# Basic SQ build: 2013 VW Sportwagen - Morel, Arc Audio, Mosconi, JL



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Hi guys,

well, this was a pretty interesting build,if for no other reason than the fact that i had to build a simple stand alone sub enclosure for the first time in many many years 

The customer came to us with a simple system already installed, a mini JL XD 5 channel powering stock speakers and a small flat sub, and we discussed things a bit and came up with the following goals:

1. to improve the car's overall sound quality on a limited budget (this is among the most modest budgeted builds that involves an external DSP) 

2. significantly improve upon his existing stock midbass location, being that the sportwagen is a MKVI car but with MKV doors (read: midbass firing into the side of your butt at the back of the door ) 

3. achieve a stealthy and most importantly, durable finish in the hatch as it is a home for their 70lb greyhound  

lets get started 

firstly, as with the last VWs, Joey fabricated a simple metal bracket that houses the fuse holder next to the airbox:










The customer previously had a pioneer avh-x2500bt double din unit installed, and it is kept, along with a jl bass knob in one of the knock out panels. but we cleaned the knob mounting a bit so the silver nut isnt visible anymore:



















we also took the time to clean up his wiring harness, which isnt too bad considering how many things were plugged into it, but we couldnt let it leave our hands like that if we are building the rest of the car. 


















as mentioned before, this jetta sportwagen is kinda strange, it is basically a MKVI car throughout, which means it SHOULD carry with it the 6.5" midbass location at the front of the door. but for one reason or the other, these models comes with the old door, with the midbass squarely firing at the side of your seat. in a two way system, this is pretty terrible. 

so my solution is the same as i have been doing on about half a dozen other MKVs, that is to mold a door pod that houses a 6.5" midbass upfront. in this case, a set of Morel Virtus 602. 









































































here are some quick build pics of the doors.

first, two sets of speakers wire are run into each door:



















next, the lower front portion of the door pocket is trimmed away:










the area is then taped off:










and fiberglass laid down:










when that cured, it was pulled out, measured, trimmed and test fitted back on the door:



















next, the portion that will sit inside the pocket is built up using mdf and a strip of low heat plastic, a lil filler, and they end up looking like this:










a layer of STP gold damper was added to the middle:










and ring baffles aimed and attached. my goal for these is to mold them as unobtrusive as possible:










mold cloth was pulled, resin applied, and after curing the pods were reinforced from the inside:










then filler was applied to the outside and the pods sanded smooth:










black vinly was then used to wrap around the entire shape:










and more stp gold damper went into the rest of the interior surfaces of the pods:










the pods were then attached and the back of the door card received some more treatment:



















and the doors are now placed back on the vehicle:





































i also painted the olive drab morel grilles black to better match the interior:



















The Morel tweeters went into the stock location, here are the sail panels with the oem tweeters removed:










and the morel MT120s were then secured and the factory foam piece placed back on:



















next comes a few wiring pics of the bundles that go from the front of the car to the back, because these bundles are tucked in the factory door sill channels UNDER the jute, there isnt much to see, so i just snapped a few before i tucked them, and some of hte back where its visible:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

so lets go take a look at the back. as previously noted, this is perhaps the first time in a VERY long time i had to build just a simple mdf box 

The customer previous had a small box on the passenger side behind the seat, and thats where the new box resides. everything else is housed in the storage compartment upfront, out of view completely. it had to be durable enough for the dog to co-inhabit the space with. so here is what i came up with 

normal view of the box, with the grille on, as you can see, nothing too special. after thining about it, i decided that just doing a squared off box isnt the way, so i put a rounted front top on it using kerfed mdf and some filler:










pop off the grille and you see an arc audio ARC10:





































the amps and processor are completely hidden out of view, but undo three screws and you can lift off the floor panel that the subbox sits on, and here is what you see below, two JL audio XD amps and a Mosconi 4to6 DSP. the XD 700/5 is bridged into a 3 channel, powering the midbass with 200 watts and the sub with 300, this is the amp the customer already had. we added a xd200/2 to power the tweeters with 75 watts each. all three sit on a common mdf board wrapped in black carpet, and all the wires are bundled and organized:




























here are some builds pics of the back...first rivet nuts were installed into the floor of the storage panel to anchor the amp rack:



















and this is the board we are speaking off:



















this is the subbox, fully built before the kerfed portion:










and with it in place and sanded smooth. note the stepped design at the back, this gives the customer enough room to access the latch for his baby seat when the box is in place:




























then its was carpeted in black, and secured to the panel it sits on...and here ist he final product before the sub went in:




























and finally, a shot of the grille before carpet:










so thats it  i think we made a pretty significant improvement over his old setup, which was the 5 channel powering the stock speakers and small sub off the pioneer headunit.

imaging is pretty centered, though not as focused as on some other cars. staging is nice, a few inches above the dash. width is easily pillar to pillar, and depth is average. the morels do pretty well, nice smooth and have good detail, and the arc sub does a very good job of filling in the bottom end. overall, for the budget and the level of gear this install has, its quite good. 

