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My name is Jay Gold
Member dB Dragracing '01, '02, prospect in '09
The Car:
2002 Cheverolet Cavalier Coupe
"Betty"
The Source
Pioneer deh-p8600mp

features:
Tuner/CD/MP3 player
3 pair 4V preouts w/non fading subwoofer
13 band graphic equalizer
adjustable 5 channel timing alignment
auto EQ and timing alignment
adjustable HPF/LPF
The Front Stage
2 pair Cerwin-Vega! Vega65cs
6.5" component speakers in custom Q Q-Logic kick panels

240wrms total of power handling


The Subwoofer
2nd Generation 15" Cerwin-Vega Stroker 15d2

dual 2ohm coils
1200wrms/7000wmax
The Amplifiers
2 Generation XXV HiFonics Colossus 3200d's and Zues ZX6400

1ohm stable class d monoblock amplifiers
3200wrms each
2ohm stereo/4ohm mono stable multi-channel amplifier
85x4 at 4ohms/340x2 bridged
The Installation

The OEM altenator was replaced by a 315A H.O. altenator from Nations Auto Electric


The altenator, battery and amplifiers are connected and grounded using Knukonceptz 0/1g KLMX power cable. The headunit is connected and grounded using 12g Knukonceptz Klear Kable power cables.

The entire dash must come off in order to reach and replace the necessary parts for my new stereo. There's no a whole lot of room to work with, especially with 3 sets of rca cables.

RCA to IP-BUS adapter for my Sansa e280 10GB MP3 player.

The custom Q Q-logic kick panels were bought to match my vehicle. The component set came with the 6.5" midwoofer, a 1" aluminum dome tweeter, and 12db/oct crossover network.

Only minor cutting of the floor trim was required to fit the custom Q kickpanels in.


The door panels and the doors were lined with 2 layers of FatMat sounddeadening.


The distrobution block is made out of 3/4" mdf and 1/2" copper blocks.


The enclosure pieces were cut from 96"x48" sheets of 3/4" mdf.


All the pieces cut and the enclosure assembled.

The enclosure in and 4 layers of FatMat sealing of the enclosure and rear deck.

After carpeting the sealed of mini-wall, the subwoofer is ready to go in.

With the finishing touches, installing the subwoofer and enclosure is complete.

Some of the wires connected to the distrobution block mounted in the sparetire well of the trunk.

With not much room to spare, both Colossus amplifiers and the Zues amplifier barely fit in the confines of my Cavalier's trunk. The trunk lid is lined with 2 layers of FatMat as well. I intend on finishing the carpet on the amp rack as soon as the weather clears up in Cleveland.
The Setup
My Pioneer headunit has 6.5V non-clipping rca pre-outs. The monoblock amplifier has an input sensitvity upto 9V while the multi-channel amplifier has an input sensitivity upto 6V. The gains on the monoblocks are turned upto to less than 1/3 gain, while the multi-channel is all the way down. The internal and external HPF are set to 50Hz both featuring 12db/oct slopes for a steeper cutoff. The internal and external LPF are set to 50Hz for the subwoofer, featuring an internal 18db/oct slope while the amp itself has a 24db/oct slope. The Pioneer has an adjustable non-fading subwoofer control allowing for easyily adjustable bass levels.
My front stage are entry level, but for the money I could be happier. I paid $65 for the pair, and they handle 100w of musical power without any problems. These components illuminate my car with the lively musical sound, probably the best quality of sound that i've had in my ride, which isn't saying much from an SPL competitor. Imaging from the auto-timing alignment places me center stage at my favorite concerto. Though a higher quality component set may be necessary to get the Home Theatre quality sound I'm looking for, future upgrades look definite. I am considering Diamond Audio, CDT, Cadence, and possibily Phoenix Gold as future components for my ride. 4/14/09, I have purchased (2) pair of Cerwin-Vega Vega component sets. There will be some minor custom work necessary to get the install completed, but nothing i can't handle.
The Stroker! subwoofer was originally designed for Professional Audio, but some mad genius discovered it worked pretty well in a car too. I have been running Cerwin-Vega! since 1998 and have nothing but good things to say about them. I still have my orginal pair of 15's that have seen a combined 14000w+ without every failing, though years of abuse have shown thru with visible wear and tear. Since C-V! no longer makes recone kits for the original stroker, I began my search to find some sort of replacement. I found Legacy Sound and Stage in Virginia Beach, Va. They use a high density cone and high excursion foam rubber surround and the same 3" dual 2ohm voice coils. When I got it back I had to look twice, it looked friggin' awesome. So how did it sound? Pretty amazing. It's added weight lowers sensitivity a little but the added excursion seems to even it out in the end. It's high range response is not as great as the original due to the heavy cone, but it seems to have a deep natural tone that the orginal seems to lack. The enclosure was built to deliver high level SPL while having deep tuning to retain that high-Q sound that is tight and accurate.
The overall install, with the exception of the unfished trunk, in fact, that included, is the best quality install I have done with my own to hands. I think it was easier hitting 160dB's than it is has been to get that high quality sound that I have been striving for recently, since before all that mattered was bass. I have matured since those days I think, and now I want to be able to hear ALL of the music, lol!