# Se7en's CTS-V



## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Hey folks,

I thought I would throw a few work progress pics of my V. 

I need to warn of a few things in advance. 

1. This is not being built as a show car but as a functioning daily driver. 
2. My work schedule has gone a bit out of control so I have not been able to take nearly as many pictures as I would have hoped.
3. There were a couple of main objectives when starting this project. a. It needs to sound great. b. We need to be able to return the car back to stock at a later date, meaning a minimum of permanent modifications that would damage the resale value of the car. C. maintain as close to factory weight balance as possible. Meaning the car can’t drive like a school bus. From the factory, the car has a curb weight of 4200lbs with a 53/47 front bias. This gives us a few hundred pounds to work with before crossing the 50/50 line.

The car is a 2009 CTS-V, 6spd manual.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)




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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)




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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)




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## nirschl (Apr 30, 2009)

Looking real nice! 

Sometimes I wish I had the IB option in the rear of my van. 

Look forward to following this.

Cheers!

Pete


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## GLN305 (Nov 2, 2007)

Looks good! I am interested to see how the kicks sound. Work faster!!


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## sam3535 (Jan 21, 2007)

Would love to hear this one also. Are you going to make it to West Monroe?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

The kicks sound great! I spent almost 3 days playing around with various kick locations using temp baffles (while the carpet and dead pedal were removed). As it sits now, with only crossover settings and no TA it is a two seat car. I found that the more off axis the speakers were, the more balanced the staging became (both seats) as well as better stage depth and width. Staging is high, pretty wide and no rainbow effect that I can tell. You'd swear there were drivers in the dash.

It is not "mirror imaging" at both seats but it sounds pretty amazing considering that the car has had no tuning at all. I'm thinking that with a little EQ and a touch of alignment I can get it to sound pretty good. I'm still questioning leaving the dead pedal there (being so close to the tweeter) but I can change that down the road if I like.

The MW182s are awesome! Also, they dropped right in with no cutting to the doors at all  In fact, the only modifications to the car so far (with exception to dynamat) is 4 bolt holes for mounting and small amount of trimming to help the tweeters stay on the same plane as the mids.

I am trying to make the Deep South GTG but will warn that I'm close on time and the car may not be finished and will certainly not be tuned. Is anyone bringing an RTA?

I'll keep you posted and will post up some more pics when I have a chance.


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## sam3535 (Jan 21, 2007)

Se7en said:


> The kicks sound great! I spent almost 3 days playing around with various kick locations using temp baffles (while the carpet and dead pedal were removed). As it sits now, with only crossover settings and no TA it is a two seat car. I found that the more off axis the speakers were, the more balanced the staging became (both seats) as well as better stage depth and width. Staging is high, pretty wide and no rainbow effect that I can tell. You'd swear there were drivers in the dash.
> 
> It is not "mirror imaging" at both seats but it sounds pretty amazing considering that the car has had no tuning at all. I'm thinking that with a little EQ and a touch of alignment I can get it to sound pretty good. I'm still questioning leaving the dead pedal there (being so close to the tweeter) but I can change that down the road if I like.
> 
> ...


Cool, the back of my SUV looks a little bit like some shots of your car right now. Decided to rebuild the amp rack/storage box last weekend. Canaan is bringing his RTA so at least one will be there. Hope you make it. Back to your build!


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## gymrat2005 (Oct 4, 2009)

cool man, I've been waiting for this build log ever since you got those Billets.


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## alachua (Jun 30, 2008)

Looks really nice. Care to do a full equipment list? I really like the way you integrated the kick panels.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Here's a quick equipment break down. Please also note that this is going to be a bit of a rolling project. I wanted to get the core system built but also keep some flexibility for future experiments and changes.

Amplification:
TRU SuperBillet 8, internal opamp upgrades and black chassis. This will run the front stage with a pair of bridged channels running to the midbass.
TRU Billet 2200, stage 3 and opamp upgrades, black chassis. This will be bridge to run the sub.
TRU Billet 4100, stage 3 and opamp upgrades, black chassis. This will be use for future projects.

Speakers:
Dyn Esotar 2 110 tweeters, 430 mids & 1200 Sub.
Dyn Esotec MW 182 midbass

Additional drivers for experimentation:
Esotec MD 102s
Hybrid L3s.
More later.

Head Unit: Factory OEM/Bose 5.1

Processing:
Two Audison BitOne.1s One will be used for the core system and the other one is there to allow for future experimentation (different XO points than a single B1 allows, additional active channels for elements like rear fill, center channel, staging tweeters (although I don't think I will need it at all) or possibly using extremely steep XO slopes. We'll have to see on the 2nd bitone. I may pull it out.

Two TRU Line Drivers

Two Lightining Audio Batteries. One for the system and one for the car. I may change this configuration around once I see how the electrical system behaves.


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## fastlane (Apr 6, 2009)

Sick equipment list. 

Those must be some impressive drivers, cause that looks like horrible placement of them from the pic's. Just goes to show you never know. (I'm a poet. )

Looking forward to more pics.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

Excellent work so far Gabe, can't wait to hear final thoughts !

Gimme a shout, it's been awhile.


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

Very nice set up man!


The CTS-V is awesome.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

fastlane said:


> Sick equipment list.
> 
> Those must be some impressive drivers, cause that looks like horrible placement of them from the pic's. Just goes to show you never know. (I'm a poet. )
> 
> Looking forward to more pics.


I have to say that this is not the way I thought the kicks would be setup either. The plan was to run the 430s in the kick, the 110s in the Apillar. After spending a full day playing around with different configurations, I found that the A pillar collapsed the stage quite a bit. Once I moved the tweets to the kicks, the perceived stage width increased at least 4-5 inches from both seats. The problem is that with the temp baffles, the stage height predictably dropped so, I started looking at staging tweeters. 

The other problem with my car is that it has a massive sunroof that spands the entirety of the roof. This may have been one of the reasons I didn't care for the A pillar placements as well. I was getting tons of reflections from the windshield, side glass and roof. Angling the tweeters into the cabin made things different but not better. 










We spent another day or two after making the decision to move the tweet down to the kick with the mid using better temp baffles that would allow experimentation with different placement configurations. I learned that for my car with these drivers, the tweet needed to be as far away from the dash underside as possible. Also, it didn't seem to matter where I placed the tweeter, with the new baffles, staging was very solid, and very high. The only thing that seemed to change significantly with experimentation was stage depth and consistency between the two seats. With two people listening at the same time and adjusting the baffles, we found that moving the speakers more on axis to each other (firing in to the trans hull) that we were both getting the same images fixed in space. We would listen to musical cues and both point to the same basic location on the dash. We'd then switch spaces and compare, etc. 

Yes, these are remarkable drivers.

The thing that I like the most about these kicks is that it will be easy to continue to experiment once I've had some real listening time. Modifying angle is as simple as unbolting them and adjusting.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

6spdcoupe said:


> Excellent work so far Gabe, can't wait to hear final thoughts !
> 
> Gimme a shout, it's been awhile.


Don,

I'll call you some time this week. Lot's going on.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Did you take the car to Calvin?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

thehatedguy said:


> Did you take the car to Calvin?


No, I didn't. I spent a lot of time talking to him and liked him a lot but ultimately decided to keep the car close by. 

At the end of the day, there were a number of conspiring factors (including my fiance leaving and taking _"everything"_ we own including the dog) but also that this is and was always meant to be a project and something that I could learn from and make mistakes with. If I sent the car to Calvin or Chris Pate, the work would have been top shelf but it would have been their work and not mine.

I found a shop locally (AudioFX in Georgetown TX) who was very enthusiastic about the car and demonstrated a good level of integrity as well as a willingness to work with me in solving the challenges of the install. This has worked out well, they've been very patient with the process,we have been able to keep the focus of the car on functionality over flash. They've also been very good about finding ways to make sure that the car hasn't been damaged in the process (only 4 bolt holes have been drilled to date).

At the end of the day I think that I made the right choice. I have had a great deal of fun working on this car and it has proven a good distraction during a relatively sad time in my life.


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## j-man (Jan 5, 2009)

Subscribing to follow  Very nice work! I love the car! I was going to buy a Vette for my daily but have since decided to save another year and get a 09 or 10 CTSV. Keep up the great work


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## angelspeedfreak (Oct 5, 2009)

sweet car and house.... Love the wood look, that is something I never see where I live.


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## remeolb (Nov 6, 2009)

Those kicks are awesome!


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## ssmith100 (Jun 28, 2007)

Se7en,

Great work. Takes a lot to impress me and your doing a great job. I had an 04 CTS-V that I did a complete system install that is on this board. Tore down completely like yours. The car was totalled by a Ford truck. Anyway, Steve Hester lives in Austin and has been of the premier installers and tuners for years. He helped complete my car. He has a great ear and has worked a lot with the Dyn product. If you have any interest in talking to him I will give you his number. Keep the pics coming.

Shane


http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/17514-2004-cady-cts-v-install.html


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## trevordj (Feb 22, 2009)

I am going to keep my eye on this one. Very nice car and great equipment. After you are finished I might have to make my way up to Austin to give it a listen.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks for all of the compliments guys!

Shane,

I spoke with Steve and he seems VERY knowledgeable but schedule conflicts kept things from moving forward. When it comes time to get serious about the tuning of the car, he will be on my short list for sure.

Tevordj,

Just let me know. 


Angelspeedfreak,

You should see the front of the house. Unfortunately it was just a lease when I first moved to Austin. The good part is that the $$$ was almost half of what I was paying for my 1000sf apartment in SF lol! 

Austin doesn't suck.


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## angelspeedfreak (Oct 5, 2009)

Se7en said:


>


I offically hate you now  wow... that looks like it's big enough to be an apartment complex. I am speachless...


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

I haven't seen pics of the inside of those caddy's before - especially with everything removed - WOW! beautiful car. JMan - I can see why that is on the top of your list. As others have said - very nice equipment list - I'm interested in your approach to getting everything in without permanent mods.


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## SSSnake (Mar 8, 2007)

Se7en,

Great work so far! It seems like you found a ton of room behind those kicks (encouraging). I do have a big question though... Where is the e brake?

I am in the middle of my install on an 07 CTS-V. The thing that worries me the most is dealing with the stupid e brake. I have looked at a lot of options for relocation but none are really what I am looking for. I hope to find an electric actuator but I haven't so far. Does the 09 have a hand actuated e brake?

