Audio System Update

[koolade9]

I couldn't edit my old thread, and alot changed, so I'll just start a new one...

Car started as an 04.5 USP with Symph II & Bose.

First thing was a retro-fit to RNS-E & I used the OEM sharkfin antenna:


I used the low-level outputs of the RNS-E to a custom rca pigtail to an AudioControl overdrive mounted behind the glove box. I also mounted one of the xovers for the a/d/s 344is components back there too:


Up front, I'm running an a/d/s 344is component set in the kick panels, and a/d/s 346is midbass drivers in the doors. The kicks aren't done yet, as I still need to fad/mold them into the plastic rocker panel covers:



In the trunk, I have (3) 0.5 farad caps in the passenger side lower trunk area:


On the driver's side, I fab'd a fiberglass box to hold a single 12" Image Dynamics IDQ12 covered in grille cloth and I removed the door on that side:


Also behind the driver's side panel is the AudioControl DQT and the Sirius satellite receiver. I have the AudioControl DDC as well, but haven't decided where to mount it yet...

Now for the amp, I mounted it on the rear deck, and re-molded the rear shelf cover to contour flush with the amp. I was a little worried about heat dissipation at first, but haven't had any problems during 5hr 110 deg trips. The tint helps quite a bit too. Plans are in place to add a fan for thermal stability. The amp is a Precision Power Pro6800:


A few more pics of the build-up are in my profile. If you have any questions, or want to see more pics of the build-up, just ask. If you're in Orange cty and want to see/hear, be my guest.

[kwik_shift]

Off to a good start....Looking good.

[mattman]

what size are those mids in your doorpanels?

[koolade9]

what size are those mids in your doorpanels?

6.5" they fit without any problems...

[A4 Moda]

excellent. Just FYI though, you'll want to have your speakers as close to shoulder level or above as possible. Especially in a car when there are numerous obstructions, it's difficult to get it any higher. But from the looks of it, you have a 4 way system in there. Your audio staging and imaging couldn't be any lower.

There's no real acoustic benefit to a 3 way system traditionally, except volume.
Consiering you're going to have 3 pairs of midbasses loose in the car, it may sound a bit bass heavy. Within the 40-100 hz range. Are you bi-amping these setups? or are the speakers on Passive crossovers?

Good job, keep it up.

[koolade9]

excellent. Just FYI though, you'll want to have your speakers as close to shoulder level or above as possible. Especially in a car when there are numerous obstructions, it's difficult to get it any higher. But from the looks of it, you have a 4 way system in there. Your audio staging and imaging couldn't be any lower.

There's no real acoustic benefit to a 3 way system traditionally, except volume.
Consiering you're going to have 3 pairs of midbasses loose in the car, it may sound a bit bass heavy. Within the 40-100 hz range. Are you bi-amping these setups? or are the speakers on Passive crossovers?

Good job, keep it up.

Staging isn't too bad...although I've heard better...it's tough to tell from the pics but both kicks are firing to head-level of the opposite seat. Imaging is good, but a little separated in the upper midrange area. There's still alot of room for improvement via tuning. I haven't been much of a fan of a-pillar and dash mounting the front stage...In certain cars, it works pretty well, but it seems to trade off imaging for staging...just my opinion...

It is a true 4-way system, sub 20-70hz (ch5,6), midbass 70-300 (ch3,4), midrange 300-3k & tweeter 3k - 20k (ch1,2 & using a/d/s passives). 7 drivers total (no rears).

The original plan was to use 5 1/4 components in the kicks & 8s in the doors. The 5 1/4s took up more space in the kick than I would like to give up. So I built a new set of kicks to house 4"s and they tuck away very nicely. The 6.5s in the doors do okay in the midbass section, but I'd prefer if they could go a little lower.

Thanks for the feedback!

[cruzin210]

looks good. did you seal your doors? I put a set of focals in my doors and sealed them with quite a bit of RAMM mat and ensolite. Makes a big of difference in midbass output and clarity.

