New Sound System

[04BlackSRT10]

I took my car to a local audio shop to get a quote on changing out the speakers. The installer told me the car would require a DSP, otherwise it would "sound like garbage". I assume the guy is just talking out of his ass and trying to get a bigger sale? As far as I can tell all I need to do is get new speakers in the correct sizes and it's basically plug and play, or at worst just a little bit of splicing, right?

[Steve M]

Maybe an upsell, but there's way more to it than that.

Are you running the factory head unit? If so, maybe you do need a DSP.

The major issue here is that you need to keep your expectations in check on what is really achievable with a Viper from a sound quality standpoint. These cars do not have quiet interiors, and they certainly weren't designed with car audio sound quality in mind. The passenger compartment is cramped, and it is also pretty noisy with the bass-heavy exhaust note of the V-10. In my opinion, about the best you can hope for is to be able to clearly hear the music over the exhaust...anything beyond that, like wanting to critically listen to your latest lossless music files so you can pick out each and every instrument, including where it was placed on the sound stage, is a bridge too far. Like, way too far.

Personally, I wouldn't attempt a simple speaker swap unless I was also going to replace the head unit, and if I was doing that, I'd also be adding an aftermarket amplifier. To me, that is the bare minimum for "worth it" when it comes to car audio. If going to that extent, a DSP would be way down on my list of must haves.

Adding a subwoofer is also a "must have" for me, but since you have a convertible, that is going to be a tough one. And that thing that sits between your seats doesn't qualify as a subwoofer, just in case you were going to bring that up.

So I'll ask: what is your goal?

[04BlackSRT10]

I'm definitely not expecting to have an audiophile-grade listening experience in my Viper, however, I did recently added a Corsa exhaust and that has eliminated 95% of the drone/bassy engine note the car had when I first got it. I have also replaced the head unit with a double din, and that alone has greatly increased the quality/clarity of the stock system due to the equalizer present in the new unit. I really just want a bit more crispness from the sound system and a bit more bass. I guess all I'm really asking with this post is -- will adding modern speakers to an 18 year old amp/system indeed make things sound like crap due to potential altered impedance/mismatched watts of the newer speakers, as the salesman claims, or will a simple speaker swap give me the bit more crispness I hope for?

[Steve M]

The problem I ran into when redoing my system was finding the factory amplifier specs. I'm sure I could have figured it out, but I opted to forego trying to use it and just went with an aftermarket amp that fit in the same location under the passenger side seat.

I'm still not sure how a DSP would fix the problem the salesman claims, but I'm not an expert on them. It seems like it would be overkill...some of the features DSPs offer like time alignment and the ability to use active cross overs would be overkill in a Viper IMO.

Maybe I need to do some more research.

[04BlackSRT10]

I'm going to buy some Dynamat and put it into the doors and behind the bulkhead behind the seats. Maybe even strip the carpet out and put it on the floor also. That should help a lot with road noise. I think that combined with the upgraded speakers would make the car a lot more fun on a highway trip.