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458 Aftermarket Sound System

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by Terrible expert, Apr 30, 2015.

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  1. Terrible expert

    Terrible expert Karting

    Sep 10, 2012
    239
    Harrogate, North Yorkshire
    Full Name:
    Kev W
    #1 Terrible expert, Apr 30, 2015
    Hello!

    My 458 has the JBL upgrade but what an absolute load of tosh is it, hugely disappointing for the ridiculous amount they charge for it, robbery!

    Does anyone know how difficult it is to put aftermarket stuff in but retaining the stock look at the ability to put it back to standard for resale?

    Not looking for anything crazy, but I wish to use the standard car stereo etc, I could use a JBL Cleansweep perhaps but this seems like a pain in the rear with setup etc. I just want half decent sound and a bit of bass that doesn't sound like someone with loose bowels!
     
    Anthony Capone likes this.
  2. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 11, 2013
    11,606
    #2 Caeruleus11, Apr 30, 2015
    What settings are you using for the stereo? Do you know how to access the bass, treble and mid range settings? If not, then press and hold the menu button and I think it will bring up these controls and you can then tweak them. I find the sound is actually pretty good. Surely not audiophile level, but dynamic. And thats all I'm really looking for in a car. My settings (from memory) are: treble: max. Bass: one down from max (max made it a little too boomy for me). Mid range: one down from mid point. My music is basically classic rock, progressive rock, 80s music (guilty pleasures!), some jazz, and the new stuff my kids and wife make me listen to and turns out its catchy.
     
  3. Terrible expert

    Terrible expert Karting

    Sep 10, 2012
    239
    Harrogate, North Yorkshire
    Full Name:
    Kev W
    #3 Terrible expert, Apr 30, 2015
    Hello! Yeah I've found them, I played for a few seconds then got bored to be honest, but I'll try it next time on what you suggest thanks :)

    I'm a huge Bang & Olufsen fan, and yes whilst I accept you can buy better for the money, its beautiful stuff and it does sound decent, the home stuff at least. I heard the B&O DBS stereo, granted only one song but I thought that was naff too. The Bentley Naim was pretty good though.

    I like to turn the music up loud at times and I think I've damaged a speaker already as I can hear it crackling on some tracks, the cars only 8 days old! Knowing myself, I think rip and replace is the option for me as it'll bug me and bug me. Focal speakers were fab years ago, assuming maybe they are still good today. Just concerned I don't want the car 'modding' as such I just want the stereo to be decent!
     
  4. Surfah

    Surfah F1 Rookie

    Dec 20, 2011
    3,144
    #4 Surfah, May 1, 2015

    Watched my DVD of New Order live at Glasgow for the umpteenth time.

    Ceremony and Temptation.
     
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  5. -CD-

    -CD- F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 7, 2005
    3,837
    near the Nürburgring
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    Christian
    #5 -CD-, May 1, 2015
    I had B&O in my CLS63 and now Burmester in my S500 and 991 and both sounds really good!

    After all the hifi rubbish in my F430s i have to say that the JBL in the 458 sounds really nice.

    It is not perfect but so much better than the systems Ferrari build in earlier models.

    But i'm interested in the way you make the upgrade. :)
     
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  6. Terrible expert

    Terrible expert Karting

    Sep 10, 2012
    239
    Harrogate, North Yorkshire
    Full Name:
    Kev W
    #6 Terrible expert, May 1, 2015
    Jeez the 430 must of been shocking LOL!

    Granted its not bad no, but for £3500 its appalling, thats what I was judging it on.

    Still no where near a solution yet :(
     
  7. Woppum

    Woppum Formula Junior

    Dec 24, 2010
    677
    #7 Woppum, May 1, 2015
    I have an incredible sound system I my car.cif you are UK based happy to put you in to the best hands.
     
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  8. Terrible expert

    Terrible expert Karting

    Sep 10, 2012
    239
    Harrogate, North Yorkshire
    Full Name:
    Kev W
    #8 Terrible expert, May 1, 2015
    YES PLEASE!!!!!!
     
  9. rjn21

    rjn21 Karting

    Dec 3, 2013
    199
    UK
    #9 rjn21, May 1, 2015
    Also very interested in competent UK installer recommendation.
     
  10. PhilNotHill

    PhilNotHill Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jul 3, 2006
    27,855
    Aspen CO 81611
    Full Name:
    FelipeNotMassa
    #10 PhilNotHill, May 1, 2015
    Speakers are covered under warranty.

    Only time i can really hear the music in the spider is with the top up and the back window up. This is practically never. We have the upgraded OE stereo.

