# My first install since the 90's-Mazdaspeed3



## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

*My first install since the 90's-Mazdaspeed3 (56K, don't even try!)*

I know there are a few other build logs for other Mazdaspeed3 owners. I've seen at least 3 so far (Fourthmeal, Oppenhiemer, Snaimpally) They are all a great inspiration for me to get going on my car. I hope that mine will be interesting as well. 

This will be my first install since I put a 12 speaker system into my 1998 SVT Contour (comps in all for doors+ 4x8" subs in the trunk). Things have changed a lot since the 90's, but some of the basics have remained. I'll doing a fair amount of sound deadening to start (this will be all new to me), and moving on to comps in the doors and a single 10" sub in the hatch area. 

Here is the car

















I'm definitely going for a 'budget' system and sticking with the OEM head unit. 

I've got a very long weekend coming up and I hope to get a significant amount of work done between now and Tuesday.


For equipment, here is what I've gathered so far:

PPI 356cs comps for the front doors. Tweeters will be installed in new blank sail panels and the mid-woofs will be adapted to fit in the doors.


















Dayton RSS256HO-4 (Reference Series HO 10") subwoofer. I am building a .7 ft^3 net volume box tuned to ~31Hz with slot port. The sub models pretty nicely in that configuration with a fairly flat response down to 40Hz and -3db at around 30Hz. Hopefully it performs close to how it models. I know that Chad has had nice results with this sub in a similarly designed box. 






























The center plot is the arrangement I'm going with. [email protected]









Audison SRx3 amp to power the comps and sub. I'll be using the PPI passive x-overs for now. 

That's all for now.


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Any pics of the past setups?

I always wanted an SVT Contour but an acquaintence who had one said it was a maintenance nightmare, mainly electrical...Still a great looking/performing car to me.

Speed3 is another compact I'd love to toy with but wife like's something w/more room so we're going w/a 3.5Max or G35...


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

niceguy said:


> Any pics of the past setups?
> 
> I always wanted an SVT Contour but an acquaintence who had one said it was a maintenance nightmare, mainly electrical...Still a great looking/performing car to me.
> 
> Speed3 is another compact I'd love to toy with but wife like's something w/more room so we're going w/a 3.5Max or G35...


No pics of the old system. The car was totaled by a jerk who ran a red light back around Aug, 2000 which was long before I had a digital camera. My installs back then were never much to look at. I was a broke college kid, then a struggling 20something. I have to say, that Contour was pretty much flawless for me through 3 years of ownership. I saw one just like mine a few months ago and talked to the lady who owned it (original owner), she said it had been a pretty much a trouble free car for her through the last 13 years! Been living with a stock system since the Contour was totaled (at least it was a VW Monsoon system though).


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## dmazyn (Apr 29, 2008)

i'm running the father to the HO 10 a ho15 in the hatch of my mazda 3 (nots speed) and it works great.

Older set up buy still using the sub: (the message is because I have sen this image used on other sites.


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## ptiller (Mar 27, 2009)

niceguy said:


> Any pics of the past setups?
> 
> I always wanted an SVT Contour but an acquaintence who had one said it was a maintenance nightmare, mainly electrical...Still a great looking/performing car to me.
> 
> Speed3 is another compact I'd love to toy with but wife like's something w/more room so we're going w/a 3.5Max or G35...


I had a 99 SVT contour I bought new and recently traded for a Mazdaspeed 3. It was a great car that never left me in a bind. Only bad point was the paint job. It was the worst I had ever seen. Just FYI, Mazdaspeed 3 eats it breakfast.


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## fatboyracing (Oct 8, 2008)

dmazyn said:


> i'm running the father to the HO 10 a ho15 in the hatch of my mazda 3 (nots speed) and it works great.
> 
> Older set up buy still using the sub: (the message is because I have sen this image used on other sites.


lol so is this your picture


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Not as much work done as I'd hoped, but I've still got two days left on my long weekend. Got the back of the car and a good portion the front stripped down Friday night. 










RAAMmat in the hatch area on Saturday. 



























Busy with family stuff Saturday afternoon/evening and all day today. Tomorrow and Tuesday, I have both days to myself. I'll finish up with the RAAMmat in the rear (up to where the front carpet carpet starts), put down some ensolite and then reassemble the back of the car so that I don't have so many car parts lying around the garage! After that, I'll concentrate on running the power wire, pulling speaker wire through the door molex connectors, and I will RAAMmat the doors. Depending on how much RAAMmat I have left after I do both front doors (I only bought 1 roll to start), I may or may not take the front seats out and pull the carpet to deaden the rest of the floor. 

