appropriately sized wire, fused within 18" of the battery, and grommets where wires pass through metal are the usual requirements
many people elect to cover the wires for additional protection and aesthetics. if you want to compete install, people go nuts to maximize points.
There will come a day (very soon) when I'll need to swap all my in-car speaker wiring over to my new amps (lengthen/re-route). So basically, I'm reaching a point to where I need to commit to getting some things done or I'll receive the punishment of silent car rides
I loosely scheduled a tuning session for the end of the month with Nick A. Another motivation to, at the very least, get this new system online, and possibly even the motivation to actually get this project done (probably not ).
Some updates:
I covered the underside of the fiberglass enclosure with 1/8" CCF to decouple:
Also covered both sides of foundation board w/ CCF:
Added CCF and a spacer (for the area that extends past the foundation board) to the amp rack:
Ran speaker wiring for the subs. I sealed the underside with "duct seal" and used clear silicone for the rest. Inside the enclosure I wrapped the speaker wire with CCF tape and then wrapped the that with Tesa 51036 (excellent stuff):
Up to this point, the sub enclosure was only held down with one M8 bolt at the very center, which formerly was used to hold the OEM spare tire in place. I added three more 1/4-20 screws which go through the amp rack and enclosure and thread into inserts I epoxied into the underside of the foundation board. With these four screws (in total) the enclosure/amp rack is mounted very securely to the car.
And lastly, I've got the subs ready to play at 4 ohms
Last edited by Chris12; 06-29-2021 at 02:52 PM.
A few more updates.
After using a MiniDSP C-DSP 6x8 for around three years, I decided to upgrade to a Helix DSP.3. With the DSP.3 I'll gain higher voltage output and more tuning channels. The Helix is currently being shipped and is scheduled to arrive late next week.
I currently have the MiniDSP mounted to a piece of ABS, tucked up beneath my trunk lining. (The messy wiring shown here is just temporary as I transition my old setup to the new ).
With the new DSP.3 I'll need to decide if I'm going to mount it in the same spot as the miniDSP, or mount it to the amp rack for a more centralized equipment location and easier serviceability. I currently have six foot stinger 6000 interconnects running from the DSP output to the amps. I'd likely need to get shorter RCA's, or even make my own custom lengths if I moved the DSP. We shall see..
I set the gains on the new amps (which I'll need to re-do once the DSP.3 arrives ) and got the subs up and running.
Everything isn't tuned properly yet, but I've heard enough to say that the C12XL's are output monsters .
I'm definitely happy I went with them over the other options I considered (brahma, w7, etc.)
I sprung for some pretty nice Blue Sea Systems 30a barrier strips. Total overkill, I know, but they came in handy when setting my gains (vs the cramped speaker terminals on the side of the amps ). I know setting the gains through additional points of failure wouldn't stand up to the Occam's razor school of thought, but everything seemed to work out just fine. Especially considering that this gain setting session was nothing more than a practice run with the new DSP on the way
After deciding to go fishing with my kids yesterday, and sweating over the fishing pole being in close proximity to my unprotected $1K+ subwoofers- I decided to put these grills on that I had sitting around. They aren't a permanent fixture, but they'll work fine as protection until I complete the false floor setup. As you can see, the grills have a bulge to them, and they're mounted on MDF which is 1/2" higher than the sub flange, so hopefully they won't limit excursion on these monsters.
Last edited by Chris12; 07-05-2021 at 11:28 AM.
I bought a couple things.
Blue Sea Systems 6 circuit fuse block with ground. At the absolute most, I’ll only use four of these circuits. (DSP, 2@ LED circuits, and MAYBE HU). But, I found this on Amazon as a return for $18. It was worth it to me to have the fuse distribution and grounds all in one nice neat package (3.5” x 5” )
And the Helix DSP.3:
Last edited by Chris12; 07-21-2021 at 08:10 AM.
we put some ears on it today, it sounds fantastic.
