# Eric Stevens HCLD and MB8 review



## Nocturnal Thunder

Ok, so I just got the car back yesterday after a week at the car audio shop. I will put up pictures in a couple of days, but I don't have the car right now because I am having my mechanic put in my new Mechman 240 amp alternator. So here is the good and the bad.

The Good: The clarity and detail I am hearing in the music is incredible. I was picking stuff out on the music I listen to that I never noticed before. For example, when I put in Septicflesh's album "The Great Mass", I am hearing detail on the orchestra and choir that I have not heard in my car before. For the horns being under the dash, they don't sound like it. It sounds like the band is playing right in front of me at ear level. Now I understand why so many SQ folks love horns. I can crank up the horns all the way up and they don't distort. As far as the MB8...I LOVE IT!!! I am so impressed with it that I will NEVER use 6.5" midbass speakers ever again. Like the horns, I can crank it up all the way with no distortion whatsoever. Overall, this is the best sounding system I can ever recall having. It is almost perfect except for 2 things... otherwise, I am very happy with the quality, detail and imaging of the HCLD and MB8.

The Bad: IT IS NOT LOUD ENOUGH. I thought the horns and midbasses were supposed to be incredibly loud but they are not. My Alpine's volume goes up to 35 and I have it set almost at 35. I need way more volume than what I'm getting because although I am truly impressed by the quality, detail, and staging of the components, the volume is weak. Second, the HCLDs were a ***** to install and they do take up a lot of space. I will eventually post pictures when I get my car back but it was very difficult to get them to fit them under the dash, especially the driver's side due to the emergency brake, hood release lever, and OBD port. 

The Verdict: I am taking the car to another stereo shop way closer to me (I'm not driving 73 miles again for this) to have them tune the system again and see if they can get it louder. The place I took it to was not an authorized Audison dealer so I will be taking it to a place I found on the Audison website that is an authorized Audison dealer. I will see if retuning it helps so I'll keep everyone up to date on whether the retuning helped. If it doesn't and I still don't have volume, then I'm right back to the drawing board. 

So the ultimate verdict is that this is the most detailed, cleanest front stage I have ever had since I got into car audio in 1990. If I can get the volume way the hell up, then I'm a happy camper. I hope the retuning helps alot because I am almost there. I will add the subs later after I have taken care of the front stage volume issue.


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## squiers007

Have you actually measured the SPL? Having dealt with horns and high efficiency pro audio drivers in a home audio setting for a number of years now, I'm wondering if it is in fact playing very loud, but you are just not used to having little to no distortion at that level, meaning it sounds quieter to you relative to other setups you've had with higher distortion at high listening volumes?


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## thehatedguy

I agree.

it might be louder than you think.

But if it doesn’t have any output, then it’s turning and setup.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

squiers007 said:


> Have you actually measured the SPL? Having dealt with horns and high efficiency pro audio drivers in a home audio setting for a number of years now, I'm wondering if it is in fact playing very loud, but you are just not used to having little to no distortion at that level, meaning it sounds quieter to you relative to other setups you've had with higher distortion at high listening volumes?


I haven't measured the SPL but I think this is something I will need to do. I do have to admit, I'm not used to listening to a system with such low distortion but I really expected more volume. I'll see if I can get the SPL checked to see how loud it really is.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

thehatedguy said:


> I agree.
> 
> it might be louder than you think.
> 
> But if it doesn’t have any output, then it’s turning and setup.


It does have output but I'm just surprised it is not louder. I'll probably get the SPL checked out when I get it retuned again.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

Man, I cannot believe how much shops here in Southern California charge for tuning!! I have been contacted by 3 different shops and they want $125 an hour and that it could take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. They have told me they need to check the polarity, phasing, gains, etc. I guess I have no choice, I want my front stage to kick ass before I begin the trunk build and subwoofer box. I'll keep everyone in the loop to see if there was a big difference by getting it retuned. My thinking is that the shop I took it to doesn't sell or use Audison so maybe taking it to an authorized Audison dealer will improve the tuning since they are familiar with using it. If I can just get the volume up, then I will be 100% satisfied and then I can move on...I feel like I'm so close...