Keep it up

[A4 Moda]

Looks that way. And yes the pictures are taken very well, you can tell that the kickpanel speakers are angled upward.

True 4 way. I like that. That's good work man.

Just a recommendation. I always use Focal's test CD to tune systems for performance. There's a gold CD i have lying around somewhere that is true 24bit recorded and processed audio. Though, the only concern is, I don't know if the Audi nav system can process and properly reproduce that signal accurately. I just plain don't know.

I tune the system for clarity with the Gold CD and then use the Focal CD to fine tune it afterward for performance, or taste as the case may be.

I'll dig it up somewhere, and give you the name.

Keep up the good work.

Z

Staging isn't too bad...although I've heard better...it's tough to tell from the pics but both kicks are firing to head-level of the opposite seat. Imaging is good, but a little separated in the upper midrange area. There's still alot of room for improvement via tuning. I haven't been much of a fan of a-pillar and dash mounting the front stage...In certain cars, it works pretty well, but it seems to trade off imaging for staging...just my opinion...

It is a true 4-way system, sub 20-70hz (ch5,6), midbass 70-300 (ch3,4), midrange 300-3k & tweeter 3k - 20k (ch1,2 & using a/d/s passives). 7 drivers total (no rears).

The original plan was to use 5 1/4 components in the kicks & 8s in the doors. The 5 1/4s took up more space in the kick than I would like to give up. So I built a new set of kicks to house 4"s and they tuck away very nicely. The 6.5s in the doors do okay in the midbass section, but I'd prefer if they could go a little lower.

Thanks for the feedback!

[koolade9]

Looks that way. And yes the pictures are taken very well, you can tell that the kickpanel speakers are angled upward.

True 4 way. I like that. That's good work man.

Just a recommendation. I always use Focal's test CD to tune systems for performance. There's a gold CD i have lying around somewhere that is true 24bit recorded and processed audio. Though, the only concern is, I don't know if the Audi nav system can process and properly reproduce that signal accurately. I just plain don't know.

I tune the system for clarity with the Gold CD and then use the Focal CD to fine tune it afterward for performance, or taste as the case may be.

I'll dig it up somewhere, and give you the name.

Keep up the good work.

Z

If you could find that...I would greatly appreciate it. I have a couple telarc digital cds, but nothing I'd really tune with as a reference.

[agart]

Wow. Very clean job on the trunk and rear deck. I'm going to assume the kickpanels will end up looking just as clean as well .

Do you have anything to cover over the amp? Or is your tint dark enough to mask it? Not asking for heat issues but as a security issue.

[koolade9]

Wow. Very clean job on the trunk and rear deck. I'm going to assume the kickpanels will end up looking just as clean as well .

Thanks! I'm trying for an OEM look as much as possible.

Do you have anything to cover over the amp? Or is your tint dark enough to mask it? Not asking for heat issues but as a security issue.

That was and still is a big concern of mine. The tint is pretty dark so that it's not obvious to anyone passing by. And since you really only see the top and not the sides, it makes it a little tougher to distinguish it as an amp when actually looking in. I was really hoping to find the pro650 (same amp, but with a charcoal finish) and then you'd never see it. If I find a clean example of one, I'll probably buy it and swap it out, simply for that reason. I considered painting it as well, but I don't have the resources to have the labels re silk-screened and it'll look a little ghetto with no labeling on top. Another option is grille cloth over the top of it, but I'd wait until everything is tuned and happy before something like that.

Any ideas?

[agart]

That was and still is a big concern of mine. The tint is pretty dark so that it's not obvious to anyone passing by. And since you really only see the top and not the sides, it makes it a little tougher to distinguish it as an amp when actually looking in. I was really hoping to find the pro650 (same amp, but with a charcoal finish) and then you'd never see it. If I find a clean example of one, I'll probably buy it and swap it out, simply for that reason. I considered painting it as well, but I don't have the resources to have the labels re silk-screened and it'll look a little ghetto with no labeling on top. Another option is grille cloth over the top of it, but I'd wait until everything is tuned and happy before something like that.

Any ideas?

