# 2004 BMW M3 Audison Prima SQ Build



## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Hey guys!

So for our first guild log on here, we're doing a SQ install of Audison Prima components in a nice BMW M3 Convertible w/hard top.

The client approached me a few months ago looking to upgrade at least his head unit and get his system working again. We met and I took a look at what he had and we discussed what he wanted to do.

He already had an Android head unit, one of those specific-for-the-car made-in-China deals. It was an older one and not entirely functional so I never bothered looking closer at it. He was decided on replacing it with another one of the same type, so after some looking we chose the Eonon (GA7150s) one, hopefully a good choice, though most seem pretty similar across the board. Ordered directly from Eonon instead of eBay. If anyone has had a bad experience with this brand or knows something better, speak up!

He also already had some other aftermarket stuff, in the trunk there was an Audison SRx5.1 wired in..wasn't working properly, only a few channels were for some reason.. there was 8 pairs of speaker leads going to the amp, 4 of one type of wire and 4 of another.

Since the existing setup was installed at the same time as the original deck, it was starting to get old. I also originally thought he didn't have the convertible as he had a hard top on it. This lead me to believe he also had a rear shelf with 6x9s and 6.5s. 

I knew he would need an amp setup with many channels to run all his existing speakers (which originally, I thought could be as much as 1"s, 2.5"s, 6.5"s in each door, 4"s with possible 1" tweets on either side of the rear seats, 6x9s in the rear deck and 6.5 in the rear deck with possible woofer behind ski passthru). I knew he didn't have the HK sub after looking obviously and then realized as well there was no rear deck. 

Regardless of whether there was going to be 9 replacement speakers or more (trying to keep oem spots mostly), I wanted to use the Audison BIT8.9 for mains, AP1D for sub and maybe an AP4D if there was the rear shelf.

I partly was looking at the bit 8.9 because, 1. There aren't a lot of 8 chan amps/professors available. 2. There's even less 8 channel amps available that I can get from my supplier (actually this is probaby the only one). 3. He already had an Audison srx5.1 amp previously. 4. It looks awesome and does everything we need!

I suggested the Bit and Prima speakers and the client agreed on price. Also suggested sound treatment for such a high quality system and client agreed. Took the srx5.1 out and am using it bridged to 2ch in my car now, thanks to my client 

Here's our current hardware list:
Head unit: Eonon GA7150s Android 6.0 Vehicle Specific Headunit
Amp/Processor: Audison BIT8.9, 8CH amp ("520w" rating)
Sub Amp: Audison AP1D, monoblock sub amp ("540w" rating)
Front Stage: Audison [email protected] Woofer (70w continuous/210w peak), AP1 tweeter (150w peak)
Rear Fill: Audison AP4 Mid-Bass (40w continuous/120w peak), AP1 tweeter (150w peak)
Sub-Woofer: Audison AP1D DVC 4+4ohm (400w continuous/800w peak)
Constrained Layer Damping: Dynamat Extreme
Mass Loaded Vinyl/Closed Cell Foam: Second Skin (unsure exact product, picked it up open box, it's mlv with ccf already together)

Unfortunately they don't make a 2 ohm version of the 4" or the tweets. There's an option to get the 6.5s @2ohms with tweets and crossover but I think the x-over matches the impedence as I don't see a 2ohm tweeter option anywhere, and even if the 2 ohm package does have a 2ohm tweeter, it's not worth the added cost of the x-over I won't need since using a processor..plus I have two sets of tweets, not one, and there's no 2 ohm 4" package with tweets.

The 8.9 is 35w per ch @ 4 ohm. [email protected] and bridged is [email protected] (at 12v) and 45w, 85w, 170w at 14.4v.

The front 2ohm woofers are specifically designed for the bit 8.9'so output power, spec sheet says so, also says they're rated for 70w continuous - bit puts out 65-85, perfect. In fact the 2ohm version of these have 2dB higher sensitivity and better power handling.

Tweets (two front and two rear) are rated at 150w peak. No continuous or RMS specified which is odd for such a brand but it's probably because they're tweets.

Running each pair on their own channels gives them 35w each, hopefully this will do. This should (I hope) be fine. I wish the tweets were 2ohm! 65w may be too much but you can always crank gain down..not so much the other way.. If I could bridge 4 ch into 2, run it as a 6ch (and if it was 2ohm stable) I could run all 4 at 2 ohms on the bridged pair and get 260w/4= 65w each. 

The 4"s are 40w continuous and 4ohm so they'll get 35-45w from the amp which is fine, though again I'd rather them be 2ohms, then I could be sure they get 40w even if the amp only has 12v to work with.

I'm a perfectionist though, I'm sure the impedence won't matter too much. The 6.5s are 2ohm and perfect, the 4s are within 5w at 4ohm (at 12v) or perfect probably at alternator output voltage. The biggest worry is tweets, 35w into 150w peak might be a bit low..but they are tweets.

