You got a nice car there. My next car will be the prius v. I think they are nice car. Subscribed.
2013 Prius - Simple Sound Quality
First off, I want to start off by saying that I enjoy the hate I get because I have an "ugly" car. My last vehicle was a 2005 Subaru Outback XT with a stage 1 tune from Infamous Performance. It was a ton of fun to drive, and I really loved the car. What I didn't love was 14 MPG w/ Premium gas. My car payment went up 100.00 a month, and my gas went down 300 a month. My maintenance is included in the Prius by Toyota and my oil changes on the Outback were around 70.00 every 2 months. This is how I ended up with an "ugly" car.
And here he is...(It's a he - Black Mamba) :laugh:
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The sole purpose of this build is to have the most clean, clear, crisp and accurate sound possible, while maintaining as close to a stock appearance as I can. I am really looking forward to this build and the components I have chosen. I had a lot of help from someone here, who really spent a lot of time speaking with me about my goals and doing his best to help me stay in my budget. I ended up spending more than I had planned, but I didn't cut any corners and I am looking forward to the end result.
Current Parts List
Signal: Factory
Processing: Mosconi 6to8 V8
Sub: Image Dynamics iDMax12 receiving roughly 1200w from an Alpine PDX-M12
Front Stage: The front stage will be three-way and powered by (2) Alpine PDX-V9s. Each mid-bass will receive 500w. The tweeters and mids will be getting 200w each.
I will be attempting to complete the install in the spare tire cargo area of the rear hatch. I should be able to get all three amps, the 6to8 and the iDMax12 hidden away.
Friday and Saturday will be the official start of the build. I will be starting the enclosure and amp rack before work. I live in an apartment and don't have a private garage to work in, so I will be depending a lot on my buddy to supply the tools and work space.
Note: I am a member of this forum because I appreciate the craftsmanship that many of you possess, as well as the knowledge and experience one can obtain from learning from others. I truly ask you to be as critical as possible in helping me improve my project. I am committed to learning from all of you.
And here he is...(It's a he - Black Mamba) :laugh:
The sole purpose of this build is to have the most clean, clear, crisp and accurate sound possible, while maintaining as close to a stock appearance as I can. I am really looking forward to this build and the components I have chosen. I had a lot of help from someone here, who really spent a lot of time speaking with me about my goals and doing his best to help me stay in my budget. I ended up spending more than I had planned, but I didn't cut any corners and I am looking forward to the end result.
Current Parts List
Signal: Factory
Processing: Mosconi 6to8 V8
Sub: Image Dynamics iDMax12 receiving roughly 1200w from an Alpine PDX-M12
Front Stage: The front stage will be three-way and powered by (2) Alpine PDX-V9s. Each mid-bass will receive 500w. The tweeters and mids will be getting 200w each.
I will be attempting to complete the install in the spare tire cargo area of the rear hatch. I should be able to get all three amps, the 6to8 and the iDMax12 hidden away.
Friday and Saturday will be the official start of the build. I will be starting the enclosure and amp rack before work. I live in an apartment and don't have a private garage to work in, so I will be depending a lot on my buddy to supply the tools and work space.
Note: I am a member of this forum because I appreciate the craftsmanship that many of you possess, as well as the knowledge and experience one can obtain from learning from others. I truly ask you to be as critical as possible in helping me improve my project. I am committed to learning from all of you.
1 - 20 of 764 Posts
Sub'd
Sounds very similar to a build I'm quite familiar with...
Sounds very similar to a build I'm quite familiar with...
i don't think this generation of prius is ugly at all, they've gotten a lot better over the years. i actually really like the shape of them, they just use to have ugly front ends and rear ends. i considered getting a prius c last month but ended up with a honda fit.
interested to see how this one turns out for sure
interested to see how this one turns out for sure
get er done! looking forward to what you come up with.
looking forward to what you come up with.
-- I appreciate the subs and the support guys. And just for the record, I enjoy the way the car looks. It's not like my last two cars where every time I parked, I turned around and looked at it, but it was a very practical choice for me, and I am very happy with it for those reasons.
-- I took some measurements a couple of days ago with the assistance of a non-supportive 16 year old sister - who did not want to hold the measuring tape straight :laugh:. But this should give a good idea of what kind of space i'm working with. Let's get to know the car.
-- Image 1 is where the battery is located in the vehicle. It is located in the rear hatch, on the passenger side, under the factory floor. I plan to run 1/0 awg for my power and ground, into a Streetwires CBR44M, combo distribution block and fuse holder. I am not sure where I want to put the ground right now. I am thinking I can just mount it on the negative battery post. (Thoughts?) From there I will be running 4 gauge in to each amp. I really like the form factor of the CBR44M. I purchased it from a DIYMA forum member a couple of days ago.
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-- Image 2 is the center cover for the factory false floor. The Prius has a super deep spare and extra cargo space area that is accessed by opening this cover. I am going to try and reuse this. I might add a little MDF or CLD to the bottom to give it some more mass, but I am going to hold off until I have the sub playing and see what I think.
