458 Ferrari 458 Audio Upgrade

My 458 also has the base audio system. May I ask what you upgraded? Amp and subwoofer or did you also change speakers?

 

The door speakers (paper coned, small magnets) were replaced with higher end Focal 6 1/2" drivers. The tweeters in the dash were left alone as it takes an act of Congress to get access to them. Hyper directional tweeter pods were installed at the bottom of the A pillars in the doors in carbon fiber that matches the carbon fiber dash vents. A 6 channel amplifier with a built in digital signal processor was installed on a custom made shelf that mounts right above the car battery under the passenger footwell and a JL Audio 8" subwoofer in a third order enclosure (i.e. sealed box) was mounted against the firewall between the seats.
PM me for details.

 

Thanks Mike. I have been toying with the idea of upgrading the stereo in my 458. You helped me upgrade the sound system in my Testarossa and F430. Trying to decide what to do for the 458.

 

Give me a call sometime. I would love to catch up. We can talk about what your goals are for sound in your 458 and go over some different options. You know how I love to talk about this stuff.

 

My system...

Match 10DSP amp
Audison Voce separates (three way)
Sub box with dual Audison APS 8D subs

My experience with Audio Mike...

First of all let me begin by stating he is doing a phenomenal thing by taking his time to find PnP solutions for improving the audio in our cars. Kudos to him for his efforts.

Let's begin with the good.

When I first contacted him to ask about upgrade possibilities on a 458 Spider, he was warm and welcoming. He even asked that I drive down to his home to test fit his ring adapters for the door portion of my install. At the same time he encouraged me to listen to his car so I can realize personally how good his creations sound after discovering that we basically lived 40 minutes from each other - 30 minutes in Ferrari time. This interaction set the tone for me that he was actually interested in my build and he would be an ally to get my car where it could be in terms of high end audio. Things seemed to be off to a great start.

Now the weird...

Where things took a decided turn was when I veered away from his exact solution and decided that I wanted to customize even further my install and that I need to cherry pick his solutions to determine exactly what I would be needing, and then have my install modify further the details of my particular build. For example, I wasn't interested in JBL subs. I had done a comparison to the Audison APS Prima sub and found the Audison to be far more musical. As you could imagine when you do this it takes a bit more back and forth. Turns out that unbeknownst to me Mike was growing with agitation every step of the way. When you discus a particular build with a shop, generally you sit and design and come to conclusions as to what you require. This ain't that kind of party I was quick to learn. I get it - given he's not an installation shop, however he has the experience to answer any simply question a new 458 owner may have in terms of improving sound. I began to get it loud and clear. Over four conversations (about making purchases) He never failed to cut me off mid conversation and argue that if he spent another moment on the phone that he was going to get fired from his job. I certainly understood that this has to be second to his career and thought nothing of it until I noticed that it then morphed to his asking me questions then during my replies, he would then badger me about occupying his precious time. The last time after I had just made a $2500 payment to him for an amp, a harness and an amp rack, the pattern repeated itself yet again. This time, I took a moment to define my boundary and explained to him that I would appreciate him not consistently whimsically scold me, that I am a grown man and not his child, I then asked him to simply call me back when he had the time to finalize things. Minutes later I get a full refund for my purchase, plus a $100 platitude stating that "the $100 was for him having wasted my time." I advised him at this point that his behavior is classic passive aggression. I thanked him for his help ready to move on. I then get a text from him stating that after thinking it over he could sell me a few key items to get things going for me that were proprietary to him just to help not leave me high and dry. I reluctantly said well ok then and sent him another smaller payment. An hour later I get another refund of this latest payment claiming he has nothing to sell anymore. The truth is probably closer to him declining that he would just not want to do business with me based on statements he then made saying "don't blame me for your disappointments" and that he "will guarantee nothing". Who knows. It's this constant PUSH/PULL, controlling P/A behavior thats so frustrating.

He's a nice guy that means well but he needs someone to take over his customer relations pronto - in my opinion. It's not his forte, and I bet he himself recognizes this.

Meanwhile I'm trying to figure out alternate solutions and my build is currently in limbo but, hey live and learn.

I wish him well and hope he keeps doing what he does. Just remember that if your social standard is the bare minimum of communication, respect and dignity, then you may have challenges. This was just my experience and I'm sure others have glowing things to say about him. I also welcome his take on what he felt I did along the way to deserve this. The customer doesn't always have to be right but certainly respected. I could have easily walked away from his dealings feeing belittled had I not spoken up. Sure I could have said nothing and received my items but I felt it needed to be addressed.

I'll update my build as it evolves.....

 

I ALSO want to give Mike N. ( Scuderia Audio ) a HUGE thank you on getting us set up with a clients car. We went with a full Focal speaker and tweeter upgrade and just those by themselves was enough to really bring out the life of the car. We did not stop there , we also opted for the Mosconi Amplifier and the JL Subwoofer. This piece is wrapped to match the interior to a T and it BLOWS any other super cars audio to the side. Mike has to be one of the nicest most helpful people in the industry and we will continue to use him for any other projects moving forward. Ive attached some pictures of the interior. AGAIN the audio is SO insanely clear, it is a no brainer.
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