I am not sure where I am going to crossover the components, the spec for the tweets sas 3.5khz I believe. I'm hoping the Audison Bit tuning software will have crossover presets for their speakers, ideally, I'd like to match the spec of the analog cross overs that come with thr components when you don't buy the tweetees separate. The front and rear crossovers will probably differ on the low side (keep some of the woofer bass from the mids and keep the sub bass from the woofers) The sub will likely be around 80hz as I find that tends to work best for most listening. 

I will be using an RTA as well as REW for measuring lots of stuff, helping with EQing and time alignment. Unfortunately, while I have a nice mic, it's not an omni but a cardioid. Someone wanna trade me my AT4040 for an AT4050? lol. Unfortunately this can have phase effects, I will do my best to work around this thought I'm considering getting a measurement mic and/or a new SPL meter..old one was stolen . It will be run on my MacBook Pro through a ProFire 610 (24bit/192khz card, though REW only does 48khz max unfortunately). I've already calibrated and compensated for my sound cards response as well I am using a loop back cable on ch1 for a reference and the mic in ch2. I don't have a cal file for my mic, I did get the curve close in the EQ in REW but not sure how to make an eq cal manually - just started with REW I've used other software in the past when ringing rooms for studios but so far REW is awesome from what I've played with. I have calibrated it's SPL however.

I have the entire Waves plug-in collection which has some nice RTAs and graphing tools as well.

I REALLY want to make some impulse response waterfalls before and after installing the damping. Unfortunately, that presents a chicken/egg problem. Don't want to install sound system before damping.. Can't install after and get a before reading.

So, I will bring one of my reference monitors and set it up inside the car strictly for this. This way I can have the same reference source for before and after installation of the CLD and before/after the MLV and the result will be independent of any installed sound system.

The mic Wil be set in two main locations for most tests: in the drivers listening position facing forward (or toward a specific driver) and in the middle of the trunk facing forward.

I did capture spectral analysis of the ambient levels in both locations already. In the trunk I was seeing about 32.5dB average ambient, though the trunk doesnt close 100% with my mic on the stand). In the cabin, with the soft-top on, I saw about 29dB on average. I'm hoping to lower both these values a bit but it's not just about reducing outside noise, it's also about damping vibrations, etc.

I also plan on grabbing a spectral analysis with the engine running and held at different RPMs to compare before/after deadening.

These tests won't be completely scientific..I don't have an anechoic chamber to load the car into. Ambient noise may change day to day but the garage the car is in is pretty quiet. I can't guarantee *exact* placement of the mic on every test as I will have to move it for different tests and to work on the car. I should be able to get the mic within 1" of a previously used test spot.

While not completely scientific and not something I'd want anyone relying on, it should give me a good idea of how much the treatment has improved the car and I will be doing my best to achieve the highest accuracy and scientific-ness..but I'm not building a jig to make sure the mic is in the exact same spot down to the micron or anything like that! 

I definitely want to try and use a higher quality external DAC instead of the one built in the android deck. The BIT8.9 has an optical input that I'd like to take advantage of if possible (I created another thread regarding this in the equipment forum)

The 8.9 IIRC/AFAIK can also send a digital signal to the AP1D, so if I can get optical from, the HU, we have a 100% digital signal line.

The sub-woofer will be installed in the ski-pass through some how. This sub is designed for small, sealed enclosures. We will be building a custom enclosure and mount for the sub. I will probably start a thread in the sub box forum regarding some questions I have with the build.

14L is pretty close to their recommended optimal size but still has a high(ish) qtc. I don't mind going lower for low end extension but I definitely want to stay reasonably efficient and away from xmax.

I am not against the idea of making a 4th order or some sort of vented box and using the process or to flatten it out. I love the idea of horns for woofers but definitely don't have the space for that and if I was doing a horn, I'd probably want a much different driver.

I've done lots of modelling so far on this, not 100% sure what I want to do. At 10-15l the qts is like 0.8ish and the low end isn't as low as I'd like but cabin gain will make up for some of that. 

The ski passthru area is approx 10.5" x 10.5", 4" deep at top and 7.5" deep at bottom which is about 11.8 liters.. sub is 1.1 liter displacement I think, though reverse mounting is an option, a little smaller than I'd like but the spec sheet says "designed for small enclosures starting at 10L" 

I'm thinking I can probably enclose the sub completely in there but not 100% sure. A lot of these ski installs are IB but I don't think that would work well with this woofer at all.

I could also do a 4th order, I've done some modelling but can't get anything close with the dimensions I have to what I want. The one chamber could be the ski area, so about 12L max, the second chamber could be as big as 12"*36*18" inches deep (120L!).

I currently plan on mounting each amp on the rear wall on either side of the pass thru but may change my mind. 

I do want to put a window in, a 36"x18" piece of mdf will be cut out with about 1" all the way around, wrapped in trunk liner and an acrylic window will go in the middle. The thickness of the acrylic will depend on whether or not the window is purely protective/decorative or if it's actually part of the sub enclosure. The window will have the Audison logo etched in and be lit with blue LEDS. 