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-- Image 3 and 4 is the next layer down. This is the cargo storage area located under the false floor. It is actually a really cool feature the car has. Previously I used it for my surf stuff, but I am going to be purchasing a rubber mat. Notice the width of the area I have to work with. This is basically the width I have to work with for my amps. Image 4 shows what the space looks like with the cargo tray removed. (I know you can't read the tape)
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-- Image 5 is the depth from the bottom of the spare to the bottom of the factory cover. I have 15 inches to work with from the deepest portion of the well. If you take a look at JT's Prius install, you can see that his enclosure was angled at the base to provide a level mounting surface. I haven't yet determined how I plan do achieve this. The other thing to take notice of is the overhang. This takes away a small amount of space for me to work with. No biggie.
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-- Image 6 shows the max length of the well. I wont be able to take advantage of the 25", for the reason I mentioned above, as well as the curvature at the most rear portion.
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-- Image 7 is the width of the well, once again, we have rounded corners and some curves, so I wont have the full area to work with.
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-- Image 8 explains itself.
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-- At this time, I wont be attempting to glass. I think it's what I will want to do in the long run, but I want to try a solid wood build first. I have a lot of volume to work with already, and I think that would be the only advantage over the MDF. I roughly calculated the type of volume I can get out of the space, and I roughly came up with 2.31 Ft3. If someone would like to run some numbers for me, please do. This calculation was based on a 22"x22"x11" square box. (Like I said, it's a very rough calculation).
I am including the spec sheet from ID as a reference.
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-- Moving on, I picked up some DIYMA 14 gauge speaker wire.
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-- To get the signal from the factory radio, I will be running some speaker wire from behind the factory radio to this. I considered using a line driver or a converter, but was talked out of it because they thought that due to the added connections, it was a potential location to add noise.
![]()
-- Out of the Mosconi 6to8v8, I am still not sure what interconnects I want to run. I am definitely on a tight budget and looking for suggestions if you are up for it. I am currently considering the following:
Amazon.com : Rockford Fosgate Twisted Pair 6-Feet Signal Cable : Vehicle Amplifier Stereo Patch Cables : Car Electronics
Stinger SI426 2-Channel 4000 Series RCA Interconnect Cable
Stinger SI226 6 Ft 2000 Series 2-Channel RCA Interconnect Cable
Rockford Fosgate RFIT-6 (rfit6) 6' (1.8 m.) 2-Channel Dual Twist RCA Interconnect Cable
StreetWires ZN1220 ZeroNoise 1 Series 2-Ch RCA Interconnect 2m (6.6 ft.)
StreetWires ZN3220 ZeroNoise 3 Series 2-Ch RCA Interconnect 2m (6.6 ft.)
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021814&p_id=2864&seq=1&format=2
-- I also picked up a 32 sqft pack of Second Skin Damplifer (bstock). I am really unhappy with the thickness of the butyl, but we will see how it works after the install. I grabbed a speaker tweaker kit for the doors as well. Also, I reached out to someone to get a price on some MLV.
-- Lastly, for tonight, I was hoping someone could give me some input on the Blackhole Stuff. I am wondering if I should consider grabbing some for my enclosure. I have plenty of volume, but will it improve the sound quality at all?
-- I took some measurements a couple of days ago with the assistance of a non-supportive 16 year old sister - who did not want to hold the measuring tape straight :laugh:. But this should give a good idea of what kind of space i'm working with. Let's get to know the car.
-- Image 1 is where the battery is located in the vehicle. It is located in the rear hatch, on the passenger side, under the factory floor. I plan to run 1/0 awg for my power and ground, into a Streetwires CBR44M, combo distribution block and fuse holder. I am not sure where I want to put the ground right now. I am thinking I can just mount it on the negative battery post. (Thoughts?) From there I will be running 4 gauge in to each amp. I really like the form factor of the CBR44M. I purchased it from a DIYMA forum member a couple of days ago.
-- Image 2 is the center cover for the factory false floor. The Prius has a super deep spare and extra cargo space area that is accessed by opening this cover. I am going to try and reuse this. I might add a little MDF or CLD to the bottom to give it some more mass, but I am going to hold off until I have the sub playing and see what I think.
-- Image 3 and 4 is the next layer down. This is the cargo storage area located under the false floor. It is actually a really cool feature the car has. Previously I used it for my surf stuff, but I am going to be purchasing a rubber mat. Notice the width of the area I have to work with. This is basically the width I have to work with for my amps. Image 4 shows what the space looks like with the cargo tray removed. (I know you can't read the tape)
-- Image 5 is the depth from the bottom of the spare to the bottom of the factory cover. I have 15 inches to work with from the deepest portion of the well. If you take a look at JT's Prius install, you can see that his enclosure was angled at the base to provide a level mounting surface. I haven't yet determined how I plan do achieve this. The other thing to take notice of is the overhang. This takes away a small amount of space for me to work with. No biggie.
