I am left to decide on is what speakers.

Alpine:

6.5 inch (17 cm)

Speakers, 6.5 inch Speakers, 17 cm speakers Pioneer Car Speakers, Alpine Car Speakers, Kenwood , JVC, Focal, Mutant, Car Speakers

www.dynamicsounds.co.uk

Focal:

6.5 inch (17 cm)

Speakers, 6.5 inch Speakers, 17 cm speakers Pioneer Car Speakers, Alpine Car Speakers, Kenwood , JVC, Focal, Mutant, Car Speakers

www.dynamicsounds.co.uk

Any other brands I should consider?

 

I love my hk sound. I think people are crazy saying the base system sounds as good or better, but every ear is different. Anyways, last year I threw in Polk DB+ speakers into my wife's van along with a Kenwood head unit that produces 22 watts RMS per channel. The speakers are very efficient and do not require a lot of power to drive loudly. They hit low as well (35Hz) and don't need a subwoofer to sound good. I am very pleased with it, especially for the price. Focal are nice, but those Alpine and Focal you are looking at do not hit low at all, you will need a woofer for full sound.