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Thread: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

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    2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    Finally remembered to bring my build log over from DIYMA. May take me a little bit to get it all transferred but here we go.


    The Car:

    After owning my previous car, a 2006 Civic Sedan LX, for 13 years and putting just over 250k miles on it, I finally upgraded. Yea!

    (link to old build log here)

    The new car is a 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport (non-touring edition). I looked at and test drove quite a few cars. I really liked a couple but ultimately landed on this Civic for the following reasons:

    • I like hatchbacks. And, they are just easier to get bass right in, IME.
    • The gas mileage. I drive 80 miles round trip each day.
    • We already own a 2018 CR-V so I didn't really need a larger car for family stuff. I just need a good car that has a decent platform for aftermarket audio, enough space for me and my family to make quick trips around town, and something I could see myself still driving 10 years from now.
    • I think it looks pretty sharp.
    • It’s a budget friendly vehicle and leaves me enough money to cover the audio stuff.
    • It's fun to drive. It isn’t the world's fastest car but you have to remember I'm coming from a 2006 civic with 250k miles on it. So, this thing is almost like a race car to me. It's got some nice speed, takes corners like a champ... I won't be driving it like a madman but just being able to finally merge without fearing my engine is going to fall out from the workload it's under is a big improvement.




    Here’s some pictures of the car the day I got it:



















    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  2. Back To Top    #2

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    Audio and Install Goals:

    The goal for this system is pretty simple: a relatively stock appearance.

    Before I get too far in to the details, let me give some perspective here…

    I’ve been around this hobby for a good while. I’ve had a very “extreme” build for a long time and I’ve had a system that sounds quite good and gets stupid loud, if I say so myself. I’ve also seen and heard many incredible vehicles running the gamut from extreme to rather stock installs. Some installs are easier to tune “out of the box” than others. Some offer things others can’t. But, for the most part, what I’ve experienced is that there has really never been a single defining characteristic to what makes one system sound fantastic other than a) a good install, b) an understanding of the equipment and limitations/implications of the gear/install and c) a good tune based on a & b.

    When I think back to my favorite car audio systems as a whole package (sound + aesthetic), the cars that come to mind for me are: Kirk Proffitt’s Acura TL, Jason Bertholomey’s BRZ and Michael Myers' Scion. None have "extreme" builds. Myers has dash pods but it's nothing crazy. All have/had door mounted midbass and a (relatively) understated yet elegant install. There’s nothing that stands out, cosmetically, in a way that draws attention to itself. Yet, they all sound incredible. They just have great tonality and an incredibly enjoyable fun factor. It's like you get in and the speakers just get out of the way and you enjoy the system for what it is. I've done the waaaaay extreme thing: 10 inch midbass in the kicks with a 4 inch hole cut in the firewall, and 5 inch coaxials on the dash. And as great as it sounded, if I’m being completely honest with myself, I preferred what those cars had to offer as an overall package. Don’t get me wrong; I loved my old system. And it wasn’t terribly obtrusive, but for me, personally, there’s really something about having a system that sounds fantastic without seeing what you’re hearing. And while I’m at it, let me be clear that I’m not dissing others’ choices of what they do in their systems. I did things in my old civic that I’m sure others wouldn’t have cared for either. I’m just stating my personal likes/dislikes from my previous builds and drawing inspiration from those I have enjoyed that kept a more stock-like appearance up front.

    So, with that in mind, I figure why not take some aspects of my favorites and combine it with some of what I’ve learned and use that to build what I like. And the goal with my new car, at least for the foreseeable future, is to try to target a system that has a relatively stock appearance up front and squeeze out all the sound quality I can within those constraints.

    I took a short drive up to Audio X in Florence, AL to talk with Steve Cook about my ideas and get his insight on the new car install. Steve and his shop are known literally worldwide for creating some of the best SQ systems in the States and winning multiple championships in SQ comps. Steve also used to compete in SPL and still holds some world records I believe. So, the dude has a proven track record for building incredible systems that can sound loud and good. Years before I purchased this car I was saying I would have Steve and his shop do the work for me on my next car. And that's exactly what I'm doing. I could do it myself but frankly, I just don’t want to. I don’t have the time or desire to do this much, especially in this heat. Besides, his shop does better work than I do, for sure. I’ve known Steve for a long time. His work is incredible. With him being an hour from me, it was a no-brainer to have him do this install for me. Plus, the major benefit is I’ll actually have a completed system instead of me having the car apart for a year, slowly getting the install done (I know me, it would take that long, if not longer).


