2011 Ferrari Audio Upgrade For Ponte Vedra 458 Italia Client

A client from Ponte Vedra Beach came to Audio Designs & Custom Graphics for a Ferrari audio upgrade. The client had a 2011 458 Italia that was stunning. We sat down with the client and got to know him better, and then went out to his car and looked it over in great detail. Our team listened intently as he explained his goals for the upgrade. Once we had gathered all of our information, we worked up what we thought would be his best solution. He liked our proposal, and we set an installation appointment.

Factory Headunit Retained As Source With The Help Of Audison DSP

The factory radio was retained because of it’s perfect integration into the dash. An Audison BitTenD Processor integrates the aftermarket stereo with the factory radio.

The DRC remote for the Audison processor was mounted in a custom trim piece wrapped in factory leather. The controller gives the client fingertip control of sound functions.

In this vehicle, there was no reason to think about changing the factory stereo system, so we left it intact and fed the musical signal into an Audison BitTenD processor. This is a unique device that gets rid of any equalization Ferrari adds to the music and gives us a beautiful signal from which to create great-sounding audio. The BitTenD also gives us incredible tuning capabilities, since it provides dedicated crossovers, equalization and digital delay for every speaker in the car. In the hands of a skilled installer, the BitTenD has a wonderful effect on the sound quality of the system.

Once our team members were done working their magic in this vehicle, the sound spread across the top of the dash as if the driver had the best seats in the house at an intimate jazz club. Every instrument was in perfect position, and the clarity would leave you breathless. You had to keep reminding yourself that you were in a Ferrari, not a night club.

The BitTenD uses a controller called a DRC, which we flushed into a custom panel in the center console, so it looked factory-equipped.

Hertz Amplifiers Chosen For This Ferrari Audio Upgrade

With the cover in place the equipment is completely hidden, and the trunk space, fully functional.

Lifting out the top trim board reveals something hidden underneath.

With the trim board removed the hidden components are revealed. A cosmetic trim piece covers 2 Hertz amplifiers and the Audison processor.

The musical signal in the Ferrari audio upgrade flows downstream to multiple amplifiers that we installed into the front of the trunk. A Hertz HDP4 supplies 150 watts per channel to the four front speakers and the Hertz HDP1 supplies more than 1,000 watts of clean power to the subwoofers. Suffice it to say that output is not a problem with this stereo! Audio Designs & Custom Graphics made a custom amp rack that accented the beautiful lines of the car while keeping a low profile, so the client kept almost all of his trunk space.

Hertz Energy Speakers Bring The Music To Life

Our technician carefully removes the necessary hardware for taking off the door card.

To replace the speakers the door card must be removed. Once removed, the factory midbass speaker is exposed and ready for the upgrade.

In the front doors, we installed Hertz ESK165.5 speakers, which consist of 6.5” woofers and 1” tweeters. We put them in the stock speaker locations in the front of the vehicle because we wanted to keep the integrity of the interior intact.

Spectacular Enclosure Holds Shallow Hertz Subwoofers

The space behind the seats is where we will fabricate the enclosure to fit. It is a tight space, but the Hertz subs and our crafty technicians are up to the task!

Not only were we able to squeeze two subwoofers behind the seat, but we made it look great too.

The stitched leather and accent pieces make this enclosure look like a factory upgrade.

When it came time to add bass, we made a custom enclosure to house two Hertz ESF20.5 8” subwoofers. What we like about these subwoofers is their ability to work well in very small enclosures that are also extremely shallow. We fabricated custom grills and trim plates in-house to keep the factory look, and used factory-spec Italian calf leather with the same stitching to make the subwoofer enclosure look like a factory option.

Vehicle protection is something we take very seriously here at Audio Designs & Custom Graphics. Seat covers are just one of the measures we take to ensure the protection of our client’s vehicles.

When the client came to pick up his Ferrari, he was blown away by our attention to detail. When we cranked it up for the first time, he just nodded his head in approval. And that made our day.

If you own a special vehicle and would like to improve its audio system, we invite you to stop by Audio Designs & Custom Graphics. Our award-winning team will work with you to design and build the audio system you have always wanted. And we will do it with attention to detail that will make you proud to show it off.

You can also contact us here for more information about any of our products and services.