# 2010 Nissan Altima



## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm Back!

So in my sig is a link to my first build in a 2003 Honda Accord, and now I'm back with my new car, a 2010 Nissan Altima 2.5s. Here's the only picture I have for now, I just got it last night.



I'll be using the same gear I took out of the Honda, and will be doing the majority of the work in a couple weeks over spring break.

Head unit: Pioneer 80prs
Amps: Alpine PDX F6 + M12 combo
Speakers: Image Dynamics xs65
Sub: Arc Black 12v2
Wiring: 1/0 power, 12 sub, 16 speakers, all Kicker.
rca's: Stinger HPM3 20 ft.

I'm uber excited to get working on it. I love the way it drives, I'm still getting used to the cvt transmission but overall it's a smooth ride. Ready, set, go!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Congrats on the newest project vehicle....


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## diy.phil (May 23, 2011)

nice!! congrats!!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Coppertone said:


> Congrats on the newest project vehicle....





diy.phil said:


> nice!! congrats!!


Thanks guys, can't wait!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Soooooooooo I got the majority of the work done last Monday-Wednesday. Everything is in and sounds pretty good, although there are a few things I would like to do (as always). So I'm not going to talk much, just let the pictures do the talking...






I was excited to use the stock locations for the ID tweeters. I used hardboard, a jigsaw, and a hole saw.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I didn't grab many pictures of the front baffles but I need to redo them anyway. They just look ugly. I used a jigsaw because I was short on time but I'll redo them with a router later (hopefully before the spring meet). Here's a few pictures though...













I did use a router for cleaning out the bolt holes, but again, it was free hand and ugly but workable. I glued the two pieces together to make a one inch baffle, but as I was putting them in they broke apart (apparently CA glue doesn't like HDPE). But i taped them back together with some raamat and they're working until I can make some new ones.



Here's the wiring as it goes back and into the sub box that I used before. Nothing fancy, just functional.



I managed to get the 1/0 gauge wire through the stock grommet pretty easily with hand soap and a hanger.









Used the nifty Alpine RUX knob








Yes, I used two strips of duct tape in this build..





I put the usb in the glove box, hopefully to be moved to the center armrest soon..





Forgot the tweeter wiring...





I found a good grounding spot underneath the support bar:







And here's the sub box with the Alpine pdx F6 and M12 screwed into the back.









Overall I really enjoy listening to music in my car. I need to remove the rear speakers to get a bit more air into the cabin, redo the front speaker baffles, and sound deaden the heck out of everything. But I'm happy for now


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

For your next round of baffles, I recommend King Starboard. I got mine from Cesany Plastics (Username: Acesany on eBay) and have always had a good experience. He offers it from like 1/4 to 1.5" thick. Easy to work with with a router and wood blade on a jig saw. Makes an awful mess tho. lol

Hold screws (in pre-drilled holes) and threaded inserts well.

Jay


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

JayinMI said:


> For your next round of baffles, I recommend King Starboard. I got mine from Cesany Plastics (Username: Acesany on eBay) and have always had a good experience. He offers it from like 1/4 to 1.5" thick. Easy to work with with a router and wood blade on a jig saw. Makes an awful mess tho. lol
> 
> Hold screws (in pre-drilled holes) and threaded inserts well.
> 
> Jay


I just ordered a 1" thick piece of King Starboard from Acesany and it should be home Wednesday. I should be home next Monday after final exams and I'll try to work on them asap. Thanks for the lead :guitarist:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I destroyed my sub by being dumb and now need another.

Should I go back to Dayton HO 10's or is there something better for the buck? I honestly liked the Dayton as good as any sub I've tried, and it's the least expensive sub I've used, so I see no point not going in that direction.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

^^^ you have answered your own question with a great response.


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

Happy to see another Altima build. Great Platform.


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## TheAlchemist9 (Apr 29, 2015)

Great build. What happened to your sub, if you don't mind me asking?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

wdemetrius1 said:


> Happy to see another Altima build. Great Platform.


Thanks, I've peered over your build several several times 



EcoHawk said:


> Great build. What happened to your sub, if you don't mind me asking?


I don't know for sure, I just know I burnt the coils. I had the gain on the m12 all the way down with no bass boost (on the amp) and the rux knob was almost completely counterclockwise. But I did have "superbass" on the preset so I'm sure that did it. It was during a crown the empire song so I blame them haha.


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## TheAlchemist9 (Apr 29, 2015)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Thanks, I've peered over your build several several times
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know for sure, I just know I burnt the coils. I had the gain on the m12 all the way down with no bass boost (on the amp) and the rux knob was almost completely counterclockwise. But I did have "superbass" on the preset so I'm sure that did it. It was during a crown the empire song so I blame them haha.


Wow, hope that doesn't happen to mine! Did you like the Black 12 before it got fried?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Update.

I've been able to deaden all four doors, build new baffles out of King Starboard, and get a new temporary sub until I get tired of it 

To get inside the inner door for deadening, roll down the window until you see two bolts (hiding behind two foam tape pieces), and unscrew these bolts.





Next, carefully pull the window up and tape it to the top of the door like so:



Leave the four bolts in the middle portion because these hold the window tracks. unscrew the bolts on the outer edge of the black piece and pull it out.



I used RaamMat bxt II and Ensolite (finished up his #1 package finally; it lasted through my Honda doors and all four of these doors) and SDS MLV/ ccf. Here's the pictures of sound deadening:





I used three of the surrounding bolts (added with a washer) to hold the MLV in place and it works really well:









Repeated on driver door:

















I sealed up the rear doors but didn't use any mlv (ran out haha).

















Got some King Starboard from acesany plastics and a new toy at my local Klingspor:





My diy router table didn't work very well due to some bouncing, but I got a Crafstman router table so on my next speaker set (should be a while, I'm enjoying the xs) they should be better. I'm happy with how the baffles turned out though.













Used the handy dandy Bridgeport at the machine shop to bore out a hole for the stock bolts...



And used the Jasper jig for the id hole:







Predrilled the holes with a 1/8" drill bit and used the screws that came with the mids.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I guess I forgot to mention that I sold the Pioneer radio and got a Kenwood ddx372bt to take it's place. I don't have active processing anymore but luckily the xs crossovers are well build and designed (even if the mids are just passed thru  ). I'll get some pictures up soon.

But for the sub I found a IDQ12v3 on classifieds and it has the same box requirements and hole cutout size of the box that was in there so it was a win-win!









It's currently not as loud as the Arc, but I guess that's what happens when you don't push your sub to burning point :blush:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

EcoHawk said:


> Wow, hope that doesn't happen to mine! Did you like the Black 12 before it got fried?


Loved it. But I like change enough to not overpower my willpower to get it repaired :laugh:


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Nice to see someone else in Lynchburg more concerned with SQ rather than just trying to be loud and obnoxious. 

Great work on the doors, the bolts holding the MLV...are they pre-existing holes or self made?? Great job! My MLV is held mostly by Tuck tape and door card pressure (does the job)...would have loved to do something similar as yours but I don't have the tools for the job.

Also I gotta ask, what is that ported enclosure tuned to?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> Nice to see someone else in Lynchburg more concerned with SQ rather than just trying to be loud and obnoxious.
> 
> Great work on the doors, the bolts holding the MLV...are they pre-existing holes or self made?? Great job! My MLV is held mostly by Tuck tape and door card pressure (does the job)...would have loved to do something similar as yours but I don't have the tools for the job.
> 
> Also I gotta ask, what is that ported enclosure tuned to?


The bolts I used are existing bolts used to secure the black piece to the door. There's still plenty of support with the other bolts and the ones used are still tight. 

And the box is 1.5 cuft tuned to 30hz. It sounds good it's just nowhere near as oomph as the arc. But I still need to play around before I rush to conclusions.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

port looks a bit thin to be 30hz, but maybe i'm no good at eyeballin it? But if you're not getting any bottoming out down low then its all good.  (possibly why your other sub failed?)

What made you swap out the 80prs? do you miss the active processing?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> port looks a bit thin to be 30hz, but maybe i'm no good at eyeballin it? But if you're not getting any bottoming out down low then its all good.  (possibly why your other sub failed?)
> 
> What made you swap out the 80prs? do you miss the active processing?


I used winisd to design the box so I'm pretty confident in the box itself. But I had the subsonic filter on 15hz on my alpine so I may have fed it too much low low stuff. 

But I don't miss the processing enough to complain about. I'm debating getting a minidsp soon though...


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Nicely done!! 

I still have yet to actually "hear" a PDX F4 I picked up. Hope it sounds good.  
Man I gotta get a router table setup. 

And no worries there about moisture.. The star board makes that little nuisance go away I'd guess.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Nicely done!!
> 
> I still have yet to actually "hear" a PDX F4 I picked up. Hope it sounds good.
> Man I gotta get a router table setup.
> ...


Yeah the King Starboard won't even hold tape or glue very well so I know it's safe against water.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I forgot to add this picture yesterday showing my rear deck, now deadened and speakerless.




I like the Kenwood head unit for what it's worth. I really wanted a more streamline dash with dvd screen, something better than the cheapish looking Pioneer. More importantly, I wanted to get rid of the Pioneer eventually anyway because of the rather limited crossover points and my hopes of going with a tweeterless setup (HAT L3, audible physics, etc).





Apparently Demon Hunter is No Name haha.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I was having some whine and turn on pops from the Alpine amps, so I added in a Bosch relay to try and negate them. I believe it helped with the whine, but the turn on pop is still there. I need something with a delayed turn on switch so that the amp comes on after everything else does.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

I have a pair of HAT L3v2 that Im starting to think I'll never get around to using if youre interested...being local you could try before you buy. 


That Kenwood does look much nicer!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> I have a pair of HAT L3v2 that Im starting to think I'll never get around to using if youre interested...being local you could try before you buy.
> 
> 
> That Kenwood does look much nicer!


Sweet, I'll let you know.

And I have to agree about the Kenwood looking nicer :laugh:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Not audio related but I had some fun with twenty bucks and a trip to Lowe's. Just a little plastidip.

















Very much so audio related...


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Also got the rcd controller. I don't know when I'll be able to install it but boy I can't wait.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Very nice, ive got a 6to8 as well! Haven't had a chance to play with it as Im waiting for my Head unit to return from warranty work...will be my first DSP and tuning, looking forward to the challenge. 

Edit: ha ha, I also have some extra plasti dip...but its charcoal gray.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's the plan to have by the end of summer. The box itself will be easy to build and I have everything i need except for the pdx v9 to finish up the trunk. Hopefully I can build the box within the next few weeks and by that time have a v9


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## l a r r y (Jan 25, 2012)

Very nice build. I have a 08 Maxima same color...gotta love NISSAN

You will love the 6to8, I have one also, and it has drastically changed things. Make sure to visit the Mosconi 6to8 pics thread for any questions you may have. It is well worth the read. And with the Mosconi, you will be doing a active 3way up front in the very near future


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

l a r r y said:


> Very nice build. I have a 08 Maxima same color...gotta love NISSAN
> 
> You will love the 6to8, I have one also, and it has drastically changed things. Make sure to visit the Mosconi 6to8 pics thread for any questions you may have. It is well worth the read. And with the Mosconi, you will be doing a active 3way up front in the very near future


That's the plan, eventually. I've changed my mind so many times leading up to this point that I'm done saying what will be here in the future haha.

I will say that the Xs comps are on classifieds and ebay so if I can get rid of the then I already have a few possible plans on the front stage. 

And I actually am enjoying the idq now. It's not spl loud imo but it's cool to have it blend better with the rest of the system, making it sound more like headphones than a boom boom system.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Did a little bit of work the past two days. I think I've done more thinking than doing but I'll be glad to have a semi-permanent setup to last me more than 3 months.

Did a simple job of moving the rcas and passenger side speaker wires across and underneath the rear seat cushion so that all the wiring comes out in the same spot in the trunk.








Also got a good dent made in the sub enclosure. So far it's close to the drawing, still need to get some carpet and finish the amp/ dsp rack. The actual sub enclosure is 1.07 cuft at the moment, but I'll probably put something in there to take up ~.05 cuft. So with displacement right at 1 cuft.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got some work done this evening. I put some white vinyl on the front and side of the enclosure, which will be partly visible when all is said and done. 



The plain piece of mdf on the side is a mount for the rack the amps will sit on.

I used threaded inserts for the power distribution blocks, dsp, and relay and secured them with stainless steel 8-32 bolts. Screws for other distro block. I also got to quench my ocd on this box moreso than my other boxes 













That's it for today. Maybe I'll have it in the car by the weekend.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Nice work. This is the arrangement I was originally going to use with my project, although it wasn't ideal as my amps weren't stackable.


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## TheAlchemist9 (Apr 29, 2015)

Looking good. What are you planning on putting up front instead of the ID XS comps?


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

your car has a perfect trunk for IB. if you picked up another idq and just mounted them up against the back seats, youd be a very happy individual.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> Nice work. This is the arrangement I was originally going to use with my project, although it wasn't ideal as my amps weren't stackable.


Yeah one of the things I like about the PDX amps for sure. 



EcoHawk said:


> Looking good. What are you planning on putting up front instead of the ID XS comps?


The plan is some vifa xt-25 radiators I have laying in the closet, hybrid or audible physics mids, and audible physics xr6.5m in classifieds. But no one seems to want the id comps haha. 



Pseudonym said:


> your car has a perfect trunk for IB. if you picked up another idq and just mounted them up against the back seats, youd be a very happy individual.


Please don't tempt me. I finally got a design I think I'll like and don't want to change it before it even gets in the car


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Sorry about the dark pics coming up, most of this was done between 8 and 10:30 this evening. Still not done but I'm one step closer.









The vinyl is coming off inside the hole of the box but I'm not too worried because the idq was going to have a tight fit anyway. 







Using some hardboard as a template to get the curves right (ftmp)









Test fitting the amp







That's it for today


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

That cut to shape top piece makes it look nice. Are you going to be carpeting it?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> That cut to shape top piece makes it look nice. Are you going to be carpeting it?


Well I was hoping to put some more white vinyl on it but I ran out of the piece I had 

Instead I'll carpet it. I also need to make the front panel with carpet and find a way to anchor the box to the car, hopefully this evening.


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## jimmyjames16 (Dec 12, 2006)

Nice to see the IDQ got a good home.. can't wait to hear how it sounds in your setup...


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got a good bit of work done yesterday. Installed the sub, made the wall and carpeted the amp rack and the wall, and began a little bit of wiring.

I still need to:
-Extend one of the speaker wires that ended up too short
-Make homemade rcas or stuff 10 foot rcas under the amp rack
-Finish wiring the amp rack
-Get a v9 so that the sub can move air
-Enjoy the work


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Wicked finish man, absolute stunner.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> Wicked finish man, absolute stunner.


Thank you sir


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Nice work! That white ring around the sub really makes it 'pop'.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I bought some audible physics ar3a on classifieds so I started drawing some to get my head spinning on what I'm hoping to do. Here's the plan, on axis aimed probably towards directly between the head rests, but I'll listen to them in various positions before deciding.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Sooooo turns out the Mosconi didn't work out for me. Or should I say, didn't work at all. There's a small chance that it was my fault, but I couldn't get output from the processor no matter how hard I tried or what I did. Thankfully the seller is a legit guy and gave me a refund and is going to pay for return shipping.

This is a blessing in disguise I guess because I think the Mosconi software is a bit too involved for my level of expertise (noob). With the money I paid I was able to get the PDX-V9 and a minidsp 2x4 with a UMIK for some more beginner level tuning practice. I'll run the front input into the 2x4 to process the xs mids and ar3a mids, and just run the sub from the sub output of the Kenwood. Not as much processing power but I can at least have music  I'm quite sick of turning my iPhone 6 up to max volume in my cup holder to have music while driving..


