Scottish Elises

Anyone ever put a decent sound system into their Elise?
I know the sound of the exhaust/engine is a big thing for some, but we don't all go around with the engine screaming all the time.
I'm a big music fan and I miss having decent quality sound when driving....especially on Motorway runs when I want to drown out the racket from the motor.
Just wondering if anyone has done a decent upgrade, and do you think the outlay was worth it?

Cheers
Looth

http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/sho ... ls61gof3n6

Buy an autocom car kit

Cost a fortune worth every penny

We put 6x9s and a boxed 8" sub behind the seats of jj's s1, we had an amp in the passenger footwell to power them. Just for a road trip to Spain but it sounded pretty good.

I think it's a waste of time.

The acoustics in an Elise are hopeless. Then there is all the other ambient noise nonsense, harmonic interference, and then there is the weight penalty too

I put stronger speakers in mine, yes. That was just so that I could turn it up loud enough to hear it without blowing the cones on the bottom drawer nonsense they fit at the factory.

If you want decent toons in an Elise, use an iPod or similar with good ear-canal phones. I have some very nice Sennheisers and I think AMP3 have some quality Shures and others.

2p.

Campbell

PS - and I do like my sounds, and in many of my other cars I too made "upgrades" to the hifi but it really isn't worth it in the Elise IMHO.

PPS - on way home from the airport tonight I turned up the hifi in the MINI, real LOUD. I think it has the Harmon Kardon upgrade...it's really rather good! But that's in a place where you have a chance of enjoying it...horses for courses etc.

campbell wrote:I put stronger speakers in mine, yes. That was just so that I could turn it up loud enough to hear it without blowing the cones on the bottom drawer nonsense they fit at the factory.

Yeah, that's what I intend doing. The guff they fit in the factory just aren't up to the job when you crank it up loudly enough to hear. I've got a couple of really handy head units and amps, but without changing the speakers, then I'm farting against thunder.

looth wrote: but without changing the speakers, then I'm farting against thunder.

I did uprate the stereo and drivers in my Elise (some might be very surprised to hear) when I got it, but I soon worked out the acoustics are so shocking and the environment is so harsh (vibrations and dust ended up killing my expensive head unit) that it only took a year before it was all ripped out. That also coincided with my slippery slope to reducing weight and adding performance.

Genuinely, your best option from a variety of angles is a decent set of in-ears (preferrably with a foam style secure fitting) which do two things.

1 - give genuinely better sound than you'll get with the space, materials and surfaces you have to work with in the Elise cabin
2 - act as earplugs so that you don't have to whang up the sound to drown out ambient - much safer for your hearing. I've tested Elaine's car with the roof off at 70mph (stage 2 zorst) 92db the stereo has to battle - that's actually damaging your hearing with any prolonged use. I actually wear earplugs when I'm roof-off now, even if I'm not using in-ears for music.

But it's your coin, so if you want to whack in big speakers then that's your prerogative and it will help. Hand-on-heart, it's not the best option for proper sound in an Elise though.

Thanks for all the comments guys.
I probably will change the speakers out....more for when I'm pootling about town and want to listen to the radio or ipod.
But bottom line is that when I'm pushing on or out for a bit of a thrash round the back roads, then it's a waste of time trying to out gun the noise, and anyway I'm going to want to be concentrating on the driving and enjoying the car at those times.

Shug wrote: 2 - act as earplugs so that you don't have to whang up the sound to drown out ambient - much safer for your hearing. I've tested Elaine's car with the roof off at 70mph (stage 2 zorst) 92db the stereo has to battle - that's actually damaging your hearing with any prolonged use. I actually wear earplugs when I'm roof-off now, even if I'm not using in-ears for music.

...yes, as it's mostly to drown out Elaine, presumably

campbell wrote:

Shug wrote: 2 - act as earplugs so that you don't have to whang up the sound to drown out ambient - much safer for your hearing. I've tested Elaine's car with the roof off at 70mph (stage 2 zorst) 92db the stereo has to battle - that's actually damaging your hearing with any prolonged use. I actually wear earplugs when I'm roof-off now, even if I'm not using in-ears for music.

...yes, as it's mostly to drown out Elaine, presumably

I did my best to drown out Mags.....funny she still won But megga sounds inside a Lotus dosent really work ,bit like Lotus F1 trying to win a round of the GP....