# IB Grand Prix Setup



## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

Here are some of the pics from my 2005 Grand Prix. 

The system specs are as follows:
Factory 6CD changer with aftermarket IPod adapter, PAC OEM LOC harness to the analog inputs on the Alpine PXA-H701. The RUX-C701 is dash mounted for easy tuning (well tuning is never easy as many of you know).
Three Xtant X604's - One running the two Dayton RSS390HF's, the other two running the front stage. There's one amp per side, the front channels are running BG Neo3's and Dayton RS52N's, the passive channels are running MB Quart 2"domes (for rear fill), and the rear channels are bridged running Dayton RS-225-8's.

I haven't installed the third amp for the subs yet, but I've never been so happy with a stereo ever. This marks my 20th DIY setup between two cars (I count each time I've had different amps and speakers together, I've changed out speakers too many times to count).

If any people in Vegas or others who are willing to stop by or whatever, you can listen anytime.

First of all, Raammat (thanks to Rick for the fast delivery and answering all of my questions, and for being a cool guy). That's six square feet of ensolite and two rolls of Raammat.










Everyone here has seen BG Neo 3's, RS52's, and RS-225s, so here are the RSS390HF's



















Here's the sub plate with the two 15's, before trimming the top to fit.



















In the car.










Carpeted.



















Subs in. (it looks good to me, but I'll never again bottom mount something so far in my trunk, I have ruined two shirts and a pair of sweats because I got raammat all over them while climbing into my trunk)




























Before anyone asks, they don't hit the back seats at all. 










Amp Rack test fit



















Seeing how it looks carpeted and with the amp covers on.



















As of yesterday (7-29-07), I have the front stage amps hooked up (the sub amp hasn't arrived yet). My wife and I are expecting our first child in Oct.: the main goal was to finish before Oct., have a powerful yet controllable system (SQ before SPL), and have room for a stroller and 2-ball bowling bag (stroller first). I'll have more pics after my friend and I finish my door panels and a pillars. I'm not the best fabricator so I know the system doesn't look very good, but the sound so far is fantastic. 
Thanks to Newtitan for selling me his RS-225-8's, they fit better than the 4ohm versions since they're .25" thinner; Rick from Raamaudio, and my friend Joe. If it wasn't for my friend Joe, I wouuld have to make all of my cuts with an old jigsaw or actually buy real power tools besides a drill.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

looks pretty nice so far. I think you may find that a pair of 15"s is a bit much. If you wanted dayton and wanted 15"s for IB, how come you didnt go with the dayton IB15? also, how many layers of MDF did you use for the baffle? and what size MDF? Like I said, looking good so far! keep the pics coming.


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## jperryss (Mar 15, 2006)

Good work. IB sounds great, don't it?



bobditts said:


> looks pretty nice so far. I think you may find that a pair of 15"s is a bit much.


Shut up, headroom is fun!


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## POLKAT (Jan 10, 2007)

Hey there,

Glad to see everything coming together. Raammat is great stuff. I made the mistake of applying mine when we were in the middle of that 110+ degree heatwave we had a month or two ago. My hands were a sticky black horrendous mess when I was finished. The rubber was just too soft and did not want to separate very easily from the paper. I was very happy with the end result though. 

I would love to hear your vehicle. I have always wanted to try an IB setup. I can bring my vehicle by and you can listen to mine as well and see what you think.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Oh man. Dayton, Xtant, and BG Neos in a Grand Prix. You are my hero.

Looks awesome!

-aaron


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

Thanks for all the kind words.
Bob, I thought of you while installing the two 15"s, I knew you were going to mention two being too much. However I figured since the flattest response for each 15" was a 9 cu. ft. enclosure, my trunk is around 18 or so, so there you have it. Remember Bob, you're my inspiration for IB; I kept looking at your install and almost purchased the IB15, but my rap-listening side always wanted two fifteens.

To jperryss, unfortunately my third Xtant hasn't showed up so I haven't hooked the subs up yet. If it isn't here by Sat, I'm going to hook up my Crossfire BMF 125.2 temporarily. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

To polkat, you have no idea how long this took (only working weekends in July, you know how hot it's been) and I forgot who first posted about febreeze cleaning raammat, but boy does it work well. I'm sure glad I didn't get the extra gooey stuff.