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## thehatedguy

How far away are you from Eric?

If I were close, I would see what he could do for you.

I was on Team ID in the early/mid 2000s and he tuned my car a few times...always great stuff. I mess the shows and seeing him. It’s been nearly 15 years since I’ve last seen him.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

thehatedguy said:


> How far away are you from Eric?
> 
> If I were close, I would see what he could do for you.
> 
> I was on Team ID in the early/mid 2000s and he tuned my car a few times...always great stuff. I mess the shows and seeing him. It’s been nearly 15 years since I’ve last seen him.


I'm not sure...when I met him it was around 25 to 30 minutes away from me with no traffic. I think at this point, I may go to Newport Sound to see what they think. Once I pickup my car tomorrow (installing Mechman alt), I will keep evaluating it but I'll probably go down there on Monday or Tuesday to see if a retune is necessary.


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## Eric Stevens

Loud is a relative term and everyone will judge loudness differently. that said I think If its not loud and you have the power, it is the gain settings.


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## Eric Stevens

If you dont have your subwoofers in the car it is going to effect the tune. Thye are going to play the MB8 lower which is going to lower the power handling due to longer excursion required. Additionally the midbass is going to sound thin until you have the subwoofers playing. I suggest completing the system and then re tune


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## Nocturnal Thunder

Eric Stevens said:


> Loud is a relative term and everyone will judge loudness differently. that said I think If its not loud and you have the power, it is the gain settings.





Eric Stevens said:


> If you dont have your subwoofers in the car it is going to effect the tune. They are going to play the MB8 lower which is going to lower the power handling due to longer excursion required. Additionally the midbass is going to sound thin until you have the subwoofers playing. I suggest completing the system and then re tune


Thank you Eric. I took my car to Newport Sound and I let them listen to the system. They believe they can make it sound louder so I'm taking it in on February 2nd. They said it should only take an hour or two. However, when the subs go in, we will do a final tuning. Before I do the subs though, I need to do the trunk build so I can fit all the equipment that I have in there (2 arc audio amps, 1 DD subwoofer amp, Audison bit one, XS D3100 battery, and XS SB500 12V supercapacitor)

I must say, this is the cleanest system I have ever had....your speakers rule dude!!!! I'm hearing detail in my music that I haven't heard before except in some killer headphones. Your MB8 destroys any other midbass I have ever had...there is no way in hell that I will be blowing them. I have cranked the entire system to volume 35 on my headunit (Alpine) which is the max volume and it doesn't distort or anything. Thank you for making the most kick ass HCLD and midbass speakers I have ever had. It is a distinct honor and privilege to be using your speakers in my black chariot of musical death!!!!


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## Mic10is

Im betting this is a simple gain issue. even if you were running everything off a 50x4 amp. it should still get loud enough to be unbearable at anything above vol30.
In every system Ive built using Alpine HU, 90db was always at vol18-20.
at around 26-28 It was well above 110db full range which is stupid loud, unless you have major hearing impairment.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

Mic10is said:


> Im betting this is a simple gain issue. even if you were running everything off a 50x4 amp. it should still get loud enough to be unbearable at anything above vol30.
> In every system Ive built using Alpine HU, 90db was always at vol18-20.
> at around 26-28 It was well above 110db full range which is stupid loud, unless you have major hearing impairment.


This is what I was thinking too!!! Before, I use to have the volume at 17 to 18 and then I would go to 24 or 25 when I wanted to crank the hell out of it. I've been into car audio since 1990 and I have NEVER EVER had it to where I could turn up the volume 100% and still not have it loud. The guys at Newport Sound thought that too so that is why they are confident that they can improve it. If they can, then they will get my business from now on and I will have them do the trunk build and the subwoofer box. I'm still tripping out on the MB8...they blow away any midbasses I have had before and I had good stuff like Focal, Hertz, Alpine, etc. From now on I will only use 8" midbasses...my days of using 6.5 midbasses are done for good.


