A lot has changed since my last install as many of you know. I ditched the W505, H701, PDX amps, subs, midrange, and tweeters. Only thing that is unchanged are the SLS 8's.
1. I wanted to change the subs to something bigger lighter, and that require less power. The AE 15's were appealing to me but because the lead time on them was 8 weeks + I decided to go with a single Fi IB18.
2. I wanted to change amps mainly just to try something different and of course the floor noise that is so prevalent with them.
3. I wanted to change processor because that stupid zipper noise was beyond annoying.
4. I have always wanted to go to a car PC but never felt it to be practical until the netbooks started coming out. I have had a Dell mini 10 for a few months prior for school, my XPS M1530 was just too much to lug around.
5. I wasnt unhappy with the peerless midrange/tweeters, just wanted to try something different and go with some smaller drivers.
Reasons 2 & 3 were why I switched to zapco amps and processing, there were other options of course but zapco was just more appealing to me.
I wasnt too happy with the butts of the IDMAX's sticking out in the trunk like they were so I did the opposite with the IB18 and covered it with black carpet to keep it hidden.
Because of the sheer size of the Zapco amps compared to the PDX's I had to rethink my setup and I refused to get rid of my spare tire so the easiest option that came to mind was putting them down into the tire well with the tire above them for easy access and then a raised false floor. Installed a couple of these for cooling, one intake one outtake. At 133CFM's they shouldnt have trouble cooling even in the worst conditions!
Here is the baffle and sub fitted in
It fits in there just about perfect, cant get much closer to the seats, lol
Just a couple comparison picks of my old subs and new:
This new setup with the Car PC has taken over the majority of the summer and there have been countless hours that were required for research before even purchasing anything, probably more than I have ever done for any car audio equipment!
The main PC, nothing special here, as I mentioned it’s a Dell Mini 10:
Intel Atom 1.6Ghz process
1GB DDR2 RAM
400GB SATA HDD (I decided against a SSD just because of the ridiculous prices on them still)
HD screen
6-cell battery (for longer standby time, timed it at 6-7 days on standby) External USB DAC HRT Streamer+ DVD+/-RW slot load drive 7-port Powered USB HUB
2nd 7-port USB hub (non-powered for devices that require very low to no power) GlobalSat BU-353 USB GPS Receiver (using iGuidance with Road Runner) Airclick RF remote
LG 10.4" LCD with 4-wire resistive Touchscreen with HDFury since the netbook only outputs via HDMI.
And to power everything the easiest and cheapest option I seen was using the Carnetix 1900 with the CNX-P5V so that I can get regulated 19V for the netbook, 12V for the LCD screen, and 5V for the USB hub. And of course as a startup/shutdown controller for the netbook.
For volume control I read of few things on mp3car forums that you dont want to mess with digital volume control and if possible to adjust that in the analog realm so the JL Audio CL-RLC line drivers were exactly what I needed, I wanted to get two of them, one for full volume control and then one just for sub level control. They work perfectly, the only issue I have with them is their max input voltage is 4.0V and their max output is 7.5V. So for me to daisy chain the two I was limited on the full volume knob to only a little past halfway or it would shutdown the sub level control line driver, not a huge deal but still a inconvenience nonetheless. I just had to readjust my gains appropriately.
Here are a few pictures of the modded dash:
The road runner interface with FX skin:
The netbook hidden away in the glovebox with a couple low rpm fans:
Lastly, midrange and tweets I had the opportunity to audition several. The mids I had were only the HAT L4's and Scan 12m's. I preferred the scans so they are going in the car, right now no enclosures and still havent decided on location. Tweeters I had were obviously the peerless HDS's plus HAT L1 Pro's, scan Illuminators, and morel Piccolo's. They were all excellent sounding tweeters, I ended up going with the illuminators almost by a flip of a coin really. Since I dont have any enclosures for either the 12m's or illuminators I am not going to post pictures until they are done which may be a week or two til I can get to it.
Here are the amps and what they are pushing.
Zapco DC 500.1 - Fi IB18 (500 x 1 @ 2 ohms)
Zapco DC 1000.4 - bridged to SLS 8's (500 x 2 @ 4 ohms)
Zapco DC 650.6 - First four channels bridged to Scan 12m's and last two on Illuminators (180 x 2 @ 4 ohms + 100 x 2 @ 4 ohms)
I owe a great deal to the information found on mp3car forums, head-fi forums, and in cvjoint's carputer thread
I envy your ability to carry out this plan on your own! Especially the patience to do the research and selection of gear, not to mention, all the time you went with no system in your ride. Kudo's my friend! I hate I wasn't able to hang around long enough to hear it We shall take care of that soon though. Maybe by then you will have the mids and tweets actually mounted
The plan looks good Drake! I would love to see what you did with the amplifiers while keeping the spare!