I went through quite a bit in the rear of the car and want to make sure I have enough to do the job right. If I don't think I have enough after I'm done with the front doors, I'll just order another roll and do the floor at a later date along with the rear doors and the roof. Tuesday, I'll concentrate on finishing things up so that I can drive the car to work on Wednesday. I don't think I'm going to get the sub enclosure built this weekend, so I'll probably just be running the comps full range until I can get the sub done.


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## Oppenheimer (Jun 22, 2009)

Hey good to see you're well on your way with the install!

I still have MLV to install in my front doors at some point, and seeing the the back of your car with the trunk stripped lets me know I'm not ready to tackle that project just yet haha


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Oppenheimer said:


> Hey good to see you're well on your way with the install!
> 
> I still have MLV to install in my front doors at some point, and seeing the the back of your car with the trunk stripped lets me know I'm not ready to tackle that project just yet haha


I'm hoping that the ensolite works well enough that I don't need to use MLV. Yeah, stripping the back was a lot of work. I got a layer of ensolite down around the whole hatch area today and got the rear areas re-installed. That took longer than I thought it would. I was able to get RAAMmat in the doors today, but didn't get any wire run. I suspect I'll be working on it again tonight after the kids go to bed. 

I gotta say, Rick's estimate of what is enough ensolite for an average car is not nearly enough. I used most of 3 yards just doing the hatch area. I left enough for the front doors, but wasn't able to do anything on the floor past the rear hatch area. Looks like another 3 yards to finish.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

NICE! Subscribed.


does the new RAAMmat stick to your hands and EVERYTHING else anymore?


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

fourthmeal said:


> NICE! Subscribed.
> 
> 
> does the new RAAMmat stick to your hands and EVERYTHING else anymore?


I'm using the regular RAAMmat BXT, not the newer BXTII (premium stuff)

What I'm using is sticky, and is sometimes gooey around the edges, but it was for the most part, pretty clean to use. Not much got on my hands, but that's probably because I wore gloves for most of the job. I did have to bare hand it in the doors.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

billbillw said:


> I'm using the regular RAAMmat BXT, not the newer BXTII (premium stuff)
> 
> What I'm using is sticky, and is sometimes gooey around the edges, but it was for the most part, pretty clean to use. Not much got on my hands, but that's probably because I wore gloves for most of the job. I did have to bare hand it in the doors.


Maybe it was worse for me, but it got all over my shoes, which tracked into the house, which got on the couch, etc.

MESSY. Never again! Maybe things have improved.

Nice looking though. I think there are some subtle changes in the newer speeds.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

fourthmeal said:


> Maybe it was worse for me, but it got all over my shoes, which tracked into the house, which got on the couch, etc.
> 
> MESSY. Never again! Maybe things have improved.
> 
> Nice looking though. I think there are some subtle changes in the newer speeds.


The interior had a slight makeover (for the 08.5 and 09), but that really just amounted to some piano black trim (instead of gray) and all black seats. Exterior is the same for all years.

Didn't get much on my shoes because I did my best not to step on the completed work. I take my shoes off before coming into the house anyway.


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## wrxified (Oct 13, 2009)

Looks really nice. I just purchased a 2010 MS3 and have been thinking about the approach I'll take. You're well on your way to a killer system. For the box you're building are you replacing the spare tire with the sub?


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## Dakota548ci (Jan 5, 2008)

BillBillw, I sent you a PM.

Shane


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Today, I managed to pull two sets of speaker wire through those Goddam molex connectors in each door. They are quite possibly the worst design I can imagine. Got the power wire hooked, fused, and pulled through the firewall. Speaker adapters made from 1/2" MDF. Still need to install the speakers, rammat the inner skin, and wire up an amp.


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## Oppenheimer (Jun 22, 2009)

Did you manage to preserve the blue "U" shape thing on the molex, all in one piece?

Mine are "customized"


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Oppenheimer said:


> Did you manage to preserve the blue "U" shape thing on the molex, all in one piece?
> 
> Mine are "customized"


Yes, they are intact. I'm surprised my neighbors didn't call the cops on me because I was screaming so loud that them bastards! 

