# my 2012 gti build



## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

*my 2012 gti sq build*

i thought i'd be able to tolerate the factory system in a new car, i can't. :lol:

goals:

keep the spare and as much of the trunk as possible
reuse what i can, and go active. i've had horns+mids passive w/ a 4ch amp since like 1998. it's time for something different with a bit more power. i thought about going w/ mids and tweets but horns just kept beckoning
use socket machine screws where possible so this meant t-nuts, hurricane nuts, and the like
also wanted to try my hand at tech flex. all stuff i've never done before
keep main fuses accessible
finish before fall semester

also, i'm on afternoons this summer so i'm up until 4-5am every day. i tried to do as much as i could in the basement after work.


factory RCD310
audison bit ten
soundstream ref2.640
soundstream ref4.760
selenium d2500 8ohm in ID mini horns under the dash
idq62 midbasses in the doors
arc audio black 10" d4
knu 1/0ga and 4ga wire, 12ga speaker, signal wires
about a roll of old school raamaudio
a box of ss damplifier b-stock

i borrowed the trunk layout from here. i tried to get two 10" back there but ran out of room for other stuff.

prep stuff:

asked *jayinmi* test my old stuff
modify screw-on horn driver adapters w/ 3-screw for 2-screw mounts
stuff the horn bodies w/ reticulated foam
connectors on stuff to make it easier to manage
mounting rings



















lined up nicely









try some foam inserts, patrick bateman style. foambymail.com is across town from me so i picked up some 1-1/2" thick reticulated foam 




































deans connectors, haven't used these since r/c cars when i was 13. i blame *jayinmi* and *photogreg*. midbasses are wired too but i'll upload pictures later.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i usually play with these kinds of routers, never worked w/ a wood router. usually did things carefully w/ a jigsaw in previous installs. :lol: i borrowed a plunge router, bought a circle jig and some bits, and played quite a bit.









3/4" mdf and 1/2" birch, roughed up and glued together.









on to the trunk. i built a template from the trunk foam and floor carpet, cut from there. built up the sub enclosure.









1/2" birch to drive the t-nuts into.









construction adhesive and a sheetmetal screw to hold the t-nut in









box together, definitely ratty. carpet right? :lol:. i'm terrible at box building. it's sealed and supported.









amp deck is hinged to get to the spare and stuff underneath. 









t-nuts everywhere! notch at the bottom is for the seat belt mount.









seems like a great place to stuff a 5 farad cap. the lower level will also have small fusing and relays for remote turn-ons and lighting









test placement of the gear.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

how the amp deck is mounted down in the back. the deck is notched to set down on the metal bracket and clear the nut.









planning for wire runs, philips screws are placeholders. 



























whew. take it all outside for a last fitting. 









passenger side door skin is already deadened from the factory but i put some old raammat on it behind the speaker and on the inner door frame. 

i put 2 sheets of damplifier on the back of the door panel/card.  (pictures coming). 

vagcom-coded and dropped in a set of door warning/puddle lights too; while it's apart right?


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## docah (Jun 12, 2012)

Sure, there are some rough edges there. I helped you make a few of them, so I don't see anything wrong there.  I like the layout. It would be nice if there was more space to work with back there but what can you do? 

I'm seriously looking forward to listening to those reworked horns. Back in the days of the 1st gen R/T those were _the_ brightest and best imaging drivers I'd heard. They are probably the reason I pay as much attention to audio quality as I do these days. So, Thanks.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

spent the afternoon on the car, passenger door is done.





































door panel/card is deadened. trimmed back the plastic gasket around the speaker grille.



















ready for the horns, started to tie everything down. signal wire from the HU down the passenger side with the speakers. i love the wire channels down the sides of this car.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

time to start the driver's door. here's the mounting rings, covered in truck bed liner paint t-nuts for the driver mounting. typical for both sides.























































ran all the wires to the back. driver's side has speaker and power wire. i ran a remote turn-on just in case. while lab'ing the bit ten, i couldn't get the speaker inputs to trigger the DSP to come on. 










figured out where to mount the inline fuse holder









back to the hatch area, here's a shot of the fuses, relays, etc.









sanded down a ground spot in the hatch. covered it in dielectric grease.









deadener in the hatch.









i'll do the driver's door panel/card tonight.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I used that same fuse holder in the Genesis. I bought a new Tsunami one for the Rio, tho. Coming along nicely.

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i went to install the driver's side midbass yesterday and heard some rattling. i got the object to be visible through the voice coil vent, seems to be the voice coil vent screen! it had fallen off!

with a hemostat and patience, i got it out.











driver door midbass mounted.









driver door panel deadened and trimmed like the passenger side. i did a layer of 3m super80 on the fabric so the deadener would stick and made sure at least 2 edges of the deadener would touch other deadener or plastic. i need to revisit the passenger side for consistency.










that's all i could get done today before work. it's too hot out w/o a garage.


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## cnut334 (Oct 17, 2009)

Nice work!


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## PhotoGreg (Jun 19, 2012)

Looking good nick.. One of these days I'll get the Envoy project going.. :/


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## bongbut (May 15, 2012)

the farad is little far from stock battery.is it good?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

bongbut said:


> the farad is little far from stock battery.is it good?


following the conventional wisdom for caps, it stiffens the audio system, not the rest of the car electronics or starting. therefore, it's mounted as close as possible to the amplifiers.

besides, it's not designed for all-weather environments and would get destroyed under the hood.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

have a question, how are you fitting a IDQ6 in there without having the speaker or the surround hitting hte grille on the door card!! 
i know you ground down the grille a bit but still...


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

simplicityinsound said:


> have a question, how are you fitting a IDQ6 in there without having the speaker or the surround hitting hte grille on the door card!!
> i know you ground down the grille a bit but still...


the IDQ62's excursion doesn't come out beyond front of the cardboard gasket so i should be safe. there's clearance between the door panel and cardboard gasket so i should be fine w/ the surround and cone.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

simplicityinsound said:


> have a question, how are you fitting a IDQ6 in there without having the speaker or the surround hitting hte grille on the door card!!
> i know you ground down the grille a bit but still...


I told you there was more room in there than you thought. VWs typically don't have many clearance issues.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

quality_sound said:


> I told you there was more room in there than you thought. VWs typically don't have many clearance issues.


So what the hell was up with the one i did a few months back and the other mk6 on here w a hsk165 hitting? Or he guy in tx who had the shop chop he window mount to fit speakers? R there different door locations?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Cause both mk6 gtis would have had the speaker hit the door for sure with the spacer used above...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Oh just to confirm u didnt touh that x shaped basket behind the speaker mount right? And u made sure the clips were snapped up before putting he door card back on? Because if u dontthe door cardwont sit flush and will be spaced out a lil...

Sorry to question u im just seriously miffed..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

simplicityinsound said:


> Oh just to confirm u didnt touh that x shaped basket behind the speaker mount right? And u made sure the clips were snapped up before putting he door card back on? Because if u dontthe door cardwont sit flush and will be spaced out a lil...
> 
> Sorry to question u im just seriously miffed..


the midbass clears the window track basket thing. 1-1/2" mounting surely clears the basket but rubs against the door panel/card. 1-1/4" clears the basket and the door panel/card. all the door panel/card clips seat all the way down too without causing any plastic stress. i forgot to plug in a connector yesterday on the driver's side and had to remove the door panel again, all the snaps were snug. (i hate it when those snaps get stuck open)

everything appears to clear.

i hope to get it all fired up tomorrow or tuesday and play some music to verify. my next challenge is the OEM battery posts, but i'm always leery of removing factory ones, especially on a car w/ < 3kmi on it. . a trip to the hardware store before work, i got some m6x40mm bolts flange-head bolts and nuts. i'm interested in seeing your inline fuse setup from the mk6 you did.

the IDQ6 seems a different beast than what's currently on the market. i'll have to keep all this in mind if/when i decide to replace them. looking at the 4th picture in this post shows just how different the hertz midbass surround/gaskets are. looking in this post it seems to be a 1" spacer but *stuartb* doesn't indicate the depth.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

nadams5755 said:


> the midbass clears the window track basket thing. 1-1/2" mounting surely clears the basket but rubs against the door panel/card. 1-1/4" clears the basket and the door panel/card. all the door panel/card clips seat all the way down too without causing any plastic stress. i forgot to plug in a connector yesterday on the driver's side and had to remove the door panel again, all the snaps were snug. (i when those snaps get stuck open)
> 
> everything appears to clear.
> 
> ...


One of the first sq set up i had was w idq6s...love em...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

so the hsk165 is 2-5/8" (67mm/25.4mm/in) deep and the idq6 is ~2-7/8" deep. :shrug:

maybe the 4dr mk6 golf is deeper than the 2dr?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> Coming along nicely.





cnut334 said:


> Nice work!





PhotoGreg said:


> Looking good nick..


