Hey guys, I just want to thank all of your for your help, support, and most of all, great prices on used equipment. This system went in my father's Chevy Avalanche and everything except the wiring was purchased from members of this community to stay within a $500 budget. It's been installed for a few months now but I finally got around to taking some photos. Take a look and see how it turned out...
Equipment (specs are a little foggy since some gear was purchased over 6 months ago...correct me if I'm wrong about any of this)
Amplifier: NeXT 5-channel 4x30 +1x200 ($145 shipped) Subwoofer: NeXT 10" ($30 shipped) Speakers: Dayton Woofers, Seas tweeters (I think), with pods ($215 shipped) Crossover: PPI X3 3-way crossover ($26 shipped) Interconnects: Short runs made from CAT5 and Street wires end caps ($13 shipped). Long runs purchased from KnuKoncepts Other wiring: purchased from KnuKonceptz Total thus far: $429.
I think the order was about $50 from KnuKonceptz and I spend $50 on a PAC OEM-2 line out converter (could have got one cheaper but I wanted it to be plug-and-play). Then I spent a little more for supplies at Parts Express, Home Depot, and the local fabric store. So the total was probably around $600. Of course, it is wired and ready to go if/when my Dad wants to upgrade the head unit (currently the weakest link in the system).
Ok ok, enough with the mumbo jumbo, How about some pics?
Stock head unit left in place to save money
Remote bass knob above traction control button.
Just an FYI, this wasn't the first time I've installed audio gear before. It was however the first time I pieced together DIY speakers and bought non-car-audio components. It is my second active setup (I am running DLS Iridiums in a 4-way active setup in my car)
PPI DCX-730 / DLS A5+A8 / TBI TWEP51 / DLS Iridium 6 / DLS OA12 / Work Log
where i missed this and i am picky???? great job man looks awesome for a diy job
If you look at the top left of this pic, you can barely see where the corner of the trim board shows, past the edge of the darker round trim piece. Hard to see unless you look closely. It's a very nice looking install, and very functional. Looks like you used barely any cargo/passenger space.
The pods also look amazing. For some reason that picture didn't show up earlier. I would just feel uneasy having those unprotected soft domes. Suprised you didnt go with the metal dome seas with the grills or the dayton rs.
Also, how is that next sub? What made you chose that sub?
Khail19, what you are seeing is actually a square of vinyl that I accidentally cut out while looking for the hole for the push pins. You can see in the photo below how close the two spots are. What I was feeling when I made the accidental cut was a screw used to mount the baffle to the rest of the box.
The vinyl trim piece is completely hidden by the painted trim piece, which as you guessed, is 3/4" MDF, routered, sanded, primed, and painted with automotive paint (spray cans). The fit and finish of everything is about as close as I could possibly want to get while using Vinyl (so +/- 1/16 of an inch). It is snug. I'll take your criticism as a compliment...since you couldn't find anything larger to discuss
As for grills, I kind of wish there were grills for the tweeters but I told my Dad he just had to be careful. That could be a possible future improvement...but that would add more money to the budget.
How does it sound? Well the head unit kind of kills some of the SQ but the bass is pretty solid. Each time I go over I tinker with the crossover points a bit. The bass is obviously coming from the rear so that is something I need to work on.
PPI DCX-730 / DLS A5+A8 / TBI TWEP51 / DLS Iridium 6 / DLS OA12 / Work Log
Man that looks better than many "pro" installs that I have seen around town. I especially like the use of a budget and sticking to it. Sometimes it's fun to say "I have $xx to spend and not a penny more" then see what happens to your creativity! That's why I have dollar amounts behind my cars', hope to show others that a good stereo need not be real expensive.
Looks killer! What is the shape of the sub enclosure?
Sorry, I missed this question. Because it was raining, I didn't get any shots of the rear. It is completely covered in Bed-liner because at times it could be exposed to the elements. The box is a two-parter. There is a back portion that runs the lenth of the amp rack and a front portion that is just to make the subwoofer flush with the tops of the amps. See the attached drawing I sketched up in mspaint. The total volume is about 0.75 cuft and I added two braces along the back half and a little bit of polyfill.
PPI DCX-730 / DLS A5+A8 / TBI TWEP51 / DLS Iridium 6 / DLS OA12 / Work Log
Is there any chance that you could ellaborate more on the construction of the rca's? I am going to makeing some for my car and the only way I have seen require $60 crimpers and stripers.
Also any links to where you got any ideas.
Thanks.
Thanks DIYMOBILEAUDIO -- Finished Pics
Linear Mode