BTW - Good luck with the install. Sorry to hear about the fiance but the V is likely to keep you smiling longer anyway. Mine does well in that area and I don't have all of the supercharged goodness that you do. 














But I will....


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## Stage7 (Jan 5, 2010)

Beautiful se7en. How is the Bitone.1 treating you so far? I'm sorry to hear about your fiance. Wrong time, wrong woman. You will bounce back. It's a good time for a project like this to distract you.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SSSnake,

The Ebrake in the newer V is an electronic unit and the control is mounted in the center console. I don't have much advice for you on the manual brake.

There isn't a ton of room behind the kicks but there are factory holes that vent out into the frame. During our initial tests, the mids sounded great breathing IB but hit their excursion limits pretty quickly. We're now in the process of filling that chamber up to create a small enclosure behind the mid.

Bertholomey, 

Thanks for the compliment. I'm pretty happy with the car but would not do the sunroof again if I had the option.

As for the avoiding damage to the car, I think that this was in part due to spending some time in advance to assess the install as well as some luck. Also, in some cases it was just a matter of compromise, some of those compromises may bite me in the ass later. 

A perfect example is the sub firing into the rear deck. We could have opened the rear deck all the way but instead chose to build an adaptor plate and deal with inefficency. I'm hoping that I don't end up with cancellation but I think that we'll be in good shape. Also, having the option to run larger MB up front does help take some of the emphasis off of the sub.

The MW182s were a stroke of luck. I couldn't have done the 172s without cutting and the 650s wouldn't have played as low as the 182s. Before buying anything, I pulled the door cards and did lots of measuring. Dynaudio was also cool enough to send me MW182 dummy drivers so that I could change my mind. The final fit of the dummy driver to the OEM location couldn't have been better.

As for the amp racks, we tried to use the factory mounting and bolt locations where ever possible but added a few more for strength. 

We also got lucky with the carpet kit which is broken into 1/4 sections as opposed to one. This allowed us to do some trimming without destroying the entire thing. The same can be said about the kick panel locations. Whether or not the dead pedal stays in tact is comepletely dependant on the sound itself. I may remove it down the road after I've had some listening time.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Stage7 said:


> Beautiful se7en. How is the Bitone.1 treating you so far? I'm sorry to hear about your fiance. Wrong time, wrong woman. You will bounce back. It's a good time for a project like this to distract you.


Stage7,

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully things will work out, in my mind she is the right woman (at least I hope so).

As for the BitOne, my first impressions are positive but I'm having a bit of a setup problem. Basically anytime I disconnect my laptop, the unit stops outputting signal to the amplifiers. I regain control of the DRC but no sound. When I plug my laptop in, it forces me to do the entire setup procedure again (which I've done 15 times now). We put in a call to Elletromedia and they suggested that I might have the AClink buttom incorrectly selected. I hope they're right.

If anyone else has first hand experience with this, please let me know!


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Damn it, I need to move to Austin.

Who is hiring out that way?


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## angelspeedfreak (Oct 5, 2009)

Se7en said:


> ....I'm having a bit of a setup problem. Basically anytime I disconnect my laptop, the unit stops outputting signal to the amplifiers. I regain control of the DRC but no sound. When I plug my laptop in, it forces me to do the entire setup procedure again (which I've done 15 times now).....


I just setup my BitOne and don't have your same problem, but I do loose control of my DRC once I unplug. My amps stay on and the sound is still great, I just have to turn off the BitOne and turn it back on to get control back to the DRC. It's not a huge problem, but a little annoying. oh well....


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## CraigE (Jun 10, 2008)

See page 19 item #13 of the manuel.
Be careful! During setup it looks like you are choosing speakers, but are actually choosing which amps are connected with AD link/AC link connection system. If you are connected with RCAs from the B1 to the amps skip this step.
You are not the first person that has done this.
BTW... Nice equipment including that badassed CTS V.


13. Selecting amplifiers connected through the AD 
Link / AC Link connection system 
If the system features amplifiers provided with the AD 
Link digital input and you want to connect them with the 
system, you have to select them on this screenshot of the 
set-up procedure. 
This means that the Bit One will manage the 
corresponding outputs through the AD Link-OUT plug, 
managing the other outpust through the RCA-Pre OUT 
plugs. 
Remark: keep in mind that you have to assign the 
corresponding Amp ID to the specific amplifier. The Bit 
One will then automatically recognise the identified 
amplifier. 
13


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

Se7en said:


> Stage7,
> 
> Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully things will work out, in my mind she is the right woman (at least I hope so).
> 
> ...


did you save to the bitone before you unplugged it? top left under "file" there is a "finalize to bitone" after you make any adjustments you have to finalize or else it would all be lost.... 

ps i will be going to austin soon hope your offer stands


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

I haven't assigned any amplifiers to the AC-Link. It gives me the option but I haven't selected them.

When I disconnect my PC/USB, I do regain control over the DRC but the signal from the B1 to the amps stop. 

I have not tried turning the B1 (via DRC) off while still connected to the PC though.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SouthSyde said:


> did you save to the bitone before you unplugged it? top left under "file" there is a "finalize to bitone" after you make any adjustments you have to finalize or else it would all be lost....
> 
> ps i will be going to austin soon hope your offer stands


Yes, I did save and finalize and can successfully load the saved config file back to the B1. Problem is I have to go through the whole setup stage before it let's me get back into the program...Every time I unplug.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

thehatedguy said:


> Damn it, I need to move to Austin.
> 
> Who is hiring out that way?


I'm hiring. What do you do?


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## lycan (Dec 20, 2009)

nice work!

But stop advertising Austin 

Everybody needs to stay far away from central Texas. Really ... move right along, nothing to see here


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

Se7en said:


> Yes, I did save and finalize and can successfully load the saved config file back to the B1. Problem is I have to go through the whole setup stage before it let's me get back into the program...Every time I unplug.


have you tried "file" then "exit" before unplugging it? i thinkkkk i had the same problem awhile back when i was hooking up mine...


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

lycan said:


> nice work!
> 
> But stop advertising Austin
> 
> Everybody needs to stay far away from central Texas. Really ... move right along, nothing to see here



Fixed 




Se7en said:


> Thanks for all of the compliments guys!
> 
> You should see the front of the house. Unfortunately it was just a lease when I first moved to Austin. The _bad_ part is that the $$$ was almost _twice_ what I was paying for my 1000sf apartment in SF lol!
> 
> _Austin sucks... Don't come here._


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

lycan said:


> nice work!
> 
> But stop advertising Austin
> 
> Everybody needs to stay far away from central Texas. Really ... move right along, nothing to see here


Probably the only place in TX that's worth a damn... although, San Antonio is not *awful*.

<--- stationed at Fort Hood back in the day...


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SouthSyde said:


> have you tried "file" then "exit" before unplugging it? i thinkkkk i had the same problem awhile back when i was hooking up mine...


I have not tried it but will certainly give it a shot.


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## CraigE (Jun 10, 2008)

SouthSyde said:


> have you tried "file" then "exit" before unplugging it? i thinkkkk i had the same problem awhile back when i was hooking up mine...


Yes.. you must "EXIT" before unplugging.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Se7en said:


> I'm hiring. What do you do?


After the winter he have had....I will come work for you!! What positions are you hiring for?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

CraigE said:


> Yes.. you must "EXIT" before unplugging.


Thanks for the tip guys!

This will be the next thing I do. Well, after doing the setup process that is...


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Niebur3 said:


> After the winter he have had....I will come work for you!! What positions are you hiring for?


PM me.

I'm hiring project managers (technical and software familiar preferred), software engineers (all levels), artists, designers, game testers (maybe, I just hired 6 testers this week).


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Anything that will allow me to support my wife and children. Seriously, I would scrape **** off of the sidewalks if it meant my family didn't have to go without.

On a side note, strong background in math and a BS/BA in Biochemistry and Philosophy. Though lately paying bills doing taxes and window tint.



Se7en said:


> I'm hiring. What do you do?


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

Se7en said:


> PM me.
> 
> I'm hiring project managers (technical and software familiar preferred), software engineers (all levels), artists, designers, game testers (maybe, I just hired 6 testers this week).


Send me games, I will test and verify they work.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

thehatedguy said:


> Anything that will allow me to support my wife and children. Seriously, I would scrape **** off of the sidewalks if it meant my family didn't have to go without.
> 
> On a side note, strong background in math and a BS/BA in Biochemistry and Philosophy. Though lately paying bills doing taxes and window tint.


If you were closer, I could certainly give ya some work that would enjoy.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

We are not opposed to relocation.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

6spdcoupe said:


> Send me games, I will test and verify they work.


Don,

I can assure you that the games I have to test do _not_ work.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

thehatedguy said:


> We are not opposed to relocation.


You have a PM. Not sure if you got it or not.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

Se7en said:


> Don,
> 
> I can assure you that the games I have to test do _not_ work.


Well now that takes all the fun out of it !


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## nearwater (Sep 21, 2009)

Looks awesome!
Always liked the CTS-V. Stupid fast. lol.

Dan


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## Jboogie (Mar 13, 2007)

I loved the CTS V but the payments almost made me crap my shorts. I went with the G8 GT (damn GXP came out a yr later ). I liked it more than the CTS but never more than the CTS V! Sweet ride! 

I am up north in Round Rock and need a little install help but dont have any contacts. (Im not touching custom sounds or Xtreme sounds). Any of u Austin guy wanna throw me some contacts. 

Thanks. 

and subscribed!


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## ikoolguy (Oct 23, 2009)

wow that's a crazy install 
what's crazier that u have the top of the line model and you're ripping everything out and going aftermath
i have a question about bypassing the bose
i have a hard time with that in my car and pac doesn't make an interface for it
did u keep the bose amp as a signal source using the BitOne with it together as well?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks again for the kind words....



Jboogie said:


> I loved the CTS V but the payments almost made me crap my shorts. I went with the G8 GT (damn GXP came out a yr later ). I liked it more than the CTS but never more than the CTS V! Sweet ride!
> 
> I am up north in Round Rock and need a little install help but dont have any contacts. (Im not touching custom sounds or Xtreme sounds). Any of u Austin guy wanna throw me some contacts.
> 
> ...


Talk to Scott at AudioFX in Georgetown. They've been super reasonable with me and seem to have their priorities in the right place. They've busted ass to help me out.