I actually had them out, drilled, wire pulled, and had the job done without too much trouble, but then when I went to test things, my door locks weren't working, so I had to take them apart, but by that time, one of them had accidentally slipped back into the hole and that's what was the trouble. I couldn't get that SOB out a 2nd time to save my life. I eventually got it back out and blew out some plastic bits, then reassembled. Still had the lock problem, but I traced it to the fact that the connector to the lock mechanism inside the passenger door had come off. I probably wasted 2 hours because of that oversight.

Anyway, I'm happy with where I stopped tonight. I finished up the front doors. Speakers installed, ensolite, raammat, etc. I didn't get the amp wired up, but I did put some power from a home receiver to the door speakers and they sounded quite nice. I'll try to update with some pics as time permits, but its late and I'm wiped out.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

wrxified said:


> Looks really nice. I just purchased a 2010 MS3 and have been thinking about the approach I'll take. You're well on your way to a killer system. For the box you're building are you replacing the spare tire with the sub?


No, I'm keeping the spare. The box is small enough that it won't take too much space in my hatch area. I'm doing a long flat box to stand on one side of the hatch. Down the road, I might have a try at fiberglassing inside the spare tire. If you flip the tire upside down, there is quite a lot of volume available for an enclosure.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

billbillw said:


> No, I'm keeping the spare. The box is small enough that it won't take too much space in my hatch area. I'm doing a long flat box to stand on one side of the hatch. Down the road, I might have a try at fiberglassing inside the spare tire. If you flip the tire upside down, there is quite a lot of volume available for an enclosure.


I might have a solution for you. Do you remember my design that used the spare around the spare tire rather than IN the spare tire? That's pretty much what you can do here. Here's some pics dredged from my site:










Maybe use the upcoming SI MAG BM sub.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Ok, finally have some time to update with photos.

Hatch with Ensolite installed.



























RAAMmat in doors (outer skins)










Inner skins re-installed, speaker wire run through Molex










Working on adapter plates










Woofers installed (used two layers of Mortite caulk between inner skin, the adapter, and the woofer. After several accidents in the past using phillips head screws, I decided to use allen head stainless bolts and hurricane nuts to secure these woofers. It worked quite nicely.




















RAAMmat on inner door skins. I didn't do full coverage because I wanted to retain serviceability. What I did seemed to help with resonance quite a bit.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Covered in Ensolite. Not the best job, but hey, it was my first attempt to do a door. Not to mention, I was running very low on Ensolite at this point. 3 yards is definitely not enough to do a whole car! The other door turned out better, but I guess I forgot to take a photo.










Tweeters installed in new blank sail panels. 



















Doors finished, panels re-installed. Nice stealth look.



















I took last night off from working. Tonight, I should wrap up the amp install (probably to a temp location). Sub box to be built this coming weekend (hopefully) and I'll be done with the 1st major portion of this project. I'll go back and add sound deadening to the floor and rear doors at a later date as well as decide if I want a custom floor in the hatch to hide the amp and sub.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

I like it when you can have good sound with stock looks... Can't do that in my car


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Didn't quite get the amp wired last night. I had to spend some time getting an amp trigger signal. I'm using a PAC AOEM integration unit that was specific to late model Mazdas. The PAC AOEM is a glorified LOC that retains OEM wiring, passes head unit output to speakers, and provides front/rear RCAs plus an amp remote lead. However, Mazda made a change mid-year in 2008 to the radio harnesses. The plug size is the same, the speaker outs are the same. What changed were some of the other pin assignments, including the AMP Remote+. Therefore, the amp turn-on-lead did not work. I was expecting this based on discussion at the Mazda3forums. Other people who used this LOC were satisfied by tapping the cigarette lighter or the Ignition 12V signal. However, I didn't want to have my amp on when the HU wasn't. I broke out the trusty Sears multimeter and tested all the pins looking for a +12V signal that was controlled by the radio. Luckily, I found one. It was just 1 pin over from the original amp turn on lead. I moved some wires around and soldered everything back up and put some heat shrink on everything. Now it works perfect, and I still have intact OEM wiring. Tonight, I will finish wiring the amp and finally have some tunes back!


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

nice work, hope u enjoy when you're done


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## riceaterslc (Sep 9, 2007)

looks great so far!