Thanks!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Well only one way to find out...spray some baby.powder on the inside of the door card and grille...put the.door on to see of any of it transfers to the speaker. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

removed the factory m6 bolt w/ a square head from the battery terminals. i replaced it w/ an m6x40mm flange head. i had to grind down one side to clear the terminal though.










mdf scrap workbench 



















ran 1/0 through a factory grommet in the bulkhead. pulled extra through and attached some split wireloom, it matches factory better.










same w/ the fuse holder end. nifty wire connector method but ****ty fuse management. i'll never use this type of fuse holder again.










did the same thing for the ground wire, added a 1/0 wire to the body ground and battery.










everything fits, had to trim back the battery lid a bit for the ground wire though.










time to pin down the driver's side wiring..





































i hope i never have to remove that back seat cushion again. ever. that's a huge pain to remove and install. 

onto the horns! i think the car was made for them! there's so much room in the kick panels, not a bunch of stuff in the way for the mini horn driver location. i'll need to relocate the J1850 connector and footwell light on the driver's side, but it's pretty easy to remove.










i'll have to move the passenger side footwell light too. i put some old trunk carpet on the floor to catch the plastic shavings but i ran out of daylight to continue more.










none of the factory floor vents will be in the way, the horns will sit right at the bottom of the dash, tons of room.

tomorrow's plans are to finish the horn install, tap into the factory wires for DSP inputs, and install fuses.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I have one of those too, but the connections didn't stay tight at the fuse. This time I bought a Tsunami one with compression fit terminals for the wire, and it just uses one blade fuse.

I wouldn't use that fuse holder again either.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

What's so hard about the back seat? It just lifts straight up. :???:


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

quality_sound said:


> What's so hard about the back seat? It just lifts straight up. :???:


Tucking in the belt buckles and child seat mounts. There's some elastic fabric holding them in place. The belt buckles are also on a hard cable instead of belt material too.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Maybe it's my years of VW ownership but I've always found the backseat very easy to remove. I guess you just get used to it.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

got the horns mounted, stereo input leads installed, and fuses placed. also a bit of tuning! 

didn't realize the one horn is bent, must have sagged over the years. the screws are countersunk now but not in these pictures.

the horns are mounted perpendicular with the seats and floor; the dash is curved. screws are 1/4"-20 socket head with lock nuts on the back side of the straps. more than enough foot clearance for pedals too! 

the horn bodies look pretty beat up, i should paint them or get a new set of minis. 



















got the input levels set, gains set, crossovers set. so far things sound good. *docah* lended his ears tonight. i've got some sub level issues to sort out. horn channel output levels from the DSP are -13db from the midbasses and sub.

stage width is pillar to pillar, some lower frequencies get pulled to the doors. center isn't well planted yet.

i'll tune over the next week or so, get it all sorted out and familiarize myself with the DSP. then i'll pull it all out for carpet, paint, lights, and to finish the false floor. door sills and kick panels will go back in over the next couple days.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

sorted out the sub level issue, had the crossover in the wrong direction on the ref2.640. i'll see if i can get the sub bass retuned before i work tomorrow afternoon 

wish the crossovers were defeatable on the ss ref amps.


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## docah (Jun 12, 2012)

Glad the sub level is sorted. It was coming along nicely last night, I can only imagine what it will be like after you dial it all in.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i played with the rta, then reference music, then production music. sounded muddy. today, i removed the reticulated foam from the horns, the top-end opened right up. i had to tune down some upper frequencies but i'm pretty happy with the sound. 

stage width is pillar to pillar and depth is bottom of the windshield. stage height from the horns is face level, height from the midbasses rainbow a little. center is left of center. ears are drawn to localize the right horn, i've seen this in every car i've had horns in. 7 drum taps from the IASCA discs are good.

using the MFI to see volume numbers, i can see the RCD-310 starts to distort around 20.

i'm thinking about taping off the horn mouths, filling up the old holes, and painting the horn bodies in trunk liner paint (after roughing them up).

need to hook the cap up still, ran out of room in the 1-1/2" hole for another 1/0 wire.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> i played with the rta, then reference music, then production music. sounded muddy. today, i removed the reticulated foam from the horns, the top-end opened right up. i had to tune down some upper frequencies but i'm pretty happy with the sound.
> 
> stage width is pillar to pillar and depth is bottom of the windshield. stage height from the horns is face level, *height from the midbasses rainbow a little.* center is left of center. *ears are drawn to localize the right horn*, i've seen this in every car i've had horns in. 7 drum taps from the IASCA discs are good.
> 
> ...


Do you have T/A available? If yes, then try to have "perfect" phase @ the Xover between your right midbass and right horn. 
I had the same problem until I found the perfect T/A setting  
Your attention gets drawn to the speaker because everything is up on the dash except when your system plays a frequency near your Xover point... 

Regarding the reticulate foam, what density did you use? Maybe it was too thick

Kelvin


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

the bit-ten has T/A, i'll play with the crossovers again. i have them crossed over at 1500hz 24db slope. 

i looked at my foam order and it was 30ppi. http://www.foambymail.com/SFF-/speaker-filter-foam-30-ppi.html i remember reading that 30ppi was preferred over 20ppi. 

thanks!


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> the bit-ten has T/A, i'll play with the crossovers again. i have them crossed over at 1500hz 24db slope.
> 
> i looked at my foam order and it was 30ppi. Speaker Foam - Filter foam for speaker covers, noise reduction i remember reading that 30ppi was preferred over 20ppi.
> 
> thanks!


30ppi foam seems to be the norm... Guess you don't like losing your dynamics and having your horns tamed  

Yup, play with T/A as much as you can, it'll help big time... 

Kelvin


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## clix`g35 (Aug 23, 2009)

I have ever used horns before, but I remember reading a post by Patrick Bateman on here about horns, and treating the outside of the horn with some CLD tiles helped a bit too. Dont know if it'll help you here but its worth a shot, it should keep the plastic from radiating any sound.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

subwoofery said:


> 30ppi foam seems to be the norm... Guess you don't like losing your dynamics and having your horns tamed
> 
> Yup, play with T/A as much as you can, it'll help big time...
> 
> Kelvin


i felt that the foam cut out way to much of the top end that i couldn't tune back in. i'll probably revisit using less foam.

the other day, i set the path lengths set in the bit-ten but i haven't played w/ the T/A beyond that.

i was tuning (more observing, really) last night after work and discovered the levels between the left and right horns were off. i matched up the levels and my ears weren't drawn to the right horn anymore but my center image was off. then i noticed that levels for the mids were way off, felt defeated, saw it was 3am, and went to bed. :laugh:



clix`g35 said:


> I have ever used horns before, but I remember reading a post by Patrick Bateman on here about horns, and treating the outside of the horn with some CLD tiles helped a bit too. Dont know if it'll help you here but its worth a shot, it should keep the plastic from radiating any sound.


that's also on my list of things to do but it seems like low impact. i'll do it when i pull the horns for cleanup and painting.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

started on the false floor today, took a template from the drop-in carpet. 

broke my 1/4"-1" router bit. 


















fits!









cut holes for the amp grilles, so they can breathe. everything has a 1/2"-1/16" deep lip around the openings for grille metal.









countersunk the grille metal to avoid lumps in the carpet. held in with screws and construction adhesive.









same with the grill over the sub.









all the edges and grille metal have been painted in primer so they don't show through or rust.

cover the whole thing in trunk liner soon.


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## whatuusay1 (Feb 2, 2012)

sweet build! thanks for sharing - nice pic of the nexus 7k too


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I see that they are coming out with a Nexus 10 soon...

where did you see a Nexus 7k? 

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Post #2. Nexus 7000 (7k) is network router & switch. My pic shows a pair of 7010s, 7ks with 10 slots. 


Mobile brevity mistakes and all that.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

pulled the horns for filler, paint, and deadener

passenger side foot well light relocated to the blower motor, also one horn bracket









other horn bracket.









driver's side, bracket for relocated the datalink/j1850 connector+foot well light. also horn bracket. you can get to the datalink connector if you reach up behind the horn body.









old holes in the horn bodies are roughed up, fronts sanded, body filler added. first time playing w/ body filler.


















ready for paint









painted with truck bedliner coating and then some dark gray primer.









passenger side horn reinstalled with kickspanels.









driver's side reinstalled with kickpanels.









debating on whether to order a box of black oxide screws, leave them the way they are, or paint them the same as the horns. meh. the horns aren't perfect but they look better than they did. they're still parallel with the floor and perpendicular from the seats, despite the dashboard. maybe i can fashion some grilles and attach them with magnets to the screw heads. we'll see.

pulled the hatch bits out for paint and carpet.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

You could epoxy some small pieces of sheet metal to the horn bodies, and then use some disc magnets or something on your grilles. I don't know if magnets on screw heads would be enough to hold it, and since two of the screws are inside the mouth of the horn body, it would make building a grille a tab bit more difficult.

