The $1500 Challenge: Saturn Ion Sedan!

[coffee_junkee]

Long time reader, first time posting!

A little background: I've been a DIY installer since about '91, when I did my first install. It was awful. Never done anything for payment, unless beer and Taco Bell count! :D So, when another forum member suggested I check out DIYMA, I was thrilled! This place rocks and is the true spirit of grassroots car audio people. Again, great site!

I decided last summer that the factory audio in my 04 Ion, well, sucked real bad. What can I say, my ears are spoiled. With no more than $1500 to spend, I wanted to see just what patience, shopping around, eBay, various forums and more patience, could get me. It has taken me just about a year to piece together the following:

Breakdown: CDA-7949 to Orion DEQ-30, to PRA-H400. Sub is ID OEM 10", for now and powered by sub channel on 403a, (200x1). Mids are CDT HD6 powered by 302a, (75x2). Highs are Xtant 4.4i powered by front channels of 403a (50x2). There is a CHA-S624 under the other seat.

The following is a verified list of prices and the source of everything that's in the Ion:

CDA-7949, eBay $168 NEW in box!
CHA-S624, eBay $98, Used good cond.
PRA-H400, eBay $102, NEW in box!
Orion DEQ-30 local guy, $175 great cond. He was a jerk!
Xtant 403a, eBay $225, Refurb. New cond.
Xtant 302a, S2000 forum $120, NEW in Box! Took a month!
ID OEM 10" eBay $85 New.
CDT HD6, cueball4811 from ECA, $45, Used great cond.
Xtant 4.4i 4" 2way comps, eBay, $59 NEW in Box!
Phoenix Gold distro blocks, eBay various auctions, $61 NEW!
Phoenix Gold 4ga Zero Point complete wire kit, eBay $42 NEW!
Phoenix Gold Toslink (2), Amazon.com $49 both. NEW!
Phoenix Gold Platinum Interconnects (3 pair) eBay $60 all.
Misc: Wood, install kit, screws, wire ties, etc: $56
RAAMmat(2 rolls) and ensolite, $187
Fiberglass, Bondo, Cloth, $32
Vinyl, Fabric Warehouse, $23

Grand Total ---$1587

And since this sort of thread is worthless without pics:

The 7949, in a Scosche dash kit: (Ha, just noticed this is in black & white!)
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0127.jpg

Here are the Xtants and the PRA-H400:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0150.jpg

Xtants on the back of the amp rack:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0253.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0254.jpg

All of my wiring and distro blocks are New old stock Phoenix Gold:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0276.jpg

New old stock PRA-H400, reverse mounted:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0277.jpg

View of ID OEM 10", PRA and PG stuff: (not done with trim yet)
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0275.jpg

This is a pic of my temporary, GIT-ER-DONE, test bench! Gotta listen to something while you work, right? Thats a Alpine CDA-7940, PPI PAR-225, PPI OMX-232 xover, old school Crutchfield CR2X50 (blue amp under PAR) powering an old IDW-15 on the floor (giagatic box) and a PPI 2025M powering a set of old, but crisp Tannoy studio monitors. Oh, don't forget the 2 computer power supplies that have been converted to 12v! I'm a cheap ass!
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0288.jpg

More to follow :D

[jisturm]

Hey man, like I said on ECA, great job.

Love it.

[edwelly]

How do you like the Alpine PRA-H400??? Nice job BTW

[Weightless]

Xtants on the back of the amp rack:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0253.jpg




Nice legs!!! :D

And a nice start also...can't wait to see it finished...

