The ASX project was one of our favorites. It had so much space for us to work with and everything went according to plan without surprises. The plan was simple: Change Everything! New Headunit, new Speaker, Sound Treatment and the addition of a subwoofer!
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Mitsubishi ASX (2011) The ASX is able to accomodate a 7″ Touchscreen on the dashboard while maintaining a clean factory look. The speakers that fit in all 4 doors are 17cm, so we have a huge variety to choose from. It also has enough space under the seats for the addition of an under-seat subwoofer. So far so good! |
| The OEM Headunit Dated. Ugly. Boring. These where the words coming out of the customer’s mouth and we agreed. No Navigation, No CarPlay, No Android Auto, No EQ, No Subwoofer Control. Well you get the idea. The question is, how do we replace it but still make it look nice? |
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Perfect Fit Fascia Plates After some some mild modifications, our new fascia kit is ready to accomodate the chosen headunit. We had to move the air-vents and the hazard light switch from one panel to the other and presto! We are ready. |
| Headunit Installed & Looking Good! This has been fun! The fascia kit fits like a glove and the Kenwood Double Din unit DMX-7018 feels right at home. Unlike many Chinese fascia plates that flood the market, this German Made fascia plate is as it should be. Perfect. |
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Preparing for the Speakers installation: We start with the foundations. Sound Treatment. There is absolutely no point of installing new speakers if you do not prepare their “home” first acoustically. Reducing vibrations, extinguishing reverberation and keeping the noise floor down are all extremely important ingredients that will make your new speakers shine. We are use the Focal BAM Sound Treatment kit to achieve great results! |
| The OEM Speakers “Why should I change speakers?” you may ask! Well take a good hard look at the speakers that the factory chose to equip this ASX with. Note that most cars have the same quality speakers as this one. From small Toyotas all the way up to exotic Lamborghinis. And it does not really matter if you choose that “Top Sound System Option” they are proposing. You will still end up with something like this, sounding horribly wrong. Thankfully, we can upgrade! |
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The Spacers The speaker spacers serve 2 purposes. To make sure we have the correct cut-out to fit our newly chosen speakers perfectly without any “leakages” which is very important and also to act as a decoupling unit between the speaker and the door. This will help the bass be more tight while avoiding transferring those annoying rattling noises on the door chassis. |
| The Focal Access Series The Access Series is one of our all time favorites. Why? Because it offers unparalleled sound quality at a really affordable price. We call it the triple S – “Sweet Spot Series” for exactly that reason. So the 165AS which is a 2-Way Component set (Woofer + Tweeter + Crossover) was chosen for this setup (Front Doors) and the 165AC Coaxial kit (Woofer with built-in Tweeter) was also added (Rear Doors). |
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Replacing the Tweeters Just like the Woofers, the OEM Tweeters were nothing special. Too small to make an impact, and using generic materials that sounded…generic! The Focal Access Tweeter is a significant upgrade that will will elevate the performance of the High Frequencies. |
| BASS! Under-seat subwoofers are very popular because of their small and compact footprint. The problem is, that most of them do not pack enough punch to be consider adequate. This is not the case with the Focal I BUS 20. The 8″ Polyglass Woofer does a great job even in cars that seem too big for it. The ASX was filled with accurate bass notes in no time! |
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Camera Installation Our final task was to install a Rear-View-Camera. Routing the cables the right way, dictates that we completely strip the back part of the car to try and find the best position for the camera and the the best way to make the internal connections. |
| Drive-Assist Cameras A rear view camera is a great way to make reversing safer. The camera image automatically comes on when you shift into reverse, and distance guides that can be adjusted to match your car size will appear on the screen to help you safely park your car. Kenwood offers a wide variety of front and rear facing cameras, including multi-view cameras with selectable viewing angles. |
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Online Navigation with Android Auto Let Google Maps lead the way. It’s easy to get where you’re going with free voice-guided navigation, live traffic information, lane guidance, and more. Whether on your phone screen or on your car display, Android Auto was designed with safety in mind. With larger touch targets, a simplified interface, and easy-to-use voice actions, it’s designed to minimize distraction so you can stay focused on the road. |
| Online Navigation with Apple CarPlay When you’re driving, Maps helps you find the way to your destination with turn-by-turn spoken directions and new, easier-to-read visuals. When a turn is coming up, the view zooms in to show you exactly where to go. Along the way, large signs and arrows guide you in the right direction and let you know how long it’s going to take to get there. Looking for a gas station, restaurant, or coffee shop along your route? New buttons on the navigation screen help you quickly find the closest places and estimate how much time the detour will add to your trip. |
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Built-in Bluetooth The built-in Bluetooth module allows wireless connection of a mobile phone for hands-free communication. A very intuitive user interface makes it very easy to set microphone and speaker volume. It also includes a speed dial function for the most frequently called numbers. Bluetooth also enables audio streaming from the phone: audio content or even internet radio can be wirelessly transferred to your Kenwood unit. |
| Flat. Elegant. Gorgeous. One of the many advantages of using a Kenwood screen, is how flat they are. This allows them to fit perfectly in the dashboard ensuring a clean look, no matter if the screen is on or off! |
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High-end Sound Tuning Options Most Kenwood Units put the power of advanced sound processing in your car to maximise bass sound and overall tone balance, plus lots of custom tuning functions like Digital Time Correction, Digital X-Over and 13-band Parametric EQ. |