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Hello Guys,
I hope everyone is doing well. I'm hoping some of you could lend your advice either from an equipment, sound, or installation viewpoint.
The last week or so has been spent going through these forums and other websites to gather information for a new system. I'm having a local shop here in Massachusetts do it, but I'm picking out the equipment. This is what I've gathered so far:
(Purchased) JL Audio VX1000/5i (with DSP) - I chose this amp because it's top of the line from JL, it has DSP built in, and it has ample power of up to 600W RMS with 400 RMS for doors. After writing this post, I noticed that the single amplifier I currently have may not actually be enough to fulfill control of that many active channels that I may be looking to run. Either I would need two identical VX1000/5i amps for 10 channels, or something like an wireless Audiocontrol DSP connected to 1 amp for subs (1-2 channels) and 1 additional amp for all of the components (6 channels?).
(Purchased) Nav-TV Zen-M - this was chosen to bypass the factory amp
(Purchased) JL Audio 13TW5v2-2 with standard 'Life After Bass' box made for this sub.
-I chose this sub to save space primarily, plus I'm just curious to see if the shallow design will suffice in this car. Sub will likely be placed facing the rear of the car or side. I believe ideal distance is 8 feet to driver.
(Not Purchased) Regarding the components, I was set on Focal 165 KX3 3-way, then I found a decent deal on Utopia-be No.7, around $3000. Upon further reading, I've started looking into SpeakScan Denmark company which looks like they make amazing speakers, slightly lower prices than Focal Utopia, but they seem to use wider footprint drivers than Focal since I don't think SpeakScan makes much for the car environment. On the SpeakScan, I believe the consensus from the forums was to use 'ScanSpeak Illuminator D3004/6040-00 Beryllium Dome Tweeter' with 18WU for 7" midbass (factory doors allow for 6.5-6.75") and 12WU which are 4" drivers.
In comparison to SpeakScan, the Focal Utopia Be Kit No.7 Active 6.5" 3-Way Component Speakers System is $3000 here (Focal Utopia Be Kit No.7 Active 6.5" 3-Way Component Speakers System) and has the following:
Two 6-1/2" woofers, two 3" midrange speakers, 2 tweeters, 1" Beryllium inverted-dome tweeter
4-ohm impedance
Power range: 15-100 watts RMS
From my understanding, which hasn't been verified 100% by the shop yet because the info is difficult to find, this is what my car fits:
Front doors:
1.75" tweeters total diameter
4" midrange (can take common 3.5" size?)
6.5" midbass
Center of dashboard?
3.5" single (1) center speaker
Rear fills:
4" midrange
5.25" midbass
Rear deck:
8" subwoofer (one most likely, or dual?)
I noticed that the car has a 8" woofer so I'm playing with the idea of changing the woofer (I am guessing it has one only) to a Mille Hertz since I've heard great things about the brand when people think of high-end sound (Hertz ML2000.3 8" 700W RMS Legend Series Subwoofer) or the Focal Utopia M or Be, such as this one 8WM - Utopia M Series 8" Component Woofer | Focal or this one 21 WX - Focal Utopia Be 8" 500 Watt Subwoofer . The 8" is an extra $1000 approximately. While money doesn't grow on trees, I would be willing to buy an 8" to add to the system if I believe it will deliver a noticeable sound performance advantage.
Install Main Goals:
To find the cusp of best possible sound while minimizing any customization work to keep the interior stock; keeping the install as 'Stealth' as possible.
The less customization the better in this case as the interior is already well put together. These cars are usually tightly built and 'over-engineered' at times as some of us already may know. Simply taking panels off increases risk of something breaking or damage occurring.
The tweeters are likely going to be the biggest issue since they're all larger than stock I believe due to their extra spacious enclosures. For example, the Scanspeak 7" may be an issue if factory fit doesn't support it. As far as custom speaker adapters etc, I expect that to be done to its fullest, but ideally I'd like to avoid no fiberglass work.
Overall, what do you guys think so far of the setup?
Which components would you go with and how many?
Should that single 13.5" shallow sub be adequate? I know it's 22mm total Xmas, but I'm not too worried about it as I can always consider adding a 2nd one if needed, or just selling the 13.5" and adding a larger driver like a 12W6v3. I just didn't want a giant heavy box in the back.
How about the 8" subwoofer idea? Mille or Utopia M/Be?
Many thanks guys!
Side note:
the same shop is installing an AL Priority radar/laser jammer system as well. Any thoughts on that would also be appreciated.