As for the G8, that's a BAD car! I aso couldn't handle the "out of the gate" payments on the V but found a way to cut a good deal on my trade-in as well as put in a hefty down. 




ikoolguy said:


> wow that's a crazy install
> what's crazier that u have the top of the line model and you're ripping everything out and going aftermath
> i have a question about bypassing the bose
> i have a hard time with that in my car and pac doesn't make an interface for it
> did u keep the bose amp as a signal source using the BitOne with it together as well?


You're correct. There isn't much bypassing the Bose so it will be in my signal path. With this being said, based on first impressions, the B1 is doing a pretty good job of reconstructing a good signal. It's not as pristine as let's say a Denon or Nak CD7000, but for the time being, it will have to do.


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## CraigE (Jun 10, 2008)

Did you get the B1 working correctly after disconnect ??


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## DBM_SF (Mar 1, 2010)

very nice work. can't wait to see the finished product!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

CraigE said:


> Did you get the B1 working correctly after disconnect ??


Unfortunately I've been working 14 hour days this past two weeks and will not have a chance to test it out until tomorrow morning.

I will report back my findings. I'm hopeful because I have not "exited" from the file menu so if nothing else it should change "something".

If it turns out there is an actual problem with the unit, I have two and only one needs to be working at this time but I suspect that this is not the case.


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## angelspeedfreak (Oct 5, 2009)

Se7en said:


> Unfortunately I've been working 14 hour days this past two weeks and will not have a chance to test it out until tomorrow morning.
> 
> I will report back my findings. I'm hopeful because I have not "exited" from the file menu so if nothing else it should change "something".
> 
> If it turns out there is an actual problem with the unit, I have two and only one needs to be working at this time but I suspect that this is not the case.


"exiting" actualy fixed my problem, I know its not the same promlem as yours but you never know.


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## cannan (Jan 19, 2010)

That is a really nice build, in an even nicer car. I'm not usually one for American muscle (the newer ones anyway) but that CTS-V is silly.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

CraigE said:


> Did you get the B1 working correctly after disconnect ??


Got it working!!! 

I'm not sure what the problem was, but Exiting didn't fix it, and ultimately a full re-install was required, but now it works like a charm.

Thanks for all of the help folks!


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

glad to hear its working for u!!


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## ikoolguy (Oct 23, 2009)

did u have to spice the factory bose wire harness to use the B1?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

ikoolguy said:


> did u have to spice the factory bose wire harness to use the B1?


Yes, after the amp (speaker out), not before.


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

Se7en said:


> Yes, after the amp (speaker out), not before.


is there a reason you did it after and not before?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SouthSyde said:


> is there a reason you did it after and not before?


Yeah, I wanted to keep my factory volume controls which I would have lost had I grabbed before the amp.

If the sound was terrible, I'd grab before then amp but so far I have no problems with the sound coming from the Audison VIA Bose amplifier. Sounds pretty good actually.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Here's a couple of very quick "crappy" pics of the trunk. I'll take some better ones once I have a bit more time.


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## SCtud (Oct 16, 2009)

wow.. that looks amazing! do you plan on leaving the amps exposed? or putting some sort of protective cover when you need to put stuff in the trunk?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SCtud said:


> wow.. that looks amazing! do you plan on leaving the amps exposed? or putting some sort of protective cover when you need to put stuff in the trunk?


Thanks! We're actually already in the process of redoing the trunk. The configuration is fine but the carpet trim is temp. We'll be using a mix of vinyl and suede for the panels and will be building trim pieces out of billet and water form carbon fiber frame the amplifiers and better match the cabin interior trim. 

As for the amps, we're working on some covers to help protect the amps but for the time being, nothing goes in the trunk.


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

love the look!!! classy, no painted fiberglass..


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## CA4944 (May 2, 2009)

Se7en said:


> Thanks! We're actually already in the process of redoing the trunk. The configuration is fine but the carpet trim is temp.


And I was just about to praise the match you got on the carpet! Judging from the photos, it's perfect. Very nice install. 

Off topic, but you have any experience with Driveway Austin?


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## gymrat2005 (Oct 4, 2009)

dude those black billets look incredible.


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## sam3535 (Jan 21, 2007)

I got to see and hear it in person this weekend and it is quite special. Glad you made it home in one piece.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

sam3535 said:


> I got to see and hear it in person this weekend and it is quite special. Glad you made it home in one piece.


It was great meeting you this weekend. Unfortunately SublimeZ's sub wasn't the only casualty on this GTG, I took a nail in my front tire on the way home. Fortunately we caught it before anything nasty happened. James and Glen were nice enough to follow me all over _BF_ East Texas looking for a tire shop before we admitted failure and patched it. Thanks again guys!

As for the car, I think you guys are being pretty forgiving on the sound the car right now, but _ she's got good bones_. Now the real work begins..._tuning_.


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

Where'd you get those t-nuts from?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I may have missed it, but why 2 BitOne's?

Jay


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

^That is all I need to say.


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

Gabe,

Nice build! Dying to hear the car - perhaps we can have a meet next week. Glad to hear you found someone local who can do the work.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

snaimpally said:


> Gabe,
> 
> Nice build! Dying to hear the car - perhaps we can have a meet next week. Glad to hear you found someone local who can do the work.


I'd be down for a small gtg next weekend. Sunday would probably be better for me.


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## iyamwutiam (Nov 20, 2006)

Whatever happened to those Aliante's you had -and weren't you in SF ? Sorry I know its been awhile since I have been on the site. Looks good (the install)- .


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

iyamwutiam said:


> Whatever happened to those Aliante's you had -and weren't you in SF ? Sorry I know its been awhile since I have been on the site. Looks good (the install)- .


I sold the Alliante's a few months ago in an effort to raise funds and moved to Austin about 2 years ago for my job.

Thanks for the compliment. 

bassfromspace,

I'll get you the name of the place for the t-nuts today.


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## Jboogie (Mar 13, 2007)

I got a chance to see and hear Se7en's car this weekend and i must say that i am very envious!! The 9" Dyns in the door playing down to 30Hz are true Beasts! They feel and sound excellent! People that want more "umph" up front need to consider a setup like this. I loved the front imaging also. Even though the spkrs are low in the door, the front stage is nice and clear and centered along the top of the dash and spreads the full width. I thought it was awesome sounding. I am totally sold on the BitOne and trying to get my front stage to perform like this.

It was great meeting all the guys up at AudioFX also. I think i have found the next shop to help with future installs.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Jboogie,

Thanks for coming by yesterday, it was great meeting you!

I can't wait to see what you do with your car!



Jboogie said:


> I got a chance to see and hear Se7en's car this weekend and i must say that i am very envious!! The 9" Dyns in the door playing down to 30Hz are true Beasts! They feel and sound excellent! People that want more "umph" up front need to consider a setup like this. I loved the front imaging also. Even though the spkrs are low in the door, the front stage is nice and clear and centered along the top of the dash and spreads the full width. I thought it was awesome sounding. I am totally sold on the BitOne and trying to get my front stage to perform like this.
> 
> It was great meeting all the guys up at AudioFX also. I think i have found the next shop to help with future installs.


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## the other hated guy (May 25, 2007)

trunk looks great man!!!!


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Any pics of the kicks all done?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

the other hated guy said:


> trunk looks great man!!!!


Thanks man!

I owe you a call. I hope that all is well with you!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Niebur3 said:


> Any pics of the kicks all done?


No, not yet. They're done in a thin suede to match the interior trim. They're not quite true black but they match the carpet very well.

I'll get some pics up tonight. Again, work in progress.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Okay..Here's a couple of very quick pics, just taken now, with a crappy camera and in a slightly compromised state (it is south by southwest after all )

Also, it's raining so the car is dirty.

There's a _prototype_ carpeted panel covering the dead pedal to possibly tame that tweeter a bit.




























We also carpeted the underside dash panels. This was part of an attemp to insure that the bottom of the dash was sealed off (acoustically) as possible. 





















Sorry for the crap pics...


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## SCtud (Oct 16, 2009)

wow. those kicks look like they don't take up any space at all. very impressive.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SCtud said:


> wow. those kicks look like they don't take up any space at all. very impressive.


They don't. They're almost perfectly flush and don't intrude at all. 

I haven't had a single person in the car (who didn't know the system was there) who actually noticed the kicks with out me pointing them out or believed me when I told them that that is where the sound was coming from.

I'm very impressed with these drivers.


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## Mooble (Oct 21, 2007)

The one thing that would worry me with the tweeters being so low is debris. I don't know why everything sticks to tweeter domes, but it does. At least that's my experience. If you don't put some kind of trim panel over it, I would drop them in gray pantyhose and then remount them.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Mooble said:


> The one thing that would worry me with the tweeters being so low is debris. I don't know why everything sticks to tweeter domes, but it does. At least that's my experience. If you don't put some kind of trim panel over it, I would drop them in gray pantyhose and then remount them.


Good idea man!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

what did you use to construct the under dash panel? 

just out of curiosity.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

It looks like he just carpeted the plastic that was there....is that correct?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Niebur3 said:


> It looks like he just carpeted the plastic that was there....is that correct?


Well that and created additional baffling behind it was well as foam to help insulate the underside of the dash.


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## Stage7 (Jan 5, 2010)

Great work se7en. Congrats!


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## mark1478 (Nov 11, 2009)

wish i could hear your car! part of the reason i dont want to switch is cause my kicks are just like your, unobtrusive. But if i switched to 430s ill prob lose the leg room and who knows what a drunk passenger or two will do to them.


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## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

Everything looks incredible. Great job!

By the way, if you ever want to make a little more power with the car, let me know. We make a blower pulley system for the CTSV as well as the ZR1. Makes significant horsepower gains. Just sayin. lol!


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## the other hated guy (May 25, 2007)

yes you do buddy!!!!



Se7en said:


> Thanks man!
> 
> I owe you a call. I hope that all is well with you!


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

Ive been planning a trip to austin for a mini vaca for awhile now... so i got there on tuesday and decided to give gabe a call so i can demo his system.. let me just say gabe is a such a gentleman!! he invited me into his home.. so to the car... the install looks amazing!!!!! even better in person, believe it or not! i brought some of my own familiar materials to listen to... first impression was wow, the stage is very high, surprisingly no rainbow effect at all, and it was also veryyyy wide. tonally it was spot on... the esotar mids and tweets are really something special... the sound that came out of them is hard to describe.. its definately not smooth but sounds i guess "real" and very "lively". then gabe suggested that i go try the drivers seat.. to my amazement it souunded justttt as good... the stage was a tad lower and a tad right side biased but overalll not muchhh different from the drivers side at all!! We sat in the car for almost and hour while the gf was walking around in the parking lot so we had to call and end to it..i could have sat in there for another hour more.... overall the whole experience was great!! thank you gabe!! when you come to houston ill show you the same hospitality....