[coffee_junkee]

Here are the dash top pods I have been working on for the last couple of days. When they are done, they will be mounted atop the dash cover, breathing through aperiodic mat. The dash panel probably has 3lbs of RAAMmat on the back! The speakers are Morel made, Xtant xis2.4, integrated comps. Neat speaker. I made mock-ups with the aperiodic mat and wooden boxes to see how they sounded. To test, I placed them on the dash in the wood/aperiodic boxes and listened to them via a PPI A404 and A204, on my test bench. The crossover was a Precision Power OMX-432, 4 way. The OMX was used because it has knobs that I used to adjust the crossover points while I learned what the 2.4's would do in that type of enclosure. It was setup like this:

A204, front channels on the 2.4's tweeters and rear channels on the 4.4's midrange. The A404's front channels powered the CDT HD6's, in the door and the rear channels powered the ID sub. 4 way active. The A204 is rated at 25x4 and the A404 at 50x4. The test was crude, but effective. I used four, 18' home made PPI DIN to RCA adapters and butt connected the speaker leads to the wiring already in the car. It was a spiderweb of cables, let me tell ya!

I concluded that I could crossover the 2.4's at 150hz and they cranked hard and clean. They blended fantastic with the CDT's and much to my surprize, the left speaker wasn't too "hot" or biased. The stage was stable, high and had great depth out past the mirrors. There was no time alignment or EQ hooked up during this test. After an extended listen to some of my favs (Keiko Matsui, full moon and the shrine; IASCA test disc; Fiona Apple, tidal; Telarc, various ) I couldn't believe I only paid $50 plus $9 shipping, for the Xtants! What a steal! They loved my home grown aperiodic experiment.

Here are some pics of the pods as I'm building them:


After basic assembly and before fiberglass:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/Picture034.jpg

All wrapped up and ready to resin:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/Picture002.jpg

You can get an idea of what they will look like on the dash cover, when they are done:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/Picture031.jpg

Anyone have any suggestions?

[chuyler1]

Very nice work. Good bargain hunting! eBay is great if you already know what you are looking for and have the patience to wait for just the right auction.

[coffee_junkee]

Nice legs!!! :D

And a nice start also...can't wait to see it finished...

Yup, those are my chicken legs. :D Can't hide anything in the pics with those shiny Xtants!

[coffee_junkee]

How do you like the Alpine PRA-H400??? Nice job BTW

Thanks! The H400 is an outstanding piece. I have two of them, the one in the pics is a stunt double! Both were scored off eBay, the one in the pics is used, though clean and cost me $108. The one installed in the car is a brand spanking new one I got for $102. Go figure. My only real complaint with the 7949 and H400 combo, is lack of real adjustability from the head unit. It says in both manuals that you can change things, but it's real finicky and you have to use the "a proc." button on the remote to make things happen.

Since I basically achieved my goal of a descent setup for $1500, I would like to upgrade to a PXA701/RUX combo and run the whole thing 4 way active. I already have another 302a, but the whole install would need to be redone to make it fit.

[dBassHz]

Great install! I am also trying to fabricate some midrange dash pods. Do you have any additional photos? Are your pods sealed? I cut a hole in my dash large enought for a 4" pvc 45 degree elbow to fit through because I wanted additional enclosure space. I was trying to install the pods without uninstalling my dash but it doesn't look like it is going to happen. Do you have any info/photos that could help me out?

[coffee_junkee]

Great install! I am also trying to fabricate some midrange dash pods. Do you have any additional photos? Are your pods sealed? I cut a hole in my dash large enought for a 4" pvc 45 degree elbow to fit through because I wanted additional enclosure space. I was trying to install the pods without uninstalling my dash but it doesn't look like it is going to happen. Do you have any info/photos that could help me out?

Thanks! The only other pics I have are of the pods having been given a coat of resin and bondo. Right now, they look like crap due to the bondo smear.

As they get more sturdy from drying, I will drill a 2" diameter hole in the bottom and a matching one in the dash cover. Between them, I will install some aperiodic membrane I have left over from the glory days. The aperiodic setup is totally DIY and something I tested with some disposeable wooden enclosures. During the testing, I took the speakers back out and replaced the aperiodic membrane with a wooden block off plug. So, the enclosure became totally sealed with about .08 cubes of air space. Sounded awful. The Xtants became boomy, and all of the midrange clarity was gone. Put my home made aperiodic membrane back in, sound quality returned immediately. An old friend of mine that owned a shop around here some years ago, suggested I go this route.

