King of Pain

OK,

I think I’m finally done with my audio upgrade. This is actually the second time since I didn’t like the way it came out the first time.

This time I built a floor into the trunk to house all the equipment with the sub in the middle firing into the back of the car. All panels come out with the side compartments being used for hideaway storage. The sub sits in the center area and can be pulled out and move in case I ever need to use the access door. I can rotate the sub on its platform to fire it into the passenger compartment or straight up.

The equipment is as follows:

• JL Audio e6450 6 channel amp to drive the front, rear and center channel speakers
• JL Audio e2150 2 channel amp bridged to drive the sub
• CDT EF61 components used in the front and the back
Featuring carbon fiber 6.5 mids in the doors and rear deck. 1 inch silk dome tweeters used on the dash and the rear deck. The fronts tweeters swivel.
• Rockford Fosgate Punch 1 10” subwoofer. To be replaced later with a JL 10”.
• Miles and miles of wiring
• CDT CL4 4” Coaxial for the center speaker

David Navone Line Out Audio Converters to take the signal after the stock amp and send it to the amp.

I lost about 3” of the trunk floor but I am still able to store everything I need.

Am yes. I still have access to my spare. The amp tray is hinged so it can be opened to get to the spare tire

As for the actual sound quality I can say it is truly amazing. In the CD mode the imaging and soundstage is great across the front dash with plenty of detail. The CDTs give plenty of midrange and the tweeters are bright without being harsh. In the DVD Audio mode the rears (with the addition of the tweeters) add plenty detail to the surround channels. The 10” sub is plenty for me since I am looking for a real bass line or drum kick in my music.

Next is the suspension. I'm getting it dropped this Tuesday.

vidoprof

Looks nice man.. Only think is that I don't think the Acura symbol looks good there as it makes it look cluttered with the JL symbols. Other than that looks REAL nice. I like it.

Can you show a pic of the spare?

I like the leather wrapped floor too.. Is that leather?

Ryan

VtecMW

Looks great! I want to do something like that myself now. Do you have any pics of the build before the finished product?

kyle-wdp

Are you not using any type of processor (ie Cleansweep)? I have thought of removing mine to try and eliminate the noise and pops I get.

King of Pain

Thanks for the comments guys.

I thought the Acura symbol would look nice. I put it on and I have to agree it looks too cluttered. I have a spare piece of plexi I can cut and install. Here's a before pix:




It's not leather. No cows were killed in the process of this upgrade. It's simulated leather with a fabric backing. It stretches and is pretty tough too.

I pull out the center carpet piece and replaced it with a fiber board floor, it hinges at the sub platform. Here's an pix before the gray carpet went in:





Here's a pix of the spare tire:



Currently I am not using any processors. No pops, no noise. The Navone LOCs are competition grade LOCs, they retain alot of the signal and dynamic range without adding any noise. I have a good friend, Kenny, who owns a local car audio shop in SoCal, Al and Eds autosound in Orange. He wants me to try a Rockford Fosgate 3sixty processor. They should be out in April. I may test one.

triggle

Love what you've done. It looks very professional. I like the Acura symbol or the JL but not both.

What are you going to do about the bedsheet in your spare tire well ? I'd suggest just line the well with a layer of peel&seal and carpet the underside of the board with a thick sound absorbing carpet.

vidoprof

Looks way better man without the Acura symbol. I like the install man.



Ryan

I lost ALOT of my trunk space with my install but I still have the spare wheels well.

kyle-wdp

give me some info on the Navone LOCs .....cost, where can I get them?, how many do I need?
Thanks,

ACCURATEin

Thats a nice clean install.

I like how you had the false floor to make it all one level.

King of Pain

The bedsheet is incase I have to sleep in my car, once the wifey finds out how much I spent on this stuff.

Seriously it's an emergency thing incase I need it. I also carry a first aid kit in the trunk.

The false floor acts a good sound barrier in the trunk. No rattles but I don't really push the sub that hard. I'm looking for accurate bass. The parts of the floor that do not have the equipment are used as hideaway storage, the sides and the left back. The right back area is where the rear crossovers are located

Here's a link to the LOCs:

I purchased the NE-774V to handle the 4 primary channels and the NE-7V to take care of the center and the sub. They are in the adapter section.


http://www.davidnavone.com/

nYmALu86

Very clean install. How much did everything come out to?

King of Pain

Total equipment costs were around $900 (that's wire, cable, upholstery, wood, amps, speakers, etc).

CCColtsicehockey

nice job man. got any more pics of the process as I am going to be trying to do the same thing in my car as I am not completely happy with my first attempt.

