# Dynaudio Esotar2 SQ Install in a Genesis Coupe



## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

After several months of research and saving money I've finally gotten my Dynaudio Esotar2's installed in my Genesis Coupe. *Please note that the Dynamat and some of the wiring that is pictured was done by a previous installer.* The install was done by Danny at Amplified Autosports in Tampa, FL.
The system includes the Dynaudio Esotar2 110 tweeter and 650 mid-woofer. They are currently powered by a single Gladen XL 250.4 amplifier. I also have two JL 10W7 subwoofers powered by a JL HD 750 that were installed previously by a different shop. Please keep in mind I was a bit cheap and didn't want to pay more money for a custom amp rack or anything that wasn't needed for sound quality. Danny is capable of a lot more than this.

My baby Genesis Coupe 2.0T Track Edition:









Here are the custom fabricated mid-bass spacers:

























Some new holes were drilled in the door:









Wiring run through the stock harness:









Mounted:









Fixing up the old wiring and installing some new wire:
















(Stock amp removed shortly after picture was taken)

The Gladen installed in the trunk in the spare tire location:









Tweeter laser alignment:

























Pillar fabrication, fiberglass:









Sanded, some bodo, then test fitment:









Sanded and then bondo'd and sanded again:









Painted (he was using a heater at this point because I was bugging him to get it done that night) :

















Final product (these were taken at night, I'll get better pics soon):
















We ended up having to place the driver side tweet slightly off axis as it was pulling the whole sound stage too far to the left.
Not pictured is a rigorous amount of dampening applied to the rear side panels. This is still a work in progress. Over the next few weeks/months I will be dampening the rest of the car and possibly upgrading to a Mosconi 6 to 8. I also need to figure out a way to better protect the tweets from the elements.

*The sound:*
This stereo system is simply incredible. It brings out the flaws of any recording that wasn't mastered perfectly. These are easily the most revealing, neutral speakers I have ever heard. They are detailed, dynamic, and have a wide image. Several of my friends that have high end Focal components want to sell their's and save for Dyn's. These speakers can get extremely loud without being fatiguing or harsh at all. Everyone who has heard them was impressed with how the tweets are almost invisible, placement wise. These are exactly what I was looking for sound-wise. Not too warm and not too bright. They still have about two weeks left of listening time to break in fully and have not been RTA'd or EQ'd at all. I cannot wait to see how they sound once they break in and are re-tuned.

*Issues:*
Let me first say I do not fault the installer for any of the problems I am experiencing. I blame the previous installer before Danny and me trying to cut corners. I get a very low hiss from the tweets currently. I'm not sure if it's because of the 80PRS source unit or the Gladen, but turning up the volume does not effect the hiss. I can hear it as soon as the car is cut on, with no music playing. The mid-woofer needs slightly more power as well so I'll need to add another amplifier eventually.
My other issue I've had since this install is my subwoofer amp sometimes does not cut on with the car. I haven't figured this out but my guess would be it has something to do with there being two remote wires being run now instead of just one like before.
Other issues are minor/annoying rattles. The front part of my rear view mirror rattles when bass hits. Pressing lightly on the front part of the mirror makes this go away. Other rattles are the door panels. Again lightly pressing on the panel makes this go away. 
_My last and most frustrating problem_ is that the subwoofers blend poorly. I'm starting to doubt the claim that JL W7's are "reference" subwoofers. I have them in a sealed box but they either sound boomy or not transparent. The W7's may have to go and get replaced by something like an Illusion Audio Carbon sub.

*Any advice on easy fixes for these issues would be greatly appreciated!*


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Well I for one congratulate you in a job well done. You took a lot of time and chose your front stage wisely. I agree with the statement about it's more about the sound then a fancy rack. I also run Dynaudio 650s but I opted not to run the 110 as my system must remain stealth. So the tweeters that I have are a drop in pair that sound fantastic. 

You and your installer should be extremely happy for a job well done, and thank you for sharing this with us.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Sometimes I miss my GC. I used the factory amp turn on lead and the balanced differential signals coming from the radio to install my HD900/5 and BitOne. They worked perfectly.

I have a build thread on here (check under my user name) and on Gencoupe.com (same username) that might show what I did to get mine to work. 

Did you grab signal before or after the amp?
What year is yours? Mine was a 2010 Premium and the amp looks different than mine did.

Those pillars turned out nice.

