Focus: Audio Upgrade Wagon

[abizzle]

I did basically the same thing in my 05 Silverado HD with the Duramax engine. Dynamat Extreme everywhere. I did the floor, rear wall, all 4 doors inner and outer skins with the holes sealed, and the roof. Followed that with 1/4" closed cell foam over the Dynamat everywhere. Also 2# per square foot MLV on the floor. I did some Dynamat and foam on the inside of the door panels and the underside of the dash panel just to quell any plastic vibration. From inside the truck most people don't release it's a diesel truck it's so quite. And after 16 years the interior is still dead quite with no rattles despite being shaken all the time by a powerful stereo I installed right after I purchased it.

I will be doing pretty close to the same in our TourX, just not as big of a stereo.

I wouldn’t have a vehicle without it. It changes the whole driving experience. If done properly any old beater can feel like a European luxury car.

 

[768mph]

Haven’t forgotten about my plan with this Wagon.
I’ve been deployed and returned; now about to relocate to the NCR region in the Fall (from the Midwest).
I’ll work more at it when I get settled in.

 

[abizzle]

Haven’t forgotten about my plan with this Wagon.
I’ve been deployed and returned; now about to relocate to the NCR region in the Fall (from the Midwest).
I’ll work more at it when I get settled in.

These projects can be time consuming, but the end result is well worth it. I’m in the middle of a soundproofing project. I did the trunk floor and spare tire well yesterday and was able to hear a difference with the Bose sub.

I’m also planning a full audio upgrade after soundproofing is done.

 

[sevarg]

Haven’t forgotten about my plan with this Wagon.
I’ve been deployed and returned; now about to relocate to the NCR region in the Fall (from the Midwest).
I’ll work more at it when I get settled in.

I'm sort of new here, but have been following your project as I am extremely interested in doing this once I make a purchase.
Assuming NCR means National Capital Region -- I'm on the Maryland side. Haven't seen any TourXs aside from one in a parking lot.

Just a random thought regarding upgrading sound quality without doing any speaker/amp replacements.. has anyone considered a portable DAC? If you're streaming from your phone and are using an AUX cable, you can use something like an AudioQuest Dragonfly to make a decent improvement. I know a lot of folks in the hifi community use them in conjunction with streaming devices/laptops with great success. Might be worth looking into since they're the size of a thumb drive. (I have one, I just haven't used it in the car yet)

 

[abizzle]

I'm sort of new here, but have been following your project as I am extremely interested in doing this once I make a purchase.
Assuming NCR means National Capital Region -- I'm on the Maryland side. Haven't seen any TourXs aside from one in a parking lot.

Just a random thought regarding upgrading sound quality without doing any speaker/amp replacements.. has anyone considered a portable DAC? If you're streaming from your phone and are using an AUX cable, you can use something like an AudioQuest Dragonfly to make a decent improvement. I know a lot of folks in the hifi community use them in conjunction with streaming devices/laptops with great success. Might be worth looking into since they're the size of a thumb drive. (I have one, I just haven't used it in the car yet)

Does the TourX have an Aux input? My Sportback only has a USB port. I see a lot of people using a portable DAC with their DSP’s. They connect using a TOSLINK cable. The DSP I’m looking at will do the same, but I’d prefer an analog input into the factory HMI.

 

[LLninja]

I'm sort of new here, but have been following your project as I am extremely interested in doing this once I make a purchase.
Assuming NCR means National Capital Region -- I'm on the Maryland side. Haven't seen any TourXs aside from one in a parking lot.

