CRISPICS of musical aspiration... (Vol. I~?)

[crispone]

Are you gonna be in town for a meet this Spring/Summer so some of us can see this setup in person? Maybe put in some Jonas Brothers and go bumping around the town at 5 miles per hour with the doors wide open sometime?

I'll DEFINITELY try to make a meet or two this spring/summer! When I get the old supra running (stuck valve) I'll be starting in on THAT system too... plenty of old equipment laying around waiting for another install now!

Infinity RSA450 amp
Kenwood KAC921 amp
Memphis M-series monoblock (300wRMS@2ohm)
Pioneer GM200 (a little week... compared to the GM-H 200!)
Precision Power - model? (Like the old PPI high-current)
Memphis 6x9 coaxes (Kevlar)
Alpine H/U
Pioneer cass/changer H/U
Coustic passive x-over net

...and a HOST of other subs, speakers, and miscellaneous laying around!


I don't know if it's GOOD that I keep hanging on to my old stuff... or if I should be UNLOADING it! It's nice to keep it around for experimentation, anyway...


-crisp

[crispone]

So I received the MTX 8500 sub from YESCA within a couple days of our deal... and decided to brave the COLD to install it right away. I found that the enclosure for the current Boston Acoustics G-Tuned (G2 sub) had dimensions that crossed over the tuning designs for the MTX unit, so I figured I'd just drop it in and try it!

The MTX is a SUBSTANTIALLY larger/DEPTH (and HEAVIER) speaker, and I had to TRIM about 1/8" all the way around to get it to JUST slip in. No sweat! (The BA sub will STILL fit and fasten no problem, if I need to revert back or move the BA complete at a later date... especially if I build a custom enclosure...)

...anyway...

It looks GREAT and after a quick "dry-wired" test, confirmed that it works JUST FINE in the Boston Acoustics tuned BOX before I "button" it all back up!


Next I set it back in the car facing forward, reworked my entire equalization and gain controls for the system, along with the sub cutoff and intensity for awhile. Man, I LOVE the sound shaping capabilities of the OLD Kenwood KGC6042 EQ! GREAT for a tri-amp setup, too.








...as for the SOUND... all I can say is, coupled with the 1000 watt (600RMS) MCD-1000 Memphis monoblock, running 2 ohm in parallel configuration on the DVC (4ohm x 2) terminals of the MTX sub, the LOW bass delivery is really effortless on probably 95% of my music at just about any listenable volume, and barely begins to "work it" when REALLY driven hard... simply STELLAR over anything I've run previously.


WOOT!



(SPECIAL thanks to YESCA for the great deal and service!)



-crisp

[crispone]

Well, as some followers in here may recall... my wife backed into my 'lara door on the passenger side last month. I take the car to the shop on Monday, and didn't want the nice, JUST INSTALLED component BA's to get damaged... so I tore it all out.







^^^ I had a HECK of a time pulling the cross-over nets out... since I had "set" them in place in the door with the adhesive backed hush-mat. It took me 10 minutes just to PICK and PEEL the darn stuff off the x-overs after they came out of the door! DOH!

...then I began to think of how much the body shop would dis-assemble from the vehicle... and realized I should just pull the whole system.

Good chance to "re-organize" the amp board and wiring, anyway...




^^^ Sub pulled... the backboard keeps it a nice, discrete arrangement.

...behind the backboard... the prior mount was a bit messy... and I wanted to put the OLD ORION amp up front next to the OLD GM-H and make it look nice.





^^^ That amp board setup was from James... (Prodigy) ...and it DEFINITELY serves the purpose on this car! GREAT flexibility, and the ability to "modularize" the "AMP BOARD"... enables a relatively quick removal, and allow me to "rebuild" the system layout from INSIDE the house... where it's WARM!


-crisp

[crispone]

^^^ I started picturing several different configurations that made wiring arrangement more "efficient" and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. I wanted minimal power/ground line runs, with a focus on integrating my new dry cell battery, and keep the cap at the same time.