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## dumdum

So when we said your expectations were likely unrealistic we may have been correct, you blew the **** out of your previous midbass drivers because you pushed them way too far and now a decent shop has set it up to be clean you want to take it to another shop that are presumably going to turn up the gains somewhat...

Is there any surprise the installers dialled in gains so you didn’t blow the crap out of stuff... especially after you told them you’d blown up god knows how many drivers previously... midbass don’t just blow without good reason...

I’ll await the ‘stevens audio midbass don’t stand up to much’ post when another shop ups the gain and you blow them too, sorry but that’s how your story reads and how it’s likely to end...

For all we know you could be expecting rock concert levels from a simple 2 driver front stage in a car... multiple speakers are required for those kind of levels from experience, good luck hearing high freqs after 40 if you do get those levels

I don’t mind mentioning the elephant in the room

Before getting the gain structure changed why not ask Eric to take a listen as he’s clearly not that far away... he’s been around the block and will soon tell you if you are expecting too much or what you require is achievable with his drivers?? That would make sense, he may even tweak some stuff for you perhaps for a nominal fee, from experience people like Eric are passionate about audio and they want the best from drivers they make, why not go see him before some random shop who are just gonna turn stuff up... 🤷🏽‍♂️


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## Diezel10

dumdum said:


> So when we said your expectations were likely unrealistic we may have been correct, you blew the **** out of your previous midbass drivers because you pushed them way too far and now a decent shop has set it up to be clean you want to take it to another shop that are presumably going to turn up the gains somewhat...
> 
> Is there any surprise the installers dialled in gains so you didn’t blow the crap out of stuff... especially after you told them you’d blown up god knows how many drivers previously... midbass don’t just blow without good reason...
> 
> I’ll await the ‘stevens audio midbass don’t stand up to much’ post when another shop ups the gain and you blow them too, sorry but that’s how your story reads and how it’s likely to end...
> 
> For all we know you could be expecting rock concert levels from a simple 2 driver front stage in a car... multiple speakers are required for those kind of levels from experience, good luck hearing high freqs after 40 if you do get those levels
> 
> I don’t mind mentioning the elephant in the room
> 
> Before getting the gain structure changed why not ask Eric to take a listen as he’s clearly not that far away... he’s been around the block and will soon tell you if you are expecting too much or what you require is achievable with his drivers?? That would make sense, he may even tweak some stuff for you perhaps for a nominal fee, from experience people like Eric are passionate about audio and they want the best from drivers they make, why not go see him before some random shop who are just gonna turn stuff up... 🤷🏽‍♂️


*I've had my truck for 12 years...Eric/Matt tuned my truck.......haven't touched those settings since....same gear....LOUD AS F***.........*


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## dumdum

Diezel10 said:


> *I've had my truck for 12 years...Eric/Matt tuned my truck.......haven't touched those settings since....same gear....LOUD AS F***.........*


Do you think writing it in bold makes it any more relevant... I said give Eric a chance to have a listen and see what he thought, there is no one better to set it up to it’s limits...

The guy may be expecting too much, what you call loud he may call average... it’s like when someone says they want a loud sub... the first question is how loud do you consider ‘loud’??

I’m glad you have heard his system and know exactly that his definition of loud meets yours... especially with ignorant ‘shouting’ in a post like that!


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## ca90ss

dumdum said:


> For all we know you could be expecting rock concert levels from a simple 2 driver front stage in a car... multiple speakers are required for those kind of levels from experience,


Not necessarily, a typical rock concert rarely exceeds the 115-120db range. Some can go higher but it's pretty rare. This was from a pair of coax in my last car with the sub unplugged.


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## dumdum

ca90ss said:


> Not necessarily, a typical rock concert rarely exceeds the 115-120db range. Some can go higher but it's pretty rare. This was from a pair of coax in my last car with the sub unplugged.


What weighting and at what frequency? That tells you not a lot... I also trust those kind of meters as far as I could throw your vehicle...

I can find a meter reading of me actually doing 144db from a headunit alone 🤷🏽‍♂️ It doesn’t mean I could play anything that loud full range, just that I had a very efficient sub box and one freq hit that score on a termlab which is way more accurate than a handheld meter...


