Tomorrow I have reserved a bay in a buddy's shop to do my install. Here is the plan (might as well call my shot ans see how it goes):

Remove factory amp, F mids, dash tweets, and by-nines. Install JL 300/4 (under pass seat - wish me luck!), MB Quart 6x9 woofs from the component kit in the rear deck (haven't found anyone who's done this...), Alpine 2003-version 5.25 components in custom-made spacers in F door, tweets in dash, Xovers in console (in factory amp location).

Taking photos and will post system map after it's done.

After that, I am getting married on Saturday and taking the TSX to Whistler and Vancouver BC for honeymoon... so y'all are on your own for a week

 

Sounds nice.

Congrats both on your upcoming install and your marriage.

Here's to the married life!

iamhomin, who isn't married

 

Any particular reason you decided to go with 5.25 and not 6.5?

 

Three reasons:

1) I typically like the vocals from a 5.25 better than a 6 or 6.5.

2) I was concerned about a hefty 6.5 fitting. I could have fit a Quart, but the X-type 6.5 might not have made it. With a 1" spacer, the Alpine 5.25 is still a little deeper than the factory speaker, and the magnet is much larger in diameter... so I was worried about fitment. And I didn't want to put metal tweets in the dash (I have MBQ 6.5"s in the CR-V, but wanted to go with low-playing soft domes this time).

2) Alpine had produced too many of the one-mid, one-tweet, one-crossover center-channel X-type kits (in a fit of optimistic product planning) and a dealer of my acquaintance bought a bunch of them at a screaming deal. A buddy of mine works for the dealer. He needed a flat-panel LCD PC monitor, and I had a 15" that I had bought for $150 at a massive discount from one of my consulting clients.

So basically, I got this set of SPX-13M's for $150.

 

You know I'm waiting to hear if you get a 4ch amp under the seat (going to check with the place that installed my current one (Eclipse) to see what they charge to remove it so that it could go in the TSX). As long as the seat doesn't need to be modified.....

Also, CONGRATS on getting married. I got married last Sept (after 6 years together) and we just continue to get more and more happy together.

 

my brother was married last weekend 7-24. one of the best parties ever, congratulations bro. Only wishes of success and happiness!!

Oh by the way lemme know how the amp fits, i am looking to the same in the future, I might use Kove audio for for the satellite speakers.... i would love to see a few pics though

 

Congrats on the marriage!!

Don't you want to drive South for you honeymoon? Warm, sunny Florida? Do a little install on my TSX while I'm at work? Your wife can hand you tools...hehe ...I'm going to have to take time off again just to work on mine, I think I have everything now...

 

hehe... i'm getting married on saturday too! good luck.

 

Thanks for the great thoughts, all. musicbox, it would be hard for me to work on your TSX on my honeymoon with stumps for hands

Well, I'm off to seethe wizard...

Congrats, DEVO!

 

congrats on the marriages devo and elduderino! No more partying life for guys eh? hehe

 

Au contraire, life just gets better. Congrats on the marriages guys.

 

sounds awesome. but i was thinking what you had said earlier about the tweeters and installing the xovers... how are you gonna get them in the center console? i cant imagine how difficult it would be to install them... please post pics on how you did this

 

What are you talking about, I have 80 odd hours or so!

 

all the best to both of you on married life

 

Thanks!

OK, here's what I got done today (the rest tomorrow):

Tweeters are in the factory locations.

Cascade Vibra-Bloc ins installed in both front doors (difference is noticeable!)

5.25 Mids are in the Front doors - spacer rings worked awesome and speakers sound great!

JL 300/4 fit underneath the seat without seat mods! (Well, technically...)

RCA and speaker wire connections in center console are all complete!

Power wire is run from UnderHood Fuse Box - all stealth and factory-looking. Went through Drivers inner fender (camera died at this point - sorry!)

No engine noise! (not even with hi-beams and rear defrost!)

Xovers are NOT in center console - too fricking big. Ended up with them under carpet against firewall on passenger side.

Now, currently, the center console is disassembled and the pass seat is not bolted in and the by-nines are not in... but I'll do that in the morning. My digital camera battery died 2/3 of the way through today... I'll try to take photos tomorrow...

Tweets: Just dropped them in. Currently have the tweeter OP on xover set to -4.5 dB... still kinda loud but good. Great front stage with vocals... these tweets play LOW.

Mids: made a spacer ring (6.75" OD) out of 3/4" birch plywood from Home Depot. Made a trim ring tht surrounded the outside of the 5.25 out of 1/4" tempered masonite from home depot. Test-fit by masking-taping spacer to back of door panel and test-fitting door panel. Predrilled all holes, spray painted wood black, installed foam tape around speaker hole and mounted spacer ring to door. Then mounted speaker to spacer. Worked like a champ. Midbass even my fiancee noticed. Popping them with a Makita battery sounds like a kick drum!

Amp: removed 3/4 inch of foam from underside of carpet from under amp and surrounding area. Cut bump off of rubber plug that jutted upward under amp. Shimmed back end of seat upward with 3 thick washers. (If I was a welder I would get rid of the stinking crossbar that caused all this and make a new one...)

NOTE: DO NOT start car with seat connectors unplugged - apparently causes AIRBAG error light and trip to dealer to reset... This is why seat is not bolted in... all adjustments and connections are facing forward, so I have to set them and then bolt seat in...

Tomorrow AM I am going to try a Phoenix Gold line driver I got from a buddy at PG (it's modified, so I have to put it in a RS hobby box).. I do have a bit of engine noise if I raise the input gain on the amp... so I am going to experiement tomorrow with the Line Driver and some grounding to get rid of that. More volume would be nice, but not essential.

