# 2015 Volvo S60 (P3) Stereo Install — JL, ARC, PHD, AE



## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Last time I ran an RCA was back in high school, when I was using Alpine V12 amps and listening to Nate Dogg and Warren G. Never lost the bug, just hadn’t had the time or the car to invest in. Well a few weeks ago I picked up this beauty:










2015 S60 T6. Turbo AND supercharged 4-cylinder making around 300-hp. It’s a blast to drive and I’ve wanted one for a while. Now that I’ve got it, I’m going to keep it for a long time so think she deserves some decent sounds.

My goal for the stereo is to match the car...quality performance in a sleeper package. Hoping to keep a tasteful, factory look that will really surprise people when you turn it up. 

I'm far from an expert in any of this, so it will certainly be a lot simpler than most of the installs here. That said, it will likely be a work in progress for a quite while as I balance other things.

This thread is an attempt to give back to this forum, which I’ve found invaluable over the last couple of months for product research and install ideas. It is also an attempt to document everything I’ve learned about this particular car, as my searching turned up very little relevant info. Hope this can be of help to any other S60 owners who are thinking of doing the same.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

I'm game! My son has a 2001 S60 NA.


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## GreatLaBroski (Jan 20, 2018)

Looking forward to this. +sub


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

A bit more about the car and equipment.

It has the "high-performance" stereo system (read: base) not the Harmon Kardon premium system. The base system has tweeter/midrange upfront, with coaxs (I think) in the rear, where the premium system has a 3-way set-up in front with a 6.5 and 2.5 in the door and a 1 inch tweeter in the sail panel. The door panel is the same regardless of the system, so I've got the room if I eventually decide to go with a 3-way upfront (and I think I will). 










There is an amp of unknown and unimportant wattage under the passenger seat. But, it is important to know it's there because that is where we will get our input signal from if we want to utilize the factory HU and steering wheel controls (which we do). I also wanted to make sure that the sensor alerts and cell phone worked like stock as well.

On the factory integration front, a lot of research and a trip to the DIYMA classified brought these two handsome little fellas to my house (thanks Middleby!)










Got a deal, and they fit my criteria: small, black and square. This is my first time playing with a DSP so I wanted to keep it simple, and after a short demo of the TuN software I found it really intuitive to use. Plus I've got a soft spot for JL.

But not for amps. For amps, my heart was set on the Arc XDi. I found two 850.5 (thanks Audio Intensity!) so added to cart. Given all the forum love, I figured they would be a good place to start and again fit my criteria. 










Four channels will will given to a 2-way front stage, with the sub channels going to a pair of 12s. The other four channels will go unused for now, but eventually will be crossed to a dedicated mid-bass in a 3-way system.

As for speakers, I had a set of PHD FB6.1 Pros from my last car. I like them quite a bit, mid-bass is strong and the tweeters are inoffensive, so I'll use them until I upgrade the whole front end. Plus, they're eye-talian!



















For subs on planning on two AE SBP12. Just need to figure out how the hell I'm gonna create a baffle in this mess of a trunk...


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

First things first: POW-AH!!!!

Keeping the wattage relatively low and using Class-D amps, so went with a simple 4-gauge run. Hardest part was finding a place to run the wire through the firewall. It's stuffed like a sausage under the hood, can't even get a glimpse of the firewall itself. 

Was on Swedespeed (I think) and came across a link to the Volvo accessory installation manuals. Found one that shows you where there is a factory opening (down at step 53). Also super helpful for removing trim pieces, etc. Would've certainly busted some plastic pieces if not for the step-by-step instructions.

I didn't take many pictures, but here is the connection to the battery and where the cable disappears behind the insulation. Used Stinger throughout for this part. Comes out in the passenger footwell, techflexed and siliconed where it passed through the grommet.



















A short run of 4-gauge ground goes to a factory bolt on the trunk wall.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

High-level inputs were taken from the amp under the passenger seat.

Right front: pins 3, 11 Yellow/Black (-), Violet/Black (+)
Left front: pins 1, 9 Gray/Black (-), Green/Black (+)










Tapped the 12V plug in the center console for remote, and replaced it with the control knob for the JL TwK. Accessory install manual was helpful again here for taking out the console.


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

I would create a new ground, that is a very bad location. You never want to ground to piece of metal that was welded to the car. Otherwise looking good so far.


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## Jetfire (Jan 28, 2011)

Thanks for posting your build. I have a 2013 S60 and I'm in the process of buying my equipment to replace speakers and add a sub. Keep us in the loop. I may hit you up with questions.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

adrianp89 said:


> I would create a new ground, that is a very bad location. You never want to ground to piece of metal that was welded to the car. Otherwise looking good so far.


Thanks, didn't think of that. Will find a new place.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Jetfire said:


> Thanks for posting your build. I have a 2013 S60 and I'm in the process of buying my equipment to replace speakers and add a sub. Keep us in the loop. I may hit you up with questions.