Jay


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

Coppertone said:


> Well I for one congratulate you in a job well done. You took a lot of time and chose your front stage wisely. I agree with the statement about it's more about the sound then a fancy rack. I also run Dynaudio 650s but I opted not to run the 110 as my system must remain stealth. So the tweeters that I have are a drop in pair that sound fantastic.
> 
> You and your installer should be extremely happy for a job well done, and thank you for sharing this with us.


The tweets are simply incredible. If I had gone with something else I would have always wondered "what if?". So I said screw stealth and found an installer who really knew what he was doing.

I'm very happy with the install so far. It's not finished yet and I know I'll be spending a lot more money at Amplified Autosports.



JayinMI said:


> Sometimes I miss my GC. I used the factory amp turn on lead and the balanced differential signals coming from the radio to install my HD900/5 and BitOne. They worked perfectly.
> 
> I have a build thread on here (check under my user name) and on Gencoupe.com (same username) that might show what I did to get mine to work.
> 
> ...


The factory amp and radio are gone:


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Wow. Zoned out on that one. I read your post stating such and then totally lost it. lol.

That certainly makes the problem stranger.
Did the previous installer get turn on from the radio or did they tap something in the fuse box?

Jay


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

JayinMI said:


> Wow. Zoned out on that one. I read your post stating such and then totally lost it. lol.
> 
> That certainly makes the problem stranger.
> Did the previous installer get turn on from the radio or did they tap something in the fuse box?
> ...


Before it was using the stock amp and speakers. There was no hiss. I believe there was an adapter that took the stock wiring harness and adapted it to the 80PRS.


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## jtaudioacc (Apr 6, 2010)

if it's just head unit to amp, that should be pretty dead quiet, imo. gain to high or boosted upper frequencies on the eq?

bling bling amp rack, etc. looks great and wows, but doesn't make the system sound better. good to focus on what's important to you.

most all doors will resonate. only thing you can do is try your best to minimize it the best you can.

awesome install!


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

jtaudioacc said:


> if it's just head unit to amp, that should be pretty dead quiet, imo. gain to high or boosted upper frequencies on the eq?
> 
> bling bling amp rack, etc. looks great and wows, but doesn't make the system sound better. good to focus on what's important to you.
> 
> ...


There's no equalization done right now. Everything is set to flat with the crossovers set on the head unit.
Most likely the amp is to blame. Not sure why the Gladen would be doing this though. I should also mention it's really faint and no one other than the installer and I have really noticed it.


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## jtaudioacc (Apr 6, 2010)

NateZ28 said:


> There's no equalization done right now. Everything is set to flat with the crossovers set on the head unit.
> Most likely the amp is to blame. Not sure why the Gladen would be doing this though. I should also mention it's really faint and no one other than the installer and I have really noticed it.


how's output overall on the system? can you drop the gain on the amp and still have the output you desire?


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

I used to run a Gladen amp as it was one of my first forays into German amps.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Love how you mounted the tweeters - I really wish I could hear this front stage. Great job


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

jtaudioacc said:


> how's output overall on the system? can you drop the gain on the amp and still have the output you desire?


We already lowered the gain to the tweeters once. They might be able to go down a bit more but I fear the mids might begin to overpower them.



Coppertone said:


> I used to run a Gladen amp as it was one of my first forays into German amps.


So did you switch to Mosconi? What made you decide to switch?



bertholomey said:


> Love how you mounted the tweeters - I really wish I could hear this front stage. Great job


Again I take no credit for the installation. It was Danny at Amplified AutoSports who did everything. The guy is without a doubt a true audiophile and the quality of his work shows that he is an artist when it comes to fabrication and installation.
The sound really is unlike anything else. All I have to compare to are Focal Utopia's, Gladen Aerospace components, and some high end 3-way Hertz Milli systems. *In my opinion* this is the most neutral, accurate sounding system I have ever heard. I highly suggest demoing them at some point.


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

I can tell you that my Gladen xl250c4 running scan illuminator tweeters active make no audible hiss or other sound for that matter. I have used the 80prs and now the p99
and both were/are dead silent. 2 channels to tweeters the other 2 to illuminator minds. Gains are pretty low on the tweeters.


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## TexSIN (Aug 13, 2013)

teh secks.

every time i see nice installs it reminds me of how much i suck. It took me 2 hrs to run my power wire through pre-existing holes and its not even back together inside yet lol.

Im working on getting a system in my 2013 GC. I enjoyed seeing your progress!