Here is a picture of my first attempt.

kyle-wdp

KOP - ordered the Navone LOCs on your recommendation, will remove and return cleansweep once they are installed. I will lose the ipod input but I haven't used it much anyway. I think I will run the cable for the center for down the road even though I like the sound better without it. I have a JL 5 channel anyway.


Did you say the center is a 4 inch speaker? I would have to purchase a pair of matching focals and another amp so I would have to want it real bad to add it.

Thanks

kyle-wdp

I noticed you got signal after the stock amp and your noise went away!

That is my problem!!!! I found your chat with Dave Navone on carsound and will implement it immediately.......I love the internet!

King of Pain

Kyle-wdp,

Glad I could help and I hope all goes well with your audio changes. I think the center stock speaker is 3.5, I think??. I do know I had to modify the center grill and dash opening to make it fit. Well worth it because CDT4 brings out the center vocals better.

I had 260hp (that's his screen name) come buy this weekend to pick up the trunk tray I sold him. I let him listen to my new audio setup. I think he was pretty impressed.

As far as more pix of the trunk process. Not too much else. The tray was easy because I just took out the center carpet piece and traced it out on 2 2'x4' boards. Once it's cut out check and file/sand the two boards for the correct fit and figure out where the hinge is going to be. Lay out you equipment where you want it and mark it out. Add the side supports, carpet it and you’re done. I took construction paper from a crafts store and made templates of the beauty boards that would go on top. Cut them out, check fit and file/sand to get it right. Figure out where you want your windows on the templates, then cut them out. I purchased the leather/ vinyl upholstery from Joanne’s fabrics, cut it out and stapled/glued to the beauty board. Add the Plexiglas and you’re done.

The wiring and the speaker installation is whole other story.

kyle-wdp

I wonder if I could buy a small JL amp and bridge it onto the center.....just thinking

VtecMW

King of Pain, I read your conversation with Dave Navone as well. Are you going to forego a component like the Rockford 3SIXTY and stick with the Navone LOCs?

Can you give a little summary on what replacing the front and rear speakers were like for you. Is there enough depth in the door to accommodate your CDTs? Or did it require some modding?

How difficult was it to remove the door panels? How about replacing the factory tweeters.

Just trying to get a game plan together for when I start mine.

Thanks.

King of Pain

I am very satisfied with the sound quality of my current setup. I'm not sure if I will see a real improvement with the 3sixty (msrp $400 worth of improvement?). I guess I'm still on the fence with the 3sixty. I have a good freind who own a local car audio shop in SoCal, Al&Eds in Orange. He is a Rockford Dealer and has heard the sixty in action. He says it will do wonders for the sound. He may let me take one for a test drive if I ask him.

Installing the CDTs were not as hard I thought they would be. Depth was not a problem but I did have to make the holes bigger, the stock door speakers are 6.25 and the CDTs are 6.5. The door panel comes off with 4 screws and a gentle pull. 2 hiding behind the door latch, one below the arm rest and one on the round door bumper. Once the door is off it's just a matter of disconnecting the wiring. I believe there is a diagram somewhere for it. Here a pix my door. You can see I used the factory wiring and spliced the end to it for the connection to the speaker. The hole has been enlarged with tin snips and dynamat has been applied. The back required me to remove the seat, side deck pieces and the rear deck since the speakers come out from the top. I did the same thing as the front. Enlarged the holes with tin snips and applied dynamat:




For the tweeters I strayed from the factory look slightly. For the fronts I removed the factory tweeter from the grill and cut out a hole for the new tweeters. The tweeters pivot so I was able to aim them a little off the glass and towards the driver for a better sound stage. For the back I tried to hide them but could not find a good spot for them. I decided to cut into the rear deck just above the speakers. I found spray paint that match the color of the rear deck. I painted them and then popped them in. Yes, I now have a 10 speaker system. The rear tweeters add alot to the sound quality during the 5.1 playback



The most difficult thing for me was drilling and cutting into my baby. I was afraid to screw things up and do permanent damage to her. In the end it was worth it. No damage done. I never had to take the dash apart.

Here's a pix of the CDTs speakers:



Here's a pix of the stock speaker system and amp. The amp stayed in the car, everything else was replaced.

VtecMW

King of Pain, thanks for the details. Please keep us posted if you ever give the Rockford 3SIXTY a try. I'm on the fence about that as well. My goal is to realize a big improvement over the stock audio system without breaking the bank.

I'll consider the 3SIXTY if there is a dramatic improvement in audio quality. But, based on the impression that you have of your system, I think I'd be more than satisfied running with the Navone LOCs.

I plan on going with Focal 165s, components up fronts and coaxials in the rear. They're 6.5" diameter speakers as well. Would a dremel tool be appropriate for carving out additional space? I'm not sure how I'd do with tin snips!