thats all folks, now back to work on a GT-R and a Acura RL 

cheers,

Bing


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## cflores3 (Jun 11, 2012)

looks clean as always--

questions- how does the arc 10 compare to the audio mobile subs you've been using as of late...seems like they are comparable in price?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

cflores3 said:


> looks clean as always--
> 
> questions- how does the arc 10 compare to the audio mobile subs you've been using as of late...seems like they are comparable in price?


hmm...that is a good question, i would say the audiomobile elite 2210 gets a bit louder and is a lil cleaner, but i wouldnt call them the same price range, as the elite carries with it a 30-40 percent higher price tag and DEFNITELY wants more power than the arc 10.

once we get to play wtih the new entry level AM subs, that might be a better comparison.

b


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## raresvintea (Sep 17, 2010)

Excelent build as usual! You delight my eays evry time i look on to your builds!
Are any problems with the heat under sunny july's? 

PS. Correct link on the facebook page


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

raresvintea said:


> Excelent build as usual! You delight my eays evry time i look on to your builds!
> *Are any problems with the heat under sunny july's? *
> 
> PS. Correct link on the facebook page


this is going to be a wait and see game. i am not that familar wtih these XDs and how hot they run. and i didnt want to have to cut any factory plastic if i dont have to. so we will see, its well over 100F these few days, if it goes thermal, then i know i will need to cut and put in a fan. 

b


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

I find Bing's and Joey's builds, quite frankly, very BORING!!!!!!!

Why? They are ALWAYS the same.....great layout, exceptional fit and finish, superb attention to detail and happy customers!!!

Great Job Again Guys!!!!!


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## labcoat22 (Mar 29, 2009)

Bang
If you were going to do a three way would you leave the 6 in the factory location? Or would you still build the door pod?

Also is there any usable space under the seats in the JSW?

Ry-


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

labcoat22 said:


> Bang
> If you were going to do a three way would you leave the 6 in the factory location? Or would you still build the door pod?
> 
> Also is there any usable space under the seats in the JSW?
> ...


if i were to do a three way i would build a dash pod or pillar pod for the mid for sure. 

i would personally never use that factory location.

there is room under the seat in this car since it doesnt have the factory amp, but i am not a fan of putting amps underseats personally  

b


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## Bigtuna00 (Mar 10, 2013)

Owner here. Since my 2.5 y/o son spent most of the afternoon watching WALL-E or listening to Fleetwood Mac (at lower volume  I haven't had a ton of time to play with the system yet but from what I heard on the drive home from SIS I'm VERY pleased so far. Bing has a live version of Hotel California on his test CD and the realism of the bass drum is quite amazing. It took me a minute to realize the boominess of it is totally accurate for a live show (but quite different from most studio recordings).

It will definitely be interesting to see how the system performs over the next few days as we're expected to have triple digit temps (it was already 104 today). I never noticed any heat at all with the 700/5 running the previous install but I realize this setup will be quite different.

@labcoat22 there's a TON of space under the seats in a JSW because they don't come with the cargo drawers in the US. I actually added one drawer on the driver's side and there was still a good inch of clearance above the XD 700/5. On the passenger side you'd normally have the VW Bluetooth unit but I removed (and sold) it when adding the new HU. On the down side there's a lot of carpet and padding under there and not much metal to anchor too. The previous installer simply screwed the XD into the carpet :/

I agree with Bing putting the amps under the seats is not a great idea. For me I hated it because I had to pull the seat just to make changes to the amp. To get the seat completely out, you've got airbag cables to disconnect, so you've got to disconnect the battery too or get airbag warning lights (which you can clear if you have a VCDS cable, but still). A bit of a nightmare.

Thanks to Joey and Bing for such a good experience!


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## cerrone (Jan 28, 2010)

simplicityinsound said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> 
> next, the portion that will sit inside the pocket is built up using mdf and a strip of low heat plastic, a lil filler, and they end up looking like this:



Hi.
I just liked your facebook page and will start exploring all the builds you posted there for some ideas.
I'm trying to imagine how exactly you install the mdf piece and how you use the plastic strip - do you have a photo taken from aside where the mdf piece is? 
Is there any air gap left between the door pocket and the pod ? 
Thanks.


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## labcoat22 (Mar 29, 2009)

Bing/ Bigtuna
Thanks for the info. Some amps can work under seats if the adjustments are convention locations and the seat has enough travel. I have been looking at JSW for a second car as I have a kid on the way and the worlds biggest Greyhound 90lbs and all legs. So I would be hesitant to put equipment in the back.

Bing do you think there would be enough room for a small mid base under the front seats.

Also work is very clean as always.