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

grilles are above my skill set, along with any of the higher order fab work. 

i'll drop by the shop in the next couple weeks and you can check it out. i hope to have everything painted, carpeted, and reinstalled in the car today.

thanks for reminding me about deans connectors, they make this whole process so much easier.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah, I love those things. 

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

got everything pulled, t-nuts installed, painted, and carpeted. you folks know how carpeting goes but not how much i suck at it. :laugh:



















need to tweak the cap power cable and to sand out the cable openings in the PDU. they don't appear to be designed for heat shrink.









false floor works, need to trim around the hatch lip for the hatch sill. then carpet. won't be able to revisit this until the weekend. (damn school )


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

We should make you some custom, cut-to-length RCA's, too.

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> We should make you some custom, cut-to-length RCA's, too.


 i ordered 2m thinking they'd be just right. once it came down to it, 2m was too long. i've already got enough into this so i'm just rolling with it. i'll swap em for 1/2m-1m cables later.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Parts express has a good deal on RCA ends (The P3 ones are pretty reasonable). I used Gepco 61801EZ cable on mine. WAY cheaper than buying good RCA cables. The Gepco is $.14/ft

Jay


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

How are you liking the Bit Ten? How do you interface it to do your tuning?

Looking good BTW and like Jay said Hide your RCAs


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Notloudenuf said:


> How are you liking the Bit Ten? How do you interface it to do your tuning?
> 
> Looking good BTW and like Jay said Hide your RCAs


hidden under the false floor 

the bit-ten is my first DSP, i don't have anything to compare it to. each channel gets its own 1/3 octave eq and it offers hints to which eq bands are impacted by the crossovers. it's not incredibly difficult to use, i wish there was more keyboard shortcuts (navigating channels, eq bands, etc). i don't have the DRC either, i may add it later.

the blue cable is a USB A-B cable. it runs up with the other wiring behind the back seat. i plug in a USB extension cable and tune w/ my laptop (windows 7 virtutal machine on my mac)


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## PhotoGreg (Jun 19, 2012)

Looks good Nick!


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Were you able to figure out if the 4-door has more space in the door than the 2-door? I just picked up a '13 4-door Golf and my QSD-164s are only 2.5" deep but have VERY narrow magnets since they're neodymium. I'm not going to be able to pull the door apart leave it that way while I find out so I'm trying to gather as much info as possible ahead of time. 

Thanks!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i never found out. i still have to pull the passenger door panel/card and add some more deadener. i need to take that time and verify whether the midbass is rubbing or not. having everything running for a few weeks, i can't hear anything rubbing though.

now that school's back in full swing, i haven't had a chance to do anything on my car but drive.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

I heard that. How tall is your spacer? It's hard to tell in the pics and I don't remember reading that anywhere.

Thanks!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

pauly suck it up and take the door off and do a mesurement yourself lol

like said on the one i worked on, magnet size isnt the issue, its pure depth, when you remove the old spekaer you will see what i mean.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

my spacers are 1-1/4" deep, (3/4"+1/2")


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

simplicityinsound said:


> pauly suck it up and take the door off and do a mesurement yourself lol
> 
> like said on the one i worked on, magnet size isnt the issue, its pure depth, when you remove the old spekaer you will see what i mean.


Right now I'm not even sure I can fit my amps in the car so I'm not at the point of pulling door panels off yet. Just gathering as much info as possible. I REALLY don't want to change amps. Plus, once you pull the drivers you don't really have a way to remount them... lol

I think we're done jacking your thread now.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

quality_sound said:


> Plus, once you pull the drivers you don't really have a way to remount them... lol


rivet gun?


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

I don't have one.  I guess I could always say **** it and run the QWD160s in place of the OEM mids.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

spent a couple hours last week soldering led rope lights and mounting them in a bit of a recessed fashion under the false floor. i need to finish routing the cables and integration with the hatch switch. the hard part is done though: solder techflex, heat shrink, mounting. 

i'll probably pull the whole false floor back out and paint the underside. 










i always felt like there was more headroom in my stereo than the rcd-310 was letting me hear. i asked other vw sound-nerds (like *quality_sound*) for opinions of rcd-510 sound quality, i knew i needed to look at the other radios available.  i wanted to keep an oem radio for integration.

i picked up a used rns-315-b and installed it friday. gps antenna is mounted above the center vents, like all the cool kids do.

using the VAGCOM cable, i set the *sound system* to *volkswagen sound system* so it would lower output to line-level. 

lower mid-range frequencies used to be disappointing with the rcd-310; baritones would start distorting at low volumes. so far, without any additional tuning, i have a bunch more headroom and the sound is cleaner.  

it does need to be retuned now though.










not really stereo related but...

i installed the front door puddle lights last summer. installed the rear door puddle lights and back seat footwell lights today.

the oem footwell lights (from the front) fit in the back better, so i swapped the bold-sport ones to the front.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

So you can still get to your spare tire? Do you have anything to hold the rack up? Where do you keep the tools?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i can still get to my spare tire. i keep my tools in a small stuff-sack in the left cubby, poached it from my backpacking stuff. i hide a 2 ft prop rod to hold everything up so i can get to my spare.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Nice! I didn't see anything but how is it hinged?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

in posts 2, assembly w/ hinges. in 46, you can see the hinges back by the small amp.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

My bad. I thought those were just L-brackets. lol Looks good and I like the use of space.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I've seen and heard Nick's setup and it sounds very good. The layout of the trunk turned out pretty well. I'll have to check it out with the new HU.

Jay


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

ive been a voyer at DIYMA for a LONG time and have never posted. But this build grabs my attention. Very clean!!! im starting my build with my 2008 GTI daily driver. will be posting pics soon. Keep up the work. similar to my build.. but with a twist. I like!!!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

quality_sound said:


> My bad. I thought those were just L-brackets. lol Looks good and I like the use of space.


thanks, i don't know if i'll use these amps again, i've heard nothing but good things about the JL HD amps and how they work with horns.



JayinMI said:


> I've seen and heard Nick's setup and it sounds very good. The layout of the trunk turned out pretty well. I'll have to check it out with the new HU.
> 
> Jay


thanks, i can't tune it until memorial day weekend. this month sucks.



hot9dog said:


> ive been a voyer at DIYMA for a LONG time and have never posted. But this build grabs my attention. Very clean!!! im starting my build with my 2008 GTI daily driver. will be posting pics soon. Keep up the work. similar to my build.. but with a twist. I like!!!


thanks and welcome!  i look forward to seeing your build. i blame * JayinMI* for me registering here.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

double-post


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

nadams5755 said:


> thanks, i don't know if i'll use these amps again, i've heard nothing but good things about the JL HD amps and how they work with horns.


Let me know if you want some. I'm going to try some mosconis so my 600/4s are for sale.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

not anytime soon, i've still got to get my head around this setup first.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I haven't used them with horns, but I really liked my HD900/5. With the bad luck we've had with all the other Soundstream stuff we've sold, I'm a bit leery on anything them make....so the fact that yours work well is a good thing.

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Two years in, the bit ten output stage stopped working. It powers up and picks up signal off the radio to turn on the amps. Time for the usual diagnostic steps before calling support (check connections, reset to factory defaults, verify levels, etc). 

Have you tried turning it off and back on again? :lol:


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

i had issues fitting the idq6.5's in my wifes mk6 golf.


i can not comphrend why companies make it so hard to put deep speakers in a car door. the engineering is so simple to clear the area of the window and have clearance on the front as well. it boggles my mind.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

req said:


> i had issues fitting the idq6.5's in my wifes mk6 golf.
> 
> 
> i can not comphrend why companies make it so hard to put deep speakers in a car door. the engineering is so simple to clear the area of the window and have clearance on the front as well. it boggles my mind.


In the MkVI it's because the window is so large. I don't think they could notch it like in the older cars, the MkIII specifically. There's only about 2-ish inches of glass under the belt line when the window is up. It's not really the window though, it's the regulator. That basket is really only there because it's where the window guide is bolted the regulator. A silly design for audio but it makes for a very stable window track.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

1.25" spacer was enough for me to put the IDQs in the doors. i had to grind down/off the speaker lip on the back of the door panel too.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

before i started relocating, i reached out to audision. they asked me to do the usual things: plug/unplug. they also asked me to check the volume of the bit ten with a DRC or PC. i couldn't get it detected by my PC and i didn't have a DRC, so i shrugged. they asked me to send it in for an RMA.

i got a hold of a bit ten d for cheap including a DRC. plugged in the DRC. sure enough, the volume was all the way down on the bit ten. 

weird bug, but it works again.

i'm waiting for my car to show up this week (or next). rentals are terrible.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

So, now you have 2 BitTens and 1 DRC?

BTW, what happened to the car? I saw a post about missing paint on FB.

