# MoparMike's 2015 Dodge Durango R/T SQ Build



## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Hello all! I'm excited to begin my audio install on a 2015 Durango R/T that was purchased new in April of 2015. Its a 3 row SUV that comfortably seats six and is powered by a 5.7 liter Hemi through a ZF 8 speed transmission. The goal of this build is to have a mostly stealth SQ install of a fully active 3-way setup with the majority of the gear stored below the height of the rear cargo floor. The stock radio is a UConnect 8.4 AN model that will be retained. At one point there was a plan for the build to have a little more flash and take up more space. Now that my wife and I are expecting our first child, maintaining full use of the cargo area is a priority. 

Here are a few pictures of the ride:


Stock form


Interior pics from my trim package were pulled from the web since I could't get as good of a shot 



20x9 Jeep SRT replica "Spider Monkey" wheels with and MGP Caliper Covers





Stock Engine Compartment


Volant Cold Air Intake w/ Power Core Filter



I'll check back in later with the audio gear and the start of the build from this weekend.


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## GERMANIKS (Dec 7, 2013)

Nice looking SUV actually
Keep us posted on the audio upgrade


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks GERMANIKS.

On to the rear cargo area.

With 3rd row seats up


Seats folded down



Storage cubby w/ pocket in the floor and flashlight 



Under the lid



Access to jack. Spare tire is lowered from under the vehicle through hole in the floor



Cargo Tray removed to access stock sub




Sub removed





Jack and mounting bracket removed




In the lower left corner you can see the wiring harnesses coming out of the stock amp that is stored below the storage cubby. Wiring for the proximity sensor and sub woofer run along the rear of the vehicle shown in the foreground. 








With the cargo area cleaned out it was time to begin planning on what to put in its place. Starting with the gear that I have to install:

The Precision Power P.65C3 components were purchased for my 2010 Ram but it ended up being traded in for the Durango before they could be installed.




Precision Power Phantom Amps. 900.4, 600.2 and 1000.1





Precision Power DEQ.8 Processor





Sundown 10" SD-3 Dual 4 ohm Subs







A piece of 3/4" MDF was cut to fit in the floor so subs and amps could be arranged to find how they would be laid out.

I started with this but really didn't like how asymmetrical it was and having enough room for a 1.2 cubic foot enclosure was going to be tough. The cargo area measures 36" across by 20" long at its maximum. There is 9 1/4" depth near the 3rd row seat brackets but that gets shallower as the the floor goes to the back for the hump where the spare tire is located under the vehicle. Placing the subs as far forward as possible was needed to provide enough clearance. 



Moving to this arrangement was more appealing to the eye and gave the needed space for the enclosure which will fire down into the floor for loading and vent forwards under the 3rd row seats and into the cabin. The processor no longer fit though so it will have to move to the storage cubby.





The jack and tire tools can be stowed in a bag but access to the shaft to drop the spare has to be kept. A cutout was made and I verified that there was clearance with the layout of the enclosure and amps.




Next, let's cut some more wood!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

The sub enclosure started with a 12" x 36" piece of 3/4" MDF. 2 3/4" tall feet were kept from being at the edges of the box due to the contour of the floor and trim panels. Where the enclosure vents into the cabin there is an opening of 3" tall and 32 1/2" wide. 



From there 5 1/2" tall walls and a divider/brace was installed. 10" SD3's have a 4 3/4" depth and the speaker vents around the sides of the motor. 




The back wall extends down to match the contour of the floor and keep moving air from heading back to where the amp rack will be placed. 



Tire tool has 1/4" of clearance when placed into the floor for dropping the spare



Top of box extends past the side walls of the box to close the gap with the side trim panels. This will end up being carpeted and will be the new floor of the cargo area. The back wall of the box still needs some re-shaping to better match the contour of the floor. As it sits now it is about a 1/4" too tall on the passenger side causing the top of the box to not sit 
flush.




The subs call for .5 cubes each of air space and have a displacement of .11 cu. ft. per speaker. With a goal of 1.22 sealed, I got very close. The inside of the box measures 34" 1/2" x 5.5" x 11 1/4" yielding 1.235 cubes before the brace is deducted. I'm very happy with how it sits and this is my stopping point for now. Hope to make some adjustments to the box this week which will have it sitting level and flush. The amp rack will have to wait until next weekend.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Couple of updates from today. The amp rack was started with an MDF panel that rests on the floor behind the box. After talking with Lanson, who is working on his own Durango, I learned that he found that the floor of his cargo area was not level. Looks like I am running in to this as well. Some reshaping of the feet of the enclosure helped but I've still got a little work to do. Here is how it sits now.




Since I have a tight space to work with the amps will need to be angled. Some MDF triangles were cut to test out. I like the design, but even with predrilling, the MDF split from #6 screws. 1x lumber or metal brackets may be a better choice. I'm open to suggestions too.




Access for spare tire tool to pass through



Inset panel for processor and disto blocks. 



Full view of the trunk




The panels that went in today haven't yet been fastened down. The more I look at the top of the box though the more I think about adding a plexiglass window. There is light blue accent lighting throughout the cabin that would be cool to carry over to the back of the car. Lighting inside the box, amp rack and around the disto blocks would jazz it up a bit. A cargo mat could be laid over the enclosure and amp rack for daily driving.


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## Jim85IROC (Jun 8, 2005)

Looks great so far. For attaching your amps, I would suggest T-nuts or hurricane nuts in the wood. Those will be more secure and won't make the wood split. In this case you'll probably be best off with hurricane nuts because you won't be inserting them from the back. 

Another option is to make those angled brackets from some angle-iron or aluminum.


