# Advice for first audio install (Mazda 3 2010)



## Shanfara (May 10, 2011)

Hi guys,

I have been researching for the last several weeks and meeting with car audio "experts" from Crutchfield and BestBuy to price an adequate car audio upgrade.

I have changed gears and now want to do this myself and correctly.

The problem:
-2010 Mazda 3 non-Bose Sedan with factory speakers
-Never installed car audio
-Limited budget (no ceiling, just want to minimize all costs)

The need:
-clear highs that don't fatigue
-Full bodied sound
-rich, tight bass
-preserve steering wheel controls
-keep stock HU if it won't affect SQ

The want:
-Speaker recommendations
-Front door vs. Front and Back vs. F,B, and sub thoughts
-Coaxial vs. Component (I do not have A-Pillar cutouts)
-Amp thoughts
-Basic muffling considerations
-Parts needed for installation
-Speaker installation guides
-Any and all tips

I have gotten conflicting reports on what size speakers my car can use. Some say 5x7, some say 6x8, others say 6 1/2. 

I want a super clean and rich, full bodied sound that is luscious and not overpowering. I don't want a lot of bass, but I want to have fun with my sound. I want to stay out of my trunk and I want to minimize drilling, modifying, and potential for ruining my car. I have limited tools and experience, but I want to do this install myself. I just obviously haven't a friggin clue.

Any and all help will be GREATLY appreciated. 

-JD


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## nineball (Jan 17, 2008)

Shanfara said:


> I have been researching for the last several weeks and meeting with car audio "experts" from Crutchfield and BestBuy to price an adequate car audio upgrade.


never met an expert at bb. ever. if they were that good they would have a job at a real shop.

since you have no experience installing i would suggest you try to find someone on here who does and is local to you. while installing a system is not rocket science you can easily screw a lot of things up and cause more problems to your car.


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## Shanfara (May 10, 2011)

nineball said:


> never met an expert at bb. ever. if they were that good they would have a job at a real shop.
> 
> since you have no experience installing i would suggest you try to find someone on here who does and is local to you. while installing a system is not rocket science you can easily screw a lot of things up and cause more problems to your car.


Hence the quotation marks. I got frustrated with the lacking information I was presented with.

What I have found out in the last couple of hours has led me to wanting to install an amp and sub to start with. I guess that means I need an LOC, an amp, and an 8" sub. Any suggestions on any of these parts? I would like to keep the sub under 150.


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## severedthumbz (Apr 7, 2011)

get u a bazooka tube and call it a day. lol


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## trent.g (Feb 18, 2011)

The door speakers are 5x7. Not a very common size but you can fit 6.5's in there with a little baffle adapter. If you get components the tweeters could sit on your A-pillar or mounted to (or in) the sail panels where the factory tweeters would be in the next model up. You might want to look into a multi channel amp to keep cost down because you will probably want to amp the door speakers too. The Mazda HU (non-bose) doesn't give a very flat signal at all. Look into a LOC that does double duty as an EQ. Audiocontrol EQL/EQS, Rockford Fosgate Re-Q/Re-Q 5/360, JL Cleansweep all have high level inputs for instance. 

But for starters, yes, an amp and a sub do wonders when spliced in with a basic LOC like David Navone's products.
David Navone - Adaptor Products - Car Audio Engineering

Check out the classifieds on the forum too because there are alot of bargains on amps, subs and speakers. I'll let some other people make specific recommendations...


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## 000zero (Mar 12, 2011)

If you do have 5x7 or 6x8 speakers I would either build a custom mount (or buy one) so you can fit either a 5.25 or 6.5 speaker. Your speaker options will be a lot less limited. Some people even say that circular speakers have better SQ because they can reproduce sounds with greater accuracy, I am not sure about that I have not done the research, but a I can tell you that I have had a number of different 6x9 speakers and they all did not sound as good as the circular speaker from the same line.


