# NSTALN's Froggy Frontier 5.1 surround build



## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Now that the weather is warn here in New England it times to start on my new build. Specs and pics below. Enjoy

*Vehicle:* 2017 Nissan Frontier 4x4 v-6 King-Cab

*Speakers:* Audio Frog GB10's tweets(corner dash), AF GS-690's(front doors), AF GS-62's(rear doors), AF GS-42(center)

*Subwoofers:* Audiomobile MASS 2012 S24's (x2)

*Amplifiers:* JL Audio HD 900/5 (x2)

*Processor:* Alpine PXA-H800/RUX

*Power/Speaker Wire:* KnuKonceptz OFC

*Audio Interconnetcs:* JL Audio

*Batteries:* Optima Yellow-Top(under hood), Kenetic h600(x2 in rear)

*Power/Ground Distro:* Streetwires

***Factory Headunit w/iPod Interface***


I started the install off by adding a center channel into the factory upper dash pocket:


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

a very good start and use of space. I like that you didn't put a smaller 6.5 in the doors like many seem to do, use that extra cone area in the 6x9 I say!

how do you like it so far? tuning makes or breaks it as I'm sure you know, so whats been achieved to date?


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Lycancatt said:


> a very good start and use of space. I like that you didn't put a smaller 6.5 in the doors like many seem to do, use that extra cone area in the 6x9 I say!
> 
> how do you like it so far? tuning makes or breaks it as I'm sure you know, so whats been achieved to date?


I've just started installing the equipment so I have no idea how it sounds yet...

The center is in, the GB tweets are in, front and rear doors as well as the back wall have been treated with Roadkill dampner and I'll be adding some Ultratouch denim insulation padding all the way around.

Yesterday I started measuring and cutting the rear equipment rack...today I'm picking up some 1/4 inch plexi for the rack as well. With a little luck I'll have the equipment mounted within the next couple days and I can add a few more pics.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## I800C0LLECT (Jan 26, 2009)

Looking fantastic!

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## el_bob-o (Nov 8, 2008)

Looking good, I'm always happy to see these 5.1 installs.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## beak81champ (Oct 2, 2015)

Nice work!


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Wow fantastic work!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

I had a Frontier while I had my Titan and sadly never drove it after buying it. It just sat and but it looked sharp while sitting there lol. Never had the chance to add audio as most of my gear audio wise went into my Cadillac and the Titan was used to handle NJ weather. Can not wait to see what skilled hands can do to these vehicles.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Thank you for the kind words. More pics!


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Very very nice, looking forward to seeing the equipment mounted on there.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Coppertone said:


> Very very nice, looking forward to seeing the equipment mounted on there.


Thank you.

I have more materials being delivered this week for the build...hopefully by the end of this coming weekend I'll have the equipment mounted and wired...

...then the sub box...

...then the speakers...

...then the electrical...

....then the tuning...


Looong process.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## el_bob-o (Nov 8, 2008)

Does the plastic cover fit on that distribution block with those terminals? If so I may need to pick some up.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Actually it doesn't...not correctly at least...there is a bout a 1/8inch gap on the input side....the cover can be pretty easily modified to accommodate the connectors though.

I will be making my own cover most likely as part of the remaining install.

This is a Streetwires distro that's no longer produced. If I didn't already own it I would have used KnuConceptz distro's.


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## el_bob-o (Nov 8, 2008)

I use the same one and use street wires terminals with it with an ill fitting cover. I need to build a new cover or find terminals that work.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

^^^. I'm not quite understanding what you are posting.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Sadly nothing is coming through on my end.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Coppertone said:


> Sadly nothing is coming through on my end.


Trying to post a short video I took....but for some reason I can't figure out how.

Ugh...


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## abusiveDAD (Jan 7, 2009)

Proper, 
Nice work


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

Having that much room to install the gs42 as a center is amazing. Very nice and clean build and that's an understatement.