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## l a r r y (Jan 25, 2012)

I had that same issue trying to figure out why no sound was coming from a couple of channels. After scratching my head and ass for about 20 minutes, I figured it out that the two channels, I did not have turned up in the software. Sorry to hear you didn't get it figured out, hope it all works out the best for you on your new equipment


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

The DSP gods have taken another life. Lucky with the postage, I had to pay about 100usd to have mine shipped to and from cali.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

l a r r y said:


> I had that same issue trying to figure out why no sound was coming from a couple of channels. After scratching my head and ass for about 20 minutes, I figured it out that the two channels, I did not have turned up in the software. Sorry to hear you didn't get it figured out, hope it all works out the best for you on your new equipment


There was a ten minute period (out of about 3 hours of messing around with the unit and the software) where somehow I had music coming out of the tweeters. I never could get music out of the mids though. I hooked up the mids directly to the amp from the Kenwoods output and they played fine so I really think it was a faulty dsp.



Kazuhiro said:


> The DSP gods have taken another life. Lucky with the postage, I had to pay about 100usd to have mine shipped to and from cali.


Bleh. $100 for shipping bites


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Today I secured the sub box to the car, secured the front panel to the box, and made some custom rcas to go from the minidsp to the amps 

x2 1/4"-20 rivets were used for the box


A 1/4"-20 threaded insert was used near the amp rack along with a strip of Velcro at the top right corner of the box to secure the trim


Yeah 3m 77 sucks with vinyl. Staples are keeping it from coming loose but they can't be seen normally.













Rcas were made with the remains of DIYMA cables I bought wayyy back for the Honda. A bit of tech flex and pants from the kicker speaker wire and I like how they turned out.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Why dont you buy the 2x8 minidsp and start off with the 2x4 addon?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

As it stands I can buy another 2x4 and have 8 channels of processing and 2 inputs. Only downfall is having two different windows open, but it's still $100 cheaper.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Oh wow never looked at the prices haha


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Ar3a's came in today. They look so cool; I can't want to hear them.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Minidsp came in today and got me all excited. I bought the black case that comes with the 2x4 kit but it had no way of securing it down, I guess because it's more for home audio. Anyway I removed the board and put the case up. 







Obviously the rack I made was for the mosconi, but I was able to cut a piece of mdf that houses the minidsp and minidc isolator and secure it with the same 10-32 bolts that held the mosconi 





I used #4 brass screws with 3 brass washers and 3 plain washers for each hole











As it stands, battery goes to relay. Relay goes to minidc isolator. Minidc isolator powers the minidsp and sends remote signal to each amp. It's cool because not only does it isolate the power even further from the alternator, but it has a 3 second delayed turn on for the amps. My PDX amps, infamous for turn on pop, should be quiet as a mouse now


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## danzell (Jan 25, 2015)

I like how short the Y is on the rca's that you have made. Very clean!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

danzell said:


> I like how short the Y is on the rca's that you have made. Very clean!


Thanks bud


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I had planned on making pods to house the mids and the AT's but since I have everything except speaker wire to have a decent 3 way I figured I'd plan ahead and just mount the mids for now. The tweeters will eventually be going into the sail panels of the doors.







The mids looked kind of squished on the back of the baffle, and I know I'm claustrophobic, so I figured I'd help the little guys out 

Before:


After:






Then I used some thin plastic I found on Amazon to act as a substitute to LHP to form a wall around the speaker. Just for looks.





I placed the baffle up on the dash just to see out it would eventually look. I'll do the aiming and glassing another day.



And of course my favorite xt-60 connectors









The v9 should be here tomorrow and I can't wait! Here's the mess of wires under the amp rack as a final pic.


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## TheAlchemist9 (Apr 29, 2015)

Damn fine baffles right there.


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## Deathjunior (Aug 2, 2011)

This is starting to remind me of my build. Every time I follow yours I see more of the same parts that I use. So I'm betting either you worked at bestbuy and took advantage of the kicker and polk accommodations or you randomly got the same kicker dual amp kit, wiring spool, speaker wire pants, and polk pa660 and pa880 amps i did lol. If the ar3's are anything like my NZ3's I'd try and cross them down to 250-300hz or so. Its working out well in my setup. I've used the mini DSP and all I can say about it is keep any power wires as far away as you can.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

EcoHawk said:


> Damn fine baffles right there.


Thanks 




Deathjunior said:


> This is starting to remind me of my build. Every time I follow yours I see more of the same parts that I use. So I'm betting either you worked at bestbuy and took advantage of the kicker and polk accommodations or you randomly got the same kicker dual amp kit, wiring spool, speaker wire pants, and polk pa660 and pa880 amps i did lol. If the ar3's are anything like my NZ3's I'd try and cross them down to 250-300hz or so. Its working out well in my setup. I've used the mini DSP and all I can say about it is keep any power wires as far away as you can.


Nope never worked at best buy. I'll see what happens with the minidsp in its current place for now. If it is whiny then I'll cross that bridge when I get there.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Ups decided to not show up today so I sat on the couch after work and took the day off


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Dam good work, ever consider doing side jobs for money!

When you get it sounding proper Id love to hear it.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> Dam good work, ever consider doing side jobs for money!
> 
> When you get it sounding proper Id love to hear it.


Nahh, just a couple boxes for the price of materials for some friends lol.
I'll be back for junior year of college at the end of August so I'll let you know and we can meet up!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Finally have music! Minidsp works like a charm but channel 3 or 4 is screwed up on the f6 so I had to just use channel 1 and 2 for the mids rather than bridge them. I won't let it bother me for now because music > power.

Edit: it was actually a shotty rca. Who the heck made these things.



I placed the mids on a towel just to test/ listen for a little while. I'll try to get them in the pillars some time.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Tried my hand at fiber glassing today. Didn't get far because I didn't have much time but hopefully it'll be cured 100% by tomorrow 

Aimed directly at the dome lights..





I'm going to keep them sealed for now and if I don't like it hen I'll put a hole in the pillar.
So tonight all I did was cover the whole thing in resin. The stock pillar has grill cloth so I figured I would aim the baffles, secure it with ca glue and Popsicle sticks, then resin the whole thing. After this cures I'll stretch grill cloth and fiberglass that, and go on from there. This is what I finished today with..


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Little more work today, not much.





Body filler will be my hero because wrapping these in grill cloth was not easy. Not for me anyway.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got some goodies in the mail yesterday.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

ohhhhh jelly! You cant go wrong with those


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> ohhhhh jelly! You cant go wrong with those


That's what I'm hoping!

I plan on putting them in the sail panel on axis to the person closest to each respective side. All I need is another minidsp, two more runs of speaker wire,and a couple more rcas.

I'm getting awful noise through the midbasses right now. Sounds like all the noise I've ever had before. I guess I need to beef up the ground a bit and try around with a few things. I also want to use the idea that hanatsu uses where he wites some caps in parallel to decrease the noise at the alternator; maybe that'll work. Noise is my bane.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Started on the bondo today. They are actually starting to look like pods, although I have a ways to make them look decent.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Now that youve practiced, when can I send you my pillars? 

Looks great!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> Now that youve practiced, when can I send you my pillars?
> 
> Looks great!


Trade you those l3's for a pair 

But here's a few more that I finished tonight with. They're pretty bulky but I think after a bit more smoothing and covering they won't be too bad.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Figured I would post this as a little update. As I said I was going to Not use the AT and use the scans instead. Well that changed in my mind for three reasons
A. I don't want to run a other set of speaker wires.
2. I'd have to buy another minidsp and tune it for a 3 way when I'm not even good at tuning a 2 way yet.
D. My dad told me about this template maker he had hiding in a little room of the shop...















(This one missed the edge barely and the hole for the mid is a couple thousandths off  )



So this means I'm going to stop messing with the current pillars and just throw some paint on them to run them for a while (just to have music). Eventually use the templates to make another set of pillars, and use what I learned to make them less bulky and hopefully more beautiful


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Extra credit to tell me where my listing numbers came from at the beginning of last post


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## coolc4u (May 13, 2015)

Great build, I may have to copy that box design lol


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

coolc4u said:


> Great build, I may have to copy that box design lol


Where are you in nc?


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## coolc4u (May 13, 2015)

In Greenville NC


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

coolc4u said:


> In Greenville NC


Oh that's four hours away. North Carolina is too long haha. 

But yeah go ahead stealing the box, I've stolen a few ideas on this forum :laugh:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I was planning on buying some new a pillars from a parts site but since they were $50 each I decided to use a dremel and jig saw to fix the ones I already have.





I cleaned it up better than that but forgot to take pictures. 

I also cleaned up the cad drawing so that I have some more room for the AT's and I'll also be using the grills that came with the mids. 









The baffles I made were almost the same as the first ones, except with a bit more room for the terminals (to add the AT) and room for the AT's. 











Same procedure to have some breathing room was done on this set. 











This time I will use the black plastic strip around the perimeter, but level with the top of the blue acrylic (it won't be raised over the rest of the baffle like last time).

This time I'm going into the a pillar rather than on top of it to help with the bulkiness, and will aim them more towards the opposite head rest rather than the dome light. I wish I could fire them directly across the dash to have an easy install, but it's not worth it to NOT have these on axis


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I got a bit more work done on the pillars. I drilled pilot holes for the mids, holes for the AT wires, secured the acrylic piece to the baffle, and secured the baffles to the pillars. I like the current location better, they're set back in the pillars and are less intrusive.



After gluing it..


For the AT wiring I used 18 ga wire from the DIYMA rca cables..


























I'll pull grill cloth and get a good layer of resin tomorrow and begin body work later on this week.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Awesome!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Awesome!


Thanks!

I got my least favorite part done today, stretching the grill cloth . Also put a layer of resin down and once it cures it'll be ready for filler.


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

is that a ribbon tweet with the mid?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Pseudonym said:


> is that a ribbon tweet with the mid?


Yes I think so. It comes with Audible Physics mids and they call it an AT, aka Ambience Transducer. It has a 4k ohm impedance and only plays over 16kHz to give what some call "airiness" to the sound, since the mid may not be able to play so high. It's cool because all I have to do is wire it in parallel with the mid and it does it's own thing. No extra channels needed.


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

i kept seeing them pop up and had no idea what the hell they were. neat idea. no crossover between them and the mid at all?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Pseudonym said:


> i kept seeing them pop up and had no idea what the hell they were. neat idea. no crossover between them and the mid at all?


Nope, just wires. I'm not sure technically how it works, maybe it just physically can't play frequencies lower than 16k. I agree, very cool idea.


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## Deathjunior (Aug 2, 2011)

Those pillars are starting to remind me of a certain GTO build I may or may not know about lol. I've been debating upgrading to the bigger beefier RAM3a though I dunno if they will fit in my pillars given the magnet size.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Deathjunior said:


> Those pillars are starting to remind me of a certain GTO build I may or may not know about lol. I've been debating upgrading to the bigger beefier RAM3a though I dunno if they will fit in my pillars given the magnet size.


I don't know the ranking of audible physics speakers to be honest. what do you have now again?


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Deathjunior said:


> Those pillars are starting to remind me of a certain GTO build I may or may not know about lol. I've been debating upgrading to the bigger beefier RAM3a though I dunno if they will fit in my pillars given the magnet size.


The new RAM 2.6 is being sold as a kit with the mid-bass, just FYI.










Sure is a good looker..


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> The new RAM 2.6 is being sold as a kit with the mid-bass, just FYI.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not that I need it but where can I get them and how much for the set?


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Man, those baffles look sick. I need one of those machines! Real nice job.

Can't wait to hear your impressions on those mids with the ATs. They always interested me.


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

bradknob said:


> Man, those baffles look sick. I need one of those machines! Real nice job.
> 
> Can't wait to hear your impressions on those mids with the ATs. They always interested me.


Totally agree. Those do look sweet.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> Man, those baffles look sick. I need one of those machines! Real nice job.
> 
> Can't wait to hear your impressions on those mids with the ATs. They always interested me.


Thanks! Yeah the machine is pretty sweet. To be honest I would probably rather have a 3d printer, but for templates this works great.

My dad is giving me a break the next few weeks from work to relax before school starts back, so I'll relax by working on my car ; I'll let you know when I get those speakers going how they sound.

On a different note, I'm thinking about either getting another minidsp or getting an audison bit ten or similar so that I can include the sub in my tuning. I don't want it to get lonely lol.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

SQLnovice said:


> Totally agree. Those do look sweet.


Thanks!


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Yes, subs need DSP love too.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Didn't get much done today but I did a little. The back of the pillar, as seen above, still had a strip of plastic going across. That was planned to help keep the pillar from warping when stretching the grill cloth; I cleaned it up and also cutout the spot for the speakers.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Today I made a grill for the sub and poured some duraglass/ resin milkshake in the pillars. They are really solid now; I have some cld that I'll put on them after it cures and then starts the filler and sanding for the outside. 

Sorry I got a couple dark pics..











I forgot black spray paint at lowes earlier today so I'll have to wait til tomorrow to paint them and cover them in black fabric. 

Note to self, use less resin next time in the milkshake lol


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

While I'm waiting on the bondo to cure I'll post up the pics for the sub grill. It won't be on often, I essentially made it for when I stuff my trunk full on the trips to and from college and home. 













And here's the prelim sanding I did on the pillars. I'm on my second coat of bondo now and will hopefully be done with most of it by tonight. Oh and I threw the bondo away and now I'll try some rage filler instead.


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## jimmyjames16 (Dec 12, 2006)

This looks great!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

jimmyjames16 said:


> This looks great!


Thanks for the compliment, hopefully I'm doing the idq 12 justice 

Here's another update as I sit and wait lol. I moved the usb and auxiliary cable to the center console cubby to have easy access for my iPhone (I'm a pandora addict). Bluetooth works fine but I'd rather it be plugged in getting juice, and I don't want all my friends Bluetooth info on my radio.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Final update for the day; I'm going for a round of golf with Dad and little brother 

Pillars are pretty close to done, but the last 10% always takes the longest I guess.







This stuff is pretty nifty, it let me see the imperfections much easier







And here's what I ended up with.










I have plenty of knicks and holes I need to take care of. I'll try to have them in by Monday night!


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

I just put a layer of filler on my pillars last night so these posts come at a great time. Might see if I can get some of that primer too

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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Yep. Another good one I used is SEM high build primer. It'll show the boogers and will actually fill in small bubble holes. Works fabulously. 


Sent from iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Yep. Another good one I used is SEM high build primer. It'll show the boogers and will actually fill in small bubble holes. Works fabulously.
> 
> 
> Sent from iPhone using Tapatalk


There was a thicker primer available from duplicolor but I got the thin primer. I should have got some. I got it at Napa and they had SEM paint but I didn't see any of their sand able primer


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Used SEM high build primer, sanded then SEM texture black on my tweet pods and that was all. Worked great I thought. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Used SEM high build primer, sanded then SEM texture black on my tweet pods and that was all. Worked great I thought.
> 
> 
> Sent from iPhone using Tapatalk


I can't decide between the black grill cloth material I used on the sub grill or that black textured sem paint you used. I'll probably the textured paint just need to find some. I could probably special order it from Napa. Where'd you get yours?


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

It's been a while. Can't remember but ordered it online. 


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

I think Eastwood maybe. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I thought I had it done today but I screwed up and got mad. The pillars are fine but I'll have to use goof off to get the 3m 77 adhesive off. I tried stretching grill cloth but the threads were going all over the place and a bit of the adhesive was showing through and when I went to redo the holes for the AT wires the drill bit caught the material and twisted it and mangled it all up and even broke the bit in half. Sorry for ranting, it's been a long day 

Anyways I'm waiting on sem textured paint in the mail now. Screw grill cloth lol. 

Nevertheless here's what I did today. I used this white putty to get most of the little holes filled in. Worked pretty good. 











There's a few funky looking places at the bottom that was going to be hidden with the grill cloth but I'll have to keep working it with just paint. 



And covered in black paint. 





I also bought an Smd dd-1 for the sole purpose of finding max safe output of the kenwood (already sold it) and if it worked right, the kenwood puts out clean signal throughout the whole volume range (35 max). 





So overall a pretty average Monday


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Yeah the tool we love to hate. The DD-1. Got one myself and gonna use it for PDX gains. Don't tell nobody. 

Pillars are lookin good. Yeah the filler putty is good stuff. 