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## ca90ss

A weighting. Was with music playing. Manual says 300hz-8khz bandwidth and as I said, subs unplugged.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

dumdum said:


> So when we said your expectations were likely unrealistic we may have been correct, you blew the **** out of your previous midbass drivers because you pushed them way too far and now a decent shop has set it up to be clean you want to take it to another shop that are presumably going to turn up the gains somewhat...
> 
> Is there any surprise the installers dialled in gains so you didn’t blow the crap out of stuff... especially after you told them you’d blown up god knows how many drivers previously... midbass don’t just blow without good reason...
> 
> I’ll await the ‘stevens audio midbass don’t stand up to much’ post when another shop ups the gain and you blow them too, sorry but that’s how your story reads and how it’s likely to end...
> 
> For all we know you could be expecting rock concert levels from a simple 2 driver front stage in a car... multiple speakers are required for those kind of levels from experience, good luck hearing high freqs after 40 if you do get those levels
> 
> I don’t mind mentioning the elephant in the room
> 
> Before getting the gain structure changed why not ask Eric to take a listen as he’s clearly not that far away... he’s been around the block and will soon tell you if you are expecting too much or what you require is achievable with his drivers?? That would make sense, he may even tweak some stuff for you perhaps for a nominal fee, from experience people like Eric are passionate about audio and they want the best from drivers they make, why not go see him before some random shop who are just gonna turn stuff up... 🤷🏽‍♂️


My expectations are not unrealistic...I'm not trying to hit 200dB with one subwoofer. I am very close to being pleased but I'm just bothered that the HCLDs are not louder.

As far as my previous midbasses, yes I did destroy them because I pushed them into speaker death. I am not having that problems with the MB8 so I'm not worried about blowing them out like the previous midbasses. I just want the unleash the full power and brutality of the HCLDs whereas the midbasses are fine.

I also don't want to turn up the Alpine to 100% volume for normal listening, I don't want to do that. I want to be at about 50% to 60% volume for normal listening not cranked up all the way. 

I don't believe rock concert level sound is impossible with just the HCLDs and the midbasses...I will get that level. When I take my car to the shop for the retune, I am going to ask them to measure the SPL so we can finally have an answer for how loud is my normal listening level. 

I'm 48 years old and by a miracle of God I still have normal hearing...no hearing loss or ringing or stuff like that. I have been exposed to crazy volume levels for decades upon decades so I'm confident I'll be ok. 

As far as taking it to Eric, I don't want to waste his time until the project is done so I'll be more than happy to consult with him to have him check out my system when I have the subwoofers in. But I'm not putting the subs in yet until I get the front stage ready because I know what my subs can do...they can completely destroy me. The SPL from my subs are incredible so if I can unleash the full power of the horns, then I'll be happy. I'm close and I know it. 

An if for whatever reason I destroy the MB8 speaker, then I will choose the nuclear option!!! At that point, if it happens, I will disregard the price and I will get my front doors fiberglassed so that they can accept 2 MB8s per door. I'll also get another Arc Audio KS 300,4 amp to run the additional MB8s. 

You don't understand how determined and crazy I am. Music is my passion, my soul, my life. I will not compromise my passion...this will happen.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

Diezel10 said:


> *I've had my truck for 12 years...Eric/Matt tuned my truck.......haven't touched those settings since....same gear....LOUD AS F***.........*


I can see why...Eric is the smartest guy I have ever met when it comes to car audio. I'm hoping to get that loud too!!


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## Nocturnal Thunder

ca90ss said:


> Not necessarily, a typical rock concert rarely exceeds the 115-120db range. Some can go higher but it's pretty rare. This was from a pair of coax in my last car with the sub unplugged.


If you can hit that SPL with a pair of coaxials without the subs, then my goal is not unrealistic.


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## ca90ss

Nocturnal Thunder said:


> If you can hit that SPL with a pair of coaxials without the subs, then my goal is not unrealistic.


