Speaker replacement strategy

[funkle]

Talk to me about those Herz speakers. How did you decide on them?

[donoman]

Originally Posted by ssummers

The area in the body(kick panel) where the speaker sits, there is a small cavity there that is all metal.

Not to threadjack, but I sound deadened this kick panel area this evening as per your suggestion. It wasn't that easy to do, as access is pretty cramped. Gains weren't clear to me. I probably wouldn't do it again.

[ssummers]

Originally Posted by funkle

Talk to me about those Herz speakers. How did you decide on them?

Options for 3 way components with a 6-6.5" driver at the time were very limited. They were a good speaker, at a good price.

Originally Posted by donoman

Not to threadjack, but I sound deadened this kick panel area this evening as per your suggestion. It wasn't that easy to do, as access is pretty cramped. Gains weren't clear to me. I probably wouldn't do it again.

Depends on what you are running, I wouldn't expect anything huge, but when you are running replacement speakers, with more power going to them, it certainly can't hurt. I get a LOT of bass from the kick speakers in our setup. It's odd to me that you claim huge improvements from deadening the doors, which have a mid driver that really produces no bass, and has a nice foam surround behind it, yet you didn't get anything from deadening an area that is all metal behind a low end driver, perhaps it's the stock system's short comings.

It probably didn't produce huge gains for me to sound deaden the trunk in my install, but I was there, had the material, and didn't want to have the "bag of cans in the trunk" sound when it was done.

[donoman]

Originally Posted by ssummers

It's odd to me that you claim huge improvements from deadening the doors

Hi Ssummers, it could be a reduction of road noise from sound deadening doors affecting my perception of the sound system... I'm not sure. Anyway I'm just running the stock stereo components so maybe they are not cavity limited in the kick panels. I figured it was worth a shot, however!

[funkle]

Scope is really creeping. So far I've gotten 2 $3K quotes from people who kind of know what they are doing. They'll both do a good clean job, but probably aren't up to speed on the nuances of tuning & designing a system for this car. But I've just spoken to someone who I think can nail it. He knows the car, and has specific recommendations based on it's limitations. We're looking at around $4.5K now. Seems pretty fair based on the custom work & tuning, but I just gotta say ouch!

[CFoote]

Trust me when I say its worth paying a little more. If you plan on keeping the car, do it. Finding someone that will take their time and do excellent work is worth it down the road. Take it from someone who ventured into car audio when he was 16 and went through MANY installers

Chris

[elerner61]

Originally Posted by funkle

Scope is really creeping. So far I've gotten 2 $3K quotes from people who kind of know what they are doing. They'll both do a good clean job, but probably aren't up to speed on the nuances of tuning & designing a system for this car. But I've just spoken to someone who I think can nail it. He knows the car, and has specific recommendations based on it's limitations. We're looking at around $4.5K now. Seems pretty fair based on the custom work & tuning, but I just gotta say ouch!

I'm curious, what specific components are you planning to use that an installer is going to "tune"? $4.5K does sound like a lot, I'm wondering where your money is being spent.

[ssummers]

Before I decided to tackle my install I got a bid from a very good local shop.

They were going to use all Hertz speakers including the sub, build a "custom" MDF box that would not be trunk space friendly, and I can't recall the amp and HU. Total estimate was about $3600.

I don't have an exact figure but as far as I remember I sunk about $1200 in the HU/amp/speakers/sub/install kit. I shopped around a lot and got great prices on everything. Then I sunk another $300-$400 in the Custom enclosure. Mostly because I used Epoxy resin from West Marine and it was expen$ive.

So I have about $1600 in the hardware, and it took me all of a week at Christmas to do the install. Granted I didn't kill it everyday, but it took a lot of time and effort.

So to have a shop do it you are going to pay a premium for the hardware($2000-$2500), and depending on what is done, there is a fair amount of labor(IMO).

So $4500 isn't too far off for a top shelf install.

[funkle]

Originally Posted by elerner61

I'm curious, what specific components are you planning to use that an installer is going to "tune"? $4.5K does sound like a lot, I'm wondering where your money is being spent.

Morel Tempo Ultra 6.5" 2-way component system speakers

audiomobile gts2110 10" sub in a enclosure in the back, which he says will be much better than 2 6 1/2" subs buried behind the seats.

arc audio xdi-v2 1100.5 5 channel amp

labor: this involves front headunit replacement, front speaker replacement with sound proofing of key areas, custom fabricated amp rack, likely against the front wall partition of the trunk next to the battery with its own beauty panel, and a fiberglass side enclosure, also includes the cost of all wiring, kit, harness, adapters etc etc

The installer actually applies a package discount, so will be more like 3.8K

[elerner61]

I've been very happy with my ARC Audio amplifier. I also agree with the 10" sub strategy. I'm impressed with what I get out of the two 6.5" JL's I have but they will never rock the house.

I guess I don't value enough the amount of time I put into my installs. Hmmmmm, maybe I can sell my wife on the amount of money I've saved by doing my own work and get some brownie points/money back for that new Fat mountain bike I've had my eyes on....

[RitaClark]

Originally Posted by ssummers

The tweeter fit fine, IIRC I had to trim the surround off of the tweeter, then glue it into the mount.

Sound quality is great, I would like to get it tuned, but the wife is happy so that is the true measure of the system. The challenge with a convertible is the settings for the top up are different than the settings with the top down. In other words what sounds great top down, is really bright with the top up. Pretty easy to trim the treble some.

Using the new mic that came with the headunit for handsfree drastically improved that system as well. Much easier to talk to the wife while she is driving, and no exterior noise or interference.

Several things I would do different, not use T-nuts on the MDF in the subwoofers. The Alpine head unit is a good unit, it isn't as seamless from a BT perspective as I would like. I drive an F150 with sync, every time I get in the truck my phone connects via BT. On the Alpine it is hit and miss. I do have a firmware upgrade I need to apply(which is a PITA), just haven't done it. Hopefully it will improve the BT connectivity. So I would investigate other head units to see how they function in this regard. My wife was used to the Alpine interface so that drove my decision on the head unit.

a subwoofer is a great addition to your setup. With the ability to produce amazingly clear bass sounds, your soundscape becomes more rich and immersive, taking your music or multimedia experiences to whole new levels.