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

It's making me think the $80 for a set of replacement pillars for my Civic on eBay might not be so bad. Got a bad itch to put my scanspeak drivers in. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Yeah the tool we love to hate. The DD-1. Got one myself and gonna use it for PDX gains. Don't tell nobody.
> 
> Pillars are lookin good. Yeah the filler putty is good stuff.
> 
> ...


Your secret is safe with me lol. I figured my gains would be low for 300 on the midbasses and 200 on the ap's.



Babs said:


> It's making me think the $80 for a set of replacement pillars for my Civic on eBay might not be so bad. Got a bad itch to put my scanspeak drivers in.
> 
> 
> Sent from iPhone using Tapatalk


Do it. It's a pain in the butt and will take time but I've heard it's worth it in the end. I'll let you know if that's true when I finish 

Edit: oh yeah you already know haha my bad


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I had full intentions of completing the pillars today and get the speakers wired up. Ups arriving at 5:40 changed that lol. Not mad though, I just considered it as practicing patience 

While waiting I put in a 1/0 gauge ground wire for the main ground of the system. There was a 4 gauge run about 3 foot long, now it's 1/0 and about 14". I used the same grounding spot as before. 

The initial press was on my little vise, and I finished with my crimp tool. 








Here's what an old sock and a can of goof off made my pillar look like. I actually liked it, made it have a rustic feel to the image. I had to use good off to remove the adhesive. 



And after a good sand it was clean of adhesive. 



When ups finally arrived with the SEM paint I put a couple layers and installed the AT. Looks okay, but my ocd doesn't much like them 

This pic make it look gray but they're black.


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## TheAlchemist9 (Apr 29, 2015)

Nice work, man. Really looking good.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Looking good man. I just sprayed my pillars last night with a primer filler which fills in all the Tony little holes. Gave it a light sanding and tonight I'll be spraying it with plasti-dip

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

EcoHawk said:


> Nice work, man. Really looking good.


Thanks 



TwistdInfinity said:


> Looking good man. I just sprayed my pillars last night with a primer filler which fills in all the Tony little holes. Gave it a light sanding and tonight I'll be spraying it with plasti-dip
> 
> Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


I was debating using plastidip since I had a can and a half left over but decided against it. Maybe on the next set haha.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

I figured, since it's relatively easy to remove I'll try it first. If I don't like it peel it off and try something else haha

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Woohoo! Finally got the pillars done today. Still don't have music as I'm waiting on ONE more item to have every piece of the puzzle. Should be here Monday 

To more easily place the AT's I made an extension piece with a male and female xt-60 connector.

Started by twisting the wires


Then the connectors attached with a fully tinned and solid piece of wire


Then the leads attached


Then plenty of liquid electric tape


Then electric tape


Then heat shrink


Then quality assurance check to make sure there's no x-ing going on


And repeated on the other side








And here's the finished pics










And the money shot 




I have the grills but wanted to look at the speakers for a while without them. I'll put them on before going back to school.


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## jimmyjames16 (Dec 12, 2006)

This looks awesome.. I have a 2003 Altima SE myself.. and I always wanted to know how mids in the A-pillars would look.. now I have an idea.. thanks!


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

Wow. That looks amazing. Thanks for the pics that shows how you wired the AT. Can't wait to get your opinion once you power them up.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

I have a feeling that this can AND will sound very good.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

jimmyjames16 said:


> This looks awesome.. I have a 2003 Altima SE myself.. and I always wanted to know how mids in the A-pillars would look.. now I have an idea.. thanks!


Thanks, you should try it out!



SQLnovice said:


> Wow. That looks amazing. Thanks for the pics that shows how you wired the AT. Can't wait to get your opinion once you power them up.


Trust me I can't either 



Notloudenuf said:


> I have a feeling that this can AND will sound very good.


That means more than you know man, thanks! I will most likely need to meet someone in the ncsq group to help me get it sounding good though :surprised:


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

That is perfection. Did you keep your other pillars?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> That is perfection. Did you keep your other pillars?


Thanks 

I've only had one set actually. My first go round without the AT didn't work out so I dremeled and sanded away down to the bare pillar and restarted.


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Thanks, I've peered over your build several several times




I'm honored. If I can help in anyway feel free to let me know.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

This is so funny that we're doing almost the same thing at the same time. I sprayed mine last night in plast dip and I'll be installing them in about ten minutes! 

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I didn't want to go another weekend with my phone as a sound system so I hooked up all four front speakers to the v9 using its internal xover (80-300 for midbass and 300-up for ap's) and wow. I don't have any ta, eq, anything except simple xover and I already thoroughly enjoy listening to them.

One of my favorite intros, on the song "the Ballad of St. Augustine", has a simple drum rhythm leading up to a few cymbals and a strong guitar presence. In terms of hitting everything so well and without confusing the sounds, I've never heard a set of speakers do a better job. Granted I haven't heard many speakers, but I'm accepting my ignorance as bliss


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

This is great news for me. I don't want to bombard you with questions. I'm excited about starting my build with the AP drivers.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Bravo dude! Those pillars look amazing


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> Bravo dude! Those pillars look amazing


Thanks bud!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Looks like Monday came early 




Didn't have a chance to install it today but hopefully I can get it in the car tomorrow. It's a 4to6 but it's actually the same size as the 6to8 so I'll be able to utilize the first mounting points again (appears that way anyway).


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

So..what plans you got in mind for the scans?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> So..what plans you got in mind for the scans?


Sold them last week on classifieds :blush:



I finally have everything together!! Final rundown:

Kenwood ddx372bt goes to..
Mosconi 4to6 goes to..
Alpine PDX-V9 powers..
Audible Physics ar3a w/ AT's with ~200 watts each and...
Image dynamics IDQ12v3 with ~500 watts...
And...
Alpine PDX-F6 powers..
Image dynamics x65 mids with ~300 watts each. 

To my absolute surprise, the excess noise level is the lowest it's ever been in my system. I usually have a whine that follows the acceleration but with the gains very low and the beefy ground it went away. I also have an underhood ground kit I'll install tomorrow to help further. 

I will begin tuning some day. I bought a mic with usb from mini when I bought the minidsp so along with REW I'm hoping to get a decent tune together.

Here's the pics of the amp rack that I just finished. (Note the extra set of kicker y rcas. I have 5 bridged channels so I needed their assistance lol)









Shoutout to all the awesome people on this forum for the encouragement and the help


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Sold them last week on classifieds :blush:


You bastard! Found some new tweets anyway


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Fired up my PDX F4 and V9 tonight first time. Mosconi or Zapco they ain't but dang they're good. Pushes right up to that point of diminishing returns don't they. Alpine pretty much nailed it with these little class D's I'd say. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Fired up my PDX F4 and V9 tonight first time. Mosconi or Zapco they ain't but dang they're good. Pushes right up to that point of diminishing returns don't they. Alpine pretty much nailed it with these little class D's I'd say.
> 
> 
> Sent from iPhone using Tapatalk


I agree. I had a v9 in my Honda for just a week or two because that car was so prone to noise and I think I had a bad unit. But this time around they both worked better for me, I thoroughly like them. Stackable, small, tons of power. They're great.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> I agree. I had a v9 in my Honda for just a week or two because that car was so prone to noise and I think I had a bad unit. But this time around they both worked better for me, I thoroughly like them. Stackable, small, tons of power. They're great.


Yeah luckily, both of these are dead quiet fed by a Helix.. Plus in my Civic, I've got head unit powered and grounded commonly at the same distro in my trunk.. Had ground issues myself when running RCA's prior to the Helix with head unit just into the car harness. Very quiet now. Might be the common power/ground run, might be the Helix, but something got rid of either the ground loop, or the ground loop noise making it's way to the speakers.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Yeah luckily, both of these are dead quiet fed by a Helix.. Plus in my Civic, I've got head unit powered and grounded commonly at the same distro in my trunk.. Had ground issues myself when running RCA's prior to the Helix with head unit just into the car harness. Very quiet now. Might be the common power/ground run, might be the Helix, but something got rid of either the ground loop, or the ground loop noise making it's way to the speakers.


If I ever get the RCD controller for the mosconi and have to run another phone cable I'll run with it power and ground for the head unit. Something I've wanted to do for a while.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's a ground kit I put under the hood. I used all 4 gauge. I honk I missed a couple pics but I have followed this -> 2007+ Nissan Altima Grounding kit

From engine mount to alternator to another point on engine 


Wanted to use my JL terminal so I had to cut this 








This one goes to the battery terminal


And I have one more wire from the block to the brake but forgot a pic


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I hooked everything up to my laptop (usb to mosconi, usb to umic, and auxiliary to head unit for pink noise) just to make sure everything works right. I've never tuned before so I'm approaching this slowly. I've watched the videos over on how-to on tuning a dsp which seems to give me confidence going forward. I'll get really into tuning Monday morning, but this is the first thing the mic heard.


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

nice build! I'm saving up for a 6to8, what happened to yours?


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Will be quite 'boomy' on that untuned curve 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

vwjmkv said:


> nice build! I'm saving up for a 6to8, what happened to yours?


No idea to be honest. I bought it used and I think I bought a lemon.



Kazuhiro said:


> Will be quite 'boomy' on that untuned curve
> 
> Sent from my HTC_PO582 using Tapatalk


Fly up here and help me out then :laugh:


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## Bev-o (Jul 16, 2015)

Great build!

On your note above, just thinking..
With my computer I can have others control my machine remotely, may be a good way to save a flight by having him dial into yours..


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Bev-o said:


> Great build!
> 
> On your note above, just thinking..
> With my computer I can have others control my machine remotely, may be a good way to save a flight by having him dial into yours..


Haha as in IT Tech this makes me cringe. You would wanna trust him! 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'd rather keep control of my own laptop ha

I would also rather be there while someone else tunes it to watch and learn how they do it and what to look for/ listen for.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I don't have any plans for the next few weeks so I think I'm going to hold off on tuning and remake the trunk. I can tune with a mic and laptop at school, but I can't build or modify anything there 

Here's one idea I had; this one would have each PDX on left and right of the mosconi. White vinyl surrounding the amps and black carpet outside of that.



I would remove the sheet metal behind the rear seat's cup holders and have the sub firing into the cabin thru that new hole. We'll see.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

I like that plan. I bet it'll look great.


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## jimmyjames16 (Dec 12, 2006)

white outlines always looks mint..


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## idelgado782 (May 25, 2015)

Beautiful build!!! I wish I had the skills and the tools to go half of this stuff!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

bummed I finally saw this thread now...
Great log and progression of your entire build.

LOVE the choice of gear.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks guys!

Here's option two for the trunk. I may or may not be joking, since I kinda love the look of it 



I'm thinking black vinyl base, carbon fiber vinyl for the logo outline, and black carpet surround..

If the logo proves too hard to get right then I'll go back to option one. I don't want no disfigured broken-spotlight piece of crap that looks like a squirrel.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Haha now you mention it, kunda does look like a squirrel lol 

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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Dunno about option two... it looks like you took bites out of the pdx's


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Ding ding ding we have a winner!

Due to my desire to try out different subs (I also want to try ib in the future) I decided to make an amp rack that doesn't limit me to one single sub. To do that I moved the dsp and amps to the side, a move I've wanted to try. Fortunately I can do this and it not be invasive; my golf clubs fit so it's all good 





Here's a rough drawing. Going back to black carpet on white vinyl (and no batman  ), along with the stacked amps beside the mosconi. I'm finally getting some free time the next couple days and will get started on it tomorrow morning.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Nice sketch.. but I'm sure your gear is larger than that?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> Nice sketch.. but I'm sure your gear is larger than that?


Yeah it is. The amp face is shown at an angle and my less than stellar shading didn't do it justice. I've peered over the area and I know there's plenty of room, just may not appear that way through the sketch.


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## jimmyjames16 (Dec 12, 2006)

I would take full use of both tail light corners of the Altima if you intend on a re-vamp.. saves a lot of space


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

jimmyjames16 said:


> I would take full use of both tail light corners of the Altima if you intend on a re-vamp.. saves a lot of space


Like the mosconi on the left side, amps on right side, and sub behind the seats? That would give a pretty nice flow to the trunk..

I didn't mess with the amps yet because when I went out yesterday morning to do it I didn't feel like taking out what I had. My sister said "don't fix what isn't broken" so I just listened to her lol.

For the most part. I did grab a pair of audible physics h6mb and installed them yesterday. Without changing any settings I immediately noticed a better mid bass response which was exciting. I'm going to move the crossover point a bit lower (from 80 to ~65) to get a bit more bass up front too. 





Blast..had to remove a bit of material to compensate for the bigger cutout size by using a template and flush trim bit.


----------



## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Nice! Brand match with the front stage now! That makes me want to see how low I can cross my anarchies, they are beefy but in the end they are on the cheap side. I guess the lower it is the less phase variation from the sub there will be, hence snappier up front bass. How much did the h6mb's run you? I cant find any audible physics retailers that will send to nz.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Nice job! The H6MB's are a great driver. Flies a little under the radar here, but sound great and price/performance is amazing. 

Kaz - Look for Rishi S Gurbani on Facebook. He can point to and AD in your area.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

Just went through the whole log. Excellent work and I think I've used (or still am using) a lot of gear that you have and had. I think your recent findings of the switch to the H6MB is consistent when I switched away from the X65 as well. The X65 is a solid midrange, but as a 6.5" midbass, I use the H6MB in a couple of our vehicles and they are very very good. DLO13 will talk your head off with what he thinks of them. 

Can't wait to see you get some tuning done on this, but as far as gear choices and fabrication, well done.

For the questions about progression of AP 3s, Nz3-A, RAM3-A, AR3-A were all the previous line, each had its strengths and weaknesses and folks can search on the AP thread as I tested all three at one point in my Civic.

EDIT: I found the link of the testing I did a couple years back comparing these three drivers. How there are aimed and your vehicle will vary on the results, so take my findings for what they are worth in my vehicle (but may help get an idea) - http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/2012059-post183.html

But as for the current offering, AP offers the Nz3AlBe wideband, which IME combines the best attributes of the three drivers into one. You can email audiblephysics1 at gmail dot com if interested in that driver as these are sold by dealers only. 

Great work again WhereAmEye?!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

@teldzc1, I felt like I was lacking midbass and after looking in classifieds I saw the h6mb which someone (architect7 I believe) said they were some of the best midbasses he has heard. I agree, finding info on them was pretty hard ha. 

Thank you papasin for the kind words :thumbsup:

I may look into the nz3 one day after I get tired of these. Id rather not blow through midranges like you do though


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

WhereAmEye? said:


> @teldzc1, I felt like I was lacking midbass and after looking in classifieds I saw the h6mb which someone (architect7 I believe) said they were some of the best midbasses he has heard. I agree, finding info on them was pretty hard ha.


Here you go. 

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/2231473-post559.html



WhereAmEye? said:


> Id rather not blow through midranges like you do though


True story!  I think in the Civic, I've gone through 9 midranges now.  I think I've slowed down a bit though as my last 3 I've used I actually had for a good period of time and my pillars are designed in such a way that they can be swapped out rather easily...as I imagine yours are. 

IMHO, the midrange (and many will likely agree) is the most important driver, so finding one that works best for your install and tastes is often a challenge. I do think the AR3-A, for a 3", has some of the best midrange I have heard in that form factor and what I currently use in both my Smart Electric and in our minivan, so I'm not saying you made a bad choice at all.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Oh thanks for the link.

So far I really like the front stage, but I'm disappointed in the sub. I have yet to have a sub that hits all the low notes well (the closest being the arc black ported) and not sound bad. I don't want it to just be there, I want to be enveloped in deep bass. And not a one hit wonder; more like what you'd hear at the movie theater on a lord of the rings or hobbit movie  I'm fairly certain the only way I'd get what I want is to get more displacement.

If I got what I want id have x2 AE IB 15" subs in the trunk right now..considering they're ~$250 on the website I think it's doable but it'll have to wait until next summer. Another big plus is that they only need ~150 watts to reach Xmax (at 20hz) so I won't need to change amps. Until then I'll move the amps over as was planned before and put the idq in the ported box I used on the arc.