Just a random thought regarding upgrading sound quality without doing any speaker/amp replacements.. has anyone considered a portable DAC? If you're streaming from your phone and are using an AUX cable, you can use something like an AudioQuest Dragonfly to make a decent improvement. I know a lot of folks in the hifi community use them in conjunction with streaming devices/laptops with great success. Might be worth looking into since they're the size of a thumb drive. (I have one, I just haven't used it in the car yet)

I’m curious how using a portable DAC is an improvement over just plugging the phone to a USB plug and letting th infotainment system convert the audio. The way I see it, FM was a huge improvement over AM, but to my untrained ears, the AUX and USB connections to my infotainment system are pretty close to each other. Does adding your own DAC really give you enough of a better sound to justify the cost? I have heard audio froma CD coming through an expensive vacuum tube amp before, and I agree, the audio is definitely better, but it won’t cause me to throw out all of my equipment and replace it with other stuff. But that’s my decadesmof cheapskatedness showing through, maybe I should upgrade some of the finder things in my life and de clutter things I really don’t need like the minimalists or Marie Condo…

 

[LLninja]

Does the TourX have an Aux input? My Sportback only has a USB port. I see a lot of people using a portable DAC with their DSP’s. They connect using a TOSLINK cable. The DSP I’m looking at will do the same, but I’d prefer an analog input into the factory HMI.

There is an aux port in the center storage unit, right next to the 2 USB ports. I would expect the Sportback to have identical parts, but maybe not. My TourX also has the wireless phone charger that I almost never use. I’m not sure if that came standard or was an option that might affect the presence of an Aux port.

 

[sevarg]

I’m curious how using a portable DAC is an improvement over just plugging the phone to a USB plug and letting th infotainment system convert the audio. The way I see it, FM was a huge improvement over AM, but to my untrained ears, the AUX and USB connections to my infotainment system are pretty close to each other. Does adding your own DAC really give you enough of a better sound to justify the cost? I have heard audio froma CD coming through an expensive vacuum tube amp before, and I agree, the audio is definitely better, but it won’t cause me to throw out all of my equipment and replace it with other stuff. But that’s my decadesmof cheapskatedness showing through, maybe I should upgrade some of the finder things in my life and de clutter things I really don’t need like the minimalists or Marie Condo…

When I use a standalone DAC in my home setup (which is nothing all that fancy), the audio does improve in noticeable ways, but it's most noticeable when the amp/receiver is in a "stereo direct" mode that negates all DSP that the receiver applies. Not sure what improvements could be heard in a vehicle, since 99% of factory head units aren't made with high quality/hifi grade components, but I'm sure some may be noticed. I'll have to try it in mine and report back. (i don't have a tourx at the moment, though)

Spending $100 or so on a portable DAC is just another drop in the bucket if someone is willing to spend hundreds or thousands on upgrading a car looking for better sound.

 

[abizzle]

There is an aux port in the center storage unit, right next to the 2 USB ports. I would expect the Sportback to have identical parts, but maybe not. My TourX also has the wireless phone charger that I almost never use. I’m not sure if that came standard or was an option that might affect the presence of an Aux port.

I only have a single USB port. It’s on my list of things to change and the modules are readily available, I just haven’t done it. Not sure if I have to wire in a different plug or not.

And to answer your reply about is it really better to use an external DAC with the Aux port. I would have to say yes. If you’ve ever heard true high resolution audio from a high end DAC and quality speakers, you can hear the difference. You have to buy the high-res files though.

Part of me wants to believe it’s just another gimmick by the music industry, but I tested some home equipment for a guy about 5 years ago and I was pretty impressed. The DAC/CD combo and amplifier were worth about $12K. I wouldn’t expect to get those results from the Bose system in our cars, but for someone with true audiophile grade equipment it might be worth it.

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

All things need to be equal, same source, setting and output. If trying it on a IPhone or Android based there is no way results will be possible to have any way of knowing if there is a improvement. Same thing if flack vs MP3 files are used as a source, this is the gray area where it's not apples to apples comparison.

 

[abizzle]

Do we even know what DAC is being used in the Bosch and Harman HMI’s?

I can research it if no one knows.

 

[abizzle]

This also reminds me… Has anyone tried upgrading from the 2.5 HMI to the 3.0 HMI? There’s a project for that over on one of the Silverado forums, but I’m thinking it might be easier for us. GM made the change mid-year and I can’t imagine they would do something that required different plugs or wiring, etc. I’m tempted to just plug one in and see.

