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3K views 30 replies 8 participants last post by  George Willms 
#1 ·
I want my car back!!!!!!!!!!!!


sniff sniff....... :cry:
 
#5 ·
I don't know if I can believe Louie about it being done this week. And for those of you whose suspense is killing you: here is what my dash looks like right now:


I'm having my stereo installed, finally, and the shop has had it for over 4 weeks already! Here is my wonderful new amp that is going in there also:


It was supposed to take 2-3 weeks. Now it's supposed to be done Friday. I sure hope so.
 
#11 ·
Ok ok, you got it: Boston Acoustic pro-series 6.5^3, 3-way component set. The tweeters and midranges (1" and 4") are going in the corners of the dash, the mid bass speakers (6.5") are going in the factory door spot. The crossovers are going under the driver's seat. Each door has been treated with 10 sq. ft of hushmat. Here's what that looks like:


I'm using an older Sony ES head unit from back in the day when they cared about sound, the CDX-C910, with a 10-disc changer, CDX-91. The changer is going under the passenger's seat. I'm using a single IDMax 12" sub wired to 2 ohms in the trunk. The sealed box will span the width of the rear shelf, the sub will be firing towards the rear of the car. Stock rear speakers will be removed, allowing the bass to get in the cabin that way as well. The amp will be mounted behind this box, so that when I fold down the rear seats I will be able to see and adjust it's many features. There will be a neon tube to give a tasteful accent to all this.

Crossover points are yet to be determined, but will probably be around 70-80 hz for both the components and the sub. The components will get 90+ watts RMS/channel, and the sub will receive 530+ watts RMS. Check out my cardomain site for pics of my old system and more specs on the car and such. http://www.cardomain.com/id/ninaudio

I can't wait to hear the finished product! I'm sure that once I hear it I will know that the wait was worth it. :D It's just a shame that being an audiophile can wind up costing sooooo much. :lol:
 
#14 ·
Very, very nice! And nicely done. That system is going to kick butt. Boston Acoustics Pro-Series midbasses have some of the tightest, intense midbass I've ever heard. The tweeters aren't my favorite, but I listen to my system fairly flat (no high range correction) so I'm not very particular about high freq drivers.
Nice thing about a matched component set like that is that they seldom need much post processing or equalization.
 
#15 ·
You will LOVE those Boston Pro Series! I have the same 3-way component system and a Pro Series 2-ohm 12" sub (still haven't found a better sounding sub...) in my Nissan Pathfinder and the SQ is wonderful despite the stupid Q-form kickpods, which the jerk installer insisted on using even though I told him I'd cough it up for custom kicks (turns out he was selling the shop soon and wasn't looking for any more work...). I'd love to get my hands on a set of Focal component speakers, but that will have to wait a few years...
 
#16 ·
I already love the bostons! They were in my last car along with two 10" BA competitors which I liked a lot. I wanted a little more trunk space this time, that's why one amp and sub. My last car had 3 amps and 2 subs....lol. Didn't have much trunk space left. I actually went to a SQ competition and took home 3rd place in my class with that system. :) Hit 126 dB too, with no distortion. :) I just installed my new custom gauge faces today, so here's some pics of them:


 
#17 ·
Hey Sam, are you familiar with Audison? I don't know many people who have ever even heard of them. What is your system? What don't you like about the tweeters?

2la....what are you running too?

I'm not a big fan of kick pod installs for a daily driver. Random things in my car and people's legs are obstacles in the path of speakers placed down there. Granted they are optimal if you're going for "ultimate" SQ, but I thoroughly enjoyed my last car with the mids and tweets in the dash, I had a very nice, high, wide soundstage.
 
