[Bendjeff]

I am a new member here but have had my Stelvio for about 8 months. Done a lot of reading about stereo issues and quality and still can't get mine to sound good. I have the Harman Kardon system and I popped open the amp/sub panel today (because, separate subject, my battery was completely dead this morning). To my surprise, it looks like I have some custom pieces here if I am not mistaken. The only issue is, the stereo still sounds like garbage. Any advice on what to look at or adjust with what I have here (I am not a car stereo expert or installer). My last car was a 2017 Q7 and the stereo was 10X the quality in this one.

I also have a nice little knob I can turn in the lower center dash area by the USB port that I have no idea what it does

Any ideas or advise are appreciated.

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

Is that..... The sub??

Looks like someone replaced the subwoofer with a coaxial speaker?????!!!

That's an Illusion Audio carbon series coaxial... It would sound like pure trash as a sub. The knob probably adjusts the subwoofer level but a coaxial speaker as a sub would just sound like unadulterated poop. Probably farts and rattles.. tons of distortion all from the cone pushing too hard and hitting the tweeter...ugh. Coaxial speaker suck when used right... (Unless you are talking my ancient KEF home speakers which have a far better design for a center mounted tweeter then a traditional co-axial.)

If that is the "sub", my guess is the previous owner put in an aftermarket sub and then took it with them when they sold the car... Then either them or the dealer replaced the missing sub with.... A coaxial speaker. Whoever did that was either an idiot or an A-hole.

Or is that not the subwoofer at the back of the car?

 

[Bendjeff]

Is that..... The sub??

Looks like someone replaced the subwoofer with a coaxial speaker?????!!!

That's an Illusion Audio carbon series coaxial... It would sound like pure trash as a sub. The knob probably adjusts the subwoofer level but a coaxial speaker as a sub would just sound like unadulterated poop. Probably farts and rattles.. tons of distortion all from the cone pushing too hard and hitting the tweeter...ugh. Coaxial speaker suck when used right... (Unless you are talking my ancient KEF home speakers which have a far better design for a center mounted tweeter then a traditional co-axial.)

If that is the "sub", my guess is the previous owner put in an aftermarket sub and then took it with them when they sold the car... Then either them or the dealer replaced the missing sub with.... A coaxial speaker. Whoever did that was either an idiot or an A-hole.

Or is that not the subwoofer at the back of the car?

Yep, that is in the trunk right in front of the amp I knew something had to be off. I imagine my only hope is finding a good stereo shop that can help find a solution. At this point, I am already considering just trading it back in on another Audi because this car has not been a great experience so far.

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

Something like that.....

The car has been played with by an idiot. If I could I'de find another Alfa... That one is very likely far from representative of what one should be. The stereo shouldn't effect the rest but.... Anyone dumb enough to half-ass using a coaxial, full range speaker as a subwoofer ...

What other dumbass things have been done? Late oil changes, wrong oil? Drive hard on a cold engine? Did they eff up the electrical installing the stereo??

If you got the car from a reputable dealer.....I would be talking to the General Manager or owner. Someone in their used car dept failed the dealer.

IMO any problems are cause "Alfa", thier cause an idiot worked on the Alfa.

Only saying that because you said the ownership experience hasn't been great... If there are other issues I would assume it's because the same person who decided to do that sub replacement decided to do other stupid things too....

 

[Bendjeff]

Something like that.....

The car has been played with by an idiot. If I could I'de find another Alfa... That one is very likely far from representative of what one should be. The stereo shouldn't effect the rest but.... Anyone dumb enough to half-ass using a coaxial, full range speaker as a subwoofer ...

What other dumbass things have been done? Late oil changes, wrong oil? Drive hard on a cold engine? Did they eff up the electrical installing the stereo??

If you got the car from a reputable dealer.....I would be talking to the General Manager or owner. Someone in their used car dept failed the dealer.

IMO any problems are cause "Alfa", thier cause an idiot worked on the Alfa.

Only saying that because you said the ownership experience hasn't been great... If there are other issues I would assume it's because the same person who decided to do that sub replacement decided to do other stupid things too....

Yeah, I enjoy driving the car. My wife does not Not a great buying experience, issues with squeaky brakes that can't be resolved, and now a dead car in the garage with no signs of battery issues the whole time we have owned the car. I think it is more or less that my wife doesn't enjoy the car as much as the last Q7 and we know what happens when the wife is not happy

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

Dead battery with no warning isn't unusual sadly. Most likely it's old enough to be replaced or it was replaced....with a cheap battery. If you don't have an AGM battery made by someone other then Varta (factory battery) replace that and likely you will not see any other issue for years.. or until the new battery gets old. The battery should be an "H8" size too.

Definitely not a Q7, very different driving cars. The Q7 is much more relaxed, less "hot hatch" more "cruiser".

The brakes...... If they have been replaced with cheap brakes, or if they cut corners and didn't replace the rotors.... Or if the current driver has a tendency to over-brake (the pedal is more sensitive then it seems) they will make noise.



If you have adaptive cruise control the programing for complete stop is great. I learned the best way to stop the car by figuring out how to copy the way it brakes which is different then I used to do it. Since then..... I'm going to get 50k+ miles out of the original pads. For me that's insane... I use the brakes so much less and with a lighter touch.

