Car Audio for the 2020 Peugeot 2008 – Unfinished Project

We decided to publish this project even though it wasn’t finished. Why? For a few reasons: to show how this car is set up from an audio perspective, to highlight the amazing Italian-made speakers from the PHD brand, and to share an unfinished project from our portfolio (we’ve had very few of those—you could count them on one hand). After all, not everything has to be polished, shiny, and perfect.

If our article were about a completed project, it would begin like this: “

When your motto is “You’re willing to go to great lengths for great sound in your own car, yet you aren’t prepared to cut the vehicle to pieces just for the sake of music,” there was never any doubt about how the new audio system in my own Peugeot 2008 would be set up.

Of course, the thought of going bigger did cross my mind, but I decided to stick with a two-way front stage, mid-bass drivers in the rear, and a subwoofer—all powered by audiophile-grade amplifiers and, naturally, a signal processor. Minimal modifications, yet maximum expectations for the result.

These were precisely the expectations for the future project, but read on to find out what was actually achieved.

Speaker replacement for the 2020 Peugeot 2008

I love a confident, solid bass punch—where the drums hit you in the chest just like at a live concert. To achieve this, I chose drivers from the top-tier line of the Italian brand PHD Audio. It’s a lesser-known brand, but to give you an idea of ​​their sound quality, I’d say they are on par with Focal K2P speakers (featuring Kevlar cones).

To start, we disassembled the doors to determine the level of soundproofing required for the high-end speakers we had selected, as well as to figure out which spacer rings were needed. I am writing this article in 2026—a time when our technicians 3D-print spacer rings—but back in 2021, finding speaker spacers for a 2020 Peugeot 2008 was quite a challenge.

The doors proved challenging: there was a large access opening (requiring a cover), and the plastic door panels featured many intricate details.

We’re comparing the stock speaker from a 2020 Peugeot 2008 with a PHD Audio mid-bass driver. Just look at how massive the magnet on the new speaker is compared to the factory one. Now, just imagine the difference in sound!

In the end, we were able to retain the factory spacer rings. Minor modifications allowed the new speaker to fit into them perfectly. We were satisfied with the rigidity and density of the factory plastic, so we left it virtually untouched.

Tweeters for Peugeot 2008

A special thank you to the manufacturer for the dedicated tweeter mounting locations. Believe us, a factory-installed tweeter positioned effectively is a rarity. Few car manufacturers angle the tweeters toward the driver to ensure the sound is properly directed. In the 2020 Peugeot 2008, this has been executed very well.

In this case, we replaced the worthless factory plastic tweeter with a Hertz Mille series tweeter. These tweeters served faithfully in my previous car—a VW Golf V—for a long time, and now they are doing the same in a 2020 Peugeot 2008.

Rear door speakers

Soundproofing for 2020 Peugeot 2008 doors

At that time, we were working with the Shumoff brand, so the doors were treated with materials from that manufacturer. We selected premium-grade materials. The treatment process followed our car audio studio’s standard procedure: two layers of vibration damping, a sound-absorbing layer on the door skin, additional vibration damping on the plastic trim panels, and an aluminum sheet to seal the service opening.

The access opening was first sealed with a thick, adhesive-backed aluminum sheet, over which a layer of vibration damping material was applied. Thanks to this rigid construction, the mid-bass driver delivers a tight, rich, and punchy sound.

Amplifier and processor for the 2020 Peugeot 2008

The plan for this vehicle was to install a separate processor and two amplifiers: an 8-channel processor, a six-channel Audison VRx amplifier, and a Hertz monoblock for the subwoofer. The intention was to arrange all of this elegantly in the trunk beneath a false floor. Unfortunately, the project came to an end at precisely that stage—a full-scale war broke out in Ukraine.

Nevertheless, I still drive this car. And I like the way the music sounds—even though the audio upgrade was limited to just replacing the six speakers.