It wasn't hard, small car, efficient speakers and lots of power. Just because some people don't know how to make it happen doesn't mean it can't be done. I'm not familiar with the Stevens speakers but looking at the efficiency and power handling of the MB-8 120db give or take a little doesn't seem out of the question. The horns themselves should be good for closer to 130db.


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## dumdum

ca90ss said:


> It wasn't hard, small car, efficient speakers and lots of power. Just because some people don't know how to make it happen doesn't mean it can't be done. I'm not familiar with the Stevens speakers but looking at the efficiency and power handling of the MB-8 120db give or take a little doesn't seem out of the question. The horns themselves should be good for closer to 130db.


And what if he is at those limits (the midbass will be the limiting factor here) but wants louder? Just turn it up? Blow stuff?? hence me saying take it to see Eric... his logic about his subs not being fitted means nothing as that will have no bearing on whether the speakers are performing at there peak or not... the shop have ‘tuned’ them already... why couldn’t Eric? Please explain that to me? As I said, if I was Eric I’d be more than happy to see a customer and help out wherever I could 🤷🏽‍♂️ That’s just my logic and common sense speaking though 😂


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## ca90ss

dumdum said:


> And what if he is at those limits (the midbass will be the limiting factor here) but wants louder? Just turn it up? Blow stuff?? hence me saying take it to see Eric... his logic about his subs not being fitted means nothing as that will have no bearing on whether the speakers are performing at there peak or not... the shop have ‘tuned’ them already... why couldn’t Eric? Please explain that to me? As I said, if I was Eric I’d be more than happy to see a customer and help out wherever I could 🤷🏽‍♂️ That’s just my logic and common sense speaking though 😂


I don't know what you're going on about. All I've posted about in this thread was you being wrong about the output capabilities of a 2 way setup and a guesstimate of what he should expect from his speakers. I never mentioned Eric or tuning or his current output level or what he expects or any of those other things.


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## dumdum

ca90ss said:


> I don't know what you're going on about. All I've posted about in this thread was you being wrong about the output capabilities of a 2 way setup and a guesstimate of what he should expect from his speakers. I never mentioned Eric or tuning or his current output level or what he expects or any of those other things.


It’s not my problem understanding my posts isn’t your forte... I didn’t say most of the things you imply

He has a track history of destroying things, found an awesome shop who set it up to be very loud (just maybe not by his standards) and now he is unhappy and wants to take it somewhere else who will likely turn it up some and then he will blow the drivers again

If he takes it to see Eric stevens at least then he will know how loud it should go and how loud they are capable of being played at, pulling figures out of the air and throwing them out there doesn’t mean anything, as he doesn’t have the same meter and it is only reading a peak spl... that may be 20db louder than the rest of the audio spectrum 🤷🏽‍♂️ But hey you keep on throwing meaningless information out there and drawing conclusions based on what you think someone has said...


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## Nocturnal Thunder

So here are some pictures of the HCLD installation that was done on my Charger.


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## ca90ss

They should be mounted wider and the drivers side is upside down. Whoever installed that should be slapped.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

ca90ss said:


> They should be mounted wider and the drivers side is upside down. Whoever installed that should be slapped.


That was Audiotistics in Victorville...I drove 73 miles from home to their shop They were the only shop in southern California that told me they could install HCLD and that they knew what they were. Everyone else was asking what HCLDs were...if you have to ask what HCLDs are then you are not the shop to install them. 

As far as mounting them wider, I wanted them to do that but they told me they couldn't because of the emergency brake, hood lever, and obd port. Unfortunately I have to live with the install because I just cannot find a legitimate shop that can properly install them. I went to Speakerworks in Orange but Eric Hollaway sold the business to some guy called Raymond...nice guy but not an expert like Eric was. At this point, I just have to accept what I have until a shop in southern California can be found that knows what the **** they are doing in regards to HCLDs.


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## thehatedguy

That’s a really messed up horn install.

I work in retail car audio, if I were you, I’d get my money back.


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## thehatedguy

The driver’s side is facing the complete wrong direction


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## Nocturnal Thunder

thehatedguy said:


> That’s a really messed up horn install.
> 
> I work in retail car audio, if I were you, I’d get my money back.