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

I would turn the sub down. Every single time someone has said the W7 didn't blend well it was because it was too loud. 

Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

quality_sound said:


> I would turn the sub down. Every single time someone has said the W7 didn't blend well it was because it was too loud.
> 
> Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk


Well right now my main problem is that the HD 750 keeps going into protect mode and flashing red/green. This happens randomly when I turn on the car or if I turn off the head unit while the car is running.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Well truth be told I went from the Gladen to the Mosconi because I wanted amps that weren't seen in the mainstream. Upon hearing them, I wanted more, and if I were to continue on my audio quest, I would do Brax just because.....


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Thanks for posting your build log. I've followed a lot of your earlier posts looking for suggestions so it's good to see the results. Try to tune your 80 before you swap anything else out. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

Coppertone said:


> Well truth be told I went from the Gladen to the Mosconi because I wanted amps that weren't seen in the mainstream. Upon hearing them, I wanted more, and if I were to continue on my audio quest, I would do Brax just because.....


Ugh I wish I could afford a Brax amp.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Affording and actually wanting to spend that for me are two different things lol. I just can't wrap my head around having 2 $4900 amps in my Legacy. I just don't drive it enough to spend that.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

Coppertone said:


> Affording and actually wanting to spend that for me are two different things lol. I just can't wrap my head around having 2 $4900 amps in my Legacy. I just don't drive it enough to spend that.


Well this is my daily, and will be for many years to come. You could always buy me one if you have the change to spare.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

jriggs said:


> I can tell you that my Gladen xl250c4 running scan illuminator tweeters active make no audible hiss or other sound for that matter. I have used the 80prs and now the p99
> and both were/are dead silent. 2 channels to tweeters the other 2 to illuminator minds. Gains are pretty low on the tweeters.


Did you notice a difference going from the 80PRS to the P99? I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade to that or the Mosconi 6 to 8. My installer is a Mosconi dealer and is very experienced in tuning the Mosconi processors.


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

NateZ28 said:


> Did you notice a difference going from the 80PRS to the P99? I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade to that or the Mosconi 6 to 8. My installer is a Mosconi dealer and is very experienced in tuning the Mosconi processors.


Nope. Both were/are dead silent. Without source material I have not had any sound at all in my system.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

jriggs said:


> Nope. Both were/are dead silent. Without source material I have not had any sound at all in my system.


Why did you make the switch though? What was lacking about the 80PRS in your opinion?


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

P99 was the end goal for several reasons but the 80 never gave me issues, sounded awesome and ushered me into an active set up.

The P99 has better tuning capacity and will support a 4-way active set up when I am ready to go that route. Plus it looks and feels a lot better than the 80.


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## RandyJ75 (Dec 4, 2006)

Nice install, love the work on the pillars. As for the noise issue, check the grounds to the HU. Maybe run a separate one. I had this problem w/ a JVC hu, I ran a separate wire from the hu to a point on the frame, took away the issues I had w/ the hu.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

NateZ28 said:


> Did you notice a difference going from the 80PRS to the P99? I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade to that or the Mosconi 6 to 8. My installer is a Mosconi dealer and is very experienced in tuning the Mosconi processors.





jriggs said:


> P99 was the end goal for several reasons but the 80 never gave me issues, sounded awesome and ushered me into an active set up.
> 
> The P99 has better tuning capacity and will support a 4-way active set up when I am ready to go that route. Plus it looks and feels a lot better than the 80.


Agreed with what jriggs said. I was using the P99 - loved it......was 'influenced' to go with the 6to8.......thought I liked it - used it for a while - found all of the niggley things that I personally didn't like about it.......went back to using the P99 for processing, and I couldn't be happier. If I were to be asked for advice (which I'm not), I would advise to buy the 99 and work on tuning it yourself. Or find someone local that you can hang with to get some tips if you haven't done much tuning before. Just my 2 cents and take it for a grain of salt and all of that.


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

RandyJ75 said:


> Nice install, love the work on the pillars. As for the noise issue, check the grounds to the HU. Maybe run a separate one. I had this problem w/ a JVC hu, I ran a separate wire from the hu to a point on the frame, took away the issues I had w/ the hu.


I was thinking the same thing. How is the head unit grounded? Stock grounds usually aren't to good.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

I'm almost 100% sure the noise is caused by the gain being too high on the amplifier. My installer thought the 80PRS was 4V, instead of 5V apparently. I'm trying to wait until the speakers are done breaking in to have him re-tune the system. They do need some equalization and further time alignment.