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## kustomkaraudio (Jun 20, 2009)

I noticed that you going use the factory head into the H800. You may want to throw one more part in the mix, a JL Fix 82. 

You would then run optical out into the H800. Its a little known fact that Euphony only functions with a digital input. Ken Ward went round and round with a car and discovered this. Its something Alpine Japan decided not in the manual. Also, not really a down side to having a nice clean flat signal going into your H800.

The H800 is a really proc, lots of input options ( you can even put KCA-121B in the AI net ports and use them as more analog inputs )

Build looks great so far


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Thank you for the compliments folks.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

kustomkaraudio said:


> I noticed that you going use the factory head into the H800. You may want to throw one more part in the mix, a JL Fix 82.
> 
> You would then run optical out into the H800. Its a little known fact that Euphony only functions with a digital input. Ken Ward went round and round with a car and discovered this. Its something Alpine Japan decided not in the manual. Also, not really a down side to having a nice clean flat signal going into your H800.
> 
> ...


Holy poop! I wasn't aware of the digital/Euphony thing...thank you for pointing that out...my plan was just connect the output speaker wires from my factory HU to a set of RCA's with one end cut off...and run (all 4) speaker wire/RCA's into the analog inputs per Alpines instructions...but it says nothing about limited abilities as a result. 

I just happen to have an optical cable that I can use...but I'm curious if I need to go with the JL Fix.

My truck has a pretty basic (by today's standards) radio...(4) outputs (speaker level) to (4) full range speakers. No fancy EQ'ing that I can tell.

I wonder if I can just use something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/LinkS-Analog...-3&keywords=analog+to+digital+audio+converter

Rather than spending $300+. As far as I can tell all I need is a clean pair of full range outs from the HU and this will convert to optical. I would rather spend >$50 if I don't need the extra abilities of the Fix.

Thanks for pointing this out...it was good timing too...I going to be wiring up the amp rack this weekend and this changes things for sure.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## Timelessr1 (Feb 12, 2010)

Great attention to detail...impressive!


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Added AudioFrog GB 2510C crossovers and internal LED lighting to match the rest of the equipment rack. More pics:


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

Looks sick! Hope to see it in person during our fall meet late Sept/early Oct!


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

Very nice! Hope to see it in person during our fall meet in late Sept/early Oct!


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Mless5 said:


> Very nice! Hope to see it in person during our fall meet in late Sept/early Oct!


I definitely plan on attending the next one!


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## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Looking real clean thus far, nicely done!

Do you have the GS690 set in hand already? 

Eric


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

dowheelies said:


> Looking real clean thus far, nicely done!
> 
> Do you have the GS690 set in hand already?
> 
> Eric


I do not...I have no idea when they'll be released. AF hasn't said anything. For now I've wired up the factory 6x9 midrange speakers...hopefully they'll do OK until AF releases the GS690's.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

I was able to get quite a bit done over the last week or so...

I was able to finally mount the equipment rack to the back wall. All wires have been run through factory channels, even the 0gauge power wire. The under-hood is done, the factory HU outputs have been integrated with the RCA's for the processor. Center channel wired-up and secured. Tweeters mounted and wired. Front door 6x9's wired, and an extra set of speaker wires run into each front door for possible GB25 midrange addition later on. Front door got additional sound deadening material. The rear speakers were replaced and wired. And finally the RUX was mounted in the overhead console.

I got a few pics...nothing too exciting though.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Added a strip of angled aluminum across the bottom to finish things off and keep things aligned...it matches the JL heat-sinks quite nicely. 



















Looks nice with all the wires run and out of sight.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Starting to get an idea of sized and shape of sub enclosure....this is just a mock-up to get an idea of feasibility of what I want to do...the actual box will look a bit different. The idea is dual 12's sealed separate chambers, down-firing with the box about 2inches off the floor...and it will probably involve Plexiglas and LED's too...because I just can't help myself.





































More to come...