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

Dat midbass doe. 

Love it!!


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

I don't know if you ever listened to the JBL GTI. With my limited knowledge, I think this sub does it all for me. It gets low, and loud enough for me, sometimes it's too much. If we were closer, I would have loaned you my 12GTI to play around and see how you like it. Those pillars came out excellent.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Oh thanks for the link.


No problem. And in case you are curious about info on your AR3-As, here you go. 

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/2236084-post563.html

X2 on the GTI being awesome for output, but I think it will probably require a bit of power and I'm not sure if the sub channel of the V9 will scale compared to how much power you're running to your front stage. Didn't you have an M12 earlier in the build? I know others with those same amps like the M12 with a pair of V9s...so if you still have the M12, maybe trade the F6 for a second V9.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

papasin said:


> No problem. And in case you are curious about info on your AR3-As, here you go.
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/2236084-post563.html
> 
> X2 on the GTI being awesome for output, but I think it will probably require a bit of power and I'm not sure if the sub channel of the V9 will scale compared to how much power you're running to your front stage. Didn't you have an M12 earlier in the build? I know others with those same amps like the M12 with a pair of V9s...so if you still have the M12, maybe trade the F6 for a second V9.


I've looked into the gti but if I want a pair I can't justify the cost at the moment buying new. 

No I don't have the m12 anymore, however I would like to trade the f6 for another v9 which would give me 200 for each front and 500 to each in a pair of subs.. Since I only have a two way I don't think the m12 is necessary whilst running two v9's. 

Anybody wanna do that trade?


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

Where does one buy these ap mids?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

According to papasin you can email audiblephysics1 at gmail dot com and get in touch with a dealer.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Woohoo! Finally got the pillars done today. Still don't have music as I'm waiting on ONE more item to have every piece of the puzzle. Should be here Monday
> 
> And the money shot


Gotta love the symmetry and simplicity of that Altima dash...understated beauty. Excellent work on those A-pillars, and all around. :thumbsup:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bbfoto said:


> Gotta love the symmetry and simplicity of that Altima dash...understated beauty. Excellent work on those A-pillars, and all around. :thumbsup:


I really like driving this car because I feel low in the seat. I'm pretty tall at 6'3" so being low and far back yet comfortable is awesome. The dash looks huge while sitting and yes I agree, the symmetry is prevalent.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

As per usual I made changes to my car.

If you followed my Accord build you might remember the Zed Leviathan I had for a short while before selling it to the guy who wanted another one (he had one already). However I've been talking to him and we did a little trade so now I have my favorite amp back...close anyway. Fedex stopped at my house in the one hour time frame I wasn't home today 

Also, I was getting tired of the disappointment in the IDQ and wanted some louder bass in the car. So I met up with a guy from Sundown and bought an SA 12, then went home and built a 2cuft box tuned to 35 hz (shoutout to caraudiofabrication for the box design).

First thing is building the box







I found some carpet at a local supplier that was really close to the stock trunk liner



Here's the sub, which is beefier than the idmax I had haha.









I used the same rivnuts and L brackets as before. You'll also see the Mosconi hiding up there..more on that later



I wanted to keep the Zed centered on the new amp rack so I moved the dsp up to the rear shelf. I used two rivnuts and a simple carpeted piece of mdf to mount it.

X marks the spot













The amp rack is installed but empty for now 







I'll update tomorrow when I get the Zed in and the wires organized


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Looks great. I'd be interested to read how the new subwoofer system works out.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bbfoto said:


> Looks great. I'd be interested to read how the new subwoofer system works out.


Thanks, I can't wait to try it out! First song I'm going to listen to is "Introduction" by Thousand Foot Krutch. I have yet to be truly happy on that song with any of the past subs I've had.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'll throw this up here right quick. I still need some gain setting and stuff but no noise or turn on pops so I'm happy. It's beautiful


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I've ever been this ecstatic about my system being absolutely silent but my gosh; this amp is 100% silent. No turn on or turn off pop, no whine, no engine or alternator noise, nothing. 

I've set the gains (both the mosconi and the zed have clipping lights so it's encouraging to turn the gains up and know when the signal messes up) and I most definitely am glad I went with the sundown. The sundown playing the lows with the h6mb at the mid bass is an awesome duo for sure. I listened to "introduction" and loved it; I noticed some bass notes I've never heard before, especially in the beginning.

I also listened to "self-fulfilling prophecy" by in fear and faith and the duo did a wonderful job of keeping up with the kick drum and bass guitar. I've been sitting in the car for an hour already listening to music and seeing what I can hear in songs I've never heard before. I rattle here, a vocal or a scream there, that sort of thing.

I'm certainly to a point equipment wise to make me happy. I still need to spend a few hours behind the laptop but like I said; I can do that at school when physics stresses me out too much lol.

P.s. Don't look too hard at the wiring job that's there under the amp, I just threw everything together in order to listen to it


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Pictures don't do it justice but here's my view with the seats down


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The mids have turned that golden hue from the sun; looks pretty cool. I put on the grills to protect them from my roommates' slimy fingers haha.


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## FunkPnut (May 16, 2008)

those pillars look really good! great job


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

FunkPnut said:


> those pillars look really good! great job


Thanks!

I've had to resist many times buying a local set of idmax 15's and trying them ib. How do you like them? I see them in your sig.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

I'm curious to know how 2 15" max's go in IB too. I've got a wagon right now but might be upgrading soon to a sedan of some sorts 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## FunkPnut (May 16, 2008)

It's a slow build in process. I should have the baffle and sub installed this weekend. The sub is huge! Never had a 15 before


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## FunkPnut (May 16, 2008)

You still liking your H6MB's? I'm impatiently waiting for a pair or the SI's to pop up.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

FunkPnut said:


> You still liking your H6MB's? I'm impatiently waiting for a pair or the SI's to pop up.


Yes I'm definitely still loving them. Sorry but you can't have them


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## FunkPnut (May 16, 2008)

Haha I want to hear a set.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Slow moving update.

I got rid of almost all my things for a while and took a little hiatus from constantly thinking about my car, but that's over so I'll make a simple sq system which I'll be working on slowly while at school.

New setup:
Pioneer 80prs
JL MHD900/5
Scanspeak R3004 (yes the radiators)
Stereo Integrity tm65 mids
Sundown SA-12 (the only thing I kept)

I currently have the sub still where I left it, the jl amp on the old amp rack, and the 80prs installed. I plan on putting the amp under the seat, mids in new baffles in the doors, and the radiators on axis moulded in the sail panels. I'll update the thread with pictures as they come to me. Here' a couple just to make this a real update...



(Got these from Bradknob)


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Love those ring radiators


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Not that this forum is unfamiliar with the driver but here's two shots of the mids I got in the mail today.








Now I'm just waiting on the tweeters in the mail then I'll have all the major pieces of the system.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

I think those scans and the TMs will be an awesome combo. I'm really impressed with my TMs, even just on stock power. The scans sounded nice when I tested them. Luckily I didn't get enough listening to get attached to them


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> I think those scans and the TMs will be an awesome combo. I'm really impressed with my TMs, even just on stock power. The scans sounded nice when I tested them. Luckily I didn't get enough listening to get attached to them


It should be a nice sounding little system when all is said and done.

Little update: My kicker rcas were great but I got them used and now the plastic/ pvc is hard and cracking so I got a set of 6 channel Stinger 4000 series. Also went down to 4 gauge for the jl under the seat for added flexibility and maneuverability (also didn't want a reducer or distro block under the seat).


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Took a break from writing a paper to do some work. I was able to run the rcas and route the speaker wire into the doors. 









I have all the wires going to the amp on the driver side: rcas, power, 4 sets of speaker wire, phone cable for the jl gain knob, and turn on wire. 







I intended on removing the seat to put all the wires where I wanted them but this freakin bolt would NOT budge. I guess I'll have to get a stripped screw remover and wait until I go home to get my drill.


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## l a r r y (Jan 25, 2012)

those flat RCAs look pretty impressive. I like how they lay when routed


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

l a r r y said:


> those flat RCAs look pretty impressive. I like how they lay when routed


And at $25 for the 6 channel shipped, the price is just as impressive.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Went home for the weekend and did a few things last night and will hopefully get the amp installed today. I plan on installing the speakers over spring break in a few weeks. 

Old school snap-on tools ftw




There was a sturdy bolt in a perfect spot for a ground lug. I haven't checked the resistance but I'm hoping it works fine as a ground.







The zip ties aren't tight yet so I can make sure I got all the wires I need and in the order I like it. I'll update it again tonight.


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## pickup1 (May 6, 2008)

Can you fit an 8 in the door? I had a 06 and sounded great!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

pickup1 said:


> Can you fit an 8 in the door? I had a 06 and sounded great!


Id love to try those jl zr800 one day if I can. That black window holder piece in the door might take all my room though.


I got the amp installed today. Everything is connected except the front speaker wires which I'll connect over spring break. Nor did I want to drill into my car or make visible holes in the carpet so I'll use industrial strength Velcro. 





Sub wire goes to the back. I didn't get enough stinger wire to use for the sub too so I reused the kicker wire. 



This is where the front speaker wire goes into the floor so I had to cut a little strip of the carpet off (it's hidden under the panel).


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

How do you like the change from the AP widebanders to the Scan tweets on the stage?

I am considering a pair of the AP's myself but I am trying to sniff out any demons beforehand, and seeing that you have chosen these tweets instead for a two way approach is a small alert for me.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> How do you like the change from the AP widebanders to the Scan tweets on the stage?
> 
> I am considering a pair of the AP's myself but I am trying to sniff out any demons beforehand, and seeing that you have chosen these tweets instead for a two way approach is a small alert for me.


Good question; I'll let you know when I find out 

Spring break starts this weekend for me which is when I hope to get the mids installed and at least start on the sail panel pods. I also bought a set of the stereo integrity tweeters to try out. They have the exact same mounting diameter dimensions as the scan tweeters (within .1 mm) so it'll be an easy plug and play to try them out. I'll be sure to let you know.


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## Mlarson67 (Jan 9, 2015)

I highly recommend the jl zr 800s! Just put some in my 14 Silverado and they are unreal


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Mlarson67 said:


> I highly recommend the jl zr 800s! Just put some in my 14 Silverado and they are unreal


I certainly want to try them but I've heard too much about the quality of these stereo integrity mids to NOT hear them.


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## ndm (Jul 5, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> I certainly want to try them but I've heard too much about the quality of these stereo integrity mids to NOT hear them.


I have both.....

The TM65 is fricking awesome......

but

the Zr800 is .....well the fricking shiznit!!

Both of them are a more than acceptable midbass. I will run the TM65's in another build that I cannot fit a zr800. Honestly, I feel that the TM65's play lower. The ZR just plays with more authority. You will not miss a beat runnihg the TM65 though.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

ndm said:


> I have both.....
> 
> The TM65 is fricking awesome......
> 
> ...


Dang it don't change my mind a WEEK before I was finally going to install them! lol. But I really can't wait to see why people have been so impressed with the TM65.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got home yesterday for spring break and knocked these out today.









I haven't been overly proud of anything I've made so far but I really like the way these turned out  . I drilled and bored 4 holes to mount the ring to the door with 1/4-20 stainless bolts with nylon nuts, and drilled and ropes 4 8-32 holes to mount the speaker.













Here they are all washed up and shiny





Pretty sure I'll have to get some angle head bolts to mount the speaker because the head on these are a bit too big









I'll get these secured in the car Monday if all goes well and then start on the sail panels


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Just WOW!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mlarson67 (Jan 9, 2015)

Those look awesome!! Too bad you'll probably never see them


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

pjc said:


> Just WOW!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks my friend 



Mlarson67 said:


> Those look awesome!! Too bad you'll probably never see them


Right? At least I won't have to worry about them rotting out.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's one of the other things I plan to do this week: get my sail panels moulded. The diyma'er that I bought the scans from included a nice set of rings for them so I'll utilize them. I'm planning on aiming them directly between the head rests.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

That'll do donkey! That'll do.

Great work with the metal.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Notloudenuf said:


> That'll do donkey! That'll do.
> 
> Great work with the metal.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

This is from my last car:



I just bought another set to use for this car. I'll cut out the bottom so it won't be an "enclosure" but with them I'll have a nice gasket in between the aluminum and the speaker and I'll have an "umbrella" to protect the speakers against water.


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

love the rings!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

rockinridgeline said:


> love the rings!


Thanks!

I got them installed and running today . Didn't have any major hiccups except a couple of the bolts messing up on me. I'll have to remove them tomorrow to put the foam in but they are in and running and I can't wait to put the tweeters in!













Here's the bolts I ended up using


I soldered it to 2 ohms and used connectors to hook it up in the car




Same on passenger side


I don't know what happened but stainless is so wimpy..I had to dremel these off


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Also got the amp hooked up the rest of the way and the tweeter rings aimed.

The amp is easy to get to with just pushing the seat back
















Also put some epoxy on the connection to make sure it stays put







So tomorrow I'll shape up the panels with Popsicle sticks and filler and start the sanding process :/


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Digging the work on the rings. Very nice.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

rton20s said:


> Digging the work on the rings. Very nice.


Thanks


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm still no good at fiberglassing but I did get a layer down on the pods today. I'll let them cure overnight but I'm hoping tomorrow I can put a layer of filler and start to get some shaping done.



I glued a thin layer of fiberglass cloth in place and then put resin on it to get a basic shape.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's how far I got today before having to spend some family time  I have the basic shape down and now it's just smoothing everything out. Not sure if I want to use black vinyl or paint it flat black yet.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

College has given me a 12-7 sleep schedule so when everyone at home went to bed I did a couple more layers of filler and a quick test on them. I've been sitting in the car for a few minutes with all 5 speakers going and OH MY GOODNESS it's great. Haven't even tuned it yet but just on gain all the way down and position on "front" on the 80prs the tweeters are just special. For $400, this tm65+r3004 combo would be very hard to beat imo.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

They look finished already 

Any comparisons to the audible physics? Does your stage feel lower than before? What are the tweets crossed at?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> They look finished already
> 
> Any comparisons to the audible physics? Does your stage feel lower than before? What are the tweets crossed at?


They'll be finished with 5+ hours of work 

Sub: lpf 68Hz @ 24dB
Mid: bpf 68-2.5kHz both @ 24dB
High : hpf 2.5kHz @ 24dB

I'll tune the car sometime soon and let you know but as of now the stage is wider but a bit closer than with the aps


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I ended up not moving the tweeters after installing them for the test run because I simply ran out of time. I put the door panels back on and cleaned up before making the three hour trip back to school. I'll finish the body work this summer (if I still have the same speakers  )

I did, however, run the autotune from the Pioneer last night and have already spent about 4-5 hours listening to the music (including the trip to school). I really like the way the music sounds now. At least a dozen times I muted the mids to make sure that the tweeters weren't playing the whole frequency range because it seemed like every bit of the music was coming from above the dash. Even without the autotune the tm65 mids disappeared completely somehow, simply amazing. The tweeters are very revealing and detailed, however after the second hour of driving I felt myself wincing at some cymbals and crashes in the music. Perhaps I'm just tired though.

Here's a few songs of note that I listened to and what I thought about them..

Hillsong - Oceans: this song has a very strong female vocalist and I personally really like the song. I have heard her sing live once and it was incredible, but listening to it in the car was easily second best. It felt like I could reach out and touch her, as if she were singing right in front of me. The system kept up with her voice very well.

Tangled - I See the Light: Yeah I know it's Disney, but get over it. I love Disney . I felt like the song went very well in the system. I winced a couple times when she hit the high notes but overall it wasn't bad and as usual, the mids didn't skew her voice at all.

Marianas Trench - Masterpiece Theater: I found this band a few weeks ago and fell in love with it. I think there are three of these songs (three parts rather) however I was on Pandora so I couldn't listen to all of them. I found myself lost in the music though, loving every second of it. The speakers handled the slightly higher male voice just as well as the female voice; his voice sounded very natural and realistic.