I hope everyone is doing well. I'm hoping some of you could lend your advice either from an equipment, sound, or installation viewpoint.
The last week or so has been spent going through these forums and other websites to gather information for a new system. I'm having a local shop here in Massachusetts do it, but I'm picking out the equipment. This is what I've gathered so far:
(Purchased) JL Audio VX1000/5i (with DSP) - I chose this amp because it's top of the line from JL, it has DSP built in, and it has ample power of up to 600W RMS with 400 RMS for doors. After writing this post, I noticed that the single amplifier I currently have may not actually be enough to fulfill control of that many active channels that I may be looking to run. Either I would need two identical VX1000/5i amps for 10 channels, or something like an wireless Audiocontrol DSP connected to 1 amp for subs (1-2 channels) and 1 additional amp for all of the components (6 channels?).
(Purchased) Nav-TV Zen-M - this was chosen to bypass the factory amp
(Purchased) JL Audio 13TW5v2-2 with standard 'Life After Bass' box made for this sub.
-I chose this sub to save space primarily, plus I'm just curious to see if the shallow design will suffice in this car. Sub will likely be placed facing the rear of the car or side. I believe ideal distance is 8 feet to driver.
(Not Purchased) Regarding the components, I was set on Focal 165 KX3 3-way, then I found a decent deal on Utopia-be No.7, around $3000. Upon further reading, I've started looking into SpeakScan Denmark company which looks like they make amazing speakers, slightly lower prices than Focal Utopia, but they seem to use wider footprint drivers than Focal since I don't think SpeakScan makes much for the car environment. On the SpeakScan, I believe the consensus from the forums was to use 'ScanSpeak Illuminator D3004/6040-00 Beryllium Dome Tweeter' with 18WU for 7" midbass (factory doors allow for 6.5-6.75") and 12WU which are 4" drivers.
In comparison to SpeakScan, the Focal Utopia Be Kit No.7 Active 6.5" 3-Way Component Speakers System is $3000 here (Focal Utopia Be Kit No.7 Active 6.5" 3-Way Component Speakers System) and has the following:
Two 6-1/2" woofers, two 3" midrange speakers, 2 tweeters, 1" Beryllium inverted-dome tweeter
4-ohm impedance
Power range: 15-100 watts RMS
From my understanding, which hasn't been verified 100% by the shop yet because the info is difficult to find, this is what my car fits:
Front doors:
1.75" tweeters total diameter
4" midrange (can take common 3.5" size?)
6.5" midbass
Center of dashboard?
3.5" single (1) center speaker
Rear fills:
4" midrange
5.25" midbass
Rear deck:
8" subwoofer (one most likely, or dual?)
I noticed that the car has a 8" woofer so I'm playing with the idea of changing the woofer (I am guessing it has one only) to a Mille Hertz since I've heard great things about the brand when people think of high-end sound (Hertz ML2000.3 8" 700W RMS Legend Series Subwoofer) or the Focal Utopia M or Be, such as this one 8WM - Utopia M Series 8" Component Woofer | Focal or this one 21 WX - Focal Utopia Be 8" 500 Watt Subwoofer . The 8" is an extra $1000 approximately. While money doesn't grow on trees, I would be willing to buy an 8" to add to the system if I believe it will deliver a noticeable sound performance advantage.
Install Main Goals:
To find the cusp of best possible sound while minimizing any customization work to keep the interior stock; keeping the install as 'Stealth' as possible.
The less customization the better in this case as the interior is already well put together. These cars are usually tightly built and 'over-engineered' at times as some of us already may know. Simply taking panels off increases risk of something breaking or damage occurring.
The tweeters are likely going to be the biggest issue since they're all larger than stock I believe due to their extra spacious enclosures. For example, the Scanspeak 7" may be an issue if factory fit doesn't support it. As far as custom speaker adapters etc, I expect that to be done to its fullest, but ideally I'd like to avoid no fiberglass work.
Overall, what do you guys think so far of the setup?
Which components would you go with and how many?
Should that single 13.5" shallow sub be adequate? I know it's 22mm total Xmas, but I'm not too worried about it as I can always consider adding a 2nd one if needed, or just selling the 13.5" and adding a larger driver like a 12W6v3. I just didn't want a giant heavy box in the back.
How about the 8" subwoofer idea? Mille or Utopia M/Be?
Many thanks guys!
Side note:
the same shop is installing an AL Priority radar/laser jammer system as well. Any thoughts on that would also be appreciated.