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

Good choice in subs! Curious how this build will turn out.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Jim85IROC said:


> Looks great so far. For attaching your amps, I would suggest T-nuts or hurricane nuts in the wood. Those will be more secure and won't make the wood split. In this case you'll probably be best off with hurricane nuts because you won't be inserting them from the back.
> 
> Another option is to make those angled brackets from some angle-iron or aluminum.


Thank you and hurricane nuts are a good idea.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

hot9dog said:


> Good choice in subs! Curious how this build will turn out.


I'm eager to hear them play. Had a pair of 12" SD-2's in my last truck and wanted the SD-3's since they were announced. 

The build logs here have been one of my favorite parts of this site. My first one was never completed so I'm looking forward to seeing this one through. I'll probably have lots of questions as I go forward since this is my first build with a stand-alone processor and I have a lot to learn when it comes to tuning.


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

that looks goood!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks Chad! It won't be playing but it'll be up in College Station next week!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Another day with MDF dust in my hair but made some good progress. I went over to my buddy Rick's house (Speakerpimp) to show what I had so far and bounce a few thoughts off of him. We got the box sitting level and low enough to then move on to the amp rack. He had the idea to raise it up and extend into some open space at the back of the car. Now the amps can lay flat and recess below the rear trim panel. The change looked better to us and will make wiring a little easier. It also freed up much needed space below the amp rack to run wiring. Lastly the subs were put in to test fit everything inside the car.





More space above the top of the amps for a cover plate



Feeling super good about about the changes and think they pull the design together. This will be the last bit of work that can be done for a week or so. Up next is make a decision on the material for the top of the box and start running wires. Its a good stopping point and I feel better having a little something to show at the Aggieland Invitational next weekend in College Station. Had a good time last year and have been looking forward to going back.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

I like where this is going! Good use of available space.

Subscribing for more.


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

Looking real good so far!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

So there hasn't been much to post recently since there hadn't been a lot of progress. I took off to go to the Aggieland Invitational show two weeks back and came home with some motivation. Listening to some great sounding cars will do that. 

First off, I decided that the sub enclosure could use a little more flair. Having a usable cargo area is still a necessity but why not have some show back there too? Since the top of the box will be the tallest point of the install and there isn't room for a cover plate I opted to cut out two sections to counter sink some 3/4" plexi windows into. Frames were built from 1x2 select pine that will make a shelf inside the box for the plexi to attach to:



I allowed for a 1/4" gap between the frames and the walls of the box. Glued and nailed from the back side:







This will allow me to wrap the box in carpet and have it go down into the cut outs. Carpet will run down to the seam where the MDF meets the pine frame. The plexi will drop in from the top and be sealed up with with 3/4" wide neoprene tape that runs along the 3/4" wide pine shelf. I'm hoping that the thickness of the tape and carpet will even out and provide a level surface across the seams.

There was also a need for more install accessories so after some time on Amazon I ended up with some Dayton binding posts for the enclosre, T-nuts and stainless cap screws for mounting the subs, LED strip lighting for inside the box and amp rack, techflex and some other install accessories:



I also noticed that because the amps' inputs and controls are on the ends I was going to run into clearance problems and wanted to find a way to space them out some. However the rear quarter panel trim pieces were in the way so I did some trimming:





That helped and now one amp's RCAs won't be rubbing up against another's power wiring. 

Lastly, I've been going back and forth about how I'll be pulling signal from the factory amp to the DEQ.8 processor and what that signal will look like. Today a JL Fix82 integration processor was ordered and will be in early next week. I'm hoping that kills two birds with one stone by providing a clean, flat signal with factory processing removed and helps with retaining the hands-free phone calls since it has a bluetooth mode. Getting excited again to get back to work on it this weekend.


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

If you are not in a rush, PAC will be selling an interface soon to will provide outputs from 8.4N with Alpine. Our Pac rep is supposed to be getting one to me to try in my Ram. Not sure on ETA though. 

I also have a listing of female/male connectors for the Alpine amp if you want to create your own harness so you don't have to cut it.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

the727kid said:


> If you are not in a rush, PAC will be selling an interface soon to will provide outputs from 8.4N with Alpine. Our Pac rep is supposed to be getting one to me to try in my Ram. Not sure on ETA though.
> 
> I also have a listing of female/male connectors for the Alpine amp if you want to create your own harness so you don't have to cut it.


I had been waiting to see what PAC was going to offer. Share your thoughts when you get your hands on one. 

And yes, I would really like to make my own harness so I don't have to hack up the stock one. I've only done limited searching but haven't been able to find the plug. Any info you have there would be MUCH appreciated.


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

PM me your e-mail address and I will forward you what I have tonight.


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## daywalker (May 30, 2008)

Nice work so far. Do you plan on upgrading the electrical at all, or will the stock alt/battery support the 3 amps?


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

daywalker said:


> Nice work so far. Do you plan on upgrading the electrical at all, or will the stock alt/battery support the 3 amps?


Thanks. I'm not really concerned with the stock electrical at the moment. The alt in the R/T is 220 amps but I am not opposed to upgrading the battery if needed. I've had two of the three amps in a Ram prior to this which had nearly the same electrical system and it handled it just fine.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Time for a few small updates. The first is HOLY SH*T it's HOT in Texas this week! Being outside working on this thing has been no picnic so I've tried to move whatever work that could be done into the house. 

So as I get closer to running wiring I decided to lay out all of the install gear that I've collected to make sure nothing is missing. Hint: Something always is. :laugh:



I also ordered a new JL Audio Fix82 integration processor to aid in cleaning up the factory signal and add a few more features. A DRC-100 control knob and a pair of the Fix-LSA-4 load sensing adapters that are needed to place the proper load on the UConnect's wiring to keep the system from muting the signal when the load of a speaker is removed. 



