2008 Yaris sedan ‘S’ sound deadening project.

[Herbicidal]

First off I would like to say thank you to DerickVeliz2, SQComp, Swidd, Talnlnky and countless others I have learned from in just the last week alone! :clap:

So I’m sure some of you are thinking, Oh no! Not another sedan sound deadening project! :rolleyes: When I started mine, I didn’t even realize there are several other ‘works in progress’. My goal is not the same as theirs regarding the level of deadening they are going to achieve. I’ll be a couple of steps down. Nor am I going to upgrade my sound system to their levels either. I’m staying with the stock head unit and only upgrading the speakers. I need to draw the $$$ line somewhere.

Before I started, I wanted to scientifically document the difference of my sound deadening efforts. I bought a small digital decibel meter and took some readings inside the car under full acceleration with the windows up and the radio off. I was a little surprised by the readings! See pictures below for more info.

I’m starting in the trunk and working my way forward. I guess it all started after I had my custom center exit exhaust installed. Even after a muffler and two straight through resonators, the sound inside the car under acceleration is still a little too loud for my tastes. However, the exhaust note outside the car is just right!

To begin, I pulled all the plastic panels from the trunk, trunk mat, spare tire, etc. It all came out quite easily. Then I wiped the metal surfaces down with rubbing alcohol. My sound deadener of choice is from www.RAAMaudio.com. More specifically, RAAMmat BXT II. It comes in 15” x 15” squares with soft foil on one side and a peel and stick adhesive on the other. This product is VERY easy to use and does not cut you. I can cut it with a pair of scissor I keep in the garage. I use the left over backing as template material for those oddly shaped spaces. I also bought 9 square feet of Ensolite foam that is also peel and stick. At the moment, I plan on using the Ensolite in the door panels when I get to them. I realize now that I probably don’t have enough.

At this point I have completely deadened the truck and trunk lid. I’ve removed the rear seat and subframe and the plastic parts that cover the wheel wells. Tonight I removed the rear speaker deck and the plastic pieces along the back of the rear seat. I would like to stuff some kind of foam up the “C” pillars.

I figured while I was tearing into my car, now would be a good time to upgrade the speakers. After a bunch of quick research on Crutchfield I found speakers that I like and were given high marks by previous buyers. I was pretty much ready to buy from Crutchfield when Swidd posted up a link to www.SonicElectronix.com. The rear speakers were $60 LESS then Crutchfield. So that’s were my money went. For the rears I ordered up a pair of Alpine SPR-69C (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_8552_Alpine+SPR-69C.html) for $99.99 . For the fronts I agonized whether to go with a straight replacement or get a pair with separate tweeters. Separates mean that I will need to cut the door panels. The separate tweeters won out in the end. I ordered a pair of Kicker KS60.2's (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_11517_Kicker+KS60.2.html) for $109.99.

Here’s some pics of where I’m at so far.

Getting started: RAAMmat, Ensolite foam (both are peal and stick) with a digital decibel meter.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2405

Closeup view of the mini decibel meter.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2406

Taped to the rear seat to get a baseline sound reading.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2407

Highest sound I recorded in the cabin, 84.7 db.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2408

Removal of the trunk "stuff". When was the last time you checked the air pressure in your spare?. :biggrin:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2409

Rear "stuff" removed and the metal surface wiped down with rubbing alcohol.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2410

Partially done trunk. Right hand side.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2411

I used the leftover backing for template material.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2412

Figured out an easier way to remove those, those, pluggy, clippy things. A ziptie fits through the head and now you can pull them out with out prying the head off or damaging them.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2413

RAAMmat in the trunk lid. I’ll make sure to deaden the license plate and frame too.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2414

Trunk and deck lid about 95% done at this point.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2415

Pretty much done with the trunk. This is the drivers side. I may have to put some foam over the vent to dampen the sound, but still allow air movement.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2416

Trunk, passenger side.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2417

Inside the car, facing the left rear corner, taking the picture from behind the passenger side front seat. I've finally uncovered the wheel wells!
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2418