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> Maybe it was worse for me, but it got all over my shoes, which tracked into the house, which got on the couch, etc.
> 
> MESSY. Never again! Maybe things have improved.
> 
> Nice looking though. I think there are some subtle changes in the newer speeds.


I used Raammat and Damplifier in my install and the Raammat was disgustingly messy. It got into the house and my wife was ... lets just say very unhappy. I will NEVER use Raammat again. Damplifier is the way to go. Its expensive but its thicker and MUCH easier to work with.

Nice build log, BTW. You are doing a great job.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

I was up working on the car until after 2am last night. Its amazing how something as simple as wiring an amp can take so long when you want to do it right. Actually, I had to get the wires placed within the cabin which is what took time. I ran the RCA cables down the middle of the car which required removal of the center console. Also had to extend the tweeter cables (solder/heatshrink), pull speaker cable from the hatch to under the front seats, route the power wire from under the glove box to the hatch, and find a suitable grounding spot for the amp. None of it was that hard, it just took time to do it right. Got all that done, and was ready for the moment of truth. Put the fuse in the block under the hood and fired it up with a CD. Nothing! I started checking things and figured I wasn't getting the 12V turn on signal. What the Eff? I just checked, double checked, last night? I pulled out the headunit again, all the wires were intact. About this time, I realized that I had only checked with the radio on previously. The +12V I thought was for ACC or amp remote was actually for a power antenna. It only worked when the radio was on! DOH! So, I had to cut that off and re-splice it into the Ignition 12V wire. So much for having the HU control the amp turn on. Now it is on when the car is on. 
Anyway, the speakers sound amazing, even without a sub. 

I'm supposed to go over to a buddies house tonight and build the sub box. He builds a lot of custom home speakers and has all the tools to do it right which I don't, namely a table saw and a router+circle jig.


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## stereo_luver (Oct 30, 2007)

#1. Who is the buddy who builds the custom home speakers? A Polk fan in Conyers?

#2. Can I bring my lawnchair over and watch the madness next time you start working on the Mazda?

#3. As I would have suspected you've done a nice job so far. Looks good to me.


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## Oppenheimer (Jun 22, 2009)

The first time I went to turn the stereo on, I had the gains all the way turned down on the amp. Its a real heartbreaker to turn the volume up and get no sound isn't it?


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

stereo_luver said:


> #1. Who is the buddy who builds the custom home speakers? A Polk fan in Conyers?
> 
> #2. Can I bring my lawnchair over and watch the madness next time you start working on the Mazda?
> 
> #3. As I would have suspected you've done a nice job so far. Looks good to me.


Correct guess on the Polk buddy.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Oppenheimer said:


> The first time I went to turn the stereo on, I had the gains all the way turned down on the amp. Its a real heartbreaker to turn the volume up and get no sound isn't it?


Yeah, especially since I bought the amp used about 1 month ago and hadn't tested it yet. I had sudden fears of being ripped off. Luckily, I figured out the problem out in less than 5 minutes.


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## stereo_luver (Oct 30, 2007)

Tell Ben hello for me. I lost his number.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Well, I still haven't built the sub enclosure. I didn't get out on Saturday night. Hopefully I can work out something soon.


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## 62Lincoln (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks for this thread! I've got a Mazda5, and the similarity of the interior is very good. I've noticed the beefy reinforcements on the rear wheel wells - I wish I could retrofit those to my ride. You're doing a very nice job of documenting your build.


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## stereo_luver (Oct 30, 2007)

Bill, lets do this fiberglass work ourselves. If you can't make it out to Conyers lets give it a shot or call Ben and get him to get out of the house and head our way. The guy never leaves the house from what I remember and he needs to get out of the funk he's in. I vollunteer to cook BBQ on my smoker/grill and make a day of it.


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## Irishfocus06 (Sep 11, 2008)

Beautiful car and good luck with the rest of your build. Is coming along nicely.


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## Smoke_31 (Feb 3, 2008)

Bump for update!


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Smoke_31 said:


> Bump for update!


Nothing to update. I'm still trying to get the sub box built. I had two friends who offered to help (with the correct tools), but so far, we have not been able to get together and knock it out.


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## D.WES415 (Jul 12, 2009)

i have a red 2008.5 speed3 gt and i jus got my rockford fosgate wires in. im adding 4 6x8 3way pioneer premier, power acoustic gothic series 4ch and 2ch amp and 2 power acoustic thin13s. imma work on mine soon. great job so far with your progress. keep it up.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

D.WES415 said:


> i have a red 2008.5 speed3 gt and i jus got my rockford fosgate wires in. im adding 4 6x8 3way pioneer premier, power acoustic gothic series 4ch and 2ch amp and 2 power acoustic thin13s. imma work on mine soon. great job so far with your progress. keep it up.