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

mostly correct. bit ten-d with drc and a bit ten.  

when we get moved in and unpacked, i'll unload one (along w/ that pg eq/xover)

the car's been hit in the hotel parking lot (our temporary housing) where the quarter panel meets the front facia. in the same week, it got bumped again on the back facia. 

don't know if i'll be able to keep a nice car out here. :shrug:


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Where did you move to? That's nuts!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

From Detroit to San Francisco Bay Area. Currently Sunnyvale but we found a place in Santa Clara.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Ahhhhh, yeah people in the Bay Area aren't exactly careful.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i wanted to install the bit ten's DRC in the dash but wanted to close/hide it as well. it's angled back to be easier to use. however, i don't plan to use it much. (the bit ten will occasionally set its volume to 0, requiring a remote-control or laptop to return the volume back to normal.)

this meant adding a USB charging port as well. i bought a USB button socket, cigarette lighter socket, anker USB 4-port charger (2.1a/port, both android and iphone auto modes). i got an extra dash console from the golf forums.










i soldered and heat-shrunk things together, made it nice and safe, and installed everything. i attached everything to the carpet under the center console w/ velcro. the audison DRC is attached w/ double-sided tape. 

i added the garage door opener earlier this year. the actual opener is under the right-side of the center console, so i can quickly remove it to swap batteries.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Nice.
Wish I could find another DRC so I can design a breakout board.

Jay


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

id love to have you come by so i can take a listen!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

simplicityinsound said:


> id love to have you come by so i can take a listen!


stopping by has been on my list of things to do, soon enough.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

3 michigan winters and a stereo took its toll. (i rarely have a battery last more than 3 years).

old busted, new hotness.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i ordered some 18sound 6nd430s last month, 4-ohms were back ordered.

idq62s finally died at a meca show a week later. i grabbed some beyma 6g40s to hold me over until the 18sounds showed up. amazon prime!

they fit, front & back, 1.25" mounting ring is right. they're actually a little more shallow than the idq62s.









had to cut some new rings due to changes in the mounting flanges. had to 'clock' them 45* so the mounting ears would clear the door panel's mounting posts:









it felt good making things again: 









they don't play low as the idq62s but midrange is much better. i'm getting used to their sound (and limitations). i can see why people suggest PA drivers with horns.

18sounds showed up today. i'm going to hold off installing them for a bit though. i'll probably have to make some more rings.


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## caraudiopro1984 (May 16, 2016)

Little off topic but I really like that power/ground distro you have, you said you were running 1/0ga, so I am assuming its 1/0-in and 4ga-out? what brand is it, I couldn't quite make it out in the pictures. Thanks.

EDIT: Nevermind I got it, its an SFD41c just incase anyone else was wondering


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

caraudiopro1984 said:


> EDIT: Nevermind I got it, its an SFD41c just incase anyone else was wondering


yeah, that's it.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

6nd430s use the same cutout and mounting hole as the 6g40s. dropped in some fast rings as well. i can't put the foam puck behind the speaker because of the frame/basket. i put both sides on the speaker after measuring the depth. i tamed some other rattles in the doors and installed tesa tape where materials touch. 










the idq62s are great midbasses but bad midranges. the 6g40s are great midranges but bad midbasses. the 6nd430s are better midranges than midbasses but they sound great.

i took a tip from *quality_sound* and replaced my signal taps with fresh leads. i got them from bold-sport.com - Bold-Sport.com :: Custom made trigger wire (i chose headunit termination on both ends. ordered half as many as i needed and cut the wires in half.)

this let me un-molest the factory speaker wires.










i went to a bunch of MECA shows this summer and learned quite a bit. i've also been fiddling with tuning and learning there as well. horns put me in modified and i've scored 69-71 throughout the season with a couple 74s.

lots of thanks to the local car-audio nerds


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i was gonna put 8" midbasses in the kicks but discovered horns would be in the way. so i pivoted. 

i wanted as much on-axis as possible and a wide stage. i was tired of dealing with door speaker resonances.

i ended up with c8s in the kicks and c3cxs in the sails. *jtaudioacc* had my car for a bit and i got it back the other day. i'm really happy with the results. now it's time to adjust the levels and fiddle with the tune.

i'm using the passive crossovers that came with the c3cxs. they're mounted behind the back seat. it seems to work fine since they're a bit adjustable and the drivers are coaxial.









































































i have 5 dsp channels and 6 amp channels. if i wanted to go full-active again, i'd need a new dsp and some more amp channels. i need approval from the budget lady.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i should note that i tried a few different mounting spots before deciding on sails. *papasin* is a terrible influence 




























i ended up making little mock enclosures from no-bake modeling clay so i could play with aiming. (i masking-taped the back side of the drivers so they wouldn't get gunked up. however, i needed something to hold them in place)


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Those sails and kick look incredible! JT's do some nice work for sure!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

*jtaudioacc* posted some of the build pictures on his facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pg/jtaudioacc/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10154330262729142


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Holy Geezzzzsssssssss these kicks and pods holy God! dude thats F awesome!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

he did an incredible job. he was able to leave most of the carpet uncut so it can go back to stock easily. the floor mats are unmodified as well. 

distance between the floorpan and the bottom of the dash is quite tall in this car. he was able to install the midbasses higher off the floor. (notice the 2" gap below the 8s)

hood release has moved to the top of the driver-side kick.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

I love the c3 coaxials, excellent choice there! wonder if you will like these for awhile or feel the need to go back to horns..they are a special breed of mistress once you get hooked on them


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I saw JT post the pics the other day. The whole thing turned out AWESOME! He always does such excellent work. I look forward to hearing the new setup sometime soon. 

And yes, Papasin is a horrible influence.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Lycancatt said:


> I love the c3 coaxials, excellent choice there! wonder if you will like these for awhile or feel the need to go back to horns..they are a special breed of mistress once you get hooked on them


i miss the dynamics of high sensitivity drivers.

the car environment is a constant set of trade-offs right? so making room for cone-area in the kick panels meant getting rid of the horns.

stage is wide, center's pretty good. left side reflections off the glass widens the stage a bit. dynamics are a bit more linear than before. coaxes are easier to tune, even with the passive crossovers.

i adjusted the levels/gains to account for the 15db difference between mids and midbasses. i left most of *jtaudioacc*'s tune alone.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

where did you end up crossing from the 3 to the 8? wondering because I truly don't know how low that 3 is happy playing.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

right now? midbasses are 50/24db to 150/24db. c3cxs are 250db/24db on up. cabin gain fills the gap.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

nadams5755 said:


> right now? midbasses are 50/24db to 150/24db. c3cxs are 250db/24db on up. cabin gain fills the gap.


Similar crossover to what I had on my C3s when I had them in. They were quite solid performers down that low.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

first meca show out of the way with a 78 in modified, up eight points from my usual 70.

more tuning now i guess.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

nice improvement! I heard that was a great show and I almost went up on the train.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

thanks! there was a modest turnout for both iasca and meca sq shows, and the larger autorama show in general.

three days of rain leading up to the event, i80 and ca50 threat of closing due to weather, etc kept people away.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Congratulations! I saw the score on the results page. Looks like you'll be ready to slug it out with the heavy hitters in modified in no time.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

nadams5755 said:


> thanks! there was a modest turnout for both iasca and meca sq shows, and the larger autorama show in general.
> 
> three days of rain leading up to the event, i80 and ca50 threat of closing due to weather, etc kept people away.



I both love and hate that you've improved, reason I hate it is, I wish more would take the time to understand what horns have to offer and have a listen to some really good cars, which yours was well on its way to being.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

high sensitivity drivers need to accompany horns. in order to get good midbass with high sensitivity, i'd need more surface area, like 8s or 10s. 

that said - the mk6 golf seems a good car for horns. however, there's not enough room for both horns and midbasses under the dash.

i could have taken the mikey approach: 8s or 10s in boxed doors, midranges in the kicks, and horns. however, the value proposition seemed low.

i don't know if i'll unload the horns and 18sounds. they don't take up much room in the shed. 

lyancatt - see if mikey's going to the vegas show in a few weeks.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

pretty sure miky dismantled his car and sold it all off awhile back, and I'm not planning to go to that show..bidding on bankrupsy auctions and getting highend older pro audio for pennies on the dollar currently is where my funds are going.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Lycancatt said:


> pretty sure miky dismantled his car and sold it all off awhile back, and I'm not planning to go to that show..bidding on bankrupsy auctions and getting highend older pro audio for pennies on the dollar currently is where my funds are going.


Mikey did tear the Passat down and sold off most of the gear. However, he has since re-purchased the gear and has rebuilt the car. I've heard it is better than ever. I can't wait to hear it in Vegas if he makes it out.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

he revived it - http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...ery/172958-mikes-pro-audio-passat-2-0t-8.html


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i realized i needed more power to the sub, especially at lower frequencies. i could tell the amp had no good control over sub. i also wanted some more power to the midbasses as well for better dynamics.

i got a good deal on a couple focal fdp 6.900s:

mids/tweets: 150w on channels 1+2 of one amp (still using passive crossovers)
midbasses: 400w bridged on channels 3+4 of both amps
subs: 500w per coil, bridged on channels 5+6 on both amps
two channels are unused until i get more DSP channels.

they're a bit lighter, smaller, and quite a bit more efficient.










the other front runner amps were a pair of pdx v9s and a pdx m12 or some arc xdi v2s.

i went to a triple point meca event today. i placed second in modified with an average score of 78.5. (79, 78.5, and 77.25). image/stage is pretty solid now. tonality and linearity are my next challenges.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I was always kind of skeptical of the Epsilon-era Soundstream amps claims that they were better than the original References. My experiences with newer SS hasn't been good (tho we didn't have the amps). I can only imagine those Focal amps are a big upgrade.

