Audio Advice

[MarkandChar]

Good morning. I’ve recently purchased a RT Pegaso A745 on a Fiat Ducato. The sound from the speakers is average at best when parked and when driving very poor. Has anyone had their speakers changed and or added to for Habitation area. I’m based in Carrickfergus and would welcome advice or recommendation of installers. Thanks. Mark

 

[moho2beer]

There are a few good Ducato videos on YouTube that show how to change the speakers yourself. Not difficult if you’re a little handy with some basic tools.
Probably the cheapest and best thing you can do in a motorhome is go on a journey of rattle location and removal.

Do you have an idea of what you want and a budget?

No point in advising a top flight system if you only want a basic upgrade from say £80 to £150 coaxial or component speakers.

However..... if you’re prepared to spend a little and want a great system that’s probably the best bang for your buck, I would firstly invest £230 on Alpine SPC-R100-DU full range speakers on the dashboard. These will bridge the big mid range hole between the door speakers and the tweeters. I have them on order from Dynamicsounds.co.uk for that reason - there’s nothing in the mid range with the existing mid / tweeter set up.

Next upgrade would be a Kicker Key200.4 amplifier. This will bring out the best in your door and dashboard speakers, also about £230. Great value for money for an amplifier with built in DSP.

You should probably not forget and upgrade the door speakers as well if you haven’t done so at this point, say £100 with some vibration proofing matting behind them (if you’ve added the Alpines first).

Last, and again great value for money, a Pioneer TS-WX130DA subwoofer for about £130 mounted facing down under the double cup holder. This will add some missing depth without taking up any room.

So back to the original point... it all really depends what you want and how much you’re prepared to spend. I do agree though that Ducato audio is pretty poor audio wise, but then if you have a Moho, you’re probably old and tone deaf by now anyway (so they say)...

​

 

[Two on Tour]

I fitted a pair of JBL's.
You will need adapter mounting rings and wiring converters to suit the original Ducato speakers terminals
I also lined the inside of the door skins with a combined thermal and audio foam/foil to improve the sound quality and insulate against the cold.

 

[moho2beer]

Did you notice much of a difference doing the whole door with mat? I’ve done this before in a car spending hours and a few quid, and to be honest, beyond the first couple of strips that kill vibration, the rest of it didn’t really do much.

 

[MarkandChar]

There are a few good Ducato videos on YouTube that show how to change the speakers yourself. Not difficult if you’re a little handy with some basic tools.
Probably the cheapest and best thing you can do in a motorhome is go on a journey of rattle location and removal.

Do you have an idea of what you want and a budget?

No point in advising a top flight system if you only want a basic upgrade from say £80 to £150 coaxial or component speakers.

However..... if you’re prepared to spend a little and want a great system that’s probably the best bang for your buck, I would firstly invest £230 on Alpine SPC-R100-DU full range speakers on the dashboard. These will bridge the big mid range hole between the door speakers and the tweeters. I have them on order from Dynamicsounds.co.uk for that reason - there’s nothing in the mid range with the existing mid / tweeter set up.

Next upgrade would be a Kicker Key200.4 amplifier. This will bring out the best in your door and dashboard speakers, also about £230. Great value for money for an amplifier with built in DSP.

You should probably not forget and upgrade the door speakers as well if you haven’t done so at this point, say £100 with some vibration proofing matting behind them (if you’ve added the Alpines first).

Last, and again great value for money, a Pioneer TS-WX130DA subwoofer for about £130 mounted facing down under the double cup holder. This will add some missing depth without taking up any room.

So back to the original point... it all really depends what you want and how much you’re prepared to spend. I do agree though that Ducato audio is pretty poor audio wise, but then if you have a Moho, you’re probably old and tone deaf by now anyway (so they say)...

​

Thank you so much. Very thoughtful and well detailed. Cheers.

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[Two on Tour]

Our cab doors were totally uninsulated, so that had to be an improvement.

On the audio side, I was going for a cost effective upgrade on the standard naf speakers rather than a audiophile setup, and there is a noticeable improvement.

Look at the difference in the driver magnet between the original Peugeot speakers and the JBL's.

 

[moho2beer]

Thank you so much. Very thoughtful and well detailed. Cheers.

You’re welcome

Two on Tour’s post (thanks for sharing) shows how poor original speakers always are. They’re thin and nasty but suited to the low power head unit.

There are some fairly good complete Fiat Ducato based speaker kits on eBay. All adapters and cables are included.

Cheers

 

[moho2beer]

Well the Alpine dashboard speakers arrived today

Fitted within the hour. Very easy.

Whilst they’re not exactly cheap at £230, they totally transform the sound. The tweeters are no longer used and these act as a full range speaker bringing in some badly missing mid/highs.

I thoroughly recommend them before changing the door speakers.

That said, I would also change the door speakers, then add a subwoofer..... maybe some amplifiers...... make it all active with a DSP.. ahem! I digest!

These are a good place to start

 

[MarkandChar]

Well the Alpine dashboard speakers arrived today

View attachment 490173

Fitted within the hour. Very easy.

Whilst they’re not exactly cheap at £230, they totally transform the sound. The tweeters are no longer used and these act as a full range speaker bringing in some badly missing mid/highs.

I thoroughly recommend them before changing the door speakers.

That said, I would also change the door speakers, then add a subwoofer..... maybe some amplifiers...... make it all active with a DSP.. ahem! I digest!

These are a good place to start

Be interested to learn more? Ive checked som sites including Alpine web site and cant locate. Could you help and share where to buy them please.

 

[Richard n Ann]

We must have been lucky and got a van with upgraded sound. The speakers are fantastic, great bass, I turn it up when a good song comes on and it's disco time!

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[Garfields]

As an aside
The wiring will be in place to the bottom of the door pillar drivers side for rear speakers
If you do a search on here someone had details of the connector you need

 

[moho2beer]

Be interested to learn more? Ive checked som sites including Alpine web site and cant locate. Could you help and share where to buy them please.

Dynamicsounds.co.uk

I think I may be one of the first in the UK to buy these as no-one had them that I could find. Dynamicsounds were able to get them from Alpine within two or three days though, very pleased with their service level and help. They now show them on their website.

All the parts you need are in the box, no need for any other connectors, just unplug the tweeter cable and re plug the new speaker back in.

The only slight negative is screwing them onto your dashboard, so they’re with the van for life should you ever change motorhomes, unless you carefully fill the small screw holes back in which I suppose wouldn’t be too difficult to do well.

Definitely worth it though. Nothing worse than a long journey and a bad stereo. These help drown out the missus .

 

[MarkandChar]

Dynamicsounds.co.uk

I think I may be one of the first in the UK to buy these as no-one had them that I could find. Dynamicsounds were able to get them from Alpine within two or three days though, very pleased with their service level and help. They now show them on their website.

All the parts you need are in the box, no need for any other connectors, just unplug the tweeter cable and re plug the new speaker back in.

The only slight negative is screwing them onto your dashboard, so they’re with the van for life should you ever change motorhomes, unless you carefully fill the small screw holes back in which I suppose wouldn’t be too difficult to do well.

Definitely worth it though. Nothing worse than a long journey and a bad stereo. These help drown out the missus .

Many thanks again. I’ve since went and checked my MH and although a Fiat, as it’s an A Class the surrounds at either side of cab corners aren’t suited to these. So neatly ordered, as could have sworn it’s as were in picture you posted. Ah well, need to look at other options. As you say, need to have good sound to drown out sounds on long journeys....ssshh.