A Day to Remember - You had me at Hello: The two main notes on this song was the strong male voice and the acoustic guitar. The voices were perhaps not as natural sounding as with higher voices but it certainly wasn't bad. As for the acoustic guitar, it was pretty good. There's nothing quite like having my roommate play his guitar directly beside me, but for a reproduction, I'd say they did very well.

Breaking Benjamin - Had Enough: Along with Three Days Grace, Skillet, TFK, and a few others, this is one of my favorite bands of all time. Had enough isn't my favorite song by them but it's what Pandora gave me so I took it. The band has a very strong bass guitar presence, and I could tell it with my system. The mids did a great job of both playing the notes and bringing the subbass up front.


Overall, I had one of the best trips to school I've had yet. Everything (including the bass) was up front and above dash level. The mids are incredible and the tweeters, although a bit harsh at times for me, are just as wonderful to listen to.


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## cjbrownco (Apr 30, 2014)

Subscribed


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The last few weeks have been loaded with school and next week starts final exams but after I get home and take a few days off I'll try to finish up the sail panels. 

Basing off the past three years, right about now is when I start thinking about what else to put in my car. Usually a new set of speakers or a new amp :/

However, I have no desire to change this time around. I haven't touched the settings in over a month and I've enjoyed music in the car everyday. And I don't think I could get better components (except possibly the sub) for the price range I'm in now. So yeah, updates coming within a few weeks.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

WhereAmEye? said:


> .... However, I have no desire to change this time around......


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Got home yesterday for spring break and knocked these out today.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow! Great job on the TM65 adapter rings!!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


>


Lol I'm actually serious!



Electrodynamic said:


> Wow! Great job on the TM65 adapter rings!!


Quality rings for quality speakers!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got a day off work today and finally finished up. I sanded and bodied a little bit then painted them with black textured SEM paint and I'm happy with them. 









I also put some fresh foam on the edge and new clips for the mounting holes


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Damn dude, those came out REALLY nice! Good work


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

How much for a set of A pillars?? 

If you have any free time would love to hear the tm65's...looking forward to the v2's coming out.
Havent read through the earlier posts, but you got rid of the mosconi and now have a Pioneer?

Its rural out here in Concord, we could jam out.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> Damn dude, those came out REALLY nice! Good work


Thanks man!



crackinhedz said:


> How much for a set of A pillars??
> 
> If you have any free time would love to hear the tm65's...looking forward to the v2's coming out.
> Havent read through the earlier posts, but you got rid of the mosconi and now have a Pioneer?
> ...


I'm totally down to meet up now that I actually have a finished system lol. And...v2?! I might get a pair when the v3 comes out


----------



## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Just let me know when youre free! This weekend, next weekend... Let me know. 

Can't say Im super happy with my tune (staging is good but tonailty can use some work), but maybe a second set of ears can help.


----------



## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> Just let me know when youre free! This weekend, next weekend... Let me know.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah probably shouldn't trust my ears but I'll be happy to listen to it 

And to answer your question yeah I sold the mosconi and am just using the 80prs auto tune. It works good enough for me until my car audio budget goes back up haha.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Hey guys.

As a precursor..the Scan tweeters and the SI mids are NOT getting moved or removed.

However, since I'm at home for the summer I want some stuff to do with the car to keep me busy on the weekends and some evenings. So I'm going to try a three way front stage for the first time  .

- I already bought a Mosconi 6to8v8 and controller from classifieds (thanks #1Mike)
- The JL is for sale so I can get seven (more affordable) channels, possibly a JL xd600/6 + xd600/1.
- I'm getting rid of the Pioneer and just running a new-to-me 5th gen iPod classic into the Mosconi (for now)
- My buddy is getting my Sundown sub. I think I'm going to try a side mounted fiberglass enclosure for the IDQ12 that's been in my closet.
- I'm moulding a pair of Scanspeak 10f mids into my a-pillars (probably off-axis directly facing each other so that I can wrap the vinyl easier).


I made a Solidworks assembly of the mounting rings for the 10f's:





The space near the left edge is to provide space for the vinyl to be tucked into



The bottom portion will be cut from aluminum then get aimed and glued to the a-pillar and have grill cloth stretched around it. It will be tapped for (hopefully) 6-32 stainless bolts. After body working, I will wrap the pillar in vinyl and the ring will provide a place to tuck the vinyl into.



The next piece will be aluminum as well. It will be sandwiched between the mounted aluminum piece and the speaker. It will provide an aluminum trim ring around the speaker for looks.





I'm not sure when I'll be able to do all of this but it'll be sometime in the next couple months


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Wow that is way cool!! And to think I'm just doing some 1/4" PVC with some low temp plastic to flush it in.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

^^You got me beat because you actually have the speakers and the mounts on you lol

Have you got to listen to them at all yet? I'm wondering how much of an impact adding the midranges will make.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

If any of you are interested, we're getting into the 3D printed speaker mounts over at road.com.au (previously mobile electronics Australia, previously car audio Australia). Some awesome designs happening. 

Great if you don't want to fiberglass haha

http://www.road.com.au/forums/topic/572726-3d-printed-car-audio-parts/

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> ^^You got me beat because you actually have the speakers and the mounts on you lol
> 
> Have you got to listen to them at all yet? I'm wondering how much of an impact adding the midranges will make.



Nope been working on the IB wall and additional wiring to come. Whole car is torn down. Amps on a shelf. To answer your question, it's going to be a huge impact. I have heard them in other cars. They're tremendously good mids. The shining star of the whole Scan Discovery line I think. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

TwistdInfinity said:


> If any of you are interested, we're getting into the 3D printed speaker mounts over at road.com.au (previously mobile electronics Australia, previously car audio Australia). Some awesome designs happening.
> 
> Great if you don't want to fiberglass haha
> 
> ...



Considering the fun I had today just trying to do a straight cut on low temp plastic then attempt to get it around some D3004 rings, this is quite tempting. Very doggone tempting. Some flushed in 10F and D3004 rings would simply rock. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Just a small update.

I ended up finding a jl xd600/6 on eBay for a good price which I'll use to run each of the six front speakers. I bought a refurb kenwood x500-1 with a Paypal coupon and ended up paying $75 for it; I installed one for my friend years ago and I liked it's simple look and inexpensive power.

Still not sure what midranges I'm going for; it's between the scanspeak 10f or a set of audiofrog gb25's. I'm sure I can't go wrong with either but I haven't decided yet.

Finally for today, I decided to keep my 80prs. I've been using the iPod into the auxiliary port of my stock radio the past few days and I hate not having the controls on the radio itself. I had to make a few adjustments though: try to get rid of the alternator whine and destroy the beep.

To get rid of the alternator whine I'm going to try grounding the rca shields:


To get rid of the beep I took the radio apart and completely removed the piezo speaker.






And put some liquid electric tape so there won't be any accidental shorts


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

NICE! If you could bypass the DAC on these things and add a good toslink output, you'd be a lot of folks' hero.


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## Onyx1136 (Mar 15, 2009)

Babs said:


> NICE! If you could bypass the DAC on these things and add a good toslink output, you'd be a lot of folks' hero.


Here's how you do that. 

Adding Optical output to an Alpine CDA-9813

The part numbers have changed, but it's still a cheap and easy modification if you have some soldering iron skills.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Onyx1136 said:


> Here's how you do that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Cool. Yeah I was looking but thought someone in here at one time I was attempting optical out with an 80PRS specifically. The thread escapes me though.


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## Yawar538 (Aug 28, 2013)

Onyx1136 said:


> Here's how you do that.
> 
> Adding Optical output to an AlpineÂ*CDA-9813
> 
> The part numbers have changed, but it's still a cheap and easy modification if you have some soldering iron skills.


Sorry for being off-topic OP

Do you have any other link to the process of turning a HU like 80PRS to an optical out one?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

It's easy to take the digital out from the CD player but I think you only get optical out from the CDs and not from other sources, I.e. An iPod. 

To get optical out for all sources you have to work backwards: rca, back to the power supply, back to the DAC. I don't know how off the top of my head but I might look into it one day.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I crushed my thumb at work today so I won't be working (at work or in the car) for a while. A steel beam fell on it and broke the bone and completely removed the nail. I have to go to a surgeon tomorrow to see if they can save the tip of my thumb or not. Right now I'm on tons of meds and bed rest


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

WhereAmEye? said:


> As a precursor..the SI mids are NOT getting moved or removed.


Had to fix that lol. Going to get some audiofrog gb25+gb10 goodness instead of the scans  Can't wait!


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## Onyx1136 (Mar 15, 2009)

WhereAmEye? said:


> It's easy to take the digital out from the CD player but I think you only get optical out from the CDs and not from other sources, I.e. An iPod.
> 
> To get optical out for all sources you have to work backwards: rca, back to the power supply, back to the DAC. I don't know how off the top of my head but I might look into it one day.


You're correct, on most decks you will only get CD source out if you add an optical output. There's a chance you could get iPod out as well, but that's going to depend on the circuitry in the deck. It might even be possible to add 2 optical outputs, one for CD and one for iPod, but that would get a little clunky. To know for sure you'd just have to download the service manual for your particular deck and start measuring pin outs.


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## Onyx1136 (Mar 15, 2009)

Yawar538 said:


> Sorry for being off-topic OP
> 
> Do you have any other link to the process of turning a HU like 80PRS to an optical out one?


I've never seen one for the 80PRS specifically, but the process doesn't change regardless of the model of the deck. Just search online for the service manual for your model, find the proper pin-outs, measure to verify, and start soldering. If you're unsure about any of those steps, I would recommend having someone do it for you. There is definitely the potential to turn your deck into a paperweight if you're unsure of what you're doing.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Most decks and modern audio circuits use i2s as the method of passing the data from one section of the board to another. If you can find some i2s lines then it's easy, just get something from miniDIGI to change it to spdif 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## Mlarson67 (Jan 9, 2015)

WhereAmEye? said:


> I crushed my thumb at work today so I won't be working (at work or in the car) for a while. A steel beam fell on it and broke the bone and completely removed the nail. I have to go to a surgeon tomorrow to see if they can save the tip of my thumb or not. Right now I'm on tons of meds and bed rest


That sucks...been there done that! Ran mine thru a tablesaw. It's gonna hurt a while. It will get better though. Hope they can save the tip


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Mlarson67 said:


> That sucks...been there done that! Ran mine thru a tablesaw. It's gonna hurt a while. It will get better though. Hope they can save the tip


Yeah me too! He kept feeling my thumbnail and asked me if I was sure the nail was there because it was squishy. Then he told me I didn't have a nail at all and the bone above the knuckle is fractured pretty bad. I guess my thumbnail is still in my glove at work :blush:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I can't do much obviously but I have gotten a few things in the mail, including the 6 channel jl, a scosche dash kit, and some tesa felt tape. I've wanted to use the felt tape for a long time but never got any, glad I finally did though. 







So here's the current items list:
Pioneer 80prs
Mosconi 6to8v8
Jl xd 600/6
Stereo integrity tm65
Audiofrog gb25 mids
Audiofrog gb10 tweeters
Kenwood x500-1


Still not sure what sub I'll use but I have an idq12 and a Dayton ho 10 in my possession right now.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

WhereAmEye? said:


> However, I have no desire to change this time around....






bradknob said:


>






WhereAmEye? said:


> Lol I'm actually serious




Quoting bc I told you so! Lol


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> ..some tesa felt tape. I've wanted to use the felt tape for a long time but never got any, glad I finally did though.


Yeah that stuff is the bomb! Makes doing nice clean harness work a breeze. I'll be doing a long wrap with it for the new speaker wire runs.. Don't know if I'll want to do the full speaker run spun on drill this way but may try..


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Yeah that stuff is the bomb! Makes doing nice clean harness work a breeze. I'll be doing a long wrap with it for the new speaker wire runs.. Don't know if I'll want to do the full speaker run spun on drill this way but may try..


i have to run a new set of speaker wires for the mids anyway so I might try this, even if only part of the run.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Having to sit in bed all day per the doctors orders is allowing me ample time to think about what I'm going to do to the car. 

Last night I ordered another run of 4 gauge to go to the back of the car for the mono amp, more 16 gauge speaker wire for the new fronts, and a long rca to run from the pioneer to the mosconi. I'm going to mount the mosconi and the kenwood mono in the trunk and put the jl 6 channel under the seat where the HD amp used to be. 

I also bought some 4 way stretch black vinyl from yourautotrim (thanks Bradknob for the lead). I'll use it on my a pillars when I get them finished. They say imitation is the best form of flattery or something like that so my plan is to pretty much copy bing's pillars from his MDX build log...I imagined myself looking at these pillars in my own car ever since I first saw the build and it might become a reality within a couple months. I'm so excited!


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Dang I'd love some of that vinyl. Congrats on the elite audiofrog mids and highs. I'm super jelly.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> Dang I'd love some of that vinyl. Congrats on the elite audiofrog mids and highs. I'm super jelly.


I haven't technically bought them yet but theyre ready for me, I just have to pay for them. I'm waiting until I go back to work to buy them just in case I can't go back to work for a while.

Do you not have a similar vinyl distributor down there?


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Could do...they'd probably charge limbs


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I got the okay by the surgeon yesterday to start doing things again, howbeit being careful not to use my right hand too much. So for the first time in a couple weeks I used a bit of elbow grease and ran another 4 gauge run into the car for the kenwood.

I had this short 1/0 laying around so I ran it to the tsunami I picked up on classifieds for a fused distribution.












I found a helix p six on classifieds for the same price as what I could get out of the jl xd and the mosconi; so I got it of course. It's in the mail but I will have 120 watts going to each of the four audiofrogs, 215 watts going to the tm65 @ 2 ohms, and a helix 8 channel dsp (with rca out and remote out for the mono amp). For the same price I'd say it's a pretty fair trade off 

Once the jl xd and the image dynamics sub sells I'll buy the audiofrogs and have everything I need to install it all (except a fully functioning thumb lol).


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Considering I already sold the mosconi this reallly sucks  (for me but also for the seller)




On the upside I paid for the audiofrog speakers. So if nothing else goes wrong I'll at least have them soon. I think I'm going to try a minidsp 6to8 to process it and probably keep the jl xd for powering the front speakers.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Not really an update, I just wanted to join the DIYMA 500 club 

But I did get a good chunk of the new wiring done this evening. I'll secure the jl under the seat tomorrow so that all the leftover work will be in the trunk and the pillars. And I'll get some pictures up tomorrow.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Last night and this evening I ran the wires under the seat or to the trunk, secured the head unit, and mounted the 6 channel under the seat.

Here's the two sets of 16 gauge for the pillars





I put a piece of mdf under the carpet and screwed the amp into it. I put a couple Velcro strips under the mdf just to protect against rattles, the seat holds the carpet down so it doesn't move. 



Had to route this channel on the bottom of the mdf because Nissan doesn't like flat surfaces (which does protect against panel resonance I guess). 




I combined the two sets of speaker wire in the door for the midbass whenever I decide to open up the door again. 


And I officially love tesa felt tape..




By moving the seat all the way forward I have access to the amp settings easily. 




I looked up to my rear deck and saw the mini rack I had the mosconi 4to6 on and will probably mount the new processor and mono amp up there. When I get the processor :/


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## ewward31 (Jul 5, 2016)

Just looked through the whole thread and have the same car. Some nice ideas here. Following.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

ewward31 said:


> Just looked through the whole thread and have the same car. Some nice ideas here. Following.


Sorry if it was hard to keep up with..I like to try a little bit of everything for the fun of it 

Got the minidsp and an LED strip today from Amazon. It'll prolly sit in my room until the weekend, however I did get the software up and running with some basic preliminary stuff down like crossovers and I/O stuff.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

A local buddy of mine wanted a cheap system so I sold him my Dayton 10 and kenwood so I got a 10w7 and hd750/1 from classifieds. The amp isn't here yet but I did build the box this weekend. Made from birch plywood from HD, brad nails, and gorilla wood glue. I wanted it ported but also angled so I came up with this. Box is 1.59 cuft (.09 cuft sub displacement) tuned at ~30 hertz.
















