[Austin_Jim]

Way back in the day I worked at Stereo Habitat in Campbell and San Jose, Ca. I learned a lot during that time. My boss was the lead installer. I did some of the custom work, but mostly my expertise was in the wiring and alarms. Here are some pics I just dug up in an old album. Enjoy.

Ferrari 355 (Alpine HU (IIRC), Diamond Audio amp, Diamond Components):

RX7 (Diamond components, subs, amp, PlayStation, Clifford alarm w/turbo timer). I remember the alarm being a mofo as he wanted remote start on a manual car with a turbo timer. The power locks were a pain too as they weren't just electronic. You had to put a solenoid in each door even though it had factory power locks. And there was NO room
Two DIN units and the steering wheel remote on the e-brake:

Back when having a PlayStation in the car was amazing

Mercedes S Class (6 12’s, RF amps, Fold out screen)

ABS piece in the ashtray with a momentary and latched switch to trick the headunit into playing video without parking brake

(6) 12s

C4? (Diamond subs, Phoenix Gold Tantrum amps):

Mustang Fox Body (Diamond components, RF 15s and 10s, Arc Audio and Zapco amps (IIRC)):

Escalade (5 screens, multiple sources, 3 source switchers)
I remember this on being a pain in the tail as the owner wanted each screen to play individually. Had to use a bunch of source switchers and infrared wireless headphone casting units pointed in just the right direction

All under the center console

Don’t remember the car:

 

[ItsonlyaHONDA]

Damn son.... some ones been Ballin since way back when....😍

 

[Muu]

Very cool

 

[Gill]

Bravo, neat install then.

 

[Freakquency]

That 6 12s install was nuts....good lord.

 

[Austin_Jim]

That 6 12s install was nuts....good lord.

Yeah. I have some pictures of the box behind the baffles. A LOT of funky angles and car components to get around in order for them to fit. But GOSH DANG was that thing loud. However, IIRC, the Foxbody Mustang was louder. Probably because it was a rear seat delete. Meaning we took out the rear seat and the box for the 15s and 10s were in the passenger cabin. The best sounding was probably the RX-7 or the C4 Corvette.

Looking back on it, I really like the those Diamond Audio amps, subs and components

 

[Freakquency]

Yeah. I have some pictures of the box behind the baffles. A LOT of funky angles and car components to get around in order for them to fit. But GOSH DANG was that thing loud. However, IIRC, the Foxbody Mustang was louder. Probably because it was a rear seat delete. Meaning we took out the rear seat and the box for the 15s and 10s were in the passenger cabin. The best sounding was probably the RX-7 or the C4 Corvette.

Looking back on it, I really like the those Diamond Audio amps, subs and components

That RX-7 definitely was pretty as well.

 

[Slick85]

Do you think the sound quality of speakers has significantly improved since the 90s?

 

[Austin_Jim]

Do you think the sound quality of speakers has significantly improved since the 90s?

I don't know if I can answer that...yet. My last big system was in my Maxima with Diamond separates then MB Quart separates. I haven't really had anything aftermarket in a car since. I did have a big system in my boat in '08, but that's a totally different animal. Once I finish the system in my Chevelle, I might be better qualified to answer that. However, it will be fully active with a DSP, so probably no comparison. The cars pictured in this thread did sound pretty awesome though.

 

[Jroo]

That 6 12s install was nuts....good lord.

That is crazy. Back in the day to open a trunk and see 6 12's, people would have lost their minds.
Does anyone know if subs have any issues like cancellation pointed in on each other in that arrangement?

 

[Jroo]

Do you think the sound quality of speakers has significantly improved since the 90s?

I don’t know especially with speakers. Subs have come along way especially when you think box sizes and power requirements but don’t know about speakers. If I have a nib speakers from the 90s 2000s, is a new speaker set going to be much better? Don’t know. Is a set of diamonds, mb quarts, Boston, infinity beta, etc just going to be completely outclassed by a comparable offering today? In terms of quality, that depends on where they were made?

 

[rmenergy]

Do you think the sound quality of speakers has significantly improved since the 90s?

I don't believe so at most levels. At the very top of the echelon, probably yes though.

Discounting SPL, there are plenty of old school speaker lines from the 80's & 90's that would hold up fine today.
-Soundstream SS Reference & Exact lines
-Oz Audio Superman
-A/D/S
-AVI
-Plenty more if I actually thought about it.

A couple great sounding subs from that time that were also affordable:
-OG JL 10W1
-G&S BD & OD series 10's
-AVI SL series(a bit pricy but not bad)

I actually think if an install is optimized for the equipment & environment, many of the good performing speakers from the 90's would be VERY hard to impossible to tell it was vintage gear in a blind listening test.

 

[Austin_Jim]

My father was a car painter by trade. And a VERY good one. Worked at a couple Ferrari shops and a premier MBZ/BMW shop in the 90s that worked on all of the 49ers cars. I have polaroids somewhere of Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott by their 560SEC Mercedes' after my dad painted them. He always said something that stuck with me, "Its not the tool. Its the mechanic." Which I believe rings true today. Regardless of what field you are in; painting, mechanics, stereo install, cabinet making, sculpture, you name it. You can put a couple low-end drivers in the hands of a great installer and pit them against a sub-par installer with the very best equipment and the higher skilled installer will win out every day. There is no doubt that you need great equipment to achieve great results, but there is no substitute to skilled labor to make a job truly great.