To Arc, I can't believe I'm somebody's hero. Thanks, I just pray the doors and a-pillars look good after they're done.

More pics coming this weekend......................... I still can't believe people like the install so far, WOW!!


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## couchflambeau (Apr 18, 2006)

deleted.... noticed that some areas on the baffle appear to be doubled up. But I think I'd have done the whole baffle in doubled 3/4" mdf glued/screwed together. Heavier the baffle, the better...


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Looks good so far. I can't wait to see the finished install. 

Are you installing the BGs and the Daytons in the A-pillar?


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

Thats sweet looking,I say 2 drivers IB look better than 1,no offense to bobditts install.Both look nice but prefer dual drivers.


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

Actually the baffle is two 3/4" sheets glued together. It only looks like one in the photos. The woofers were supposed to be mounted from the front until my friend and I realized the piece cutout for the inside diameter would only show the surround. He routered the outer edge and once we did a test fit, we figured that looked the best. 
I don't know about the rest of you guys, but the outer diameter was such a tight fit I hat to use my mallet (gently) to push the woofers up against the front so I could screw them in. I actually had the car sit in the garage for a week before I had time to screw them in and the woofers hadn't moved at all. Of course if I was driving.............................. oh well they're in now.

As far as the front stage is concerned, for stealth reasons I put the dayton mids in the kicks and the BG's in the a pillars. The soundstage is sitting on the dash now, but since this is DIYMobileAudio, I may try some 4"s so I can cross a little lower. When I previously had the RS-180's and my older Vifa mids, it imaged so much better when the mids were playing from 250HZ to about 4KHz, the midbasses just played midbass. I had to use a little more TA than I'd like to with the RS-225's lowpassed at 630HZ.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Glad to see another GP in here. I have an 02 GTP that I am doing a current install in as well. 

NICE WORK TOO!!!


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

can you explain how you got the baffle attached. I looks as if the deadener is holding it up, though i know that's not he case. I'm only asking because I've always wanted to do an IB install.


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

No the baffle is held in by liquid nails, silicone, and 12# x 1.5" screws. The bottom had no problem sitting flush by itself, but I had to use clamps for the top whil I glued and screwed it in. I still had a couple of gaps where the wires cam in, but that's what expanding foam is for. I just put the Raammat around the bottom and top for extra sealing, plus I had half a roll left over after deadening the rest of the car.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

glad I could inspire you bud! I didnt say it would be too much for you, I said it might be. I know it would be for me. My single 15 handles rap music with ease. even those that are bass heads. lol. any update on the amp rack installed? more pics are a must! keep up the great work!


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

I know Bob, thanks for the reply. Sorry, no more updates until Sat hopefully; pregnant wife and my job won't let me


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

NEW UPDATE: Kicks, Horns, and new amps

First up, the Kicks:

The horns have been in for a month now; I went to CES and got to hear a few competition cars like Jim "BigRed"s truck, an all Dyn Mustang, a Great 5.1ch setup using PDX amps and Morel speakers, and ATSAubrey's 300C.
I never heard horns before and couldn't believe how high Aubrey's soundstage was. Don't get me wrong, Jim's truck sounded Excellent and I couldn't decide which I liked better, but I've had numerous conventional drivers and the only two things I hadn't tried yet were true Ribbon tweets and horns.
Here are pics of my Peerless 850490's in my kicks, they are from the same HDS line and have the same motor as the 830491's, lighter cone for better midrange but can 't go as low as the nomex coned 830491's.
































































Here's a pic of the center of my dash, it's also the spot where the lead singer in most songs appears from BOTH seats................no time alignment used.

More pics coming next weekend when my amp rack is finished.
Here are my new amps, JBL PX300.4 (Horns and rear fill), JBL GTO1004 (Midbasses), and JBL GTO7001 (Subs):


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

My grills are coming soon, can't have somebody stepping on my 8"s
Also, horn covers


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

Looking good! Can you tell me more about your kick panel build? How big are they (size of the mold on the pics or bigger) sealed or vented?

Thanks!


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

They're sealed, I didn't trim much of the molds, I just cleaned them up and wrapped them.
What other questions do you have?


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

cool update! and are the dates right, in that the last update was in 2007?
Either way nice front stage! Hope those mids keep up with those horns!


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## shadowfactory (Oct 20, 2008)

what kind of horns and where do you have those 8" mids crossed at?