Nick got my system all dialed in yesterday, and it sounds AMAZING! It is, without a doubt, a night-and-day difference from what it was before. The upgrades/ tune certainly corrected everything I felt was lacking.
As a quick summary: I changed my amps, DSP and subs. My entire front stage/ front stage install remained exactly the same as before. Nick also tweaked the way he tunes - we set the crossovers, levels, and most of the EQ from outside the car (with the mic stuck in the head rest). It now has that powerful sound and output that I was looking for, and has a really good sense of space and room. I still have some resonances in my driver door, but I'm hoping to work it out with some install modifications in the near future.
Before/ After available power:
ScanSpeak D3004/604010: 75w rms before/ 200w rms after
Dyn Esotar 430: 75w rms before/ 250w rms after
JL zr800: 175w rms before/ 539w rms after
Sub: 1@ AE SBP15 x 250w rms before/ 2 @Illusion Audio c12xl x 1288w rms after
Heres what we started with yesterday:
And here's our midway point. After this we didn't take any more measurements, Nick did everything by ear:
Thanks again for everything Nick! You're making the world a better place - one stereo at a time
Last edited by Chris12; 07-29-2021 at 09:43 AM.
I modified the shape of the amp rack a bit to allow a slightly different configuration of the components and make installation/removal of the rack itself easier (decreased width). While it was out, I also painted it black.
I also changed the bracing layout and re-covered the underside with Second Skin CCF (not completely finished in this photo). The unsupported span (between where the amp rack sits on the enclosure and bracing) is smaller than it looks.
While I was at it, I painted the sub baffle and applied new Second Skin CCF to the underside. Admittedly not the best job on the paint, but it will be covered by a beauty panel. I later figured out that that MDF had to be sealed before its painted. Who knew?
Here are the major changes I made to the layout of the amp rack. I moved the DSP to the "top" so the RCA's could all be routed cleanly down the center. I also cut a small hole in front of the DSP for wire routing and moved the barrier strips for the speaker terminals to allow easier access from the rear seat when setting gains.
While I had everything apart, I decided to TechFlex the wiring. To easily differentiate the power and ground wiring, I used red (with a black stripe) for the power and full black for the ground. I tried using red heat shrink on the power cables, but all I had was the 3:1 adhesive lined stuff, and it was just too thick for JL's crappy plugs. I ended up just using the thin, standard black heat shrink on both positive and ground which worked out fine.
In the very dark photo below, you'll also see one of my modified stinger 6000 directional twisted pair interconnects merged with a stinger 6000 Y adapter. I had to Y every RCA (except the tweeters) because JL's amps don't work with mono RCA's. From JL's manual: "Connection of only one RCA input will result in reduced power output, increased distortion, and could cause the amplifier to overheat. To connect a mono signal to both inputs, use an RCA "Y-Adaptor" (SOLD SEPARATELY)."
Last edited by Chris12; 08-31-2021 at 10:39 AM.
Heres the amp rack with everything except RCA's.
I used a numbering system for all the speaker wires and RCA's: #1 = Left tweeter, #2 = Right Tweeter, #3 = Left Mid-Range, etc.
While I can recall this by memory right now, this may not be the case in the future. This being the case, I plan on adding a laminated key card to the amp rack (at some point.) I've seen Bing (simplicity in sound) do this in at least one of his builds.
Along with some of the other changes I made to the amp rack, I switched from using adhesive zip tie anchors to screw down cable clamps. I was very pleased with the end result. I think they look a lot cleaner, and are much more secure.
I also started fabricating the beauty panel for the false floor. Heres what the reveal will look like on the amps:
And, here's where I'm at with the beauty panel.
I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to finish it - I'll either paint it with SEM Landau Black or cover it with black vinyl.
For edge treatment, I bought a Whiteside Router Chamfer bit 2310. I'll need to add material to each opening to get the depth but it'll be nice and deep. Its advertised at 1-1/2" cutting length and 1-1/16" cutting depth.
Last edited by Chris12; 09-09-2021 at 07:07 AM.
Any shows going on these days? Bing still hosting shows?