The Fix processor was bought because it will not only remove the factory tuning, time alignment and sum the signals into 2 channels but with the DRC-100 connected there is also a master volume control and access to a bluetooth mode for handsfree calling that applies a 100 hz high pass crossover for better call quality. Another neat feature is a valet mode that when activated will attenuate the signal 15 db. The Fix processor was mounted near the DEQ.8 but that panel got very crowded so the distro blocks will need to be moved. 



Then I got back to work on the box to finish the inside since it will be visible through the plexi windows. The seams were sealed with caulking and a textured spray-in bedliner was applied. This really helped to hide any minor imperfections. 1/4" T Nuts were used to screw the subs into. 



Picked up some graphite colored flex carpeting from a local supplier and got to wrapping the box. I used an aerosol can of DAP Weldwood Contact Cement and a pneumatic stapler. Got as much done outside after work one night until I lost light and had to move into the kitchen. Don't mind the spaghetti that was cooling on the counter top. 



The carpet matches great with the driver's side panel and the back of the 3rd row seats but appears much lighter against the passenger side panel. I attribute that to the way the light hits it and maybe the direction that the fibers run. It's a very close match though.




Processor board wrapped and mostly wired. A barrier strip will supply power to both processors and the lighting. The LSA-4 are mounted on the back and will be wired inline between the stock wiring and the Fix processor. 






I'm hoping to wrap the amp rack and mount the amps before the end of the weekend. Its been two months and I'm still on this section of the car so I'm really wanting to finish this part up. Thing left to do on the enclosure are: get the plexi cut and attached, install the LED lighting inside the box, and install binding posts and wire the subs. I hope to wire up amps, finish the processors and run speaker wiring up to the front next weekend so that I can finally move on to the front of the vehicle.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Back to work on the box with mounting the subs. Used 1/4-20 allen head socket screws.




Blue LED lighting run around the underside of the shelf that the plexi glass windows will mount to.





The subs were wired with 12 gauge Knu Koncepts Kord cable.



Ring terminals for Dayton Audio binding posts soldered.







Wiring held against the back wall to block from view when looking though the windows on the top of the box.




Quick Demo of the lighting once it was all done.

https://youtu.be/x0Rl3nWS3f4


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Last weekend I tried to run the power wire to the battery along with the 3 runs of 16 gauge wiring for the passenger side speakers. Unfortunately things were not going my way and I reached out to another forum member, Lanson, for advice since he had an easy time running wiring in his Durango. His advice was a big help, I was trying to run front-to-back where the reverse was much easier. Took me less than 20 minutes to have wires peeking out of both sides of the interior.

Wiring exiting the passenger side rear quarter panel and into the second row seating area.




Getting wire into the battery compartment under the front passenger seat is rather easy. 1/0 Knu Koncepts cable wrapped in tech flex attached to the positive battery terminal.



I had bought a 250 amp maxi fuse but was second guessing that decision due to how difficult it would be to remove the fuse if I needed to cut power to the back of the car so I went with a 300 amp Stinger circuit breaker which was mounted to the top side of the battery compartment cover. Its it accessible by reaching under the front seat. 



The power wire enters the cargo area near the 3rd row seats and runs to the distro block that was mounted in between the seat brackets for the passenger-side seat. A piece of 3/4" MDF was cut, sprayed with bedliner, and bolted into the threaded mounting points from the stock subwoofer.




0 gauge ground run to the bolt for the 3rd row, passenger-side seatbelt.



4 gauge runs head to the back of the car where the amp rack will mount. There is also a small gauge power and ground that head to the driver's side to supply power to the processors and lighting.



Because the wires will run right underneath one of the subs, and the clearance is very tight at the font of the box, I made some slits into the factory carpeting and threaded some zip-ties into them to bind the wiring snug against the floor. I'm really happy with how this came out.



The feet of the box were lined with 1/2" thick foam weatherstipping to seal up the seam between box and floor as best possible. It also helps cushion where the power and ground wires run underneath.



On the driver's side I ran the 3 sets of 16 gauge wire for the speakers up front along with the data cables for the JL Fix 82's volume knob and the 1000.1's bass knob. I also ran a single 18 gauge single wire for the valet switch that the Fix processor offers. No pictures of that side, not much to see anyway. 

I did partially wire up the barrier strip for the component speakers up front. This will allow me to remove the amp rack without pulling on those wires because there is not a lot of slack in them from where they exit the rear quarter panels. I used different lengths of heat shrink to designate which wires were which: Short = Tweet, Medium = Mid and Long = Mid-bass

 

That is where I stopped for the day. Getting back at it tomorrow to run the wiring into the front doors and connect the amps and processors.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Loving this build so far! Keep it up man, Texas heat be damned!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

metanium said:


> Loving this build so far! Keep it up man, Texas heat be damned!




Thanks!! I'm getting close to finishing. The heat is no joke right now but there is no changing that so I'm just pushing through. 


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## High Resolution Audio (Sep 12, 2014)

Nice Build!!!


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

Great build and very clean work, man!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks!! I appreciate the feedback. 


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

More progress over the last week. I got the plexi glass windows in the box and opted for 1/2" thickness so that it was recessed. I made a bad choice when choosing the fasteners for attaching the plexi. 10-32 threaded brass inserts and black recessed head socket screws look nice but those brass inserts use a flat head to drive them into wood which was a problem from the start. My largest flat head screwdriver wasn't wide enough so I went to buy another one and the only one that was wide enough had a blade that was too thick. After several hours of fighting the anchors into the box I noticed my second bad choice: fine thread screws. Getting the screws aligned so that they wouldn't strip the brass inserts was another headache. It all ended up fine but took waaaaay longer than it should have. 





3/4" wide x 1/16 thick neoprene tape applied as a gasket. This tape rocks. It is super sticky so it adhered very well.

