Upgrading Audio System in 2024 Kia Sportage - Need Advice

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Nice, pretty impressive I bet. That RF and Alpine are good products and should sound great. AND, those Morel hybrids are really fantastic!

CCA can be used and it sounds like what you did will be fine. Even 14 gauge CCA is going to be more than adequate for speaker cables. For mine, I use 16 AWG OFC for speakers and it is often more than needed anyway. I only use large gauge wire on my subs where there is a substantial power input. As for the EQ, there is a ton to learn and youtube is your friend. Tons of YT vids on extensive Helix tuning options. That is something you will want to study a bit, jot down the process for the type of tune you want to pursue, then trial and error. My recommendation if they didn't do time alignment is start there. Some in here like to start with getting the overall response flat, the x-overs done, then TA and short of the TA, that has already been done so you get to kind of pick up where they left you.

Did you get a calibration mic? if not, Dayton has some really inexpensive ones that plug right into the 3.5mm or USB-C port on your laptop (I don't think that there is a REW app for your phone, could be, just not familiar if they doi) and allow you to take measurements of your system at the listening position. I have this one:

Dayton Audio UMM-6 USB Measurement Microphone

There are others too:

Dayton Audio IMM-6S Calibrated Measurement Microphone For Tablets IPhone IPad And Android

Dayton Audio IMM-6 Calibrated Measurement Microphone For Tablets IPhone IPad And Android

Dayton Audio IMM-6C Calibrated USB-C Measurement Microphone For Apple/ Android

This assumes you want to dive all in.

Once you can actually see what that sound looks like, you can go from there. It will tell you the highs and lows, nulls, all that stuff. It's a bit of a learning curve. If you just want to do it by ear, then at least watch some YT vids on Helix and time alignment and get that part going for sure. That is the difference in it sound great and sounding like a setting in a giant set of headphones.

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

If I recall, the Helix has an RTA interface already? That would be what the REW does and maybe best to stay with it to mic the output. As for the Apple or Android, pretty sure they both output around 4.5 to 5 volts (USB-C). Any variance on the volume dial is relative, I would think.

 

[uriel250]

Nice, pretty impressive I bet. That RF and Alpine are good products and should sound great. AND, those Morel hybrids are really fantastic!

CCA can be used and it sounds like what you did will be fine. Even 14 gauge CCA is going to be more than adequate for speaker cables. For mine, I use 16 AWG OFC for speakers and it is often more than needed anyway. I only use large gauge wire on my subs where there is a substantial power input. As for the EQ, there is a ton to learn and youtube is your friend. Tons of YT vids on extensive Helix tuning options. That is something you will want to study a bit, jot down the process for the type of tune you want to pursue, then trial and error. My recommendation if they didn't do time alignment is start there. Some in here like to start with getting the overall response flat, the x-overs done, then TA and short of the TA, that has already been done so you get to kind of pick up where they left you.

Did you get a calibration mic? if not, Dayton has some really inexpensive ones that plug right into the 3.5mm or USB-C port on your laptop (I don't think that there is a REW app for your phone, could be, just not familiar if they doi) and allow you to take measurements of your system at the listening position. I have this one:

Dayton Audio UMM-6 USB Measurement Microphone

There are others too:

Dayton Audio IMM-6S Calibrated Measurement Microphone For Tablets IPhone IPad And Android

Dayton Audio IMM-6 Calibrated Measurement Microphone For Tablets IPhone IPad And Android

Dayton Audio IMM-6C Calibrated USB-C Measurement Microphone For Apple/ Android

This assumes you want to dive all in.

Once you can actually see what that sound looks like, you can go from there. It will tell you the highs and lows, nulls, all that stuff. It's a bit of a learning curve. If you just want to do it by ear, then at least watch some YT vids on Helix and time alignment and get that part going for sure. That is the difference in it sound great and sounding like a setting in a giant set of headphones.

There is AutoEQ that I can try with the Dayton mic. The question is where do I put my laptop while measuring? On the driver seat?

For time alignment I used distance from the speakers, should be good?

 

[uriel250]

If I recall, the Helix has an RTA interface already? That would be what the REW does and maybe best to stay with it to mic the output. As for the Apple or Android, pretty sure they both output around 4.5 to 5 volts (USB-C). Any variance on the volume dial is relative, I would think.

YEah, it has an RTA interface.
It also allows me to use automatic EQ with mic connected.
I asusme my laptop mic is **** and won't give any accurate readings.
I will buy the Dayton mic asap.

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

There is AutoEQ that I can try with the Dayton mic. The question is where do I put my laptop while measuring? On the driver seat?

For time alignment I used distance from the speakers, should be good?

If you using a static location, the space between your ears is the listening position thereabouts.

 

[uriel250]

If you using a static location, the space between your ears 9 the listening position thereabouts.

I put some effort in manually adjusting the EQ to my liking, and I think I got a pretty impressive result.

It sounds phenomenal to my ears. What an upgrade. I don't even think a mic will do any better than this.

However, for a few songs, I feel like the subwoofer is 'taking over' the speakers. I wish I had a remote bass control so I could adjust the gain a little "on the go" (Ik I can get one).
To counteract this effect, I applied a slightly sharper slope to my subwoofer and increased the gain a bit to compensate for the volume, and it works pretty darn well.

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Man, sounds great - no pun intended!

Glad you're happy with those Morels, I think they are special. Not sure why they don't get the local love. I think that when people listen to their regular line, it's good but just like a lot of other products at their respective price points and the other brands may be less money and so it goes. The Acuflex treated tweeters in the better sets (like yours) are simply one of the best sounding tweeters out there, IMHO.

Didn't they install the Alpine RUX-KNOB.2 Remote Bass Knob Level Control on your amp? If not you can get one online and plug into the Alpine which would give you a little more flexibility in output volume relative to what you're playing. That is the only reason I can see ever using one that is simply an attenuator. Some of them deal with frequency EQ and specific signal boost (which I wouldn;t use with DSP in the loop), but that is the exception. Frankly, you're hearing a difference in program material which is relative to the specific recording/music and how your system reacts to ti it. You're also hearing the sound of a sealed smaller-ish sub. You're probably hearing a bit of a peak around 50-60 hz. If you measure it, you could see this and adjust the DSP accordingly.

To that point, using a MIC and taking measurements, optional. It's the next level of straightening out the sound. One cannot really know what the sound is other than what you hear, right? If you like what you have, great. If along the way you notice nulls or peaks in certain frequencies, the only way to address those down the line is to measure and see where they are. Bit of a rabbit hole so be prepared to spend a lot of time learning, testing and having your significant other vying for your attention!

Having that Helix affords you that luxury whenever or if ever you should decide to go down that road to whatever indulgence you wish to entertain. You may want to test for just the low end and see if you can "EQ" it to your preference if you're happy with everything else - up to you.

That is a very nice upgrade indeed. Your buddies are going to be jealous!