Nissan Cube SQ project with Focal Utopia M

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In other news... Hello 1995! :hello:

Back to the subject.. I recently sold my Helix P Six mk2 to a friend who just could NOT wait 2 days so I could get him a brand new one.. Gotta love impulse buyers :p

So I thought I might wait for the mk3, I've had the mk2 ever since it came out about 5 years ago. The mk3 is "supposedly" just around the corner, but from what I know of the specs it won't really make a huge difference in my spesific setup. I won't be running a center speaker, and all the channels will be used for a regular 3-way stereo component setup.

So the "budget friendly" alternative would be to get a new P Six to run components, and use my P Two to power the DVC Utopia subwoofer. The not very budget friendly at all alternative would be to get a DSP Ultra, two more P Two amps (using all three to power components) and a P One to power the subwoofer. But that is like 4x the expense.
 
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Fun in the sun! It's been crazy hot here by Norwegian standards (meaning about 85 degrees, haha :p ), compared to the regular summer temp of maybe 60 or so. Regassed the A/C, so now the Cube is finally cool? ;)
 
Looks like I'll finally have some free time to work on the install in the near future. Not in the ideal way, but the building where I rent space for my business has just been sold to new owners, meaning that I have to clear out and find a new location asap. However, the two best locations I found are not ready yet, will be at least a month before they are ready to move into. So between the time I have to be out (about a week from now) and until then I have some free time coming up. Maybe not the worst thing since I haven't really taken any extented period of time off since I started my business 9 years ago.
 
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Out on the hunt for new locations to set up my business.. Disregard anything from the previous post about free time, that didn't happen at all :p

I have a signs and graphics business, started it in my basement about 10 years ago. Worked from there the first 2 years, before moving to a location in an industrial estate with a proper workshop. This was recently sold to a local company that just got a government deal to produce hospital grade face masks for the next two years (to supply the local hospitals), so I had to move out on short notice. And moving back into the basement isn't what it once was :p

So I'm faced with two options now. Either getting a new location and start over, or join up with one of my local suppliers as an employee (and part owner). Have some big decisions to make, and this build gets pushed back once again. But even so, it's a good feeling just having to look forward to it.
 
Hello there my old Helix friend :)

Thought I'd come over here for a change of scenery and see that a lot of the same people are on all the car audio forums, to be expected really.

Your car still looks great. I think I prefer the 3 spoke wheels on the car - didn't think I would but the old ones look kind of 'childish' in comparison. Still good, just maybe not as good as the 3 spokes.

Hope life is treating you well. I think I'd go work with your old supplier, at least until things ease in the world and you can find the time/money/desire to go alone again.
Unless money isn't a problem, in which case enjoy yourself for a while and then get set up.
 
Hi Twonks, nice seeing you here as well :) Yes, much of the same people, a lot of new ones - and a classic forum interface, all good things!

The OZ Racing Cygnus wheels (3-spoke) came up for sale on a local(ish) FB page, in the pretty uncommon 4x114.3 PCD the Cube has, so I snapped them up in a heartbeat. The MOMO wheels I had on before I got hold of in near mint condition, for about £80 for the set :D So was worth a try. But liking the OZ wheels now that they are on the car. Sold my old Work wheels for about £1000, now they're on a Lexus LS400.. Probably a better fit for that car.

I've been looking at several new locations, but so far they're either too small or way too expensive. And most of them are not ready for takeover for weeks or even months. So for now it's a constant scramble to find suitable locations for each and every project. All while the work is piling up, so need to find a solution soon. Working for/with my supplier is probably a win/win situation, at least for now. They need a designer, and I need a location to keep the business and momentum going. Having access to (and learning to use) CNC routers, laser cutters and large format printers would also be fun and beneficial.

So we'll see!

Back to the car, I've been waiting for the Helix P Six DSP mk3 for the longest time now, I know it was next on the release list after the DSP Ultra, and that has been out for about a year soon? So I phoned up the distributor today, and he quickly sent an email to Audiotec Fischer while we were on the phone. Didn't take many minutes to get a reply :) And without disclosing anything about presumed release, I decided to just get another mk2 for the time being. So sometime next week I will have at least all the components for a full system. Need to get that going if a daily commute is part of the next chapter of my career ;)
 
Started messing about with a little DIY project this weekend, I want to make a nice looking distribution block/fuse holder for my little setup (just two amps, one of them with integrated DSP).

