Secondly, apologies for posting this in the B7 forum, but I don’t think the Electrical forum gets much viewers.
After 2 years of listening to the standard stereo, I couldn’t take it anymore, something had to be done. Every car I’ve ever owned has had the headunit replaced within a week and amps, subs and aftermarket speakers installed. For the first time ever I was quite impressed with the stock set-up so didn’t touch it (for 2 year at least anyway).
So my first issue was the headunit. In the end I kept it stock as I couldn’t find a solution that did everything that I wanted, which is to play all my lossless flac files from a hard drive. I'm still looking at changing it but have to live with the 6 disc changer for now for my sound quality. Toying with the later RNS-E with its better iPod control and converting my flacs to apple lossless but don't really want to have 3 music collections (flac / alac and mp3).
So, I started by changing the front speakers for some Focal 165 KR2s (6.5” 2-way component speakers) . These had to be mounted on some tailor made mdf rings (from ebay) and the tweeters went in the standard door location. This didn't sound too clever as it was still being driven by the crappy Bose amplifier which is EQ’ed for the standard speakers. So the Bose amp went and an old Audison LRx5-600 went into the spare wheel well.
Upper amp rack started
And in the boot
To get the line level signal from the RNS-E I bought another Bose amp and ripped it apart for its terminal block. I used the block to interface with the cars original loom. This mean that I had available to me in the boot a +12v and ground (didn't use these to power the amp as they are too feeble and the battery is right there anyway), but more importantly I had a remote turn on wire to switch the amp on, I had front and rears line level outputs (which I converted to RCAs sockets), and speaker wires running to all speakers. So this was connected to the amp. It also meant that at any point I could just unplug the loom from the butchered terminal block and plug it back into the original Bose amp (which is still there and I'd still have sounds via the Bose and (and focal speakers).
Bastardised Bose terminal block
Notice I added some wires to the +12v and ground (with an inline fuse) just in case I wanted a quick, low current power supply for something later.
I didn’t mind keeping the original headunit so much as I managed to get myself an Alpine processor (PXA-H800) to equalise out the head unit and give me some crossover control from the front of the car by using its front end controller (RUX-C800).
Alpine RUX-C800 controller:
I love this unit. Gives me so much control and can easily change settings whilst sitting at home or on the train on my laptop and saving the various different configurations, then later on I can sit in the car, plug the laptop in and try each one out.
This processor also has a number of inputs, one of them is Toslink digital input. I’ve been looking for a headunit that has a digital output. This would allow me a noise free input to the processor instead of trying to run line level inputs down the length of the car which is a very noisy environment.
I also tried plugging my laptop into the processor in the boot as a source. This was quite good as it allowed me to store my music on the laptop in lossless FLAC files and pass the digital signal into the processor which would then use its audiophile grade DAC to convert to analogue and pass the signal nito the amplifiers which were sitting nect to it. This means low noise as the analogue signal patch is very short and also using the DAC available to me. But how do you control the laptop I hear you cry. AHA! I installed SoftSqueeze on the laptop which is a software version of the Squeezebox home music servers and then used an ap on my iPad to control it from the front of my car (the same ap that I use ot control the players around my house). The only problem I had was getting a reliable ad-hoc network running between my ipad and laptop. I did some digging found there was a problem with windows 7 and my wireless card in my laptop when using ad-hoc networks. Sound wise it was pretty good and with the advent of the iPad mini I could install one in the dashboard and built a car PC for the boot. However, still not convinced and there are issues with using this as a replacement for th RNS-E.
So, I needed some bass! I threw in my old JL Audio 12w7 sub in a box. It was good but had plenty more potential as it was seriously underpowered by the Audison.
So a DLS A6 amp went in the spare wheel well to power the big sub alone. This lives under the Audison amp, still in the spare wheel well. Massive improvement! Where the sub sounded like it was reaching its limit previously, it was clear now that it was the amp that had reached its limit and was distorting and not the sub.
Lower amp rack
I bought another 3 DLS ultimate amps to power the mids and tweets and get rid of the Audison amp but I haven't figured out where all these are going to go yet.
One of the 3 extra DLS amps awaiting installation:
I might bite the bullet one day and make a false floor to house them all.
I struggled to decide whether to fill the boot with the DLS Ultimate series amps or the Mosconi’s. Although the Mosconi’s look the part (more so than the DLS’s) the reviews on them differed quite a lot and it is difficult to compare the 2 side by side so ended up with DLS as there is no-one that has a bad word to say about them, and they are still winning SQ competitions.
The JL 12w7 ended up coming out as i needed boot space for weekends away with the new born baby (carry cots / prams / sterilising equipment etc plus all the normal luggage for 4 people). So I got a Focal 18" sub and mounted it behind the rear seats as free air. Although this is not a free air sub I thought to myself it would probably need a box not much smaller than the boot anyway. Although nowhere near as tight or controlled as the JL it was better than no sub and actually hits harder when pushed.
Sub:
It also made a massive difference when the back seat was dropped so began my next project of removing the ski hatch that lived behind the arm rest. This came out but left an untidy finish and also left the sub visible from certain angles. So I got the frame of the ski hatch and stuck some acoustically transparent material to it; job's a good 'un!
Ski hatch removed
Back of ski hatch frame covered with acoustically transparent cloth
From the front
And fitted
A bit I forgot to mention earlier was that I bought some JL Audio 6w3 v3's for the back door. The idea was that these would give me some bass when the sub box was removed for Dad duties. The problem was that they rattled the rear doors too much so some sound deadening was required (still not done). However, as the box was replaced by the 18" back seat monster it almost makes these redundant although I do still use them for a little upper sub reinforcement.