Unfortunately I'm screwed...there is no way I'm going to get my money back. I just have to live with it but luckily it still sounds killer!!! I'm hearing detail in my music that I haven't heard before...this is the cleanest sounding system I've ever had. If I just get it a little louder, then I'm done. I'll be happy and satisfied.


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## thehatedguy

Hell, reach out to Matt Borgardt...he’s back at ID and still installs.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

thehatedguy said:


> The driver’s side is facing the complete wrong direction


Yep...I just can't find a good shop that knows what the **** they are doing in regards to HCLDs. I just have to live with it because I am losing trust in any car audio shop here in southern California.


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## thehatedguy

That install is pretty jacked up...my customers would be raging if we let something like that leave. It needs to be redone.

If you think it sounds good installed like that, then your mind will be blown when they are installed correctly.

There’s no tuning that before the install is fixed


Nocturnal Thunder said:


> Unfortunately I'm screwed...there is no way I'm going to get my money back. I just have to live with it but luckily it still sounds killer!!! I'm hearing detail in my music that I haven't heard before...this is the cleanest sounding system I've ever had. If I just get it a little louder, then I'm done. I'll be happy and satisfied.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

thehatedguy said:


> That install is pretty jacked up...my customers would be raging if we let something like that leave. It needs to be redone.
> 
> If you think it sounds good installed like that, then your mind will be blown when they are installed correctly.
> 
> There’s no tuning that before the install is fixed


Unfortunately, I'm stuck...there is nothing I can do. I just have to accept it because I don't trust car audio shops around here anymore.


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## thehatedguy

No you don’t have to accept it.

There’s a lot of people in SoCal who can install horns...the right way.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

Well I wish I could find them. I tried calling around and e-mailing local shops and Audiotistics was what I found.


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## ca90ss

There's a few members here that own shops in the area. We have a section specifically for finding installers here.
Professional Installer Locator & Review Forum

Never used him be he seems to get consistently good reviews and is a member here.
https://www.facebook.com/jtaudioacc


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## thehatedguy

Matt Borgardt said to call him/get a hold of him in regards to your horns and install.

I will PM you his phone number


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## Nocturnal Thunder

thehatedguy said:


> Matt Borgardt said to call him/get a hold of him in regards to your horns and install.
> 
> I will PM you his phone number


Holy **** dude!!! Thank you so much. I have to head to work and I won't be off until 6 am so I'll call him tomorrow afternoon when I awaken.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

I just talked to Matt and he is going to help me out. Here are some more pictures of the HCLD install.


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## ca90ss

That's pretty terrible. There's nothing right about that install. If the shop that did that won't refund you I'd start showing those pictures everywhere and make sure to give them credit for it. At least now you have the right person to fix it.


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## thehatedguy

The hell is t tapped in there?

I’m worried you’ll need a new horn body on the drivers side.

Those guys did a number on your car.


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## MBorgardt

Well that's about what I worried about....

We are going to need to reinstall the and make mods to the bodies due to the cuts made...

Horns are directional and by the way they have it mounted they will not work correctly, they will make sound but not correctly... 

Next week let's get together and I will fix this issue and like I said on the phone we need to check the midbass also...






Nocturnal Thunder said:


> I just talked to Matt and he is going to help me out. Here are some more pictures of the HCLD install.
> View attachment 289679
> View attachment 289680
> View attachment 289681
> View attachment 289682
> View attachment 289683


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## Nocturnal Thunder

MBorgardt said:


> Well that's about what I worried about....
> 
> We are going to need to reinstall the and make mods to the bodies due to the cuts made...
> 
> Horns are directional and by the way they have it mounted they will not work correctly, they will make sound but not correctly...
> 
> Next week let's get together and I will fix this issue and like I said on the phone we need to check the midbass also...


Sounds good. Let me know if we need new horn bodies and I'll order some from Eric. Next week sounds good.


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## Caustic

Holy guacamole, I'm not as knowledgeable as these gentlemen and I can see that's some haggard ass install... and the cutting... lord why.