[URL=http://s227.photobucket.com/user/mReaL360/media/2015%20Durango%20RT/IMG_6781_zpskn1dresn.jpg.html]

Finished. Ignore the messy table, it was late at night by this time and I didn't tidy my workstation for the pic.








[/URL]

Next some wiring harnesses were made to connect the Fix processor to the factory wiring at the stock amp. The plugs come with the Fix82 and I used 18 gauge wire that was twisted to keep it neat and attractive. The short heat shrink marks the tweeter wires and the longer is for the woofers.



Connected to the FIX-LSA-4 load sensing adapters. I have two on that board but am only using one. 



Connections to the wiring harness. The front tweeters and woofers were clipped and soldered to the new wires. Finished them off in heat shrink. 



I am leaving the rear speakers connected to the factory amp and will utilize the fader to choose when I want them to play. I didn't want the stock center channel to be on though so I clipped the positive wire for it and capped it in heat shrink as well. 



Wiring harnesses were reconnected to the factory amp and the wires were bound with zip ties and tucked back behind the panel. On the right is the power and ground wires for the led lighting inside the sub box.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Next I moved on to cleaning up the wiring for the tweets, mids and woofers. The barrier strip was mounted to the floor in the center of the vehicle. Wires were bound and run so that they wouldn't interfere with the pass-though for the spare tire tool. The proximity sensor for the doors was attached to the metal at the back of the cargo area using double sided tape. 



I tapped into the 12v socket on the passenger side rear quarter panel. This is a retained accessory power connection so the stereo will stay on if the car is shut off until the doors are opened. This is the way the stock radio worked so I wanted to keep it that way.



The remote wire runs with the right speaker cables and goes to the Fix82 processor on the other side of the car. The Fix outputs another remote signal to the DEQ.8 processors which then outputs to the amps. Once tested everything powered up well and there was no need for a relay.



A toggle switch was used to turn on the lighting. There is a small panel on the driver side quarter panel where the button to close the rear door is located. This made a nice spot to place the switch.






KnuKoncepts Krystal Kables are used to carry signal to the amps. Great quality cables, that are well shielded and flexible.



Once the amps were all connected I turned it all on to test out and everything came on as it should. I verified that the Fix processor had a signal via the LED status lights and then ran the calibration so it would de-tune the signal and output a flat one via the RCA's. No problems here, it configured the first time around. At this point I connected RCA's to the amps and went to set gains. This is when I noticed that my 4 channel amp was in protect mode. The car was powered down, fuses were checked and nothing was found to be wrong. Turned it back on and still in protect so I pulled it to take a look inside. Two resistors on channels 1&2 were noticeably burned. This amp was last used in my Ram about 14 months ago and worked fine. Not sure what happened to it, could have been this way for a while. Found another one in the classifieds which is headed my way. This was Saturday and I was still planning to work on this on Sunday and get the front speakers in so I decided to push forward and run passive until the new amp showed up.

Bad picture because it was too bright out. I set the crossovers in place of the 4 channel amp along with the rat's nest of wires until the replacement amp arrives.


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## ndm (Jul 5, 2007)

These are my favorite for wood. Very easy to drive in.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Here is a shot of the door panel before removal along with a close up of the tweeter location.




Started by removing the door panel and the sail panel which runs along the window frame.



The clips for the tweeter were popped and it came right out. The tweeter comes out first then a second set of clips are released to take out the housing and grill.




The small flange inside the hole was enlarged using a dremel so that the new tweeters would fit.







Popped the molex out and threaded two runs of 16 gauge KnuKoncepts Kord cable. This went very smoothly. So glad that I changed my mind about running that 12 gauge that I had. Didn't even need to drill the molex, there was a nice gap between the two plugs that worked fine.






Tweeters connected with blade terminals. Wiring bound with zip ties.



I used 1/2" birch plywood for the baffles for the 6.5 woofers that went in place of the 6x9's. 5 coats of bedliner on both sides to protect them from moisture.




The inner door skin had 80 mil Noico butyl deadener applied. Didn't go crazy here. Just added enough to be effective. 



Boom mat foam speaker baffles to protect the woofers from moisture and also decouple the driver from the baffle.




Lower 50% cut out to let the speaker breathe.



Mounted and more deadener applied around the baffle and the plastic door skin.




Back side of the door panel before deadening.



After. Paid special attention to an area where a trim piece is installed on the other side. There are two layers of plastic on the back side that can be a source of rattles.




Mounted the door panels back on. Again the sun wasn't helping with with taking these pics. I'll get some more later to show the finished doors.



Not sure where the mids will mount yet. Made some temporary pods from a couple of 3" PVC caps so that I can audition them both on the dash and in the kick panel area. Used the dremel again to increase the opening so the mids would countersink. They are press fit in for now with neoprene tape around the outside.





At this point I was ready to power it on and do some inital testing. I turned off channels 1-4 and bypassed the low pass crossover on channels 5&6 on the processor so that the 2 channel amp would send 70hz and up to the 3 ways being run passive. No point in time alignment or any real tuning until the new amp shows up. Just did some listening to see how things sound. Even running passive I am very pleased with front speakers. The highs have lots of detail and I didn't notice any breakup. The mids come through very clear but were a little too present on the dash. Moved them to the kick panels and was pleased with the added depth. I was being gentle with the woofers until they can break in so didn't get a whole lot of mid bass from them but at higher volume they weren't bottoming out and I didn't notice any buzzing from the door panel. The sub output is great. When they were turned down they blended very well with the fronts but once the knob was turned up a little higher they can really shake the Durango. I don't have all the panels popped back into place since running the wires so I have some vibration there but I also need to address the rear door. From outside the car there is the faintest rattle and the roof does flex some around the shark fin antenna. So the 4 channel amp going bad was certainly a step back but all in all this weekend was very productive and I do have some much improved car sounds for the drive to work tomorrow!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

ndm said:


> These are my favorite for wood. Very easy to drive in.


