[4thelove]

F150 Center Console Custom Apple / Alpine 12 Sub

Ordered the components to build out my 2005 F150 XLT sound system.

Alpine and Apple Electrics all the way

PDX-V9 900 watt 5 channel amp
PXA-800 Digital Signal Processor
RUX-C800 DSP Command Module

SWR-12 Sub "12D4"
SPR-60C 6.5 Front Components
SPR-68 6x8 Rear Coaxials

Apple AirportExpress Wireless Router (Optical Out)
AppleTV Media Interface (AirPlay) (Optical Out)
Motorola LapDock (~11" 720P Screen)
800 Watt AC Inverter

4GA DC Wiring
14GA Speaker Wiring
8GA Sub Wiring

35 LBS of Deadening Material (KnoKnoise)

The reasoning behind the AppleTV / Airport Express is because I want to be able to control my music directly from my phone with an added audiophile benefit of a pure digital signal from source to the wolfson DAC's in the alpine DSP.

While I'm waiting for everything to show up I've spent a lot of time researching Sub Enclosures. Because this is my first build, I'm finding I know very little.

From what I've read, sealed enclosures are smaller. I decided to go sealed because I do not have enough room to build a ported box in this location. However, I did make the maximum recommended sealed enclosure design of 1 cubic ft.

Does anyone have input deviating from the mfg's "optimal" size? They recommend .85, but that just seems small. The design shown here is my favorite aesthetically, but I did make a version that was down-firing as well. I think this will sound more accurate. Opinions?

 

[buchaja]

I just put a 10" Infinity Perfect VQ in my 2005 XLT. The truck is a screw, and is sitting in a box in the back with rear seats folded up. Not good. I think you have figured out that the only place for a sub in this truck is in the center console just like you've designed.

The box is sealed, exactly the size recommended and it sounds very good. I played around by stuffing and old pillow in it, and that lowered the f3 but made it sound very sloppy. I kept a little stuffing in just to get a slightly lower roll-off, but am thinking of even taking that out.

Bottom line: The manufacturer's box design is optimal and I don't think you will be able to improve on it.

See this thread for more: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-1-subs-really-good-sounding-reviews-say.html

 

[Ray21]

Very nice. I think its clever that you're using Airplay in your setup. Can't wait to see how your install goes.

 

[4thelove]

...the only place for a sub in this truck is in the center console just like you've designed.

The box is sealed, exactly the size recommended and it sounds very good. I played around by stuffing and old pillow in it, and that lowered the f3 but made it sound very sloppy.

Bottom line: The manufacturer's box design is optimal and I don't think you will be able to improve on it.

See this thread for more: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-1-subs-really-good-sounding-reviews-say.html

I definitely did not want to put the subs under the back seats as I almost always have them up for dogs, coolers, groceries, etc... and didn't want to lose that very useful indoor floor space. That really just leaves the center seat area as an alternative. I've actually only used the center seat one time and It wasn't out of necessity, making the decision to place it there an easy one

At first I thought it was going to be pretty tricky, but now that I've removed the seat everything is quite clear and straightforward. There is even room underneath for my DSP module and the wiring mess that comes with it. The Amplifier will mount directly to the back part of the sub with its adjustment controls facing up. For tuning all I have to do is tilt the armrest to its upright and locked position giving clear access directly from the drivers seat!

I've drawn out my cut sheets and just need to pick up a couple 2' x 4' sections of .75" MDF from lowes and I'm ready to build!

Oh, I'd like to use some kind of vinyl covering, but not sure where to get it. I watched a few youtube clips on how to do it, just not where to get it.

 

[4thelove]

Cut the pieces tonight with my old man, turning this thing all sentimental.

Dry fitted the pieces and everything fits together quite nicely. I need to pick up a countersink bit and some screws tomorrow.

 

[s4k4zulu]

Subed

 

[marshdrummer]

I had a Ram standard cab...I ran a center console box (mfg spec) with a 12" Type R downfiring sub. I didn't care for it. the bass was accurate, but I thought it should been louder. 2 things I believe contributed to the sound...1 - I only had about 3" from the floor to the box. I don't think the sub was able to 'breath' all that well. 2 - I wasn't able to make the box large enough. I want to say it was .9 ft3...Type R's are a large speaker...I don't think it gave enough airspace for the displacement of the speaker...These statements of course, are just my opinions...Good luck with your build!

 

[HulkSmash]

Sub'd.

 

[buchaja]

Nice work. I think where that sub will be positioned, up front and in the middle, it is going to sound good.

Is that a Gibson Les Paul? I just got one and was playing with it last night. I couldn't make my regular guitar group this afternoon because of a conflict.

 

[4thelove]

The box is glued'n'screwed fits together very nice! The amp and DSP units were supposed to be delivered today, but because of yet another illiterate FedEx driver, they attempted to deliver to my neighbors who were not home. They must have been practicing their stealth delivery skills, because neither me or my dog heard a damn thing.

Not a huge deal, I still have the damping materials, speakers, and wiring to install first anyways.

I did get the 4 AWG power wire through the firewall into the cab tonight. Still working out the route from there, but it actually went a lot more smoothly than i thought it would.

 

[dub599]

that looks pretty darn cool. good work and creativity

 

[tulse]

Nice work, Sir. Will certainly follow this.

 

[marshdrummer]

Def cool!

 

[4thelove]

I made a ton of progress this weekend; routing of all cabling and component installation except for the rear door speakers is complete. The rear speakers are supposedly showing today, so I'll try and get those installed tonight if the wind dies down a bit.

I had a chance to test out the system as it is and the sound was great. I can't wait to get the EQ's and crossovers, and timing all dialed in. I won't bother with that until I have the rears installed. I also discovered a mistake in my engineering of the power circuit which cuts off all power to the DSP when ACC is off; thus erasing all my settings every time I turn off the car. oops! Luckily it's an easy fix and I haven't really secured it all in yet.

AirPlay via optical toslink connection worked straight out of the box. The trick is setting up the phone to connect to both a wireless router LAN and cell network WAN at the same time. To do this, I joined the WiFi Network and changed the DHCP settings on my phone to manual. I set an IP Address and subnet, but left the DNS and Gateway fields BLANK. By doing this the phone automatically uses the cell network for internet traffic, but connects to the LAN for AirPlay. This enables me to stream my music from the WAN to my LAN. :faint:

The signal to noise ratio is transparent, the only thing I can hear is the fan on my little AC Inverter running. I'm hoping that problem is solved when I put the armrest and all the fairings back on the mount.

Pics Below!

 

[4thelove]

More Pics

The second image really shows the need for proper cable management.

6 RCA Line Level Wires
4 Pairs of Speaker Wire
3 Pairs of Power Wire
2 Remote On Wires
1 Massive Subwoofer Wire
1 Illumination Wire
1 DSP USB Configuration Cable
1 DSP Command Module Cable
1 DSP Microphone Microphone Cable
1 AUX Input Wire
1 Fiber Optic Magic Tube

 

[4thelove]

Vinyl wrapped the box and bolted the armrest back on. Looks like I imagined it would!

Still waiting for an adapter from China to show up so I can hook an AppleTV to the LapDock screen.

All systems are go, and it sounds gooooood. With no gain added (nominal settings) I can not turn the source DSP volume up to its limit. There is more bass available than I would ever want for normal listening and the speakers are capable of handling a volume level much higher than I will ever attempt to achieve. Extremely pleased with the component selection and function!

Next steps are to complete the AppleTV connection for iPhone Mirroring and running the Alpine IMPRINT system calibration.