Sure, let me know. They're great cars.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

On to what turned out to be a much bigger job than expected: the doors.

Originally plan was to run some wires through the boot and make a quick adapter, seal, deaden and be done. After taking a look at the molex, and considering my desire to run 3 sets of 16ga wire, this happened:


















Hardest part was resolving to do it. There was even already a plugged grommet on the outside of the kickpanel that I was able to use (you can see it in the first pic). Luckily, my wife was out of town for a few days so I didn't have to explain why I was taking the doors off my weeks old car.

Some techflex, grommets, silicone and a snake and I had my very own boot.










As you can see from the door pic, the inside panel is one big piece of plastic. No holes, which is good, but no access to the outer panel for applying dampening, which is bad. Getting these things off was a real PITA—window actuator, handles, everything is attached to it. 

Couldn't for the life of me figure how to get it off until a lot of googling led to another install manual here. A lot of cursing and a few beers later, and I had the doors deadened and back together. Can't honestly say I would do this part again now that I know what it takes.










Now for the baffle. I didn't feel comfortable mounting the speaker to the plastic panel—was afraid it would flex too much. Enter the Mother of All Baffles.










Got some inch think HDPE and cut a shape that would use the factory bolt holes on two of its three sides to mount directly to the metal of the panel. Not pretty, but strong like bull. If/when I upgrade the front stage I'll make a new one with room for the mid-range.

Bolted it down on top of the CCF, and used some butyl rope to seal the inside.


































The tweeters were easy. They were just squeezed right up into the sail panel and "secured" with some more butyl rope.


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## Elgrosso (Jun 15, 2013)

Rien n’volvo ! (nothing beats veal, in french)
Love these cars, I’d appreciate a v90, but Ok I’m out...


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

You did the right thing on those baffles


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

Its amazing that Volvo really doesn't change much between models and years. I have an 08 s80 that its time to get in gear. Im using this thread as motivation. I also have to tap after the factory amp under the passenger seat. My installer and I are going in one weekend to see if I have a full range signal or if I have to sum other channels to get full range. After that it is get the door panel off to double check midbass depth and see where and how I can deaden the panel.


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

Not many guys have the balls to take the doors off for an audio build... RESPECT!


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Jroo said:


> Its amazing that Volvo really doesn't change much between models and years. I have an 08 s80 that its time to get in gear. Im using this thread as motivation. I also have to tap after the factory amp under the passenger seat. My installer and I are going in one weekend to see if I have a full range signal or if I have to sum other channels to get full range. After that it is get the door panel off to double check midbass depth and see where and how I can deaden the panel.


It really is. I had a mid-80s 245 with a 70s front end and 90s interior. Fit together perfectly.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Got the amps installed (well, actually it was a few weeks ago but I'm playing catch up here).

Just mounted them to some MDF and that to the floor with some rivnuts. Really just looking to fire everything up—expecting a more permanent solution to come into being after I've figured out the sub situation.

Speaking of...










But that's for another post.

Here's the "amp rack."


















It's in the spare tire well, which isn't quite deep enough. So was thinking of a false floor, but...it turns out that mounting amps in a trunk, directly above the muffler in the summer in Texas is a recipe for thermal shutdown. Whodathunkit? 

So my temporary install became very temporary indeed. Live and learn. I'm onto a new plan that will likely follow the Backyard Installers "bucket on a baffle" system, with the subs facing backwards and the amps mounted forward of them. But not until the temp in my garage drops below 90.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

So how did it sound???

Well, I don't have a strong point of reference beyond stock systems, so take this all with a grain of salt. 

I spent some time tuning, and really love the JL TwK. Seems really intuitive, all adjustments are from one screen, can tune left and right separately. I'm sure there are better options but I've got no complaints with this one.

Didn't mess with TA, but set the gains and EQ'ed aiming for the Harmon house curve. Driver's side had a big dip at 500hz, and of course no low-end without a sub. Got here and then made some additional tweaks by ear. 










I tried keeping the gains at minimum and it sounded ok, but didn't come alive until I turned them up to about 75%. Mids are getting 85w now and needed every bit of it to really shine. But once I turned them up, it sounded great. Plenty of clear volume, strong mid-bass (breeze on the pants style), nothing too sharp. Just clean, loud music.

Kind of doubting whether I even need to upgrade to a 3-way. Of course, I will because, hobby, but for the time being I'm plenty happy with this set-up. Or was until it overheated. Oh well..


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## nyquistrate (Apr 17, 2011)

Are you going to put some damping material in that tire well? I'm wondering if it can help shield the temps a little?


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## SoundsGood2Me (Jul 31, 2012)

Nice job, Swiffcliff, and I also commend you for taking the doors off to do the wiring right.


I have a 2006 S60, and have put in a Pioneer P99 head unit, Audison 5 way amp, and the smaller Stage 4 Pioneer 5 inch in the door, tweets on the dash, and a 12 inch in a box in the trunk. The install is in very initial stages and proceeding very slowly.