Rear seat, subframe and wheel well panels removed. You can see where I stopped from the trunk.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2419

Now I can pretty much work up to the back of the front seats after lifiting up the carpet.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2420

Inside the car looking towards the trunk. The rear deck topper and the factory sound deadener is flopped over on the right laying in the trunk. Kind of hard to get the depth perspective in this picture.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2440

From the front seats looking toward the back. You can see the left wheel well that I want to deaden too.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2441

A semi-closeup of the rear deck minus the deck material, etc. The speakers are reflecting in the rear window. All of that bare metal I want to deaden.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2442

Should be interesting to get another db reading after I'm done. I may take some other readings, like before and after doing the doors. Also, like the others are doing with their projects, I’ll post up as I go.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Nice. Just for shits and giggles, take a dB rating after you break in the speakers. hahaha.

[swidd]

wow, clean and thorough :) I attacked it like a zombie, ripping off the panels, throwing them aside, slapping on some mat, cutting up some patches of foam, and banging the panels back on. Banging extra hard if they would not quite fit.

[talnlnky]

hmmm raammat used to come in like 50ft long rolls... wonder why it's cut into squares now. Different supplier maybe.
Nice trick with the clips....I can't remember how I got those out (it was 2 yrs ago... hehe)

[Herbicidal]

Nice. Just for shits and giggles, take a dB rating after you break in the speakers. hahaha.Will do!

wow, clean and thorough :) I attacked it like a zombie, ripping off the panels, throwing them aside, slapping on some mat, cutting up some patches of foam, and banging the panels back on. Banging extra hard if they would not quite fit.Thanks!

hmmm raammat used to come in like 50ft long rolls... wonder why it's cut into squares now. Different supplier maybe.
Nice trick with the clips....I can't remember how I got those out (it was 2 yrs ago... hehe)I think that's the "original" version, BXT. The squares do make it easy, but rarely have I used an entire square at one time. Maybe as I get further into the passenger compartment...

I just checked the status of my speaker order and it's already is Sacramento! Looks like I should get all 4 on Monday. C'mon Monday! :thumbup:

[talnlnky]

unfortunately.... unless you spend $500 or more on an spl meter, any value above about 110-120 just isn't going to be accurate. But.... spl meters, even the cheaper ones are fun toys to play with.

[Herbicidal]

No worries! Like you said, a fun toy to play with. I guess my experiment is more un-scientific, then scientific, but hopefully better than just saying "yeah, that sounds quieter". At least I'll have some numbers to look at.

[1NZYaris1]

:thumbup: nice ,and i would 100% agree , at least in your own heart you
know exactly how much noise reduction you have achieved.
hmm until the sterio is turned on :bellyroll: :biggrin:
keep the pics coming .

[DailyDriver]

excited to see how this turns out. more pics the better! THX!

[yaris2010RS]

question...... when applying the RAAMmat, what do u do? cover all the metal? i want to do this but its expensive stuff..... and to cover all the metal would use alot of stuff.....

thanks

[goku87]

hmmm raammat used to come in like 50ft long rolls... wonder why it's cut into squares now. Different supplier maybe.
Nice trick with the clips....I can't remember how I got those out (it was 2 yrs ago... hehe)

It changed (if I can remember correctly) about the time I got back from my deployment (I think) about a year ago, give or take a few months. They said it was better for shipping and ease of use.

[sqcomp]

Rick sells good stuff. I actually have to get a hold of him to get a Raamaudio decal/sticker for the back windshield...

[derickveliz2]

question...... when applying the RAAMmat, what do u do? cover all the metal? i want to do this but its expensive stuff..... and to cover all the metal would use alot of stuff.....

thanks

Yes, that is the idea and many layers are required to block noise , and Yes it's expensive. But it's worth the effort! I'm in the middle of the process and I'm already feeling the good results, I'm using a different approach than the one shown here, but even every little you do, it's a great benefit.

D.
:thumbsup:

.