I forgot to mention I fitted my old Phoenix Gold bass CUBE up front for some instant bass boost gratification.
Also at some point along the way the Focal mids got swapped for Focal Utopis mid mid/bass. This is not ideal as they are supposed to be used in a 3-way set-up so currently they are crossed over a bit higher than they should be.
I also bought a set of Utopia 3 way passives, which gives me another set of utopia mid bass (identical to the ones I’ve already got), Utopia mids & utopia Beryllium tweeters. This all comes with the amazing Focal Utopia 3-way Crossblock (passive adjustable crossover). None of these have been fitted yet, but I'm intending on the crossover to live in the back shelf where the stock sub goes and to make it lift up to adjust. See further down for photos of this set.
The last thing I did was deaden the front doors, I haven't got round to the boot or back doors yet. Will start again once it warms up a bit. I might actually stick the car in the garage tomorrow night and line the mdf that the sub is mounted on then cover it as I have started driving my truck to work as the wife is complaining about being woken up (and waking the baby) every morning with my exhaust. It means then that I can work on it each night when I get home even if it is dark / wet / cold. At the same time I might screw the sub mount to the car frame as currently it is supported by a bit of wood on one side (and a very tight fit). This means that it annoyingly squeaks as I am driving. I am also getting a little alternator whine but as it can’t be heard at normal listening levels I haven’t got round to fixing it. I think it is coming from some of the over long RCAs on the amp / processor picking up some noise from the power cables as it is all in quite a tight space. I’ve been meaning to get some shorter RCA cables in.
Door before deadening:
Outer skin done
Inner skin nearly done
Passenger door done
Drivers door done
So considering it is all running from a stock headunit it isn’t too bad. I’m sure a decent Alpine or Pioneer headunit would improve it drastically but I’m just not ready to get rid of the RNS-E (maybe a 2010+ unit with ipod?). My mission was to get the best sound possible but keep it all looking stock. The only noticeable difference is the sub if you open the boot. Everything else looks stock. The Alpine controller can still be seen in the ashtray but when I get round to it, it will be mounted in there properly and the lid will be able to close and hide it.
After I sent some of the above to sync24 he PMed me back some questions (see below). I hope you don’t mind me quoting your PM here Kev?
There is just one sub that feeds all 10 speakers (more info about where the 10 speakers are below). In the saloon it is behind the right hand boot lining. It’s a pig to get the lining out as you have to remove the protective plastic at the back of the boot and the rear seats before it’ll come out. On the avant I have a feeling it is on the left hand side but I could be wrong.sync24 wrote:Nice one Mike - really appreciated - The 18" is a monster!I will be looking at door speaker upgrades plus an amp and a custom sub in the boot and those pictures will be a helpful reference - The dynamat is deffo worth it for the doors ETC, I imagine it really makes a difference. I'm going to try and find the spec ETC for the RNSE so I can figure out wiring / speaker feeds ETC as I am aware it's a 2 OHM system - It's been a while since I've done any car electronics and things have moved on a LOT!
Are the factory speaker cables decent enough to leave as is? Are they coaxial or component? and is the cross over for the top tweeters in the front / rear doors done in the RNSE or is their a seperate cross over somewhere. Also does the AMP in the boot where the sub is provide the power for all speakers or is there more than one AMP?
Thanks for taking the time to get back to me.
Cheers - Kev.
There is only a single set of wires for each of the doors from the amp. This goes to the mid bass in the door, then if I remember correctly there is a second plug on the speaker which then goes up to the tweeter. I can’t see any crossover on the mid bass so the crossover must be on the tweeter itself.
One thing that surprised me was that there is in fact a speaker in the centre of the dash. I had some speakers unplugged but could still hear music coming out of the car. Strange I thought and followed it to a tiny little speaker in the top middle of the dashboard. I knew they quoted the car as having 10 speakers but never really thought about it, clearly 2 in each door and a sub makes only 9!
To be honest I didn’t notice a great deal of difference when deadening the front doors. They certainly feel and sound more solid when you tap them from the outside, but as I had my front mid/bass quite light on bass there wasn’t really much to tell. However, the other day I was playing around with the setting and turned the sub and rear doors subs off and turned the crossover down on the fronts and they dropped quite nicely so maybe that is the deadening doing its magic. I now lots of other people who have used this deadening (not Dynamat, its Silent Coat Extra, which is cheaper, works better (so I’m told) and is a lot easier to work with) and they have claimed about how much difference it made and apparently the doors now make a solid clunk as they close (Peugeot 205 etc, so no wonder). Perhaps it’s because the doors were quite well insulated and built in the first place.
I’m still using the factory speaker cables for the first time ever. They are no better than any other cars but they still sound OK. Because I had all the wiring I needed in the boot due to the battery being in there and the Bose amp handily giving me all the wiring I needed (line level front and rear from the headunit, remote turn on wire for amp and speaker wires to all door) I figured at the time I couldn’t be bothered to strip the interior out for the sake of some better speaker cables. However once the 3 way Focals are in I will need to run some speaker cables as the crossover will be in the boot (or back shelf). So with all speakers wires running back to the boot it means it will be relatively easy to swap between active and passive set-ups to see what sounds best. I originally intended on going active but was advised that the Focal Utopias always sound better passive. This could be something to do with the Utopia Crossblock crossover which costs about £1k to buy alone so I’m guessing is fairly well built compared to the usual crossovers you get with 3 way speakers. And just look at the size of it! Weighs a ton too. I’ve never seen anything like it before!!
Come to think of it, have you ever seen a speaker set that comes in a metal flight case?
Phew, that's it for now. Thanks for reading. If there is enough interest i'll post more bits as I do them.
Any questions?