I did research the wiring, and have a comment for Jroo. The optional Volvo amp (which I don't have) under the passenger seat is 4 channel (front left and right, rear left and right). It is fed with a round DIN cable from the Volvo head unit with the 4 channels input and power on, power and has the 4 channels output returned to next to the head unit, where the speaker's cable socket is plugged into the amp speakers output plug. (Plug and play).

Jroo, you can take the speaker output, or the lower level amp input. Each of the channels should be full range (the front ones are for sure).

If you want to take the low level signal from the head unit, Ebay has a DIN output to RCA lead - "Volvo Stereo Radio-Factory HU to Aftermarket Amp Adapter Cable". I think that using the low level signal is higher quality than taking the output from the amplifier. Note that if you install an aftermarket headunit, it is likely to have RCA out and you won't need this DIN lead.

By the way, be sure to put the ignition switch to position 2 before reconnecting the battery to avoid issues with the check engine light.



Jroo said:


> Its amazing that Volvo really doesn't change much between models and years. I have an 08 s80 that its time to get in gear. Im using this thread as motivation. I also have to tap after the factory amp under the passenger seat. My installer and I are going in one weekend to see if I have a full range signal or if I have to sum other channels to get full range. After that it is get the door panel off to double check midbass depth and see where and how I can deaden the panel.



One last comment. There is a radio antenna lead that is paired with a radio antenna signal booster power lead. The Volvo head units provide 10 volts. The AM and FM reception is quite poor if that signal amplifier gets 12 volts! This was a Ford design. I put a 10 watt 50 ohm resistor in the antenna power lead behind the head unit to pad it down, and this helps, but I plan to put in a 10 volt power supply in the future. This only affects some model years (1999 to 2010?) but multiple models S40, S60, S80 +, and is only a concern if an aftermarket head unit is installed for radio.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

nyquistrate said:


> Are you going to put some damping material in that tire well? I'm wondering if it can help shield the temps a little?


Yes, I plan to and agree that it will probably help. The stock floor has a foam backer, and it does a great job of blocking the heat. Think I need to get on the right side of that to truly be worry free.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Any updates? The wife just bought a 2016 S60 T5 Drive-E Premier today.


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## aelancaster (May 7, 2008)

Any updates?
Wife has a 2014 S60 t5 I would like to upgrade using some of your ideas.
The main question I would like answered is about the need for the JL fix. Do anyone know for sure if the signals coming out of the Volvo amp that are used as a signal source are full range?
Thanks


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

swiffcliff said:


> Speaking of...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well....


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Sorry, not much new to report on the stereo front. I did find the time to make some other mods (rear springs and sway bar, wheel spacers, black out chrome) but have been scratching my head about this trunk baffle and haven't been able to really get after it yet.

Just posted another thread asking for some help:
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/foru...-all-infinite-baffle-experts.html#post5666835


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

I don't know for sure if the signals are full-range, but my guess is yes. Not really helpful, I know, but I couldn't find a definitive answer either, which is why I went with the FiX.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Oh, and I remounted the amps above the trunk floor, and further up front, away from the muffler and have had no further heat issues. Also, it's not August anymore. But for now at least things are working fine from 80Hz up.


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## aelancaster (May 7, 2008)

How did you black out the chrome? Has to look better, not sure why Volvo only used black trim on the base model S60. Should have used it across the whole lineup.
Any pictures?
Looking forward to updates once you get the IB plan figured out.
Wish I could offer some suggestions but that is way out of my wheelhouse.
Thanks


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

So are you going to follow the instructions from Post #3 in that link?


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

aelancaster said:


> How did you black out the chrome? Has to look better, not sure why Volvo only used black trim on the base model S60. Should have used it across the whole lineup.
> Any pictures?
> Looking forward to updates once you get the IB plan figured out.
> Wish I could offer some suggestions but that is way out of my wheelhouse.
> Thanks












Totally agree. The fake chrome looks so cheap. This is much better. I still want to add some black mirror caps, and that will probably be it cosmetically. 

I used 3m vinyl tape for most of it (VViViD 3M 1080 Black Gloss Vinyl Detailing Wrap Pinstriping Tape 20ft Roll) and a sheet for the section at the back where the curve is to tight for the tape (3M 1080 G12 GLOSS BLACK 5ft x 1ft (5 Sq/ft) Car Wrap Vinyl Film).

There's definitely an art to it. Took two tries at each window in order to pass the five foot test. But a shop would probably charge a couple hundred bucks for the job.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

BP1Fanatic said:


> So are you going to follow the instructions from Post #3 in that link?


I'm gonna try.


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## tonynca (Dec 4, 2009)

Why would you not use time alignment?


