I've been considering doing the Biggest stereo bang for the buck mod, but after spending a few days thinking about it, I still have questions. Here's my take on the sound system:

I don't believe mine sounds as bad as others have described. I read that a lot of people have their bass turned down to as far as -6 or more. Mine has been at 0. The bass from the door speakers is not bad unless I turn the volume up to borderline late-teen-listening levels. At those levels, the speakers seem to get overloaded, but I rarely listen that loudly. My biggest complaint is that I didn't even realize there were subs behind the seats. Even with the volume turned up, I barely notice them.

Many people said that once they did the cap mod, they were able to turn the bass up to -2 or 0. Mine is already at 0. Another thing I found odd is they also mentioned being able to turn the treble up... I don't understand that. The cap mod just cuts out the lower bass to the door speakers. Why would you want or need to raise the treble after this mod?

I still think my system will benefit from adding the caps, at least in that I won't overload the door speakers when I turn it up, but I'm concerned about how to get what I really want from my system, which is more response from the subs behind the seats. If others have reported "thumping" bass from the subs now that they are able to turn the bass up to 0, why am I not getting "thumping" bass from them when mine is already at 0?

 

I did the Mod...I keep my treble at Max +9 and usually bass at +7 now....+9 max lately and sounds great all the way up to like 35 volume on some songs without distortion. My Subs shake harder to me anyways.

 

Your questions are well put and show a lot of thought. My first thought is an impedance mismatch between the doors and the subs. For a given power, the doors are dissipating a higher percentage. Hence the distortion and the lack of response from the subs. I don't know, but thats my guess.

If what you want is more response from the subs, stop thinking and just do it. It works.

As for others turning up the treble, I really don't know. Makes little sense to me, except maybe with the poor distribution without the caps, they were unable to set up the tones to their liking?

 

You could even put a switch on it so to hear the "before" and "after" instantly. That would make the difference obvious.

I did the modification and it was well worth it. I went a little farther than that but it's another story. Long story short more rear speakers and a reasonably-sized subwoofer in the back.

 

When I first got the car, I tried the bass at 0, and then -5/6 to see what everyone was talking about. at -6 you really have no bass, and that may be what some of the drivers are looking for. I tried the mod because at 0 bass, I could only listen to the radio for 10-15 minutes before it felt like my ears were being beaten on. it was just too much mid-bass power, and that's what a lot of the posters were complaining about (not the deep thump of R&B for example)


I tried the changes myself and actually went with a 470 uF capacitor.



I bit the bullet soon after though and bought an aftermarket deck. The difference was massive and as soon as you get an adjustable EQ scale the sound can really be worked on. Personally I have the treble centered at 12k Hz and at a -1, as the tweeters seem to be a bit much for my listening.


As the sticky said, it's a $5 upgrade that really pays off. For best sound qaulity you'll have to buy a aftermarket deck.

 

I tried the caps and it made a positive difference in some songs and a negative one in others. In the end, I removed them. I have since changed out the head unit and it made a much bigger, more consistent difference all around.

Having said that though, the caps seem to make some happy, and it only takes a few minutes and a few dollars, so it can't hurt to try. You can always take them out if you don't like.