thinking of a 500 but....
used a 500l at work last year and the audio was quite frankly, tragic.
when I tried to turn the sound up to ear worrying levels there was no bass and distorted sound.
is it straightforward to replace the audio unit with an aftermarket one? - and the speakers? - ideally a sub.
thanks in advance.

The 500l is a different car so you might find the 500 might not be as bad

What about this? Scroll down the thread:

http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/topic/93308-fiat-500-sound-system/

thanks - looks interesting.

The headunit is easy to change but I lost B&M. I think it's possible to get it working but I just haven't bothered.

The speakers are riveted in and there are the usual issues with removing quite a lot of trim.

dsbdsb said:

thinking of a 500 but....
used a 500l at work last year and the audio was quite frankly, tragic.
when I tried to turn the sound up to ear worrying levels there was no bass and distorted sound.
is it straightforward to replace the audio unit with an aftermarket one? - and the speakers? - ideally a sub.
thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

I've explored this option with my 500, the advice I received from a couple audio installers that it probably needs new speakers and an underseat amp, maybe a sub too depending on your budget . Removing speakers is a bit of a hassle as all the door trim needs removing. The quote with good quality Nakamichi gear was around £500.

Fiddle with the EQ. Makes an <enormous> difference to the standard system.

Or spec interscope.

You'll get good results no doubt with an after market system once it's speced correctly. I went with Interscope as I got a good discount on it and dident really want someone removing trim, door panels, seats etc on my new car. Sounds pretty good too and worth the money IMO. I realise its too late now though so yes I would experiment with the EQ and loudness as it will improve it a lot - and its free!

resurrecting an ancient thread but, eventually I went for a professionally fitted pair of jl audio speakers and a jl audio 250 watt sub and amp in the boot.
I can now listen to music at a nice volume and actually feel my chest vibrating too! - certain songs tend to massage your lower back, others a bit further up - £600 well spent.