I used the mounting plate from the jl packaging as a template for my double baffle. Rough one piece with jigsaw, flush trim bit finish, use first baffle as template for second baffle, jigsaw rough cut, glue the two baffles together, finish the second baffle. And used the template for the mounting holes. 












1.5" spacers for the port




















Template for the jl grill aluminum bars



I'm going to make a false wall so I put vinyl on the face for now. I'm waiting on speaker wire and some brackets to finish up but hopefully it'll sound nice.





Oh and that metal bracket in the last picture is going to be my amp rack hanging from the rear shelf after I weld on mounting tabs, clean up the welds, sandblast it, and paint/ primer it black.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The glue I used for the vinyl sucked so I ripped it off. I tried some leftover hh-66 vinyl cement from my sds order on a scrap piece and will see tomorrow if it works. Made some 90 degree angles to hold the box still and I can tell it'll take up less space than my sundown box.







But I got my audiofrogs! They're beautiful and dying to be installed. (I got the gb25 from an authorized dealer so they're perfect, but the used tweeters have a little dent in the grill; hopefully I can buy a new one).


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## FunkPnut (May 16, 2008)

Yes, awesome speakers.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Yeaaaaa buddy. I have a feeling ur gonna love that combo.....



They installed yet? What are you waiting on? Hurry


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> Yeaaaaa buddy. I have a feeling ur gonna love that combo.....
> 
> 
> 
> They installed yet? What are you waiting on? Hurry


I've had them for about 4 hours. I know that's plenty of time for you but us normal people need a few more hours or days


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

WhereAmEye? said:


> I've had them for about 4 hours. I know that's plenty of time for you but us normal people need a few more hours or days




Lol.... Gotta do what u gotta do sometimes.


Current situation:









About 35 min invested


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got the amp and speaker wire today. Should be everything I need for this round. 

Also good news is that hh-66 works leaps and bounds better than the old glue I used. It works on wood, hopefully it works on body filler for my pillars too. It actually takes force to remove vinyl from the wood..


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I decided enough was enough and hooked everything up for a test run. Hooked it all up, carefully configured the minidsp software, tested all the speakers, and have been listening to it untuned for about thirty minutes now. Loving every freakin second of it! These are pictures from a tired me so I'll get better pictures tomorrow. The amp rack didn't work because of the trunk torsion bars so I attached the jl HD to the side of the box and will find a place for the minidsp. 













I'm hoping to build my pillars this weekend and once the speakers are in a permanent spot I'll begin time alignment and tuning. But I'm definitely happy with everything right now.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

U love the miniDSP software, found it so easy to use. I'm about to sell my c dsp though as I bought a Helix P Six DSP MKII, couldn't pass up the fact it has 6x120w and a dsp in built. Costly but space saving. 

The helix software is all over the place though, got into to take some getting used to I think. 

Good luck with finalizing everything! Love seeing a build coming to a finish (can we ever say they're finished though?) 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

TwistdInfinity said:


> U love the miniDSP software, found it so easy to use. I'm about to sell my c dsp though as I bought a Helix P Six DSP MKII, couldn't pass up the fact it has 6x120w and a dsp in built. Costly but space saving.
> 
> The helix software is all over the place though, got into to take some getting used to I think.
> 
> ...


I bought one of those on classifieds a couple weeks ago but it didn't work out for some reason on the sellers end. 

It seems like everyone is getting one of those though!

Yeah I actually really want to finalize things this time so that I'll have a completed sound system for the NCSQ meet this fall. Can't wait for that.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The only thing I had time to do today after work was remove the liner from the a pillars and prepare the audiofrog baffles for mounting :/



Don't get audiofrog stuff if you have shaky hands..


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

What's the go with those rings? 

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

TwistdInfinity said:


> What's the go with those rings?
> 
> Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


Online all you really see is this:





But there's also a black ring that attaches to the underside of that gray ring. The black ring has tapped holes to mount the speakers to and is attached to the gray ring with 8 little bolts:


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Wow that's enough to send you a little nuts... Get it? Haha okay I'll show myself out 

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

TwistdInfinity said:


> Wow that's enough to send you a little nuts... Get it? Haha okay I'll show myself out
> 
> Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


Hahaha what's funny is that of all the hardware in the box there's not a single nut


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Non car audio update..I pulled out my temporary plastic finger nail (had surgery to fix it after my accident) finally so all that's left is another X-ray in two weeks to make sure the bone healed correctly. Here's the start of my new nail..


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Man those rings look huge, are they required for use with those audiofrogs?

Excited to see this system when its all said and done (or close to it). :cool2:


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Dam! Ur thumb pic popped up in my face as I posted my comment. 

Wasn't. ready. for. that. :worried:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> Man those rings look huge, are they required for use with those audiofrogs?
> 
> Excited to see this system when its all said and done (or close to it). :cool2:


They're not required but they work flawlessly with the grill and trim ring so I'm going to use them anyway.

Yeah I've spent more than enough money already this summer so every improvement I can get with what I have will be solely from tuning. As intuitive as the minidsp GUI is I honestly can't wait to get behind a laptop for a few hours here and there trying to get it to sound great. I'm super excited!



crackinhedz said:


> Dam! Ur thumb pic popped up in my face as I posted my comment.
> 
> Wasn't. ready. for. that. :worried:


Sorry man, I just wanted everyone to see my new addition haha


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Haha you know what's funny? All of my major car audio install changes have come when I've had surgery. 

Last year I had shoulder surgery and bought a 3 way hertz mille set and installed it all with custom pods once my arm was usable enough. 
Then I had ankle surgery and installed new idmax subs and the C DSP once my ankle was good enough. 
And a week ago I just had hip surgery and just installed a nexus 7 head unit, and am about to install the helix p six dsp under a seat so that requires all the speaker wires, rca's, power wires and spdif cable to be moved from the boot to the seat position which means pulling out the majority of the trims and the seat and the arm rest console etc etc haha 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

TwistdInfinity said:


> Haha you know what's funny? All of my major car audio install changes have come when I've had surgery.
> 
> Last year I had shoulder surgery and bought a 3 way hertz mille set and installed it all with custom pods once my arm was usable enough.
> Then I had ankle surgery and installed new idmax subs and the C DSP once my ankle was good enough.
> ...


Dang dude, the surgeons love you!

I think it's because we get so tired of laying around trying to heal that we have to do something physical like that. I tried to change my radio the day after my surgery while I was still on antibiotic and got sick and a headache haha. Had to wait at least a few days.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Today I aimed the mids and tweeters and got up to the fiberglass resin stage but didn't want to deal with resin today. The mids are almost facing each other and the tweeters are more towards the opposite passenger, just like the example I showed earlier. This way wasn't too bulky and looks good to me.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

gonna be nice. Those rings dont look too big when compared against the pillar. Did you test frequency response before set in that position?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> gonna be nice. Those rings dont look too big when compared against the pillar. Did you test frequency response before set in that position?


No I didn't. I restricted myself to that location for aesthetic reasons but also because of the off axis response of these mids. Erin tested these and up to 3500 hertz the response is flat and nearly identical for on and off axis. This is Erin's image from his website:



And for the record, my crossovers are set at:
Sub lpf 70Hz
Midbass 70-300Hz
Midrange 300-3500Hz
Tweeters hpf 3500Hz

All linkwitz @ 24dB.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Cool, I was curious how the handle off axis.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

It's not just about off axis response of the driver though, don't forget to take into the different diffraction characteristics it'll have on that angle. Doesn't matter now though, you're too far in haha. 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Lookin good


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

TwistdInfinity said:


> It's not just about off axis response of the driver though, don't forget to take into the different diffraction characteristics it'll have on that angle. Doesn't matter now though, you're too far in haha.
> 
> Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


I probably didn't do all the things a true DIYer would do but I want to finish my car completely before August 26 when I go back to school (senior year baby!!) and save some time to spend with my family. I'm a little tired of working 12 hour days so I'm ready to be done 



Babs said:


> Lookin good
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks!

How about I'll do your pillars if you come give me an IB install


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## Theslaking (Oct 8, 2013)

WhereAmEye? said:


>


I can't believe this build- you didn't even use matching towels. I'm unsubscribing!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Theslaking said:


> I can't believe this build- you didn't even use matching towels. I'm unsubscribing!


Diversity is the spice of life! Plus i wanted to see how the different colors affected the sound signature of the drivers :mean::laugh:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'll let the pictures talk







Milkshake..






























I still have to do a small bit of sanding and vinyl the driver side but I'm pleased with the outcome of the passenger side. Vinyl was a pain to put on and there's a few imperfections but not enough to make me hate it.


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## MrGreen83 (Jun 11, 2015)

Awesome 


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Nicely done!


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Damn fine job dude!

Now they look as good as they sound.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

MrGreen83 said:


> Awesome
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





Babs said:


> Nicely done!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





bradknob said:


> Damn fine job dude!
> 
> Now they look as good as they sound.


Thanks guys!

Brad...I'm not worthy of that compliment yet


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Looks gorgeous!

I will say this. Kudos to Andy for the hardware they designed with the Audiofrog drivers. I'd say they do the classiest trim hardware available. Looks every bit at home in a Chevy, a Subaru, a Benz or a Ferrari. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Looks gorgeous!
> 
> I will say this. Kudos to Andy for the hardware they designed with the Audiofrog drivers. I'd say they do the classiest trim hardware available. Looks every bit at home in a Chevy, a Subaru, a Benz or a Ferrari.
> 
> ...


I have to agree. I know they sound absolutely incredible on there own, but the design and included hardware makes it all the better. 

Don't forget Nissan...I have the same AC vents and controls, all with chrome accent rings:


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## carlr (Feb 27, 2011)

Man those pillars came out really nice looking - stellar piece of work!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

carlr said:


> Man those pillars came out really nice looking - stellar piece of work!


Thanks!

I decided to take the evening off after work and stay indoors. I'm tired of 95 degrees and high humidity 

But here's my to do list I'm hoping to get done within a week or two..
1. Finish sanding, installing driver side a pillar
2. Make a rack for the minidsp to go on the rear shelf
3. Finish the false wall/ face of the subbox
4. Get a decent preliminary ta/ eq going


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## FunkPnut (May 16, 2008)

Looks awesome! The vinyl used is a great match.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

FunkPnut said:


> Looks awesome! The vinyl used is a great match.


I really needed to use the four way stretch and got lucky about the color match. Thanks!

By the way for those wanting vinyl, I highly recommend splurging on four way stretch vinyl and some hh-66 vinyl cement. I checked out the pillars this evening after baking in the sun all day and didn't see any bubbles or stretching, plus all I needed was a little help from the heat gun and the vinyl wrapped relatively easy.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Wow those camw out great!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

```

```



crackinhedz said:


> Wow those camw out great!


Thank you sir 

I almost finished them this evening. I still need to make a bracket for the backside to secure the tweeters in place (the hardware that came with them doesn't fit inside my pillars). And I want to tidy up the wiring with some tesa tape, labels/ clear heat shrink, and maybe xt-60 connectors...and get some fresh sail panels

It was too dark to get good pictures but I'll get some good ones after securing the tweeters


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Who needs mobile solutions when you have klingspor...


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Made a simple processor rack that will take the place of my old rack. It's just a piece of birch glued to the old rack and then carpeted. The old bolts weren't long enough so I'll install it tomorrow after getting more bolts.





Threaded brass inserts..



Not the best carpeting job but it's essentially just there as a decoupled from the sheet metal. It's gona be hidden behind the false wall anyway.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Nice man, love it! 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Guys....I'm sooooo close to being done. All I have left to do physically is cut the false wall and secure the minidsp controller somewhere and I'll be done.

Here's the finished a pillars. There's a screwup at the left tweeter but I knew my first vinyl job would have something go wrong. But I'm okay with it! They're done!







Money shot mk.2 




Next I finished the processor rack and wiring 










I also finished the sub box. Vinyl on the front with the w7 grill, jl HD mounted on the sided, and some metal angles to mount the false wall. 











Blurry pic but shows the power/ ground for the HD 




And the last thing I saw before going inside..






Give me one more day of work and I'll have a complete system!


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Dude that looks nice!


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Looking veerrryyy nice. How sticky is that felt looming tape? I wanted to loom up all my wires running through the car, but didn't want to make them all sticky for when I remove them

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Bluenote said:


> Dude that looks nice!





TwistdInfinity said:


> Looking veerrryyy nice. How sticky is that felt looming tape? I wanted to loom up all my wires running through the car, but didn't want to make them all sticky for when I remove them
> 
> Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


Thanks guys!

Twisted it's crazy how "unsticky" this tape is. If you're scared it'll end up looking like electrical tape then don't worry at all. Don't get me wrong, tesa tape 'holds' to wires and itself very very well, but it leaves hardly any residue at all. That's my experience so far at least.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Damn, I wish I had of used some now! 

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I went to the car with my laptop and was going to try and tune some so I muted each of the channels except one at a time and listened to each individual driver. 

When I got to the right midrange I heard a bit of a rattle so I turned it up decently loud and it became unbearable. I took the speaker out and held it in my hand and tried again...still there. I switched the left and right rca on the amp and tried again...still there. I corrected the rca channels and switched the speaker connections thinking maybe it was grounded somewhere...still there. 

I bought them from an authorized dealer so I can get a replacement if I need it but dang. Thought I was so close. I know I didn't blow it or send bad signal to it, it sounds like something is rattling within the speaker at high volumes. It does seem to go away when I up the high pass to around 1khz...like it can't play as low as I know the driver should be able to. The left one sounds fine. I don't know.


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

I had the exact same problem with my right Mid range driver. It turned out to be a 3mm nut stuck onto the spider by the the force of the magnet beneath it. 

Actually it turned it to be two of them! That explains where they went when I unscrewed them once before haha. I thought I had a blows mid range for a few days till I discovered that. 

Hopefully it's something simple like that for you too! 

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

TwistdInfinity said:


> I had the exact same problem with my right Mid range driver. It turned out to be a 3mm nut stuck onto the spider by the the force of the magnet beneath it.
> 
> Actually it turned it to be two of them! That explains where they went when I unscrewed them once before haha. I thought I had a blows mid range for a few days till I discovered that.
> 
> ...


If you weren't in Australia I'd give you a hug. Found this absolutely tiny bolt inside it and now it's gone


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## TwistdInfinity (Jun 7, 2015)

Haha man the reason I'm following this build is that you have a very similar mentality and approach to car audio as myself. 

It's kinda hilarious to see you had the exact same problem too! 

And interestingly enough I was just out in the car doing my first set of measurements an hour ago. 

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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

hope theres no damage left behind


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

TwistdInfinity said:


> Haha man the reason I'm following this build is that you have a very similar mentality and approach to car audio as myself.
> 
> It's kinda hilarious to see you had the exact same problem too!
> 
> ...





Kazuhiro said:


> hope theres no damage left behind


Kaz I don't think there's any damage. Doesn't sound like it anyway which is what matters lol. 

Twisted, and others, I've tried to start tuning and build my false wall but it's too blasted hot outside. My car said 100 degrees at 5:15 on my way home from work. Index was 105. Stupid. The foothills of North Carolina should not be this hot.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

And here i am in the middle of the pacific not getting a day over 50


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> And here i am in the middle of the pacific not getting a day over 50


What I wouldn't give for a 50 degree day :mean:


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Gonna be a dumb question. Let's say you decide to redo the frogs differently or take to another car.. Can the rings be retrieved out of the glass work like this without too much damage? 

I suppose Andy intended them for use exactly like you've done, which looks awesome. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Gonna be a dumb question. Let's say you decide to redo the frogs differently or take to another car.. Can the rings be retrieved out of the glass work like this without too much damage?
> 
> I suppose Andy intended them for use exactly like you've done, which looks awesome.
> 
> ...


I think it's safe to say you won't be getting the aluminum parts back. I glued and fiber glasses mine in too strongly to even try. 