Ultimately, I intend to put at LEAST a 2 Farad cap in the line-up, but I figure it will wire RIGHT into the spot I have my current one. (It's a "cheepo"...)

I am also focused on ELIMINATING a VERY prominent "whirrr" (including alternator noise AND ignition interference...) through better distribution and grounding. (Ever since I changed my amps around recently...)

I suspect the noise is from the compulsory FAN in the GM-H200... but as a sub-amp, it didn't carry through the speakers... but on the rear 6x9's, it's completely unbearable! (I MAY have to put a noise filter on the secondary BATT line to the amp. I think it powers the fan, and needs isolated with a noise filter... that MAY have been on the original harness... which I don't have.)

...anyway...




I laid all my stuff out to get started...

...and photographed my OLD wiring for the record and reference if needed in the future...










^^^ My 20 or so year old Orion SX had the REALLY old school style WIRES coming OUT of the housing for power and ground. GOOD grade wire, for sure! ...but having been nipped and mounted so many times, they were needing a little TLC. The OTHER old-style feature was an EXTERNAL fuse bus... so I installed it INTERNALLY, and added EXTRA wire length between 8-12" inside the case that can be "drawn out" if more line is needed. After the one photo, I went back with 3M electrical vinyl tape and wrapped the butt connectors as well...



^^^ I did some initial wiring to see how it would look... and thought this was pretty clean.




^^^ With the FRONT of the amp board looking pretty ready... I decided to turn my attention to the backside...




...I stripped everything off the board, mounted the NEW MCD-1000 and began to orient wires...

If you look back at the diagrams I drew up... I worked out the "symmetry" of the components to help lay out the wiring THROUGH the board from front-to-rear and so on... it worked out pretty well, and led to several further enhancements in the wiring arrangement.





^^^ Well, I'm really happy with the latest progress... and expect to do a little more tomorrow afternoon...


-crisp

[Aotoyota]

so after a few dizzying scroll up and downs.. great job!

but im curious what the two memphis blocks are on the front?
from the looks of it, a distro block? which goes to a fuse block on the back?

and noise could be the simple run the rcas down one side and power on the other? or see if they are parallel anywhere in the system!

[crispone]

so after a few dizzying scroll up and downs.. great job!

but im curious what the two memphis blocks are on the front?
from the looks of it, a distro block? which goes to a fuse block on the back?

and noise could be the simple run the rcas down one side and power on the other? or see if they are parallel anywhere in the system!

CORRECTOMUNDO!


The TOP block is the "NEGATIVE" distribution block, and the bottom one the "POSITIVE" block. In the LAST shot, you can see the positive MAIN FEED headed through from the rear of the board down from the cap positive terminal... this will go INTO the bottom positive distribution block from below on the front side. (The Memphis blocks are four across and three across, with the four having 8ga. collars in 4ga. capable sleeves, and the three are all 4ga. openings. Lots of flexibility with the seven split.)

You can ALSO see the 200A FUSE block that is going BETWEEN the cell battery and the cap, then on to the distribution block. This way, a short at the cap will also pop the fuse. There is a 100A fuse at the source main battery, and that line will go right to the dry cell. Dry cell negative will go to ground, and to the cap, then on to the negative distribution block.

In essence, my approach is to ISOLATE the entire stereo system to the dry cell... which in turn grounds to a single point in the rear, and receives charge from the positive feed. In theory, I could then disconnect the front battery via a "switch", and the amp board portion of the stereo would still be on it's own modular grid.

Thanks!


(PS: I will probably switch the 200A and 100A fuses later... or match them both at 100A, which should be PLENTY adequate, and better for protection. Each AMP also has it's OWN properly rated internal fuse, with the Orion being my "home-made" internal fuse setup. Maybe a hassle to "get at", but the amp has NEVER blown a fuse in 20 years... I don't expect to trip it now.)


-crisp

[Solara08861]

Which battery you ended up getting?
If you dont mind I'm going to use you plan concept to re-do my system.
I will be using just 2 amps this time around.
RF T8004 for front and rear and RF T1000 for sub.
I like the way you have the 2 amps together with the connectors so I might do it like that. So I'll do my second battery and cap behind it.
I like your set up nice and simple and very clean.