[Herbicidal]

question...... when applying the RAAMmat, what do u do? cover all the metal? i want to do this but its expensive stuff..... and to cover all the metal would use alot of stuff.....

thanks

You can also be more selective on where you put the sound deadener. Probably the biggest bang for the buck would be doing the doors, which I'm actually doing last. :rolleyes: See Derickveliz2's outstanding thread for more details. You can also look at RAAMaudio's web page in the How-To section ->doors. In fact, I think it's a good idea to review the whole How-To section, then you can decide how much you want to do and where. :thumbsup:

[talnlnky]

Generally you want to cover as much as possible, add as much weight as you can do the panels. However...

for those on a budget you can maximize the limited material you do have and instead of carpeting all the metal with the stuff just cover say 40-50% of each flat panel of metal with some of the mat. The are diminishing returns after that. With that said, I went 3 layers deep where the rear passengers feet rest... most places I have 1-2 layers tho. IN the future I intend to put about 30sq feet on my front two doors, and another 30ft on my firewall.

[Herbicidal]

Generally you want to cover as much as possible, add as much weight as you can do the panels. However...

for those on a budget you can maximize the limited material you do have and instead of carpeting all the metal with the stuff just cover say 40-50% of each flat panel of metal with some of the mat. The are diminishing returns after that. With that said, I went 3 layers deep where the rear passengers feet rest... most places I have 1-2 layers tho. IN the future I intend to put about 30sq feet on my front two doors, and another 30ft on my firewall.That's one way to lower your car without the use of aftermarket springs! :biggrin:

My speakers arrived today! Woohoo! I haven't even opened the box yet. I'm relishing the moment... And placed another order for some more RAAMmat and Ensolite. That should allow me to complete the car and hopefully have some leftover to start either the Tundra or the wifes Corolla. :thumbsup:

[Herbicidal]

I had a whopping 1/2 hour to work on my car last night. I'm not going to pull multiple all-nighters like Derick! I need my sleep! :tongue:

I did remove the stock rear speakers without damaging the rear window tint. I also popped out the rear "C" pillar covers as I want to get some sound deadening material up there too. And took the new speakers out of the boxes. Here's some new pictures:

Alpine Type R rear speakers. Ya baby!
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2450

Kicker door speakers with electronic crossover and tweeters.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2449

Left rear "C" pillar panel removed. Both rear speakers removed.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2448

Right rear "C" pillar panel removed. Notice the stock speaker sitting there...where's the magnet?!? Ohhhh! There it is! Look really close..!
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2447

[derickveliz2]

Where did you buy the digital decibel meter? and how much did you pay for it?

[talnlnky]

those aren't usually called electronic crossovers. They are normally just called passive crossovers because they don't require a power source to operate. If you call them electronic crossovers, people might think you are talking about active crossovers which are the crossovers built into your amplifier, or a stand alone powered crossover like this (http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_1612XSG/AudioControl-2XS-Gray.html?tp=117)

Also, passives 99.9% of the time are installed in line with the speaker wire, where as active is installed in line with the signal cable(RCA's). that .1% of the time I alluded to are things called Fmods (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=266-252)

Hope you have a free weekend, cause you have your work cut out.

[Herbicidal]

Where did you buy the digital decibel meter? and how much did you pay for it?
From HERE (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=390-722&source=googleps). Basically $30.

those aren't usually called electronic crossovers. They are normally just called passive crossovers because they don't require a power source to operate. If you call them electronic crossovers, people might think you are talking about active crossovers which are the crossovers built into your amplifier, or a stand alone powered crossover like this (http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_1612XSG/AudioControl-2XS-Gray.html?tp=117)

Also, passives 99.9% of the time are installed in line with the speaker wire, where as active is installed in line with the signal cable(RCA's). that .1% of the time I alluded to are things called Fmods (http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=266-252)

Hope you have a free weekend, cause you have your work cut out.
I stand corrected! Thank you! :thumbsup:

[Herbicidal]