    We have B&O in the Audis which is great. Most people would like more bass. Not us ...it works fine for us. Heavy bass just doesn't work for classical IMVHO. I enjoy the surround sound feature. These are coupes so windows and top 99% of the time.

    Bose in the Pcar convertible. Like the 458 spider the top is down 99% of the time. So we can't really hear music in there either.

    Listening to classical music is reserved for the Audis. Top down driving is rock/pop/country.
     
  11. Xcheckme

    Xcheckme Formula 3

    May 10, 2011
    1,682
    Tampa Bay
    Full Name:
    Lukas
    #11 Xcheckme, May 1, 2015
    Agree 100% - I was actually surprised how good the JBL in my 458 sounds.....then again, expectations were quite low.
     
  12. Cigarzman

    Cigarzman F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 7, 2014
    8,204
    Sarasota , Florida
    #12 Cigarzman, May 1, 2015
    You know , for that kind of money JBL , ah never mind. It's a Ferrari.
     
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  13. acpi

    acpi Rookie

    Apr 16, 2015
    35
    London
    #13 acpi, May 1, 2015
    The JBL system isn't great, but isn't too bad either. Coming from a Gallardo, it's a huge upgrade for me, but it's nowhere near the Naim Audio system in my Bentley CGT.
     
  14. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 11, 2013
    11,606
    #14 Caeruleus11, May 1, 2015
    My point on value is not if its really worth the option price in isolation. This is a time when you have to consider the relative value. To improve on this will cost you probably 2-3x the option price. Is that worth it to get a little better sound quality? Not to me. These cars will make it virtually impossible to get home audio quality because you are competing with: likely a compromised acoustic space plus!! road, engine, wind noise. Compromised acoustic space is a lost battle. Add in the rest and its really a losing battle. So typical for Ferrari they figure whats the most they can get away with charging and they do. To me its worth getting their upgraded stereo so it at least sounds OK. Even if their upgraded stereo is what the base one should sound like- and frankly their base one is OK but not as OK as the upgraded one...

    PS New Order was some great stuff back in the day.
     
  15. Terrible expert

    Terrible expert Karting

    Sep 10, 2012
    239
    Harrogate, North Yorkshire
    Full Name:
    Kev W
    #15 Terrible expert, May 1, 2015
    I'm only basing my knowledge on my younger years 10 years or so ago when I was really into car audio, I bet I could find a Genesis amp for not very much these days and they are fantastic quality, pair it with a pair of decent high end Focal speakers, maybe £750, some proper speaker cable and either a 10" or 2 x 5" Focal Utopia subs and game on, all for less than £3k installed. That's all I meant by it. I'm the kinda guy that likes a deal, on everything! I don't begrudge anyone a living at all and happy to pay for a decent job, but £3.5k for that JBL just pains me. Then again saying that my options were £48k which is when I think about it without my ferrari tinted love glasses on is pure madness (after all that money could buy me a recently used M3!), this car has to be one of the worse purchases ever with my business head on, but sod that, its fantastic, end to end smiles, it amazes me how mankind can create a machine which does what that does with such ease and confidence and I guess for me the icing on the cake would be a decent sound system as I value that in a car so if it costs me £3k or so then I'm ok with that and then I'd have a car I can't ever imagine wanting to sell.....! Granted I'd enjoy a Bentley as a DD when I can afford it but for those special times, I'll always need an F-Car me thinks!

    If anyone can recommend any decent installers in the UK, pref North West please let me know, back in my day SQ Plus were the boys to see but sadly they closed years ago
     
  16. Woppum

    Woppum Formula Junior

    Dec 24, 2010
    677
    #16 Woppum, May 1, 2015
    You can do simply incredible things in the cabin of the 458. My speciale has a £10k system in it robust enough to take the hardes track days plus make quality of sounds none of my other cars can live up to. I suggest if you are interested I introduce you to auto audio via email. They look after my cars on a weekly basis and I have a great relationship with them. Pm me if you are interested....

    * I am in no way affiliated with the company but know quality when I see it.
     
  17. AndrewF

    AndrewF Rookie

    Mar 3, 2015
    5
    #17 AndrewF, May 2, 2015
    I am an audiophile and was also very frustrated with the 458 "upgraded" sound system. What I've done to make it palatable is to shift the vast majority of the sound to the rear speakers and then tweak the treble / mid / bass to suit my ears. I have NO idea what the guy who has treble turned all the way up has for ears. The rake of the front glass seems to magnify the treble for me and wash out the mid range. Anyway, push it all rear and adjust and it becomes acceptable.
     

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