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infinity speaker upgrade

16K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  Hyundaifan0001 
#1 ·
Has anyone upgraded speakers form the infinity premium audio pack ?

My DM5 Highlander has the inifinity system but to be honest I find the system not that great- centre speaker is dominant and therefore has reduced sound staging- verything sounds like its central and no left/right imaging. Very poor mid bass up front.

I'm keen to replace speakers and when audiocontrol release the new D-6.1200 fit that.

Are the infinity speakers with factory amp 2 ohm ? And assume they are 6 inch front splits ?
 
#5 ·
Respectfully disagree - if comparing apples-to-apples...my neighbor originally heard the 2018 Overland GC standard 9-speaker Alpine audio system and found it to be "so-so".

Jeep offers a 19-speaker Harman Kardon upgrade (pricey) for the Grand Cherokee, which is much better. He got the upgraded audio after just one test drive prior to purchase. There are also aftermarket products of course.

The Infinity system is superior to many other comparable feature SUV audio systems when people take a couple minutes to go into the settings to "personalize" their audio preferences. That same "get the real benefit of your audio through settings" applies to any brand. Infinity is known by audiophiles as one of the better quality speaker/audio providers.

Much like any audio...the balance and equalizer tone levels are particularly important to "fine tune" passenger choices/likes to get the real benefit of the Infinity 640 watt 12-speaker system. Just a slight change in a couple of settings renders some major results differences.

Unfortunately, many owners leave the factory settings in place...rendering almost an average "Bose-like" sound.

No matter what system people have...taking a few minutes to tweak the audio settings is time well spent. That definitely also applies to the SFS Infinity system.

To robdridan, the original poster: Hold onto your wallet first...then adjust your settings. You will likely find you don't have to spend a penny to get fantastic and balanced audio.
 
#6 ·
Remove center channel speaker. A guide stated that its a ~5.25" speaker but remove speaker for size measurements.
Measure the resistance of the speaker.... usually round up to 'guestimate' impedance. Then, pick a speaker with higher stated impedance.
For example..... if your speaker is 2-ohms, then a 4-ohm speaker could reduce output by 3db ,and 8ohms can reduce it another 3db. So, you can easily reduce the dominance of the center channel by picking a 'quieter speaker'.

If you have a 2-ohm 5 1/4" speaker, here is an 8-ohm replacement.
https://www.parts-express.com/dayto...river-with-1-silk-dome-tweeter-8-ohm--295-386

Another option is to use an L-pad installed in between the car wiring and the center channel speaker. Use the L-pad to lower the output of that center channel.
https://www.parts-express.com/cat/speaker-l-pads/306

I've never seen fantastic and balanced with OE systems. I am not sure what part of the consumer 'data' that they are catering to.

For the midbass, do the same.... remove speaker and find one with more midbass. Plenty of good 6.5-7" speakers that should fit the front/rear doors.
 
#8 ·
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. The 2 Jeeps (2017 & 2018) with the Alpine base audio systems sounded much more primitive and tame compared to the Santa Fe Sport Infinity system when properly set up. In fact, the comparison wasn't even close, and the 2 other passengers agreed.

Sirius XM radio set on the HD setting sounds nothing shy of amazing.

In any case...as for the other option mentioned above...tearing open a vehicle's speaker setups while under warranty seems like an incredibly foolish thing to do.
 
#9 ·
Folks, keep in mind that listening to an audio system is a very subjective experience. Each of us hears and interprets the sound a little differently and each of us has our own likes and dislikes. That makes threads like this one a bit challenging.....
 
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#10 ·
Indeed that is correct.

While I have more than 30 years of high-end audio equipment experience and 20 years of musical background...my ears work very well for me but no one else...exactly to your point. You're absolutely right - someone else will have their own experience.

Thanks for pointing that out.
 
#15 ·
I'm with ya on that and don't disagree.

That said...the HD setting "button" I saw previously was in the settings sub-menus someplace...and I could be wrong that it applied to the XM radio options and perhaps only to regular radio broadcasts. As you affirmed...XM radio sounds extremely well in the SPS already. Sorry for any confusion.