I don't feel like uploading all my pics and it doesn't seem this forum allows in line image attachments, so I'll simply attach them for now though there won't be captions


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

The trunk area, showing ski pass thru and behind it the area under where the convertible top folds down. This is where the sub, amps and window will go.

Pretty Audison Boxes!

Analysis setup..testing trunk.


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## Huckleberry Sound (Jan 17, 2009)

Thump!


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Looked into a few options for getting optical output from the HU. The minidsp ministreamer is probably the best option (pure digital no dac) but the client is out of town and we want to get most of this install done this week, so we're going to try a Beringher UCA202 OR UCA222. There's no sense in converting the digital audio signal from USB to analog and back to digital, I don't see any engineer doing that in any dac device so quality should be fine, the analog outputs will remain unused but are probably still higher quality than the HU's built in DAC.

Can't wait to test this. Will be nice to not have to worry about output clipping from the HU or any signal degradation.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Got a UCA222 .. tested with otg cable on my tablet and worked first try so shold work with the Android HU

Unfortunately it only does 16bit 48khz. Still better than analog but I'd prefer 24/96.

As someone who produces electronic music, I can tell a huge difference with a synth playing at 16bit 44.1 or 48khz vs 24bit/96khz.


Might still order a streamer and replace the uca222 with something that can do 24/96.

The music store gave me a 10m optical cable free though! Score!

Though the big question is if Android will do this. My mbp shows 48khz max on it via usb but default is 44.1. I also figure the material the client will be listening to probably won't ever be encoded higher than 16/44.1 anyway.

Still all better than the DAC in the HU I'm sure.

Will be starting in on this project full force tomorrow!


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Was able to do about 4h of work today. Have many more pics on tablet. Also have time lapse I'll eventually edit together, maybe.

Un-boxed everything and verified inventory:

Audison Prima Bit 8.9 - 9ch DSP/8ch AMP - check
Audison Prima AP1D - monoblock sub amp - check
Audison Prima AP6.5 2‎Ω - front door woofers - check
Audison Prima AP4 - rear mids - check
Audison Prima AP1 * 2 - front and rear tweets - check, check
Eonon GA7150S - head unit - check
Behringner UCA222 - DAC for optical output - check
10m Optical Cable - bit too long but will work - check
1m High Quality RCA - for Bit->AP1D signal - check
20sq ft Dynamat Extereme - CLD - check
20sq ft Second Skin Luxury Liner Pro - check

I have to say I was impressed with the un-boxing of the Eonon deck, the box and bags were all very high quality. The cables came in silver ziplock bags, look like "smell proof" bags some people may be familiar with. Cables sealed for freshness!? 

The Audison stuff was also all nicely boxed too, each piece coming with it's own manual and warranty card and nice white box. Well, the AP6.5s did too until I realized the were the 4Ω version and exchanged them for the 2Ω version which came in a brown cardboard 'bulk' box (comes with 4 of them in total, only two were in there of course). Awesome thing to do to an almost-OCD guy! Give him a nice set of matching boxes for a matching product set then take one a way and give an ugly brown box. Kidding! 

Not that the cardboard matters, color or otherwise but it is nice to get a product and have it packaged nicely, especially when it's something high end and the Audison things that came in retail boxes were packaged quite nice. Everything individually wrapped and sealed and taped up with nice shiny/sort of holographic Audison stickers.

Some of the trunk trim is out, both door panels are off. There was an older set of Hertz speakers in there.. Not bad but only 5.25"s! Tsk tsk! This car is 6.5", no? Not surprised to see them since there was an Audison amp to begin with. They were installed not too bad, a bit of CLD behind the tweets and used as tape holding down the wires. None elsewhere though, which is good I guess since we already have the material.

The door itself has a nice stock foam vapor barrier like CCF. I haven't decided whether I want to completely remove it (and the air bag) and deaden on the inside of the door (I do want to) or just do some over top of the stock barrier, behind the woofer and other main spots and perhaps use the extra in the floorboards.

The Audison AP6.5 2‎Ω's are now installed in the doors though, just fit perfectly! Yay, 6.5"!

The AP1s came with x-overs..? This was the whole reason I was told to get them separately, because using the processor, I don't really need them and it was supposed to be cheaper? LOL.. I guess the AP165 (tweets+6.5s) come with the tweet x-over but none for sub? and the AP165 2‎Ω come with both x-overs? At least that's what I believe I read on the manual that comes with them (and has specs on all the Prima drivers) .. Actually I think there may also be some impedence matching magic with the AP165 2‎Ω package x-over because as far as I can tell there isn't a 2‎Ω AP1. Confusing, a "bit"? Thanks Audison! 

Having them does give me more *potential* flexibility in wiring the system but if I were to use them then I should probably also have the woofer x-over..? I mean, technically I don't need any. I wonder what the DC‎Ω would be with the 2‎ΩAP6.5 parallel with the 4‎Ω AP1 w/x-over? Doesn't matter, each speaker pair will get it's own channel pair. 