Yeah, I was wishing that I had bought those around midnight last Sunday. The allen drive alone would have helped but those also seat much better into the wood than those brass ones did.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Checking in to say that I got a replacement 4 channel amp and was able to remove the passive crossovers and wire the speakers directly to their individual channels and do some testing. For a minute there I thought I had a bad tweeter but traced it back to an RCA wire. I think it got pinched between the amp rack and the box. Swapped it out and was back with all speakers playing. Started off with a DMM to set the gains but was not sure that I could trust the reading that I was getting on the 1khz and 8khz tones that I was using for the 4 channel. The DMM is supposed to measure voltage in those frequencies but the speakers were a little hot so they were eased back and adjusted by ear, one set of channels at a time. 

For now the mids are down in the kick panels and angled towards the opposite window. The passenger side mid is the farthest speaker from the driver's headrest so I used it as a baseline for setting time alignment. The difference of varying lengths were entered to delay the other speakers and then I went back and made a few small changes by ear to push the stage from over the instrument cluster to further towards the center. I didn't have any access to measurement tools tonight so I was focusing on getting the speakers to play well together in terms of volume. The levels sound right to me but the stage pulls down and left with male vocals. I had put in about 3 hours of seat time at this point and my ears were getting a little tired so I'm going to work more on the mid bass tomorrow. 

Listening to the P65C3's for the first time running active was pleasing. The mid-bass could be the weak link in the set due to over-excursion, hopefully this gets better as they break in a little more. The high pass filter was set at 85 hz with a 12 db slope but was moved to 100 hz./24 db. after hearing some bottoming out at higher volume. Their output is significantly higher and cleaner from when they were running passive. The mids took the most adjustment in their levels to get them sounding right. Tweeters are bright yet subdued in that they weren't drawing too much attention to themselves. Its been several years since running active so I didn't want to mess with too much at first. Pretty happy with where I left things until I can get back to it tomorrow. 

Lastly, I would really like to get an RTA on the 2 channel outputs on the Fix processor to see what the curve looks like before and after calibration. Per the instructions, calibration was done at 75% of the radio's volume range with a flat EQ and the surround sound setting turned off. Full volume on the UConnect is 38 and the DRC-100's status light doesn't detect clipping until 32 but I'm finding that 28-30 is the sweet spot. Once the volume on the UConnect is set then the DRC is used for volume control. The bass heavy sound from the factory tuning is still there though and the bass setting on the UConnect's EQ had to be set to -5 to keep the woofers from sounding muddy. Positive takeaways on the Fix are that I've had no errors over several calibrations and the noise floor is low, although not completely silent.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

After another week's time of dialing some things in I'd have to say that I'm starting to make some real progress. I've been able to adjust the mid-bass enough to start throwing some lower frequencies at them to where the lower door panel is buzzing a little. High pass was moved from 100 hz/24 db to 80 hz/24 db which blends much better with the sub and adds a "heavier" feel to the sound. The door rattle is not too bad but I will be pulling the panels soon to add some more dampening around the back side of the storage pocket. It also turns out that what I thought was noise coming from over-excursion of the woofer was actually coming from the temporary mid-range pods. Some air was escaping around the outer ring that was making it sound like a sheet of paper was being held near a woofer. That was mostly fixed by sealing it up temporarily with tape. The kick panels are working out really well thus far for mid range placement, giving a is a good sense of depth and the width. The driver's side mid and tweeter were both turned down a little (-1.5 db tweet and -3.0 db mid-range) to move the stage from over the steering wheel and more towards the center. 

I need to spend some time hunting down the source of some rattles in the back of the car. There is a strong buzzing from what I think is the trim piece that goes over the amp rack and the rear door is making some noises as well. Neither have been deadened yet. Once I quiet those down I should know how much more of the Durango's interior I am hearing. So far I don't have any delay on the sub and it is blending very well up front. Kick drums sound clear, right over the dash. Any bass heavy tracks, especially those where the air movement can be felt, do remind you that the subs are 5' behind the listening position. Sundown's SD-3 subs are very capable and I'm happy with my choice to down fire them. I'm not noticing any rattling in the floor yet but will check that out again once I correct the previously mentioned rattles in the cargo area.


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## daviddto (Feb 17, 2013)

I had a chance to hear this in person and I must say that it sounds as amazing as it looks. Hats off to you Mike, you did a great job!


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Been a while since I've updated the build, or done any work in the car, but a recent snafu has caused some problems. While driving I noticed some distortion in the front speakers so I cut the sub down and listened more closely to what sounded like a scratchy sound coming from the mids and tweeters that was following the beat of the music. Shortly afterwards the cabin filled with noise as the stereo went full volume but was no longer playing music. I cut the master volume on DRC-100 knob connected to the Fix 82 processor. This did nothing and neither did cutting the UConnect volume or muting the radio. I was able to pull over and hit the circuit breaker under the passenger seat but not before my front speakers were cooked. There was a strong smell of burned electronics and the fins on the AMT tweeters were visibly deformed. All of this happened while I was crossing a bridge and I was now on the shoulder. With the power cut off to the electronics, I exited the freeway and found a parking lot to check the back of the car before proceeding home. The 4 channel amp (PPI 900.4) smelled fried as well. But I didn't see anything else of concern so I continued on home for a closer look. 