#18 ·
I'm a huge Ferrari fan, and therefore love pretty much anything high end that is made in Italy. Audison isn't one of the more popular brands typically seen in wazoot systems in competitions, but they're just so luxurious. I've never had the wherewithal to incorporate them into a system, but I would love to!
I was auditioning components at a stereo shop and this BA ProSeries set just sounded a little too harsh, even when compared to the shrill MB Quarts I was comparing them to. Nothing some equalization probably could take care of in short order - and it certainly wouldn't stop be from buying a pair. I just got a better deal on the Quarts so I went with them.
My system is cheapo right now. Old school Rockford DSM amps, MB Quart components, Pioneer source and crossover. Cheapo Pioneer 12" sub.
I lived with Kick Pods in a '91 Camaro for a while. Definitely a pain. Ended up really scruffy looking after about a year. And I really don't see the benefit of the supposed improved soundstage due to more equidistant driver locations. I'm more of a fan of a high soundstage, unobstructed by knees and steering columns. My tweets are in mirror pods. Midrange/midbass in bottom stock door location.

I would totally tear my dash up for a pair of horns, though!
 
#21 ·
George Willms said:
2la....what are you running too?

I'm not a big fan of kick pod installs for a daily driver. Random things in my car and people's legs are obstacles in the path of speakers placed down there. Granted they are optimal if you're going for "ultimate" SQ, but I thoroughly enjoyed my last car with the mids and tweets in the dash, I had a very nice, high, wide soundstage.
I have a Nakamichi CD-45z head unit routed through an Alpine ERE-G180 equalizer (I mostly run it flat except for a nice guttoral boost at 31.5 Hz). They run to a Nakamichi PA-502 which is bridged to the BA ProSeries 12.5LF (yes, I'm running a 1-ohm load on 200W-rated amp at 2 ohms! The amp use to cut out fairly frequently when it was first installed, but for whatever reason it now handles the sub fine) and an xtant4.4 amp (sweet amp!) that powers the 3-way BAs up front and a pair of Polk dB690's that I usually fade out. I got the xtant recently when the original Nakamichi PA-504 went on the fritz. It raised my soundstage up by several inches--I had no idea an amp could make that kind of a difference. As for leg space, a properly made kickpod should remain relatively out of the way, which is a lot more than I can say for Q-form pods. But even with the Q-form, I've gotten so use to it being there that I don't find it nuisance at all.
 
#22 ·
I'm not concerned about lost leg space, but about the presence of a leg blocking the sound. :) I don't like the newer xtant stuff too much, but their older stuff was amazing. I had a 2200ix and two 2100b's in my last car. They sounded absolutely amazing. I could definitely hear a difference when I switched to these amps, both with my components and in my subs. I'm dying to hear this Audison, should be done this weekend!
 
#23 ·
It's sad when a great company sells out and runs into quality problems (Rockford, XTant). That's why I'm still so stuck on these old Rockford DSM amps. You can pick them up for a steal on Ebay and their SQ is impeccable.
The main thing I'd like to upgrade on my system is the sub. It sounds great loud volumes but the smallish voice coil has a hard time controlling the cone at lower volumes. There's just no room in the budget for any type of upgrades right now, though! I'll hit you up if I do, though!
 
#24 ·
xtant still uses the same plant and people to manufacture their amps, and I believe they're designed by one of the original Zapco engineers (and if you know anything about car audio--which I'm assuming you all do--you know Zapco makes some stellar amps, as well). Although I've only had the amp for a few months, I've not encountered in quality problems with xtant. But if nobody else wants to deal with xtant anymore, that's perfectly fine with me--drive down the market and then I can pick up as many amps as I want for pennies on the dollar... :wink:
 
#25 ·
It's happening to a lot of companies. 10 years ago, sony was on the top in car audio, they made some of the best-sounding head units you could buy. Now, ten years later all their head units are worse than what they made 10 years ago. It's very sad to see something like that happen. I forget who, but xtant is now owned by some other amp company, and they are not quite the same as they used to be. I'm not saying that xtant isn't good, just not as good as they used to be. Zapco makes some good stuff though, that's for sure. Some of it is overpriced though, if you ask me. With Rockford there was a time when they made some amazing head units too. Now they've gone to where the money is.
 
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