IB/Free Air Sub install

[323TOZHP]

Well I finally did it. I got an Infinite Baffle sub firing through my ski port. I have the sedan and the ski port came out with just pounding with my fist. I originally wanted to mount the sub from the inside behind the seats but I was convinced just to mount it from behind in the trunk. I don't understand why more people do not do IB sub installs. It saves space and it goes very low. I tapped into the preouts coming from the sat nav to the trunk. It was very tedious. I cut the pre out cables as BSW suggest but that is a very bad idea. The cables are too short to tie in with using a standard crimp connector. So I used couplers for the speaker outs that worked much better. You just put the original cable through and put your new cable on the other side and press together. Instant splice. However they are a bit bulky and were a pain as well.

I also replaced the front speakers with an old pair of MB Quarts made in Germany. They were the lower end Discus line and 5.25 so are not too exciting but are worlds better than the stock Harmon Kardon speakers.

The sub sounds pretty amazing. It is an older Hertz Air Mille. It blended seemlessly with the front speakers. In other words it doesn't really draw too much attention to itself. I had it in a box in my old 323 and it probably hit a bit harder in the box but in the Infinite Baffle setup it is just very very smooth. I guess I would say its more Sound Quality than SPL, which is just what I wanted. Don't get me wrong it is shaking the car but somehow it doesn't really go boom boom. It just adds bass if that makes any sense. I was very surprised at how low it goes. I think one of the benefits of IB is it goes very low but does not go very high. I expected it to really take over but it hasn't. It just sounds like an extension of the front speakers which don't go very low. I will find a good set of 6.5s to put in the door so they can do the duty down to 80 Hz or so than I think everything will sound pretty much perfect.

I also have a JL W6 10 in a Prowedge box. But I decided not to use it. I used to use one of those in a Van I had. It is an excellent driver. Very fast and very tight. However I had been dying to just do the Free Air setup as it saves so much space. I just can't get my head around sending 500-1000 watts to amplify something in the trunk. The little 10 JLW6 in the Prowedge box would certainly be a nice solution for the ZHP as it has a very small footprint. I should have tried it but I didn't. Another benefit of IB is you don't need a lot of power to run it effectively. Instead of running 500 to 1000 watts to get a driver to work in a small box, you need 150 to 300 watts to get the sound out of an infinite Baffle setup.

I would recommend IB to other E46 owners. The isolation from the trunk is excellent in our cars and is ideal for IB and bad for boxes. The rear deck needs a bit of sealing but that is easily done. The only problem is that not many companies make Free Air drivers any more. I have heard of people using the JL W6 and W7s IB with excellent results.

So there you go. Tap into the preouts in the trunk. Add your amp (JL amps and some others take the high balanced pre inputs directly) Get a piece of MDF or Birch and mount it to the rear seat panel, do some sealing and you will get some HQ bass if you use the right driver. My next project is to install a new Pioneer head unit in the trunk and remote wire the faceplate to the cabin. I was thinking about putting it in the ashtray. The stock sat nav audio is really pretty bad. I tried to like it but its not happening. however I will run it into an Aux on the Pioneer so I will still be able to use it. If I haven't bored you to death and you have made it this far, thanks for reading.

[johnrando]

Congrats on the install and thanks for the review info. Pics?

[323TOZHP]

I will get some pics up asap. I want to sort out the rear carpet going over the sub first. I have got the audio bug and I am already itching to cut the doors and put some good 6.5s in.

[323TOZHP]

I put some Dynaudio 162s and tweets in. I wanted to cut the doors and use rings to do it right but I got impatient and just mounted them to the stock plastic rings. I cut the speaker rather than the speaker mounting post. These damn ZHPs. Any other car and I would have not been too worried about modifying it. But there is something about these cars that screams don't touch me. But anyways, I got the speakers in. They are probably a bit too powerful for a door panel install and I have no doubt they would sound better with cutting the doors. Now I can hear the severe limitations of the stock Sat Nav stereo. The speakers sound good and I am getting a lot of midbass. The sub is still sounding quite invisible. It only rears its ugly head when things go very low. Next project is to install a Pioneer head unit in the trunk, and wire the faceplate to the front and try and put it in the ashtray. That way I can keep the stock look. I haven't measured the ash tray yet but I am hoping it will fit..