I put my own horns in, it wasn't that difficult after watching a few videos, some starring Mr Borgardt lol. In my experience, the gain needs to be dooooowwwnnn because they will burn your ear real quick but after seeing them bass ackwards I can see why you need more.


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## ckirocz28

Nocturnal Thunder said:


> Yep...I just can't find a good shop that knows what the **** they are doing in regards to HCLDs. I just have to live with it because I am losing trust in any car audio shop here in southern California.


Make sure when you call and ask people about this to spell it HLCD instead of HCLD.


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## Caustic

ckirocz28 said:


> Make sure when you call and ask people about this to spell it HLCD instead of HCLD.


 Better yet ask them about horn loaded compression drivers lol

I get that you're in the audio business and you want all the business you can get, especially these days but that hack job was reprehensible.


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## CCole

This may not be appropriate to ask but here goes. How much did the shop charge you to install the the horns and mids? Did the shop also install deadening material, run the wiring, etc? I bet that shop buys self tapping screws by the ton. I’m not sure what the aftermarket button/switch is on your drivers side but I would bet the same shop installed as well.

I’m sorry you had to give someone your hard earned money for that kind of work. It sounds like you’ve found a quality shop. If I were you I’d bring them breakfast tacos and tip well! There are still quality installers out there but damn they’re not easy to find. Like you’ve experenced.
Keep us posted on your results.


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## oabeieo

Nocturnal Thunder said:


> Man, I cannot believe how much shops here in Southern California charge for tuning!! I have been contacted by 3 different shops and they want $125 an hour and that it could take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. They have told me they need to check the polarity, phasing, gains, etc. I guess I have no choice, I want my front stage to kick ass before I begin the trunk build and subwoofer box. I'll keep everyone in the loop to see if there was a big difference by getting it retuned. My thinking is that the shop I took it to doesn't sell or use Audison so maybe taking it to an authorized Audison dealer will improve the tuning since they are familiar with using it. If I can just get the volume up, then I will be 100% satisfied and then I can move on...I feel like I'm so close...


if your in CA why not have Eric tune it ?

and 125$ an hour is a steal if the right guy is behind the mic.... I’m just sayin

it will take a good few hours from setup to breakdown but it’s well well worth it

what amps ? What dsp ?


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## oabeieo

Sorry KS amps just saw the last post 

it should definitely get loud !

if want very loud , bridge them into two channels and get get another one . Lol


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## Nocturnal Thunder

ckirocz28 said:


> Make sure when you call and ask people about this to spell it HLCD instead of HCLD.


whoops...


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## Nocturnal Thunder

CCole said:


> This may not be appropriate to ask but here goes. How much did the shop charge you to install the the horns and mids? Did the shop also install deadening material, run the wiring, etc? I bet that shop buys self tapping screws by the ton. I’m not sure what the aftermarket button/switch is on your drivers side but I would bet the same shop installed as well.
> 
> I’m sorry you had to give someone your hard earned money for that kind of work. It sounds like you’ve found a quality shop. If I were you I’d bring them breakfast tacos and tip well! There are still quality installers out there but damn they’re not easy to find. Like you’ve experenced.
> Keep us posted on your results.


I was charged $1400 for complete sound deadening of the front doors, installation of the HLCD, installation of MB8 including a custom made spacer/adaptor, installation of 2 amplifiers, and installation and set up of Audison Bit One DSP.

Luckily Matt is going to help me out and yeah, I'm pissed off that I paid for that crappy install but this is the problem of finding people that know what they are doing. Once I get past this and my front speakers kick ass, then I'll be on the hunt for a place that can do the trunk build and subwoofer box. Right now I'm leaning between JT Audio and Newport sound but I need to look into them more because I don't want to get ripped off again just like Audiotistics did to me.

I'll keep everyone updated.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

oabeieo said:


> if your in CA why not have Eric tune it ?
> 
> and 125$ an hour is a steal if the right guy is behind the mic.... I’m just sayin
> 
> it will take a good few hours from setup to breakdown but it’s well well worth it
> 
> what amps ? What dsp ?


