2020 Subaru Outback - Audiofrog, Helix, ResoNix

[SkizeR]

Hey guys, we're a little behind on build logs and videos, so unfortunately there is no video for this car, but there are a good amount of photos. This one was pretty cool for me because this is the first build we did while starting to implement a streamlined sales process where we base the fabrication/equipment in 4 different stages. Stage 1 being mild, with stage 4 being extreme. The reason for this, is i catch myself spending way too much time and effort on something that the customer didnt even necessarily need or pay for. While it is sort of an under promise/over deliver situation, i was losing countless hours, and i need to change that. While I didnt go over different stages with the owner of the car, I kept these in mind when it came time to designing the areas that were getting custom fabrication work done. In this case it was the sail panels and the trunk. When we were going over options for the sail panels on the phone, i sent him a few examples of previous builds as well as the sail panel "monitors" in my own car. My personal car has a "stage 1" design where the pod is texture coated and the grill is wrapped in a premium grill cloth. I also sent some from the previous subaru, as well as the mercedes. At first, he wanted to keep it simple and go with grill cloth grills (dont worry, there is still protection behind said grill cloth). After he sat on it for a bit, he ended up wanting something nicer. After a bit of discussion, i figured Stage 4 it was. (i personally went this direction because i can use it as an example piece so i wouldnt have to do one from scratch just to use as a display in the shop).. So back to the rest of the build. This 2020 Subaru Outback came with the Harmon Kardon system, which we integrated into. We also used his DAP's as a secondary source to go digital directly into the DSP. The list of equipment that we used is as follows..

. Fiio & iBasso DAP's
. Helix V Eight Mk2
. Helix M One X
. Helix Director
. (2) Scanspeak Discovery 30W/4558T 12" Subwoofers
. Audiofrog GB60
. Audiofrog GB25
. Audiofrog GB10oe
. Audiofrog GS62 coaxial for rear fill

For the trunk we went with a "stage 2" install. The Subwoofers are in a 2 cubic foot sealed enclosure that is installed into the spare tire well and managed to play flat down to something around 14hz. The spare was removed for this to be possible. The amplifiers were installed with a false floor over them and wrapped to match the rest of the trunk.


So these started off as a basic shape stolen from my cars pods. From there, we adjusted the outside shape a bit and added some styling to the middle. Here is our first cut out of acrylic. We have the outer piece that also has the lower portion of the "grill" attached to it. Then theres the top portion of the "grill" which is its own piece. Then theres the center piece, which is also its own piece. All was made out of 1/4" acrylic except for the center piece, which was 1/8" acrylic. All of the separate pieces were designed to fit together perfectly, but were then shrunk 0.2mm on the outer diameter in order to account for the thickness of primer/paint. This ended up working perfectly.








Heres the outer piece after i routed the edges to have a chamfer. The tight inside corner of the top portion needed to be filed by hand since the router bits bearing was too large to get in there. If you look closely, you can see where i drew on the center piece with sharpie to mark where i needed to stop routing. You will see why in the next few photos.








Here are the top and center pieces after the top portion was chamfered (the center piece was not routed). Again, if you look closely, you can see where i drew on the top piece with sharpie to mark where i needed to stop routing. The chambers were done by hand. This was honestly terrifying even though I had a jig to do it. I must have gone through 10 pairs of these before I nailed it. Thankfully we have the laser and i didn't have to route the whole piece/shape by hand, only the chamfered edges.














Heres all of the parts that make up the grill. Everything is ready to be painted and assembled










Painted and ready for assembly








Every detail matters.

[SkizeR]

Here you can see the coaxial cable running out from a false floor in the center console. Underneath this false floor we used an Audison SFC to switch between optical and coaxial inputs so he can use both his iBasso DAP (which uses optical output), and his Fiio DAP (which uses coaxial output. This then has optical out which goes right into the Helix V Eight Mk2









Helix Director mounted in the sunglass holder








Here is the trunk as it normally sits. We managed to retain the oem floor








And here is what you see once you lift the floor up. The false floor is wrapped in matching carpet, and there is grill material to protect the amplifiers and subs. The thin oem floor was treated at its handle to prevent rattles. Other than that, it does not effect the sound in any way.