Yeah, I meant to shoot some pics of that, but its a bit messy still, I gotta rerun some wires cause I didnt calculate accurate enough how long runs I would need so wires are just kinda sitting down there, but I will get a pic or two and short explaination of how and why I decided the way I did it.
I couldnt keep the fullsize tire that I had in there, so I had to go back to the stock spare tire just because its Much smaller.
I envy your ability to carry out this plan on your own! Especially the patience to do the research and selection of gear, not to mention, all the time you went with no system in your ride. Kudo's my friend! I hate I wasn't able to hang around long enough to hear it We shall take care of that soon though. Maybe by then you will have the mids and tweets actually mounted
Nice job
Jman
Thanks John, There was A LOT I left out, lol. This whole process was going on about 2-3 months and there were many more obstacles than I could have imagined, especially with the Carputer. I was without sound for a good 2 months. I dont know how many times I had to rework my plans, lol. Being unemployed really helped and hindered at the same time getting this done. It gave me the time necessary to do the research, but forced me to go as cheap as possible, I didnt spend that much more than what I sold all the old equipment for and that was difficult to stretch! haha.
Yeah, hopefully I will have enclosures done by the time we can meet up again and also do some proper tuning. For the meet this past weekend I really didnt have that much time to tune beforehand, just did a quick RTA and settled a few peaks, some minor level matching and of course T/A but I dont have it sounded exactly like I want just yet, I am still going to be tweaking with it until I find the right spots for the mids/tweets.
wow, that's some serious work. Now I'm really sorry I didn't get to see and hear it in person. This needs to happen at some point in my car. Looking forward to more pics. Great work.
Well, I did get to hear it in person, and WOW! Great sound!
The computer was very cool - all of your music - just a touch away. It was very easy to control with the touch screen, and Drake had a handy Logitech gizmo that he can use as a remote control for scrolling, etc.
The main volume knob and sub knob was very effective for controlling the volumes - nice analog touch to contrast everything else that is digital (of course the choice to use these were for the reasons Drake inumerated).
The front stage was extremely solid - the highs / mids were very well balanced and had a pleasing sound - no listening fatigue - I certainly could sit in this car for hours. The Peerless 8's were amazing - especially when playing the movie soundtrack material - I think we witnessed X Max.
I think I liked the IB 18" Fi sub the best. I was very impressed with the impact this sub delivered. This was made even better with the sub volume knob that you could 'dial' in just the right amount of impact to balance with the 8's in the front. I have only experienced one other IB sub set up (Peter Lufrano's BMW), and the qualities of this type of set up was certainly reinforced after hearing Drake's. I think I even said that I was envious when Drake and I were listening.
The research and product comparison work that you completed delivered a very impressive system indeed. I really want a couple hours of listening to go through a number of tracks that I have. This system's sound and the aesthetics of the build is going to be even more impressive once the drivers are placed, enclosed, etc. Great job Drake!
Well, I did get to hear it in person, and WOW! Great sound!
The computer was very cool - all of your music - just a touch away. It was very easy to control with the touch screen, and Drake had a handy Logitech gizmo that he can use as a remote control for scrolling, etc.
The main volume knob and sub knob was very effective for controlling the volumes - nice analog touch to contrast everything else that is digital (of course the choice to use these were for the reasons Drake inumerated).
The front stage was extremely solid - the highs / mids were very well balanced and had a pleasing sound - no listening fatigue - I certainly could sit in this car for hours. The Peerless 8's were amazing - especially when playing the movie soundtrack material - I think we witnessed X Max.
I think I liked the IB 18" Fi sub the best. I was very impressed with the impact this sub delivered. This was made even better with the sub volume knob that you could 'dial' in just the right amount of impact to balance with the 8's in the front. I have only experienced one other IB sub set up (Peter Lufrano's BMW), and the qualities of this type of set up was certainly reinforced after hearing Drake's. I think I even said that I was envious when Drake and I were listening.
The research and product comparison work that you completed delivered a very impressive system indeed. I really want a couple hours of listening to go through a number of tracks that I have. This system's sound and the aesthetics of the build is going to be even more impressive once the drivers are placed, enclosed, etc. Great job Drake!
