How many speakers do you have in there? I lost track.
4-way front soundstage HELP needed - Audison Voce 1,3,5,8 system, S197 2012 Mustang
Hello fellow forum members! Long-time lurker, first-time post'r, love the site. 
I haven't exactly DIY'd my way to where I am now, but I've been to two different car audio shops and cycled through more components and speakers than I care to admit. I'm hoping I can get some expert advice on how to configure my front soundstage for best SQ with plenty of kick & slam with rock music. I'm profoundly frustrated to have thrown so much money and equipment at this problem only to have a system that seems to require perpetual tuning...
The Shaker500 "premium" sound system that came with my 2012 Mustang GT convertible is long gone, replaced with Audison Voce speakers, subs, amps, and a BitTenD processor. I wanted to retain my factory navigation system with hard drive for music, so the installer wired the factory HU to the BitTenD and ran it through the de-EQ process. It seems to have successfully circumvented the bass roll-off inherent to the Shaker500 system at higher volume.
My system is comprised of:
-9 channels of amp (Voce AV5.1k, Voce Quattro) and 8 channels of DSP (BitTenD) - PROBLEM! (ahem, are you listening, Audison?!)
-Audison Voce AV1.1 and AV3.0 in custom fiberglassed A-pillars
-Audison Voce AV5.0 on custom MDF baffles where front 5x7's were
-Morel MX33.3 3-way crossovers on front 1.1/3.0/5.0 (due to 8-ch BitTenD limitation)
-Illusion Audio Carbon C8 mid-woofers where factory 8's were, in their own sealed (plastic) enclosure apart from AV5.0's, using polyfill
-Audison Voce AV K5 pair in the backseat - on the sides - for rear-fill
-Audison Voce AV10 pair of subs in custom trunk enclosure
BitTen D is configured as:
-CH1: FL 1.1/3.0/5.0 on Morel MX33.3, 300/3.8 fixed
-CH2: FR 1.1/3.0/5.0 on Morel MX33.3, 300/3.8 fixed
-CH3: FL 8" active
-CH4: FR 8" active
-CH5: RL AV K5, Audison 2-way x-over
-CH6: RR AV K5, Audison 2-way x-over
-CH7: AV10 pair, wired in series at 2ohm
Amps driving the setup:
-CH1&CH2: bi-amp Morel MX33.3 with Audison Voce AV5.1k Class A 75Wx2 and Quattro Class AB 120x2
-CH3&CH4: AV5.1k Class AB 140Wx2
-CH5&CH6: AV Quattro Class AB 120Wx2
-CH7: AV5.1k Class D 1000Wx1 @ 2ohm
No matter how many times my installer sits down to tune and tweak the BitTenD, I still don't get that tight, clean mid-bass punch complemented by a smooth midrange and subtle highs that I've been searching for. The tweeters are overly loud and bright, the 3" mids sound like they were made to generate standing waves on my dashboard, and the 5's don't seem to be realizing their potential. I suspect the Morel crossovers we used are not a good fit for this application... Meanwhile, I can get the Carbon 8's and AV10 subs to play very nice together and almost completely get the sub frequencies into the front seat.
How would you recommend I configured this thing? Should I change out the Morel crossovers to something with a higher midrange cut-off, perhaps the MX33.4 with 700/3.8 fixed xover points? Or should I park my rear-fill for now, go active on my AV5's, and use Audison Voce MH xovers on the 1.1/3.0's? Ultimately, a 10-channel Audison Bit DSP product would really help here, but we're all on hold for that one, aren't we?!
I would really appreciate any help or insight you could offer on this setup!
I haven't exactly DIY'd my way to where I am now, but I've been to two different car audio shops and cycled through more components and speakers than I care to admit. I'm hoping I can get some expert advice on how to configure my front soundstage for best SQ with plenty of kick & slam with rock music. I'm profoundly frustrated to have thrown so much money and equipment at this problem only to have a system that seems to require perpetual tuning...
