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Go Horns!
02-14-2012, 01:21 PM
I wanted to do the install myself, but I could never find the time on the weekend. Plus living in an apartment is not conducive to getting something done halfway and finishing the next day. So I broke down and paid the local stereo shop to install it. I just got tired of looking at over a $1,000 of equipment sitting in my living room. Happy to say, they got it done and it sounds great.

The head unit (JVC KD-A925BT):
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6877360071_bc6899e478_z.jpg
I used the bmw euro bracket so the HU would be centered. BMW Part no. 65900410495. I bought mine from ECS. I bought the HU because it does time alignment, can color match, and has a front USB input. I bought an iphone holder for the AC vent off of Amazon. Was originally planning on trying to make a home made iphone mount for the ashtray, but I decided I want the iphone higher and in my field of vision.

Sorry but I have no pics of the speaker install. I did get to stop by the shop half-way through the install and they cut holes in the doors and mounted to the doors using MDF rings. They also put a layer of foam around the outside of the woofer. The speakers I used are Morel Dotech Oviation 6 for the front and Morel Tempo 6 co-axial for the rear, and I could not be happier with the clarity. I put in a CD that used to make my HK speakers distort because of the electronic bass, and the Morels took it with no problem. One thing I did to help the staging is disable the tweeter on the Tempos (mid-bass is crossed at 3800 hz).

Sub and trunk:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7067/6877360129_b7a5221c15_z.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6877360189_e848430207_z.jpg

The amplifier is mounted upside down on the rear-deck. Boston Acoustic GT-5750; 5-channels and drives everything. The sub is a Rockford P210d4. The sub is the one area where I am not 100% satisfied. I would prefer more bass, but I think that would require a ported box, and I do not want to sacrifice the trunk space or block off my new home-made ski-pass. The sub more than fills in the lower end, I'm just greedy and want more bass. I am spoiled because my Tahoe has a down-firing 8 in the front.

All in all, I am very happy. One of the best things I did in prep was drive around for a year before touching the stereo to know everything that I wanted. And if you are on the fence on whether replacing the factory speakers and amp would be worth it, it is.

johnrando
02-14-2012, 01:25 PM
Nice! Good to know it's worth it.

UdubBadger
02-14-2012, 02:37 PM
looks good.

best looking mounting plate for a single din I've seen on an e46. normally used to seeing it flopped over to one side, front and center is a much cleaner look.

Ryans323i
02-14-2012, 03:22 PM
Glad you finally got everything handled. The overall install including the speaker in the trunk looks really really clean. You're giving me ideas! Bet it sounds amazing!

midlandtech
02-14-2012, 03:31 PM
If you want a ported box designed I have a program that I use to design boxes and can design one for ya. The one I made do my Orion 10's is tuned to 33Hz and gets nasty low... Feed it a 35-40 Hz test tone and the rear deck flexes a good inch... I did the home grown skipass too and it really helps get bass into the cabin I took a 15 inch speaker grill and cut it so it fit over the opening


~Steve
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

UdubBadger
02-14-2012, 04:46 PM
^ sounds awesome

Go Horns!
02-14-2012, 07:38 PM
I took a 15 inch speaker grill and cut it so it fit over the opening

Pic please.

Go Horns!
02-14-2012, 07:41 PM
I think I am going to wait a while on changing the sub. Give this one a chance to break in. Plus the ZHP sounds so good, the Tahoe is getting a stereo upgrade so it does not jealous.

midlandtech
02-14-2012, 07:50 PM
will get it tomorrow after classes...

Go Horns!
02-16-2012, 06:36 PM
If you want a ported box designed I have a program that I use to design boxes and can design one for ya. The one I made do my Orion 10's is tuned to 33Hz and gets nasty low... Feed it a 35-40 Hz test tone and the rear deck flexes a good inch... I did the home grown skipass too and it really helps get bass into the cabin I took a 15 inch speaker grill and cut it so it fit over the opening

I found two different prefab boxes made by audio enhancers I'm considering. I put the specs in WinISD and one has -3db at 32 Hz and the other has -3db at 40 Hz. The 40 Hz box, however, has 2 more peak db. Any thoughts on which would sound better? Here are the boxes:

http://www.audioenhancers.com/driverspecific/vjl130.php - 32 Hz box

http://www.audioenhancers.com/driverspecific/pb110.php - 40 Hz box

I'm thinking with the first one I could position it to fire through the ski-pass and then slide it over when I need to use the ski-pass. The sub is a Rockford Fosgate P210D4.

midlandtech
02-16-2012, 09:10 PM
both boxes seem like they are tuned pretty high but I would go for the one that drops off at 32 Hz the human ear can pick up frequency from 20-20000K Hz however the volume needed to hear in the range of 20-30 Hz is substantial and usually not reproducible in a car (unless your running lots of woofers and wattage) Music is typically in the 30-18000 range (there are exceptions but the vast majority is within this range) your output on Rap/dubstep type music will definitely increase close to the level of doubling also if you don't see an increase in output by facing the woofer into the cabin sometimes facing it to the rear will yield better output due to the wave reflecting back which can yield a 3 dB increase in output as an example take your cell phone play some music through its speakers while holding it in your hands then take it to the nearest corner in your room and fire the speaker into the corner the output will seem to almost double

Go Horns!
02-21-2012, 05:55 PM
No longer disappointed in the subwoofer. Did some modeling of the sub in WiniSD Pro and played around with the effects of the crossovers. Switched from a -12 db crossover at 80 Hz to -24 db at 100 Hz and made a big difference.

zhp43867
03-11-2012, 04:50 PM
It looks great! I bet it sounds really good too.