 

[Anaduff]

Won't be easy, connectors (for the most part) are different & the INFO3 has radio built-in while the NG2.5 uses an outboard radio module (at least for AM/FM).

 

[6APPEAL]

I don't think the factory unit would benefit from an external DAC. Way too many factors downstream from the factory input points. I've seen several conversations on various car audio threads about the use of an external DAC. The vast majority of these refer to using one with a non-traditional head unit such as an iPad/tablet to feed an aftermarket DSP. The other conversations all seem to point to where the conversion of all hires/digital streams to PCM from their original format occurs.

My understanding of PCM is that it is still hires as it is also lossless (PCM is the digital representation of the recorded analog sound). Also PCM audio output is a hardware interface (connector and its controller). Examples are HDMI, SPDIF, Toslink. Those interfaces are capable of transmitting the digital audio data in PCM format from the source.

The benefit of the external DAC is lost downstream at some point. It's just a matter of where the benefit gets lost. The reality is that the best sounding audio resolution is a matter of the equipment used.

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Additional details to add to the post on the subject of a DAC and if needed or what gains may be from one.

DACs: Do You Need an External Digital to Analog Converter for your Hifi System?

A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), takes your digital content and transforms it into analog so that your hifi system can amplify it and play it through your speakers. Do you need a new one? Read on.

www.audioholics.com

 

[LLninja]

Additional details to add to the post on the subject of a DAC and if needed or what gains may be from one.

DACs: Do You Need an External Digital to Analog Converter for your Hifi System?

A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), takes your digital content and transforms it into analog so that your hifi system can amplify it and play it through your speakers. Do you need a new one? Read on.

www.audioholics.com

Well, based on this article, I don’t hear the noise or the jitter, so I think I’m set with the factory DAC.

 

[6APPEAL]

Additional details to add to the post on the subject of a DAC and if needed or what gains may be from one.

DACs: Do You Need an External Digital to Analog Converter for your Hifi System?

A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), takes your digital content and transforms it into analog so that your hifi system can amplify it and play it through your speakers. Do you need a new one? Read on.

www.audioholics.com

Good common sense advice in the article.

 

[abizzle]

I intend to start a new thread when I start the project, but for now I’ll just post here. Finally got the last piece for my audio upgrade on order, so now I can post my entire equipment list for this build:

Factory Headunit
PAC AP4-GM61 Integration Interface
Audison AP F8.9 bit DSP/Amplifier
Infinity Kappa One K Monoblock Sub Amp
Front Doors: Infinity REF-6530cx 6.5” Component Set
Rear Doors: Infinity REF-6532ix 6.5” 2-way
Center Dash: Infinity REF-3032cfx 3.5” 2-way
Subwoofer: 10” Infinity Kappa 1000W
Enclosure: Sealed 0.75 cu ft

I got a great deal on the Audison DSP/Amp today and it’s got me really excited about this upgrade. Can’t wait to get started!

 

[abizzle]

I intend to start a new thread when I start the project, but for now I’ll just post here. Finally got the last piece for my audio upgrade on order, so now I can post my entire equipment list for this build:

Factory Headunit
PAC AP4-GM61 Integration Interface
Audison AP F8.9 bit DSP/Amplifier
Infinity Kappa One K Monoblock Sub Amp
Front Doors: Infinity REF-6530cx 6.5” Component Set
Rear Doors: Infinity REF-6532ix 6.5” 2-way
Center Dash: Infinity REF-3032cfx 3.5” 2-way
Subwoofer: 10” Infinity Kappa 1000W
Enclosure: Sealed 0.75 cu ft

I got a great deal on the Audison DSP/Amp today and it’s got me really excited about this upgrade. Can’t wait to get started!

Two corrections on my components list… instead of the PAC AP4-GM61 I am using the Axxess AXDSPX-MST1.

I’ve also decided to run three 10” Infinity subs instead of one.

 

[6APPEAL]

I’ve also decided to run three 10” Infinity subs instead of one.

Just a bit more boom, boom.😉