However I know other people who have talked to Andy and he provided them with new hardware.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got a pioneer x4800 to replace the 80prs. Nice full size screen and strong output.
I also bought some new sail panels so the front is finished. Now I need to build the wall and tune some more.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Now I need to build the wall and tune some more.



Wall? As in IB?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> Wall? As in IB?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk







Lol no not a wall. A false wall for the 10w7.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Lol no not a wall. A false wall for the 10w7.




Oh.. Derrrrrp!!


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

Looking forward to hearing this thing at the upcoming meet! I love me a w7, and yer fab work on the pillars looks great. Foothills of n.c. huh, me too, where you at?


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Don't worry babs I'll get your fix soon


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

claydo said:


> Looking forward to hearing this thing at the upcoming meet! I love me a w7, and yer fab work on the pillars looks great. Foothills of n.c. huh, me too, where you at?


Im in conover, which is right down the street from hickory. Where you at?


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

Beautiful build. Tessa Tape is easily the best thing I have discovered since I have been installing.


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Im in conover, which is right down the street from hickory. Where you at?[/QUOTE?
> 
> Yadkin county, bout an hour north of statesville.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I was in elkin last weekend for my concealed carry class. That's pretty close I bet.


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

WhereAmEye? said:


> I was in elkin last weekend for my concealed carry class. That's pretty close I bet.


Yup....bout 20 minutes from the house.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Finally under 90 degrees today and I had some time so I finished the false wall for the subbox. I'll put up build pics tomorrow but here's the important part..






Now I need to secure the minidsp controller somewhere and tune.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's a few build pics of the wall and also securing the minidsp controller



























This spot is made to hold the key for you since it's a keyless start push button. I never use it so it was perfect to hold the controller. I put two threaded rivets in the controller and mounted it from the top.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

This thread is the gift that keeps on givin'! Better than the jelly of the month club!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> This thread is the gift that keeps on givin'! Better than the jelly of the month club!


Lol. Funny story is that I'm done with any installation until at least after the meet. I go back to school this Friday so I can't touch anything without risking not having an install for the meet 

I do need to spend a few hours tuning though!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got to meet up with Eric (aka crackinhedz) today and had a good time listening to each other's cars and talked about the positives and negatives of each.

Dummy idiot me blew my right tweeter by typing in the wrong value into the crossover while trying to get a pink noise measurement. I don't have the time or money to get a new one by next weekend so I'll just be enjoying other people's systems at the meet I guess. I can't wait to listen to them!


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## MrGreen83 (Jun 11, 2015)

Quick question. With having a ported box...and then putting the false wall....how does the port "breathe" with the wall blocking it? 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

MrGreen83 said:


> Quick question. With having a ported box...and then putting the false wall....how does the port "breathe" with the wall blocking it?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If you look at the picture of the back of the face you can see I cut a slot out to allow the port to breathe. I covered the slot with carpet for aesthetic reasons but the carpet is pretty breathable stuff. I can tell a small decrease in output with the cover versus no cover but it's not just blocking the port.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

I'm really sorry I missed my chance to check out this install and hear it.

Hopefully in the spring.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Notloudenuf said:


> I'm really sorry I missed my chance to check out this install and hear it.
> 
> Hopefully in the spring.


It's all good man. I learned that I have a long ways to go anyway. I will say I am really enjoying the sound of my car as it sits (even with the stage being way left because of the bad tweeter). It definitely has potential. 

I also got to have a demo with clay (claydo) and he offered his help with tuning my car after I get it all back up running. He's only about an hour from home so itll definitely be a valuable drive for me.

This spring is my last semester of school so Ill probably be too busy but if not I'll definitely be there. It was good to finally hear an sq car and see what I'm missing out on


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I needed to recoup some funds for my LAST SEMESTER OF SCHOOL!! so I decided to make the most of it and put up another decent two way. I got a used pdx-v9 on ebay and I purchased a pair of those Alpine spx pro tweeters. I made some aluminum rings and hopefully can install them next week.







I still had the sail panels from when I had the Scan radiators installed so I salvaged them for this set. Cleaned them up pretty nicely with about 20 minutes of sanding.

Old:




Cleaned up:


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Man you do some good work with that Aluminum!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Bluenote said:


> Man you do some good work with that Aluminum!




Oh were you the one that asked for a pair a while ago? I'm sorry man I actually still have the pm saved but it's at the bottom of the list and it just slipped my mind. If you still want a pair let me know!


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Yes that's me, but I wasn't jabbing you.. My plans have been on hold for a lil while.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Bluenote said:


> Yes that's me, but I wasn't jabbing you.. My plans have been on hold for a lil while.




Nah you're good. If you need a pair I'll be home for two more weeks, otherwise it'll be a long while before I can do it again.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The past few days I've been able to get a good foundation for the tweeter pods and think about a side enclosure for an IDQ12 I've had in my closet for a while.

For the pods I made the hole bigger, then fiberglassed a layer on the door panel for a base, aimed the tweeters (both pointing directly at me), filled it with bondoglass, and put a single layer of filler with a quick initial sanding. I ordered a 0.8 gallon container of rage gold filler and some SEM paint that will be here next week which is when I will finish the pillars (hopefully).
































I'm excited about the tweeter pods, I think they're going to look much better than the scan radiator pods I made last summer.

All I've done with the subbox so far is make a 1/2" birch base for it.








I think all things considered (sub displacement, evading the trunk arms, etc.), I should be able to get more than 0.7cuft for it. Best case scenario would be 1cuft but that's pushing it.


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## USS Enterprise (May 26, 2007)

Looks great! I really like how those tweets are coming out. Can't wait to see them finished!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

USS Enterprise said:


> Looks great! I really like how those tweets are coming out. Can't wait to see them finished!


Thanks, me neither! 

I did a good chunk of the fiberglass enclosure today. This is my first fiberglass enclosure so Im waiting on something to go wrong. It still needs a few more layers of glass and some more support but it's getting there. The ring in the last pic is one of three and is not attached to anything yet. I ran out of sunlight so it dropped to the teens..too cold for me.



First layer:


Second layer:


Homemade aluminum mirror for the sunflash resin:


Pulled:


Trimmed to rough shape:


And sizing up the ring:


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Looks great!

But, Burrrrr...looks too cold for me to be out fiber-glassing!

Don't forget to test fit your subwoofer for depth and clearance before you F'glass the ring in place.  I didn't look back in the thread to see what subwoofer you are using tho'. Is it still the 10w7?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bbfoto said:


> Looks great!
> 
> But, Burrrrr...looks too cold for me to be out fiber-glassing!
> 
> Don't forget to test fit your subwoofer for depth and clearance before you F'glass the ring in place.  I didn't look back in the thread to see what subwoofer you are using tho'.


It's crazy because it never got above 30 degrees today, however the sun was shining nicely so directly in the sun it wasn't bad (plus it cured the sunflash resin within a few minutes even being so cold). I was wearing a hoody and sweat pants ha. 

Yeah for sure, I'll definitely test the sub before I secure the ring. It's an image dynamics idq12v3 btw. Much more shallow than the w7.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Another cold day of work...

Started by gluing/ nailing x3 1/2" birch rings together














Close fit but it should work


Attached the ring to the enclosure with some wood I found in the basement and CA glue










This is where I had to stop working on the enclosure because the sun went down again :/. But I managed to pull some fleece and secure it so it'll get ready for resin tomorrow.









On to the sail panels. I made a wonderful discovery...legitimate sand paper! I've been using skateboard grip tape as my sandpaper because I had a big sheet in my basement (I don't skate so I have no idea where we got it) but I went to Lowe's and got a pack of these: https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-8-Pack-...ommercial-Surface-Smoothing-Sandpaper/3664172
I will definitely never use grip tape again! My phone was dead during the evening so I didn't get good pictures of the panels until the end. Still have several spots to fix but I think I'll be done with the panels (maybe even the sub enclosure) tomorrow.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Really nice work dood. Looks fantastic.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm pretty much done for now. I need to find a way to secure the sub enclosure and put in a few more screws but overall it's over...for now

I'll start with the sub enclosure. Not going to lie, I was ready to be done so that I could spend a little family time before going back to school and I was running out of resin so it isn't perfect but certainly good enough for the three months it'll be before I change things up lol. I applied resin, sanded it a bit, and put on some carpet.





Then I put a layer of cloth over the intersection of the original cloth and the fleece to make sure there aren't any big leaks.






Put a few pieces of hushmat to reduce some of the resonance of the box








On to the sail panels. There are several things I would do differently next time but I like the way they came out in the end. I used this dremel tool to smooth the rings.


























To finish them I used up the rest of my SEM texture paint






Sorry guys but this is the only good picture I took of the finished panels. I'll try to get a few more tomorrow.




Using the Pioneer I set time alignment and crossovers. For now the crossovers are set: sub lpf [email protected], mid hpf [email protected], mid lpf [email protected], tweeter hpf [email protected] Also worked the little eq a little bit and overall it sounds pretty good. I listened to the sq cd I got from Bertholomey's NCSQ meet and was just enjoying the system.

I might end up with an outboard dsp but I'm not going to promise myself anything.


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## nstaln (Feb 11, 2009)

Nice work!


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Yeah, nice work! That sub enclosure looks great and those tweeter pods have nice lines and look OEM. I'm sure it sounds good, too. I wish I could finish stuff that quick!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks for the kind words guys. I got a few days off work for my last week of break so I had several full days to work. 

I measured the enclosure size by making a mess




This is after sub displacement so it'll work fine for this sub but I filled it with a pound of polyfil just in case.




I removed the jack in case I need to use it and found some space for the speaker wire




I used a rivet nut and bolt to secure the box






And here it is all cleaned up









Here's some pics of the sail panels







Please disregard the beauty mark..


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

That looks awesome! Nice work


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Hey look I'm changing stuff around.

I got some ground zero 60sq mids and decided to utilize one of the 3D printers in the engineering department.



















Here's the stock dash speakers and the solidworks drawing. I wanted to copy the stock dash speaker as closely as possible. 



















And here's the finished product. 
















































So that step is done now. Still a few things I'll do here and there when I get time 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I used some weather stripping to get a tight seal between the baffle and the speaker. It was already a tight fit but it should be tight for a while. 






































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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Ground zero gold sure is pretty lovethe sub box!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

optimaprime said:


> Ground zero gold sure is pretty lovethe sub box!




I've never heard ground zero speakers before but they definitely look pretty! Thanks for the props. It was fun to make but I'm debating keeping the 10w7 and putting it back in. Who knows what I'll do 


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## Hoye0017 (Mar 23, 2010)

What type of 3D printer was it? I may have missed it. I know there have been concerns about PLA's resistance to heat in automotive applications.


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## JordyG (Dec 1, 2012)

Nice install and really like Ground Zero mids you're getting in, but I got a question about it: How do you secure it to the baffle?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Hoye0017 said:


> What type of 3D printer was it? I may have missed it. I know there have been concerns about PLA's resistance to heat in automotive applications.


It's a makerbot (I think a replicator but I'll make sure today). If anything happens from heat I'll take a few pictures and post them. 



JordyG said:


> Nice install and really like Ground Zero mids you're getting in, but I got a question about it: How do you secure it to the baffle?


Pressure fit. I made it a tight fit anyway but then the weather stripping squeezed between the gaps and really made a tight fit. Plus the mids weigh about the same as (or less than) gb10 tweeters so I doubt they'll move with just a pressure fit.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got them installed and wired, but not at the amp. So they're not playing music yet but they're in.




















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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

School has been keeping me busy but I managed to start a new project over the past few weeks, and that is installing a tablet. I've decided to use the Nvidia Shield K1 for several reasons:
- It looks pretty
- It can play high res music
- It has a very good graphics card
- It can house a 128gb micro sd card (more than enough for my music/spotify offline)
- It isn't an ipad




I plan on getting a dsp with controller one day (one better than the minidsp controller) and knew I want to place it underneath the tablet, therefore I had to move the A/C control unit. I decided to replace my sunglasses holder with it since I don't use it anyway.






I used part of a Scosche dash kit to get the shape right. I placed it with glue, then put in some plastic walls, then used epoxy and fiberglass reinforced filler for strength, then some filler.

















I need to finish up the body work and extend the wires, but I now I have a ton of room on my dash.






I am graduating this May so I'll finally be done with school and have at least a few hours a day if I want to work on my car. But until then I can't do anything else.

On another note, I traded my w7 for a couple DIYMA R12's.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Sick stuff!!! Nice idea to move aircon controls there, I never thought of doing that. 

I've just finished printing my slider kit for a nexus 9 which is a similar tablet to yours I believe, with the tegra chip. Unfortunately I've learnt I cannot really install it in this car without hacking up the vinyl dash pieces, so it'll have to go somewhere else 

Also fwiw; you probably have usb stuff figured out already but I'll just tell you how mine was run incase its any help; an OTG hub, with a switch on the dash to change from otg to charge, this could also be ignition triggered. One usb output to a external storage (bit easier than sd fiddling), one for the optical streamer, and another for an external digital volume knob.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> Sick stuff!!! Nice idea to move aircon controls there, I never thought of doing that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Ah that sucks you can't fit yours!

About mine, the goal was not to use the USB port for anything except charging. The k1 has a mini hdmi port that I plan on pulling digital audio from via an hdmi extractor. I also will need a dsp with a nice controller to allow me volume control of a digital source.

I don't think the hassle from an sd card would hurt that much since I don't have to change it everyday. I have about 2500 songs in my own library and I can download 3,333 songs from my Spotify premium library for offline listening. That should last quite a while between change ups 

However I do like the ease of using a flash drive. If I used the USB hub I would definitely use a flash drive for some emergency tunes lol.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

HDMI - Lucky workaround! Looks like you have it sorted without the annoyance of OTG! Maybe I should buy one 

What way are you going to go about mounting? removeable I assume since you will need to do storage, unless you have nice wifi and drag and drop from your pc


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> HDMI - Lucky workaround! Looks like you have it sorted without the annoyance of OTG! Maybe I should buy one
> 
> What way are you going to go about mounting? removeable I assume since you will need to do storage, unless you have nice wifi and drag and drop from your pc


The unit is only $200 so all things considered it's not that badly priced at all. I'm not sure about getting it to you but I can't imagine it being too much more.

In terms of mounting, I don't know yet. My first choice would be a homemade side slider kit (props to Soundman for the idea) and have the hdmi and usb plugs glued in place. The Nvidia brand case is magnetic so I think a few neo magnets would work well.

If for some reason the side slider kit doesn't work out then I'll cross that bridge when I get there ha.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

or ugly mount with a clean removeable faceplate


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Kazuhiro said:


> or ugly mount with a clean removeable faceplate


Definitely a possibility. I could set the inner dimensions of the removable faceplate to cover all but the screen to give it a nice inset look. But mount the plate with magnets so that it's still an easy removal process. That would also help hide the cables..but I like the idea of secured plugs so that they won't fall out of place.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I picked up my k1 today from best buy! Its gorgeous! I've never had a tablet before but this thing is awesome. Nice big screen with very good quality.

Here's what my screen looks like for spotify..I love the very simple look with a nice big album artwork and easy skip/ pause.










I'm looking into a few apps for my own music. One that I did research on was power amp. It plays high res music which will be nice.

For now Im just enjoying it as a tablet.

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I don't know why the picture is so bad. Still figuring out settings for Android :/

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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

That's cool. I've been considering going back to the dark side from iOS myself. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Babs said:


> That's cool. I've been considering going back to the dark side from iOS myself.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


I'm on the fence because I love my iPhone 6. Before that I had an HTC One and loved it too. I guess I'm not that picky but need time to get used to whatever I use.

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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Check to see if your tablet is compatible with the _*USB AUDIO PLAYER PRO* _ app and the *SMSL X-USB XMOS Digital Extractor*. 

You would have to use the USB charging/data port on your tablet instead of the Mini HDMI.

But the above combination (if it works with your device) will give you true Bit-Perfect Hi-Res digital output via Toslink, Coaxial, or I2S.

You would also need a micro-USB "OTG" Y-Cable for the tablet to DAC connection. The "Y"-cable version allows you to power the SMSL and charge your tablet.