I also wonder which will perform/integrate better and have better phase response and group delay - the passive x-over or the digital DSP? I could test! I think I may. With the passive x-over, the settings are in the hands of the engineers and maybe perfect for the drivers..but without the woofer x-over where do I cross the woofers to correspond?

I have to find some good way of mounting the AP1s. The Hertz tweets had mounting pods that had arms that went across and screwed in but these pods are glued to them so no reusing that, besides I want to keep the "cups" at least on these front AP1s - I don't know how much it will affect anything but the manual does show the angle of the cups, if used, matters?

Before I took the door panels off, I was able to get some measurements on the vehicle in it's current state. As the existing sound system would be a useless reference as it's not functional and being replaced anyway and the new one isn't either because there's no sense in installing it all before the sound treatment, measuring, taking it out, treating and reinstalling it, I've decided to use one of my studio reference monitors as a source.

My soundcard and mic are already calibrated with REW. I picked up a SPL meter today to calibrate REW as well, I'd hoped to get one with an output and use that instead but the music store I went to only had one. I plan on returning it as I only used it for 30sec to calibrate REW.

I took a calibration measurement with my mic about 2' from the monitor. Then I moved the mic inside the vehicle. Unfortunately the mic I have is a cardiod polar pattern and not the best type for this type of work but should give some OK results.

The mic was suspended in the vehicle in a shock mount in approximately the driver's listening position. For this test, the mic's face was pointed toward the monitor (out the driver window). The monitor was on a table about 3' high, aimed right about mid-door level.

The next test was with the monitor in the car, in the passenger seat. Measurements were taken with the mic in the same position (facing the window, because I forgot to move it) and then finally facing forward.

I plan on reproducing these tests once the sound treatment is completed and hope I'll be able to show an improvement, semi-scientifically. 

Besides this, I'll be using this REW setup to test the system once installed to try and pick out the best x-over slopes and help decide whether to run the x-overs that came with the AP1s, if I do I'll have to use "expert mode" on the bit and have the pass band much lower than whatever the x-overs could be, like 500hz.

Primary plans for tomorrow:
- stop at warehouse, dig for some awesome way to mount tweets.
- get quote for acrylic window, like 2ft 10" x 10" I think? have to measure again
- mount tweets, install them.
- make a plan and attack CLD/MLV/CCF on the doors.

After that, secondary plans, if there's still time:
- remove rear speaker panels
- figure out rear speaker mounting and CLD/MLV/CCF in that area, will be minor but at least some behind the AP4 driver. IIRC (had a previous ass-client try to get me to stuff 6.5" coaxials in the same spot in the same car, the magnet was so deep it stuck to the sheet metal on the car and still stuck out so far the panel would never go back on) this panel opens up to the exterior metal so I can probably treat the whole area nicely.
- remove rear seats, expose ski pass through area, remove pass through trim piece, see what's in there, take measurements.
- start planning making a mold for the sub mount.
- CLD/MLV/CCF behind the rear seats, around the sub area and in the trunk, under the "spare tire" area (no spare tire in this car, just a tire fixer thingy) and wherever else appropriate.

Now: Sleep. Wait, food first.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Here's some pics from my tablet from the day..

A few things I meant to mention.. this head unit came with a screen protector! It's also apparently ul/ce certified. Lol.

It came with the USB dash cam but no reverse cam that I noticed which I thought it would. I'm considering mounting the dash cam in the grill under the hood so it's completely tucked and hidden.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

This forum needs an in line attachment or upload thing so I can caption pics. Too much work at the moment to upload to my server.

More pics.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

More. This Audubon sub-woofer is NO JOKE. It's almost a completely flat piston and seems sort of "sunk" into the basket. Meant for small enclosures apparently (and I haven't decided what to do as far as an enclosure yet) and shallow mounting. Not deep at all but beefy and definitely very well built.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Not done yet. You can see the car here too, quite nice. Looks way nicer with the hard top on though.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Last ones. You can see the test setup and the existing old Android HU here.

You can also see the existing foam liner and the Audison 6.5 installed in the door, sorta, was getting dark and tab cam isn't great. Tried to also show behind the liner but bad photo.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Got a bunch done today. 

Couldn't find anything better than back straps at my warehouse. Took another look at the hertz tweets and I figure I'll be able to cut the glue and get them out of the mounts and then the AP1s should pop right in.

Still undecided whether I'm going to do a sealed enclosure or a 4OBP w/eq. The latter has more opportunities to make cool design. I do want the woofer visible from both sides if possible. The panel that covers the ski area must go back on too and not affect the sub.

One of my 4OBP ideas is having the woofer mounted on a baffle on the rear plane of the ski hole. It could face either way though facing backward would use less of the limited volume I have in the ski pass thru. The rear volume is adjustable but I don't have much front volume. Will have to do some modelling. 