Pic of the AMT:



There weren't any visibly loose wires, or connections that appeared to have jumped the terminals on the amps, so the fuse for the 900.4 was pulled from the distro block and the stereo was turned back on to check the midbass and sub portions of the stereo. Both amps powered on except the mono amp (1000.1) did so before the car was turned on as if it was already seeing a remote turn on. Oddly, all three amps are run on the same remote wire circuit that is output from the PPI DSP yet the 2 channel (600.2) powered on and off as it should. Remote wire issues or amp turn on/off has not been an issue thus far so I wasn't sure what to make of that. Listening to the stereo showed that the midbass were not right either. The driver's door sounded like the voice coil was damaged (very scratchy at low volume) and the passenger side was attenuated and sounded "distant". Subs were playing fine but at the time the stereo went haywire the mono amp's gain knob was set to zero. This may have saved that portion, however there is the remote turn on issue.

Fast forward 3 weeks and I found time to pull the equipment and check things further. The 900.4 amp was opened up and the resistors on the output side are badly burned. I had resistors of this same model of amp go bad during the install but since it was used in a prior build it couldn't directly be attributed to this build/setup so I found another one in the classifieds and proceeded to finish.

Pics of the resistors from the 1st amp that failed compared to the one that went out this time:




I also noticed what I thought was a leaking capacitor but now I think it is probably just an excess amount of adhesive or sealant used in the amps construction. The black substance is not tacky at all, it is found in other parts of the board and none of the caps are bulged at all like you might expect to find in a damaged capacitor. 

Again, amp #1 vs the one that just went out:




The resistors that were burned that badly were on channels 1/2 that powered the tweeters. The RCA outputs on the PPI DSP were measured with a DMM and were outputting anywhere from 11-20+ volts DC. Channels 1/2 measured the highest at 20+. The DC voltage that was measured on the RCA output lugs decreased as I continued to channel 8. 7/8 were still measuring 11 volts DC which is no bueno. I checked the output voltage on the RCA's from the Fix processor and that read ~2 volts AC, as it should be. So I'm thinking that the PPI DSP had some failure and sent a DC signal through the amps and damaged the speakers connected to them. The 4 channel had it worst and its resistors look that way. The 2 channel doesn't have the same visible scars but needs further testing as does the mono amp.

The readings on the DSP outputs puzzle me. Outputting a 12v DC signal is one thing but amplifying over what is going in to power that DSP just seems odd. I did power the equipment down and then back on again to take measurements twice to confirm they were correct. I don't have the tools or knowledge to do much further in the way of testing but I've contacted PPI to see if they are willing to take a look at the DSP. I've also already purchased some new amps and front speakers to replace what I know is bad, or will not be returning to the car. More to update on that later but for now just need to confirm what the problem was before anything new goes back in. If any of this gives y'all a clue on what I should look at or what could have caused the problem I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

New gear has been arriving. Not ready to install yet but the test fitting of the new amps went well.


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## speakerpimp (Feb 15, 2012)

Damn, those amps fit good in there, looks great!


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Wow! I remember reading your sort of wanted ad to purchase new amps to replace those PPI ones and just stumbled upon your build thread. What a tragedy, we all have had some type of mystical problem that ends up being something silly, but whoa! I love the look of those Zapco amps, never liked the look of the PPI ones, but for the price point and power output they have their place. Looks like ST-2X, ST-4XP, and a ST-1350XM II?

Now all you need is Zapco to release the new DSP-Z12 V PRO or similar to go with one package for processing power.

Really strange you had that problem with the PPI DSP piece, you think it could be a shorted RCA that caused all your problems? Perhaps the DSP isn't protected from an output short on the RCA and fried it causing the DC output. I had an RCA pinched in my Cherokee years back which is the indirect reason for introducing me to the Zapco brand. I haven't been more pleased. Keep us posted.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

speakerpimp said:


> Damn, those amps fit good in there, looks great!


Looks who's back on the forums! Thanks Rick. 



knever3 said:


> Wow! I remember reading your sort of wanted ad to purchase new amps to replace those PPI ones and just stumbled upon your build thread. What a tragedy, we all have had some type of mystical problem that ends up being something silly, but whoa! I love the look of those Zapco amps, never liked the look of the PPI ones, but for the price point and power output they have their place. Looks like ST-2X, ST-4XP, and a ST-1350XM II?
> 
> Now all you need is Zapco to release the new DSP-Z12 V PRO or similar to go with one package for processing power.
> 
> Really strange you had that problem with the PPI DSP piece, you think it could be a shorted RCA that caused all your problems? Perhaps the DSP isn't protected from an output short on the RCA and fried it causing the DC output. I had an RCA pinched in my Cherokee years back which is the indirect reason for introducing me to the Zapco brand. I haven't been more pleased. Keep us posted.


You're correct on the amps except the mono is a 1000XM II.  I had been wanting to replace the PPI ones almost from the time I started this build and ironically the system went south the same week that thread about new amp choices was posted. 

I have heard about the new processors coming from Zapco and they look great but the talk about them so far seems to indicate that they might be a stretch to the budget. After the trio of amps that were just bought, I also picked up a pair of used Anarchy's from the classifieds here as well as some Morel soft dome tweeters. Then I opted to try out a JL TWK processor and have one on the way. It will match with the Fix and its simple knob controller is easy to integrate up front.

The problem with the previous stereo is strange and it was the first time that I had run into that kind of thing. I am not sure exactly what went wrong but I'm hoping that PPI will reply and is willing to take a look at it. Maybe they could shed some light on it? 

Either way, I am mostly starting over with newer, better gear and I'll update the thread as I progress. Thanks.


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## few35t (Dec 10, 2014)

Did you ever come up with a more permanent solution to mounting your mids?


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

w35t_fg2 said:


> Did you ever come up with a more permanent solution to mounting your mids?