I just checked and found that setting (again) for regular radio...and it does enhance the audio for that delivery.
 
#17 ·
Well feel it necessary to point out that in Aus we have a different head unit to start with so no Sirius or XM and no DAB etc. And I've owned some high end car speakers including Focal Kevlar series and the inifinity speakers in this car are good if you dont know better but average compared to really good speakers. They have next to no mid bass and centre speaker biased and lack detail in the treble. They are budget speakers certainly not high end.


My point wasn't debating whos got the best ears- it was to try to find out details about replacing the speakers.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Well feel it necessary to point out that in Aus we have a different head unit to start with so no Sirius or XM and no DAB etc. And I've owned some high end car speakers including Focal Kevlar series and the inifinity speakers in this car are good if you dont know better but average compared to really good speakers. They have next to no mid bass and centre speaker biased and lack detail in the treble. They are budget speakers certainly not high end.


My point wasn't debating whos got the best ears- it was to try to find out details about replacing the speakers.
Not sure what's in your SUV - but the 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Ultimate my daughter has and our own 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Ultimate both have 12 Harmon Kardon Infinity speakers which are not at all budget speakers as you described - they are considered upgrades in at least 29 different U.S. vehicles (including BMW and Lexus) that I know of...including even some deluxe $60K pickups.

In other words...the entire system - including speakers - is already a significant upgrade. It's important to note that the audio system driving the system is as important, if not more important, than the speakers themselves. In addition, tuning the user-configurable settings for balance, equalization, and tone are also key to matching the expectations of the passenger(s) - the speakers provide the output that they are "told" by the settings as well as the audio system capabilities.

Here's more info on what the current Harmon system features and it's upgraded user experience.

Clari-Fi by Harman
 
#20 ·
Kryogen- well said brother.

Short of owing a luxury car - any car manufacturer puts a cost effective speaker in (even for upgrades) and there are often far better aftermarket options available if you're prepared to do the work and outlay cost- I am

I can guarantee Hyundai dont spend huge dollars on speakers for the infinity system. Ive owned $1500 a pair car speakers and know the difference. Even then you can get better but for diminishing returns
 
#21 · (Edited)
We spent $38K in 8 high-end speakers in our dedicated Home Theater and know the differences between good, better, best...and some folks here simply understate how good the Harmon Infinity speakers are - in a number of cases they are likely not even tuned properly to their potential - a good bet that the settings and audio-meter settings not ever done. We spend a good deal of time using our HT.

Yes...it can actually get nearly anal when it comes to audio.

Heck...there are even apps for an iPhone to test car audio...of course you get what you pay for on that front. In our case, a close friend has a REED Instruments SD-4023 Sound Level Meter, Datalogger audio measurement device - used by professional audio experts (which he is). He's not only tested the audio (and tuned ours accordingly) in our 2018 SFS Ultimate with the Harman Clarity 12-speaker system...but numerous high-end systems.

His assessment is that you'd have to spend upwards of $3500 or more to get any significant listening uptick on quality speakers (since at least 8 of the 12 would have to be replaced he said - just 2 won't do all that much). Since we don't live in our SUV, there's no ROI for that here just to upgrade speakers.

Of course people can always spend money on aftermarket to upgrade their audio - there's a nice cottage industry out there for that purpose.

Some folks think Bose or some (marketing-hyped) brands like that are great - while audio experts giggle under their breath knowing better.

Nearly the same Harman Infinity speakers are also found in vehicles costing double or more of the SFS...it's likely that 98-99% of SFS owners will enjoy the already-upgraded Harmon audio system, while there will always being a few that never seem satisfied unless they spend overkill $$$ to "upgrade" to their audiomaniac passion levels. That's OK of course (for them).

My audio expert friend tells me he's seen folks "upgrade" various a wide range of elements within a car audio system - including speakers - upwards to the $50K price range. One Escalade owner he had as a client spent $80K on their audio system. A few people even installed an additional battery in their vehicle to power what he calls "extreme amps". He makes a great living from those folks and smiles all the way to the bank.

That's fine of course...it's their money to burn.
 
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