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

swiffcliff said:


> Totally agree. The fake chrome looks so cheap. This is much better. I still want to add some black mirror caps, and that will probably be it cosmetically.
> 
> I used 3m vinyl tape for most of it (VViViD 3M 1080 Black Gloss Vinyl Detailing Wrap Pinstriping Tape 20ft Roll) and a sheet for the section at the back where the curve is to tight for the tape (3M 1080 G12 GLOSS BLACK 5ft x 1ft (5 Sq/ft) Car Wrap Vinyl Film).
> 
> There's definitely an art to it. Took two tries at each window in order to pass the five foot test. But a shop would probably charge a couple hundred bucks for the job.


That black trim came out nice as h3ll! The wife loves her fake chrome. I think her needs chrome rimz to set it off.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

tonynca said:


> Why would you not use time alignment?


This was my first tune, so just taking it a step at a time.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

A baffle! Took a template, two tries, and about 20 test fits to get right, but hey, it's progress.


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## mumbles (Jul 26, 2010)

swiffcliff said:


> A baffle! Took a template, two tries, and about 20 test fits to get right, but hey, it's progress.


Awesome job, just like I pictured it  I finally resolved to do a similar baffle in my Mustang, but now I'm selling the car so all that tracing and test fitting will go to waste  You, however, should keep up the good work!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

I like that blacked out chrome. Want to do the same thing to our Grand Cherokee.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Finally have made some progress and built the other half of the baffle.





































That should be all the fab work needed here. Looking forward to moving on to the install.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Good stuff!


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## JP Fabrication (Feb 20, 2008)

Looking good


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Love that style ib and you did it perfectly! I was too dumb to figure out how to do it in my car


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Thanks all. Figuring it out as I go, with a lot of help from this forum. Trying to do an hour a day, just to keep making progress, but I'm getting tired of climbing into and out of this trunk.

Mounting the baffle and test fitting the box. I attempted to wrap the baffle in vinyl. Thought it would be stretchier, and ended up ripping it in a few places as I tried to get it around the corners, but it passes the five foot test.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

And here's my attempt to seal up all of the irregularities at the bottom of the trunk floor. Thanks to mumbles for the advice.

I used CLD tiles to cover the gaps, CCF on top of that. Now going to come from the front side, and shoot some foam in there to fill the void.



















Will it work and/or improve the sound? I don't know, but worth a shot. I also plan to eventually come back and finish deadening the rest of the trunk. But this is where I ran out of foam (and patience).


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Subs mounted in trunk:










And from the inside:


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

That install came out nice as h3ll!


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Thanks all. Appreciate the encouragement.

So I got everything wired up and, wouldn't you know it, seems like one of the amps was blown. Nothing but crackles and pops coming out of it. Sent it out to Arc, and have been using the other to power everything for now.

At first I was a little concerned about the subs, sounded boomy and were only playing one note, but as they've broken in they've started to sound real good. Cranked it for a bit yesterday and the tone and impact were both great. So I'm going to mark the install as successful.

Front stage is still good, but the midranges really want more power. Will have to wait for the other amp for that.


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## mrmill (Feb 11, 2013)

Turned out really nice!! the finished product will be killer.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Few more pics of the "finished" install. 

Doesn't look quite as clean with all those wires running around. Guess that'll be reason enough to upgrade my DSP in the future and go down to one box.











And the trunk. Still need to make a trim panel and protect those subs, but for now I'm kinda digging the wood box.











So that's it for Phase 1. I've really been enjoying it, and rediscovering my CD collection that reaches back to the 90s. Stage is on the dash, pillar to pillar. Stays plenty clear at loud volumes. Haven't spent too much time tweaking the tune beyond my initial set-up (which only took about 20 minutes following the Audiofrog tuning guide). There's definitely room for improvement: the sub isn't integrated real well, and there's some boominess in the midbass. But I'm plenty happy for the time and money that I've put into it.

Now on to Phase 2...


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Well the plan was to sit on it for a while, do some tuning, and enjoy the music. But ebay alerts and late night speaker hunting joined forces with a distinct lack of self-control, and packages started showing up on my porch soon after.

This is the result:










The PHDs were always temporary, and they'll be moving over to my wife's car. Nothing wrong with them, but they're best for a 2-way while they plan for here has always been a 3-way.

I looked at almost every brand under the sun, but in the end it came down to the value provided by Scan-Speak raw drivers versus the sheer performance of Audiofrog. 

The deciding factor was when I decided to move the midrange to the kickpanels, mostly as a result of reading this thread a few times. I had some 3" Dayton widebanders from a desktop speaker project that I never finished, so I hooked them up and drove around with them on the floor for a few days, and the improvement in depth was immediately apparent.

Ok, so how to make that work? More reading here, and I saw a lot of talk about vented kickpanels, but I can't say I understand what that means, and it seems more aimed towards mid-bass anyway. So I'm opting for a sealed enclosure. I think I can get a liter and still maintain a stock appearance, so that's what I'm going to attempt. Should be perfect size for the 10F (and incidentally also the 11M if I choose to upgrade in the future). The Audiofrog website says the GB40 will also work in the same size, and I'm sure they'd sound great, but knowing that they were initially designed for IB use in a door, and considering the hefty price tag, I felt more confident in going for the 10F. That's if I can pull-off the enclosures. 