I hope by you reading up on the forum here you change your mind on the entire system. We can help you turn that system plan into something that will actually sound good, and will probably cost less as well.


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

billbillw:
have you noticed any reduction in road noise by installing the ensolite in the hatch area?
I installed some Rammatt bxt in my 05 hatch but not to your level, was wondering if it helped any?? Nice work again.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

jimp said:


> billbillw:
> have you noticed any reduction in road noise by installing the ensolite in the hatch area?
> I installed some Rammatt bxt in my 05 hatch but not to your level, was wondering if it helped any?? Nice work again.



I'll answer as well because my car was done very similarly...

Running a layer of MLV on top of that Ensolite would be the finishing touch. Ensolite isn't a barrier but it muffles things a little bit. MLV is a true barrier.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

fourthmeal said:


> I'll answer as well because my car was done very similarly...
> 
> Running a layer of MLV on top of that Ensolite would be the finishing touch. Ensolite isn't a barrier but it muffles things a little bit. MLV is a true barrier.


I agree. To the original question, no I didn't notice much in the area of noise reduction. Of course, I still haven't done the floor area nor the rear doors. Both are planned for winter projects after things calm down from the holidays. I'm also still trying to get the sub box built. Just haven't had any free time.


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## Gidman (Aug 7, 2009)

Since you've been living with this for some time, how are you finding the sound through the OEM deck + PAC AOEM? I'm debating that route vs soldering RCAs directly to the speaker outputs or swapping for an aftermarket deck entirely (though since it's 'technically' the wife's vehicle, that's my last option.).


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Gidman said:


> Since you've been living with this for some time, how are you finding the sound through the OEM deck + PAC AOEM? I'm debating that route vs soldering RCAs directly to the speaker outputs or swapping for an aftermarket deck entirely (though since it's 'technically' the wife's vehicle, that's my last option.).


To my ears, the PAC OEM module sounds just fine. I don't have much to compare it to though since I haven't heard a system with the other options (3sixty or cleansweep). If you have a car with the Bose system, I'd say soldering directly to the low level speaker outputs (before the Bose amp) is the best way to go. Most people report that the output is ruler flat from 20-20k.


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

How many months has it been? 6? Finally built the enclosure for the Dayton 10" Ref HO over the weekend. Came out pretty nice despite the fact that my table saw is the biggest piece of $hit I could imagine! It is actually the nicest enclosure I've ever done. I guess with age come more patience and skill. Carpet job was pretty good considering it was my first attempt (all of my boxes in the 90's were finished with black paint). Was almost finished and ready to test the sucker, and I effed up and let the sub fall off the edge of the box and it broke one of the box terminals off! ARGH! Sub was fine at least. Placed another order to Parts Express for a replacement. $10 mistake plus having to wait almost a week for the replacement terminals to arrive (Smartpost ya know). 

Anyway, hopefully by the end of this week, I will have some closure to this project. I'll get some pix of the box. This whole project really ended up being more than I had time for. I still haven't put any sound deadening in the floor. Who knows if that will ever happen. Maybe, maybe not. I hope I find the time to do it though.


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

yeah, know the feeling, still have some spacers to install on my fronts, cut them out last summer/early fall, still there on the garage floor inbetween the tool box and fridge. lol!


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## billbillw (Aug 25, 2009)

Well, I wasn't too happy with the sound of the Dayton in the box that I built last month. It just didn't sound natural to me. Kick drums had a funny sound to them. Bass didn't seem to dig as deep as the models would indicate. I had a hard time getting a balanced sound between my front stage. I was about to scrap the whole thing and build a sealed box for it. I tweaked the levels and crossovers a few more times and got things pretty balanced. Still didn't sound that great to me though. 

Well, I just kept playing it, and it just kept sounding better. After a month, I think it sounds great. Kick drums sound just as they should. Bass goes DDEEEP! I guess this Dayton just really needs some break in time! I'd say 100 hours really do it justice. I'll try to snap some pics of the completed product, but honestly, its nothing fancy. The whole time, I was going for a non-flashy, stealth system.


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