Car Audio!

[NewF]

I've been working on these monsters for quite a while now. A few months, and quite a bit of money later, I'm the proud owner of my dream system.
Currently running two 12" JL W7 subs powered by a single JL 1000/1 V2 amp (Getting the second one this Sunday!)
Subs rated at a pure 1000 watts RMS each, amp outputs 1000 watts total (Which is why I need the second amp for these monsters)

Normally, I kinda figured it'd be as easy as any other stereo system to install. Unfortunately, I was wrong. There's a shitload of time and money needed to be spent to get these things fully powered. You need specific wiring (zero gauge pure copper), multiple batteries (Running 2 at the moment, will need a third when I get my second amp) Multiple grounds to the frame and alternator (Zero gauge as well) Then had to get a higher voltage deck. The generic 2 volt just wouldn't cut it. So had to get a higher end double din touch screen high voltage deck as well.
 
After all said and done, you then need to soundproof/rattle proof the car. Dynamat to the rescue. But takes a hell of a long time to get it all installed properly (I'm still not complete with mine yet) Then...There's the problem with the speakers literally blowing my trunk lid open from the power. I need to find a fix for that. I drive down the road with my stereo on, and poof, trunk pops open. Happens constantly, drives me insane. I guess it's kind of a good problem to have, but at the same time, fuckin' annoying.
So, a few months, thousands of dollars later, my baby is almost complete. Even though it was a lot of work and headaches with all the extra BS, I still love my system and wouldn't trade it for anything.
I'll post some videos of it in action in a bit. In the meantime, here's some pics -


















And one extra......Yes, I've cracked my windshield with the stereo already....Forgot to put my windows down. Oops.


Also, sorry, my car and equipment are a bit dirty, didn't bother to clean yet, lol.

[Spectere]

Photobucket's being a dick right now, so I can't see anything. >_<

And yeah, from the sound of it, that does sound like it would take a lot of planning and effort to get everything working well. Sounds like a pretty killer setup!

My system is a bit more modest. I'm currently driving a 2012 Honda Civic EX with the Premium sound package. Now normally I'd roll my eyes at that, especially after experiencing the exceedingly meh GM Monsoon sound package, but this one actually sounds pretty good! The highs are crisp (and can reach ear splitting levels) and the mids are solid. The main issue is that the shelf-mounted factory subwoofer is a bit lacking.

My dad had an amp he wasn't using, so I ended up installing a 10" Polk db1040DVC sub. While my car does have a separate amp (which is kind of surprising in my experience, even for an upgraded factory system) I didn't really want to have to run too much wiring back to the trunk, so I just plugged the factory subwoofer harness into an LOC, adjusted the levels, and pushed that into the amp. Power is simple to run on 9th gen Civics, to the point where it almost looks like they intend for you to do that. Just pop off the false pedal on the driver side and you can easily run thick gauge wire directly to the battery. From there, you just take off a couple of trim pieces, run it under the backseat, and that's about it.

The factory amp pushes about 200W RMS (400W peak) to the six in-cabin speakers, which is more than enough for my needs. The sub amp can manage 350W RMS (700W peak) at 2Ω impedance, so as long as I keep the levels fairly balanced they tend to compliment each other very well. I have to give Honda credit for not skimping on the alternator on those cars. Even with that much extra load I get minimal headlight dimming, even in spite of the fact that the 2012 Civic uses power-sucking HID bulbs. If I converted to LED they wouldn't so much as flicker.

I'm also pleasantly surprised that I don't get any annoying rattles. If I were pushing 500-600W RMS with 12s I'm sure I would, but it's fine with my single 10" woofer. On some frequencies I've heard the rear license plate frame buzz a bit, but it doesn't happen often enough to be annoying.

Definitely not the loudest system I've seen, but it works well enough for me.

[NewF]

Fixed the photos.
And also, I'm surprised. For a stock system running 200W rms? That's pretty awesome, especially for a stock system. Not bad at all!

[Bobbias]

2010 ford focus SEL with whatever is stock at that trim. Sounds kinda ok. At this age plenty of plastic pieces rattle either at certain frequencies or just from driving. Its not outright painful, but not the nicest experience lol.

[Spectere]

Fixed the photos.

Damn, that's a clean setup. Very nice job on the wiring! I can't imagine the "fun" you must have went through trying to run power back there.

How are you liking that Pioneer deck, by the way? My parents are looking into that model so that they could connect their phones via CarPlay for navigation.