The tweeters are the D3004, because, duh. Found a used set on ebay, so went for it.

The mid-basses were the opposite problem... I looked at pretty much every raw driver on Parts-Express and Madisound, but couldn't find one that I was confident would work well in the door. I didn't want a 6.5" sub rattling my doors in order to get "up-front bass", I wanted a good mid-bass driver, with decent throw, a Q above .4 and sensitivity around 90db playing from ~100hz and up. So I went to a car audio specific brand. I don't have any experience with CDT and I know they get a bad rap here, but it was just about the only raw drivers that fit what I wanted. They had a pair of "B" stock, supposedly they have scratches on them, but I haven't found them yet. Score.

So that's the new front stage. Came to right around $550.00. I think I'll be happy.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Looking forward to how you get on with the kick panels, I know you mentioned that in one of our messages back and forth and it is something I might look to do down the road as well. For now I plan to use the stock midrange locations, just for ease of install at least initially. As for CDT, I have run some CDT speakers in the past, albeit just some ES-02's but had no complaints at all with them so I'm sure you'll be happy. .


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Ease of install should not be discounted. I'm halfway into these kick panels and they are testing my skills and patience for sure.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Nice find!


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Did you disconnect the rear speakers or just fade the stock head unit all the way to the front? Was trying to avoid cutting the factory harness with mine, but the adapter I was using that worked fine yesterday refuses to work today. Thinking at this point of just cutting the factory harness to tap the front speakers for the DSP input, but then wondered what the best option was to not have the rear speakers running. Annoyed the adapter I used yesterday now no longer works, when it's literally the exact same thing just removed a couple of wires that were not even doing anything.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

naiku said:


> Did you disconnect the rear speakers or just fade the stock head unit all the way to the front? Was trying to avoid cutting the factory harness with mine, but the adapter I was using that worked fine yesterday refuses to work today. Thinking at this point of just cutting the factory harness to tap the front speakers for the DSP input, but then wondered what the best option was to not have the rear speakers running. Annoyed the adapter I used yesterday now no longer works, when it's literally the exact same thing just removed a couple of wires that were not even doing anything.


I tapped into the rear speakers, and then faded to the rear. So, in theory, all the signal would go through those outputs. I get all the warning signals, phone, and use the volume on the head unit with no problem.

But...I also ordered that adapter from ebay. Should be here on Monday. Should bypass the amp altogether. But we'll see.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Let me know if the adapter works, the one I was planning to use worked fine yesterday, today is not working.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

naiku said:


> Let me know if the adapter works, the one I was planning to use worked fine yesterday, today is not working.


Nope, doesn't work. It's for a 2001-2009. Oh well, back it goes.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Found some time while social distancing to get some work done on the kickpanels. 

The kickpanels aren't plastic, the carpet from the floor continues up the panel, and then a piece of trim holds it in place. The idea is to find enough space behind the carpet for an enclosure, and then cut a hole in the carpet. Depending on the grill I use, it shouldn't be very noticeable, and it means I won't need to fill, sand and finish the enclosure which is a big plus in my book.

Divers side under the carpet. There's some thick foam which gives the carpet some shape and padding, and some wiring to work around. 



















Passenger side has more foam and a wiring harness. I think I can get around these wires without major surgery. The foam here is thick, over an inch in some places, so that's where my volume is going to come from.



















I suck at process pics, especially when the clock is ticking on your resin. SO all I have is the beginning and end. It took me 3 tries on the left and 2 on the right before I got a good mold.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

swiffcliff said:


> Nope, doesn't work. It's for a 2001-2009. Oh well, back it goes.


Was worth a shot!! 

The adapter I am using to tap into the high level inputs is being really odd, apparently I needed the red wire connected, but for some unknown reason when I first tried using it (before removing additional wires I did not need) it worked perfectly with the red wire not connected and just a speaker twisted onto the front left wires. Cannot for the life of me figure out why it worked once and not again. I have been looking into using the Helix SDMI25 to get an optical output, but at $600 plus the cost of a MOST Y-adapter (looks to only be about $20 or so) to code it with the Volvo serial number I am having a hard time justifying the cost.

Nice work on the kick panels so far, I was surprised at just how thick the foam is under the carpet when running some of the wires for mine.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

That SDMI is a nice looking piece, but I'd probably put that money towards a nice DAP with a digital out right to the DSP.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Exactly, I picked up an Fiio a couple weeks back for that exact purpose. Going to run a cable into the center console to use the DAP, but also have the head unit hooked up. As long as I can get the high level inputs working, I can't convince myself that the SDMI will be worth the money.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

I ended up scrapping my first attempt at the kick panels. Too many little mistakes added up to some bloated, leaky panels. So going to work on some other parts for the time being. 

