# 2012 CT200h SQ install! MS8, JL Slash, Peerless, Dayton etc



## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

Just picked up a new DD and removed all the old stereo stuff from my CRV. 
Vehicle is a 2012 CT 200H. Quiet, smooth, and great on gas....JUST what i wanted for my DD! (have the vette for performance)
Opted against the premium Mark Levinson Audio because of price, and I knew I wouldn't be happy with it. So here goes!

*Head Unit:* OEM, to retain the very clear hands free calling/steering wheel volume controls etc. Also retains factory Blue tooth audio, and can also connect via USB to charge my iphone and play music through it. As well as the OEM look, not much will be visible for thieves besides the MS8 display and tweeter pods. 

*Processing:* JBL MS-8. First time using one, but i hear its pretty simple to use (autotune). I've set up with miniDSP before etc. 

*Amplification:* 
]i]Front Stage:[/i] Bridged JL 300/4 for mids
Two channels of other 300/4 for Tweeters

_Rear Stage:_ Remaining two channels of 300/4 for mids

*Drivers:*
_Front Stage:_ (2) Peerless HDS 6.5" in Baltic Birch adapter plates for doors (Don't want kicks, I am a big guy and feel like my legs are bent enough already)
(2) Vifa XT25sc90 dual ring radiators as far forward as possible, mounted on axis in pods on dash. 

_Rear stage:_ (2) Peerless HDS 6.5" in Baltic Birch Adapter plates

_Sub Stage:_ Dayton Audio Reference HO 15" Subwoofer. Ported 1/2" Baltic Birch cabinet, to keep weight down. Braced. (This is my DD, and a main requirement for purchasing the car was great gas mileage, don't need the extra weight of 3/4-1" MDF weighing me down!)

*Vibration Dampening:* Second Skin Audio Damplifier. 
Second Skin audio Speaker Tweakers behind each driver 
Second Skin Audio foam 
No need for the MLV, as coming from my corvette with race exhaust and my CRV this thing is QUIET!!

*Wire:* Knuz 0 gauge from battery to dist. block, then 4 gauge to all amps. 
Dayton Audio RCA Interconnects, gold plated.
Dayton Audio 16 gauge speaker wire for mids
Dayton Audio 18 gauge wire for tweeters/signal run from head unit to MS8. 

*Battery:* Kinetik HC1400

Install will begin within the next two weeks. Some of the stuff is still on its way, can't wait to kick that Mark Levinson's premium audio @$$!!


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## boom_squid_2 (Jan 29, 2008)

Nice, subscribed in


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## evangojason (Feb 12, 2010)

subscribed!


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## evangojason (Feb 12, 2010)

subscribed!


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## RobyG78 (Dec 5, 2007)

Ok the build sounds awesome, I m looking forward to it. I just have to ask WTF is up with that rear end it looks crazy.


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

thanks guys! can't wait to get started!

the rear end? i dunno i dont mind it lol


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

Subscribed! I've seen quite a few of these on the road, and they always catch my attention. Looking forward to seeing one with a proper system.


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

LOVe the slash amps, i have 2 as well for mid front stage.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

I suggest adding MLV to the door panels that will contain speaker, if not already there from stock. Noise suppression aside, the other big point in using it is to keep the back wave of the speaker from entering the cabin and causing a lose of mid bass and frequency response abnormalities. IOW, it makes the door a better enclosure.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

cant wait to see the results, i wanna see if you get any interference from the HV electrical system in the car. 

i experienced it a lil in an altima hybrid, but took care of it easily...u should be fine.


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## aV8ter (Sep 4, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> cant wait to see the results, i wanna see if you get any interference from the HV electrical system in the car.
> 
> i experienced it a lil in an altima hybrid, but took care of it easily...u should be fine.


I have a buddy with a 2011 Prius and he is running a single JL 450/4 taking signal from the stock deck via LOC and he has no issues. Assuming the LOC wasn't hiding any interference/noise I think the OP should be OK.


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

Simplicity...what did you do to fix it?


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

I was reading into the 8msec that the MS8 takes to process the signal and saw that it creates an echo on the other end of the call when using Bluetooth, because the noise canceling algorithm is built into the head unit. I really hope this isn't the case because that's a main reason for retaining the OEM head unit...


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## Driven Audio Tony (Feb 14, 2011)

I've run into the BT echo a couple times, it is hit and miss. JBL has a firmware that allows you to use the mute button to bypass the processing when on a call, then re-engage it after the call.


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

That could potentially sent too much low freq to the tweeters thou, correct? If the amps have all processing turned off?


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

m R g S r said:


> That could potentially sent too much low freq to the tweeters thou, correct? If the amps have all processing turned off?


No noooo they would not allow that. The function that is enable with the firmware update is the same one in the menu where all crossover settings are left in place and only EQ and T/A is is bypassed. Normally used to compare stock to what the ms-8 does, but in this case a useful work around for the blueteef bug.


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## aalasley (Jun 20, 2012)

Can't wait to see it finished!


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

okay good to hear, i don't want to be smoking tweeters everytime i answer a call. 
i was just under the impression that anything that goes through the MS8 isn't output until 8ms later...but we'll see!