I started out with this distribution block, it does all it needs to do, but it doesn't look anything special.
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But instead of having bus bars custom made, I thought I might use the parts from this, and make a nicer looking base/lid.

It was not meant to be disassembled though, but after a bit of investigating (with a grinder), I found screws under the sealed plastic lids.
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So it was doable to remove the metal components:
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Having started out with car audio in the 90s, when fuse blocks were made of thick, polished acrylic and was meant to be a nice thing to look at, this cheap and flimsy black plastic won't do ;)

But the metal parts are nice, also liking the LED indicators on the fuse holders:
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I also bought a bunch of these single fuse holders a while back, they were like $2 each, and also good for taking apart to use the individual components:
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My plan is to make a new base from acrylic, I have a few sheets of half inch acrylic. Well, over 60ft2 at least..

My inspiration is this, but I don't need nearly as many outputs. Think it looks amazing though, I'm sure mine will look crap compared to this :D
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A little side project, I'm making a small custom fit enclosure for a 8" Ground Zero subwoofer, for the under-floor section of a Honda Accord wagon. Also a good way to try out the CNC router over at a business parter. Made from 3/4" baltic birch plywood. Luckily Norway isn't too far from the Baltic region, so it doesn't have to be shipped halfway across the world ;)

Also I ordered a second Utopia 10" subwoofer for my own project.
 
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New head unit installed!

Kenwood DMX9720XDS as it's called over here in Europe, it's basically the same unit as the us-spec DMX1057XR, only with DAB+ digital radio instead of SiriusXM and some other region-based differences.

But still; 5V preout, hires audio (24bit/192KHz flac/wav, and DSD up to 11.2MHz/1bit) hdmi input and a lot of other nice features. Should be a good starting point for the next system in this car. Finally finished collecting all the components that are going in, was for a long time on the fence about getting a second 10" Utopia subwoofer or not. But finally made a choice ;)
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Status report:
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These are the days I really miss my old garage/workshop. My lease was up last summer, and finding a decent replacement has been close to impossible, at least at a liveable price point. I have my own company in signmaking/car graphics/graphic design. I've been running it based at home for the last half year, with the current covid situation that has been mostly ok (customer contact is usually by email and phone anyway), but missing my own workshop. I have one on hand, but the current lease is not up for a few months yet, so have to wait it out.

Old shop:
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I think I have to mount the Helix Director somewhere in this region. Either fabricate a bracket so it will be free-standing, make a pod that mounts to the center console, or cut and mold the center section itself to have it fully integrated. But for the last option, it would be much better go get the Director Create kit, than the encased version of the Director.

That being said, I can probably just take this apart myself though, and end up with the parts from the kit.
 
I've been stepping in at a business partner's sign company lately, running the daily production while he is working offshore on rotation.

I have my own business in the same area of work, but mostly graphic design/car lettering/graphics related. But this business has all the fun machines, and I've been learning to operate them over time. At least enough to keep the production running.

Had some time for own projects now over Easter, so when I was planning to cut an enclosure for 2x Helix Q10W for a project, I put a couple of cutouts for a false floor for my own car to fill the MDF sheet. And when the CNC is at it, might as well put a few logos on the board?

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Finished routing, just the cleanup left ;)

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Forgot to take more pictures of the progress (just video clips, might compile them and upload later), but is short terms I then put the floorboard in the flatbed printer, that can print directly on the mdf piece. So after 3x passes of white baselayer, I printed this image on the board just for fun.

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Colours came out amazing, this is printed directly to untreated MDF. I might fill the logo inlays with black acrylic later, but I'm also liking the look as it is.
 
This is a UV flatbed printer, meaning that the ink is cured instantly by UV lamps. The benefit of this is that this kind of ink sticks to just about anything, from regular print media like adhesive vinyl and banner vinyl, all the way to plastic, glass, wood, fabric etc. It also has white ink, so it can put down a base layer on coloured (or transparent) media. That's the fun side of it. The not so fun is that it costs about the same as a small house, or a couple of new Corvettes :o

Here is one example of what these machines can do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1zoA3t3QVc
 
I recently ordered coilovers from Japan for the car, and to pass the time while they're in transit I figured I could read up on their spesific benefits.

But now I have more questions than I did before.

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