Finally, in the picture of your door, you have a blue wire that is heavier gauge than the factory wiring. http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3790/2005a0594nu.jpg What is that wire for? Where does it run? Or, is it part of the splicing you did?

Thanks for all your help.

Oh, and for historical purposes... I have to document the fact that this is my 900th post!

kyle-wdp

You will love the Focals! I went with coaxes all the way around and eliminated the center channel. I am having the cleansweep removed tomorrow and the LOCs installed. I will let you know how it goes.

kyle-wdp

King,
Sounds great with the LOCs......I am very happy. Cleansweep and Ipod input for sale if anyone wants it.

w1n78

looks very nice and you manage to keep your spare tire can't wait to see it in person during the so cal meet

King of Pain

Glad to hear everything went OK for you. Did you notice the difference between the cleansweep equalized SQ and the LOCs SQ? I'm just wondering if the change is dramatic? Was there too much noise to really tell?

VtecMW:
Yea I had to splice some extra blue speaker wire onto the end of the stock wire to connect the door speakers. Not ideal but it worked.

VtecMW

KP and Kyle thanks for the info. I will definitely be going with the Navone LOCs.

I'm going to begin work on the beauty panel this week. I'm not sure where I want to put the amps yet. I don't think I'll be doing a false floor. I've got plenty of time to come up with ideas.

Thanks.

05TLTony

Very clean job and looking really nice. I wish I was that talented.

kyle-wdp

I have had the equalization off for a few weeks now, so I didn't notice a difference. After using the factory amp as a line driver, I have the gains on my 500/5 buried at 0 and I can't turn the radio up past 8. It is so loud yet perfectly clean at any volume. I used to listen to it on 30. It sounds so freakin powerful. I don't think my cleansweep was the problem, I think it was where we were getting signal, although I am going to tell the shop it was that so they will take it back.

cacicgt7

so you used the LOC's AFTER the stock amp, but kept the stock amp hooked up? I'm a little confused by this. Can i just use LOC's after the stock amp, then directly hook it up to a 4-channel to run my speakers?

kyle-wdp

That is what I did....I used the factory amp as a line driver for my JL 5 channel. I have the gains all the way down on my JL and it is very loud and clear because it has such as powerful signal.

King of Pain

The LOCs are installed between the stock amp and the aftermarket amp. The LOCs convert the high level speaker signal to a clean low level preamp signal.

zax123

KOP,

I'm in the planning stages of an install very similar to yours. I wanted to ask you... why did you use an e2150 instead of a monoblock amp from JL? Just curious.... Sorry for plagiarizing but as they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

King of Pain

The amp is rated at 150 watts bridged and the sub is rated at 150 watts continous power. The combo is just right for me since I'm not looking for big bass. Besides the amp only cost $70.00 off ebay and the sub is a leftover from my previous car

zax123

KOP,

Just wondering, where did you hide the crossovers for the front CDTs? Would you happen to have a picture of your rear deck? Your tweeters are sitting directly on top of the rear speakers?

King of Pain

I could not find a suitable place to mount the tweeters on the metal deck so I mounted the tweeters driectly to the rear deck. Here are some pixs of the rear deck. They are painted to match the tan color. Not finding a suitable place up front for the crossovers I placed them in the trunk.

zax123

Oh, gotcha, so the two crossovers in the pictures at the beginning of this thread are for the front... where did you put the rear crossovers? What is that device with the digital display in the pictures at the beginning? Sorry for all the questions. I know I'm stealing your ideas and hardwork but it looks like an awesome job and I'd really like something similar in my car. Also, is your sub enclosure mounted above the false floor you made or is it sitting lower than the false floor?

King of Pain

Thanks for the compliments. The rear crossovers sit right behind the front crossovers, just to the right of the sub. The digital display is my distribution block, audio pipe CQ-3422PD. The sub sits about 1 inch below the false floor . The false floor hides alot of wiring.

Here it is, totally exposed.



Here's my Baby, washed and ready for the Mega Meet at the Block

zax123

Totally awesome, thanks for all the details... I'm almost ready to start my project now. Just gotta find the money. hehe.

beefster86

do you have nav ing your car .if you do did the lose the voice when u took ouit the center channel speaker

King of Pain

The center is still fully functional. The amp sends equal power to all speakers. All OEM functions are still working. No I do not have navi. Everything was done after the stock OEM amp

datmrman

Saw this in person, very clean install by King of Pain. Nice meeting you at the meet! Your son will be one lucky dude around prom time. Its one awesome audio system.

The car will look even better when you get the body kit on there.