# 2007 Cadillac CTS-V Install



## ca$h (Jun 18, 2009)

I have always used passive components in previous installs but thanks to DIYMA I decided to try going 2-way active this time. The goals of this build are: sound quality, preserve trunk space (be able to fit 2 sets of golf clubs), keep everything except the trunk looking stock, and still be able to remove the subwoofer and fold down the seats when necessary.

The Install

Source Unit: Stock CTS-V Navigation
Tweeters: LPG 25NFA Textile Dome
Mids: Hertz HV165L (http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/Doc/pdf_hv165l.pdf)
Mid/High amp: Elemental Designs Nine.4
Sub amp: Alpine MRP-M500 class D 500W
Sub: Elemental Designs 13ov.2 D4 12" (picked up for cheap on closeout last year)
Sub Enclosure: Prefab Q-Logic 1.25 cuft sealed box (re-sealed with extra silicone before install)
Bose amp harness: Bazooka FAST-2003
OEM Integration: Audison Bit One.1 - on order

The Canadian distributor is waiting for their next shipment of Bit One's from overseas and I should be getting mine any day now. As a temporary solution, I am using:
Scosche SLC4 Four-channel line output converter
Pyramid CR-79G Electronic 3-Way Crossover

The tweeters are mounted in the stock A-pillar location firing across the dashboard. The direction isn't ideal but since the LPG's have good off-axis response it ends up working well. They are crossed over at 4000 hz with a 12db slope. 

The Hertz HV165L woofers are part of the Hi-Energy HSK163 3-way component set. The speakers have a non-pressed paper cone with cotton fibers and play smoothly past 4000khz without any audible breakup. They have a smoother response and more midbass than the woofer from the HSK165 2-way set. For now, these are high-passed around 100hz from the stock bose amp outputs, and low-passed at 4000hz/12db by the Pyramid crossover. 

I originally purchased the Seas CA18RNX 7" woofers but they turned out to be too deep to fit in the CTS-V's doors. The rear magnet is too deep and large and interferes with the metal bracket on the window. I don't think using a thicker spacer is an option unless you start modifying the grills on the door card.

The passenger door before deadening:










The metal bracket on the window that interferes with deep speakers:










The outer skin of the front doors door have 1 layer of Dynamat Xtreme (cheapest quality deadener I could get in Canada, surprisingly Damplifier Pro costs more here). There is already a small patch of factory deadening material in the center of the outer skin. I also added some dynamat behind the inner door skin, but since there are no real large flat surfaces it shouldn't make much of a difference.










The Hertz HV165L woofer mounted in the door. I added 3/8" weather stripping around the speaker so that there is a seal with the door card. This way the door card acts as a proper baffle. 










I added 1/4" closed cell foam over the inner door skin. I know this won't really reduce road noise or affect the sound - it's mainly there to reduce vibrations and buzzing in the door card.

The Alpine sub amp mounted to a carpeted board and then to the factory carpet. The stock bose amp is behind this and I used the Bazooka harness to tap into the front speaker outputs without cutting any stock wiring. The harness is a perfect fit after shaving down the female connector on the harness. This harness is a straight pass-through. The existing taps in the harness are wrong for the car, but you can use the wiring diagrams on cadillacfaq to tap the correct wires.










The Elemental Designs nine.4 mounted to the factory carpet on the right side of the trunk. I had this amp laying around and decided to use it. It puts out rated power and works well aside from a slightly higher than desired noise floor. I will likely upgrade it in the future and was considering something like the Class G/H Arc Audio KS300.4.










The sealed sub box with 13ov.2 sub. I can still fit 2 sets of golf clubs in the trunk without any issues. There is a carpeted board mounted to the rear deck waiting for the Bit One.










The temporary LOC and active crossover sitting below the spare tire cover:










Listening Impressions

I am more than impressed with the upgrade so far. Compared to the stock bose, the sound is much fuller and more natural. I was expecting the Pyramid crossover to add noise and distortion to the system, but adding it to the signal path didn't seem to affect anything that much. The LPG tweeters are smooth yet detailed at the same time and don't scream when turned up. The Hertz woofers have decent midbass for being crossed over at 100hz, and tonally seem pretty accurate. 

A few days ago I measured the frequency response of the system using a Behringer ECM8000/MobilePre/TrueRTA combo. Keep in mind that there is no processing currently being done aside from crossover and gain. There are 24 steps in volume on the stock CTS-V navigation. There is a strong loudness curve added in lower volume steps (say 1 to 10/24), but once turned up to 14 or 15 the stock bose amp outputs a relatively flat response. There is no auadible distortion until about 19-20/24. There is a slight peak in response at around 900 hz in my install, but there are no significant valleys or dips. The staging is nice and high, and having the tweeters in the A-pillars likely helps. The image isn't as centered as I would like but a real processor should be able to help with that. I can't wait to see what it sounds like once I have the Bit One installed and have time for a proper tuning session.

And finally, a few pictures of the car:


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## ssmith100 (Jun 28, 2007)

You might find the build thread on my CTS-V a little helpful. The car is actually very easy to do. Heres my thread:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/17514-2004-cady-cts-v-install.html

Shane


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## ca$h (Jun 18, 2009)

ssmith100 said:


> You might find the build thread on my CTS-V a little helpful. The car is actually very easy to do. Heres my thread:
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/17514-2004-cady-cts-v-install.html
> 
> Shane


Thanks Shane. That was one of the first write ups I read when I was researching the install for my car


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## ca$h (Jun 18, 2009)

I picked up the Audison Bit One.1 yesterday and finally had a chance to hook it up this afternoon. The trunk and wiring is now cleaned up:










The Bit One is mounted underneath the rear deck:










Everything looks stock when the ashtray is closed:










Open up the ashtray:










My preliminary tuning session with a laptop hooked up to the Bit One:










So far I am VERY happy with the Bit One.1. I have no noise whatsoever and everything hooked up without issues. After a quick 10 minute tuning session the sound is already much better than with the passive LOC/crossover I was using as a temporary solution before.


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## Jcostri09 (Nov 16, 2009)

where did you get the audison bit one?


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

very nice installation!
where are you gonna put your ashes,now?


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

Are you using a net book for a lap top to tune. I had a crazy idea to do a carputer and a bit one that way I could use the carputer to tune it.


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

IB!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## LegendJeff (Jun 28, 2009)

That trunk would look soo muc better with a flush mounted sub box and beauty panel! Nice work though


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## titan 3 (Oct 13, 2009)

Nice equipment choices.


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