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## Maddman (Dec 20, 2008)

looks good, no parking brake? how much volume and crossover point for the kick panels?


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

syd-monster - Yes, the dates are correct. This is the first change since my las update that I wanted to take pics of. I've been through six different types of amps and plenty of front stage options before I finished these kicks yesterday.

shadowfactory - The drivers are from Celestion and the horn bodies are ID Mini's

Maddman - Thanks, the parking brake is there and still works, though I'm extra careful now. The drivers have a frequency response of 1KHz to 20KHz, however my crossover point is 2.2KHz 30db slope for the 8"s, and the horns are highpassed at 2.5KHz 30db slope.


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

Glad to see that there are some people out there that use the Peerless HDS Nomex/PPB line. I had the Nomex 6.5s a while back, great drivers though they tend to get over looked for the Exclusives, which in most cases I don't see being that much better to warrant the extra price, especially in car.

From what I can tell, the Polys are speced to play lower, but require twice the airspace sealed, than the Nomex. From what I can tell you probably don't have them playing that low anyway so it doesn't matter


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

Yup, they're crossed over at 80Hz. They get pretty low in the doors, but image SO much better in the kicks. Plus my soundstage seems to go past the pillars a little farther with kick mounted midbasses.
The 8"s are older than the newer Nomex line including the Exclusives; I found a website that shows replacements for older drivers like mine, surprisingly enouch the replacements aren't the Nomex's but the Poly cones


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

Gotcha, looks like you're using the driver that came before the XLS 8, very cool.


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

Not anymore,
Here are my new kicks with my Dayton 8's; they blend much better with the horns


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

I have to find better matching carpet I know...........

Here's my Nav unit and the PXA-H701










I do have some noise, but everything sounds really good.

One day, grills..................and the BitOne


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## prophet_ca (Feb 29, 2008)

Shouldn't your horns be flush with the dash? Seems kind of low?


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

I first heard horns in ATS_Aubrey's 300C at CES and his best tip was to have them as far back as they can go and make sure they're level. 
They were flush with the dash before my new kicks, but the horns image better and aren't as "IN MY FACE" as they were before.
The higher frequencies are more present as well


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## jprix82 (May 16, 2009)

Great job. Hows those subs sound?


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## jprix82 (May 16, 2009)

Also,Is an IB install subject to just as much trunk rattle as a normal sub/box setup?


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## TXwrxWagon (Sep 26, 2008)

brandont said:


> I first heard horns in ATS_Aubrey's 300C at CES and his best tip was to have them as far back as they can go and make sure they're level.
> They were flush with the dash before my new kicks, but the horns image better and aren't as "IN MY FACE" as they were before.
> The higher frequencies are more present as well


correct... if you can get the horn bodies touching the firewall & close in the bottom of the dash, best option... if you could put the horn/CLD portion of the horn in the fender well... even better... the further the center line of the compression driver is away from the listeners in a car, the wider, higher & more open the final stage will be.

Rob


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Cool! Daytons!



jprix82 said:


> Also,Is an IB install subject to just as much trunk rattle as a normal sub/box setup?


Sometimes even more so, bur generally IB dedicated subs tend to move less. So if one boot rattles, dont mean the next one will or wont. There is too many variables, but if your boot rattles now, its likely it will rattle later with an IB setup too.


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

syd-monster said:


> Cool! Daytons!
> 
> 
> Sometimes even more so, but generally IB dedicated subs tend to move less. So if one boot rattles, dont mean the next one will or wont. There is too many variables, but if your boot rattles now, its likely it will rattle later with an IB setup too.


The subs were cool, handled 350W a piece like champs; but the lowest frequencies did rattle the car a little (the rear bumper of all things).
The best thing about the IB setup was that I was just as loud as my last ported setup with 1/3rd of the power


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

are the new kicks sealed as well? if so, they look to be uber small for 8"s..


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

Vented in the back, but yes they are small.
They sure didn't go as low when they were in the doors.


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## Team Bassick - Kimo (Sep 15, 2009)

brandont said:


> I first heard horns in ATS_Aubrey's 300C at CES and his best tip was to have them as far back as they can go and make sure they're level.
> They were flush with the dash before my new kicks, but the horns image better and aren't as "IN MY FACE" as they were before.
> The higher frequencies are more present as well


I own that car now......


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