'09 C5 stereo question.

[milleplod]

My previous 2 cars had cracking hifi systems - a Lexus with Mark Levinson setup and a Mercedes with HK - both a bit wasted on me though tbh, I listen to a bit of Radio 2 or 4, and that's it. However, I've noticed that, although I can hear the tunes well enough in the C5, when it comes to speech its a different matter. It sounds quite muffled, which is really annoying!

My hearing's not really up to par after years of riding motorbikes - I blame the work ones (think blue lights and sirens... ) because for 20-odd years they gave us earplugs to use...but radios that were so quiet we couldn't hear them with earplugs in....so we never bothered with them... ). I've always worn earplugs when riding my own bikes though, but the damage is done!

Anyway, although my hearing might be to blame, I could hear speech very clearly in my previous 2 cars with their 'premium' systems. The C5 is quiet (in fact, its quieter than the R500 Merc we had), certainly as quiet as the Lexus, so its not background noise that's causing me the problem, I'm assuming its the lower quality setup in the C5.

Is there a simple way to upgrade what I've got? Do I need new speakers....a new head unit....or what? I've done a search, and can see that there's a unit available that looks more or less identical to mine (mine has 'MP3' on it, just above the CD slot, no Bluetooth), but will it sound better without swapping other bits? I can obviously fit an aftermarket head unit, but it won't look as integrated....and would the standard speakers just sound the same anyway? I'm not overly bothered about the steering wheel controls working if I did change the head unit though as I can't train my brain to use them....I always adjust stuff on the unit itself...it must be my age!

Any advice gratefully received!

Pete

[jgra1]

hi Pete will.follow this with interest. .

vb will be along soon ..

I must admit I was quite dissapointed in my x7 sound.. such a nice quiet car and so new .. I expected something good ..for music it just doesn't quite work

john

[GiveMeABreak]

I can't tell what system you have (a VIN would help identify the exact unit), Regardless, though I'll assume you've gone into the audio settings and played about with the pre-defined settings (Rock, Classic, etc.)? That can make a big difference - and on the Navidrive 3D you have to adjust these presets for each of the sound sources (MP3, Radio, CD/DVD, Jukebox) etc. They did do a Philips upgrade option for the C5 X7 - with the Amp and uprated speakers. But like I've mentioned in other posts, if going for a non-PSA upgrade, beware of loosing access to car configuration that is controlled from the Head Unit.

[milleplod]

Thanks John and Marc for the replies. Its good to know I'm not alone in thinking the system's a bit rubbish!

The VIN is VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff].

Pete

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok, you have the basic RD4 system Pete, no separate telematic unit or Navigation system (as I'm sure you know by now!)
So Vborovic has upgraded his X7 Tourer with the RNEG system - here's the topic with pictures and a how to:

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=48421

[vborovic]

Having the C5 for 3 full years, and having the RNEG, RT6 / RT6 & HiFI updated in the car, the sound doesn't get any better, the changes are minimal ... my car is not the exclusive, so no laminated windows etc, but this only slightly improves the sound department ... bottom line is, the X7 sound is awful ... regarding the quietness of the car, well, not really, while doing 130 km/h or more it is somewhat hard to talk with the rear passengers (this is something I've only noticed recently, but yes, sadly, it's very true) ... I've given it a thought to insulate the entire cabin (doors, floor and ceiling) with STP, DynaMat or something similar (which would cots me about 1000 €) ... and, I'd still be stuck with speakers that, let's be honest, suck ... to get any real & better sound, you'd first need to change the head unit to something aftermarket, and only then build upon it

@ Marc - I had a RNEG to begin with, I've updated it to the RT6 ... the other car had a treatment of RD4 -> RNEG

[GiveMeABreak]

@ Marc - I had a RNEG to begin with, I've updated it to the RT6 ... the other car had a treatment of RD4 -> RNEG

Of course - hard to keep up with all your mods Vanja!

@ Pete - I suppose you could always find an X7 with a better audio system (if you can find one at a Dealer now) and try the sound out in it - if it's no better than what you have then nothing lost.

[milleplod]

Hi chaps.

Crikey vborovic, that was a lot of work on your very interesting thread! And the sound was no better?! I would've cried for a week!

Marc - yes, I could do that and have a listen. A friend works at the local Citroen dealer, so I'll ask him to see what's in stock. I suppose I could also visit the local car audio place and see if they can recommend anything. I don't want to spend a fortune, as I said, the music is quite bearable, its just the speech side of it that's bugging me. I fiddled with all the settings on the head unit - the 'speech' one did make it slightly better, but its still not what I'd call crystal clear unfortunately.

Pete

[vborovic]

Keep in mind that listening to music while the engine is not running and you're at least not driving on the highway will make most of the cars' radios sound great ... try to get a test ride to get the feel of the sound with real road noise to compare to your car

[GiveMeABreak]

Keep in mind that listening to music while the engine is not running and you're at least not driving on the highway will make most of the cars' radios sound great ... try to get a test ride to get the feel of the sound with real road noise to compare to your car

But didn't you put those Carlos Fandango super low profile 19" wheels on yours??? That will likely increase the road noise, plus the choice of tyres also makes a big difference - I've had new tyres before that I took straight back and changed them as the noise was literally deafening!

[vborovic]

Nope, you'd be surprised that the road noise isn't any louder coming in because I've switch the tyres ... at least on my car, I don't know about others ... that's one of the reasons I've decided to keep the larger alloys... if the noise would be worse and the ride uncomfortable that the 17", I'd sell them straight away

[Xantippa]

I would replace front speakers, maybe damp the doors a bit when they're opened for speaker upgrade, and install an external amplifier to drive those less efficient after market speakers properly. Nowadays there's some good amps that can be installed plug and play behind head unit, so you don't have to do any new wiring for that. Check Isotec Isoamp for instance.