I want to try something neat I saw on another (sick) build for the main (visible) subwoofer cables too. I don't want to say more until I know I'm going to do it or I do it.

While I had planned on doing more sound treatment today, I never got around to it. I did get the rest of the trunk stripped, battery out, old deck out, old wiring out. 

Tested a few spots for the USB dash cam. I really wanted to stealth mount it behind the front grille but it doesn't provide a wide enough FOV, would probably get destroyed in an accident, would be exposed to the elements. Unfortunately the cons outweigh the pros. If it was a wide angle and beefy enough to withstand it, I'd do that in a second. 

I had assumed since he had an aftermarket deck that if he needed the FAKRA extender that it'd already be there. Yes, he needs it. Yes one is there BUT it's not standard, it's directly pinned to the old stereo. The plugs for the stereos are the same but I don't think the pin out is plus this new one comes with a different can decoder/swc module..

Fortunately I was able to reuse the old one by cutting the plugs off & soldering the new on. 

I am considering running the decks constant power directly from the battery. This is usually a good thing to do when aiming for SQ, however, we won't be using the amp or pre-amps in the head unit at all. I may still do it simply because I'm already running wires.

I discovered a fuse and relay under the hood, I assume perhaps for the fogs in his bumper but one of the pins comes off into a male spade terminal that just hangs loose., will have to investigate this more.

I also have to say I'm a bit disappointed with some people in our industry. The previous system had an Audison SRx5. 1 amp, Android HU, Hertz components in the front and Blaupunkt coaxial in the rear - so it wouldn't have been a "cheap" install and it's not a "cheap" car.

The main power wiring for the amps that was left over did look decently done but that was it, though one area on the cable was discolored brown, kind of looks like a burn but not completely.

The GPS antenna was installed on top of the dash instead of hidden. The mic was nicely hidden. There were ipod and USB cables poorly pulled into the glove box. The main two bottom support screws for the glove box were missing, surprised it didn't break. The two bolts that hold the bottom of the back of the seats down were gone. Screws holding in the driverside rear seat side panel, gone. Missing screws and trim clips from trunk. The back most plastic trim in the car (just inside the rear of the trunk) is clipped in but also has two screws, whoever pulled it off last time yanked it out & broke the plastic surrounding the screws. Little things but stuff you shouldn't screw up. Like half the glove box was hanging out.

I'm going to do my best to replace all the missing hardware and make it nice again! Also noticed this thing is S/C'd..It's got Dinan all over it so I knew it probably wasn't stock..now I definitely wanna take it for a spin.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Great job that you are doing so far, I'm sure the customer will truly appreciate the corrections that you will be doing.


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## ultimatemj (Jan 15, 2009)

Love seeing M builds 

2 cents: You will get much better midbass performance if you mount the 6.5s to the door/metal. Take a look at my build log, it includes info on the topic from my build and links to many others.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

ultimatemj said:


> Love seeing M builds
> 
> 2 cents: You will get much better midbass performance if you mount the 6.5s to the door/metal. Take a look at my build log, it includes info on the topic from my build and links to many others.



Link please? I'm not opposed to the idea, I treated around it as best I can but it probably would be better in the door. Wonder how much fab I'd have to do, I'll definitely check it out.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Wasn't feeling 100% today so I didn't do as much as I wanted.

I went to start vacuuming out the trunk, grabbed my clients shop vac and went at it. I didn't realize the shop vacation had no filter and I was vacuuming that white corrosion powder from under the battery. Got a huge lung full of it. Wasn't pleasant at all.

Maybe I should have checked first..do some people think the filter would block big stuff in a shop vac? Cuz the filter is on the output..lol

I took off the top windshield frame trim and drilled a hole for the dash cam. I removed the camera from its case and popped it in. Much better than sticking it to the windshield!

I twisted 15' of 10g wire together for a direct power/ground to the deck, should help with noise rejection but again shouldn't matter as we're not using any analog output components of the head unit.

Those wires were wrapped and taped together with the toslink, FAKRA & antenna extension and ran it in the car. 

I ended up getting two 2*0G>4*4G dizzy blocks for power and ground, definitely more than needed but they were a good price and they're well built.

I will be doing at least 1*0g to the positive block and same for ground though I may do dual 0g. I may also order those adapters that let you put 2*4G into a 1*4G hole. Not that it's needed but I plan on using some of the wiring as part of the design though most will be hidden.

The HK amp was still there as well as part of the stock navigation system. They've been removed. I plan on making a trim piece to cover the whole where the disc drive original was. 

Still can't decide on sub box design, spent hours modelling last night and still haven't gotten the results I want.

The amps will be mounted on either side of the ski box & will be visible thru a plexiglass window. Audison logo will be etched on window. Will probably have a window under the front of the ski box too where the leather seats cover goes.

Found more missing screws and clips. A trip to BMW is in order for Monday. I'm not sure his battery is venting properly with the amount of build up under it. I'll be looking into this and trying to fix, don't need poisonous gas building up in the car. I may also suggest using a sealed battery but that's upto the client.

