xtremerevolution Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 My friend Eddie needed a new car stereo, so I hooked him up with some amazing prices on mint condition amp, sub, and components and a new head unit, and installed it for him. I figured I'd share some of the install pictures I took toward the end. Head unit is a Pioneer DEH-P8300UB. Got it from crutchfield since it included the factory integration module at a really cheap price, had free shipping, and included the dash kit for free as well. Amp was a Boston Acoustics GT-5750. 70W x 4 @ 4 ohms + 250W x 1 @ 4 ohms. Amp was mounted on carpeted MDF spacers in order to clear the rear seat release handles. Sub was an Arc Audio Arc10. If any of you have been in the industry for a while, you'll know what this sub is. Arc Audio contracted Image Dynamics to make this sub. Its essentially an Image Dynamics IDQ10 V2 with a stronger motor, larger surround, larger xmax, and larger xlim. Basically, its a VERY clean sounding sub that digs very deep. We were beyond impressed with the output. Components were PPI (Precision Power) 365cs. The crossovers are absolutely massive. -3, 0, and +3 db tweeter adjustment, tweeter phase adjustment bi-ampable, and midrange contour filter adjustable. Tweeters were mounted slightly off axis but at ear level on the door panels in pods near the pillars. The 6.5" midbass drivers were mounted in custom made MDF baffles. The crossovers themselves had to be mounted under the rear deck with the amplifier as they were much too large to be mounted in the doors or under the dash. Sub box was custom made by myself for optimal excursion control at rated power and optimal transient response. I designed the sub to account for his specific car's cabin gain and boundary loading transfer function for the most linear frequency response possible. This sub sounds very fast, very accurate, very articulate, and integrates perfectly with his front components. It uses a double thick baffle, with a recessed mount on the 2nd baffle and a chamfer for cosmetic purposes. Carpeted with black pro audio carpeting. Not a single leak in this sub box. Box was also built a bit wider in order to stay shallow to allow for more trunk space. Wiring used some shielded RCAs from parts-express.com, and dual 4 gauge wiring. The wiring was soldered into closed ended copper ring terminals for a permanent connection. Keep an eye out for those. Anyways, here are the pictures. I had forgotten to put the cover back on the amp before I took these. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) Some pictures Kristina took while we were working: Oh yeah, and my cat, Ninja, was supervising... Edited October 23, 2011 by xtremerevolution Quote
slick Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 While the install is clean, don't mount the amps/crossover upside-down!!! Instead of the heat rising off and away from the boards, it is now just sitting on the circuit boards. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Posted October 23, 2011 While the install is clean, don't mount the amps/crossover upside-down!!! Instead of the heat rising off and away from the boards, it is now just sitting on the circuit boards. The crossover definitely won't be putting off enough heat. The only things that will heat up are the resistors, and those are nothing to be concerned about because they're on the tweeter protection circuit and are ceramic. I design the same crossovers for home theater speakers and mounting angle or location is never an issue. The amp is fan cooled and side vented. IIRC the manual specifically states that it was designed that way so that it can be mounted in either direction or location. Another guy on gmforum/bonnevillepro also has a very similar Boston Acoustics amp mounted in the exact same spot in his Regal GS. I took that into consideration before making that decision, and was also part of the reason I chose that specific amp. I'm also running the sub at 4 ohms instead of the 2 ohms its also rated for, which allows it to run even cooler. A lot of thought went into this install. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote
slick Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 If the manual says its ok, then good to go. Otherwise, I never mount non-forced cooled electrical components upside-down. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Posted October 23, 2011 If the manual says its ok, then good to go. Otherwise, I never mount non-forced cooled electrical components upside-down. Yep. Definitely something I should have mentioned. I have an Alpine MRP-M1000 that's mounted partially upside down at an angle and its been giving me heat issues all summer. I'll be redoing my car's system now that I finished this one, and I'll be making a fan cooled amp rack. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote
alec_b Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 (edited) All that work in a cobalt? Hahaha you'll have to pull it all right back out when the POS dies an ugly cobalt-expected death. Very clean install, however. Bet it sounds great. Edited October 23, 2011 by alec_b Quote
terryk2003 Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 Looks good! Now you can build a box to fit my cobalt since you already have the dimensions! Quote
pwmin Posted October 24, 2011 Report Posted October 24, 2011 not going to say it's the most beautiful install ever, but sounds like great components put together and executed well All that work in a cobalt? Hahaha you'll have to pull it all right back out when the POS dies an ugly cobalt-expected death. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted October 24, 2011 Author Report Posted October 24, 2011 All that work in a cobalt? Hahaha you'll have to pull it all right back out when the POS dies an ugly cobalt-expected death. Very clean install, however. Bet it sounds great. LOL. IIRC they're pretty reliable cars. I did my best on the install given the fact that he needed everything out of the way. It does sound incredible. One of the best sounding component sets I've ever heard. I set them up bi-amped, so each tweeter and each driver got its own 70W of clean power. Those crossovers are seriously no joke. The only way to do better would be to go active. Looks good! Now you can build a box to fit my cobalt since you already have the dimensions! I sure can. You ready to pay for shipping? I'd expect it to cost you in the range of $20-$40. I took us about 4 hours to build it. Send me a PM if you're still interested. not going to say it's the most beautiful install ever, but sounds like great components put together and executed well Definitely not the most beautiful install ever. I could have done a bit better, but toward the end we just wanted it done. I probably could have routed the power wires a bit better, but oh well. The sub sounded exactly the way I wanted it to and even more. We put 3.5" of fiberglass fill on the panel behind the sub, and it really opened up the bottom end. Very tight, punchy sound north of 50hz, but when we got some dubstep playing below 40hz, it was digging a lot deeper than I've ever heard a 250W 10" sub go. It sounded a lot like my IDMax with a bit less output, which says a lot. Not a single leak in the box. Proper sub box design goes a LONG way. Quote
AWeb80 Posted October 24, 2011 Report Posted October 24, 2011 I'll def be giving you a call when I design/setup my next stereo install in a newer car if I get one. I really really like Boston Accoustic subwoofers....I'm guessing their amps are just as nice? I also have a set of their S50 5.25's in the doors of my GP. I like them too. Quote
pwmin Posted October 24, 2011 Report Posted October 24, 2011 Definitely not the most beautiful install ever. I could have done a bit better, but toward the end we just wanted it done. I probably could have routed the power wires a bit better, but oh well. Better than like most installs where it's all looks but crap put together that doesn't really sound good, lol. Doesn't look bad, it's just not flashy, which isn't a bad thing. I would just throw my MTX 10 in the box I built for the HO, but I got it sealed really well and don't want to take the chance of messing it up. My Cobalt was a great car up until I sold it. Quote
xtremerevolution Posted October 24, 2011 Author Report Posted October 24, 2011 I'll def be giving you a call when I design/setup my next stereo install in a newer car if I get one. I really really like Boston Accoustic subwoofers....I'm guessing their amps are just as nice? I also have a set of their S50 5.25's in the doors of my GP. I like them too. Most boston acoustics subs for car use are crap. Their components are nice and their amps are awesome. There are simply much better subs for the money. That one oval SGP sub is a prime example. Very poor cooling, overheats with a fraction of its rated power, high distortion, poor transient response, etc. Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk Quote
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