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## ssmith100 (Jun 28, 2007)

Very very nice. I think the only thing I might have done different would have been to go to a darker shade of carpet. Everything is looks great.

Shane


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

ssmith100 said:


> Very very nice. I think the only thing I might have done different would have been to go to a darker shade of carpet. Everything is looks great.
> 
> Shane


Thanks!

What you're seeing is just the 'inside' of the rack...it will be trimmed by some sort of beauty panel that will be factory color matched...not sure if it will be vinyl or carpet yet...but I'll figure it out at some point. The lighter color carpet was chosen because it would really make the LED colors pop out.

The sub enclosure will likely be wrapped in factory color matched carpet as well.

I agree that as-is it's doesn't look factory-esque...but it will.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Check your pics bud


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

dcfis said:


> Check your pics bud


????


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

nstaln said:


> dcfis said:
> 
> 
> > Check your pics bud
> ...


Post 38


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

dcfis said:


> Post 38


OK...I guess I'm just a little slow on the uptake....I'm not sure what you're trying to say. I'm lookin at post #38 and it's (5) pics...(1) of the GB crossover and (4) that admittedly look like a gay-pride photo shoot of my equipment rack while on the bench in my garage.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

A bit of work on the subwoofer enclosure. Dual Audiomobile MASS series underhung 12's. Sealed, separate chamber, down-firing. Plexiglas windows and interior LED lighting. Pics:


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## Swaglife81 (Oct 15, 2016)

Looks good. The cat cracked me up in this thread. Seems to have a good personality to it. Looks like you have a little helper every time you work on the truck. I really like that street wires distribution block. Organization and neatness make the install. So many different ways but some just look cleaner than others. What are the 2 black boxes next to the distribution block on each side? Batteries?


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## Jcmamma (Apr 5, 2017)

Attention to detail and planing is spot on! Amazing build. Good work bro!


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Nice work so far. Great attention to detail. 

Except for post #38...i mean, wtf?!? 

j/k, it looks great!

And that helper cat is awesome. I miss having them around.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)




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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Displeased with subwoofer box v1.0 I decided to rebuild...now box v2.0:


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

I wanted to bolt the subs in but didn't want to the screwed to protrude and I also realized that I wouldn't be able to access the head of the bolts themselves when securing the sub...so this is what I came up with for a solution: 

Counter-sink a flat-headed machine screw and secure it with fiberglass resin.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

I utilized the same method for the plexiglass window mounting bolts. I had to decrease the size of the head of the screw and manually glass in 40 mounting screws...pain in the a$$!


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Added carpet inside and an array of LED's


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Nice work!


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Wrapped in factory color-matched dark graphite vinyl.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Next comes mirrored plexiglass on the inner side walls and bolting in the plexiglass top windows.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Starting to look good...


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## Timelessr1 (Feb 12, 2010)

Awesome looking box! v2 with the lighter color and mirror in the middle looks so much better!


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Added some chrome trim to the inner edge on the plexiglass window.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Also made a pair of black plexiglas trim rings for the subs. First MDF, then used the router for the rings. They sit inside the cast frame edge and make it flush. They give the sub a nice finished look.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

A little Audiomobile MASS p0rn...mmm look at that mASS


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Timelessr1 said:


> Awesome looking box! v2 with the lighter color and mirror in the middle looks so much better!


Thanks! I agree the light color inside is a better look. I was inspired by the 90's JL Audio bandpass enclosures...I remember thinking it was SOOO cool that the inside of the box was carpeted and it had plexiglass windows...so this install definitely reflects my fondness for that style.


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## sq2k1 (Oct 31, 2015)

Yeah I am liking your install thus far as well.... good job I must say. And the cat on the pedestal is pretty classy too.....


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

sq2k1 said:


> Yeah I am liking your install thus far as well.... good job I must say. And the cat on the pedestal is pretty classy too.....


Thanks! So far so good...I'm pretty happy with the way it's turning out. I'll be adding the subs soon and starting the trim panel for the amp rack and side panels for the sub enclosure next.

