I decided to make a new thread for my build rather than continue to post in another thread I had which actually started as a question.
I have the factory Bose/Nav system and I was never happy with how it sounded. (I have never like any Bose product I have ever heard, so I wasn't surprised I didn't like it.) I added a Wicked CAS Magic Box (Spare tire type) with a 13TW5 and a JL XD600/1 to the system last year, using an AudioControl LC2i for signal from the stock sub output. It added the extra bass that I was looking for, but I still wasn't happy with the overall sound and I wasn't sold on the placement of the sub. All these things led me to say it's time to do it all over, and here we are.
As my car is off the road for the winter, and there is a lot of winter left the build will take place over the next several months. I have finalized 95% of the component list for the new build, and parts are now starting to come in.
The Plan:
Midbass: Hertz HV 165XL 6.5's in the factory door locations.
Tweeters: Hertz Mille ML 280.3 in the factory tweeter locations.
Rear Fill: Hertz Energy ECX 100.5, 4" Coax in factory rear speaker locations. (**Up in the air between that and the DCX 87.3's)
Sub: JL 10W3v3 in a WickedCAS corner mount Magic Box.
Processor/Factory Integration: JBL MS8 - Giving me a clean signal from the factory navi and allowing me to run the front 2-ways active.
Amplifiers:
JL HD900/5 powering the Subwoofer on the mono channel and powering the Tweeters and Rear Fill Coax's with 100W RMS/channel. More than the Tweeters or Rear speakers will need, but more headroom is always nice.
JL XD400/4 running bridged to provide 200WRMS for the 165XL's. These mid bass drivers are known to crave power.
Power: 4GA power run (KnuKonceptz Kolossus) to the trunk where a distribution block will split into a 4GA supply for the HD900/5 and an 8GA supply for the XD400 amp. In hindsight I wish I had run 2GA to the trunk when I put the XD600 in, however the 4GA should be sufficient going off of conventional amplifier power/wire gauge charts. No plans at this time to replace the battery or alternator or to do the Big 3. I do have the Stillen grounding kit in, so at worst that won't hurt my grounds in the back.
Cables: Audiobahn CE 600 RCA's. Awesome looking cables and got them for a great price. Monster XLN 16Ga speaker wiring for the new speaker cable runs. 12Ga for the subwoofer run.
Sound Deadening: Dynamat Xtreme and Dynamat SuperLite for vibration dampening. I'll do the outer skins of the doors, and some of the inner skin, as well as some in the spare tire well, trunk floor, hatch lid, and rear wheel wells. I plan to use some MLV and CCF for the doors and trunk floor/spare tire well also, provided that I can get some here in Canada. The goal is to reduce the road/tire and exhaust noise inside the cabin as well as eliminate any possible rattle and improve the Midbass driver performance. HOWEVER - at the end of the day, it is a sports car and despite the previously mentioned goals, weight will remain a big factor. The entire system with all of its components will absolutely not exceed 100lbs of additional weight. An arbitrary number perhaps, but one I have set my mind to. (I've cut at least 100lbs+ of weight in other areas of the car so I don't feel as bad)
Some caveats: I don't want to hear anything about rear speakers lol. Installing them is honestly more of just a testing thing for me, it has nothing to do with cost or preference, etc. Don't say 'but you could have spent that $100 on blow and that would be way more fun than rear fill!'. 1) My budget for car audio and powder is completely separate, so no worries there and 2) As I stated, if I don't like them I'll just fade them out or disconnect them. But with the wizardry the MS8 can do, I'm confident they will only enhance the system.
Well that's a pretty long introductory post to the build, but that is the gist of it so far! I will be posting lots of pictures as it progresses so stay tuned! Only one picture for now:
Oooo Pretty:
