# AndyInOC 08 xB so far.....



## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

Just for fun I wanted to post up a few pictures of my install so far, really nothing fancy, all speakers are in stock locations no fancy head or super duper processor's just some simple sounds.

The future holds a new sub box, new amp rack, some tweeter placement experiments and possibly 3way active

As of today the install consists of:
Clarion DXZ785USB
ID OEM 6.5's
Seas 27TAFNC/G Aluminum Tweeters
Elemental Designs 13oV2 Sub in 1 cu ft downfiring enclosure
Sundown Audio SAZ-1000d sub amp
Sundown Audio SAX100.4 front stage amp


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

a couple more pictures, still trying to perfect my camera and photo skills
Amps are underneath the rear floor on top of the spare tire, new rack will be in the same location just nicer looking, new sub box is up in the air and the RS52's are getting prepped for experimentation


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## capnxtreme (Feb 5, 2008)

Only 1 eD piece of gear, I'm so disappointed.

But seriously though, I love how OEM the tweeters look, even with the Seas pride flag grilles!

The color match on the amber HU illumination looks money--is the HU illumination adjustable?

The Sundowns look great too, naturally.


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

capnxtreme said:


> Only 1 eD piece of gear, I'm so disappointed.
> 
> But seriously though, I love how OEM the tweeters look, even with the Seas pride flag grilles!
> 
> ...



LOL i was lucky enough to trade my other eD piece in for some Sundown goodness and i could not be any happier with the move.

I was very happy with the fit of the Seas in the stock sails, only needed to enlarge the holes and they matched up very well, even the texture. Sometimes lady luck is on my side.

The illumination on the Clarion is VERY adjustable, i went with the amber to keep the continuity of the guage color, i believe there is something along the lines of 700 color possibilities on that head, warm amber is pre-set and a pretty darn good match.

Thanks for the kind words, i will update as i make more progress


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## Jayvuu (Dec 11, 2007)

nice. did you sell your eD nine.5??


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

heyduude888 said:


> nice. did you sell your eD nine.5??


Thank you,traded the nine.5 in to Sundown


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

AndyInOC said:


> The illumination on the Clarion is VERY adjustable, i went with the amber to keep the continuity of the guage color, i believe there is something along the lines of 700 color possibilities on that head, warm amber is pre-set and a pretty darn good match.


That was one of the reasons I got the same unit to put in my 2006 xB. It *matched* the dash lighting!

Do you know how unbelievably hard it was to find a head unit that:

1. Had amber illumination
2. Detachable face
3. Interfaced with factory steering wheel controls

Seriously, try and find one that does all three. The only other one I found was an Eclipse unit, and it just wasn't as good a value as the Clarion.


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

its funny, amber illumination seems to be getting hard to find. I also like the fact that if i was to get a wild hair and do the LED swap in my guages to a different color (doubtful) that i can adjust this to match it


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Hey Andy, is that a Metra kit you're using in the pics above?


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

HondAudio said:


> Hey Andy, is that a Metra kit you're using in the pics above?


yessir its the Metra kit and you can find them on Ebay uber cheap quite often


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

I got the Scosche kit when I ordered the Clarion from Sonicelectronix. I'm wondering if the Metra kit might work better.


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

i always thought Scosche kits were better but then i used this Metra kit and now i use them for every install, really it boils down to user preference i think


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

im not a fan of sub control boxes surface mounted to a dash panel or some other random area, so out of boredom tonight i modified one of the dash filler plugs to hold it, nice and stock-ish. I will get a pic tomorrow once i mount it back in as well.


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## Xtreme03 (May 27, 2006)

Have you decided what you're going to do with the RS52s?


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## katodevin (Feb 14, 2008)

The tweeters look phenomonal. Can you give any insight on how you fabbed that?


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

Xtreme03 said:


> Have you decided what you're going to do with the RS52s?


Actually the RS52's were sold to a fellow member in So Cal last weekend at a meet we had



katodevin said:


> The tweeters look phenomonal. Can you give any insight on how you fabbed that?


Thank you. Those are the stock sail panels with the factory grilles removed and some Dremel work done i just carefully removed material until the seas slid right in. Held in with a couple dots of CA glue


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

I didn't get to hear it because you left w/o a word last Saturday you a-hole!


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

James Bang said:


> I didn't get to hear it because you left w/o a word last Saturday you a-hole!



I know time sort of ran out on us James sorry about that, next time you get first listen to it!!!


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

AndyInOC said:


> I know time sort of ran out on us James sorry about that, next time you get first listen to it!!!


I thought you guys went for more beer  

May 9th!


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## Dougie085 (May 2, 2006)

Swapping the LED's in the dash isn't that hard actually  We just did it on my brothers HHR because it had the horrid green color stock  Now it's all blue and red and just looks incredible. Only took me about 2 hours. Your eyes do start hurting after a bit though and you have to take a break and look at something far away lol.


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

James Bang said:


> I thought you guys went for more beer
> 
> May 9th!


LOL nope, i went to listen to some sexy new mids that i am saving for. New front stage is in the works. May 9th should be a good time, really looking forward to the IDBL portion too


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

Got some new toys this weekend and was able to get them installed today. 6.5" AVI FRM-160 Mids replacing my ID OEM drivers and the difference is astounding. With basically 5 minutes of play time the midrange is super clear and far better than the ID's. As of right now they are crossed at 125 hz and 4k, crossover point will be lowered to 80 after a bit of break in. All in all a great purchase and am now very happy with the 2 way front stage paired with some AVI tweets


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

Ok now that I finally have some time, it is a good opportunity to post up some pictures of my more recent rebuild. Of course the pics above with the AVI mids are still fine since there are no plans to change those but I will put up the pics of my newest sub enclosure, amp rack, AVI tweeters in the sails and sub control in the dash.

AVI HF-25 in the sail (still need to be finished) And in dash sub control


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

Finally got the Sundown amps in a rack. Cut to fit the cover for the spare tire (yes the spare is still in it) and covered in black cabinet carpet


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

And now the new sub enclosure build. There are NO mechanical fasteners in the box, every joint is made with biscuits and Titebond 3 wood glue. 2 cu ft internal tuned to 29hz, 2 box braces 1.5" all the way around, a brace for the port, all edges rounded over inside and out, port tube wrapped in carpet to prevent any vibrating on the brace, 3 coats of sanding sealer, 4 coats of flat black paint and 3 coats of Deft satin clear coat. Floor has also been re-covered in black cabinet carpet and the Sundown SA-12 sub is in the box.


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

There she is for now. All comments, critiques etc. are welcome. Hopefully soon I will get some time to fab the sail panels and get them finished and will post pics of that as well


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## fredridge (Jan 17, 2007)

looks good Andy, how are you keeping the amps cool?


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

fredridge said:


> looks good Andy, how are you keeping the amps cool?


Thanks Fred. There is a gap of about 1" between the top floor and the top of the amps and a good 4" below the amps. There is also a 1.5" gap from the front of the floor to the rear seat plus my AC is pretty much always on so natural airflow is all that i am using and i have yet to have any issues with overheating.


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## blackbonnie (Nov 1, 2007)

beautiful box man, thanks for posting it up. definately gonna try to coat it like that next time.

is the sanding sealer in a rattle can, or brush on?


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

blackbonnie said:


> beautiful box man, thanks for posting it up. definately gonna try to coat it like that next time.
> 
> is the sanding sealer in a rattle can, or brush on?


Thank you! The sanding sealer is in a quart or gallon can and can be brushed or sprayed with a gun. I prefer the spray gun but it was out of commission on sealing day so my box was brushed and sanded heavily


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## romeo74200674 (Sep 18, 2009)

Great build!!!


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

Nice job Andy !!


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