Are they in similar price ranges with the other amps you mentioned?

I'm considering 2 PDX-V9's in the new setup. I like them, and I know Damon did well with PDX's, but a lot of why I want to use them has to do with wiring layout and the fact that all the controls are on one end...also, I get dealer pricing. lol

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

The soundstreams were fine, I just needed more than 190w/coil on the sub.

I got the 2ch soundstream third-hand and I bought the 4ch new in 2012. They've been running without issue for 5 years.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I'm digging the upgrade Nick. I really like the idea of a pair of powerful 6 channels to run the whole system. 

Congratulations on the second place finish as well! I look forward to hearing the car again soon.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

rton20s said:


> Congratulations on the second place finish as well! I look forward to hearing the car again soon.


thanks. for the last 5 judges, the staging points have been a point or less of max. i don't think i'll be able to tune that closer.

i have 2+ points available in each of the tonality categories. getting more points in low (dock of the bay) will be difficult without more cone area. extra power helped overall but not in the scores. so that leaves 'low mid' 'mid' and 'high' 2+ points each.

realism categories have 1+ point available, including the 95-115db. that one should be easier to get a point. tonight, i set the factory radio's output to high-level. i'll give it a listen tomorrow to see if i picked up any distortion with the increased output.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

setting speaker-level output produced increased brightness but no distortion that i could tell. i fed the bit-ten disc back in and did the eq/de-eq process again: turns out there's no need for it w/ speaker-level output. 

since speaker-level is back in play, fading all the way forward doesn't cut out the rear door speakers anymore. probably tomorrow, i'll disconnect them completely.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

one of the judge's feedback was a phase issue in the right midrange. i played w/ test tones and saw it myself: 300-400hz then again at 600hz.

i wanted to see if i had a room/cabin issue, so i put a mic in front of the speakers to minimize the room impact. i disabled the eqs and measured:









turns out the responses are mostly the same but the right channel's frequency response is shifted up a little.

i wondered if i could fix this with more polyfill in the right sail pod. i grabbed some from my wife's craft stash and put it in. turns out it worked!









it filled the area below the curve quite a bit between 250-600hz and brought the peaks more in line with each other.

now the center is all screwed up but the lower midrange is better.

i also spent an hour playing with the midbass settings today, got rid of the 8-10db 100-120hz peaks, and otherwise flattened their response.

back to tuning and learning i guess.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> back to tuning and learning i guess.


You have some good teachers out there. lol

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> You have some good teachers out there. lol
> 
> Jay


There's actually an active community out here 

I started reading and understanding Eric Steven's tuning guide, bought an RTA mic, and a TrueRTA license. I read through other tuning guides on how to leverage an RTA as well. I got something that I thought was pretty good sounding. 

After moving out here, I learned there's a lot more to learn. I got to hear a variety of cars and hear what works (and what doesn't). I got some tips from judges at shows and tuning tips/flow from people like *papasin*, *mrspapasin*, and *lyanncat*. It also helps that there's a bunch of really good sounding cars out here, including the "papasin fleet" :laugh:

The biggest things are being open to feedback, reading, and making time to try things.

I also changed over to REW because it's easier to do overlays and view progress. TrueRTA was easier to start with though.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Andy Wehmeyer has a great series going over on the Audiofrog forum (and on FB) that explains a lot of things about crossovers, comb filtering, delays, etc. 

A lot of technical articles lose me right away because there's so much technobabble that it makes my head hurt. These aren't like that. They've confirmed some things I've suspected, but also explain the "why."

Have you heard Jim Becker's Ram? If I could combine his truck and Erin's Civic (from when he had the AE speakers) I'd be in heaven! lol 

Last time I heard Erin's car was before Steve Cook redid it, and if Erin is calling it "done," I can't wait to hear this iteration. Hope I don't have to wait until Finals!

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Learning the "why" behind the stuff we experience is cool.

I haven't had a chance to listen to Jim's truck. I don't think I'll get to though. I thought it was torn down?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> Leading the "why" behind the stuff we experience is cool.
> 
> I haven't had a chance to listen to Jim's truck. I don't think I'll get to though. I thought it was torn down?


I don't remember if it got torn down. I heard it in '14 at Finals after he beat Mark Eldridge in the Master class.

I know he's been busy with his real estate thing, so it might have been. I'm sure Richard would know for sure.

Jay


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

The Illusion Audio combo looks incredible. JT did an amazing job.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

after some further listening, judge feedback, and local audio nerd feedback, i discovered that my mids were crossed too low, the enclosures were too small, or the enclosures weren't vented enough. the biggest indication was the bloom/boom centered around 500hz.



*shinjohn* and *papasin* suggested i try to vent the driver better into the door. so i got a blessing from *jtaudioacc* and opened them up a bit to breathe into the door panel. i punched an additional 1+" hole directly into the door panel. should be almost 2" diameter total vent.










thankfully i've got spare door panels: 



























end result? solid response down to 100hz! 


lower midrange tones sound more pronounced. midrange notes aren't as pronounced. whole stage sort of relaxed a little. positioning is a little better. stage height raised up a bit as well.

also note: it's funny watching these little c3 drivers blap out the lower notes (no lowpass crossover)

i should have a bigger update in a couple weeks.


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Awesome ass build log !!! Can't believe I missed it!


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## jtaudioacc (Apr 6, 2010)

i was going to say might as well throw a screw into the door panel, then i saw you put one in. LOL


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

no extra screws yet, it's been stable.


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

very nice, I've been considering getting the Illusion c4 components and adding 8" Silver Flutes for OPSIDIS in my mkv GLI


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

nadams5755 said:


> *shinjohn* and *papasin* suggested i try to vent the driver better into the door. so i got a blessing from *jtaudioacc* and opened them up a bit to breathe into the door panel. i punched an additional 1+" hole directly into the door panel. should be almost 2" diameter total vent.


Sometimes... I just can't help myself.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

vwjmkv said:


> very nice, I've been considering getting the Illusion c4 components and adding 8" Silver Flutes for OPSIDIS in my mkv GLI


My wife's MkV GLI is shaping up to be Illusion C6 midbass + C3 midrange in factory locations. I also have some of the Alpine SPX repos off of ebay that might go in if I don't score something better sooner. 

I'm looking forward to hearing Nick's car with the C3CXs. Hopefully at Marina?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Pope Tanaka. LOL

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

rton20s said:


> I'm looking forward to hearing Nick's car with the C3CXs. Hopefully at Marina?


hopefully 

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

the lower midrange distortion was much better but not completely gone. so, i grew the vents another 1/2" and it's now gone.










i ran 4ch rcas up front, removed the speaker-output pins/wires from the harness, installed my own, and put on female rca ends.










while it was apart :lol: i ran a usb and director cable for a new dsp. just in case, i ran a toslink/optical cable. oh yeah, i got a new dsp.










so now it's fully active.

director is double-sided-taped down right now:










with all speakers disconnected and the HU's output set to line-level, it's much clearer.

i think i'll two-for-one sell the bit ten d in a few weeks. (get a free bit ten!)


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

one of my goals this year was to get an 80 in meca sq modified.

i went to a triple point event yesterday and scored an average of 79.92. so close but average of 78, 80.75, and 81.

i'll take a closer look at feedback soon and see what else i can work on tuning-wise. i got feedback from others this week as well.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Congrats, Nick! Almost there. And I'm just over here sticking Olfa blades in my leg.

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

you should stop doing that.


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## jgarcia1925 (Oct 29, 2014)

well this build thread has been making me get some sort of motivation going for my GTI, lol. so far i have been stashing aaway parts. ill probably bug you for some info. although ill be posting soon in the help me design and choose equipment question. ill bug the general public about their opinions on wiring. love your build!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

thanks! if i can help, let me know


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## jgarcia1925 (Oct 29, 2014)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*

Will do, I haven't had as much time to as I have wanted lately to do some reading on everything, but I know there was another fellow GTI/Golf owner here with a set up similar to the one I've been pondering about. (Mostly JBL MS series stuff. So far I have both Amps, and patiently waiting for a MS8 To pop up. Either way, I'll be making a post soon of what my plans are with everything lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

not quite a stereo build but - i dropped in an APR stage 1 tune w/ all the fixins, also got my front windows tinted to match the back five.


