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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:
--- Quote from: NewF on May 03, 2018, 10:00:40 PM ---Fixed the photos.
--- End quote ---
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.
--- Quote from: NewF on May 03, 2018, 10:00:40 PM ---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!
--- End quote ---
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.
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