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tweaking the Monsoon system...

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Old 06-19-2010 | 08:24 AM
texasgal's Avatar
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Default tweaking the Monsoon system...

I traded in a Lexus with the Infinity sound system for the Hummer with a monsoon... there is a huge difference in sound quality...

I went to an aftermarket car stereo dealer who was going to charge me 1K to essentially replace the speakers with Alpine and add an amp to boost the sound... there has GOT to be a less expensive way...

Has anyone been able to increase the sound quality of the monsoon system by just adding an amp or subwoofer..and which brand did you use?
 
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Old 06-19-2010 | 06:17 PM
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Originally Posted by texasgal
I traded in a Lexus with the Infinity sound system for the Hummer with a monsoon... there is a huge difference in sound quality...

I went to an aftermarket car stereo dealer who was going to charge me 1K to essentially replace the speakers with Alpine and add an amp to boost the sound... there has GOT to be a less expensive way...

Has anyone been able to increase the sound quality of the monsoon system by just adding an amp or subwoofer..and which brand did you use?
Trading in a Lexus for a Hummer was probably ur first mistake lmao. But anyways, I would say replacing the stock radio would be the first step.
 
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Old 06-19-2010 | 10:10 PM
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I have heard many many many systems and factory car audio; my 7-speaker Monsoon with the sub is THE best I've ever heard. And my wife. And my best friend. And his gf. This thing sounds amazing. Do you have the treble and bass adjusted correctly? Maybe somebody before you turned those both all the way down. Adjust that by pusing in the tiny little dial until you get to Bass or Treble and adjust away.

PS lexus sucks. I'll run a lexus over.
 
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Old 06-20-2010 | 04:01 AM
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Changing out the headunit itself can help if the internal amp sends more power then the stock monsoon headunit. A aftermarket head unit will usually give you more customization and fine tuning of your sounds aswell. The car audio place you went to sounds like they might be over charging, I dont know if its on the labor or they are ripping you off on the speakers. The actually changing out of speakers is very easy the multichannel amp might not be hard either it depends on the wiring setup thats there. I had the basic sound system, I changed my headunit and added subs and a amp and couldnt be happier. Try some more audio shops even bestbuy if you have one by you. They do some of the basic work well and pretty cheap such as door speaker installs and amps, they just cant custom fabricate.
 
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Old 06-20-2010 | 09:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Tonyg41
Changing out the headunit itself can help if the internal amp sends more power then the stock monsoon headunit. A aftermarket head unit will usually give you more customization and fine tuning of your sounds aswell. The car audio place you went to sounds like they might be over charging, I dont know if its on the labor or they are ripping you off on the speakers. The actually changing out of speakers is very easy the multichannel amp might not be hard either it depends on the wiring setup thats there. I had the basic sound system, I changed my headunit and added subs and a amp and couldnt be happier. Try some more audio shops even bestbuy if you have one by you. They do some of the basic work well and pretty cheap such as door speaker installs and amps, they just cant custom fabricate.
Thanks Tony - I'll check with Best Buy...what brand did you use?



Ha Raffi... While the Lexus was a great vehicle...and I can't complain... I drove it well over 120K miles without even a hiccup - I do love this H3 though... feels MUCH safer on the Houston highways... the ONLY thing I miss on the Lexus was the mpg FOR sure and the sound system.... -


85 - I will say - NOTHING compares to the Lexus' infinity sound system... it's the best out there...it's incredibly crisp and had as good of sound as my home theatre system... this Monsoon doesn't have half the clarity...I've tried adjusting the bass/treble...just def not the same... ironically one of the audio places I went to - the owner drives an H2 and his wife has a Lexus - and agreed Lexus beats GM hands down...
 
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Old 06-20-2010 | 01:10 PM
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i have a new alpha with the monsoon system. i swapped out the head unit for a clarion 675dv. i have it plugged into the monsoon amp/system via a pac audio interface. the difference between the stock head unit and the clarion made the difference. aftermarket unit has cleaner signal and infinite tone adjustment. onstar/chimes/bluetooth all work great. love it.

in my 07 adventure i had the same clarion unit hooked to a 300amp kicker and 4 mb quarts, and 300 mono kicker amp with the jl stealth box.

all in all, i'm just as happy with either.
 
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Old 06-20-2010 | 02:07 PM
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Originally Posted by texasgal
Thanks Tony - I'll check with Best Buy...what brand did you use?



Ha Raffi... While the Lexus was a great vehicle...and I can't complain... I drove it well over 120K miles without even a hiccup - I do love this H3 though... feels MUCH safer on the Houston highways... the ONLY thing I miss on the Lexus was the mpg FOR sure and the sound system.... -


85 - I will say - NOTHING compares to the Lexus' infinity sound system... it's the best out there...it's incredibly crisp and had as good of sound as my home theatre system... this Monsoon doesn't have half the clarity...I've tried adjusting the bass/treble...just def not the same... ironically one of the audio places I went to - the owner drives an H2 and his wife has a Lexus - and agreed Lexus beats GM hands down...

I have the pioneer avh-p3100dvd so i can watch movies while i drive . The amp is 1200watts, brand is hifonics. brutus series, I think its model bxi1206d. The subs I have now are two 10" rockford fosgate punch subs model p2d210. As far as better stock sound systems in cars in general the only non luxury brand I know of with a really good sound system is the mitsubishi outlander. It has a 710 watt rockford fosgate system which sounds amazing. Here are the pics on my headunit and where the amp is.


 
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Old 06-20-2010 | 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by texasgal
85 - I will say - NOTHING compares to the Lexus' infinity sound system... it's the best out there...it's incredibly crisp and had as good of sound as my home theatre system... this Monsoon doesn't have half the clarity...I've tried adjusting the bass/treble...just def not the same... ironically one of the audio places I went to - the owner drives an H2 and his wife has a Lexus - and agreed Lexus beats GM hands down...
Like I said I've heard a LOT of systems. Do you have the 7-speaker or 6-speaker Monsoon? My Monsoon is disgustinly clear and the bass sounds excellent.

But if your dead set on getting it to sound better, check out an aftermarket dvd player setup like shown in some of the other posts. I've hard that the good headunits and dvd players with adjustable EQ's make the Monsoon sound wayyy better. Leave the Monsoon speakers in there.
 
  #9  
Old 06-21-2010 | 02:32 PM
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i like monsoon,,if it doesnt sound great something is defective or set wrong.

some radio stations sound mushie but cds ,smashing CRISP.

maybe a previous owner beat it to hell!!

tom
 
  #10  
Old 06-21-2010 | 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted by drtom
i like monsoon,,if it doesnt sound great something is defective or set wrong.

some radio stations sound mushie but cds ,smashing CRISP.

maybe a previous owner beat it to hell!!

tom
x2 .... the sound quality from CD's on this system is AWSOME!
 



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