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SouthSyde said:


> Ive been planning a trip to austin for a mini vaca for awhile now... so i got there on tuesday and decided to give gabe a call so i can demo his system.. let me just say gabe is a such a gentleman!! he invited me into his home.. so to the car... the install looks amazing!!!!! even better in person, believe it or not! i brought some of my own familiar materials to listen to... first impression was wow, the stage is very high, surprisingly no rainbow effect at all, and it was also veryyyy wide. tonally it was spot on... the esotar mids and tweets are really something special... the sound that came out of them is hard to describe.. its definately not smooth but sounds i guess "real" and very "lively". then gabe suggested that i go try the drivers seat.. to my amazement it souunded justttt as good... the stage was a tad lower and a tad right side biased but overalll not muchhh different from the drivers side at all!! We sat in the car for almost and hour while the gf was walking around in the parking lot so we had to call and end to it..i could have sat in there for another hour more.... overall the whole experience was great!! thank you gabe!! when you come to houston ill show you the same hospitality....


Thanks for the kind words man! It was great meeting you and I'll definately take you up on the Houston offer! 

Funny enough, I need to figure out this "wide" stage thing because it almost makes the stage feel too close (kind of like Imax). I'm going to have to play around with the presence bands in the EQ a bit to see if I can get the depth to be a bit more proportionate to width. 

Also, what was that voal track you had on your ref cd? That was awesome!


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

i will be making you a copy of the whole cd and will send it to you... but if you cannot wait... its "the king's singers - the boxer"


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Se7en said:


> There's a _prototype_ carpeted panel covering the dead pedal to possibly tame that tweeter a bit.


Wait.. you have to TAME a tweet that is COMPLETELY off axis?


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## Jboogie (Mar 13, 2007)

Gabe, 
Didnt you have a BitOne preset that made the front sound like individual stages for both driver and passenger? That setting didnt seem as wide and seemed to be comming from right above the nav screen. One thing i thought of is when the sub plays up to its potential it will pull the stage back a little. I would suggest not making any permanent changes until the sub is on point.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

chad said:


> Wait.. you have to TAME a tweet that is COMPLETELY off axis?


To a minor degree, I have to tame the reflection off of a dead pedal that is almost on axis. Keep in mind that the geometry of the driver's side kick is not the same as the passenger side, so I may actually remove the pedal at some point. Basically, I get slightly better center focus with the carpet there than not. This was also part of a larger effort to seal off the underside dash (I was getting a touch of mid range shift to the driver's side, so this was one of many steps being made all at the same time.

As for the Esotar tweeter, it is not shy.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Jboogie said:


> Gabe,
> Didnt you have a BitOne preset that made the front sound like individual stages for both driver and passenger? That setting didnt seem as wide and seemed to be comming from right above the nav screen. One thing i thought of is when the sub plays up to its potential it will pull the stage back a little. I would suggest not making any permanent changes until the sub is on point.


That setup was basic mirror image allignment between the midbass and the mid/tweet combo, nothing more. 

I did some minor trimming of gain on the mid bass and then spent some time better integrating the sub (sounds much better now). It's almost like sitting on a pillow of bass, but on certain tracks (with a lot of out of phase information), the stage has become so wide that it sounds like I have a direct reflection coming off of the driver's side window (it's not) and that's without making any changes to the front stage delays since you heard it.

Edit: I should note that stage depth seems the same as before as does focus, but since those monior tweaks to the sub and MB, stage width seems quite a bit more open than previously. This is only the case on certain material. Most of the reference that you and I listened to is as still high and centered in the MB frequencies.


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## lycan (Dec 20, 2009)

Nice work Se7en !

Sorry if i missed it, but did you ever create an "enclosure" of sorts for those 430 midranges? Or, are they still essentially IB ... with a large airspace behind?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

lycan said:


> Nice work Se7en !
> 
> Sorry if i missed it, but did you ever create an "enclosure" of sorts for those 430 midranges? Or, are they still essentially IB ... with a large airspace behind?


Thanks man. I appreciate it!

The 430s are enclosed in the frame of the car with a liberal dose of expanding foam and dynamat. I had them venting IB for about a minute (and they did sound very good) but as you predicted in another thread, they hit their excursion limits pretty quickly. 

They sound pretty awesome right now but I have discovered an acoustical problem with the car itself, a pretty significant null at around 500hz which is not specific to the 430s, but also the 182s when crossed over high enough to cover that range. The dip only makes itself apparent to the opposite side of the car with an RTA (I.e. driver's side experiences dip from passenger side drivers, passenger side from drivers side drivers) 

I'm assuming at this point that it is part of the transfer function of the vehicle and cannot be overcome through EQ or without damaging the drivers. The interesting thing, is that both passenger and driver do get the sense of having "their own" stage and I'm not sure how much of this is attributed to driver placement or perhaps this null.

Any thoughts you might have are appreciated.


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## lycan (Dec 20, 2009)

Se7en said:


> Thanks man. I appreciate it!
> 
> The 430s are enclosed in the frame of the car with a liberal dose of expanding foam and dynamat. I had them venting IB for about a minute (and they did sound very good) but as you predicted in another thread, they hit their excursion limits pretty quickly.
> 
> ...


Have you experimented with reversing phase on _one_ of the midranges? Just swap polarities on _one_ of the 430's, and re-tune.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

lycan said:


> Have you experimented with reversing phase on _one_ of the midranges? Just swap polarities on _one_ of the 430's, and re-tune.


I have played around with phase with all drivers (currently all in phase), but not while under the watchful eye of the RTA. I will certainly check this out.

I should note that while listening, this gap is not very noticeable, if anything, people have mentioned an upper mid-range peak, but I believe that this has been resolved through sealing off the mids as well as a good dose of polyfill.

Thanks again!


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## cirodias (Dec 12, 2008)

The Esotar 650 don't be better on your system than the 182s?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

cirodias said:


> The Esotar 650 don't be better on your system than the 182s?


I'm not entirely sure because I haven't tried the 650s in my car. 

I suspect that the 650s would match the tonality of the Esotar mids and tweets a bit better but wouldn't be able to reach down low as well as the 182s and for what it's worth, I have no problems with the tonality of the 182s.

At the end of the day the 182 made a bit more sense for my install. It was basically "OEM" drop in perfect fit, with no cutting required. They helped bring a ton of low frequency to the front of the car, which ultimately allowed me to rely less on my sub overall.

Although I'm sure that the 650s sound exceptional, I'm pretty happy with my choice.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Here's a couple of pics with the MS8 installed.


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## jayhawkblk (May 29, 2007)

Gabe how are you liking the system now with the MS8 vs the Bit 1? Did you ever get your wideth issue worked out? I have started plying with my kicks placement and I think I am going off axis with the tweet and more on axis with the mid.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

jayhawkblk said:


> Gabe how are you liking the system now with the MS8 vs the Bit 1? Did you ever get your wideth issue worked out? I have started plying with my kicks placement and I think I am going off axis with the tweet and more on axis with the mid.


Jayhawk,

It took a little playing with but I'm pretty happy with the MS8 in my system. I expect it to continue to improve over time with additional fiddling. Given the capabilities of the MS8, I may in fact try moving my tweets out of the kick location and try them in the factory dash (which is cambered in slightly). This will allow me to move the mids to the location where the tweets currently reside.

As for the stage width, the problem was found (pretty stupid actually). One of the line drivers was operating in four channel mode and routing the midrange frequencies to the mid-bass drivers (as well as the MB frequencies). This was causing all sorts of beaming issues as well as making EQ and TA adjustments an abstract and frustrating process. When I said it was wide, I meant "WIDE" but at least I know why now :blush:

The stage is still pretty wide (with or without MS8) and extends cleanly out to the mirrors. This being said, it no longer feels disproportionately wide and is very easy to listen to.


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## sam3535 (Jan 21, 2007)

^^^^Can't wait to hear your car with the MS8 my friend. Loving the display above the rear view mirror; reminds me of my GPS set up currently in my truck and I'll be adding my drive+play2 display up there hopefully this weekend.


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## the other hated guy (May 25, 2007)

DANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## gymrat2005 (Oct 4, 2009)

Hey Marquies, saw your other thread on your new build, can't wait to see that finished. 

Gabe, those billets are just plain sexy...'nuff said. Even though I am using a P99RS, I am flipping the coin one of the MS-8's. If I get it and it's as good as everyone says, I'll go to a high end double din nav unit and and MS-8 and box up the P99 for another project one day.

Keep us posted on your opinion if it changes or develops any further as you have more and more time with it. Your install is fantastic man..great job!


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## M-Dub (Nov 29, 2006)

I have got to hear this.


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## lostdaytomorrow (Jan 26, 2007)

My dream car man. Nice install and nice vehicle.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks for the compliments guys!


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## mjgonegm (Jun 21, 2008)

Great build, question on heal to down shifts.... I hate that the pedals are so ****ing small, I feel sorry for peeps with small feet, I ues the side step piviot blip method, and i had issues with an 14.5 shoe


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

Nice install work!  I particularly like how the kicks are as un-obtrusive as possible and the trunk layout is very nice and functional.


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## BlackCGT (Oct 6, 2011)

Just Beautiful


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## sq_guru (Oct 1, 2011)

I never would have thought that tweeters installed 90 degrees off axis at such a low spot in the kick would image well. I'm sure the soft dome tweeter helps (compared to an inverted metallic dome or ribbon, for example). The low profile install is very nice, though. Good work!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks for the compliments.

When originally planned, I never thought that it would work either. When playing with placement using temp baffles, I was blown away by how well these speakers played off axis. The real star of the show is the 430 though, not only is it playing low and off axis, it's also partially obstructed, but they really sing!



sq_guru said:


> I never would have thought that tweeters installed 90 degrees off axis at such a low spot in the kick would image well. I'm sure the soft dome tweeter helps (compared to an inverted metallic dome or ribbon, for example). The low profile install is very nice, though. Good work!


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## thebigjimsho (Jan 11, 2009)

It's too bad. I was hoping this was bumped because you were swapping in new equipment and were selling old at a deep discount. lulz...


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

thebigjimsho said:


> It's too bad. I was hoping this was bumped because you were swapping in new equipment and were selling old at a deep discount. lulz...



Funny enough, I may be swapping the car, but hopefully not the equipment.


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## thebigjimsho (Jan 11, 2009)

Aww, man...


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Se7en said:


> Here's a couple of pics with the MS8 installed.


This beautiful setup deserves a bump.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

t3sn4f2 said:


> This beautiful setup deserves a bump.


Thanks man!! :beerchug:


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

Still one of my favorite builds.. glad to see it back up!


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

Slacker. Get the trunk finished. LoL.

It's richiec77 from the caddy forums. Seeing the full build here makes me want to tear into my cts-v too. Very nice build overall. I'll have to stop by one of these days to hear it in person.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Okay, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to show these yet or not, but what the hell.

The car is currently in Gln305's possession. After some lengthy discussion, we've decided to make a couple of changes to the trunk. This includes some additions, some finishing touches and some tightening up/refreshing of the trunk...










I suppose this is also the debut of the Audio Development MM12 in the car as well


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

That's it for now...


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Very cool. Love the upgrade!!!!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Niebur3 said:


> Very cool. Love the upgrade!!!!


Thanks man! I'm pretty excited too! I'm pretty blown away by how much Glenn was able to knock out in a single day too!


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## ocblaze (Nov 21, 2009)

I'm interested in your opinion of the AD MM12 sub. I have the two-way passive set waiting to be installed and once I get enough funds I am very interested in acquiring a MM12. I have looked at the specs and it looks like an incredibly efficient sub that on paper looks to be impressive. Oh and your install and car are absolutely amazing. I wish I could get the chance one day to listen to your car or for that matter just ride in it! (maybe some 3rd gear pulls )


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

ocblaze said:


> I'm interested in your opinion of the AD MM12 sub. I have the two-way passive set waiting to be installed and once I get enough funds I am very interested in acquiring a MM12. I have looked at the specs and it looks like an incredibly efficient sub that on paper looks to be impressive. Oh and your install and car are absolutely amazing. I wish I could get the chance one day to listen to your car or for that matter just ride in it! (maybe some 3rd gear pulls )


Thanks for the compliments. I really like the sub a lot. I won't get into a which is better discussion, because it's not really relevant. This sub is very musical and blends very well with my front stage. 

In my configuration, I can't run as much power to it as I did with the Esotar. The AD is a 3ohm driver, so I didn't want to bridge the Tru into it. With that said, it's getting a very healthy 300 watts and has no problem keeping up with the rest of the system.

It doesn't dig down low quite as well as the Dyn did. With the Dyn, I was running 20hz subsonic filter, with this sub, I'm using a shallow subsonic filter at between 25-27hz and it works great. 

Tonally, I don't think that the AD is quite as neutral or dry as the Esotar, in the same sense that I don't think that the Ultimo is quite as neutral or dry as the Esotar (keep in mind that I've only heard the Ultimo in boxed enclosures and the Dyn, IB in my own setup). In a number of respects, the AD reminds me a lot of the Ultimo, but way more efficient, plus the benefit of working very well IB. 

Is it worth its retail, over the Ultimo or Dyn..? That's a stretch. I'd be very happy with any one of these subs, but I also got a great deal on mine.


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## Thrill_House (Nov 20, 2008)

That is a seriously pretty trunk, loving the updates to!


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## nepl29 (Mar 25, 2007)

Great upgrades, still one of my favorite build log!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

nepl29 said:


> Great upgrades, still one of my favorite build log!


Thank you kind sir!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Is that a Polar Bear sh*tting? LOL

Jay


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

Nice. I think you will really like the rane. No more airplane noise.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

nepl29 said:


> Great upgrades, still one of my favorite build log!


Thank you kind sir!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Is that a Polar Bear sh*tting? LOL
> 
> Jay


Why yes!


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## ek9cv5 (Jan 12, 2012)

Awesome car


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

What a great setup, I don't know how I've missed this thread for so long. Love the setup and the car. I'm going to try and make the TL last a couple more years to pay off a debt and then I'm going CTS-V shopping so I might have some questions for you down the road.


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

Good work.

I need to give Glenn a shout as well.


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## atxtrd (Apr 30, 2011)

Looking good man. Looks like you found something to spend that cash on! We need to plan a gtg now that the weather is getting warmer. Look forward to hearing the new toy.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

BuickGN said:


> What a great setup, I don't know how I've missed this thread for so long. Love the setup and the car. I'm going to try and make the TL last a couple more years to pay off a debt and then I'm going CTS-V shopping so I might have some questions for you down the road.


I don't think that you'll have any regrets moving into the V. I've put 42k on mine already, and the list of complaints is pretty short...especially considering that it's a glorified Chevy.

Major Faults: none..
Minor Faults: the panoramic roof should have never been an option. The chassis is way to rigid and something has to give. Also, the paint is way too soft.
Wear and tear items: why does everything have to cost two grand? Tires..check..brakes..check...clutch...check... I'm just saying..


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

Se7en said:


> I don't think that you'll have any regrets moving into the V. I've put 42k on mine already, and the list of complaints is pretty short...especially considering that it's a glorified Chevy.
> 
> Major Faults: none..
> Minor Faults: the panoramic roof should have never been an option. The chassis is way to rigid and something has to give. Also, the paint is way too soft.
> Wear and tear items: why does everything have to cost two grand? Tires..check..brakes..check...clutch...check... I'm just saying..


Major fault...ugly Faux carbon fiber trim crap. I finally fixed that. And it was close to $1K. LOL. 

I'd say Minor is gas milage is low (to be expected thought) and tank is WAY too small for this car. Driving nice I'm not sure I've reached 300 miles on a tank yet.

I'm in the minority but my Panorama roof hasn't had any issues. I'm only at 23K on mine though. 

You can shop around for deals. Just going to the dealership is always the most costly. I run Nitto Invo's on the 20's and they only run me about $950-1K for a full set. It's cheaper to run 20" tires though. The PS2's are awesome but are about $2K a set. Brakes I was able to shop for parts and get it to about $900 for pads and rotors. Still pricey but the brakes are phenomenal. But I can say at least it's not $22K for a DSG transmission. And cheaper than either a BMW or Merc. I still work on my cars myself. 

But you have to admit ~80RWHP/TQ for about $1K is a decent trade-off. That and blowing the doors of unsuspecting cars. LOL. I ran a GN yesterday on HWY 90. I love those cars and will own one someday but they are painfully slow stock. Even bolt-ons they are not that fast so it would be a huge leap in all directions from a GN.


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## SSSnake (Mar 8, 2007)

Another proud V owner - awesome car. Go ahead and replace the shifter and shift lockout immediately and you will be a happy camper. 

Added bonus - with a little cutting the Illuminator 18Ws fit flush in the kicks.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

SSSnake said:


> Another proud V owner - awesome car. Go ahead and replace the shifter and shift lockout immediately and you will be a happy camper.
> 
> Added bonus - with a little cutting the Illuminator 18Ws fit flush in the kicks.


Honestly, the shift lock isn't nearly as invasive in the V2 as it is on my previous Vettes or F-Bodys. That used to be the first thing I'd change, I've only run into maybe 2-3 times, since I purchased the car.

Similarly, I don't know of a shift kit for the V2.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

richiec77 said:


> But you have to admit ~80RWHP/TQ for about $1K is a decent trade-off. That and blowing the doors of unsuspecting cars. LOL. I ran a GN yesterday on HWY 90. I love those cars and will own one someday but they are painfully slow stock. Even bolt-ons they are not that fast so it would be a huge leap in all directions from a GN.


Stock down to the factory tires mine went 13.8. Stock with the boost turned up, a chip, and filter went 12.90 ($120). With minimal bolt-ons (stock turbo, stock throttlebody, stock intercooler) I went 11.90. With bolt-ons including a turbo, intercooler, and injectors, I went 11.0s, couldn't quite hit that elusive 10.99 on the stock longblock as some do. That's around $2k total to go 11.0 back in the late '90s. On the stock bottom end with ported stock heads and a ported stock intake I went [email protected] I did the head and intake porting so it was free besides gaskets and intake valves. Currently should go 9.90s at 135mph now or whatever 602rwhp and 3,000lbs will run and it's as streetable as it was stock. Haven't had it to the track in several years, since I lightened it and added about 100hp. I've taken it down again to do a few more refinements, mostly suspension. I had the pleasure of absolutely mopping up a new ZR1 a while back.

To be fair, compare it to the quickest Caddy of '87. The V will be a nice quick daily driver (the perfect daily IMO) but the GN will be there for when I want to go fast. A GN's quickness is directly related to the owner's tuning ability. I had a friend with enough parts to go 10s that ran 14.0s, slower than I did stock. When it was in the mid-uppper 11s you could not tell it apart from a stock GN, not by the exhaust, not by popping the hood.


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

My CTS-V went 11.7 @ 119 Stock down to the tires. No drag radials or slicks. I do remember the GN's being stupid easy to get into the high 11's for next to nothing back in the days.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

richiec77 said:


> My CTS-V went 11.7 @ 119 Stock down to the tires. No drag radials or slicks. I do remember the GN's being stupid easy to get into the high 11's for next to nothing back in the days.


That's what I'm talking about, an 11 second car on the street is going to beat 99.9% of everything out there, not to mention the fun factor and the fact that it can stop and turn too. Being supercharged, I'm sure big gains are pretty easy with a pulley, exhaust, and intake but I've never looked into popular mods. A good friend of mine had the older non supercharged V and even that was fun.

The GN doen't get driven much for several reasons, one being that this city has nearly tripled in population. I can't really open it up for literally more than a second or two at a time and even then it's all over the road at any legal speed. It's a ton of fun but with traffic everywhere there's no opportunity to open it up responsibly. I could see driving the V to the coast through the windy roads, that sounds like a lot of fun and there's usually not much traffic.


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## cnut334 (Oct 17, 2009)

Very very nice work on an awesome car!!!


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## SSSnake (Mar 8, 2007)

Wasn't suggesting a shift kit but a new stick. The stock shifter on my V1 is just not that crisp. Checkout the Cadillac forum and you can find a member that will mod the stick shifter or u can go UUC.


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## hybridamp (Oct 10, 2006)

Phenomenal install on a nice car as well.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks for the compliments guys! 

I'll have more pics in a few days. We're currently waiting on materials.

The overall plan is to greatly simplify the signal path as well as the gain structure. In order to do this with the Rane, I ordered a new factory Bose amp and sent it to Mr. Roberts, to perform some of his magic. Hopefully he'll have some good news for me and tell me that he was able to find some clean signal gold from the amp...fingers crossed.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

A wireless router is being added so that the Rane can be controlled wirelessly from a windows tablet. 

I decided on going with the Acer Iconia W500, which is windows 7 based. That will live in the front of the car. ICONIA TAB W500











Here's some of the wiring clean up that Glenn has been doing.


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

That's a cool idea...That is opening up all kinds of possibilities. Like being able to steam music from the tablet to the RANE on top of being able to control and tune. That and you could wardrive like no other! haha.

What RANE is that? The RPM 88? And one of these days I need to drive up and check out the install in person.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

richiec77 said:


> That's a cool idea...That is opening up all kinds of possibilities. Like being able to steam music from the tablet to the RANE on top of being able to control and tune. That and you could wardrive like no other! haha.
> 
> What RANE is that? The RPM 88? And one of these days I need to drive up and check out the install in person.


Yes, RPM88.

You're welcome anytime.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Sorry if I missed it, but what are the PAC LOCs for? I assume its for high to low conversion of the head unit, but is it also for the quality sources? Or will you have a dedicated SQ source input into the Rane?


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

You really wouldn't need those line drivers.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

And can ditch the barrier strip for the speaker wires too. You can do phasing with the Rane at each speaker.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

t3sn4f2 said:


> Sorry if I missed it, but what are the PAC LOCs for? I assume its for high to low conversion of the head unit, but is it also for the quality sources? Or will you have a dedicated SQ source input into the Rane?


We "were" using the LOCs to attempt to get a better signal into the MS8...what a nigmare!

Matt Roberts is working on a modified OE amp for me to run directly into the Rane. In theory, LOCs gone, Line Drivers gone.

New signal path will be Matt R Bose Special, into Matt R Acura 20x line driver, into the Rane, directly into the Amps via RJ45 inputs.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

thehatedguy said:


> And can ditch the barrier strip for the speaker wires too. You can do phasing with the Rane at each speaker.


We're actually adding the barrier strips, because it impossible to get to the terminations without removing the amps. This will give us much better access.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Se7en said:


> We "were" using the LOCs to attempt to get a better signal into the MS8...what a nigmare!
> 
> Matt Roberts is working on a modified OE amp for me to run directly into the Rane. In theory, LOCs gone, Line Drivers gone.
> 
> New signal path will be Matt R Bose Special, into Matt R Acura 20x line driver, into the Rane, directly into the Amps via RJ45 inputs.


Cool


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## jayhawkblk (May 29, 2007)

I love it. I am very curious about putting the pro audio in the car. May be something I try in the future


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## Octave (Dec 12, 2010)

thehatedguy said:


> And can ditch the barrier strip for the speaker wires too.


I'm with thehatedguy. Barrier strips to me are just as bad as t-taps. I mean you have great equipment there and you cut up the signal for the sake of convenience in wiring. The less breaks you have in your wire after the amp to your speaker means a better signal.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Octave said:


> I'm with thehatedguy. Barrier strips to me are just as bad as t-taps. I mean you have great equipment there and you cut up the signal for the sake of convenience in wiring. The less breaks you have in your wire after the amp to your speaker means a better signal.


I agree and understand both the sentiment and the logic, however...not having any access to my speaker leads without pulling the trunk apart, especially considering the amount of reconfiguration that may be taking place in the near future, is not an option. 

Once everything else is where I want it, I'll consider a more welded in approach.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Octave said:


> I'm with thehatedguy. Barrier strips to me are just as bad as t-taps. I mean you have great equipment there and you cut up the signal for the sake of convenience in wiring. *The less breaks you have in your wire after the amp to your speaker means a better signal*.


I'm gonna have to completely disagree with that statement, when it comes to speaker level transmission.


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## hybridamp (Oct 10, 2006)

I would have used the barrier strips also because as he said, pulling the trunk apart to get to the speaker leads would not be fun.

If you could actually "hear" a difference, I would sure be astonished. Theoretically, maybe, practically, I doubt it. Theoretically I should be able to sing like a rock star because I have the same general body parts as all the rock stars, but trust me, I definitely cannot. 

T-Taps use screws to apply direct pressure to the connection? I don't think so, not sure how the strips could even be compared to something as horrible as T-Tap; but oh well. :laugh:


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

t3sn4f2 said:


> I'm gonna have to completely disagree with that statement, when it comes to speaker level transmission.


Agree as I have plenty of RF experience to include up to Ku and X-band microwave. That's where multiple taps and extra coupling can result in significant loss. Or more like measurable losses. 

I doubt anyone can hear the difference between using the terminal blocks and straight thru. I'm not sure you would be able to make any kind of real measurement either. But since you are about to add the RANE which has software controlled phase control; you can eventually ditch the terminal blocks once you are satified with the mechanical phasing of the system. Then it would be as simple as heat shrink and solder to clean that up.

But for now I'd add a towel under there to catch all the electrons leaking past that berry bad terminal strip..........


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Here's a few more pics. I think that Glenn did a great job with this.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)




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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

Sexiest trunk I've ever seen.

It's even cleaner than it was before. The crest in the carpet makes it.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

imjustjason said:


> Sexiest trunk I've ever seen.
> 
> It's even cleaner than it was before. The crest in the carpet makes it.


Thank you sir! It's not immediately apparent from these pics, but Glenn recovered the entire trunk, with much higher grade carpeting, rebuilt two panels (left side and subwoofer baffle), installed LED lighting throughout, did tons of rewiring (the mids, now an array, are running off of the 4 channel), and then the obvious fab work he did for the Rane.


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## Complacent_One (Jul 2, 2009)

Been out of the loop for a while on this end..

Looking great!!! Bet is sounds fantastic.

Please do yourself a favor and "data dump" all the negative comments about the barrier strip. Any loss in fidelity or "electron" loss would be nearly immeasurable. Believe me, I worked with Klystrons, Magnetrons, along with LF through THF "tremendously high frequency" communications for quite a while...and I will tell you, most high dollar measurements would not be able to show adequate proof of loss. Keep in mind that the output connections of an amp are through a terminal strip. On the signal side..that would be very minimal, not heard...but potentially measured.

Keep up the phenomenal work..and I will be joining back in the ranks with the recent acquisition of a TL Type S...pretty sure I can figure out a way to make it sound better...the Bronco sure as hell does!!


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## nepl29 (Mar 25, 2007)

Looks great!!! Time to update your signature


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

nepl29 said:


> Looks great!!! Time to update your signature


Hah! Technically the Rane won't be inline until I get the modified OE amp back.. Until then, the MS8 will continue to manage signals. You make a good point though.

How are you liking the Brax btw? Those are just pure sex btw!


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## GLN305 (Nov 2, 2007)

Thanks for the compliments, have been busting my butt on this car and it's turned out great. The barrier strip does nothing to the sound, I have done cars with and without them, doesn't matter at all. Electrical resistance is the same as wire, I measured that with my Fluke just to verify all the connections. I added LEDs in the trunk to the baffle for the sub. They are at angles to shine on the amps and the Rane.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

But why do you need access to the speaker wires right there? That's what I'm not understanding.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

imjustjason said:


> Sexiest trunk I've ever seen.
> 
> It's even cleaner than it was before. The crest in the carpet makes it.


X2! Looks better than factory with minimal space loss. This is one of my favorite if not my all time favorite for simple yet useful and elegant. 

How much space would you say you lost? Going to google stock Cts-V trunks right now.


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

The Rane piece looks damn good. I like the well engineered and clean look there. 

Glen, if I decide to take off to work overseas again I may end up dropping my CTS-V off with you.


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## GLN305 (Nov 2, 2007)

thehatedguy said:


> But why do you need access to the speaker wires right there? That's what I'm not understanding.


It's alot easier to reroute speaker level signal when changing or experimenting with drivers. Just future-proofing.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

BuickGN said:


> X2! Looks better than factory with minimal space loss. This is one of my favorite if not my all time favorite for simple yet useful and elegant.
> 
> How much space would you say you lost? Going to google stock Cts-V trunks right now.


No spaced was lost over stock, with exception to the sub dropping down. Usability, very different story.. We still need to build protective covers for the amps before it can be a functioning trunk again.

There was a never a spare tire to begin with, just an inflator kit. From the factory, there are only lightweight, thin carpeted panels, which follow the contour of the wheel wells. 

Thank you for the amazing compliment. The system was never designed to be showy, but functional with a minimum of weight gain. The amps were placed where they are, to maintain symmetry and balance, IB was chosen both for audio performance and minimal weight. The car was corner balanced before and after install and has retained perfect 50/50 cross weight. Front bias went from 54/46 front to 52/48.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

richiec77 said:


> The Rane piece looks damn good. I like the well engineered and clean look there.
> 
> Glen, if I decide to take off to work overseas again I may end up dropping my CTS-V off with you.


You won't be disappointed!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Se7en said:


> Thank you sir! It's not immediately apparent from these pics, but Glenn recovered the entire trunk, with much higher grade carpeting, rebuilt two panels (left side and subwoofer baffle), installed LED lighting throughout, did tons of rewiring (the mids, *now an array*, are running off of the 4 channel), and then the obvious fab work he did for the Rane.


What? Did you change your Dyn setup up front?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

mattyjman said:


> What? Did you change your Dyn setup up front?


Sort of and might continue to. Despite being somewhat band limited, I'm pretty keen on those ATC dome mids.

Also, I've moved the tweeters to the factory dash locations (cantered towards the center of the car) so that I can play with mid arrays in the kicks. So far, having arrayed 430s has been pretty rewarding, albeit, I don't have them playing nearly as high as I might a single driver. 

If you look back to the earlier pics of the kick panels, and picture a 2nd 430 instead of the 110, that's the current configuration. I have a ton of mid range impact now and no percieved loss of fidelity or increased distortion due to lobing.