Unfortunately it looks like my subwoofer issue was caused by a dying HD 750. The amp bit the dust finally and now shows a fault by flashing green/red. Everything else has been checked and the amp is receiving a constant 14.2 volts. I don't see how this was caused by the new installation. A seperate 4 awg wire was run for the new amp and they were grounded separately. I'm taking it back to the different shop that installed the amp/subs originally, tomorrow morning. Hopefully they will swap out the JL HD 750 under warranty despite having Amplified Audio install the new system.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

So apparently JL doesn't have very good customer service. They expect me to cover shipping to ship the product to JL and hopefully have them repair it within a month roughly. Even though I just purchased the amplifier from an authorized retailer and had it installed by them. The shop, Maximum Audio Video refuses to swap the amp out and will make me wait a month.
I will not be buying JL products in the future nor recommend them to any of the people I know in the car audio business.


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

NateZ28 said:


> So apparently JL doesn't have very good customer service. They expect me to cover shipping to ship the product to JL and hopefully have them repair it within a month roughly. Even though I just purchased the amplifier from an authorized retailer and had it installed by them. The shop, Maximum Audio Video refuses to swap the amp out and will make me wait a month.
> I will not be buying JL products in the future nor recommend them to any of the people I know in the car audio business.


That doesn't sound right... Try contacting msmith on here.


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## Zippy (Jul 21, 2013)

Looks good NateZ28. I'm glad you were able to get the install done with the equipment you wanted.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

Glad you like the Esotars. The tweeters mellow out slightly over time. 

If the W7s are too boomy, they probably need a larger enclosure. They sound very nice and compliment the Dyns in the right enclosure. JL's recommended subwoofer enclosure sizes are on the small side.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

BuickGN said:


> Glad you like the Esotars. The tweeters mellow out slightly over time.
> 
> If the W7s are too boomy, they probably need a larger enclosure. They sound very nice and compliment the Dyns in the right enclosure. JL's recommended subwoofer enclosure sizes are on the small side.


How much larger than the JL spec box are we talking? I'm trying to determine if I can modify my existing box.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

> I can hear it as soon as the car is cut on, with no music playing.


If I read that right the hiss is only present when you start the engine? I don't follow the cut logic.

If that's the case try a different set of RCA's ran outside the car to see if you have some interference, ignition etc.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

knever3 said:


> If I read that right the hiss is only present when you start the engine? I don't follow the cut logic.
> 
> If that's the case try a different set of RCA's ran outside the car to see if you have some interference, ignition etc.


Sorry I should have said as soon as the system is turned on, regardless of the engine running. I'm almost positive this is a gain issue.
My focus now will be sealing the door panel better. Right now the mid-bass from the 650's is weak.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

How are things going now? Did you fix the hiss and the sub sound?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

NateZ28 said:


> How much larger than the JL spec box are we talking? I'm trying to determine if I can modify my existing box.


.75 to 1 cube larger


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

teldzc1 said:


> How are things going now? Did you fix the hiss and the sub sound?
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


I know this is an old thread, but any updates on the sound issues? Was it the gain, HU ground, something else? I am still loving the Gladen amps in my install.


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## NateZ28 (Oct 2, 2013)

jriggs said:


> I know this is an old thread, but any updates on the sound issues? Was it the gain, HU ground, something else? I am still loving the Gladen amps in my install.


Right now my main issue is road noise/engine noise. I need to quiet down the environment significantly to improve the overall SQ of the system. I also need to upgrade my alternator to fully power the amplifiers. Unfortunately finding an aftermarket high output alt for my car is near impossible.


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## LMALEKE (Dec 14, 2014)

NateZ28 said:


> Right now my main issue is road noise/engine noise. I need to quiet down the environment significantly to improve the overall SQ of the system. I also need to upgrade my alternator to fully power the amplifiers. Unfortunately finding an aftermarket high output alt for my car is near impossible.


Hi sorry to dig out old thread but did you by chance switched from Gladen to Mosconi? I'm still deciding my front stage and now come down to either Esotec 342 or E110+E650 similar like your setup (I'm leaning on this setup).
My concern is on the RMS ratings on both the E110 and E650 at 200watt rms vs power rating on my Mosconi AS200.4. Will my Mosconi AS200.4, rated at 200watt rms each channel, be able to power the E110 and E650? I'm going full active...