Got the ES06s in the doors. Just needed to widen the cutout a little bit with a dremel. One day I will make a better looking baffle, but not today.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Few pics of the ES06 vs the PHDs. The PHDs (along with a PHD 10 inch sub) are going into our Grand Cherokee. It's a shame that they'll be used to listen to Kenny Chesney, but what are you gonna do?


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Made progress on the sail panels too. 

Cut some rings.










Epoxied them to the sails. 


















Used some bondo to fill the gaps and flush them in.










And then sanded a lot. 



















I actually enjoyed this a lot. After the rush and mess of the fiberglass, it was nice to just put my feet up and slowly sand these down. I've got primer and paint on the way. Excited to get these in.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

And some pics on round two of the kickpanels. These are already a lot better than the first attempt. But now I'm petrified of screwing them up along the way!


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

That's the driver's side panel on the left. I would've liked to mount the speakers more down and forward, but with the dead panel there it wasn't an option. This positioning shouldn't be see too much interference from my feet, and has a clear shot to the opposite side headrest, so I think it will be effective.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Wrapped them with a t-shirt and slathered on the resin. After it dried I put a layer of fiberglass cloth on the back. They're solid, leak-proof, and look 10x better than the last ones. I'm happy.

Filled them with water to check for leaks and see what the volume was. 
Passenger side: 2.27 liters
Driver side: 2.12 liters

Close enough, which is good, but more than twice the volume I was going for. I guess trying to eyeball a liter is harder than I thought. But the extra volume is nice, opens up some more options for midranges down the road—I'm looking at you MR13P.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

And here they are installed. Need to figure out how I'm going to add a grill, but aside from the angle of the dead pedal, it looks virtually stock.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Got the tweeters in as well. I'm ok with how the sail pods came out...I thought the primer and paint would cover the pock marks more than they did. But hard to see any imperfections when they're in the car.


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## Nhuck Corris (Jul 7, 2020)

swiffcliff said:


> I tapped into the rear speakers, and then faded to the rear. So, in theory, all the signal would go through those outputs. I get all the warning signals, phone, and use the volume on the head unit with no problem.
> 
> But...I also ordered that adapter from ebay. Should be here on Monday. Should bypass the amp altogether. But we'll see.


 Hello, 
What where the rear speaker wire colors again? I am tapped into my fronts but am just doing sub stuff for now and might wana re think my taps.
Also thanks I really like ur post & project🤙🇸🇪


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

3 months late so probably not helpful, but check out post #6.

Incidentally, one of the amps is back at Arc for the third time. I keeps blowing the output filters. Tech at Arc says it's likely something downstream from the amp, so I'm guessing is related to how I tied into the amp outputs. I just got the blue-tooth module from Arc so going to be circumventing all the factory stuff and just playing straight from phone to the DSP.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

My son has been asking about subs for his S60. Right now, the car is in the air waiting on tie rods. Last weekend, I replaced the front control arms, ball joints, sway bar end links, brake rotors, and pads. I also straightened out the front bumper. The wife got in an accident and the son hit a deer since owning the car since 2009.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Wow. That's not a small amount of work. Are you gonna swap out the sway bars while you're in there? Made a huge difference on mine.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Not my car. He lucky I've done what I done. I replaced the windshield wipers today and started on changing the spark plugs. I only removed the timing belt/coil plug cover. Oh, and I paid 4 the new tires that were installed a couple weeks ago. Matter of fact, I paid for everything, including the car! He's destroyed the car since we gave it to him 5-6 years ago. Me and the wife been talking about restoring it the past couple of days once he buys a car with his own $. She actually wants to make trips to junkyards. The front seats, door panels, center console, etc needs replaced. I really want to put a system in it since the stock battery locaton is in the trunk.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

So the Arc saga continues. Sent the amp back for a third time. This time the tech spent two days on it, finally tracing the problem to the oscillator. Which means the last two times they fixed it, the only fixed the symptom and not the cause. Rather than repair it again, the sent me a refurbrished XdiV2. Fine by me, I was happy to have the problem behind me.

Fast forward to a week after I put the new amp in and...same problem. Started with a little bit of static at start-up, and progressed to the point that all that was coming out of the passenger's midbass was crackles and snaps (or farts as my daughter described them). Unplugged the RCAs and same problem, so it's not the input. Swapped the speaker wires and the same channel, so the problem isn't downstream. 

I'm stumped. I can't explain why this keeps happening in my car. I also can't explain why the other amp has been fine. But I am done with Arc. 

So now I get to go amp shopping again! This time I'm looking for end game amps, not as in the best amps money can buy, but more in the sense of not cutting corners and finding a permanent solution. Quality build, quality sound and flexibility so that I can have them as long as I have the car. Also looking at class A/B this time around.

I've narrowed it down to Gladen and DLS, both covered in the Matt Hall value amp shootout (linked below). The ebay fairy produced a Gladen RS 150c2 at a nice price, so that's on its way to me to replace the Arc. Going to hook it up to the tweeters and mids to see how it sounds. And the DLS amps are pretty damn cheap ($250 for the CC2), so I think I will get one of those too and do my own comparison.