Beautiful work on your install btw!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Se7en said:


> Sort of and might continue to. Despite being somewhat band limited, I'm pretty keen on those ATC dome mids.
> 
> Also, I've moved the tweeters to the factory dash locations (cantered towards the center of the car) so that I can play with mid arrays in the kicks. So far, having arrayed 430s has been pretty rewarding, albeit, I don't have them playing nearly as high as I might a single driver.
> 
> ...


interesting... how has your staging changed since including another 430 down in the kicks, and moving the tweets up higher? 

thanks on the build, btw! 

i'm jealous of your Rane piece, you jumped on that sale before I could even figure out if it would work in my install or not. i love your integration of the piece, and the trunk looks dead sexy. keep it up!


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

Holy crap! You're running a pair of 430's per side! Wow! That's an interesting idea.


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## hybridamp (Oct 10, 2006)

Trunk does look fantastic.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

richiec77 said:


> Holy crap! You're running a pair of 430's per side! Wow! That's an interesting idea.


Agreed. That's a bit out of my price range but I bet it sounds good.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Okay, you have to show pics of the front now with the dual 430's. Where are the tweeters located (need pics)?


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## GLN305 (Nov 2, 2007)

Niebur3 said:


> Okay, you have to show pics of the front now with the dual 430's. Where are the tweeters located (need pics)?


Tweets are in the corners where the a-pillar meets the dash. Stock locations that are canted in a bit. If you take a look at his first build pics, we just moved the tweeter out of the kicks and put the other pair of 430's in since they are the same size.


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

So the 110's are able to fit in the dash corners where the Bose 3 1/2" sit? Or is it a different tweeter?


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

GLN305 said:


> Tweets are in the corners where the a-pillar meets the dash. Stock locations that are canted in a bit. If you take a look at his first build pics, we just moved the tweeter out of the kicks and put the other pair of 430's in since they are the same size.


Still no pics, hard to see fit and finish that way. Are the 430's in any sort of enclosures?


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

mattyjman said:


> interesting... how has your staging changed since including another 430 down in the kicks, and moving the tweets up higher?
> 
> thanks on the build, btw!
> 
> i'm jealous of your Rane piece, you jumped on that sale before I could even figure out if it would work in my install or not. i love your integration of the piece, and the trunk looks dead sexy. keep it up!


It was a world record sale! ehhe He bought it before Matt could even finish typing the thread.


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## GLN305 (Nov 2, 2007)

SouthSyde said:


> It was a world record sale! ehhe He bought it before Matt could even finish typing the thread.


Hey man, now you know why I didn't make the Houston meet....busy with this car LOL


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

GLN305 said:


> Hey man, now you know why I didn't make the Houston meet....busy with this car LOL


No problem bud.. it was a pretty good turnout.. 12 or 13 of us or so... GOOD TIMES!

I was telling Gabe, I might be going up there for a lil short vaca and eat Salt Licks bbq and Round Rock donuts.. 

Maybe we will meet then.. I wanna hear this array you guys speak of!


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## GLN305 (Nov 2, 2007)

SouthSyde said:


> No problem bud.. it was a pretty good turnout.. 12 or 13 of us or so... GOOD TIMES!
> 
> I was telling Gabe, I might be going up there for a lil short vaca and eat Salt Licks bbq and Round Rock donuts..
> 
> Maybe we will meet then.. I wanna hear this array you guys speak of!


Nice, I know I'll hit Salt Lick with ya


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## texas (Jun 5, 2011)

+1 for this car sounding AMAZING. Glenn did an awesome job. imp:

Can't wait to hear the next phase w/ Rane & MattR!


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## texas (Jun 5, 2011)

SouthSyde said:


> No problem bud.. it was a pretty good turnout.. 12 or 13 of us or so... GOOD TIMES!
> 
> I was telling Gabe, I might be going up there for a lil short vaca and eat Salt Licks bbq and Round Rock donuts..
> 
> Maybe we will meet then.. I wanna hear this array you guys speak of!


You gotta check out Franklin and John Mueller if you come to Austin. Not quite the same scene as Salt Lick but easily the two best BBQ joints in Texas right now!


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

texas said:


> You gotta check out Franklin and John Mueller if you come to Austin. Not quite the same scene as Salt Lick but easily the two best BBQ joints in Texas right now!


U know, eating and cooking is my other passion. Im some what of a food critic. Just yelped those two places and looks great! I will try.. 

Thanks!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Hey guys,

Just got off a plane from SF...it's been a very long week. I'll try to answer some of the questions, but if I miss some, I'll try to catch up tomorrow.

Dual Esotars... I ended up needing to buy another set when I got hit with MSAirplane noise the first time. Only one driver was launched, but I purchased two so that I could play around with a center channel. I never did run a center, but upon later inspection of the damaged 430, we discovered that the only problem was that the glue holding the cone had separated. We attempted a quick fix and the driver performed just fine, leaving me two sets.

The 430s do vent into the frame of the car, but have been sealed off to not breath into the atmosphere. Each 430 has been isolated from the other, so basically 4 small enclosures. I don't have any pics, but the 430 drops perfectly into where the 110 was...the 110 flange is the exact same size as the 430.

The Esotar 110s drop almost perfectly into the factory dash location.

As for the staging, we may have lost a little depth, but stability of stage height, plus the increased output from the mids more than makes up for it. It actually made life with the MS8 easier. I think the overall imaging of the system is VERY good, granted under the MS8 steerage. We hope to make it much better though.

Plans moving forward... I'm not 100% sure yet. I'd like to get the 110 back into the kicks or if I can find a pair, try to fit some 330Ds down there. Maybe play around with some staging or super tweeters up top. Similarly, I'd like to move to a single, large format mid, either an Audio Technology or an ATC SM75-150. The decision will come down to whether or not I want a single or two seat experience...I'd love to hear some opinions on this.

Here's pics of the kicks, just picture a 2nd 430 instead of the tweet.


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

Se7en said:


> The decision will come down to whether or not I want a single or two seat experience...I'd love to hear some opinions on this.
> 
> Here's pics of the kicks, just picture a 2nd 430 instead of the tweet.


Keep it simple. Optimize for a single seat (driver). MUCH more difficult to do for a 2 seat experience. I have heard Mark Eldridge's car and have seen what he had to do for a 2 seat experience. It can be done, but good grief, its just too much for a daily driver. Just enjoy from the driver's side and be HAPPY.


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## NoelSibs (Jun 21, 2010)

^^ Totally agree on that one... For me all that work for a 2 seat listening experience is not worth it only because a noob like me would definitely screw it all up! hehe It takes a good plan, a little artistry and a lot of work to get a 2 seater working right... If you do it, I'd love to see it! I'm just saying it may not be worth the effort in the end if you're the only one in it most of the time 

Glad you got the driver fixed and working right again! I would've been bummed and not known how to fix that thing! 

Cheers!


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## KBT2011 (Dec 29, 2011)

Wow nice build. Any aftermarket performance parts on that bad boy?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

KBT2011 said:


> Wow nice build. Any aftermarket performance parts on that bad boy?


Thanks. No mods yet, I've been waiting for the warranty to run out...


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## KBT2011 (Dec 29, 2011)

Se7en said:


> Thanks. No mods yet, I've been waiting for the warranty to run out...


Longtubes, o/r midpipe, and a corsa catback and this baby will be screaming!! Lol. All those damn LSX motors (I'm a ford guy, previously owned a 2004 cobra) pick up great power with valvetrain work too.


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

KBT2011 said:


> Longtubes, o/r midpipe, and a corsa catback and this baby will be screaming!! Lol. All those damn LSX motors (I'm a ford guy, previously owned a 2004 cobra) pick up great power with valvetrain work too.


Yeah....You don't really need Headers until you go bigger than a 9.55" Pulley. And then it's only really meant to get the cats out of the way due to the excess fuel needed to keep the engine from detonating will melt the cats. Exhaust isn't worth much at all on this car with stock cam timing. And at $1800-2K JUST for headers...not cost effective for a 5 HP gain.

Pretty much Stock Exhaust to include headers, tune, CAI, Pulley and Intercooler (About $1500-1800) will net an additional 100/100 and get you DEEP in the 11's or high 10's if you can drive. 

It's fun watching Cobra owners try and peddle they way back.


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## KBT2011 (Dec 29, 2011)

richiec77 said:


> Yeah....You don't really need Headers until you go bigger than a 9.55" Pulley. And then it's only really meant to get the cats out of the way due to the excess fuel needed to keep the engine from detonating will melt the cats. Exhaust isn't worth much at all on this car with stock cam timing. And at $1800-2K JUST for headers...not cost effective for a 5 HP gain.
> 
> Pretty much Stock Exhaust to include headers, tune, CAI, Pulley and Intercooler (About $1500-1800) will net an additional 100/100 and get you DEEP in the 11's or high 10's if you can drive.
> 
> It's fun watching Cobra owners try and peddle they way back.


I honestly didn't know the CTS-V was supercharged or I wouldn't have mentioned longtubes. And if we are talking cost effective you put the amount of money a CTS-V costs into a cobra and we will see who is back peddling lol.


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

I know...It's all in fun.


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## nepl29 (Mar 25, 2007)

Se7en said:


> Hah! Technically the Rane won't be inline until I get the modified OE amp back.. Until then, the MS8 will continue to manage signals. You make a good point though.
> 
> How are you liking the Brax btw? Those are just pure sex btw!


I love it although I haven't had a chance to install them. I'm redoing the system, hoping to have sound in a couple of weeks.


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

SouthSyde said:


> U know, eating and cooking is my other passion. Im some what of a food critic. Just yelped those two places and looks great! I will try..
> 
> Thanks!


if you like ribs....louie mueller barbecue in taylor tx can not be beat imo. best beef ribs i have ever had the joy of eating and kreutz bbq in lockhart sometimes has a slow smoked prime rib that melts on your tounge...side are nothing special, but the bbq is, mueller has german style potato salad and good coleslaw..
i can not wait for acl this year, i will be back for that week, i might even drive, if i can fin the next ex gf by then..lol


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

nepl29 said:


> I love it although I haven't had a chance to install them. I'm redoing the system, hoping to have sound in a couple of weeks.


Take lots of pics or ban! Your last install was beautiful! 

Are you going to stay with Esotar, or did Don sweet talk you into some Z-Studio goodness?


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

That sub is very nice looking in the trunk, Shame AD quit making them...