When I finally mate the pods to the dash with the membrane, I will of course post some pics.

Thanks again for the compliments!

[STI<>GTO]

Are you actually glassing the pods to the dash? It seems like you are going to ruin your dash by drilling the holes for the membrane, so why not glass them directly to the dash? Just a suggestion, otherwise it looks great! Nice shop system too.

Rick

[coffee_junkee]

I was thinking of glassing them to the dash top, but wanted to give them some seat time before I commit to that. In the off chance I don't care for the finished product, there is a contingency plan.. I have 2 Morel 8" woofers 2 Morel 4" mids and some tweeters that were spares from an Elate comp set. I have had the woofers and mids for about 5 years. They have been sitting around since I abandoned a home speaker project. Essentially, I got a steal of a deal on some B&W CDM-1 SE's with matching center channel, so I gave up on the Morels. Might give those a try if the setup mentioned above sounds shoddy.

Tonight, they will get some sanding action along with spot putty and high-build primer. Of course, in the spirit of DIY, I will take some pics.

Next up: The $650 Honda S2000 Challenge...

[coffee_junkee]

Update:

Did some more RAAM'ing and Ensolite-ing of the front doors.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0165.jpg

More layers and some interesting waterproof eggcrate foam, mounted behind the midbass hole.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0167.jpg

Wrapped the lock rods with split loom and zip tied them together. I then put a couple layers of sticky back foam around them to insure they don't rattle.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0171.jpg

A layer of ensolite:
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0172.jpg

I wrapped the ensolite around the birch plywood spacer, so that the speaker has a good seal.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0173.jpg

A shot of the finished door with a CDT Braxial installed for testing.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/coffee_junkee/DSCF0177.jpg

Since my vehicle is a plastic Saturn product, I was also able to remove the outer door skins and layer them too. They got 2 hits of deadner and one of ensolite. The doors close like a bank vault now!

Hopefully get some sanding time in on the dash pods tomorrow afternoon.

[datac99]

Tell us more about the waterproof egg-crate! Wet moldy egg-crate seems to be one of the big worries on this forum so I went out and got some rubber dynamat pads for my doors... At $35 for the pair they may very well be the chump purchases of the decade* ;-) So I'm pretty curious about this foam you found... And a cursory goggling gave me squat... So where did ya' find it, and did you subject it to any sort of torture? It really does not soak up any water? Am I the only one who doesn't know about this stuff??? What is the meaning of life the universe and everything? Okay I know that’s 42, but I'm still curious about the other questions...


* Not really, the chump purchases of the decade was the monster cable speaker wire… But it looks damn sexy!

[coffee_junkee]

A good friend works in the foam and insulating industry. Validation engineer, to be exact. From time to time, he gets some interesting materials to test. I asked him about something like this awhile back and he didn't have anything at the time. Recently, the subject was brought up again and he produced the blue stuff you see in the pics. Great stuff! It's not only waterproof, but I tried to set it ablaze and it won't burn either. It just melts into this mastic goo. Sadly, I have about a square yard and that's it. He said that his company was going to use it as a packing insulator for food, but it was too expensive to mass produce. If I had more, I would definately spread the love!

[coffee_junkee]

When I get back from dinner with the little lady, I'll post a pic of the water and fire test! It was moderately neato.

[datac99]

When I get back from dinner with the little lady, I'll post a pic of the water and fire test! It was moderately neato.

Cool, nice find/friend.... I'm jealous too... My first real system had a 4-channel xtant... Can't recall the model number, but the nice rectangular ones like you have, with the copper mesh... I really dislike the new ones with the octagonal holes... Just does not harmonize well with any other sort of design.


Oh and I was pleasantly amused when I goggled: "answer to life the universe and everything" just to make sure my memory wasn't failing. It's a Douglas Adams quote (RIP), but I have no doubt that most of you guys know that ;-) Well… At least I’m sure Chad knows it… You can tell by the avatar.