NOTE: I installed a Ground Loop Isolator to see if it helped. When I put the GLI in the center console near where the factory amp was, I got worse noise! I experimented, and the closer the Radio Shack GLI got to the Airbag ECU (the one with the yellow harnesses) the worse the noise got! If you have a GLI, get it as far from the Airbag ECU as possible!

Tomorrow, by-nines, damping on rear deck, line driver!

 

Could you post a quick How-to on taking the rear deck out (if you're taking the whole deck out of course)? I'd like to put some damping material in also.

 

Well, after looking at it, I chickened for now on the rear deck. I can see that it will require pulling the seat bottom and then the side bolsters to get to the front edge... and I didn't have it in me. Looks like the rear decck is hard plastic with upholstery on top, so I think that damping will help noise a lot (when I lowered the xover point on the 6x9's, I got rid of a LOT of rattles and noise!)

The MB Quart 6x9's drop in - no problems with hole size or torsion bar clearance. However, the grilles (which pop up at the leading edge and come right out) have a deep oval section that sits on top of the frame of the factory 6x9, with the ubiquitous foam tape to seal off the baffle again.

Since the frame-spacer on the MB Quarts is like 3/8" deep (as opposed to like 1/16" on the factory) I had to trim the bottom of this oval section. It's extremely dangerous to use a jigsaw without the blade guard on it, so don't ever do that.


Now I am off to Home Depot for wider foam tape to re-seal the 6x9 grilles.

The PG LD22 seemed to add background hiss - the S/N ratio went to shit. Since I have the fader in effect to allow relative level control betweeen the 6x9 and the front separates, I left the line driver out, left the amp gains low, and ended up with the 6x9's on a 24dB/octave low-pass at about 75 (according to the amp xover). The front xover is 12 dB/octave at about 65 Hz.

At first I was very disappoointed with the 6x9's - then I realized my xover knob arrow was pointing at 500 Hz, not 75 Hz like I thought : ) (It was dark down there and the arrow is scratched up - used amp, remember).

I can detect the seat height change with the rear spacers but it's not objectionable... and my 5'3" fiancee will probably like it. (I am 6' 0" but I have a 30" inseam - I am ALL upper body - so I am very sensitive to seat heights).

Due to the size, shape, and layout of this amplifier, I recommend it HIGHLY for this application. I don't think any other amp could have given me this power and sound quality and been invisible with the seat in a normal position.


I will hopefully post pics before the wedding!

Oh, and a shout out to The Sound Choice - Rich, Jason, and Justin - on Powell in Portland by the Ross Island Bridge. Due to my knowing these guys a long time I was allowed to wrench in their bay (DO NOT ASK FOR PERMISSION TO DO THIS YOURSELF - the answer's NO) and were very helpful. They are also now very familiar with this car, and are great installers and no-bullshit guys - check them out. They also are an Alpine F#1 dealer.

 

Oh, and I re-checked the tweets - they were at - 2.5 dB. They are now at - 4.5 dB and smooth and sweet.

 

congrats on the install so far. i'm having troubles with my system currently. it seem like i have some loose wires or something because my front speakers keep turning on then off again. I think that maybe my subwoofers rattled some connections loose. I hope anyways.

 

That sucks... good luck on finding that.

 

OK, latest...

1) When removing and installing 6x9's, be very careful with your ratchet handle! I have a Snap-On plastic-handled 1/4" ratchet, but if you use a standard metal-handled ratchet, you could easily crack the rear window.

2) When installing 6x9's, keep in mind that the stock machine screws are only in sheet metal... they strip WAY easy, and way before they feel that tight, even to a girlie-man like me. (You may want to use machine screws...)

3) If installing xovers under the carpet against the passenger side firewall, the newly-spaced-out carpet will press against the forward edge of the black trim panel that goes under the glove box. It won't want to stay in place (this thing hardly stays in place as it is!). I drilled two holes towards the aft edge and screwed it in to the plastic tabs that it snaps into. Used black screws, looked factory, no worries.

My system's forward stage is really impressive. I can't believe how high the voices are in the windshield! I experimented with the various settings on the xovers, and at the amp, and ended up with the fronts at ~65 Hz and up, 12dB/octave (to enhance the bass in the stopband), and the rears at ~70 Hz and down, 24dB octave (to keep voices out of the by-nines).

Listening to the old Alpine CAN disc is pretty cool... but I forgot how low the recording level is! It turns out I have plenty of volume on every popular-music CD I've tried. The only time I've heard the by-nines flap is at the crescendo of "The Planet Krypton" on the CAN disc, and that makes almost every woofer in the world freak out : ) But damn, do those massed strings sound good!

OK, I can go on the honeymoon now.

 

OK, everything broken in, pics should be up in a few days.

BTW, wedding went great - everyone had a great time, fun party for all. Had a blast in Whistler and Vancouver BC for the short honeymoon. Float plane tour, zip line tours, ate way too much, etc.

The tweets have softened a bit after break-in... going to up them to -2.5 dB and wrap them in grille cloth.

The MBQ 6x9 woofs have broken in nicely and lost the one-note sound they had when new and stiff. I am going to try raising the xover point and turning them a bit more this week.

ALL rattles in both F doors are GONE... especially the really annoying one in the passenger door. That broekn platic weld was obviously the cause. The car is now noticeably quieter on the highway due to the door damping material.

I also seem a bit shy in the mid-bass... but just a bit. Going to try a few things in the tuning department... if that doesn't work, I will make tuan happy, and install my latest audio piece of gear - an Alpine 3402 parametric EQ.

 

Picutres! Pictures! We want to see the pictures!

 

Wont happen, eldu is on a leave of absense from the board.