Thanks

Ry-


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

cerrone said:


> Hi.
> I just liked your facebook page and will start exploring all the builds you posted there for some ideas.
> I'm trying to imagine how exactly you install the mdf piece and how you use the plastic strip - do you have a photo taken from aside where the mdf piece is?
> Is there any air gap left between the door pocket and the pod ?
> Thanks.


not of this one, but here is a shot of the first ever set i built about 5 years ago, give you a better idea on the mdf and the plastic strip (after some bondo on top) 

there is virtually no gap left, maybe 1/8"


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

labcoat22 said:


> Bing/ Bigtuna
> Thanks for the info. Some amps can work under seats if the adjustments are convention locations and the seat has enough travel. I have been looking at JSW for a second car as I have a kid on the way and the worlds biggest Greyhound 90lbs and all legs. So I would be hesitant to put equipment in the back.
> 
> Bing do you think there would be enough room for a small mid base under the front seats.
> ...


if i were to do under the seat amp, i would prefer to build a lil rack of some type that protects the amp from metal stuff (coils etc) dropped down tehre and feet kick at it. but yeah, there is enough room there for sure to mount the xd700/5, slide a 1/2" mdf under neath, screw through the carpet into the wood, that would be the easiest way to secure the amp without going into the metal.

b


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## labcoat22 (Mar 29, 2009)

Bing thanks for the ideas I am just thinking about stuff now all three of the amp that I have would fit under a seat two of the three would fit better. I don't want to derail your thread with my plans


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## cerrone (Jan 28, 2010)

simplicityinsound said:


> not of this one, but here is a shot of the first ever set i built about 5 years ago, give you a better idea on the mdf and the plastic strip (after some bondo on top)
> 
> there is virtually no gap left, maybe 1/8"



Thanks man. I just voted for Joey ;-))


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

thanks! 

B


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## Firewall (Sep 29, 2009)

hey, nice work as usual, but i'm a bit confused....

in this thread:http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/technical-advanced-car-audio-discussion/150134-crazy-imaging-stock-system.html i think it it's basically the same vehicle, Patrick mentioned that the stock locations worked pretty well for imaging.

Can you comment on what you thought?


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## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

Bigtuna00 said:


> Owner here. Since my 2.5 y/o son spent most of the afternoon watching WALL-E or listening to Fleetwood Mac (at lower volume  I haven't had a ton of time to play with the system yet but from what I heard on the drive home from SIS I'm VERY pleased so far. Bing has a live version of Hotel California on his test CD and the realism of the bass drum is quite amazing. It took me a minute to realize the boominess of it is totally accurate for a live show (but quite different from most studio recordings).
> 
> It will definitely be interesting to see how the system performs over the next few days as we're expected to have triple digit temps (it was already 104 today). I never noticed any heat at all with the 700/5 running the previous install but I realize this setup will be quite different.
> 
> ...


I just bought the CD with that live version of hotel california at Target. There are a few great tracks on that CD, and they are great at testing out the midbass. Also, try getting the FUN. cd. They sound great on the radio, but their CD is way better and you will love how it sounds in your car.

If you were closer I would say lets meet up so we can compare notes (cars, systems, kids)...


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## Bigtuna00 (Mar 10, 2013)

Firewall said:


> hey, nice work as usual, but i'm a bit confused....
> 
> in this thread:http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/technical-advanced-car-audio-discussion/150134-crazy-imaging-stock-system.html i think it it's basically the same vehicle, Patrick mentioned that the stock locations worked pretty well for imaging.
> 
> Can you comment on what you thought?


I can say the imaging with the stock setup (especially when compared to Bing's install) was terrible. There was no distinct center at all.

Perhaps with a DSP good imaging could be achieved with the stock locations but then you're talking about upping my budget by another ~$500-$1000 to get comparable 3-way speakers and more/better amp(s).

(remember this was a "budget" active build)

Also in that thread I believe they're talking about the Jetta and not the JSW. The JSW is comparably cavernous inside, not sure if that would affect it too.


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## Bigtuna00 (Mar 10, 2013)

vwdave said:


> I just bought the CD with that live version of hotel california at Target. There are a few great tracks on that CD, and they are great at testing out the midbass. Also, try getting the FUN. cd. They sound great on the radio, but their CD is way better and you will love how it sounds in your car.
> 
> If you were closer I would say lets meet up so we can compare notes (cars, systems, kids)...


Thanks for the tips!

I'm in the process of converting my library from MP3 to FLAC. I've already re-ripped all my CD's but I've been buying digital for the last few years so I have a backlog of stuff to locate in FLAC format, or buy the CD. In some ways it sucks when you get an SQ build because you can tell just how bad MP3's can sound 

(the point of this story is I have some "fun." MP3's to replace...)

I'm using a 64 GB USB stick to store music. My music app (MusicBee) allows me to auto-convert from FLAC to WAV when copying to the stick (since the HU won't play FLAC directly). I used to listen to everything via Bluetooth from my phone (which could play FLAC) but, again, I've come to realize how poor the audio via BT is.

Of course playing CD's would be an easy solution for high quality but even something like a 6 disk changer wouldn't be enough to keep me happy.

I guess it wouldn't be a hobby without some obsessive work?


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## Schizm (Jun 12, 2011)

Bigtuna00 said:


> Thanks for the tips!
> 
> I'm in the process of converting my library from MP3 to FLAC. I've already re-ripped all my CD's but I've been buying digital for the last few years so I have a backlog of stuff to locate in FLAC format, or buy the CD. In some ways it sucks when you get an SQ build because you can tell just how bad MP3's can sound
> 
> ...


I'm going to be getting a new mac laptop to convert my music to lossless soon. The laptop I have now is ... Well slow though it shouldn't be. Damned junk on windows.


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