I don't think I've ever seen a hybrid build before. Very nice!
I don't think I've ever seen a hybrid build before. Very nice!
Thanks for the kind support!
Here's an audio diagram. For now, at least. Includes future Ultimax replacement of the Reference subwoofer.
I still have a lot of work to do, but since it is functional, it'll be a slow grind from here, so don't expect too much in the way of updates and it being pretty, but hoping to stay motivated and hit a 100% marker at some point.
OK, I installed a BMS to the lithium setup. Also cleaned up and put Noalox on all the connectors, tapped out, and installed. Has bluetooth, so I can monitor. All cells looked good, but better safe than sorry, right?
I had to do some notching on my bracing to get the Ultimax to fix, since it's such an off fitment in the box. But, it worked! And here it sits. I also crammed in 4.5 lbs of polyfill to get a proper 1:1 ratio of cubes per lb. Sub doesn't sound bad at all... need to work on my front doors to get that midbass to really get a good blend. Otherwise, everything is sounding fairly good for just a quick and dirty tune.
Finally got the time to throw down the deadener in my doors. Cleaning up the nasty factory vapor shield adhestive... wow. Stuff was like wet bubble gum! Scraping as much as possible, then rubbing alcohol and paper towels (lots) was the only way, it seemed. (I'm sure there's some chemical that would have made it easier, but what's done is done). I had already done a small amount on the outter skin, but brought it up to a ~50% coverage (and has butyl rope between braces and skin). Did 100% on inner frame. Used some coroplast and aluminum tape to seal up... not optimal, but for today, it works.
Will be doing the 1" rockwool/OC703 at some point along the outter skin. Can do up to 4" on the bottom of the door and clean the window. Also, might fab up (or 3D print) a brace between the door bracing and the inner framework to brace up the baffle. I think this would actually work pretty well and wouldn't be too hard to pull off.
Either way, the midbass up front is really nice. I've always drooled over some good front end and this seems to be filling that gap nicely!
So the rear side of these cars seem to be... lackluster... in terms of acoustic treatment. So, threw down 1x layer of Noico sound deadener and pack it with Roxul Safe n Sound. Seems to be have quited things down quite a bit. Wish I have had the motivation to REW the cabin's frequency response, especially with the subwoofer, before and after, as I'm sure it made a difference (from my experience of doing it in rooms for home audio and studio work).
Here's a video of before/after:
So the Dayton RS100P's were good to me, but a friend offered to trade a pair of Focal K2 4" drivers for mine, installed. I couldn't pass that up! So I did a temp install in his and plan to do some pillars eventually. I designed and 3D printed a baffle for the 4" Focals to find out... 4" in Focal land is 4" edges of the surround, not mounting peak to peak! Dayton, on the other hand, likes to call their 3" driver a 4". So the fitment was impossible. I posted those for trade on here and quickly, a member saved my ass and traded me for a pair of Hertz Mille Legend 700.3s.
I again 3D printed baffles and test fit. Finally, it warmed up enough and I got motivated to start working on this.
Cut out a little at a time of the pillars where I wanted the drivers until the fitment was tight. I used a stiff plastic sheet and traced it to the other pillar to keep it as even as possible. Used equal length cut chop-sticks as dowels and hot glue, getting the drivers as matching as possible. I ended up at about a 45* off-axis on the driver's side to driver, which should work fine. Toeing in more would be nice for sound, but aesthetics are still important.
Used hot glue and speaker grill cloth to get my basic shape. Drilled out holes, laid the first glass layer. After this dried, it was already incredibly hard! I did some sand work and taking down some troubled high spots, put down layer 2. Sanded and cleaned up, laid filler on both. Sand and find the low spots, pile on more! Did this about 3 times, applying about 50% less per layer. Sanded with 80 grit, then a layer of glazing putty. Sanded 150 grit, then threw on a layer of grey primer. Fitment and testing time! And that's how they sit currently. I still have a touch of fill-in and shaping that won't be seen after the fabric cover, but I'm a perfectionist who can't let go.
I have a lot of tuning to do, but right off the bat: These drivers are sensitive to power, have a clean sound, but most of all, the dynamics put some serious emotion into music. I have a little bit of resonance to deal with in the panels, but I haven't deadened them or done anything for that yet.
Once wrapped, I'll 3D print some different grills that match the grills of the door. But this works for today.
So I did some testing with right ear/left ear mic position to left mid and right mid. Attached is some of the work done, as well as the results.
Passenger pillar, right ear [took the most notable of 16 sweeps]
Black = baseline (open back)
Yellow = ~20 grams Roxul SnS stuffed in pillar and fiberglass cavities
Pink = Aluminum tape sealed back w/ the SnS stuffing (plus deadener on lower pillar cover, tesa tape around retainers, but those didn't make much of a change)
Blue = All the above, plus deadener added to inside of fiberglass portion, 157-mil CCF on pillar frame. My last measurement for this one (for now)
Drivers pillar, left ear
Black = Baseline (open back)
Green = Replicating Blue on passenger side (the sealing with tape on the back caused the drop between 300 and 600)
One thing to note that I didn't show in graph: I pushed against the lower section of the passenger pillar as hard as I could, below the midrange. That graph gave a nice little bump in the null of 600-700 range (3-5db gain). Will need to perhaps play with a mounting system there, behind the mids. I also tested first reflection points, using a chunk of 1" Owen Corning 703. The windshield cover resulted in a drop in the 2K area (6dB drop) and the dash a little bump between 600-700 (4db gain) and a little drop around 2.5k (4dB drop). Will contemplate building a little dash pad, not sure on the windshield yet...
Any other suggestions? I plan to wrap them eventually and test sealing the pillar covers VS taping the back up. I did do a run with masking tape sealing the entire pillar and it was similar to the tape.
Small update. My super flimsy door has been bothering me. Thin aluminum and all. Designed and 3D printed a brace. Pics explain it all! And thumping the door with my hand like Donkey Kong has far less flex and resonance. Oh, and I crammed a bunch of rockwool in my door. Not too worried about moisture, I live in a very dry area and they'll never take enough moisture in matter.