Need some advICE please !

[monzablau16v 0]

Hello folks!

 

looking to FINALLY sort out the ICE in my car, after two years of driving around with my Sony minidisc player listening to the same ones over and over again :D

 

So i am not looking to go all out on the install and would like to make it looking as stealth as possible. Here are my thoughts:

 

 

1) Head Unit (max budget £250)

Gotta be Alpine as I have an alpine MP3 CD changer (AiNET) already so want to utilise that

Need to be able to connect to my iPhone and other USB devices

Quick search came up with this: Alpine iDA-X305S and its bang on £250...

 

Anyone got any experience of this model? I have had a few Alpines in the past and they have been rock solid.

 

 

2) Front component Speakers (max budget £250)

Looking at keeping the factory 5 1/4" (13cm) size just so i dont need to change doorpods and to keep it looking stealth. Selection from the following:

 

> Rainbow RAINBOW-SLC230 (£230)

> Focal 130VRS (£230)

> Boston Acoustics Pro50se (£280 - just outside of budget but will consider if worth the extra...)

 

slightly cheaper options (will consider if it is not worth paying extra for any of the above..) :

 

> Rainbow Dream Line SAX230.20 (£170)

> Focal 130VR (£199)

 

 

3) AMP

 

so right now i got a few amps from previous builds:

 

Phoenix Gold Titanium 600.2 (2 channel rated at 600W RMS)

Phoenix Gold Titanium 500.4 (4 channel with PG cert showing it is rated at 582W RMS!)

 

Alpine MRV-1005 (2 channel rated at 100w)

Alpine MRV-F307 (4/3/2 channel: 30W per channel into 4ohms / 80W bridged into 4ohms)

 

Need to have them hidden away. So would love to get whatever i choose mounted in passenger footwell (covered and hidden - need to think about airflow / cooling) OR maybe in the rear quarter behind the doorcard - i did this with the PG 600.2 on my old MK2 golf and it worked perfectly

 

4) SUB

 

Again, got these two lying about so would like to just use one of them...

 

 

10" Mac Audio

OR

12" Kicker Solobaric S12L7 (2ohm version)

 

Ideally would like a moulded enclosure in the boot to take up minimum room and retain use of boot.

 

So the dillemma is trying to figure out what combination of amp and speakers to go for that doesnt mean i have gone OTT on the ICE. Id love to use the kicker but then i guess id have to have a bigger enclosure for the sub and that means more space. Plus i think id have to use two amps, one for the components and one for the sub??? OR could i run the components off the headunit and just amp the sub.

 

Any suggestions from people? Basically i am looking for quality sounds, dont really need really loud sounds that knock fillings out of teeth, just crisp punchy bass and clarity!

 

thanks

[G_Dub 0]

I've got the Rainbow SLC230's. I've not got around to putting them into my rado yet but from a previous install I can tell you that they sound amazing.

 

I also used to have a Mac Audio ported sub in my very first install (I think it's in the loft somewhere)) and that always sounded pretty good. This time around I'm gonna build a small custom enclosure and put a 10" Rockford Fosgate Punch sub in it. I previously put one of those into an install I did for my girlfriend and was well impressed with the sound.

[smee 0]

If you can find an audioscape sub enclosure, or fancy making your own, then a 12" in a sealed box shouldn't take up too much room. As for mounting amps, I don't think there's really enough room in the rear quarters - I'd think about a false floor in the boot or a board across the back of the rear seats. Don't think you'll go far wrong with the comps, though I think focal have a reputation for being a bit brighter sounding than the others. Amps wise I'd use the PG Ti's either running the sub and fronts off the 500.4 or running the fronts active off the 500.4 and the sub off the 600.2 (can it run bridged?) though I don't know if they have suitable crossovers. I wouldn't run anything off the amps in the HU. Don't forget a decent run of at least 4AWG power cable too.

[eugopnosaj 0]

If you can find an audioscape sub enclosure, or fancy making your own, then a 12" in a sealed box shouldn't take up too much room. As for mounting amps, I don't think there's really enough room in the rear quarters - I'd think about a false floor in the boot or a board across the back of the rear seats. Don't think you'll go far wrong with the comps, though I think focal have a reputation for being a bit brighter sounding than the others. Amps wise I'd use the PG Ti's either running the sub and fronts off the 500.4 or running the fronts active off the 500.4 and the sub off the 600.2 (can it run bridged?) though I don't know if they have suitable crossovers. I wouldn't run anything off the amps in the HU. Don't forget a decent run of at least 4AWG power cable too.

 

Depends how big your amp is, ive got a sub zero 300w amp that sits nicely behind the passengers rear quarter card :)

[monzablau16v 0]

has anyone got photos of how they have applied sound deadening material to their door skins?

 

 

so far i have done this using roofing flash tape ... just need to know how far to go and if i need any more? I also just found a roll of brownbread material (obviously would have used this instead of the flash tape had i found it sooner) but i wondered if it was worthwhile adding over the top of the already applied flashtape?

 

 

any ideas?