Will also need to rework the install as I will probably be moving to three amps instead of two. You know those times when your hobby seems more like a job and less like something you choose to enjoy in your spare time? Yeah...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ttqllik75sefne2/High Value Amplifier Shootout.pdf?dl=0


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Wow, I have Sony throughout my house but never in a car. I like the look of the DLS amp!


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Yeah, same here. My Dad had a six pack of Sony amps in the Jeep when I was younger. Would love to have those now. But not really drawn to them (or Kenwood or Pioneer or any of the japanese brands) anymore. DLS + Scanspeak + Volvo = Viking sound!!


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

It's hilarious you stated "Viking sound." Last weekend, the wife was on some site where they said she was part Viking. So I did a little Viking digging. I told her funny how she owned 2 Volvo S60's and married a guy named Norris (Norseman or Viking).


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Think I may need to incorporate some lightning bolts into the design somewhere...


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Or sledgehammer!


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## crosspug (Jul 14, 2008)

Wow, lovely build. Even with the issues (don't all builds have those ha!).

I'm not sure if you've inspired me to dust off all my old gear for my '15 V60 T6 Rdes (it's the 3.0l T6 though) or dissuaded me. The doors off and limited access to inner door looks a punish being honest.... and the rest seems I'd be half hearted if I'm not getting the basics right.

Looking forward to the further developments and reliable amps hopefully. Congrats.

Jono


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Here's some inspiration.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

crosspug said:


> I'm not sure if you've inspired me to dust off all my old gear for my '15 V60 T6 Rdes (it's the 3.0l T6 though) or dissuaded me. The doors off and limited access to inner door looks a punish being honest.... and the rest seems I'd be half hearted if I'm not getting the basics right.


I've also got a P3 Volvo, same as yours V60 T6 redesign and while the install was not the simplest, the doors are very simple to remove and that's the hardest piece of the install. Getting to the inner door is more time consuming than difficult, just need to take your time on the door handle to not get problems with putting them back on. 

I have a build log on here as well with some pictures that may help you decide.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Just came back from 2 Best Buy stores to pick up the last 4 subs. 2 delivered yesterday. I picked up the 1st JBL after work Friday.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

BP1Fanatic said:


> Just came back from 2 Best Buy stores to pick up the last 4 subs. 2 delivered yesterday. I picked up the 1st JBL after work Friday.
> 
> View attachment 282001


What's the plan for those?


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

That’s going to make for a wall of hurt but in a good way. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

6 are going in the isobaric BP6P in post #81 for my son's 2001 S60. The 7th 12 is for when the old 12 goes in my car.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

So a little good news to offset the amp issues.

Ever since I got the car (2+ years ago) I would get a warning light saying "low system voltage." Never was really a problem, car always started, but when I would hook it up to the trickle charger it would read as low as 40% charged. And music sessions with the car not running would last all of 5 minutes before the system shut down.

Some googling led me to a pretty common issue...apparently the Sirius system checks for a signal while the car is shut down. If it doesn't find one (because you are not subscribed) it checks again. And again. And again. Enough to put a serious drain on the battery. It's a known issue, and there's even a class action suit going.

Fixes are 1) a software flash that may or may not be free and may or may not work, 2) subscribe to Sirius or 3) unplug the satellite receiver. I went with 3, and it worked like a charm. Had my music playing for 20 minutes the other night (not loudly and no issues. 

Removing power to the sat won't do it, you need to dis-connect the MOST hook-up. But then if you want your "infotainment" system to work, you need to plug in a most loop to close the signal. Volvo actually has a part for this: Volvo S60 Brace. Optic, Repair, Cable - 8688083 - Genuine Volvo Part

I bought one from Amazon for half the cost and Prime shipping: Amazon.com: RKX MOST fiber optic optical loop bypass Female adapter for Radio and Audio compatible with Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Volvo: Automotive 

Happy to have that dealt with. And for only $10.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

That's some BS!


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

swiffcliff said:


> And music sessions with the car not running would last all of 5 minutes before the system shut down.


Does yours display "System will shut down in 2 minutes" while you are listening to music? I can't seem to find a way to bypass that which can be really frustrating, especially at meets or comps. I've never seen that low system voltage message, but did for a while keep getting a battery level low message. Ended up buying a new battery which took care of that, as it looked like I still had the original battery from 2015 in there. 