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## Shanfara (May 10, 2011)

Thanks Trent,

I was snooping around my passenger side earlier and noticed some thick blue cables tucked into the kick panel. I took it off and found two monster RCA cables rolled up and running up to the stereo:








When I pulled the HU out, I found this:








I think the green thing is an LOC, correct? So does this mean I just need an amp and a sub? How do I remove the glove box to gain access to the green thing (I can't wiggle it out very far)?


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## Shanfara (May 10, 2011)

severedthumbz said:


> get u a bazooka tube and call it a day. lol


A Bazooka is too sloppy. I want something more refined. I appreciate the response, however.


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## trent.g (Feb 18, 2011)

Dude. Score! (The pics didn't come through but you might have the easiest sub install ever if that's what they are.) I'm guessing you recently bought the car used. You just never know what the previous owner left behind


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## nineball (Jan 17, 2008)

ya, that looks like a loc. personally i would rip the craptastic install job apart to make sure. wire nuts and electrical tape are not the way to go for car audio. the lines should be soldered and heat shrink, or at a minimum soldered and taped. wires nuts are the lazy way out and should stay where they were intended to be used - in a house.


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

if you are interested in seeing what is involved in going DIY, suggest you search for mazda 3 in the build log forums, several guys have documented their builds with lots of pictures/narrative which will give you lots of pointers and tips. it's not hard, but can be very time consuming, and enjoyable as well. I have an 05 Mz3, but would guess the 2010 3 is not all that much different in taking it apart and the install portion. Check out some mazda forums as well for build logs. I know I referred to them numerous times as well as here.


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## Shanfara (May 10, 2011)

Thanks guys,

I will check the build logs and see what I can find. Unfortunately I don't know anything about "soldering and heat shrinking". I would rather leave it alone if it works. That being said I have no idea what to do for a sub. Wouldn't mounting one in the trunk make it muffled and then you have to get a louder sub to hear it? I would think that would just piss people off outside of the car and make everything rattle uncontrollably. I want to keep it in the cab if my assumptions are true (plus I need to be able to fit my Mosin Nagant's and M4 in the trunk when I go to the range because they sit diagonally and take up the whole thing).

The Bestbuy tech recommended an Infinity Basslink, but they have the first one and want 300 dollars for it (uh... no). I don't need loud bass, but I want to feel it. It should make my loins tremble and melt passenger seat panties because it is sexy, not because it's so loud that it physically melts their clothing off.

Today is shaping up to be pleasantly surprising. For replacing door speakers, would I just take the old ones out, make adapters to fit, and then plug the old wires into the new speakers? That would be easy, methinks....


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## nineball (Jan 17, 2008)

the first step you should take is to use some cld (dynamat xtreme, secondskind damplifier pro, sds tiles) on your car. it will do wonders to improve the sound inside and keep it more quiet on the outside. start by doing your front doors and then move on the the trunk / wheel wells. there are lots of threads about these products and too many pictures to mention. 

i'm not a fan if the basslink systems but they are the easiest to install. for $300 you can find a much better sub and amp combo on the classifieds here. take some time and read a lot on this board and you should be good to go.


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## trent.g (Feb 18, 2011)

Aha! There's the pics. Definitely try to get a soldering iron in there and fix it up. Look in the kick panel on the driver's side too. You may have a power cable tucked away somewhere too!

Here's a look in the doors from mazdas247.com if you're looking into comps:

HOW-TO: Mazda3 Front Speaker Install

And yes, round speakers sound way better than oval ones. Also, good call on the 8" sub for tight and punchy. Might look into 2 of those for volume or 1 10" to dig to the lower frequencies and remain tight. I have a 10" in a .5cu ft sealed enclosure so it doesn't hafta take up 1/2 the trunk.


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## Shanfara (May 10, 2011)

I checked the driver's side kick and saw what only appeared to be factory cabling. I don't know where the power cable is if there is one. If there isn't, what do I need to do with the existing LOC?


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## nineball (Jan 17, 2008)

plug it into an amp 

you will need some form of a switched 12v power supply to turn the amp on though. i'm sure there is a mazda 3 forum out there on the net that will tell you where to tap into one.


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