 

taa

[borarob 0]

i've got the alpine model down from the 305 - works brilliantly, would def recommend it. you just need to be sure you can definitely do without a cd mech. no problem for me, like lots of people these days, the only time I touch the CD is to rip it into itunes :lol:

[colinstubbs 0]

Got a PPI amp in the footwell, says it needed 2" clearance for heat disapation but 1.5" seems to do the trick fine see pics

 

2.8l 24v Climatronic system.pdfWhite PPI_Grill (7) (Large).jpg[/attachment:2nb5jxyl]

 

Black PPI (Large).jpg[/attachment:2nb5jxyl] Only proofed the inside of the door myself, couple of layers of Damplifier and then some Spectrum paint on stuff to bridge the gaps. 8)

[monzablau16v 0]

Hi guys, about to start laying cable for my setup. Quick question- can i use the existing oem wiring that goes to the indash tweeters and just re-route them to my component crossover? Or is it just worthwhile laying new separate cable from the x-overs to the tweeters? Thanks!!!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I'd lay new cables mate and leave the OE looms untouched. Easier to revert back to standard if you ever need to :wink:

 

Trust me, the last thing you want is a new owner of your car constantly ringing you asking what wire goes where and why it was cut in the first place, rah rah rah!

 

So you listened to your MD player in the car, with earphones? I did that the other day with my iPhone and the missus was shouting through the sunroof at me that it's illegal. Is it? :shrug:

 

Focals speakers I find a bit bass shy tbh. Rainbows are quite nice. I'd prolly take the Bostons of your choice of 3. Not a fan of the lower end Alpine HUs. See if you can get an older, but higher spec unit from ebay, something like a 9835R is an awesome deck.

It depends on what you want from the system, sound quality is so subjective and obviously thievability is something to consider too.

 

Flashing tape doesn't really work that well if I'm honest, and it's a right f'cker to get off again. It's what I tried first, but later found one layer of proper stuff outperformed 4 layers of flashing tape. Shame Audioscape are no more as they were the boys for this stuff :(

[davidwort 0]

I've used brown-bread in the past and it seems OK, bit on the expensive side though for what it is.

This flashing tape type stuff, or the brown-bread/proper ICE stuff is only really any good at preventing the panel from acting as a sound board, once you stick one layer on any more makes very little difference. What would make a difference is something like the underbonnet foam that actually absorbs certain frequencies (think phone hoods in airports etc, with the boards with holes in - they are tuned to absorb sound frequencies)

but don't use anything too thick that could cause an obstruction in the door or that can absorb moisture, like floor/roof lining felt :)

 

how about expanding foam :cuckoo: :lol:

[monzablau16v 0]

I'd lay new cables mate and leave the OE looms untouched. Easier to revert back to standard if you ever need to :wink:

 

Trust me, the last thing you want is a new owner of your car constantly ringing you asking what wire goes where and why it was cut in the first place, rah rah rah!

 

So you listened to your MD player in the car, with earphones? I did that the other day with my iPhone and the missus was shouting through the sunroof at me that it's illegal. Is it? :shrug:

 

Focals speakers I find a bit bass shy tbh. Rainbows are quite nice. I'd prolly take the Bostons of your choice of 3. Not a fan of the lower end Alpine HUs. See if you can get an older, but higher spec unit from ebay, something like a 9835R is an awesome deck.

It depends on what you want from the system, sound quality is so subjective and obviously thievability is something to consider too.

 

Flashing tape doesn't really work that well if I'm honest, and it's a right f'cker to get off again. It's what I tried first, but later found one layer of proper stuff outperformed 4 layers of flashing tape. Shame Audioscape are no more as they were the boys for this stuff :(

 

 

yeah think that makes good sense... im not one for cutting and shutting either. What i was wondering is if just using the existing cable would impair sound quality or of using new cable would be better - afterall its *just* treble high freq going to the tweeters? But anyways, as you said i think ill just stick in some new cable and leave the existing one there intact in its unmolested state.

 

The minidisc was a headunit Kev, the previous owner actually went and had a sony MD headunit installed - right pita and it had the $hitty control stick abomination stuck on the steering column!

 

hmmm not sure about listening to music in your car with headphones being illegal..sure someone else with the know-how can clear that up.

 

In the end i decided to just utilise my Infinity Perfect 6.1 speakers (had them lying around in the garage for years gathering dust so thought i may as well just use them). Looking at getting some custom doorpod houses made up whilst trying to retain the factory look - more info to come!

 

I just finished modifying the factory tweeter houses to accept the infinity tweety birds, fairly happy with it apart from having to cut the factory tweeter houses (contradicting my previous statement about not wanting to butcher factory stuff :cuckoo: ). Took me about an hour to do.

 

 

Factory tweeter housing with tweeter removed

 

 

 

 

Hole saw used to remove the plastic inner

 

 

 

 

Attached some craft foam to prevent any unwanted vibrations and didnt really want plastic to plastic contact (you can get a whole pack of the foam from poundland - cheap as chips)

 

 

 

 

So my tweeter just sits in the hole and rests on the lip of the foam... perfect fit, if i do say so myself :norty:

 

 

 

 

 

I just added a wee dab (yeah right!) of glue to keep it more secure. Also glued the speaker wire to the tweeter body to give a bit of extra protection to the wire connections (dont want the connecters to the tweeter being damaged whilst installing the tweeters - would hate to have to remove all that glue due to a damaged tweeter!)

 

 

 

tomorrow i think ill try to strip the interior out the car and start laying cables. Wonder if i can get away with not having to remove the glovebox or god forbid, the dash...

[colinstubbs 0]

hmmm not sure about listening to music in your car with headphones being illegal..sure someone else with the know-how can clear that up.

 

:nono: That'll be driving without due care 'a lesser charge than dangerous driving and comes with a punishment of 3-9 penalty points, discretionary disqualification and a fine and a conviction will invariably affect your insurance premium. :nono:

 

...you should be able to route all your tweeters cables without removing the dash or glove box, unless your hands are massive lol