And also, I'm surprised. For a stock system running 200W rms? That's pretty awesome, especially for a stock system. Not bad at all!

The amp is technically pushing out 360W RMS. The shelf subwoofer consists of 160W of that, and given that I'm running a separate sub now it's basically wasted power.

The thing that surprises me even more about it is that the speakers don't sound like deflated bags of shit. I remember being gobsmacked when I listened to GM's "premium sound" system and realizing that the budget system I threw together in my old Saturn for a couple hundred bucks blew the socks off of it. The Honda system is surprisingly well-rounded, albeit a bit weak in the bass department.

To be fair, I get why they put in a shelf subwoofer. They wanted a system that wouldn't take up any additional truck space. It sounds decent for what it is, but I'm glad I upgraded.

[Zephlar]

Aw shit. What you bumpin?

[vladgd]

Got the whole block bumpin?

[NewF]

Damn, that's a clean setup. Very nice job on the wiring! I can't imagine the "fun" you must have went through trying to run power back there.

How are you liking that Pioneer deck, by the way? My parents are looking into that model so that they could connect their phones via CarPlay for navigation.

Thanks. I actually just got my second amplifier and had a TON of work to do to get it all mounted up together. Not the cleanest job yet, but I'm working on making it look good.



As for the deck, it's awesome man. Great power, great EQ customization, clean sounding and absolutely perfect for hands free voice control and everything else. Very happy with the deck.

As for my new setup, I'll update and upload more pics when its complete.
And wow....When I connected the second amplifier....What a difference.
Sound quality is through the ROOF! Loudness is even louder and it sounds absolutely amazing.
My next problem......The subwoofers are so loud, that they've actually flexed my speaker box apart on both sides. So now I need to buy some carpenters glue and get some wood reinforcements for the box so the speakers doesn't blast it apart again.
Next problem - The subs also blast my trunk lid open. I tried buying a new trunk latch, but same problem. I need to find a way to re-inforce my trunk lock so it doesn't blast it open now. Annoying, but a good problem to have I guess, hahaha.

Aw shit. What you bumpin?

I play a bunch of different varieties of music, but now am focusing on the nice, super clean bass tracks.
One of my favorite is -

Such a good clean bass to it.

[Spectere]

Thanks. I actually just got my second amplifier and had a TON of work to do to get it all mounted up together. Not the cleanest job yet, but I'm working on making it look good.

Always best to do a rough hookup to make sure it works first!

As for the deck, it's awesome man. Great power, great EQ customization, clean sounding and absolutely perfect for hands free voice control and everything else. Very happy with the deck.

Sweet, I'll let my dad know. Considering Kia usually overrates their speakers and underrates their head units big time, they should get a nice quality boost out of it, too.

My next problem......The subwoofers are so loud, that they've actually flexed my speaker box apart on both sides.

Holy shit.

[NewF]

Yeah, so now that I got some time today, I'm gonna reinforce the hell out of the box, and bolt it down as well. Hopefully it'll work, cause I really don't wanna buy new material and make a whole new box.

[NewF]

Am I doing something wrong? I wanted to make a post and show updates to my system, but any image link I try to set in here, it doesn't work. What can I do to fix this? I wanna show you guys my final system!

[Spectere]

What error are you getting?

[Spectere]

I just fished your post out of the deleted posts bin with my Admin Powers™. I figured you wouldn't mind me reposting it with corrected links.

So.....I decided to go all out. After fixing my speaker box, I got my second amp so the speakers can run at full potential. Had to connect a second battery, more wiring, all that fun stuff. In the end, it was just a big 'ol rats nest, so I decided to clean it up and make it look good.
Here is my final result. Finally achieved my dream system of Two 12" JL W7's, two JL 1000/1 v2 series amps and made it look good. Built the shelf with a friend, then painted it and got custom vinyl decals made up for it so it wouldn't look so plain. Then upped the ante with some nice fresh looking LED's. What you guys think?
It sounds amazing, perfect crisp bass and insanely loud. I fuckin' love it.
I'll post some videos later on when I get the chance.

[Spectere]

triple post

And yeah, that's a pretty slick setup! I like the design of the amp rack. The green LEDs are nice, too! Seems like most people stick with either red or blue, so it's nice to see something different.

[NewF]

Thanks. Yeah, I always see red and blue, I wanted to switch it up. And I've always liked green better, it's much more bright and glowy compared to the others.