Thanks for the feedback man! Yeah, IB is great, I had sealed and ported boxes for two other subs in my car before and my IB setups have been the best, this single 18 was just the output I wanted with quality. I was actually wanting more from the 2 12" IDMAX's I had in there before believe it or not and it Really made my lights dim to a point it was embarrassing while driving at night, lol.
I am still not completely happy with how my setup sounds, the midbass and subs I am fine with but I still gotta get my mids and highs mounted in the right spot. I just tested them out in the dash and man it really changes the sound, a much more "in your face" sound for obvious reasons and unfortunately I can tell the seperation between the midbass and midrange, which I could potentially tune out. Going to do some more critical listening and will check how it is with both mids and tweets in the kicks, will drop the height down but may be better overall.
Interesting. What were your points in your previous install? 3k seems low to me for a 3 way.... From what I've read topping at 250 with the SLS picking up at 300 has worked well in other installs at 12 db slope. I'm interested in what you come up with as I have the SLS sitting in wait
Interesting. What were your points in your previous install? 3k seems low to me for a 3 way.... From what I've read topping at 250 with the SLS picking up at 300 has worked well in other installs at 12 db slope. I'm interested in what you come up with as I have the SLS sitting in wait
haha, Heck before I was at 2k because I loooved the way the Peerless HDS's played down to. I will probably play with a higher crossover point when I get enclosures figured out and done, its more a matter of how I am going to have them aimed that will determine xover point, I am looking to go mostly on axis right now so I will have a lot of flexibility if thats the case.
idk if i missed it, but what are you using for a front end on the carputer?
The picture I have in the OP shows ride runner with the FX 4.0 skin. I tried Centrafuse and that, but I really dont like either to be honest.
Just using windows as my Front end will probably be what I go with, just need to increase the size of fonts/scrolling bar/etc... to get it the way I like. Who knows, I may end up settling for some front end software, but a lot of them are pretty buggy even centrafuse, look forward to some reviews on 3.0 though.
Great choice of sub! I have several of those in an IB for my HT room. Right now budget won't allow me to try one out for the car. I am envious.
Yeah that was the interested thing with the IB subs, when I was researching them I only saw installs of them in HT, I couldnt find any vehicle installs, maybe I just didnt search enough, but it bugged the crap out of me, lol. Obviously, I decided to try them out since there were only great things said for those that have used them in HT.
The picture I have in the OP shows ride runner with the FX 4.0 skin. I tried Centrafuse and that, but I really dont like either to be honest.
Just using windows as my Front end will probably be what I go with, just need to increase the size of fonts/scrolling bar/etc... to get it the way I like. Who knows, I may end up settling for some front end software, but a lot of them are pretty buggy even centrafuse, look forward to some reviews on 3.0 though.
have you tried using Foobar? For media player/ time alignment/ crossovers?
2001 Tacoma Xtra Cab Prerunner - Clarion DXZ785USB - Stock for now
Did you try smoother slopes ? Slopes @18db instead of 24dB and separate more the frequency for better transitions in car.
Yeah, thats called tuning, I am quite familiar with it Still have a lot more tuning ahead of me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GEE
Try also NOT to bridge the amps, there will be less distortion.
Of course, but the difference is so minimal that you would be very hard pressed to even hear it. At least I never could tell and the more power I have going to my SLS's the better they sound to me.
have you tried using Foobar? For media player/ time alignment/ crossovers?
Foobar is even smaller and cant customize buttons to be big enough for touchscreen use. Dont need any T/A or Xover software, its all with zapco.
Well, I got some work done friday/saturday, the mids/tweets are definitely going in the pillars now. Left side is pretty much done glassing, just need to sand, body filler, and sand some more and continue to repeat until I can get it somewhat decent. Not sure how I am going to finish them yet, havent really thought much about it, haha.
Is the LG 10.4 touch screen a 12v unit or do you have an inverter in the car. Loving the carpc. Have one going in myself, but nothing as nice as yours. Mine will be there just for nav, net access and to program the BitOne.1 and maybe a movie or 2, O ya, to burn/copy CD's at shows they every one has.
I may have missed this, but is your baffle secured to the car and how's it doing with the baffle you have? Most people use a minimum of 2 (3/4") baffles screwed together.
02 Optima Carputer install
We shall take care of that soon though. Maybe by then you will have the mids and tweets actually mounted 
Still have a lot more tuning ahead of me. 
Linear Mode