I'll ask him to tune it when the subs are in...I don't want to waste his time because he is busy as hell. I guess $125 an hour isn't bad if they know what they are doing and they do good work. 

I am running 2 Arc Audio amps. The first is the FD 2200 which puts out 100 watts per channel at 4 ohms...that is for the horns. The Second is the KS 300.4 v2 which puts out 90 watts per channel at 4 ohms but I have it bridged so that it provides 350 watts per channel...that is for the MB8s. As for the DSP, I'm using the Audison Bit One.


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## oabeieo

Nocturnal Thunder said:


> I'll ask him to tune it when the subs are in...I don't want to waste his time because he is busy as hell. I guess $125 an hour isn't bad if they know what they are doing and they do good work.
> 
> I am running 2 Arc Audio amps. The first is the FD 2200 which puts out 100 watts per channel at 4 ohms...that is for the horns. The Second is the KS 300.4 v2 which puts out 90 watts per channel at 4 ohms but I have it bridged so that it provides 350 watts per channel...that is for the MB8s. As for the DSP, I'm using the Audison Bit One.


bit one is a good DSP
You’ll get a good tune with that , it’s a little dated but still has an excellent processor in it 

That’s plenty of plenty power .... 

What’s your source , please tell me it’s of quality and not some pioneer that doesn’t even have a true pre amp lol


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## Nocturnal Thunder

oabeieo said:


> bit one is a good DSP
> You’ll get a good tune with that , it’s a little dated but still has an excellent processor in it
> 
> That’s plenty of plenty power ....
> 
> What’s your source , please tell me it’s of quality and not some pioneer that doesn’t even have a true pre amp lol


For the source I am using an Alpine CDE-175BT unit. The majority of the time I am listening to music on a 128 GB USB flash drive or on my Galaxy S8. The files are all 320 kb MP3s. Most of the time, I'm listening from the USB flash drive but if I'm headed somewhere using Google maps, then I'll listen from my phone.


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## oabeieo

Ha e you thought about doing a digital source ?
Like the rsxg9 or the clairion nx807 ?


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## Nocturnal Thunder

oabeieo said:


> Ha e you thought about doing a digital source ?
> Like the rsxg9 or the clairion nx807 ?


I'm totally unfamiliar with a digital source. I would have to look into what the advantage of a digital source is because I thought I was listening to a digital source...320 kb MP3s. And my Alpine does work really well with my Android phone so that is good. 

The reason why I use a single din unit is because I live in a high crime area and I already had someone break in, tear out the center console and steal my double din Alpine touchscreen unit. I cannot have some touchscreen in there because I will get jacked. For my car audio system, stealth is the name of the game.


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## MBorgardt

You do not need new horn bodies...
I will be modding you bodies.





Nocturnal Thunder said:


> Sounds good. Let me know if we need new horn bodies and I'll order some from Eric. Next week sounds good.


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## Mic10is

Nocturnal Thunder said:


> I'm totally unfamiliar with a digital source. I would have to look into what the advantage of a digital source is because I thought I was listening to a digital source...320 kb MP3s. And my Alpine does work really well with my Android phone so that is good.
> 
> The reason why I use a single din unit is because I live in a high crime area and I already had someone break in, tear out the center console and steal my double din Alpine touchscreen unit. I cannot have some touchscreen in there because I will get jacked. For my car audio system, stealth is the name of the game.


The 175 is a good HU. I used in both my wife's and my comp cars for a couple years. Simple to use. Usb read flac files so it can play high res music.
Also plays CDs and have 5v rca.


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## Nocturnal Thunder

MBorgardt said:


> You do not need new horn bodies...
> I will be modding you bodies.


Sounds good


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## IbizaOnAcid

I have a 2013 Challenger which of course is very similar to your charger. I run ES full body horns and as far as the driver side I found the best solution was to completely remove the e-brake, extend the obdii so I could move it and finally setup the hood release on an electronic solenoid with a push button.
The driver side on the dodges can definitely be tricky but like everything else where there's a will there's a way. Hope you got your set up straightened out you're definitely talking to the right people.


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