How bout the motorized screen? Granted you'd have to raise it before getting out of the car but it would look OEM and could be another way to block some sun. I think combined with tint it should block out the amp almost completely.

[grrcracker]

mmm nice work on the fab. so i take it that you work in the industry. I.D., a/d/s are two names that dont get thrown around alot any more, to bad because they are excellent product. way to be different.

[ngng]

which wires did you tap on the rns E for the lows? i wanna rewire my sub

[koolade9]

How bout the motorized screen? Granted you'd have to raise it before getting out of the car but it would look OEM and could be another way to block some sun. I think combined with tint it should block out the amp almost completely.

The rear sunshade is one of the 3 options my car doesn't have... I've never actually seen one in action to see if I could do the retro-fit...

mmm nice work on the fab. so i take it that you work in the industry. I.D., a/d/s are two names that dont get thrown around alot any more, to bad because they are excellent product. way to be different.

Thanks! I used to work in the industry back in college, I still have some freinds that compete in iasca/slap in the midwest. As for the gear, I prefer the older equipment to some of the new stuff out there. It just keeps going no matter what

which wires did you tap on the rns E for the lows? i wanna rewire my sub

Connector 'C' pins 3 & 9 are front L&R. Pins 5 & 11 are rear L&R. Pin 8 is common ground for all channels. If you have bose, tapping off the rear low-level for rca outs may introduce some noise into the system, but it's worth a try. If you're non-bose, you should be golden, as I think only the fronts are amp'd in that situation.

FYI, the nav commands are given out of the front channels only.

[auggy]

looks good .. gotta love the oem+ look

[ngng]

The rear sunshade is one of the 3 options my car doesn't have... I've never actually seen one in action to see if I could do the retro-fit...



Thanks! I used to work in the industry back in college, I still have some freinds that compete in iasca/slap in the midwest. As for the gear, I prefer the older equipment to some of the new stuff out there. It just keeps going no matter what





Connector 'C' pins 3 & 9 are front L&R. Pins 5 & 11 are rear L&R. Pin 8 is common ground for all channels. If you have bose, tapping off the rear low-level for rca outs may introduce some noise into the system, but it's worth a try. If you're non-bose, you should be golden, as I think only the fronts are amp'd in that situation.

FYI, the nav commands are given out of the front channels only.

I have Bose, I have my line level converter tapping the sub's speaker wires...so I guess I'll keep looking for a preamp signal :(

[koolade9]

I have Bose, I have my line level converter tapping the sub's speaker wires...so I guess I'll keep looking for a preamp signal :(

well, give it a shot... at the very least, it'll just split the voltage going to the rears/sub, it'll be a better signal then going the high lvl converter route though... Do you have any plans to run an amplifier to your front/rear door speaker?

[ngng]

well, give it a shot... at the very least, it'll just split the voltage going to the rears/sub, it'll be a better signal then going the high lvl converter route though... Do you have any plans to run an amplifier to your front/rear door speaker?

I'll check it out, there was a pinout for the bose harness in the trunk..but fuck, that thing is a PITA to work with.

I thought about it, but I don't think I will...speakers sound fine to me. I'll prob just repalce teh twetters and call it a day

[jbone]

Connector 'C' pins 3 & 9 are front L&R. Pins 5 & 11 are rear L&R. Pin 8 is common ground for all channels. If you have bose, tapping off the rear low-level for rca outs may introduce some noise into the system, but it's worth a try. If you're non-bose, you should be golden, as I think only the fronts are amp'd in that situation.

FYI, the nav commands are given out of the front channels only.

Hey Koolade!

Just want to say AWESOME install. I had a question pertaining to what you said here. Do you mean tapping in at the bose amp in the trunk for the rears will introduce noise, or just tapping the output anywhere in the system for the rear speakers will introduce noise? thanks for your help. if you could PM me I would be very happy!!

Oh and one more quick question, how did you use the common ground... would love to see a picture if you have one. I am really wanting to do this right and If you found a way to use that common ground effectively by all means I would REALLY appreciate the help.

Thanks again for your time