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

i just got everything except the baltic birch and i'm waiting on the second skin stuff....

i was smiling opening all this stuff! (although it is all pretty heavy, going to add more weight than i would have liked. i will be removing the spare tire and jack etc so that will help a little bit, hopefully my gas mileage doesnt suffer at all...in the grand scheme of things, percentage of weight added to the vehicle isnt much at all)

the sub is beastly! i likey


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

Played around with battery mounting, i dont think there is any easy way to keep the spare tire in and get this battery hidden away with the rest of the stuff 










here's where the stock one is, the opposite side is not the same, there is a flat piece of metal covering where the battery side tray is...and i dont want to cut and weld on this project  









see...she no fit


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

Got started (and finished actually) on the subwoofer enclosure...turned out to be 2.0 cubic feet internal volume after subtracting the subwoofer displacement and the port duct displacement....tuned to roughly 27hz....
made it from 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood 









all buttoned up! 









i wasn't going to finish the box, but had some extra neffy wrap lying around and some extra 3M spray 90 so i figured what the heck


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

ohh and its a 2x7" internal dimm. port...so 14 square inches, vent mach should be acceptable


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## evangojason (Feb 12, 2010)

Looks good,


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

Dayton HO 15, are you sure 2 ft3 ported is enough? Mine is sealed in 1.68 and I have about 900 watts on tap How did you calculate 2 cubes ported?


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

For home use, no 2.0 isn't enough. but through win sd with 68L volume, the -3db point is 30hz, which is fine with me once you factor in cabin gain. so in vehicle response will be acceptable. i dont need excessive amounts of bass, just enough to keep my chest thumping


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

Really nice job on the enclosure....suscribed.


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

The subwoofer enclosure in the car....its funny how the pic / lighting makes the bumps in the CF wrap look huge, when in person they're barely there... 









but it tucks away nicely, and there is still room to put stuff in the trunk! just what i wanted! 

base of the amp rack rough cut out..









battery test fit, rough cut out..









Figuring out the amp positioning..









What I decided on, two 300/4 's on the bottom, raised above that will be the MS8 and 500/1....


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

Got a little more work done, but now have to go to work work 

Here is the top cover, which i will probably cut out and put a plexi window so the amps/processor are visible from the top...








thinking of covering it in a nice microfiber that i have, but don't know how durable it will be. might have to stick with tough automotive carpet...

unloaded amp rack..









and loaded up, the basic layout...









the board under the MS8/500/1 will be trimmed to give them a "floating" look, and so that more of the lower 300/4's are exposed..


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## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

Looks really good man! And I like those cars a lot.


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

Got some more done, amps are all wired (power wiring) and amp rack is installed. 

Used 1/4-20 insert nuts so that the top portion of the amp rack can come on and off easily for accessing the lower amps etc. 









All bolted down to the car with 4 grade 8 bolts! shouldn't move now!









4 gauge JL audio wire running from the OEM battery to the hot side of the distribution block, then 0 gauge from the same side of the block directly to the kinetik...









i wanted the kintetik grounded to the same piece of sheet metal that the OEM battery is grounded to, no welds in between...


















and just laid the top amp and MS8 in place to get the power wiring done, and for picture purposes! thats all for today, gotta find some more time to work on this thing!

its really coming out just how i had planned! can't wait to finish it all up!


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## evangojason (Feb 12, 2010)

Coming alone nicely. I like the layout.


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## Beckerson1 (Jul 3, 2012)

Looking good


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

The stock Styrofoam piece had many different thicknesses in order for the thin covering board to lay flat on it, so i had to try and replicate that to support my constant thickness 1/2" top cover. i used pieces of 1/2" and 3/4" baltic to do so, marked the areas and screwed the pieces on. 









in place, iron-man-esque triangle viewing window cut out, will be lit up blue underneath with LED lighting...









used a rabbeting bit on the router to get the desired mounting lip for the lexan window...









can't really see the lower 300/4's unless you really look into it, but youll see the MS8 and 500/1 right on top!









and a view of the whole trunk


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

got some more done over the past few days!

Removed the factory 6x9 and compared the depth of the two speakers, pretty darn close, going to need a good adapter to get this to clear the window, yet not hit the inside of the door panel on high excursion (as high as the little 6.5HDS will go..not sure on the xmech figure)









started tracing out the pattern and decided to sacrifice a factory speaker to the speaker gods...









there much easier to trace out now...


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

arrived at 1/2" backing, and 3/4" round to get the perfect amount of clearance, no milling needed on either piece of Baltic...









I was going to snake wire through the grommet in the door and the connectors etc etc but it was going to be too much work, and the factory wire was already much thicker than i had expected. a short run of this decent factory wire shouldn't provide too much resistance here...









tested for continuity, then ran some 16gauge and soldered all connections


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## m R g S r (Oct 1, 2009)

On to the door treatment! I F'in hate the never drying "glue" that they use to hold on those vapor barriers, the stuff makes a mess, is a pain to get off and just grrrr! i used brake clean to dissolve it and wipe it in small sections, went through a bunch of rags and latex gloves. 

above the smaller opening in the door there is still some left here









ALL gone finally, wiped the door down to prepare for damplifier!









started cutting small sheets and laying it on the outer door skin! 100% coverage wasn't necessary for an AWESOME improvement in vibration dampening!









Door with damplifier, baltic speaker adapters bolted on with 1/4" bolts and locking nuts.









door finished, speaker mounted. no MLV used here, its quiet enough inside the cabin already









trimmed the lip and some more plastic pieces to allow for the most possible clearance 









anddd all finished, fits like a glove, nice THUD when closing the door now, and tapping / knocking the outer door skin results in a dead clunk sound instead of a ringing and tinny sound.


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