[BadAngel]

The only suggestion i would make is.... why would you put the nice carpeted side of the amp rack facing into the car... where you would only see it if the seats were down, leaving the regular particle boarded side out for everyone to see when the trunks opened? i would think it would make more sense the other way around... Either way... looks sick dude good job!

[Aotoyota]

x2

trunk should be pretty when you open it up! or get a piece of mdf and just cover the back so everything is hidden but you can see it from behind the seat..

seeing all that stuff in the trunk attracts attention from others when it is open.

[crispone]

The only suggestion i would make is.... why would you put the nice carpeted side of the amp rack facing into the car... where you would only see it if the seats were down, leaving the regular particle boarded side out for everyone to see when the trunks opened? i would think it would make more sense the other way around... Either way... looks sick dude good job!

HA HA! Fooled you!

Take a closer look at these pictures! TOP photo is AS YOU SEE IT when you look in the trunk (with the sub out). NO visible system... ANYWHERE.

The MIDDLE shot shows the "cover board" (carpeted, snug fit...) REMOVED, exposing the one amp on the "back" side of the AMP BOARD, along with cap, and where the battery will go. This photo shows the area is TANGLED in this arrangement, which is never SEEN, but I wanted to "clean" it up anyway. I PLAN to MAYBE paint or CARPET the backside someday... but it's not necessary.

The THIRD photo shows BOTH boards removed. There COVER and the AMP BOARD, which is the portion I'm working on in most of my photo story.

I suspect if I took the boards and "patterned" them, made a simple set of hardware to install it... I could make a KIT out of it!


This setup enables a CLEAN look that is completely concealed unless you DROP the seats... (and THEN it's like a "display" view) or REMOVE the rear cover board. The AMP BOARD is SCREWED in place to the structure of the car from in the trunk, with ONE SCREW through perforated "muffler hanger" strip at the VERY TOP, CENTER of the board. Very simple, but effective.

I'll have MANY more shots to help illustrate the arrangement when I put it back in if possible. It's difficult to picture in my random views.







^^^ Does that make sense?


Oh, and BTW... if ANYONE finds even a REMOTELY useful idea from anything I've fooled around with, I'm more than honored for you to mimic or modify it to your taste!


THANKS!


-crisp

[crispone]

^^^ There's another shot from back on page three or so that shows the board in place. THIS shot shows the little length of 4ga. (blue) in the lower right, but that will not show when I'm done.


-crisp

[crispone]

Which battery you ended up getting?
If you dont mind I'm going to use you plan concept to re-do my system.
I will be using just 2 amps this time around.
RF T8004 for front and rear and RF T1000 for sub.
I like the way you have the 2 amps together with the connectors so I might do it like that. So I'll do my second battery and cap behind it.
I like your set up nice and simple and very clean.

I think it's called "SHUKIRA" or something... (brand name) but in reality, 70% of all batteries (in North America) are produced by Johnson Controls battery division. Even OPTIMA batteries! Everstart, DieHard, Interstate... you name it... Wal-Mart, Sears, Firestone... doesn't matter... JCI makes the cells.

I suspect this one is pretty common for a high-density automotive accessory dry cell... and expect it to do well for me. My wiring is assorted, but I've been using "Ambiance" OFC, Memphis "Full Strand", Monster, and several other in the 4ga. and 8ga. stuff. I have cheap 4ga. from the front battery, but some new Memphis 4ga. that is really "pliant" casing, and easy to run cable that I intent to re-do main power with. I'll also be running it opposite rockers from the RCA's, which are "near" the current power run.


Feel free to try some of these ideas! It's all been trial-n-error for me...


-crisp (Sam Adams ... light!)