The Shaker500 "premium" sound system that came with my 2012 Mustang GT convertible is long gone, replaced with Audison Voce speakers, subs, amps, and a BitTenD processor. I wanted to retain my factory navigation system with hard drive for music, so the installer wired the factory HU to the BitTenD and ran it through the de-EQ process. It seems to have successfully circumvented the bass roll-off inherent to the Shaker500 system at higher volume.
My system is comprised of:
-9 channels of amp (Voce AV5.1k, Voce Quattro) and 8 channels of DSP (BitTenD) - PROBLEM! (ahem, are you listening, Audison?!)
-Audison Voce AV1.1 and AV3.0 in custom fiberglassed A-pillars
-Audison Voce AV5.0 on custom MDF baffles where front 5x7's were
-Morel MX33.3 3-way crossovers on front 1.1/3.0/5.0 (due to 8-ch BitTenD limitation)
-Illusion Audio Carbon C8 mid-woofers where factory 8's were, in their own sealed (plastic) enclosure apart from AV5.0's, using polyfill
-Audison Voce AV K5 pair in the backseat - on the sides - for rear-fill
-Audison Voce AV10 pair of subs in custom trunk enclosure
BitTen D is configured as:
-CH1: FL 1.1/3.0/5.0 on Morel MX33.3, 300/3.8 fixed
-CH2: FR 1.1/3.0/5.0 on Morel MX33.3, 300/3.8 fixed
-CH3: FL 8" active
-CH4: FR 8" active
-CH5: RL AV K5, Audison 2-way x-over
-CH6: RR AV K5, Audison 2-way x-over
-CH7: AV10 pair, wired in series at 2ohm
Amps driving the setup:
-CH1&CH2: bi-amp Morel MX33.3 with Audison Voce AV5.1k Class A 75Wx2 and Quattro Class AB 120x2
-CH3&CH4: AV5.1k Class AB 140Wx2
-CH5&CH6: AV Quattro Class AB 120Wx2
-CH7: AV5.1k Class D 1000Wx1 @ 2ohm
No matter how many times my installer sits down to tune and tweak the BitTenD, I still don't get that tight, clean mid-bass punch complemented by a smooth midrange and subtle highs that I've been searching for. The tweeters are overly loud and bright, the 3" mids sound like they were made to generate standing waves on my dashboard, and the 5's don't seem to be realizing their potential. I suspect the Morel crossovers we used are not a good fit for this application... Meanwhile, I can get the Carbon 8's and AV10 subs to play very nice together and almost completely get the sub frequencies into the front seat.
How would you recommend I configured this thing? Should I change out the Morel crossovers to something with a higher midrange cut-off, perhaps the MX33.4 with 700/3.8 fixed xover points? Or should I park my rear-fill for now, go active on my AV5's, and use Audison Voce MH xovers on the 1.1/3.0's? Ultimately, a 10-channel Audison Bit DSP product would really help here, but we're all on hold for that one, aren't we?!
I would really appreciate any help or insight you could offer on this setup!
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
You can keep swapping equipment for nominal gains at best. Kinda like going around in circles. It's not about if the thesis will sound better than the voce. If you're spending serious bucks on the upgrade then your ears will tell you it sounds much better. But if you were to do an ABX between the old equipment vs the new equipment keeping the everything else the same, the difference would be nominal at best. Beyond a point it's not about the equipment.
Go with a simple 2 way or 3 way plus sub. That's all you need. By adding speakers you're getting a bit louder, but you're adding to the chaos and cleaning up the mess will become even harder.
One can keep swapping stuff looking for that elusive utopia. Do it for long enough and one will eventually realize that one is going around in circles, without really going forward.
Good sound is down to tuning, once you have a correct install and decent equipment. When you have the right tune you will realize it's not about the equipment, the axis response of the driver, the whatever else. It's all about getting the right response at your ears. Devote the next year to tuning, you will soon realize it's the right path
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1 - 20 of 33 Posts