The battery tray was rusted along with a few spots around it. I'll be sanding down the tray and respraying it black. There's also a few minor rust spots in the trunk, I'm going to touch these up a bit as well. 

I've considered a capacitor for this as well but since the amps will be very close to the battery I'm not sure if it's worth it, unless I'm getting some AC noise thru the amps. If I do, I'll have a hidden switch running thru a resistor so if the battery ever dies/gets removed he can reset it easily with the switch.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

After some reading and thought, I'm definitely going to mount them in the doors.

I'm going to make custom speaker rings cnc cut from ABS I think. I also think I'm going to work out a way to cover the door holes.

I'll loose the 6x6 patch of cld/mlv/ccf Ialready put on the driver door behind the driver to try and help..but oh well..will be much better in the end I think. 

I'm also thinking if there's a way I can replace the fabric grill on the doors..I don't like that it says Harman Kardon when it's all Audi-SON. I also had another idea for accenting the tweeters but I haven't decided on this yet so I don't want to say anything. I'm not sure I will even replace the grills but I definitely want to.

Tomorrow I'm grabbing some 0g and 4g and lugs.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Forbidden Era said:


> The 8.9 IIRC/AFAIK can also send a digital signal to the AP1D, so if I can get optical from, the HU, we have a 100% digital signal line.


I don't want to spread misinformation; from what I can tell from reviewing the manuals this is only possible with the 4.9 and 5.9. I wonder if I should have used a 4 or a 5 with a ap4d and ap1d..?

Oh well, I don't think the short analog run between amps will be too bad for the sub, especially when coming from the Audison pre-out. I have a nice cable in mind for this.

I'm still not sure what exactly I'm going to do for cable management. We'll see..I want to make it pretty though these amps don't really have cable covers or anything.


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## ultimatemj (Jan 15, 2009)

Forbidden Era said:


> Link please? I'm not opposed to the idea, I treated around it as best I can but it probably would be better in the door. Wonder how much fab I'd have to do, I'll definitely check it out.


Sorry, I should not have assumed you'd know the link was in my signature. >> Ultimatemj's Build Log <<

It's a bit of work, but the results are certainly worth doing it.


Here's a pic of the baffles I made:









Note: A 75mm deep woofer is max to fit between the window rail and the stock door card speaker pocket...unless you modify the rail or have tiny magnets that sit above the rail bend:









A few more links with info from other e46builds:
RSL (e46fanatic) Starting my first install
Meanmachine - bmw-e46-cd-focal
jvr826 (e46fanatic) Midbass issue - "tunnel effect"
jvr826 (e46fanatic) Midbass issue - "tunnel effect" FIXED​


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## eddieg (Dec 20, 2009)

Hi, 

For what I understand the options are as follows -

1. AP8.9bit + RCA output (Channel 9) analog for a monoblock amplifier. 
2. AP5.9bit with sub channel 5 based on FullDA + DSP out to chain it to AP4D and FullDA

3. AP4.9bit + DSP out for AP4D running at FullDA + Ch9 analog out RCA for a Subwoofer.

The 5.9BIT has the two front channel on a very low output 20W per channel but it is the only topology which lets you have all 9 channel running at FullDA topology

The 8.9Bit - lets you have 8 channels at FullDA on a single amplifier without having to stack them and if you wish to add a subwoofer on a dedicated amplifier not bridged then you can use channel 9. 

The 4.9bit+AP4D+AP1D - gives you 8 strong (70w at 4ohm) channels at FullDA and Analog subwoofer output via dedicated mono channel but it takes a physical three amps at total to run this topology and it is a bit against the idea of small signature amps.

So it is highly depended of your speaker choice - for the 8.9bit it is best to stick to low wattage and high sensitivity speakers such as the dedicated Prima series or PA equipment for example a FaitalPro 3FE22 midrange + a Dayton AMT-8 Mini with a simple xover in a combination of a 35w channel and AP6.5 2ohms/Morel Maximus midbasses (maximus NOT maximu) and so on and so on 

I have had the chance to tune several cars with Audison's Prima Bit and a mono block amp - for example, a friends Mercedes CLK320 with Bose original speakers and we have changed the tweeters to HAT L1 (the original 8 ohm version) and added an ARC10 subwoofer -> the car sounds like a dream.

Today the owner uses a mini iPod which is connected to a Mosconi AMAS-2 which then leads right in to the 8.9bit Optical input + AP1D 

You can get a decent amount of volume from this system but still don't expect any substantial SPL, it is not what it's meant for.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

eddieg said:


> Hi,
> 
> For what I understand the options are as follows -
> 
> ...


Thanks for your input, seems correct from what I read in the manuals, I had hoped they just omitted the 8.9 when writing about digital out.

Seems silly that you can't, it's the only downfall with the configuration I'm using besides not everything being 2ohm.