Works with Tidal/Streaming and can access & play files from a portable Wi-Fi NAS/Media Server storage drive (SD Card, USB Thumbdrive, HDD, or SSD, etc.). It's a great app that the developers are constantly updating and adding features. Definitely worth the money. I feel no desire to buy or use something like the new Sony RSX-GS9 with this setup. (I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0" LTE cell phone/tablet, #SM-T715Y as my "head unit").

The _*UAPP*_ app has an available ($1.99 in-app purchase) PEQ that I use as my "Front End" EQ for overall tonality tuning after my "system" tuning using the Helix DSP PRO.

In my extensive testing, this setup offers WAY better SQ than an HDMI Digital Extractor if you have a top of the line system that can resolve the differences. YMMV

With this app, you can use a large variety of other USB DACs as well, some of which which will support DSD, and up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM, along with Tidal's MQA-encoded tracks (providing your tablet is compatible...check the UAPP page for device compatibility).

BTW, the install is looking FANTASTIC! :thumbsup:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks for the detailed post!

Nvidia said this in one of their updates:



> SHIELD Tablet K1 now meets Android 6.0 Professional Audio requirements, including:
> 
> Low Latency Audio (<20ms continuous round trip)
> USB Host & Peripheral modes
> ...


So I assume I could get good stuff out of the hdmi or usb port, as long as I have good peripheral stuff. If I one day get a helix dsp with the usb input I could just direct-connect and be fine right? As long as the interface remains the same and that app (or similar) works fine.

Also what do you use for ripping cd's to flac and keeping the album artwork? I've always used ALAC and have all my music on itunes.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Finally graduated! Back to living at home and getting in the swing of things.

I finished the overhead a/c controls today. Which involved finishing the body work and paint them extending the wires. 






































In order to connect the correct wires together I taped the stripped ends to the opposite end of the wire. Then when I had it in the car I soldered one at a time, matching colors as I went. 















































Now the controls are finally out of the way 


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## diy.phil (May 23, 2011)

Congrats on your graduation!!! And best wishes to you in your another new chapter in life! 

Your custom stereo work and attention to detail is awesome! Yeah, please keep the info/pictures coming!!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

diy.phil said:


> Congrats on your graduation!!! And best wishes to you in your another new chapter in life!
> 
> 
> 
> Your custom stereo work and attention to detail is awesome! Yeah, please keep the info/pictures coming!!




Thanks bud 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got some more work done over the past few days. Here's the final pictures then following I'll show how I built it. 




















To start I build the frame, amp rack, and facade piece with 1/2" mdf

























































Then I took the rack piece to machine shop and cheated with my mill 















































Then carpet and carbon fiber vinyl. I also used stinger snap bushings for the wire holes. 
























































That's where I am now. 


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Great looking! I'm jealous of the mill work.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Awesome work. Nice to have the mill available. 

And congrats on graduating!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks for the kind words guys. And yeah, it's super exciting to graduate!

On a different note, whoever mentioned before that my 3D printed baffles might twist was correct. I want to make new a pillars with the ground zero mids so I removed them from the stock location and found them like this...










Nothing was totally screwed up but it's obvious that they did warp. 


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

maybe you can reinforce the 3d printed mounting tabs with some ribs on the top so they're more resistant to sagging. maybe a different material?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The stock speakers have those ribs and are made of a more solid polymer. I tried to put the ribs on the printed ones (you can barely see them in this picture) but I couldn't figure out how to do it correctly on solid works 











I also no longer have access to the 3D printer so until I buy one that's no longer an option. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Got a bit more work done the past few days. I fixed my old a pillars so that they're smooth and stock looking but I'm getting them wrapped in something (prolly black vinyl) next weekend. 

I also worked on my idq enclosure because I rushed the first time around and it was leaky and stuff. But it's getting stronger with more fiberglass and then a fresh layer of carpet.

But I did get the zed leds wired up and the wires are fully installed in the amp and coming out of the amp rack. 



































I secured the facade to the rack with some L-brackets and marked up the outputs of the amp. 



































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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Pictures don't do it justice at night but this amp is just gorgeous. I'm in love 



























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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Nice! 

Im excited to see the tablet install. :snacks:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> Nice!
> 
> 
> 
> Im excited to see the tablet install. :snacks:




Yeah me too lol. Just going one day at a time until it happens!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

One step closer 











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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I've worked several hours the past few days to try and finish up most of the wiring in the trunk. The only thing I lack is a helix director cable because I haven't purchased a director yet. I used a super long rca from the helix to the amp because I had it laying around, it would be easy to exchange if I buy another set.





























I sent an optical cable and a pair of rcas from the dash just in case I put a radio behind the tablet. I was thinking about using one of the cheap sonys that I can use the tablet to control (with the Sony app) so that if I have passengers that want to listen to the radio or a cd they can.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Oh and I forgot to put pics of the sub enclosure and a pillars.

First I put several more layers of fiberglass plus a very large resin/filler milkshake inside the sub enclosure because it was too flimsy. It's not at all moveable now which I think will help the sub a lot. Then I put a layer of fiberglass reinforced filler on the outside of the box and painted it black just because. Carpet comes hopefully by next weekend. 


















The pillars are the same ones that had my audiofrog speakers. I filled the holes with fiberglass then got them smoothed out. They'll get black vinyl when my box gets carpeted. 





















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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I got rid of the bulky tsunami district block under the hood and replaced it with a nice new stinger one. I have one 4 gauge run going to the zed amp and the other I'm sending behind the dash. It will provide 12 volts to a distro and relay for powering the head unit, helix, tablet, and hdmi splitter. Plus whatever else I might need behind the dash. 




















I'm getting close to repairing all the rushed work I did during school. Slowly but surely. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Just another update. I found a director from a fellow diyma member and hooked it up this weekend. I believe something is wrong with my amp because I put several hours of troubleshooting into it last night and still the channels are going in and out. Good news is that everything else seems to be in order. I'll finally be able to start on the new dash mod pretty soon, maybe as soon as next week.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Last update before I start on my dash. Finally got my pillars and sub enclosure wrapped. My leviathan is giving me issues so I think I have to send it off for repair. But here's some pics. 















































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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Looks great! Tuned in to see how you incorporate the tablet.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bbfoto said:


> Looks great! Tuned in to see how you incorporate the tablet.




I'll give you a hint. It involves this head unit: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158GS...a&awnw=g&awcr=47644640905&awdv=m&awug=9010198


This is the cheap brother to the expensive Sony that the audiophiles are holding onto. But with this I'll be able to listen to the radio and CDs when I have passengers who normally don't care for my music. And the tablet will have the Sony app for full control of the head unit. I'm hoping to control Spotify (sourced from my phone) via the tablet but that might be pushing my luck. 


When I want to have a jam session with high res music I can skip the sony entirely and send optical from tablet to the helix. Its just that the Sony is more user friendly for daily commuting. 

The radio is going to hide behind the tablet though so my original plan of helix director underneath the tablet is still my plan. 



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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Actually after about three hours of troubleshooting I removed the six channel rca and tried a high quality knukoneptz rca and all the channels work perfectly. The Knu rca has super high quality connectors and I now know how much the six channel rca connector sucks. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I know what I said about updating but I like this picture 











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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I installed the radio Thursday and got it all working last night. It works very well with the tablet and provides 5V preouts so the helix is getting a strong signal. 

The tablet connects to it via Bluetooth and when I open the Sony app I can control inputs. I have my iPod classic always in USB 2 and my iPhone will be going into USB 1. The tablet has a readout of the song playing from the chosen input and I can skip, pause and play with the tablet.

(Main menu)









(iPod)









(iPhone, Spotify)









(Other apps inside the tablet I can play)









The tablet can control fm and am, including seeking channels and has a song title readout, and cds. 










Overall I'm really happy with it. The only gripe I have is that the tablet doesn't show album artwork unless it's connected to wifi but I still get partial control and titles so I'm willing to compromise.

And of course I keep the volume of the head at like 80% and use the director to control the volume.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Yyyooooo. Check it. 




















All I have to do is cut/sand the lip down a bit so that the tablet sits closer to the front but my dash kit is basically made for this tablet. Crazy. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Also the radio. Since the tablet is going to be a semi-permanent mount I had to pick a new spot for it. I'm going to place it here (look at pic) and have some sort of magnetic mounting plate for the director so that when I want to change cds I'll just pull out the director quick and easy. Also I'll square up the hole so that it doesn't have the a/c control outline.




















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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Decided to move my CD player and thus have a stationary director. It is now vertical behind the tablet with the cd drive coming out the bottom, as seen in pics. 










I modded the scosche dash kit to hold the radio in place. 






































Then I started working on placement for the director 









































































(Proof I still have access to cd eject button and the cds)










And here's what I ended up with after about an hour of body roughing and a layer of paint to see what I'm working with. Still plenty of work left but everything has a place now. 




















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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

A bit more work complete today




















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## SPLEclipse (Aug 17, 2012)

Wow...I really like the down-firing headunit. Slick!


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## carlr (Feb 27, 2011)

That is one sweet solution right there!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks guys. Plus the USB and aux ports have easy access. 

I wouldn't recommend it though if your main source is a cd. It works well for demos when the car is parked but when the car is accelerating then it makes weird noises.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm not finished with body work yet because I'm waiting on some SEM high build primer but I did another test fit with some foam window seal.















































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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

I think we need a video demo (after sunset) would be great to see it in action!


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Clever idea using the window seal.

Can't wait to see it with a finish coat. 

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'll try to do that video. Yeah I can't wait to have it all nice and smooth either 

I put it all together for the sake of the video that I'll do tonight but here's one more pic.











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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

https://youtu.be/WOVlsXl-N98

I've never uploaded a video before on YouTube so I might get flagged for the music but if you hurry you might catch it lol. 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I've been working on the piece in the evenings. I screwed up last night so the part to the left of the director is rough now but it's slowly getting where I want it. 




















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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

Nice! Though you cut the video short. 

Have you tried gaming on it yet?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

crackinhedz said:


> Nice! Though you cut the video short.
> 
> 
> 
> Have you tried gaming on it yet?




No I haven't. Not really a gamer; but I've learned with technology it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Although the screen is extremely responsive and the picture quality is really good. It's not a Retina display but it's still great.


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

WhereAmEye? said:


> No I haven't. Not really a gamer; but I've learned with technology it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Although the screen is extremely responsive and the picture quality is really good. It's not a Retina display but it's still great.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I taught that saying was for something else, not technology. I got to stop carrying dual G27. 

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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

SQLnovice said:


> I taught that saying was for something else, not technology. I got to stop carrying dual G27.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk




Ha I've heard it used for plenty of things. Nah carry what you want because it's better to have it and...yeah you get it 


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm finally finished with it. When I pushed the director in it made a ring where the old circle is but I learned my lesson for next time. For now I'll just enjoy my completed system 

Here's a few pictures to show everything I currently have installed..























































So.....
I guess it's time to tear it all out and start over 


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## DC/Hertz (Nov 27, 2011)

How do you like those tweeters?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

DC/Hertz said:


> How do you like those tweeters?




They're probably the weakest link for my current setup simply because my system struggles in the midranges whenever I push the system too loud. However, that being said, they're comparable to the frog gb10 I had before imo. The gb10 had the upper hand when i wanted them loud but honestly I love these alpines. And considering I paid like $40 for them I seriously can't complain.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Actually, in total, I think I only have $375 in speakers (including the sub). I could have gotten a much cheaper amp but I've had a thing for the leviathan since I was 16 so that's a personal choice. Otherwise I don't have THAT much money invested in my system and it sounds reallly good considering.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I physically can't have a complete install more than a few hours so I'm trading out the alpines for the ground zero mids I was using. Gona put them in the sails. I'm hoping to get a big chunk of it done and maybe even wired for testing this evening.











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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The sail panel idea just didn't work out. I got a lot of work done on them but in the end I just wasn't feeling it. I decided to remake some mounts for the stock locations and move the mids up there.

I dare these to warp :/











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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Slight update. I HATE THIS FREAKING SONY. It's not worth the daily struggle of fighting Bluetooth to deal with. In fact I hate having a tablet as a radio, period. "Live and learn" a buddy said. I'm taking the tablet into my room and throwing the Sony and dash mod as far into the dump as I can.

I decided to splurge on a good radio and got a Pioneer 4201NEX (which is just a 4200NEX with a firmware update and a rear-view camera). It has HD radio and apple CarPlay so it should be much more user-friendly for me. I'm keeping the director and ac controls where they are though. 











Also for my midranges, I did all the soldering needed (handy-dandy xt60 connectors) and secured the speakers to the aluminum baffles with some black silicone. Tomorrow when the silicone is cured I'll hook them up, secure them in place, and put some of that foam (from the tablet install) around the opening to hopefully give a nice seal.





























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## Swaglife81 (Oct 15, 2016)

Those sail panels looked great. Not that usual shape everyone goes for. It looked really good. I've never used black silicone sealant. How well does it hold up vs an epoxy.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Swaglife81 said:


> Those sail panels looked great. Not that usual shape everyone goes for. It looked really good. I've never used black silicone sealant. How well does it hold up vs an epoxy.


I just realized that I never responded, my bad. Thanks for the props. I'm not sure to be honest but the speakers haven't come out of the rings yet so it must be decent ha; I just used what I found in my stash.

Nothing really to update. Might be changing things up sometime but Amy Lee sounds good right now so I can't complain


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's a few pics of the mids installed actually. I forgot to post that too. 






































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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

So uhh...got a new car 
This build log is officially over. I got a 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback EX-L (navigation, leather, etc). The sound system absolutely sucks but I’m going to try and hold back tearing everything out since I just got it..



















The head unit has Apple Car play, Navi, and ac integration. 










When I start working on the audio upgrades I’ll start a new build log. 





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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

Nice, what a sweet ride. I've been trying to convince my wife for me to get the sport version with no luck. Love the color.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

SQLnovice said:


> Nice, what a sweet ride. I've been trying to convince my wife for me to get the sport version with no luck. Love the color.




Thanks! I wasn’t even planning on getting one, I thought I’d get a Tacoma or a G37. But I saw this Car and the color and fell in love with it. Here’s a pretty cool picture I managed to take of it last night. 











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## diy.phil (May 23, 2011)

Hey wow congrats on the new Civic! It's very nice looking!!


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Nice! Congrats. Love the color as well.

Regarding the audio upgrades...

What are you waiting for?!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The nerve to do what I want to do lol. I don’t want to rush into this car and mess something up that I’ll regret, but I also don’t want to brutalize it like I did to the poor Altima and Accord before it :/


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

Look up jl_tech_eric on IG. He's using the JL Fix + TWK. Not much info, but it might give you a little insight if you are thinking about using any of the JL gear.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

WhereAmEye? said:


> So uhh...got a new car
> This build log is officially over. I got a 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback EX-L (navigation, leather, etc). The sound system absolutely sucks but I’m going to try and hold back tearing everything out since I just got it..
> 
> The head unit has Apple Car play, Navi, and ac integration.
> ...


I was just reading this and it looks like you got to enjoy your "whole completed system" for what...a month?  

We just bought a 2017 CR-V and our HU looks just like yours. Doing some research on processors and integration. I'm looking forward to what you decide to do with your new car.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Notloudenuf said:


> I was just reading this and it looks like you got to enjoy your "whole completed system" for what...a month?
> 
> 
> 
> We just bought a 2017 CR-V and our HU looks just like yours. Doing some research on processors and integration. I'm looking forward to what you decide to do with your new car.



I don’t think I’ve ever had a fully complete system for more than a few months. Most people on here like to constantly change the tune, I like to constantly change the gear 

The head unit is gorgeous. I really wanted leather and since it’s only available on this trim I figured I would need to look into factory integration for the head unit. I’m going to do a lot of research and see what I can find out, hopefully you can chime in when you find info. I can honestly say though I’ve never heard a stock sound system sound THIS TERRIBLE. My stage is somewhere around the left midbass, there’s absolute no presence below 80 hertz, and if I turn it up too loud it actually ruins the music for me. It’s awful. 



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