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

marvnmars said:


> if you like ribs....louie mueller barbecue in taylor tx can not be beat imo. best beef ribs i have ever had the joy of eating and kreutz bbq in lockhart sometimes has a slow smoked prime rib that melts on your tounge...side are nothing special, but the bbq is, mueller has german style potato salad and good coleslaw..
> i can not wait for acl this year, i will be back for that week, i might even drive, if i can fin the next ex gf by then..lol


HMMMM I have been wanting to try the lockhart ever since watching food wars on TV! So luoie muella beef ribs is better than salt licks beef ribs?!?!?!?!!??


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

SouthSyde said:


> HMMMM I have been wanting to try the lockhart ever since watching food wars on TV! So luoie muella beef ribs is better than salt licks beef ribs?!?!?!?!!??


Like comparing Jensen 6.5's to good a/d/s 6.5's both are speakers, but I would rather have the ads......muellers is basic on the inside, but ohhhhhh the ribs, the brisket, is pretty darn good too....


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

Se7en, I may not be a big caddy fan, but your system is plain sexy. Is your house in Rob Roy or out in the west side of town? I have seen one of a similar design, but it had a ceramic tile roof, was a pita to walk on....


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

marvnmars said:


> Se7en, I may not be a big caddy fan, but your system is plain sexy. Is your house in Rob Roy or out in the west side of town? I have seen one of a similar design, but it had a ceramic tile roof, was a pita to walk on....


Thanks for the compliment. You'll have to trust me in that it doesn't drive like a Cadillac. 

The house was about 20 minutes NW of Austin near Lake Travis. It was just a lease for a year and then I went to explore different parts of Austin. Now, I just rent a humble little room in a house, while I search for a job back in the Bay Area.


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

do you think you will miss the music and people of austin when you get back tot he bay area? i always found the people of austin to be very welcoming and nice, even the late leslie was a nice guy,odd, but always polite.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

marvnmars said:


> do you think you will miss the music and people of austin when you get back tot he bay area? i always found the people of austin to be very welcoming and nice, even the late leslie was a nice guy,odd, but always polite.


Absolutely, Austin is a great "town" with very friendly people. The thing for me, and maybe it's just me, is that I've run out of things to do and places explore. The downtown area has become very expensive, comparatively so to California, and the alternative is shacking up in the suburbs where I'm the only person for miles who's not married and doesn't have kids (I'm not knocking those who do). Similarly, there's very little to do entertainment wise outside of downtown....Unless strip malls are your thing. 

I've realized more and more in the past year, that I need to be in a more urban environment, with people in my own age range that are still somewhat career focused. Without that, Austin has become a pretty lonely place for me.


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

Se7en said:


> Absolutely, Austin is a great "town" with very friendly people. The thing for me, and maybe it's just me, is that I've run out of things to do and places explore. The downtown area has become very expensive, comparatively so to California, and the alternative is shacking up in the suburbs where I'm the only person for miles who's not married and doesn't have kids (I'm not knocking those who do). Similarly, there's very little to do entertainment wise outside of downtown....Unless strip malls are your thing.
> 
> I've realized more and more in the past year, that I need to be in a more urban environment, with people in my own age range that are still somewhat career focused. Without that, Austin has become a pretty lonely place for me.


sorry dude, i moved away a little over 3 yrs ago, i still miss parts of it and still go back to visit when ever i can (acl fest) and could always find good shows to go to, bob schnider doing his ponelyland thing at the saxon or his blugrass sunday am thing at threadgills downtown, and the shows at the contiental club always amazed me who played there for reasonable ticket $$... i miss the greenbelt for biking and fredricksburg for escapes..but it a youthful town and i agree downtown has gotten wayyyy to pricey fromthe old days of maggie's and copper tank and lovejoys to trendy places or college crowd.
i went to la (not the city, the state) and spent 3yrs going back and forth, i have now settled back into my home state of tn, knoxville to be exact, not exactly urban, but ohhhh the mountains. i can ride my bike again, which i missed in la. and satin's gift to my life.....not that i am bitter, still calls austin her home. so there is that.
i hope cali is a welcome fit man, i know the traffic will be worse..hahahaha
you will also miss the bbq.


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

also, it has to be fun blasting around the hill country in the caddy...


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

marvnmars said:


> also, it has to be fun blasting around the hill country in the caddy...


Yeah, it's pretty good, but absolutely nothing compared to highway 1 north of San Francisco. 

Healdsburg to Point Arena

Skaags Spring Road is one of the most impressive I've ever been on! Healdsburg is only 60 miles or so, North of SF, but to do the loop up to Healdsburg, then Skaags Spring to HWY 1 and then back down the coast takes about 7 hours (that's with me breaking 130mph in some places)

Watch Videos Online | Skaggs Spring Road healdsburg CA DJNick_Lead_5-24-09 | Veoh.com


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

Se7en said:


> Yeah, it's pretty good, but absolutely nothing compared to highway 1 north of San Francisco.
> 
> Healdsburg to Point Arena
> 
> ...


yes, but people will let you into traffic or turn left if you need to in texas... i live about 45 min from the dragon...yeah, there is nothing like it in the flats.
10 legendary motorcycle rides - Travel - Summer Travel - msnbc.com


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

marvnmars said:


> yes, but people will let you into traffic or turn left if you need to in texas... i live about 45 min from the dragon...yeah, there is nothing like it in the flats.
> 10 legendary motorcycle rides - Travel - Summer Travel - msnbc.com


Are you F'n kidding me? People in Austin don't even know what the passing lane is, or that they can even go the posted speed limit for that matter. It's the most frustrating thing ever!!!!!!

Nice road by the way. I'm officially jealous!


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

look, just because they can not read the big ONE WAY signs downtown, does not make them stupid...as far as posted speed limits go, at least it is not the atlanta 500, that city scares me...i hev been through atl at night, no one was going under 90 and right up your tail pipe in the slow lane at 90...then i was passed by a cop...just crusing along around 100..


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## marvnmars (Dec 30, 2011)

Nice road by the way. I'm officially jealous![/QUOTE]

i take no credit for it, i just enjoy it when i can. also, i did not mean to hijack your thread, still a nice caddy...
if you like the road, you should drive on out, 8hr from atx to here real world speed, trust me,i have done it many many times (10 hr if you take your time).


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

Se7en said:


> Yeah, it's pretty good, but absolutely nothing compared to highway 1 north of San Francisco.
> 
> Healdsburg to Point Arena
> 
> ...


That is an awesome stretch of road there. 

When you say the hill country, do you mean down by me, but out west-Southwest of Junction? Or out west of Austin? There's a big difference in road fun between the 2. The Twister Sisters is what I'm talking about.


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## indytrucks (Apr 5, 2009)

And a year later where does this build stand? I was loving it but want more!


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

indytrucks said:


> And a year later where does this build stand? I was loving it but want more!


Unfortunately, the car is being sold. Being dropped off next week.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

WHAT, why what happened are you building a more powerful beast then this one? If its none of my business, please forgive the intrusion.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Coppertone said:


> WHAT, why what happened are you building a more powerful beast then this one? If its none of my business, please forgive the intrusion.


No, I wish. I was laid off in November and haven't been able to find work since.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

I am really sorry to hear that, especially having been out since November. I hope that things start looking up for you really soon.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

Se7en said:


> Unfortunately, the car is being sold. Being dropped off next week.


Wow, didn't expect that. Ironically, I'm getting ready to sell my entire system but not the car. Good luck with whatever you end up with. It was fun talking about the different settings we've tried.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

Se7en said:


> No, I wish. I was laid off in November and haven't been able to find work since.


Shoot me a PM if you want. We're hiring like crazy. Finance, engineering, operators, IM&T, etc. I'll do my best to help you out.


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## indytrucks (Apr 5, 2009)

Well now I feel like a d-bag for bumping this. Sorry to hear that man. I hear Cali is a ***** to find jobs in. Especially specialized career paths sometimes. Might be time to look into another state.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

indytrucks said:


> Well now I feel like a d-bag for bumping this. Sorry to hear that man. I hear Cali is a ***** to find jobs in. Especially specialized career paths sometimes. Might be time to look into another state.


No worries at all. My industry is in the ****ter right now. I just left Austin for this gig, where there have been 3 studio closures, and over 1000 layoffs, just since January.

I'll leave Cali for better cost of living, but the reality is, I need to change careers, which is a bummer because I've got 19 years into it.

-7


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## KyleMDunn (Jan 27, 2009)

marvnmars said:


> yes, but people will let you into traffic or turn left if you need to in texas... i live about 45 min from the dragon...yeah, there is nothing like it in the flats.
> 10 legendary motorcycle rides - Travel - Summer Travel - msnbc.com


Even though I have never actually pulled the trigger and purchased a sport bike; three of my groomsmen travel from PA down to Deals Gap just to ride the Dragon. One year my bestman rode with a GoPro mounted on his gas tank. The footage is unreal.


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## KyleMDunn (Jan 27, 2009)

Oh, and more importantly - this Cadillac is one of my favorite cars on this site.


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

One of my favorite builds of all time! Looks GORGEOUS in person!


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## thebigjimsho (Jan 11, 2009)

Se7en said:


> No, I wish. I was laid off in November and haven't been able to find work since.


The company I contract for was bought out last year and I've been squeezed out of a lot of work. I sold my V in April...


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## Dekes1 (Mar 7, 2014)

Hi guys, sorry to resurrect an old post, but i'm looking for help with my own CTS. I'm not sure if Se7en still looks at these boards but i'd love to know what he did with the chimes and the navigation voice when he wired up the Bose amp to the Bit.one. 

Has anyone else done a similar install (factory head-unit, factory Bose 10 channel amp, a dsp like the bit1 or 3Sixty) and can offer some best practice suggestions?


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Dekes1 said:


> Hi guys, sorry to resurrect an old post, but i'm looking for help with my own CTS. I'm not sure if Se7en still looks at these boards but i'd love to know what he did with the chimes and the navigation voice when he wired up the Bose amp to the Bit.one.
> 
> Has anyone else done a similar install (factory head-unit, factory Bose 10 channel amp, a dsp like the bit1 or 3Sixty) and can offer some best practice suggestions?


All of the factory chimes run through the Bose amp, so none of that is lost when you piggy back an OEM interface to the Bose. If you decide to bypass the OEM signal, you will in fact lose the chimes. To some (myself included), this may not be such a bad thing, with possible exception to the blinkers.

Also keep in mind, that if you run a lot of gain, those chimes will also have A LOT more authority as well. I spent a bit of time level matching the system so not to have my ears blown out, when I opened the door or took my seatbelt off.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

He's alive!


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