Helix V Eight Mk2 and Helix M One X










And here are the sail panel monitors installed and ready to go. As you can see, we aimed to match the shapes/colors of the oem door panel. To date, this might have been the most challenging piece I've made.










And here you can see why i had to stop routing both pieces at an exact point. The top piece and bottom piece of the center "grill" mate up perfectly and the chamfer follows around the silver center piece perfectly
















Thanks for looking!

[dgage]

That A-pillar is gorgeous. Very nice!

[preston]

Yes, outstanding work thanks for sharing. And when did Subaru interiors get so nice ?

Why does the client want to use 2 different DAPs ? Is there a particular reason for that ?

Also, I will almost always say in all Audiofrog threads - dang those GB25's are small !

[dumdum]

That A-pillar is gorgeous. Very nice!

<cough> sail panel location <cough>

[Blu]

Those sail pods are stunning! Well done Nick.

[mumbles]

Great work as always Nick!

[SkizeR]

Yes, outstanding work thanks for sharing. And when did Subaru interiors get so nice ?

Why does the client want to use 2 different DAPs ? Is there a particular reason for that ?

Also, I will almost always say in all Audiofrog threads - dang those GB25's are small !

Thanks. He was open to using just one and preferred the Fiio (as do i) which is coaxial out at the end of the day, it still needs the converter and it has the option to use both, so why not since he already has them. As far as the subaru interiors, idk. My ex's 2018 crosstrek isn't so bad either. Not as nice as this though

That A-pillar is gorgeous. Very nice!

What a pillars?
Thank you

Those sail pods are stunning! Well done Nick.

Great work as always Nick!

Thanks guys. Kevin killed it on this one as well, doing the whole trunk and doing part of the sails, as well as the director

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Kevin K]

Very nice work sir.

[Stycker]

I've been waiting patiently for this. I am the owner of this Outback. I have been wanting to throw up some pictures of this build. Now I'm glad I waited. I knew Nick would get around to this, but I also know how busy he has been. I was lucky to get in when I did due to a big cancelation that freed up a week of Nick's time. He had at least 10 to 12 builds on his dry board waiting to come in. Nick and Kevin absolutely nailed this one. I have always done my own installs and fabrication in the past, but this time I wanted a professional installation. Not just any professional install either. I wanted Apicella Auto Sound. Nick's shop is one of, if not, the Best Audio Shops around. I have been lurking on diyma and here since about 2012. This is how I knew Nick was passionate about his work and could back up his talk. This made it easy for me to make the 6 hour trip from Pittsburgh. Those sail pods are the most beautiful, intricate, and dare I say stealth speaker pods I have ever seen. I say stealth, but they really aren't. They look factory but they also stand out at the same time. I told Nick that's how I wanted it look "Factory but Better" and he delivered better than expected. I'm not a flashy guy and that is why the hatch area looks somewhat plain compared to those pods. I wanted the hatch to be fully functional with hidden equipment and no lights and disco balls. Once again Nick and Kevin delivered. I asked Nick why he didn't cut holes in the sub cover, He said " we didn't need to". He was right. Cover on or off it makes no difference, the sound does not change. Finally this thing sounds absolutely amazing. Pure, clean and powerful. I listened to both Nick and Kevin's cars and said, "make it sound like that". Once again Nick delivered. Voices are centered with a realistic sound stage. We also implemented rear fill to perfection with the extra channels from the Helix. I was hesitant because I personally never got rear channels to integrate well with the front stage. The way Nick set this up adds a sense of space without ever pulling the stage back. I was initially worried that 75 watts was not going to be enough for the GB60's as the Helix V8 is not bridgeable. Once again I was wrong, there is plenty of midbass and I'm glad I have rear fill. I hope to hit some shows this year so people can see and hear this in person. I was always one of those guys that scoffed at going the professional route versus the diy route but not anymore. I simply could not have achieved this on my own. Thank you Nick and Kevin.