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

I started my 2014 GTI build and after a Pioneer head unit, and a Kenwood one, I decided to stick with the stock head unit. The aftermarket units had a enough bugs to render the money spent on them pointless. I'll be studying this build for pointers.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i went to the az/ca/nv tri-state finals a couple weeks ago and placed 2nd in modified. it sounded a bit worse overall but sub integration was better.

so i took a previous/better tune and combined it with this "finals tune" sub integration, pressed *save* and drove home. it sounded better. last week, i fed the system through the RTA and filled in some gaps where i had too much cut out. again, sounded better.

this weeknend, i went down to socal and got some help to put a polish on my tune.

reg'd for meca 2017 finals last week, making the trek out with a few others from california. 

i updated the director firmware to 1.70, let me upload custom graphics. i put in an SQ Ramen/JT Audio logo 










updating the director firmware blanks settings and presets. as i loaded presets back in, i got to hear how much this system has changed from june until now.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

That is awesome Nick! Good luck at World Finals. Seems like the competition in Modified is going to be pretty stiff again this year.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

thanks, modified's currently 11 cars.


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## jgarcia1925 (Oct 29, 2014)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*

I wish o had the cash to build a competition car lol. I'm just trying to build something a bit more modest than what I have now 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*



jgarcia1925 said:


> I wish o had the cash to build a competition car lol. I'm just trying to build something a bit more modest than what I have now
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


you should come down to finals


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Hoping I can still make it to Finals. My bills fell weird this month and it's going to be tight.

Really want to hear this.

I spent Sunday working on learning more about REW and fixing some issues that hindered that.

Hopefully Wednesday will be a good day for tuning. I hope to compete (Meca Street, IIRC) at the 2X.

Jay


----------



## jgarcia1925 (Oct 29, 2014)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*



nadams5755 said:


> you should come down to finals


I will have to look at the date is, unfortunately i have been working a weird schedule and i have not been able to make it some of the shows this season. Every weekend i have worked always lands when there was a show around me


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

october 14th-15th


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> Hoping I can still make it to Finals. My bills fell weird this month and it's going to be tight.


i hope you can make it out.


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## jgarcia1925 (Oct 29, 2014)

nadams5755 said:


> october 14th-15th


hey man, 

just saw that. i live in illinois might not be that far of a drive for me. ill see what i can do i believe im off that weekend.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

underbelly of the beast - full size spare, 5 farad cap, and low-amperage power distribution, relays, etc. 










had to check spare tire pressure before my trip to finals.


----------



## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

more finals prep - my buddy (and fellow meca modified competitor) helped me detail my car. removed metal flakes, cleaned up swirl marks, put a good sealant on it.









he shamed me into polishing my tips :lol:









we began the trek from socal to louisville monday.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

It is amazing what a good motivator shame can be. 

Good luck at Finals! This is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in MECA history.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i didn't think i would win. i hoped for top 5 but expected top half. that said - i got 6th for my first time at finals and 4th in the 2x event. in modified, there was 18 cars and 15 cars, respectively.

i heard a lot of really good cars, saw a lot of sweet installs, and got to put some names with faces.

we'll see what 2018 brings.


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## jgarcia1925 (Oct 29, 2014)

nadams5755 said:


> i didn't think i would win. i hoped for top 5 but expected top half. that said - i got 6th for my first time at finals and 4th in the 2x event. in modified, there was 18 cars and 15 cars, respectively.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Good stuff either way! Wish I could've gone. I was really looking forward to getting ideas and some listening 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

It was so close too.
Next year, you'll get on the podium. 

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

my car came w/ the rcd-310 radio+mdi (ipod/usb/etc connector). upgrading to the rns-315 and rns-510, i didn't have to do anything - just replug the radio.

while tuning this summer, i wanted to use line-in from my laptop. it sounded really distorted. poking around online, the mdi aux wires needed to be repinned for upgraded radios. so i repinned. that worked but broke my ipod.

i never did use the line-in from laptop, just bluetooth paired my laptop for signals. this worked fine.

today i repinned the connector correctly. blue harness:
pin 1: yellow
pin 2: green
pin 7: gray

yay i have proper ipod inputs again!

(i leave an ipod touch in my center console and update it over wifi)


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


>


I'm going to have to make this my desktop background, until I clean my exhaust tips. lol

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

ha, take a higher-res version


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

this spring, i made plans w/ JT to do a new DSP, amps, and a sub for some bottom end. throughout the summer, i grabbed the DSP and amps but still wanted a bigger sub. the plan was an illusion c12xl in a 1.2cu ft sealed box.

i still wanted the the rebuilt hatch area to be usable since it's my daily driver

i also wanted a prettier director mount up front.

fall approached and i got the car into JT's hands. he mounted the director up front:










trying to get the sub back/center in the hatch area was really hard, so i gave JT the option of two 10s instead, for symmetry. i ended up with a pair of raven designs 10xl subwoofers. each sub is in about a 1cu ft sealed enclosure. i gained a couple inches of hatch height back too.

daily use has a vw car-go mat over everything for protection.



















i "one more thing'd" him. i wanted a fuller sound up high on the sound stage. this required a stronger lower midrange sound, which meant more cone area.

i also didn't want to be "just another car with 4s in the pillars and tweeters in the sails." a year of my current setup and appreciated the width of having mids in the sails.

so i conspired with some local audio nerds 



















we figured tweeter at the top would raise the stage height.

the d3004/r3004 was a little too big but i didn't need the driver to dig low since it's right next to the midrange and on-axis.

JT was able to get scan-speak 12ms and a r2004 in the sails, tweeter on top 



















pods are about 0.018cuft and vented into the doors.

here's what the stage looks like, basically sail monitors  :surprised:










how's it sound? i don't really know yet. before i drove home yesterday, i set levels and crossovers but that's about it. stage is definitely higher and still very wide. lower midrange is fuller without really any tuning. it almost sounds muddy and needs some cuts in 200-300hz. the bottom octave is where i needed the most help and that's definitely improved by doubling cone area. 

i can see why these scans are so revered. the midrange and tweeter sounds are so effortless now. the high end extension is smooth. with the c3cx, i had to cut the midranges by 3-6db and boost 20k by 3db. with these, i had to cut the any tweeter boosting and set levels same as the midranges. 

i'm looking forward to more seat time. 

500w to each sub. 400w to each midbass. 150w to each midrange and each tweeter.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Awesome pods. Who made them? Also what's the story on those ravens?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JT did the work - Car Audio | DiyMobileAudio.com | Car Stereo Forum - View Profile: jtaudioacc

as for the subs, raven is an ORCA brand. they're similar in design to illusion audio. however the 10xl appears much better than the c10xl. - XL Subwoofers – Raven Design Studio


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*

While I love these builds! Bringing the soundstage up and full must sound amazing.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Stage is definitely eye height now. Once I get it tuned, I’ll have a better idea if it pulls down.


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*

The new build looks awesome! Can’t wait to hear it at our next lunch meeting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

thanks. i've been picking away at a tune so i should have something listenable soon.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JT posted some pictures - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155183823314142.1073741864.75484824141&type=3

oh yeah, rearfill. wanted something higher than rear-doors. rear headrests are kinda high so the drivers needed to be placed higher.

i guess the designs are: crossfire for width, fire forward for depth. so i aimed at opposite rear oh-**** handles. JT put them in such that they're tucked out of the way. the hatch cover clears them as well. they're about as wide as they can get.

behind the ebay grills are audible physics mr3-p drivers powered by a small alpine ktp-445u amp.










i've had rearfill mostly disabled while i sort out the rest of it.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Awesome work from JT, as always! I'm really looking to hearing the car again once you get it dialed in.


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## Lou Frasier2 (Jul 17, 2012)

why did you get rid of the horns?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Check posts 101 and 110.


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## Lou Frasier2 (Jul 17, 2012)

ok,i should have not been so lazy, thank you


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## Lou Frasier2 (Jul 17, 2012)

thats understandable, awesome ride you have


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Lou Frasier2 said:


> ok,i should have not been so lazy, thank you


No worries, I’m glad I could point it out. There’s a lot to weed through. 

I’m sorry about the curt response.


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## Lou Frasier2 (Jul 17, 2012)

i didnt take your response that way at all so no need to apologize


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## audiophile25 (Oct 5, 2008)

Man I really like the new pods! I hope to hear the new version one day.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

thanks mike. JT does impressive work and the car seems to lend it self well to this stuff. we'll see if i can make it out for finals again.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i heard some buzzing on the way home. one of the 12ms arrived DOA. i sent it back and madisound found something metal in the coil gap.

sorry about the portrait mode: 




replacement arrived the other day, soldered some leads on:









installed:









time to break it in!