    Initially I was thinking of trying to cram a 3 or 4 inch midrange + tweeter in to the sail panel but that wouldn’t work without sticking out like a sore thumb. Something I don’t want. Dash pods are also out because of the obtrusive aesthetic. No kick mounted midbass for now; I have no doubt down the line this will be revisited but that’s just not on the docket at this moment. Ultimately, after some test fitting, research of drivers, and discussion with Steve this is what I decided on:

    Equipment list and some rationale:
    • Kenwood DDX9905S HU: Fine headunit. Comes from my previous car. No need to upgrade.
    • MiniDSP C-DSP with Dirac Live: Great results with it in my old car and I want to try it out on the new one.
    • ScanSpeak Illuminator D3004/6040-00 Beryllium Dome Tweeters in sail panels: Excellent on/off axis response. Relatively high sensitivity.
    • Dyn Esotar2 430 midrange in dash corners: The best pure midrange I’ve ever tested. Excellent linear response through its primary passband and great off-axis response. Small size makes it easy to fit in the “stock” dash corners. “Stock” meaning, there is not an OEM dash/windshield corner location for speakers of any size in this car. So, Steve and I talked about it and the plan was made to pull the windshield and cut in to the dash piece to create a spot for the mids in a sealed enclosure. The location will be made such that future upgrades/swaps (in case something were to blow by accident) can be easily handled without the need to pull the windshield again. The dash piece costs $65 to replace so not a big loss there.
    • Audio Frog GB60 midbass in doors: These GB60's have long linear throw, good sensitivity, and nice power handling in a small footprint. Great midbass for door installs.
    • JL Audio 12w6v3 – Never heard any complaints or had any complaints with a 12w6. Simple and effective. Also, I can remove it if I need more space for a trip somewhere.
    • Tru Technology Tungsten Grande Amplifiers: I'm not too much of an "amp guy". I kind of go with the flow there (no pun intended). My main concern is noise floor and power and reliability; as long as those are adequate I’m good. Having said that, with my new install I wanted to try something new amp-wise. While I was at Cook’s shop, I listened to Scott Brazelton's Lexus and was blown away at how good that system sounded without, literally, any EQ. Dude's running Dyn 430 midranges (which I already wanted) and Tru Tungsten Grande amps. I was sold on the combo. Plus, Steve is a Tru Technology dealer so no worries there if something happened to one of the amps. So, that's what I'll be running now.
      • Tru Technology Tungsten Grande TG-RS4 - Tweeters and midranges
      • Tru Technology Tungsten Grande TG-RS2 - Midbass
      • Tru Technology Tungsten Grande TG-RS2 - Subwoofer



    The drivers I'm using are my “dream team” drivers for this kind of install. They're not necessarily cheap but considering the number of times I have “upgraded” my previous car's system over the years, I figure I’ll save money in the long run by getting what I really, really want the first time rather than settle for something that costs less but then feeling the need to replace it with something better later.

    Within those confines, Steve and his guys have full reign to do what they need to do to make it work and add some of their own creativity to the install. I'm excited to see what they do with it.
    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  3. Back To Top    #3

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    Like I said in the previous post, to get to the dash, the windshield was pulled. Doing this makes it easier to work on building enclosures in to the dash. Again, no OEM spots so they are making some for me. I think they had a bit too much fun, judging by the last picture.

    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

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    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    Starting on the doors. A layer of VibraFlex was applied to the inner and outer skin with sheetmetal being used to seal the holes on the inner skin.

    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  5. Back To Top    #5

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    Speaking of the amps...

    I talked to John at Tru earlier and he gave me an update. The TG-RS4 is done and the TG-RS2’s are being built.

    And yes, I wanted them in purple.






    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  6. Back To Top    #6

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    Small update on the midrange portion of the build. Steve sent me this picture earlier. The Dyn 430 mounted on the plexi baffle that will be installed in the corners. There’s a lip around the ring for a grille to be installed that will hide the speakers.





    CNC cut baffles with the midranges flush mounted. Precision work!





    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  7. Back To Top    #7

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    John sent these last night. Amps are coming along nicely.







    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  8. Back To Top    #8

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    More progress on the midrange portion of the install. Steve CNC’d a few pieces of plexi for each midrange enclosure and bonded them in a stack-fab manner. The pictures below also show some of the duct re-routing necessary to fit the enclosures in the dash. The enclosures have a lip around them so when they “drop” in to the cut dash, the lip will sit on the dash. This will be smoothed in to give it a nice transition and flushed shape.

    These enclosures are legit.



















    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  9. Back To Top    #9

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    Minor update. Trunk work has started. Amps shipped today and should be in by Friday. Still planning for completion before finals.

    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

  10. Back To Top    #10

    Re: 2019 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport

    John sent me these pics of the finished amps. I can’t wait to see ‘em in person.









    They made one that is bridgeable for me. Was told it puts out about 730 watts but I'm not sure if that was at 2 ohm or not; I assume it was since that was the intended load configuration (John asked what I'd be using and Steve told him make it for a 2 ohm load).




    I asked John Yi (at Tru) if he could provide some words regarding the amps since I've had people ask and I thought who better to ask than the guy who made them. So, here you go:

    Tungsten & Tungsten Grand v2 Series are designed to be modular.
    Meaning multiple configuration.
    Tungsten Grande RS is our Top of the Line
    Grande RS vs. S (Standard)?
    Fifty (50) parts upgraded + Different preamp PCB
    Grande RS uses same parts config as our Billet v2 Stage IV & Stage V

    Your amp
    TG-RS4 was configed to be Hi-Voltage to have much power on tap.
    150w x4
    As well as removing Bridgeable feature to further streamline signal path

    This also goes for your Mid-Bass Amp to streamline signal path.

    Your Bass amp, we kept its Bridgeable feature and changed power supply to be Hi-current Mode to support your Sub impedance.
    -- SQ is great, but sometimes nostalgia is greater. --


    Follow my blog:
    https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/

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