I've been reading many threads regarding rms on the speakers vs rms on amps and, it seems that the concensus here is that many will run more watt to give headrooms. Some say right at the speaker ratings are ok. I'm confused here...


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## mmfg1 (Nov 17, 2013)

Yes Mosconi amp should be fine.
I am using an audison amp 4 x 100 watts on the dynaudio esotar 110, 430 with less than 50% gain. Also for the esotar 650- I am using an alpine 3544 with 60% gain..
The system sound amazing..


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## LMALEKE (Dec 14, 2014)

mmfg1 said:


> Yes Mosconi amp should be fine.
> I am using an audison amp 4 x 100 watts on the dynaudio esotar 110, 430 with less than 50% gain. Also for the esotar 650- I am using an alpine 3544 with 60% gain..
> The system sound amazing..


I appreciate your prompt reply! Thanks! So I should be ok with mosconi 200.4 powering E110 and E650.. that's a relief..
I have no doubt that your front stage setup will sounds amazing with all those E110, E430 and, E650..
Budget reasons forcing me going from esotec 342 to esotar2, as of now I will settle with E110+E650 so I would be in 2way not 3way as I originally planned... I suppose the E110+E650 will sound nice already when compared with esotec 342... later if the funds become available in a tew months then I'm going to purchase mosconi 200.2 and the E430 to create a 3way front stage


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## rashk$ (Dec 29, 2014)

Hi i know this is a old thread, but i would like to know your opinion on the gladen and the mosconi amps. I have not really made up my mind but was looking at the as 200.4 and the and the xl 250 c4, would like to know your opinion on the sound quality of both.


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

Well to me, both amps sound great. I have no complaints with the Gladen xl250c4. In my opinion the sq difference between it and the mosconi 200.4 was for me not so different or better to justify the added cost of Mosconi, made in Italy.


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## rashk$ (Dec 29, 2014)

Thanks so the mosconi was not that much better. How did the gladen perform at high volume, was their any noticeable distortion. I can get the gladen for around $700 and the mosconi for around $900, would you say that the exttra 200 would be worth it.


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## rashk$ (Dec 29, 2014)

Oh by the way, damn good install.


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

Absolutely no audible distortion from the Gladen, it performs very well. As for the $200, only you can answer that.


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

rashk$, check your PM's.


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## rashk$ (Dec 29, 2014)

I got it, that might be a option haven't made up my mind just yet but I will let you know.


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

rashk$ said:


> I got it, that might be a option haven't made up my mind just yet but I will let you know.


Alright, let me know.


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

This is super badass love those tweeter pods . What do you think of that gladen amp?


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## High Resolution Audio (Sep 12, 2014)

Did you ever find out what was causing the hissing noise?

In my experience, I've had two hissing noise issues without engine on.

1. Ground loop. Tip of screw that mounted one of my amps went through plywood and was touching metal body of Vehicle. Shorter screws fixed that issue.

P.S. (I always use one common point source to ground amps and head unit.)

2. Simple swapping out the Amplifier itself fixed hissing noise. I bought two Pioneer Stage 4 amps that as soon as I connected them up made a waterfall noise on the speakers connected to them. Swapped out the amps and noise went away. I had two Pioneer amps so I know it was the design of the amp, not a bad unit.


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## ransdaleroberts (Jan 24, 2016)

Nice install...

I personally have used the Gladen amp, but after moving to the Mosconi AS 100.4, my Focal Utopias started to sing....

Also after moving from some local battery to Optima, my sound got cleaner and a slight hiss sound I had, disappeared. Not too sure if it was the battery or the power cables that I had changed as well.


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## Aerodynamic (Dec 6, 2015)

You'd be surprised, but when i changed Mosconi as100.4 to DLS RA 40 my speakers started sounding more lively...


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## Bacovish (Mar 6, 2016)

Hey nate. Any updates been reading your threads for a while and really curious. Hope all is well and enjoyed all your updates and build pics.


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

What's story on this build ?


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## Phil Indeblanc (May 27, 2015)

I have heard that some HU and amp just don't play well together. I have seen it where the amp gets swapped and just some volt difference makes the hiss go away. This is not a ground hiss, or setting gains up hiss,(it doesn't sound like) so its harder to pin point.


Do you have any other component of either HU, AMP to swap out just to test?

Great stuff to work with...And you can tell Danny is surely capable from the speaker adapters he made.


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