Audio System

The car has seen quite a few different stages in the audio setup.  It originally had the Bose system from the factory...not bad, but not what I am used to listening to.  I am an audiophile from way back, and needed more than the Bose could offer... 

First stage was to put in all of the older equipment that I had.  Alpine CDA9857, Alpine Type R seperates, Kicker CVR-12, and a Memphis Belle amp.  The H/U had IPOD interface built in, and I also added a SIRIUS interface with a lifetime membership as well. Sound deadening sheets were applied to the doors, trunk, trunk lid, and rear deck.  This was a definite improvement, but I had already budgeted for new gear and started on the hunt...

In the end, I decided on Zapco equipment.  Pricey, but excellent quality.  The single amplifier is a 6 channel design with all digital control.  It is tuned via computer connection, and I use my laptop to make adjustments for crossover, time delay, eq, gain, etc.  The little processor mounted under the H/U is capable of adjustments too, but I use it mostly for an access point to the system and to switch between the custom preset settings(5).  The H/U shown here was added in August  2008, and is an Alpine CDA9886

The stock battery was upgraded  to an Optima Blue Top to help with the amp's current needs.

The front component sets are mounted in the stock locations .  The rear mids are in the doors, and the tweeters are installed in the C pillars. 

I have to admit to being lazy in the beginning, and just mounting the amp to the top of the box...No pics of that stage.  I thought about doing a full trunk installation, but with a family, I need the capability of removing the box on occasion.  Pic above is after I had decided to clean everything up.  Custom built box that unfortunately did not work out...my cats love it though ;)

Back to the older box...Had an issue with the amp shutting down due to heat.  The fan shroud was made by my neighbor, and is 1/4" aluminum.  I will probably send the shroud out to get anodized black.  I also installed a steering wheel interface to the Alpine to allow the use of the factory buttons.

Kicker spoke style grilles.

2009 Audio Upgrade...

 BASSFORMS

These are what my wife bought me for Xmas this year (2008), and also my birthday.    They sound awesome, and I have a lot more room back in my trunk!  I tried covering them with the material from an OE trunk mat, but could not get the material to stretch enough.  Ended up using gray trunkliner material from a local stereo shop.  It is pretty close in color to the carpeted mat that is back on the floor.

Zapco R12H subs.  Too good a deal to pass up, but I will need another amp to really be able to drive them.  Dual 2 ohm voice coils, and 1000w RMS each.  Turns out that the internal volume of the Bassforms is perfect for them.  Unfortunately, they are a metric size, and slightly over a standard 12" woofer, so my grilles don't fit.

 March 2009...Zapco DC1000.4 added to power the new subs.  The older amp is now running the mids and tweets.  Everything is run on active crossovers.         

April 2009...Well, the amp for the subs is getting a little too warm in it's current location.  I came up with a pretty 'cool' idea for putting fans on both of them.  Works well because the fans sit app 3/4 of an inch off of the amps when the trunk is closed.  When the trunk is open, the fans are rotated out of the way with the deck lid so that the amps can be viewed.  The fans are switched on via the remote wire from the deck on a simple relay circuit.

 I am playing around with speaker positioning inside the car now...I have a set of tweets in the factory locations that are aimed in slightly different angles than the OE ones were.  I am using my other set as a more of a center channel.  The front tweet in the dash really helps to solidify the soundstage in the front of the car, and the one in the rear gives just enough to fill out the sound in the car.

 -FUTURE AUDIO UPGRADES-