Trying to improve sound, not just add BOOM and make louder - 2017 Subaru WRX

[alexwoodby]

oooooh, i see

"

We apologize

This item has been discontinued

"

lol so, have to find it used or somesuch?

I see the remote that manages the eq etc, awesome on the headphones rather than just a mic, to get your exact position too. great piece of kit!

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

oooooh, i see"

We apologize

This item has been discontinued

"

lol so, have to find it used or somesuch?

I see the remote that manages the eq etc, awesome on the headphones rather than just a mic, to get your exact position too. great piece of kit!

I'm a huge fan of JBL MS-8, and I had an awesome time with 5.1 music in my car while I had one installed. There are multiple reasons MS-8 is discontinued and that there is no MS-8 rev. 2 in development. I cannot recommend this processor any longer as it's too reliant on parts that are no longer available from JBL. The display goes out? Can't adjust it. Microphone headset gets chewed on by your cat? Can't do the calibration. Etc. Also, while the setup seems simple there are several ways the sound can end up disappointing(as with any powerful DSP, but this one is unique), and this goes back to lack of support as JBL will not be able to help.

Ultimately MS-8 is as much a liability as a backbone of your future awesome sounding WRX. Give it a pass. Alpine PXA-H800 with the RUX controller, on the other hand, is a nice DSP that you can still buy new.

PXA-H800

RUX-C800

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I agree that the MS-8 can offer you improvement over the stock DSP. The benefit with the MS-8 is the bi-aural microphones and the result is typically a good soundstage regardless of speaker locations. The setup process is fairly quick and easy. But to take advantage of the amplifier you will need to re-wire all of the speakers back to the MS-8.

I also agree that you should ignore the rears and focus on front speakers only. The nice part about starting with the MS-8 is that you can add speakers and amplifiers later as your budget grows. When money is limited, do one piece at a time to maximize your investment over a few years or months. it usually takes me a few years to build a good system from scratch, getting one piece at a time, typically used to maximize the value.

I'll be selling an MS-8 here soon. We put it in a buddy's car and had good success (capable of 190's in IASCA SQ) but we are upgrading to the Alpine PXA-H800 with the RUX-C800 so the MS-8 will be available. You can see the build with the MS-8 here:

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-build-logs-cars-trucks-suvs/625345-kha-does-2011-scion-tc.html

and my install with the Alpine here:

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-build-logs-cars-trucks-suvs/608637-2014-accord-sport-sq-build-keep_hope_alive.html

 

[alexwoodby]

Hmm, the alpine, plus the remote comes to like 800, not sure I care about processing THAT much at this point, sounds like something for after I replace speakers, add sub and an amp.

I may well be interested in the used MS-8 though, much better price point. And I DO like the potential to have it control a bunch more speakers. I've already been eyeing the rear deck for an addition of a couple 6x9's, maybe a 10" woofer for bass fill (and a larger sub in the trunk)

No, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm having fun doing it!

--Alex

 

[alexwoodby]

Hmm, the MS-8 has what, 40 watts per channel... Will that work with an amp? Does it have pre-amp outs?

 

[alexwoodby]

Meh.

I got frustrated trying to find anything on entry-level'ing the upgrade, so here's what I did...

(it all started with...)

JL 900/5 (barely used, great deal)

Hertz Audio DSK 165.3 6-1/2" 2-Way Dieci Series Components

Pioneer components (will move just the woofer to the back doors and see how that is)

Sound deadened front doors

Alpine 10" amp and box for trunk

Pioneer 5800BHS Head Unit

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

you need better speakers or more power. when you push gear too much, that will happen

id start with a new deck, front speakers and amp. you can always add another amp and sub for lows

forget rear speakers. nice fronts and proper power will Slaye/r lol

 

[alexwoodby]

The jl will be pushing 80 or 100 watts rms, both sets of speakers are the same, should be OK?

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Hmm, the alpine, plus the remote comes to like 800, not sure I care about processing THAT much at this point, sounds like something for after I replace speakers, add sub and an amp.
I may well be interested in the used MS-8 though, much better price point. And I DO like the potential to have it control a bunch more speakers. I've already been eyeing the rear deck for an addition of a couple 6x9's, maybe a 10" woofer for bass fill (and a larger sub in the trunk)

No, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm having fun doing it!

--Alex

Youll be surprised how many people with stock systems but with an ms8 added, they totally destroyed setups with head units amps and other speakers in sound quality. Newbies have absolutely no clue what a powerful properly tuned processor can do.

 

[alexwoodby]

I'm still watching for them. Going to try with the HU I got, has timing and high and low pass filters, but all manual. $$ right now not there, just bought the car with it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif