This was an excellent forum suggestion, thanks!!

[Six Speed Stephen]

Unpopular opinion, it sadly seems, but the stock KEF system has *PLENTY* of high frequency output, as confirmed by multiple measurements. Adding more is going to make everything sound shrill and sibilant. To me, adding the Pioneer tweeters to the KEF system is putting ketchup on steak. The whole haphazard way this mod is being passed around - which amp output to connect to, filter or no filter, whether polarity matters or not - shows me that no one involved has any idea what they are doing.

I am not posting this to change the minds of people who have done this mod. I just would like to plead with people who are considering this mod to reconsider.

I'm heavily considering it. Sure it's ketchup on steak, but the steak isn't prime, and it's nearly well done. Ketchup will make it taste better.

I don't see the downside if you can easily play with the EQ settings. It will be better than not having it and playing with EQ.

 

[Nova]

I'm heavily considering it. Sure it's ketchup on steak, but the steak isn't prime, and it's nearly well done. Ketchup will make it taste better.

I don't see the downside if you can easily play with the EQ settings. It will be better than not having it and playing with EQ.

It's not as simple as just adjusting the EQ settings in the car. The high frequency response in the KEF system is reasonably smooth, as you can see from this measurement I made in the linked post below, which echoes a similar measurement I saw in a review:

KEF System Casual Analysis

Picking up the Emira, I didn't listen to the sound system much on the 300 mile drive home. What little I did listen, it sounded thin and I wasn't sure if the subwoofer was working. It's been a few days and I was able to spend a bit of time listening to it. Again the system sounded thin, and I...

www.emiraforum.com

We have no idea what the frequency response of the Pioneer tweeter looks like and we certainly don't know what it's in-car response looks like. We also don't know what the lobbing interactions are between the Pioneer tweeter and the KEF tweeters, and that is also complicated by the phase issues introduced by the 6dB "filter" that the Pioneer tweeter comes with. It takes *A LOT* of effort to engineer a smooth response, without which the default assumption is that the response would be jagged and uneven. You cannot correct for jagged and uneven tonal balance with broad "bass, midrange, treble" adjustments. Arguably, if all that someone wanted was more treble, they should just turn up the treble EQ in their car, instead of adding new tweeters.

The KEF system has its issues, but none of them are related to the KEF drivers. The issues are related to the mid-bass drivers in the back, and the subwoofer. That's where upgrade efforts will pay the most dividend.

Oh and of course for all the I4 owners, defeat the fake engine sounds that are injected into the sound system.

 

[Dean76]

Unpopular opinion, it sadly seems, but the stock KEF system has *PLENTY* of high frequency output, as confirmed by multiple measurements. Adding more is going to make everything sound shrill and sibilant. To me, adding the Pioneer tweeters to the KEF system is putting ketchup on steak. The whole haphazard way this mod is being passed around - which amp output to connect to, filter or no filter, whether polarity matters or not - shows me that no one involved has any idea what they are doing.

I am not posting this to change the minds of people who have done this mod. I just would like to plead with people who are considering this mod to reconsider.

"sibilant" eh? Thanks, learned a new word!

Also, my big issue is the bass. It sounds like, for lack of a more sophisticated word, wet sh*t. With all the cars I've ever owned lowering the windows make you lose bass, but when the windows are down in my Emira the bass gets louder, but NOT better - the sub (subs?) sound like they're thumping away into the void (sounds like a baby punching a paper bag). Any idea how to fix that?

 

[Nova]

"sibilant" eh? Thanks, learned a new word!

Also, my big issue is the bass. It sounds like, for lack of a more sophisticated word, wet sh*t. With all the cars I've ever owned lowering the windows make you lose bass, but when the windows are down in my Emira the bass gets louder, but NOT better - the sub (subs?) sound like they're thumping away into the void (sounds like a baby punching a paper bag). Any idea how to fix that?

Yes, opening the window changes the car interior from a large sealed box to a large and very leaky box. The subwoofer we have is a "fresh air" sub, which really just means infinite baffle. The reason it sounds louder when you open the window is because the "air spring" inside the car significantly softens, so the subwoofer is suddenly moving more freely, and thus increased SPL. But this change is not all good, as there is also increased distortion and back wave cancellation of frequencies below a certain point. So it's louder, but loses depth, and with more distortion.

The way to change this is to get an aftermarket subwoofer and put it on the rear shelf. That's probably one of the most effective improvements you can make to the KEF system.