-- Image 6 shows the max length of the well. I wont be able to take advantage of the 25", for the reason I mentioned above, as well as the curvature at the most rear portion.
-- Image 7 is the width of the well, once again, we have rounded corners and some curves, so I wont have the full area to work with.
-- Image 8 explains itself.
-- At this time, I wont be attempting to glass. I think it's what I will want to do in the long run, but I want to try a solid wood build first. I have a lot of volume to work with already, and I think that would be the only advantage over the MDF. I roughly calculated the type of volume I can get out of the space, and I roughly came up with 2.31 Ft3. If someone would like to run some numbers for me, please do. This calculation was based on a 22"x22"x11" square box. (Like I said, it's a very rough calculation).
I am including the spec sheet from ID as a reference.
-- Moving on, I picked up some DIYMA 14 gauge speaker wire.
-- To get the signal from the factory radio, I will be running some speaker wire from behind the factory radio to this. I considered using a line driver or a converter, but was talked out of it because they thought that due to the added connections, it was a potential location to add noise.
-- Out of the Mosconi 6to8v8, I am still not sure what interconnects I want to run. I am definitely on a tight budget and looking for suggestions if you are up for it. I am currently considering the following:
Amazon.com : Rockford Fosgate Twisted Pair 6-Feet Signal Cable : Vehicle Amplifier Stereo Patch Cables : Car Electronics
Stinger SI426 2-Channel 4000 Series RCA Interconnect Cable
Stinger SI226 6 Ft 2000 Series 2-Channel RCA Interconnect Cable
Rockford Fosgate RFIT-6 (rfit6) 6' (1.8 m.) 2-Channel Dual Twist RCA Interconnect Cable
StreetWires ZN1220 ZeroNoise 1 Series 2-Ch RCA Interconnect 2m (6.6 ft.)
StreetWires ZN3220 ZeroNoise 3 Series 2-Ch RCA Interconnect 2m (6.6 ft.)
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021814&p_id=2864&seq=1&format=2
-- I also picked up a 32 sqft pack of Second Skin Damplifer (bstock). I am really unhappy with the thickness of the butyl, but we will see how it works after the install. I grabbed a speaker tweaker kit for the doors as well. Also, I reached out to someone to get a price on some MLV.
-- Lastly, for tonight, I was hoping someone could give me some input on the Blackhole Stuff. I am wondering if I should consider grabbing some for my enclosure. I have plenty of volume, but will it improve the sound quality at all?
11
The first set of Rockford RCA's you linked to are really great for the money. Super flexible and there is a very well known installer on this forum that posts build logs who uses them quite a bit. A lot of times to hook up Mosconi amps and processors
They will be your best bang for the buck in my opinion.
They will be your best bang for the buck in my opinion.
I thought they looked like the ones Bing uses, but the Monoprice ones are really tempting.The first set of Rockford RCA's you linked to are really great for the money. Super flexible and there is a very well known installer on this forum that posts build logs who uses them quite a bit. A lot of times to hook up Mosconi amps and processors
They will be your best bang for the buck in my opinion.
-- I ended up going for the monoprice cables. I have heard good things about them and figure if they don't work out, I can replace them down the line.
-- I also picked up a USB extension for the 6to8
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-- I also picked up a USB extension for the 6to8
-- A couple more small updates...
Some Sub Porn...iDMax12 is one - heavy - mother.
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-- Also, I was reminded that I also needed some Y connectors to bridge the amps. I ended up picking up these and a panel removal tool.
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-- Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow morning my buddy and I are starting early. The PDX amps shipping was delayed an extra week, so i'm a bit bummed about that.
More to come...
Some Sub Porn...iDMax12 is one - heavy - mother.
-- Also, I was reminded that I also needed some Y connectors to bridge the amps. I ended up picking up these and a panel removal tool.
-- Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow morning my buddy and I are starting early. The PDX amps shipping was delayed an extra week, so i'm a bit bummed about that.
More to come...
4
-- Haha, It was a bit of a joke. I am doing this with my buddy, and when we measured, I was like "lets take a little off and play it safe". I think I said that and we did that about 3 or 4 times when measuring.
-- Well, we built the box and we were super happy with it, but when we sat it in the car, it ended up sitting a little differently then our flat cuts... It was strange. I think it grew!
Few things I used....
Deck Screws
Gorilla Wood Glue
-- I am going to just let the pics do the talking...
-- Test fit
-- After the box was assembled, I used some silicone caulking
-- After I rubbed the corners down really well with the caulk
, we attached the top.
-- A couple of the fitment pics....
-- The gap between the factory false floor and the enclosure
-- The next couple of days I plan to put down some dampening materials, CLD, Ensolite, MLV. Like I mentioned above, I have to work around others schedules. We are short staffed at work right now and im working 1PM-10PM Friday-Tuesday.. No fun
-- Now that the construction of the box is complete, minus the carpet or vinyl, I will be able to map out the layout of the amps and processor.
more to come...
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