Has anyone tried upgrading the car stereo for new cars at this Pete's audio in Subang Jaya? So far this is the only one that looks professional and uses plug and play connection or installation to prevent issues with new car warranty.

The video on YouTube looks informative and professional and there are many projects done, with mostly good reviews on Google Maps. Most of the projects didn't touch the Head unit as he mentioned current HU in modern cars are good enough. Only speakers, subwoofer and DSP are upgraded or added.

What are the results for anyone who has tried this outlet especially for new cars? Any rattling sound introduced after the installation due to loose wiring or fittings from opening up the door panels?

Thanks to all responses. Yes I also read that they have demo cars to audition some of the options. So far this looks most reliable. I've looked at KK Lau and there are less reviews from customers, more negative than positive reviews. Pete looks decent and more trustworthy but thought I'd check here first.

Thanks for the information on Focal speakers. Since you recommended it, I presume it is noticeably better than the cheaper options? I usually listen to instrumental music, no vocals. Clarity, separation between instruments, refined and extended treble and taut defined or textured bass are the priority. Dislike boomy bloated bass of some systems where cheap thump thump bass overpowers everything.

How much is the price with the Focal setup? I'm not looking to spend much so can the focal speakers and subwoofer be installed without the DSP box?

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Sep 29 2024, 09:12 AM

Yes, that's what most of them who dislike Focal home audio speakers say, too much treble. Anyway will listen to the demo cars that are available if I'm going to Pete's. I see most of their customers on Facebook have chosen the BLAM, so it should be rather decent if not spectacular. Most importantly it offers a noticeably significant improvement in sound quality from the stock sound system of the vehicle.

Sounds good. May I ask where did you install and how much does it all cost. I presume Pete's Audio doesn't have JBL.

For me, the quality of installation is equally or perhaps more important than the quality or brand of speakers and hardware, so I would tend to go with proven workshop with good workmanship if possible. Especially with installation of new cars where you don't want any additional rattling sound inside the cabin poor workmanship or broken clips due to rough handling when dismantling the door panel etc. If it's an old car say 10 years, old I don't mind some broken clips. I encountered that before in my 9 year old Ford Focus before when I sent the car to change the leather on the front door panels. The worker broke a clip on the door panel when dismantling the door. Nothing can be done to fix the issue so the broken clip is left just like that.

Contacted Pete's audio yesterday and their personnel was on leave so can't attend to my inquiries. Will see how it goes.

They currently have a customer spending big money on the audio system.

Finally, I get to replace the vehicle's stock audio system at Peters. I'll make this short.

Firstly, the boss Peter is not only knowledgeable in the field but highly passionate in car audio as well. He has a steady stream of customers mostly affluent, and his calender is usually full everyday as he showed me his jobs on his laptop. Due to his rather good business, he is expanding the space in his shoplot, now taking another unit next to his main space. Apart from the RM30k job on a vehicle there on a huge SUV, another customer in a Lexus SUV in 3 digit numberplate came in to inquire on the options.

Now, a word on the demo cars available for customers to listen to the budget and mid-end systems. To put it mildly, they are not good sounding and fall below my expectations. I told the boss Peter himself about this. Although they didn't sound good, I still proceeded with the upgrade after explaining to him on my ideal sound profile that I am looking for. To me, the sound system on the demo cars are too warm and thick, lacking in clarity, separation and airiness in the treble. The tone of the music sounds off while treble is rolled off and lacks sparkle. I told them I want the sound to be brighter with better separation and detail at the top, and a bass that's not boomy but tight and defined. The bass in the demo cars sounds boomy and not defined.

Fortunately, the selected gear and tuning by the boss delivered the desired results. The Audison speakers was recommended over the BLAM as the overall clarity and detail in the treble are more aligned to my requirements. The BLAM was said to be slightly warmer with a smoother or rolled off treble. The Blaupunkt subwoofer is superb as it doesn't produce the cheap boom boom bass but rather a tight and defined bass. It's not a loud and big bass but one that's subtly tight and defined. There is a knob to control the volume of the subwoofer installed below the dashboard, and even at maximum volume the bass doesn't sound overwhelming like some cheap boom boom boxes which produce big boomy plodding bass.

Lastly there's the DSP box. I went with the Musway instead of cheaper Crossfire purely based on their advice that there is a difference on sound quality between the two. There is no way to audition so I would not know, so have to rely on their words. 😝

End result, noticeable difference in sound quality from the stock audio system. If you ask me if it's small or big difference, I'll say it's toward big.