Also... That sub problem should be an easy fix... Literally take that out and put an actual sub in. Pretty much anything will be better, choose a brand at random. That said, Kicker is good at good price, JL Audio if you want something pretty nice, Image Dynamics is my favorite car audio sub brand, if you want something great. The install... If you took the panels off the see the sub and stuff, you should be able to do the install.

 

[Bendjeff]

Yeah, I think it is a Diehard in there. The specs all seem to be correct but not sure that was another corner cut. The dealer I bought it from replaced the rear pads before the sale. Then I brought it back because the brakes were super squeaky and they said, oh that's the front brakes, we didn't do anything to those. Awesome

Yes, the two cars are very different, I realize that. The Audi is like a calm and cool vault-like car, and the alfa is a light, squirrelly car! haha

I don't think the brake noise is from the way we use the brakes either. We have been driving almost 30 years now

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

Been driving 30+ myself... And I use them different now.

Generally my brakes last 20k. Honda civics to Porsche Boxster.. Volvo and Land Rover SUVs .... More... Now I'm getting 50k.

Not saying you do anything wrong .. Alfa's reward finesse more than any car I have owned. IMO it can be the best or worst part of owning it, depending on what you want. Some people like squirrelly, some don't. Both can be great humans and good drivers!

A Die Hard should be a good battery, unless it's
low CCA or not an AGM-type Die Hard. That would not work well. I believe Die Hard platinum is their AGM line, might want to verify that.

 

[Malibu]

That isn't a coaxial speaker, but rather a midbass speaker, which, while not the correct type of speaker to use as a sub, at least isn't as bad. It looks to be this one:

Illusion Audio Carbon Series C8-W 8" Midbass Woofer, Requires Crossover - Sold Individually

Free Air Resonance: 50 Hz Nominal Impedance: 4 Ohms Sensitivity 2.83 V @ 1 meter: 90 Outside Diameter: 209mm (8-1/4in) Mounting Hole Diameter: 179mm (7in) Mo...

creativeaudio.net

It plays down to 33Hz but isn't really designed to be used as a sub, but rather as the midbass speaker unit of a component set with a matching tweeter and crossover. I don't have much experience with the Illusion Audio brand, but they aren't cheap and seem to get pretty good reviews, so it's not like someone stuck a random POS speaker in there.

The Kicker unit is an audio signal summing device, similar to a JL Audio Clean Sweep, which takes the inputs from the factory stereo and combines them into a single 20Hz - 20Khz full range output signal that can then be used with an aftermarket amplifier. It looks like there is an amplifier mounted below the Kicker unit. The knob on the dash is most likely for the subwoofer level.

I wonder if the door speakers were replaced as well. Typically a summation device like the Kicker is used if all of the speakers are replaced and you want to use an aftermarket amp and crossovers. It looks like you probably have decent components in the system. I would take it to a reputable car audio shop and have them look it over and EQ it properly using an RTA.

And yes, check the DieHard and make sure it's an AGM or flooded cell type battery suitable for cars with start-stop systems.

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

Make sure the speaker is crossed over properly.not getting and full range signal.

That is a ridiculous dust cap, was assuming from the shadow. Knew the series, a friend bought some a while ago and absolutly hated them

 

[Malibu]

The dust cap might be for a front mounted magnet, which some manufacturers do to have a shallow mounting depth.

 

[Bendjeff]

Thank you all! Yeah, I am still hopeful now that I might be able to get this sounding better

As far as the battery goes I just jumped it and it is running right now in the garage. We will bring it to our shop tomorrow and have it tested to see if it needs to be replaced!

 

[ALFAOFFROAD]

I forgot about those.... Wonder how that design sounds? Seems like you'de need an extremely well controlled cone to not get issues.

Let us know what happens with the battery @Bendjeff ! No doubt you can get that stereo better pretty easy. Hope your wife is able to bond with the car once the junk gets sorted out. It has some benifits the Q7 doesn't even if it's isn't as smooth, little time with no problems and a good stereo, she might enjoy it..

 

[Bendjeff]

Yep we will see! Car is running great. Haven’t shut it down yet as we are out and about. All of the warning lights are on though. So I’m not sure if there are some sort of hoops to jump through to get that sorted

 

[Malibu]

Yep we will see! Car is running great. Haven’t shut it down yet as we are out and about. All of the warning lights are on though. So I’m not sure if there are some sort of hoops to jump through to get that sorted

The warning lights are due to the battery going dead and should clear as you drive the car.

 

[Plutonium]

The stock stereo system isnt very good to start with, probably why the po modified it. Worst sound system ive come across in a premium vehicle. Probably my biggest gripe with the car.

 

[Bendjeff]

Just an update. Battery is working just fine since this issue was resolved with a jump. Had my local shop clear the warning lights out for me as well. Car is functioning just fine now with no further issues 🤷‍♂️

 

[Mbelliss12]

Yeah, rented a ‘22 BMW 530 during a trip and the stereo streaming my Tidal was so far superior to the Alfa HK that I would not blame anyone who looks to upgrade it. Not sure if it’s the head unit, amplification, or the speakers, but it’s not a high point of the Stelvio.

 

[tibimakai]

When those errors pop up, just turn the steering wheel all the way to the left, then to the right, and they should clear. Some, may go away with a few miles of driving.

 

[Bendjeff]

Thanks! I had someone clear them for me but I’ll remember that for next time!