Kinda. The mids were mounted to some 1/2" rings that were attached to the plastic kick panels. With the speakers playing off axis, I was pleased with the added stage depth but I never quite got the mids to stay centered where I wanted them sound-wise. Since I was still testing things out, I didn't get around to a more permanent, and better looking, install on them before the system went poof. Here are some pics for reference. SQ towels were stuffed at the front of the panel to help keep the backwave in since the kick panels are rather open on the Duragno.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

MoparMike said:


> New gear has been arriving. Not ready to install yet but the test fitting of the new amps went well.


That looks killer! I'm sure the Zapco's will be a step up over the PPI's as well.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Time for some updates. Went for a pillar install with a pair of Morel MDT-29 tweeters. I was given some rings for a pair of Hybrid L3s that were a perfect fit for the tweeters and the Hybrid grills that I already had. One nice thing is that the rings were made to so that the grills would press-fit in and the plastic ring that comes with them isn't needed. 








I chose a black vinyl that matched the color and grain of the dash and door panels and added some red stitching to tie them in with the seats and armrests. The work was done by a local trim shop as sewing leather and wrapping pods isn't in my wheelhouse.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

The Anarchy drivers that were installed in the doors needed more clearance and the stock grills were rather constrictive so they were removed to make way for something new.




Metal mesh was ordered from a computer modding website and pressed into new grills.






The grill color matched the brushed steel accent on the upper door panel but the rest of the grills in the car are black so these will probably be painted black to match. Still have some work to do with additional sound deadening and the appearance of the baffle for the mid before the doors are done.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Looks awesome. I was planning on doing something similar to the doors in my jeep. Those factory grills are ridiculous, hardly and open area and mine resonate too.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

bradknob said:


> Looks awesome. I was planning on doing something similar to the doors in my jeep. Those factory grills are ridiculous, hardly and open area and mine resonate too.


Thanks Brad. The resonance was pretty bad but it also helped a lot with the clarity of the midrange.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

MoparMike said:


> Thanks Brad. The resonance was pretty bad but it also helped a lot with the clarity of the midrange.




Good to know. Since installing new speakers, I've been riding around with no door panels for a couple days and have notice an increase in clarity.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

bradknob said:


> Good to know. Since installing new speakers, I've been riding around with no door panels for a couple days and have notice an increase in clarity.


Sure thing. I saw that you are headed up to the Aggieland show next week, so I look forward to seeing your Jeep. Your build thread was a lot of help when I was starting out on this Durango.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Last weekend before heading to the Aggieland show, used my Sunday to make some changes and finish off a few parts of the install.

I pulled out the Anarchy drivers and swapped in a pair of Morel Elate 6's. MDF baffles were replaced with HDPE ones, F.A.S.T. rings were put in, the inner door panel was lined with CCF and anything that could rattle or move was wrapped in either CCF, Tesa tape or both.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Also made an amp rack cover and carpeted it to match the rest of the trunk.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

MoparMike said:


> Sure thing. I saw that you are headed up to the Aggieland show next week, so I look forward to seeing your Jeep. Your build thread was a lot of help when I was starting out on this Durango.




Good deal man, glad my build could be of help.

I'll be there for sure. Looking forward to checking the Durango out.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

An initial tune was done with REW, which I am just learning to use, and that was listened to for 2 days before going back to make some further adjustments. Here is what I ended up with tonight. Any feedback is appreciated. 

Left Vs Right, using a JBL house curve. The left tweeter was measuring louder but toning it down to match on the graph moved the center over towards the instrument cluster when I went back to listen to music. 




All on before and after increasing sub levels to better match the curve. 




The center still wanders a little on some recordings but is pretty well focused on others. Depth improved. Width stayed about the same, I don't think its further apart than the edges of the a pillars, sail panels at best. Bringing the tweeters down in level after eq'ing, so that they matched the curve when measured with the rest of the system playing, helped with listening fatigue at higher volume. Going to listen to this tune, and another with some further L/R level adjustments made by ear afterwards to compare.


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## UncleHungry (Jul 18, 2017)

Man I wish I could see these pics. It always says “Please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting”


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

I had the same issue with different sounding left and right , in the upper frequencies. Switched amp leads and speaker wires and finally narrowed to be simply, different sounding speakers, 5.25 component set. Exchanged the whole set, both speakers, problem solved. Shouldn't have been, but is was kind of thing.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

UncleHungry said:


> Man I wish I could see these pics. It always says “Please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting”
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Yea, Photobucket stuck it in and twisted a bunch of us. I had a couple big build threads that are worthless now.

But this Durango is super clean, sounds just as nice too. Hopefully he has another method to share some pics.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

UncleHungry said:


> Man I wish I could see these pics. It always says “Please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting”
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Yeah, the photobucket change sucked and I really haven't had the time to go back and fix it all. Here is a link to an album on Google with pics of the highlights of the build. 

https://goo.gl/photos/Gz5WRsg9eZcU18di9




bradknob said:


> Yea, Photobucket stuck it in and twisted a bunch of us. I had a couple big build threads that are worthless now.
> 
> But this Durango is super clean, sounds just as nice too. Hopefully he has another method to share some pics.


Thanks Brad!


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## UncleHungry (Jul 18, 2017)

MoparMike said:


> Yeah, the photobucket change sucked and I really haven't had the time to go back and fix it all. Here is a link to an album on Google with pics of the highlights of the build.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Awesome thanks man!


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## mrichard89 (Sep 29, 2016)

Absolutely love the simplicity and cleanliness of this install! I'm looking at doing something similar in my Toyota 4Runner. What are your impressions of the Sundown SD3 subwoofers? They look like a great option, and they are certainly one that I have considered. I'd like to do something like your false floor, but I am also constrained by space. Thanks in advance.

