Here's a situation that's quite common in modern vehicles: you have a factory radio that can't be replaced. Or maybe you like its looks and functions and don't want to replace it. But the factory sound isn't cutting it. What can you do? One of our Spanish-speaking Advisors, Buddy, faced that very scenario.

Buddy loves his 2020 Hyundai Veloster N. His favorite feature is being able to switch his exhaust between what he calls “calm and rowdy modes.” To make his car perfect, he decided to upgrade the audio system. Buddy’s Hyundai came with the factory Infinity Audio system, which included a "floating" big-screen stereo with separate on-dash controls. Due to its integration into the dash, the radio couldn't be replaced.

Making "factory" sound fantastic

Buddy wanted more bass impact and better dynamics from the overall sound. He devised a plan where he'd keep the radio, but change out the speakers, re-equalize the factory audio, add connections for an amplifier, and incorporate a subwoofer for that bass punch he was missing.

Cleaning up the sound

Buddy's first step was to clean up the signal from the factory stereo. He also needed to add the connections for five channels of amplification – four channels for his new speakers and one for the subwoofer.

Buddy chose AudioControl’s LC6i line output converter (LOC) and DQDX digital signal processor (DSP) with digital time alignment to make this happen.

He tapped into the output wires on the car's factory amplifier to get the audio signal into the line output converter. From the LOC, he fed the signal into the DSP to clean and level it before it goes to the amplifier.

Hyundai didn't include an actual spare tire with Buddy's Veloster. Instead, it has a tire repair system. Buddy installed the Infinity amp and the AudioControl components around that system. He can access the components and tweak the settings as needed.

Sticking with Infinity speakers and amplifier

Although he was replacing the stock Infinity system, he thought it would be cool to stay with Infinity for the upgrade. He selected the Infinity Kappa Five 5-channel amplifier to provide ample power to the Infinity Kappa 603CF component speakers for the front, the Kappa 63XF 2-way speakers for the rear, and the big 12" Kappa 1200W subwoofer he chose.

Our friends at Infinity HQ loved hearing about Buddy's plans and happily provided these speakers and amplifier to him.

Stepping up the Infinity speakers

Now that he had the power and clean signal taken care of, Buddy installed the speakers. After removing the door panels, he installed the Infinity Kappa woofers in the Veloster's stock door speaker locations.

The tricky part was the tweeter installation. Buddy planned to install the Kappa tweeters in the factory tweeter locations, but until he had a peek at the stock setup, he wasn't sure how he was going to secure them.

Fortunately, he was able to remove the stock bracket from the factory tweeter and reuse it for the new tweeter – that's not always possible with tweeter installations. Buddy soldered most of his wiring connections on a workbench, but also incorporated Posi-Tap connectors when he had to make connections while working within the vehicle.

He used the handy Wire Worm tool to fish the tweeter wires into the dash channel. He connected them to the component system's crossovers, which he mounted behind the dash.

Using the factory speaker wire that had been connected to the original door speaker, he attached the new woofers to the crossover. This way he didn't have to run new speaker wire from the vehicle's interior to the door. Next, he fed the crossover's input wire to the output connections on the Kappa amplifier, and he was good to go.

More speaker work

The Veloster houses two different sizes for each of its rear-door speakers. Buddy installed one of the Infinity 2-way speakers with Dynamat on the passenger side. He's still working on a way to get the other speaker into the other door.

Much of this installation was done in stages, so Buddy will hit me up later to let me how the completed speaker installation went, as well as his efforts to replace the center dash speakers with the Infinity Kappa 203S 2" midrange speakers.

The Infinity sub brings the bass

One of the most significant improvements that Buddy wanted was a bigger, more controlled bass response in his system. The factory subwoofer simply wasn't giving it to him.

He mounted the 12" Infinity Kappa subwoofer in a box he already had. It's box volume was a great match for the sub. Once mounted in the enclosure, Buddy connected the subwoofer to the fifth channel of the Infinity Kappa amp, feeding it 350 watts RMS for some serious power.

The final results

With his powerful new system in place, Buddy shared his experience: “This system sounds AMAZING! The bass is hitting so much lower than my previous setup. My kids and I love that big sound, and it sure makes my drive time more fun.”

Buddy noticed an immediate sonic dividend from the upgrade, noting much more physical bass impact and crisp detail than the factory speakers had delivered. We had to applaud his fantastic installation effort.

If you're looking to ready your vehicle's audio system for "calm or rowdy modes," contact one of our Advisors. They'll be glad to set up a system that handles any mood.