[BadAngel]

ooo okay that makes much more sense... hahah well its good to see there are people who are as anal about aesthetics as me! anyway... im going to be adding two amplifiers to my system very soon, and as it stands i just have my sub amp bolted to the back of the the seat to maintain the ability to drop the seats (which i never friggin use lol... ) ANYWAY... this leaves me with a couple questions for you. First off, would you mind sending me the dimensions of the board you bought from prodigy? i'm really considering duplicating it. That is, if i decide not to make my trunk a "showcase" for my audio equipment (all the amps visible for onlookers to see while the trunk is opened) anyway yeah so if you don't mind the specs on that would be MUCH appreciated, also im not sure if i would use it, but the specs on the other cover board you have would be much appreciated as well, if i decide to go you route.

My seccond question(if you call everything above one question) pertains to two amps i have aquired. After reading your entire thread (or most of it at least) i couldn't help but notice you have some old audio equipment... Now, the two amps im planning on using to power my speakers , when i redo them, were recently acquired in an audio deal, and they are older models, which i can not find much information on, so anything you may know about them would be very helpful... ANYWAY, one is an A/D/S/ PQ10 and the other is an A/D/S/ PQ10.2. I managed to find somewhat of a manual on the net, and it mentions power but it doesn't mention weather its RMS or peak or what... anyway If you have the time, and feel like getting into it with me, i really like how you wired everything up (i love when things are neat) i'd love to go over my plans for the stereo system with you, and any info on those amps you may have to offer would be great!! thanks a lot dude and good luck with the car... you did a great job so far!

[Aotoyota]

whoa.. the old PQ series of A/D/S amps?

I use to have an old PQ40.2 20th anniversary?( I think thats
what it was called) I would run those over many amps nowadays. they
sounded great and were easy easy to install.

Crisp... kinda sneaky leading us on that everything was exposed! lol
nice job with the trunk!

[crispone]

ooo okay that makes much more sense... hahah well its good to see there are people who are as anal about aesthetics as me! anyway... im going to be adding two amplifiers to my system very soon, and as it stands i just have my sub amp bolted to the back of the the seat to maintain the ability to drop the seats (which i never friggin use lol... ) ANYWAY... this leaves me with a couple questions for you. First off, would you mind sending me the dimensions of the board you bought from prodigy? i'm really considering duplicating it. That is, if i decide not to make my trunk a "showcase" for my audio equipment (all the amps visible for onlookers to see while the trunk is opened) anyway yeah so if you don't mind the specs on that would be MUCH appreciated, also im not sure if i would use it, but the specs on the other cover board you have would be much appreciated as well, if i decide to go you route.

My seccond question(if you call everything above one question) pertains to two amps i have aquired. After reading your entire thread (or most of it at least) i couldn't help but notice you have some old audio equipment... Now, the two amps im planning on using to power my speakers , when i redo them, were recently acquired in an audio deal, and they are older models, which i can not find much information on, so anything you may know about them would be very helpful... ANYWAY, one is an A/D/S/ PQ10 and the other is an A/D/S/ PQ10.2. I managed to find somewhat of a manual on the net, and it mentions power but it doesn't mention weather its RMS or peak or what... anyway If you have the time, and feel like getting into it with me, i really like how you wired everything up (i love when things are neat) i'd love to go over my plans for the stereo system with you, and any info on those amps you may have to offer would be great!! thanks a lot dude and good luck with the car... you did a great job so far!

Only have a moment here at work... but I'd be glad to try and get dimensions before I put everything back in. The COVER board is IN the trunk, and the car is at the shop for the door damage repair... so I'll get that in a few days when the car is back... maybe this weekend? The AMP BOARD is in my basement, so I'll take a look at it for dimensions sometime this week.

I'd be happy to discuss your system and ideas! You can continue posting within this thread if you like, or go off-line (PM's) if you prefer... but it's nice is something ends up being useful for the rest of SG if we keep it public... so I'm okay with either way.

A/D/S! HA! I'll have to REALLY rack my brain for what I remember on those... but to aotoyota's point above... those WERE very good amps, and likely STILL ARE!

I might do a little research and see what else I can dig up on them. Could you post some pics with terminals/model image, etc...? A SPEC. SHEET copy is also real helpful...

...and THANKS for the positive feedback, guys!


-crisp