[Go Horns!]

I put some Dynaudio 162s and tweets in. I wanted to cut the doors and use rings to do it right but I got impatient and just mounted them to the stock plastic rings. I cut the speaker rather than the speaker mounting post. These damn ZHPs. Any other car and I would have not been too worried about modifying it. But there is something about these cars that screams don't touch me. But anyways, I got the speakers in. They are probably a bit too powerful for a door panel install and I have no doubt they would sound better with cutting the doors. Now I can hear the severe limitations of the stock Sat Nav stereo. The speakers sound good and I am getting a lot of midbass. The sub is still sounding quite invisible. It only rears its ugly head when things go very low. Next project is to install a Pioneer head unit in the trunk, and wire the faceplate to the front and try and put it in the ashtray. That way I can keep the stock look. I haven't measured the ash tray yet but I am hoping it will fit..

Have you thought of using a processor instead of another head unit.

http://www.jlaudio.com/cl441dsp-car-audio-oem-integration-98110

[323TOZHP]

Thanks for asking. I thought about the MS-8 but I don't see the point in trying to turn a sows ear into a silk purse. I was going to get something like the Pioneer DEH 80 so I can have bluetooth as well as HD radio. It has time alignment as well, although perhaps not as elaborate as the JBL unit. I would plug the stock unit into the auxiliary ports. I am just hoping I can extend the faceplate. I am certainly open to suggestions though. What processor would you get?

[brewer90]

I'm curious to see your plan to remote mount the faceplate. I'd like to go to a single DIN unit for better ipod connectivity and a2dp but don't really like they way they look mounted in the dash. I've also thought Dynavin but I don't need nav and they cost an awful lot. I cut my doors for speakers but don't want to cut into the HVAC for a double din so your approach sounds very interesting. Keep us updated!

[Go Horns!]

Thanks for asking. I thought about the MS-8 but I don't see the point in trying to turn a sows ear into a silk purse. I was going to get something like the Pioneer DEH 80 so I can have bluetooth as well as HD radio. It has time alignment as well, although perhaps not as elaborate as the JBL unit. I would plug the stock unit into the auxiliary ports. I am just hoping I can extend the faceplate. I am certainly open to suggestions though. What processor would you get?

If you want time alignment, MS-8. If you don't care about it, then cleansweep.

The problem for the radio is not the head unit, it is the amp in the trunk. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=885975 and http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=904301&highlight=

[323TOZHP]

I have already replaced the amp. The head unit just does not sound very exciting to me. I don't see the point of adding a processor to clean up what I perceive to be an less than ideal signal coming out of the stock radio. However it would make life much easier and I appreciate the thought. I have just been thinking this through over and over and the stock stereo and some other add on like a media bridge is not going to make me happy enough. The Pioneer Deh-80 does have time alignment and allows you to do a 3 way active setup if one wants. In my last E46 I bought a modest Pioneer with bluetooth and HD radio and ran it into an old Alpine amp. I became so spoiled by streaming audio via bluetooth. Not the best quality perhaps, but it worked for me. I put Diamond Hex 5.25s in the panels and the same Hertz driver in a box in the trunk. It sounded great. I think quite a bit of it had to do with the head unit. Or should I say having a Loudness button. A big problem with the ZHP is that wonderful exhaust. If I listen to the system without the car on it sounds very nice with a good clean punchy bass. Soon as I start the car it all goes away. I don't listen at very loud volumes and I think having a Loudness button does give a fuller sound at lower volumes. If I install a new head unit in the trunk, I can still plug the stock Sat Nav audio into the AUX input and process the sound. However I don't think I will be listening to the stock audio much. I will probably be listening to HD radio and bluetooth audio from my iPhone audio to the Pioneer. As far as extending the faceplate I will have to butcher a new stereo and connect wires internally to move the faceplate to the front of the car. It seems like the best plan as the Ariel connection as well as all of the stock stereo feed is in the trunk. Then I can set the sat nav to display the map or fuel consumption or whatever else. I use Tomtom on my iPhone for my Sat Nav so the stock stereo has become pretty much redundant for me. If it works, it could be a very nice solution for many E46 owners. I just hope I don't fry the stereo in the process. My next dilemma is whether to make bigger holes in the door to put the Dynaudio midrange in.