Where was your Sirius XM receiver located? I might look into unplugging mine if it helps out any with tuning and demos. My stock amplifier is sitting in a cupboard in the laundry room, I'll gladly also unplug the Sirius XM one. Something I noticed with removing the stock amp, in case you ever remove yours, is the FM reception went way down. Not that I care, I rarely ever use FM, just thought it odd but have to assume the stock amplifier either powers on an FM amp somewhere or has the FM amp built into it.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

naiku said:


> Does yours display "System will shut down in 2 minutes" while you are listening to music? I can't seem to find a way to bypass that which can be really frustrating, especially at meets or comps. I've never seen that low system voltage message, but did for a while keep getting a battery level low message. Ended up buying a new battery which took care of that, as it looked like I still had the original battery from 2015 in there.
> 
> Where was your Sirius XM receiver located? I might look into unplugging mine if it helps out any with tuning and demos. My stock amplifier is sitting in a cupboard in the laundry room, I'll gladly also unplug the Sirius XM one. Something I noticed with removing the stock amp, in case you ever remove yours, is the FM reception went way down. Not that I care, I rarely ever use FM, just thought it odd but have to assume the stock amplifier either powers on an FM amp somewhere or has the FM amp built into it.


It's under the rear seat in the middle. You can reach it by just folding down the seats. I would get the same message and the car would turn off after a couple minutes. Made the change and had a 30 minute tuning session with no problem. I say give it a try.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

New baffle board!


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Looks ol skool!


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## KLEPTOROTH (Feb 4, 2021)

I have a 2013 S60 T6 R-Design with the premium audio. I'm just trying to tap into the speaker wire to install a Bazooka Sub BTA250D... I was hoping to find something that can connect to the 2nd connector on the amp underneath the passenger seat but parts for this car are impossible to find. I guess I'll just do that dumb FAST-9999 connector on the wires that are plugged into the amp under the passenger seat unless someone else knows a better / easier way to do this?


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Look on Swedespeed for a thread by user mark-sf lots of info on adding a sub only over there.


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## billshoff (Jun 6, 2019)

It's now possible to replace the OEM head unit with an aftermarket headunit. There are kits for P3 model Volvos available from retailers in England. See my experience on SwedeSpeed: Aftermarket radio for '08 V70 with kit from Dynamic...


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

billshoff said:


> It's now possible to replace the OEM head unit with an aftermarket headunit. There are kits for P3 model Volvos available from retailers in England. See my experience on SwedeSpeed: Aftermarket radio for '08 V70 with kit from Dynamic...


This is the kit that I will order. I have spoken back and forth with the owner on Swedespeed that used it. Its not perfect and has a few quirks but overall, I think I can deal with the issues. I have an older p3 s80 so maybe not all the bells and whistles that newer ones or optioned ones may have. The biggest thing we lose is some of the information that comes across the display screen. For me, I would be able to see where the heat and ac setting are at or if I have reached max or min settings. I was going to go fiberoptic to the Helix piece and then from that to a DSP. With that method. I am still sorting out a bad factory source and would have to figure out things like bluetooth and phone integration. Easier and cheaper for me to get a nice aftermarket deck and be done knowing the few mentioned work arounds.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Finally some progress. And finally I can stop climbing in and out of the trunk. Three layers of birch ply with some wood braces on the bottom and this guy is solid. Fit and finish is far from perfect, but it'll pass the 5-foot test.

The subs should probably be a bit higher, I'm a bit concerned about clearance for the amps, but I should be alright.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Looks clean!


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

naiku said:


> Something I noticed with removing the stock amp, in case you ever remove yours,


How do you have your aftermarket amps connected to your factory radio?

Also, I plan using front and rear high level inputs to keep the factory fader.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

BP1Fanatic said:


> How do you have your aftermarket amps connected to your factory radio?


Helix SDMI25 under the passenger seat, takes the MOST from the head unit, converts to optical out for the DSP.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Are you still using the harness that goes into the factory amp?


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

BP1Fanatic said:


> Are you still using the harness that goes into the factory amp?


Sorry, I missed this.... nope, not using that, just the MOST connector and power/ground.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

My Autoleads sot-045 arrives 4-21-21. Does the MOST connector plug into the black box?

Or, do I need to get the bypass too?


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

BP1Fanatic said:


> 6 are going in the isobaric BP6P in post #81 for my son's 2001 S60. The 7th 12 is for when the old 12 goes in my car.
> 
> View attachment 282043
> View attachment 282044
> ...


I would love to learn more about 6th orders especially isobaric. Those who use them swear by them. I have used a 4th order previously, not a 6th.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

His 2001 S60 has rod knock. He has a 2018 S60L now. I'm building a isobaric BP4 due to the trunk hinges took away width.

2001 = 40" width.
2018 = 36" width.

If I build the isobaric BP6P, then the box needs 24.5" of depth. The isobaric BP4 only needs 20.75" of depth.

I also modeled a isobaric TL that needs 21.75" of depth.


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## swiffcliff (Aug 25, 2016)

Been a minute since I last posted. I really wasn't happy with the last version, so rebuilt everything. Made a lot of plans, made a lot of scrap. Ended up going back to the first approach, with a baffle box and rear facing subs. 



  







Made a second piece that fits over the box that will hold the amps. Made it two pieces so it's easier to get in and out if I need to service the amps. I originally wanted to position them vertically in front of the subs to show them off a bit, but they are so big and heavy I ultimately decided to put them on top for more support, and put the DSP "floating" in front.


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