Matt


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

mrichard89 said:


> Absolutely love the simplicity and cleanliness of this install! I'm looking at doing something similar in my Toyota 4Runner. What are your impressions of the Sundown SD3 subwoofers? They look like a great option, and they are certainly one that I have considered. I'd like to do something like your false floor, but I am also constrained by space. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Matt


Glad to hear it, thanks. The SD-3's are a great option considering their price point and build quality. I think they have very good output and can play with authority but also blend quite well with the midbass. I'm also a big fan of Sundown in general because when I've had an issue, their customer service has been fantastic.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

What are the chances of getting these photos re-posted (or emailed to me). Interested in the speaker, amp, wiring installation to develop a plan myself.

EDIT: Found the album. Ignore me...


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

sirbOOm said:


> What are the chances of getting these photos re-posted (or emailed to me). Interested in the speaker, amp, wiring installation to develop a plan myself.
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT: Found the album. Ignore me...



Let me know if there is something specific that you are looking for that isn’t in the later album and I’ll see what else I have. Happy to assist with any questions if it helps whatever you are working on. 


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

Hey man let me ask you a question about the factory signal. 

I went to do a little experimentation with the center channel speaker and noticed a couple things. (1) when it’s dosxonnected, fade to front, it’s as if the door components (factory at this point) are not getting a full signal. The sound is very empty. I also connected and temp mounted a side of my Focal speakers in the door and still, empty like it’s not getting a full range signal. Only the tweeter was crossed over. The mid (factory or Focal) sounds like it’s missing like the whole middle of the spectrum (2) if I reverse the polarity of the center channel, I actually get a center image where as when the wiring is factory polarity the image is hard left it seems. This is the only reason I’m even bothering with the stereo in this thing because it’s got such an awful center image for a stereo equipped with a center speaker. But you’d think the door speakers are getting a full range signal but it sure doesn’t sound like it. Any similar experiences? I didn’t have the ability where I was to do a rough mic RTA with pink noise to confirm but, dang, this factory signal makes no damn sense. The rear doors get full range clear as day and that severely pulls the sound back, too, especially after putting in my Focal coaxials back there already. I’m confused...


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

sirbOOm said:


> Hey man let me ask you a question about the factory signal.
> 
> I went to do a little experimentation with the center channel speaker and noticed a couple things. (1) when it’s dosxonnected, fade to front, it’s as if the door components (factory at this point) are not getting a full signal. The sound is very empty. I also connected and temp mounted a side of my Focal speakers in the door and still, empty like it’s not getting a full range signal. Only the tweeter was crossed over. The mid (factory or Focal) sounds like it’s missing like the whole middle of the spectrum (2) if I reverse the polarity of the center channel, I actually get a center image where as when the wiring is factory polarity the image is hard left it seems. This is the only reason I’m even bothering with the stereo in this thing because it’s got such an awful center image for a stereo equipped with a center speaker. But you’d think the door speakers are getting a full range signal but it sure doesn’t sound like it. Any similar experiences? I didn’t have the ability where I was to do a rough mic RTA with pink noise to confirm but, dang, this factory signal makes no damn sense. The rear doors get full range clear as day and that severely pulls the sound back, too, especially after putting in my Focal coaxials back there already. I’m confused...


I did an RTA measurement of the speaker wires exiting the amp and found that there was a significant cut in the midrange frequencies when summing only 6x9's in the doors and the tweets in the sail panels. I wish that I had a picture of that reading, it was before any of the fab work started, but as I remember it 900-1k were down more than 12 db from the surrounding frequencies. It seemed initially like a chunk of the frequency spectrum was missing What we saw was that the door mids were appeared to be EQ'd to suck out a lot of the midrange which was being carried by the center channel. There is a full range signal to be had from just the 6x9 and tweeter wiring in the front doors but it requires a lot of correction prior to amplification if those will be your only sources. The JL Fix that I had been using at the time was able to show on the graph that those frequencies where there, but it also showed just how low they were in relation to the rest of the spectrum prior to the correction (The amber line in the pic below.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lsEk26SljoqjHAjk-5JUzpKIi8efr7go/view?usp=sharing

You could either look at some type of signal correction device or you could bypass the factory amp all together and get a clean signal from the preamp of the UConnect, which it turns out is actually very nice. The Pac AmpPro is what I chose, I have seen others who have spliced into the CANBUS, grab the preamp signal out and made their own RCA's to run to the back but you do lose volume control on the radio that way.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

Great, that confirms what I am hearing, then. How f'ing annoying. I have a bit One which apparently will flatten the signal it gets but it's not as intuitive in doing so as the RF 360.3 was (literally showed me the corrections it made to start with a flat signal). 

I have that AmpPRO doo-dad coming, but I was half hoping to avoid $250 freakin' dollars to snag a reasonable signal. But, I suppose I'd rather not have to attenuate surrounding frequencies from this goofy dip just to have a clean flat signal.

Man, the way Dodge set up this stereo's output really ticks me off. I swear I have never heard a car stereo with a center channel sound so blatantly off-center in my life.

Thanks for the insight. I was sitting there scratching my head wondering WTF was going on...


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

Excellent work describing your process in the Durango. I'm curious if you still have it now.


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## MoparMike (Feb 14, 2012)

Chaos said:


> Excellent work describing your process in the Durango. I'm curious if you still have it now.




Thanks. I still have the Durango but it was returned back to stock. It’s now the family hauler and the keys reside in my wife’s purse. I’ve moved on to a Chrysler 300s and another build. 


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## Bigman77 (Jun 13, 2020)

MoparMike said:


> Thanks. I still have the Durango but it was returned back to stock. It’s now the family hauler and the keys reside in my wife’s purse. I’ve moved on to a Chrysler 300s and another build.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hey Mike i have a Durango also and been trying to get my setup just like this i love the stealth look besides that im a huge Rc car fan and i have several of them and don't need to compromise space i was wondering if you could send me the specs to that box so i can start my build it would be greatly appreciated


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