[323TOZHP]

I am noticing more and more that the stock Sat Nav head unit sounds ok when the car is off. As soon as I start driving or turn it up it seems to attenuate the bass and increase the midrange. I know it increases the volume depending on cabin noise but it is the rearranging of the EQ that is driving me up the wall.

[Go Horns!]

Do you have the button that looks like a speaker on? It is on the heated seat row.

[323TOZHP]

Actually I will have to check. I remember playing with that button before lol. Would that still work without the factory amp? I am determined to do the Pioneer in the trunk install. I have confirmed that the faceplate can be extended and there is plenty of space in the trunk rack for the head unit. Also the DEH-80 has an Aux in on the back so I can plug the pre outs from my stock Sat Nav into it and not lose the stock radio. Although I will probably never use it much. PAC make a converter for the variable balanced outputs so the signal should be ok using the Aux in. I have cut holes in the door (cringe) to let the 6.5s breath, but have yet to make rings to mount them to the door. It definitely added more low end to the midwoofers and the door is not vibrating quite so much. I also got one of the Dynaudio midranges in (cringe cringe) and I used a MB Quart mid grill on it and it doesn't look too out of place aside from how big it is. I realise I am probably repeating myself quite a bit with all of this but I can't seem to rest until its done. I also had no idea how time consuming all of this would be.

[323TOZHP]

I thought I would share a pic of the Dynaudio midrange in the door. Probably not the highest quality. Yes I know some of you may say "How could he do that to a ZHP?" But I thought that the old midrange would just be there doing nothing since I replaced woofs and tweets. I had the midranges and I thought I may as well put them in. I had no idea of the stress this would cause. Enlarging the hole wasn't too bad. The Dynaudio midranges are a bit more shallow than the stock midrange so depth wasn't a problem. However it was a nightmare trying to find grills for them. The domes are HUGE. I was very fortunate to find a set of MB Quart grills for a 4" mid. I had to buy the speakers to get them but it had to be done. I actually prefer them to the Dynaudio grills as they do have an almost stock German look to them. But they are monstrosities. I haven't hooked them up yet. I am liking the Dynaudios more and more. I am hoping that when I actually connect the midranges that it will be even better than the two way. Everything becomes so complicated by adding the midrange. It is so difficult to find an active crossover solution as many head units and amps have a two way plus sub in mind. What I thought would be perhaps a days job of putting speakers and an amp in have turned into 3 weeks of obsession. It is ridiculous how time consuming all of this has been. But I am hoping in the end it will be worth it. I picked up some old school PPI amps and they sound very very detailed. But of course they don't want to play nice with the Differential Balanced output from the Sat Nav. I probably should have stuck to JL as they accept the stock output very well. So here it is. A big ugly midrange in the middle of my door.

http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd483/theremoteguy/Dyn.jpg

[323TOZHP]

By the way. The button was on, however it doesn't do anything as I have bypassed the stock amp. But it is interesting that its the stock amp that readjusts itself to change the sound.

[Go Horns!]

German Audio Specialties just developed a passive crossover for BMWs. I do not know if it will work for you, but it would not hurt to ask them. https://www.facebook.com/germanaudiospecialties?hc_location=timeline