Yeah...my cat is a superstar.


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## sq2k1 (Oct 31, 2015)

Yeah seems like a cool cat from the photos....always nice to have a pet to chill with.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Front door










Looking for advice for best placement of GB25 mids and GB10 tweets.

Currently the GB10's are in the factory location (dash corners reflecting off windshield). I would like to widen the soundstage a bit...given the center channel what would be the best placement for the mids and tweets?

The two options I'm considering are:

Tweets _and_ mids in pods on top front corner on door panel (flat area just above door release handle) next to sail panel.

Or:

Tweets in pods by sail and mids in pods just below door release handle.


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Not using the same drivers so take it for what it's worth, but swapped from a pillar mounted mid (much more off axis) to a sail panel (much more on axis) and gained width. I would shoot for at least the mid on the door. The mid/tweet pod may end up being huge but you might not need the tweeter on the door depending on how you set up the aiming and crossover.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

This is the idea going forward...pods for the midranges _and_ tweets on top by the sail pillar.

I'll be using PVC endcaps as a base for the structure. The GB25's require tiny enclosures, so the pods will be more than enough internal volume. The pods will be slightly off-axis but should provide good height and width to the soundstage.


































You can see the center channel in the last picture.


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## Locomotive Tech (May 23, 2016)

Sub'ed cuz this is dope!


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Locomotive Tech said:


> Sub'ed cuz this is dope!


Thank you sir! A lot of work has gone into this build....and there is plenty more to do.


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Love the build thus far. 

I say move the tweeter above the mid and relocate the vent in the a-pillar a couple of inches higher to clear the pod. 

Or if your crafty, design the pod to allow airflow around it so the windows can still be defoggerated. 

Looks good either way!

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


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## pickup1 (May 6, 2008)

Wouldn't the depth of the soundstage be better if they were mounted further back on the pillar?


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

pickup1 said:


> Wouldn't the depth of the soundstage be better if they were mounted further back on the pillar?


With the center channel I already have a good presence and depth...I'm looking to add a little width to the soundstage. Mr G Frogs recommended a sail panel orientation for the mids and tweets.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i found putting my mids in sails had no real impact on depth. however, i got a lot more width. center and left of center was easier as well, didn't have to fight w/ the gauge hump.

maybe get some power (and time alignment/levels) to the drivers before you glass everything up. try pointing them at the opposite headrests, opposite rear windows, domelight, etc. make note of width/depth/height/center and what sounds best. to me, this was worth a few hours to figure out.

maybe put the tweeter above the mid instead of the side, you might need that vent though. maybe above the vent?


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Like others, I didn't have a loss of depth. I did point my mids up and back to the opposite rear oh sh!t handle. I didn't try many other options for aiming but it's a good start.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

...a little more work on the subwoofer enclosure.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Sub enclosure installed in truck. Enjoy the pics!


































































Little video:
https://imgur.com/rbLH9kD


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Our other cat looks a lot like yours. His name is scout, but every body calls him stripey


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## mumbles (Jul 26, 2010)

Great work, very clean! I'm loving the chrome trim around the plexi window!


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## nyquistrate (Apr 17, 2011)

Did you finish this build?


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

nyquistrate said:


> Did you finish this build?


No I didn't...I've shifted gears a bit. I removed the center channel for now and removed one of the amps. So now I'm just running stereo. I recently aquired a single GB40, GB10 and GB410c to use as a center. I'm going to re-arrange the install so the at the equipment is on the floor (going to make a false floor to cover all of it) and the sub will be on the back wall. i want the build to be a little lower profile than it is now...I want to reclaim a bit more usable room. I'll also be switching from (2) sealed subs to a single ported sub. unfortunately it's still pretty cold here in New Hampshire so I haven't done much work recently...but spring is around the corner!


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Very nice build so far. In to see how it progresses. 

I have a '17 CC, so this is very relevant to my interests.

Keep up the good work!


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