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

nice midrange upgrade! still using those illusion eights in the kicks?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

yeah, c8s, dsp, amps, and headunit were the only things that remained the same.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i never installed any deadening on the floor. i felt there was a pretty decent amount from the factory anyway. thick foam under molded MLV/rubber coming down the firewall, slope, and down to the floor. on the floorpan was 2" of denim underneath the carpet and some spot CLD.

i wanted to reduce tactile feedback from midbasses in the kicks. i took a suggestion from * TOOSTUBORN2FAIL* and applied some stuff in the driver/passenger footwells.

two layers of cld, one layer of ccf, and a layer of floating mlv. it took me about three hours.

result? less tactile feedback, only from the lowest notes now. floor feels a little taller. upper midbass response is different so i have to retune that again.

as for the rest of the feedback? i'll figure something out. probably modifying some floormats.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

I'd love to hear this car sometime, I've learned a lot since last we met and would love to play with a tune a bit on those nice mids, whatcha think? really want to hear those raven subs too as I never have.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Sure, we can get together sometime.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Can you see the side mirror with those pods?

I love the install.....JT does amazing work!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Yep. Given how I aim my mirrors and drive, no problems.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Most of the parking structure at work is “compact car” parking. If I wasn’t able to use my mirrors, I couldn’t do stuff like this:


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

working on sub integration, it's interesting having cuts at 20-25hz


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

trimmed up the factory floormat, fits much better than the car-go mat i was using. looks better too:










i also tried making some isolating floormats without success so far. i tried mlv, 1" foam from joann's, and a factory cloth floormat. it was worse than just the floormat by itself. if i pressed my feet in, it worked well so the foam was probably too stiff. i tried changing the order (foam, mlv, floormat), with the same results.

i tried mlv+ccf+floormat: also worse than the factory floormat.

double floormats works better than a single floormat. 

maybe sunday, i'll grab some batting or find some very soft foam.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

nadams5755 said:


> i also tried making some isolating floormats without success so far. i tried mlv, 1" foam from joann's, and a factory cloth floormat. it was worse than just the floormat by itself. if i pressed my feet in, it worked well so the foam was probably too stiff. i tried changing the order (foam, mlv, floormat), with the same results.
> 
> i tried mlv+ccf+floormat: also worse than the factory floormat.
> 
> ...


I'll be battling this in Josh's Nissan Versa soon as well. Hoping you find a fix before i do lol. If not, i will report back to ya.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

I got three things to try today from local car audio nerds, I’ll report back my results


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i bought a memory foam pillow and cut off a 1" layer. it wasn't any improvement for midbass tactile feedback. the best so far is double vw factory cloth floormats. 

i'll try the other two suggestions another time.

i had quite a bit of tactile feedback in the door armrest from the sub. turn off the sub? feedback went away. *TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL* and *papasin* suggested i add a layer of mlv in the doors. if that didn't work, add lots of cld (4-5lbs worth).

the process sort of sucked:









but it worked. sub bass feedback from the doors are greatly reduced. took about three hours.

maybe tomorrow, i'll chase some slight b-pillar rattles.

rear wheel well vents are rattling as well but i'm afraid to seal them up.

last but not least: new clutch w/ more holding power and a fresh flywheel this week. also some new swaybar endlinks (factory ones cracked during subframe removal)


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

did something different. i went unlimited class because i didn't want to disassemble for clamping. f-that. it would have been interesting to see how much power it was to get there though.










doors open/closed windows open/closed didn't really make a difference.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

cant see pic, what'd you hit? this is with two tens now right? hatches can be surprising..


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

133.44


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

nadams5755 said:


> 133.44


On 0 watts, no less! Those Raven subs are AMAZING!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

it would have been cool to clamp and see how much it was actually putting out, but it should be somewhere between 0 and 500 watts


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

nice! and all stealth too


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

spent some more time deadening the rest of the interior and tuning.

last season, i tried using a windshield cover for snow, held down w/ magnets to help keep the car cool during shows. even with a lot of neo magnets, a strong wind would lift it up. i took a hint from a friend and put some MLV squares and "quilted" them into the cover. underside is felt, outside is reflective. wife helped, she wants to redo it this fall with black thread inside and clear/gray/white outside.



















with the MLV tiles to weigh it down, i don't need magnets anymore and it still folds up nicely. 

i pulled the rest of the interior and did the rest of the floorboards and under the seat with CLD, CCF, and MLV:









i avoided trying to "taco" the headliner removing it. CLD on the ceiling. the factory board/fibrous deader was difficult to remove, so i didn't:









and HMF on the headliner:









i stuffed some denim insulation in gaps on the roof as well.

sometimes you need some help holding the headliner in place:









reinstalling everything wasn't any worse than stock. i expected it to be more difficult, but it wasn't.

end result? much reduced road noise, cooler interior, and less subwoofer tactile feedback. i had to re-integrate my subs: more cuts at 20-25hz and adjusting t/a.

all i have left is the rear doors, i'm waiting for more MLV and CCF to show up. i depleted my stock.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Nicely done, and it is cool that your wife was willing to jump in and help. 

I can vouch that the interior of this car is becoming very isolated from the environment around it. It is also very enjoyable to listen to. I think there are others that agree 

Congratulations on the SQ Best of Show at Marina! Your hard work is definitely paying off.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

thanks.

i left my car alone for a week while i traveled for work. i came back this weekend and *mrspapasin*'s feedback was glaringly clear: tonality was a bit hollow and staging was a mess. it scores well but i knew it could be better. 

after adjusting amp gains, i didn't really reset anything. i probably should have.

i reset the subs, midrange, and highs sunday. sounds a bit better now.


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

nadams5755 said:


> thanks.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Unfortunately I can’t make it to the comp tonight but I can’t wait to hear your car again. I’ve enjoyed getting to hear your progress with it. Keep up the good work and good luck tonight, if you’re going. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

thanks, i wanna hear the truck again.

i went today and judged. 10 cars: 2 stock, 2 street, 1 modstreet, 1 modified, 1 modex, 2 extreme, 1 master. 

*mrspapasin* brought the smart out for demos today; it's always a treat.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i did some lighting-related stuff from oznium.

vw only puts a hatch light on the right side, i replaced one on the right an with 11mm led bolt, added one on the left to match:









installed a couple red led indicators above the director, so i can see the knob at night:










and finally, i installed some 6mm led bolts opposite the midbasses to show off the kicks a little more and make the footwell lights actually usable. it's just enough light. before and after:









excuse the dust


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i hit reset last week and worked out some midbass alignment issues i've had since 2017. i worked on some other tonality stuff that annoyed me.

if i had to judge the car myself, i'd give it an 81-82. i hoped to finish the season with an 83.

MECA CA 2018 State Finals happened Saturday, got a 3-judge of 82.92 (81.5, 83, 84.25) and won best-of-show, which was fun.









i learned quite a bit this season. the community out here is competitive and really supportive.

i've got some more i want to do before world finals in KY but i'm pretty burned out right now and i'm almost out of time. (i don't make changes without letting them bake for a bit)


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

finished a very important part of finals prep today


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Nick, the car sounded great! Congratulations on 3rd. I just saw a list of competitors in your class and was like "Wow. That's tough." Quite honestly, some of the other cars have much more intrusive installs, and more permanent mods than your so you should definitely be proud of it. Sounds better than last year for sure. It will be interesting to see the point spread between the top 5.

Just a shame the stage is so narrow. (Lol...took me a while to realize Other Nick was kidding. lol)

Jay


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## D34dl1fter (Jun 23, 2016)

Nick 
The car sounded pretty fn incredible, I still look like this  when I think about how wide the cars stage is...just stupid width...the jaws theme just doesnt sound the same in my car  lol

Thanks for everything this weekend... you sir are just a class act !


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i changed a couple things this summer but wasn't sure how they'd pan out, so i kept them quiet:

replaced the c8s with w800neo midbasses for one reason: get the whole magnet structure behind the cone. sound quality is nearly identical in my set up.

added two tru tech 6ch line drivers after the dsp and before the amps. this let me keep amp gains down to minimize floor noise and maximize dynamics+impact+details.
as for finals? extreme class was a tough field for sure. i know the car sounds very good but i never expected to win the class. i had a goal for getting on the podium and i got third place. 

scores were 81.5, 82, and 85 (82.8 average). right in my expected range.

top five overall was a bit of a stretch goal. third in extreme translated to fourth overall, which was cool. 

since the car belongs in modex, i competed the 2019 2x show in modex. i got second place, i'll turn the subs on next time. 

i've got some more tuning to do in the off season, i might be able to make it sound better but i'm not planning to install any more gear.

i'm fairly certain the stereo's done in this car. there's some limitations which require a pretty big time/money sink for minimal returns. instead, i'll save for the next car+stereo. i've got some ideas.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> It will be interesting to see the point spread between the top 5.


tim s - 84.8
steve w - 83.8
me - 82.8
steve h - 81
erin h - 80.8


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> tim s - 84.8
> steve w - 83.8
> me - 82.8
> steve h - 81
> erin h - 80.8


Should have given Steve Head another .8 just for consistency. lol

5 cars within 4 points. That's saying something.

When you get the new car are you going to leave the system in this one?

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> When you get the new car are you going to leave the system in this one?