I imagine it should be decently loud but again not going for SPL of any kind. I doubt the guy will ever listen over 105dB and that's probably pushing it. I hit about 120dB in my car and wouldn't want to go much louder, in fact if I had higher quality stuff I'd probably do less. I'll be switching my 6.5 Kicker coaxials in my own car with the 5.25" Hertz that came from this car, should be a big improvement.

Today I picked up like $200 in plastic covered copper. Yay. Couldn't get 0g red like I wanted only black but got 4G red and black.

And according to the manual, the amps only take 8g. I just spent forever trying to find a dual 4G to 4G adapter too. I guess I can still use the adapters and dual 4g, might have to grind down the terminal of the adapters.

Had originally planned on 4G from battery into 4G to 8g for the amps but the d blocks I got were dual 0 to 4, so I figured it couldn't hurt to have dual 4s to the amp, they're 500+with RMS each and the manuals show like 10-15% more output at 14.4v to 12v. I doubt I'll see much v drop since my runs are all under 5 feet anyway but I wanted as little as possible. 

Ug!


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Seems like only one company makes dual 4G and dual 8g inputs (Hollywood energetics?) And seems like it's all on the other side of the ocean! Doubt I'll find anything local but I did have an idea that would work.. I can put a ring terminal on each wire, bolt them together and put the bolt into the amp terminal. Won't be as pretty but should do fine until the adapters arrive or I get some made.

Did the main amp power layout. I can't decide whether I'm going to run it electrically symmetric or visually symmetric.

Electrically, the power and ground run from the same spot and side of the car.

Visually, the power and ground would run from oppose sides.

See pics for how I've mocked up each idea. In the end most of the wiring will probably be covered anyway. Also included a pic of the original amp power wiring for comparison, lol.

Also, am I the only one who uses automotive breakers instead of fuses for most installs? I don't like the unlined fuses that come with most amp kits so much. Our Ideal Sound kit comes with a breaker.. (actually I can't be the *only* one, my civic has a Phoenix Gold breaker that looks identical to most other auto breakers (Pico, raptor etc) and came on the car.

I also prefer automotive grade wiring usually..thicker jacket, thicker strands, 4awg is really 4awg (I've seen car audio cables that are 4awg but are really closer to 5, and others that are closer to 3), it doesn't expand when cut because so many tinyears strands are compressed together. Conductivity for DC power isn't affected based on strand size. Only downside is that it's a little harder to bend, though the coating is smoother and less "rubbery" than most CA cable resulting in it being easier to pull through some areas.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Tomorrow and Tuesday I plan on:

- remake rear speaker brackets from ABS
- make front speaker rings from ABS
- make front tweeter mounts from ABS
- cut front ski pass cover from acrylic
- cut rear cover from acrylic & cnc etch Audison logo
- look into cutting hole in door, nicely. I'd like it to be a perfect circle with hole saw but with the window guide in the way will probably have to get creative. Will have to sand down and paint any cuts.
- drop off battery tray for sandblasting
- probably sand down all small rust spots in trunk, wondering what to do about paint, I don't think I'll be able to easily match the stock trunk color, perhaps I could but would be easier to paint it black or something, will be covered in dynamat/lux liner and trunk liner anyhow.
- fix battery vent / discuss sealed battery with client. The outlet for the hose for the battery vent is really rusted bad! Worst spot I've seen yet.
- dynamat/luxliner passenger door & trunk area.

*Still* haven't decided on full plans for sub enclosure. Have ideas. Sub will likely mount flush with the rear side of the ski pass thru, so the basket and motor assembly protrude into trunk and faces into ski hole with space between it and the cover with a plexiglass window behind the cover.

I was thinking of using the space in front of the driver as the front sealed chamber of a 4OBP and having the rear chamber in the trunk. Still working out ideas! Eek.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Was thinking of using a buck converter to supply the amp a constant 15v regardless of whether it's running or not.......


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

So I dropped some work off at the fab shop.

Having them make the front ski pass window to match the profile of the ski pass thru plastic part.

Having 2 new rear speaker rings made of ABS.

Having 6 speaker rings made for the front, I can stack 1, 2 or 3 to get the depth I need.

Also having a piece cut from ABS and a small rectangle etched in so I can inlay a small flat piece of metal I have that I will polish and put a 3m vinyl on. I may call and switch the abs with acrylic and back light it sort of but haven't decided.

Tomorrow I will have the battery tray sandblasted. I will also sand/wire brush all the rust in the trunk. I'll then tape it off and spray it, primer, black, clear. I'll then deal with making the battery vent work better, the client isn't against a sealed battery it seems but to be fair this is already an expensive project and his current battery still has usable life, so he will probably replace it with AGM in a bit. It's from May or Jun 2014, just over 3 years and probably well maintained (there was a charger plug permanently installed in the car)

I'm redoing the Harman Kardon grills. The stock fabric just feels yucky and grey and dingy to me and it's no longer got a single HK part. I'm going to try and get Audison plastic pieces to replace the HK ones but even if I just use black fabric or something it'll look better. I'm doing this part as a freebie for my client because he didn't ask for it and it's a nice finishing touch and I wanted to do it anyway.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Things should be taking shape over the next few days!

