How To: Disconnect Center-Speaker on Sony 9 Speaker System

[smizak]

Originally Posted by Dialed

I tested power between the disconnected centre and connected centre.

Sub was getting a noticeably increased amount of power to boot, so another perk to this.

I thought I heard that as well. I chalked it up to the high-mids not getting in the way.

It sounds better to me BTW. Actually had to bump the mids up a notch on the EQ, but the imaging is way better

[Gemini8026]

Thread Bump.....

Tried this out,

it made an improvement. I noticed right away the "harshness" that others have described is now gone. I cant see how that cheap little mono speaker benefitted the sound system. I am an audiophile in my own way (mid range guy) and my ear can discern the finer poitns of higher end setups. My last car had a really clean install featuring Boston Acoutics SC60 components up front, and two sealed JL 12" woofers in the back (just the W0 series, but still sounded great) The bostons were seeing 200 watts RMS each and the subs saw 400 watts combined. It sounded great and tight, and no this ford system cant touch that, but Im not in the mood to gut out the Mytouch and spend all the time and money to put in a higher end system....

Either way, to those complaining about their system, at least do an A and B comparison. In my experienced ears, I noticed a nice improvement :)


My only hiccup is that I damaged one of the plastic tabs when reinserting the grill, I bent it, and not sure if the plastic will hold or not, but I could have pulled it off, and its one of the 4 securing "snap" pillars to keep the grill in place. Oops :o No major deal though, its fairly strong plastic and was still holding despite being bent pretty good.

[Focusneek]

great write up, what were the pennies for??

[Dysan911]

Originally Posted by Nick Markham

So I just tried this and I must say I had a total opposite experience!

It sounded way worse with the center disconnected and I was not impressed at all. Well different stuff for different people!

+1 I felt mine lost quite a bit of the front stage and sounded weak. Perhaps it' has a lot to do with the type of music you listen too.

[MyThIc3LiTe]

If you listen to a radio or low bit rate songs then yea, you'll find that the center speaker is useless because its just throwing out the same channel of sound.

If you have 5.1 music or adjust your system to compensate, yea it will work better.

I'm surprised Ford is so heavily invested in Sony...Bose makes fantastic in car systems that are calibrated for each car and have a plethora of adjustment options which really make the system pop.

Hell, our Impala was only a 8 speaker setup, no subwoofer, and that thing positively kicked when you wanted it to and for things like voice it was crystal clear.

I just never really liked Sony, despite the fact that in our small cars the system is good, its still Sony.

[GoldenHour]

Originally Posted by MyThIc3LiTe

If you listen to a radio or low bit rate songs then yea, you'll find that the center speaker is useless because its just throwing out the same channel of sound.

If you have 5.1 music or adjust your system to compensate, yea it will work better.

I'm surprised Ford is so heavily invested in Sony...Bose makes fantastic in car systems that are calibrated for each car and have a plethora of adjustment options which really make the system pop.

Hell, our Impala was only a 8 speaker setup, no subwoofer, and that thing positively kicked when you wanted it to and for things like voice it was crystal clear.

I just never really liked Sony, despite the fact that in our small cars the system is good, its still Sony.

probably has something to do with money.

[Kabigon]

Originally Posted by MyThIc3LiTe

I just never really liked Sony, despite the fact that in our small cars the system is good, its still Sony.

Which parts/assemblies/components are designed by Sony? Are all of these parts/assemblies/components made in factories that are owned by Sony?

Who did the tuning of the system? the speaker placement? the driver selection?

What exactly makes the MFT system "a Sony"?

(all of the above questions are rhetorical)

[Gemini8026]

Im still waiting to hear back from some members, but i am still curious if it is worth swapping my Sony stock components with some aftermarket Boston Acoustics SR60's. Im aware its a BIT of a pita to install, but Id be willing to do it IF its worth the time and effort. The system doesnt have very good definition, and Im not sure if the active EQ'ing and such will alllow the BA's to perform (already disconnec center channel btw) :)

Anyone running components on factory power with good results?!?!?

[Justintoxicated]

music is best with just a front left and right. However I do 1/2 audio books and like the center speaker for them so its going to stay..

Sony is the bottom of the barrel in brand name audio equipment IMO, but I think Bose is just overpriced junk too. While the system isn't as good as my 3k system in my truck it's not 1/2 bad for stock. It has me thinking that the speakers must not actually be made by sony, just like the stock rockford system that was offered for my truck wasn't actually made my rockford...

[Kabigon]

Originally Posted by Justintoxicated

It has me thinking that the speakers must not actually be made by sony...

They are mass produced drivers made in a factory in China.

This was the point of my previous post. The Sony branding of that system has very little real meaning.

For example, it is likely that the tuning of that system was perfomed by an individual (that may or may not have been a Sony employee) and that the tonal balance reflects that individual's expertise and personal tastes.