Lastly, I asked him on the Bose system in Mazda cars, and he shared the same sentiment that it's not good as he has Mazda customers sending their vehicles to him for an upgrade. 😂 He told me once the upgrade was done, the result is obvious. And I can surely agree having experienced the quality of the Audison/Musway/Blaupunkt and the Bose in the CX5.







This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Oct 5 2024, 06:52 PM

By the way, they only carry BLAM, Audison and Focal speakers. After the Audison, the next step up will be to the Focal, if I end up getting another new car in the future. The Focal Flax Evo is recommended as the value for money upgrade to the Audison. The Focal K2 power is the higher model but it's the point where diminishing returns kick in where you just get a small difference in upgrade although you pay two times the cost difference.

This one will have to wait, next time.

It's great sounding at the moment since it's a SIGNIFICANT improvement from the stock audio system of the vehicle. Crystal clear with good dynamics and extended bass and treble from top to bottom. Only the front speakers are replaced, the rear speakers remain based on Peter's recommendation. Tuning is focused on both driver and passenger at the front seats instead of just the driver to maintain the centre image.

I didn't download any app to view the settings on the Musway DSP amp, too complicated and not interested to do so. Pete advised to go back to his shop for another session of tuning after say 6 months since the speakers would have sounded slightly different after running in, something like that I've Forgotten.

Pete is quite an honest guy unlike his assistant (both gave different answers to my questions). He's not a hard sell type of person. I asked about the Focal range of speakers whether the higher range K2 Power or lower range Flax Evo will sound even better than the Audison speakers which I have selected and Pete told me that the Flax Evo will be more than sufficient as the K2 Power will be diminishing returns where you just get a bit of difference in the treble, more like 10% where everything else will sound the same, and you pay double the price for the small difference in the treble refinement so in other words he's telling me it's not worth it although he's selling the product.

I also asked about soundproofing, whether he provides soundproofing service for the cars either to make the car quieter or to improve sound quality, killing 2 birds with one stone. Again he told me there will be a tiny bit of difference but it's not worth it since the car will be sold after few years and the cost of the soundproofing material that is installed cannot be recovered, unlike the speakers which are plug and play can be dismantled from the car that will be sold and installed on the new car at a small cost of RM250 as I was told. The soundproofing of all 4 doors is not exactly cheap at RM2.5k if I'm not mistaken. They also do soundproofing to the roof of the vehicle, undercarriage I"m not sure but won't be throwing any money on soundproofing as it's diminishing returns and for the fact that the costs cannot be recouped.

I managed to take a photo of the higher range of Focal K2 Power.

Pete told me to 90% majority of people, whatever gear that has been installed whether it's the "lower range" BLAM, Audison, it's very good already. Don't need to consider the "entry level" Focal set up which will cost around RM8k.

Yes, sub is under the passenger's seat. Yes, should be him. Everything also sure very good. Demo cars all sound good but sound terrible to my ears.

I just got Pete to adjust the EQ settings today, to boost the deep bass and mid bass as the thump was lacking. Now it's sounding much better. As for the treble, I asked if he can tweak it to sound more extended and he told me the treble has been set to be very bright, much brighter than most setups, and anything more it's not the correct way to listen to music already. Okay then, so leave it as that.

Here are the settings.







Bass settings on the HU are adjusted to suit the music (some music recorded with more or deeper bass, some with less bass). Bass adjustment on the subwoofer is somewhere in the middle.

Yes that's true. 😅 Anyway the sound is now balanced. I guess I was curious if a brighter or more extended treble will sound even better but can understand excessive brightness will kill the sound. I could have asked Pete to try bumping it up and then tone it down again if it sounds worse, but I trusted his views. Too bad I don't have the software to adjust the EQ myself. Haha, plenty of time for me to tweak and adjust the EQ if I have the software.

Anyway, I believe there isn't any need to carry out any further tweaks as it's sounding optimal at the moment, to my preference. Any adjustment to the treble can be done via the HU settings, and if I want brighter I can bump it up on the HU treble settings. Ditto the bass where there is another separate adjustment with the subwoofer other than the HU. Pete explained that bass controls on the HU and subwoofer can be further fine-tuned to my liking since the HU focus on the mid bass, 80 Hz and above if I'm not mistaken while the subwoofer covers the low bass frequencies 40Hz to 80Hz. The range could be slightly different as I have forgotten precisely on what Pete told me but it's about there.

The other aspect I wanted is to have the decay of notes to be longer and the soundstage to be wider and more 3-dimensional. To achieve the 3-d effect, Pete increased the volume from the rear speakers while maintaining the volume of the front speakers. It appears that control on the decay of notes can't be adjusted with the software or equalizer.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Nov 10 2024, 10:46 PM