Will strip and paint trunk tomorrow and maybe do some wiring..

I have 3 different fabrics to use for speaker cloth over the door tweet grills to replace stock. 

There's a black silky one, a carbon fiber-looking silky one (and he has cf vinyl wrapped trim in the car) and a grey soft Alcantara?ish one. The third is the easiest to work with and may look the best but is a bit lighter than I wanted at all..

Suggestions please!


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## eddieg (Dec 20, 2009)

My opinion if I may

Either you go with the color plate of the interior 
Either you go exactly against it - opposite color.

Going with the color palate would give your a unified look of the interior but might be numb/boring to the eye. 

Going with opposite colors or two tones makes the interior more vivid - but taking it too far will look bad.

I say take a picture of your cabin and then with the computer just put a color dot at the area where you intend to make the change and see which one you like more. MSPaint would be just fine for such task.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Most of the interior is dark red. The rest is black and varying shades of grey with carbon fibre vinyl wrap on the arm rests, dash trim, etc.

Exterior is black. Trunk is grey. Carpet is dark grey/black.

The lighter material is the nicest but I couldn't find it darker.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

I missed the cf fabric in my pics


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## eddieg (Dec 20, 2009)

So don't rush and look for a similar material at some upholstery shop near to our location and do it right, do it once.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

The client prefers the darker color, and I don't really like the darker fabric so I have to keep looking..

And yeah I spent over an hour yesterday browsing the upholstery place.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Probably should have checked my warehouse first, actually had some nice black grill cloth.

Kinda f*cking pissed. Went to this plastics place and asked if they could router me some speaker rings out of the ABS sheets they sell. They said no problem and said it would take like 10 min and they charge $2/min. Also enquired about having Audison logo etched in some plexiglass. 

So I drop everything off Monday, guy was off Tuesday but said he'd get to it Wednesday and let me know where he got by end of day. I don't hear anything by Thursday so I call, he says they've been understaffed and he'll get to it Friday.

Friday, I get an email with a quote for $300 in cnc time to do 8 speaker rings..that I specifically asked to be hand routed and was told it would only take a few minutes and he'd probably do it out of scraps and wouldn't cost much.

F*ck off. I guess if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Got a cheap router and table. Made my own circle cutting jig. Got a template bit. My router wasn't variable speed so I got a controller, definitely a good thing when doing plastic. Also got a jigsaw. Spent way too much money. Vacation is next week. Have to make it back! Doing a remote start swap tomorrow before hitting the beamer, that'll help, get to tryout out my new weblink mobile (my lasthe programmer was stolen).

Made the two rings for the rear speakers today. They turned out pretty decent considering I haven't had any prior experience using a hand router. I can usually have stuff cnc'd anytime but not atm.

Will make 4 to 6 more tomorrow for the 6.5"s..the rears I was able to use the preexisting wood rings as templates..the fronts I have to do from scratch. Not sure my hole jig will go down to 6", depends on the base size of my router..still have to calibrate it too.

The router came with some free mdf! Will be using it as a base for the sub box, will be doing some cuts for that this weekend to make the base..still not 100% sure on design!


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

My paint gun didn't come with a quick release attachment and I'm also not entirely sure my compressor will have enough cfm for it and it seems the regulator on my compressor isn't working right so I don't know if I'll use the gun. I have a hand gun for rattle cans which I may use instead but I'm still thinking of hooking up the gun and seeing if it'll work.

I need to cut holes in the doors for the speakers, sand them down and rust protect them. I'm not sure how big I can go with the holes with the window thing.

Still need to treat the passenger door too and rear sides. Rear sides won't take much, I'll probably mount the rear speakers right away since the rings are made and I want to try them. 

Tomorrow will be a big, long day, as will Sunday. Hoping to have everything 100% done except the sub enclosure.


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## Forbidden Era (Jul 13, 2017)

Drilled holes in the rear rings today for the speaker screws & countersunk holes for the mounting screws.

Cut gigantic holes in both doors with my angle grinder and smoothed them out with my Drexel and wire wheel and painted it up. Forgot to take pics of that. For now I'll be mounting the speakers in the door panel still, the client needs the car for Monday and I don't think I'll have time to fab my front door rings and mounts. I'll have to do that when we finish the sub box and install it, maybe, we'll see how it sounds like this.

Sprayed a few coats in the trunk after sanding down the primer.

Installed dynamat and luxury liner on the passenger door. Installed dynamat behind the rear speakers. Installed some in the skipass. 

Tomorrow is a huge day..

I have to install the front and rear speakers, finish my tweeter re-cloth, finish painting trunk, install dynamat in trunk, reinstall battery and trim, finish deck wiring, install processor (temp.), cut baffle template for sub enclosure and more im sure..


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