There isn’t room out here for extra cars, so probably not. Or sell it as-is to an enthusiast. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

so the 2018 season's over, let's compare scores w/ 2017. were the upgrades worthwhile? yeah.

2017 scores? width and placement were my stronger points. 2018 scores? high frequency tonality and width. Placement was more scattered though. better dynamics, linearity, staging, and tonality overall.

the subwoofer extra cone area helped scores as well.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

finally got around to deadening the back doors. a little CLD and full coverage CCF and MLV. there's no speakers so no need for more CLD.











also covered over the factory speakers.  









i don't expect any difference beyond road noise, but i haven't tested yet.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

not expecting them to sound different, but they're pretty. ran out of black adhesive-lined 1/4 heatshrink. if i was wise, i would have used red at one end and black at the other. oh well **** happens. about $40 in ends, $10 in cable, $3 in techflex, $2 in heatshrink, $0.10 in solder, and about 8h in time to make 20ch worth of RCAs. it definitely got faster as time went on.

i needed smaller RCA connectors and most of the DIY ends are huge. it took me a while to find the pailiccs ends.

gepco 61801ez cable, pailiccs RCA ends, followed *shinjohn*'s how-to Low Cost DIY Interconnect Details, a How To by shinjohn


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## Dan750iL (Jan 16, 2016)

Where did you get those connectors? Everything I've seen being longer than my thumb has been what's kept me from making my own RCAs.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i did a group-buy with a couple friends for 200 RCA ends and a 1000' spool of cable.

they're available on aliexpress and ebay. we bartered for 200 w/ an ebay seller. for example - https://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-Pail...ed-Audio-Video-Adapter-Connector/401758411046


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

well, they're installed. 10ch from dsp into linedrivers, 10ch out to amplifiers. unexpectedly, they sound different. not really better or worse, just different.

a little boomy at 60-80hz and a little brighter at like 8-10khz. i should be able to tweak it back to what i need with the dsp.

we'll see how reliable they are over time compared to my cheap streetwires zeronoise 1 cables.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

as always, *jtaudioacc* does great work 

from raven design 10xls to illusion audio c12xls. from 500w/sub to 1100w/sub. same enclosures but more power.

amps? two arc audio x2 1200.6s and two x2 1100.1s.









from 3/4" r2004 tweeters to 1" r3004 tweeters.









why? effortlessness at the top and bottom octaves.

with dual 10s, the output and extension was there but there was more tactile feedback than i wanted.

with the r2004s, extension and output was good but a little aggressive. with the r3004s, output is a bit more natural and the tonality is still good.


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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

I can’t believe that I haven’t seen this build thread. 12m’s in the sails? Who does that ?

Thanks for sharing this awesome setup.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Looks good!


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*

He does beautiful work for sure!!! I love it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

weak xspower d4800 out, x2power group 48 (northstar) in. redid the system ground last night.

measured voltage drop between the front and rear is 0.01v


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*



nadams5755 said:


> i thought i'd be able to tolerate the factory system in a new car, i can't. :lol:
> 
> goals:
> - keep the spare and as much of the trunk as possible
> ...



How do you like the foam?

I’ve never stuffed a horn that much. Does it work


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i found the foam rolled off the highs too much, even more than they'd do on their own.


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

nadams5755 said:


> i found the foam rolled off the highs too much, even more than they'd do on their own.


i have the minis and im having some really big issues with roll off at like 10k. Are you experiencing the same?


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Somebody try a jbl d2 driver and stick it on something


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Horns seem to roll off like widebands, so if you want some sparkle, may need to do some boosts above 10khz or add some tweeters


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

I just went on the full 7 year journey through this thread... Nice build!!! OP, your work was great, but I think JT's brought a tear to my eye! Lol


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i'll be heading down to riverside in a couple weeks for a meca show. hopefully you can head over and i can check out the jeep


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

DavidRam said:


> I just went on the full 7 year journey through this thread... Nice build!!! OP, your work was great, but I think JT's brought a tear to my eye! Lol


Right? I think this is now one of my favorite build logs, not just because of the install but also of how it tells the story of the build over the years. Most impressive indeed.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I remember when he had horns in his Neon. With all the PG stuff and ID subs. This is several levels higher. lol

I hope Nick makes it to KY, cause there's no way I'm going to make it to Cali this year.

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

dcfis said:


> Somebody try a jbl d2 driver and stick it on something


The selenium d2500 drivers had a higher frequency band but still rolled off. I haven’t looked at horn bits in a long time.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

after getting the car back from *jtaudioacc*, i wanted to score an 80 and 82 at the following two MECA shows. i scored an 82 a week later and 82.75 last night.

last night, i tied for BOS with brian mitchell. the rules define four tie breaking criteria but we were still tied after that :laugh:

*papasin* decided best of three at rock paper scissors for tie breaking. about 3 minutes into https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ8wXZrbhgs

since i hit my goal for the season with a fresh build/tune, i'll register for finals in louisville. i think there's probably 2-3 more points in the setup, we'll see if i can eek it out.

next weekend is CA's state finals in riverside, we'll see how it goes.


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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

Congratulations! Wish I could’ve been there.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

An 82? Yes you will be getting your hands on my truck ? I'm at the point I dint want to see this truck for awhile. And I'm willing to pay someone to tune the damn thing. Drop it off and pick it up when it's done


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

if you wanna drop it off, probably want to work with mike (lycancatt)

if you wanna spend a day or two tuning and learning, i'll have some time again end of october.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> after getting the car back from *jtaudioacc*, i wanted to score an 80 and 82 at the following two MECA shows. i scored an 82 a week later and 82.75 last night.
> 
> last night, i tied for BOS with brian mitchell. the rules define four tie breaking criteria but we were still tied after that :laugh:
> 
> ...


Awesome! Also, R/P/S for a tie breaker was pretty funny.
See you in kentucky. Also, I cleaned my exhaust tips this year.

Jay


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## tonynca (Dec 4, 2009)

*Re: my 2012 gti sq build*




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

nice. i cleaned my tips saturday, i'll probably polish them again in lousville


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## alientoo (Feb 10, 2014)

Nick, what made you switch from the Focal amps to the Arc Audios? Why the X2's vs Signature Editions?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

the x2s are much smaller than the focal amps. also ocd so they match 

why x2s over se? space and efficiency (heat/power)


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

imo, the 'class a/b vs class d' debate is pretty ridiculous these days

'quality class a/b vs bargain class a/b' and 'quality class d vs bargain class d' are more constructive discussions to have

install, tuning, and speaker choices matter much more than the type of amplifier to choose. 

different amplifiers sound different. as long as it's a quality amplifier, it should perform well. the arc x2 amps sound good.

install what fits your vehicle and budget.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

did some tuning before CA state finals and i found two more points  the judge who gave me 82.75 at HIN gave me an 84.75 at state finals.

the other two judges at state finals were a bit lower, 79 and 81. however i'm sure this is the best the car's ever sounded so i dunno what to make of it.

i've got some centering work and a couple other things to do this week before i hit the road monday.


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## Bnlcmbcar (Aug 23, 2016)

nadams5755 said:


> i'm sure this is the best the car's ever sounded..


Hearing those deeper frequencies do the stereo panning on the intro for the main theme from Jaws was very nice to experience. It’s sounding awesome Nick.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

had a big-ass crack in my windshield and wanted to get it replaced before i hit the road.

new windshield has a different shape, had to redo all my staging tuning. crazy.  

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

one last thing: replace the LED strip since part of it was discoloring.


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

nadams5755 said:


> one last thing: replace the LED strip since part of it was discoloring.


I want to hear this!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

ToNasty said:


> I want to hear this!


don't bother. can't sound good. class-d garbage 

sure, we can meet up


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## ToNasty (Jan 23, 2013)

nadams5755 said:


> don't bother. can't sound good. class-d garbage
> 
> 
> 
> sure, we can meet up


 ran class d for a long time. Nothing wrong with that 

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

made the 5600mi round trip journey to finals. didn't get the scores i wanted but did okay in my class. almost okayest of extreme class!

positive notes for this year:

no stolen gear from *bigred*'s front yard
no tire blowouts
no emergency room visits

it was nice seeing people again.

**** that drive. ?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I'll make the reverse of that drive someday. Once. lol Good seeing you again.


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

nadams5755 said:


> made the 5600mi round trip journey to finals. didn't get the scores i wanted but did okay in my class. almost okayest of extreme class!
> 
> positive notes for this year:
> 
> ...


You don't like your car enough if you hate the drive that much <3


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

It’s 70 hours in the car without really stopping to see anything. It’s burning two weeks of vacation that makes attending finals a bit ridiculous.


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## tonynca (Dec 4, 2009)

nadams5755 said:


> It’s 70 hours in the car without really stopping to see anything. It’s burning two weeks of vacation that makes attending finals a bit ridiculous.







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

consolidated and continuing this over here. creating posts here now sorta sucks so - my 2012 mk6 gti build


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