Well I managed to squeeze in maybe two hours tonight. I worked on deadening the right wheel well (just behind the white bottle of rubbing alcohol) and just about all of the rear deck. Next will be the drivers side rear wheel well, the floor under the rear seat and up to the back of the front seats, then I think I can install the rear speakers and put the back 1/2 of the car together again so I can drive it. After that, I think I will work on one door at a time. In the upper left corner of the picture you can see some wire and connectors. To much of a pain in the ass to deaden right there, so I put the RAAMmat on the inside of the 'C' panel plastic piece instead. Should work fine. One of my neighbors kids came by for a look and said "that's cool!". Made my night. :smile:

Here's just one pic from tonights work.

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2460

[Herbicidal]

Well I realized last night that I overlooked getting some kind of speaker adapter to mount my new speakers in. :rolleyes: So after some internet searching I found Car Speaker Adapters.com (http://car-speaker-adapters.com/about.php) I found a set for the rear 6x9's and for the fronts too. They have already shipped via USPS, so hopefully by the middle of next week I'll have them. In the meantime, I'll continue with sound deadening, so by the time they arrive I should be ready to put the back 1/2 of the car together again.

[sqcomp]

Herb...

Did you have that nasty metal anchor on the C-pillars like I did? You knw, in the area that you didn't want to deaden because of the clips...

[Herbicidal]

Herb...

Did you have that nasty metal anchor on the C-pillars like I did? You knw, in the area that you didn't want to deaden because of the clips...

No I didn't. You can just see one of the C pillar panels laying backside up (has a blue connector up in one corner) and there were like only 4 connectors I had to pop out. The panel on both sides came out real easy. I used a long screw driver to get next to each connector and slowly worked it out. No problem whatosever.

[sqcomp]

Okay...So you DON'T have the curtain airbag option? Just making sure. I know there is a metal "stud" (for lack of a better descriptor) that anchors the c-pillar in mine. Boy was it a headache to get off...

[Herbicidal]

Okay...So you DON'T have the curtain airbag option? Just making sure. I know there is a metal "stud" (for lack of a better descriptor) that anchors the c-pillar in mine. Boy was it a headache to get off...
Correct. No side air bags. Interesting that you do! :iono:

[sqcomp]

It was an option that seemed good to have.

[Herbicidal]

It was an option that seemed good to have.Agreed! My car was already built and sitting on a different dealers lot, not an option for me.

Spent a couple of more hours on it tonight. Kind of reached a milestone, at least for me anyway. I have almost reached the start of the carpet at the base of the rear seat. I'm almost done with RAAMmat for this 'phase'. Just a few more wide strips to get to the carpet. I plan on putting some Ensolite on the wheel wells to further reduce tire noise at those points. I may put some up on the "C" pillars too since that's about ear level with rear passengers.

Here's few pics from this evenings efforts.

98% done with rear as far as RAAMmat is concerned. I'm pretty well protected from aliens reading my brain waves, as long as I'm in the trunk. :tongue: Oh, at the very back you can see bare metal. At the point in the trunk, it's double-walled and putting the RAAMmat there wouldn't really accomplish much. Maybe I'll do a strip of Ensolite there instead.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2473

Looks like a giant Jiffy Pop popcorn container!
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2474

Several places I deadend the "C" pillar panels since there was stuff in the way on the body of the car. Hey! I just noticed I'm missing a triangle piece on the left one. And the one on the right is missing a small piece too! I'll fix that tomorrow.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2475

Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to place some Ensolite in there and maybe pick up some thick foam to put in the large space beneath the rear seat when it goes back in.

[sqcomp]

Tell me Rick isn't the $hit. I'm using his Ensolite...good stuff.

[derickveliz2]

Looking GOOD!

[Herbicidal]

Tell me Rick isn't the $hit. I'm using his Ensolite...good stuff.AND he's a really nice guy to deal with!

Looking GOOD!Thanks! Coming along, slowly but surely. I'm going to try and get in another two hours this evening.

[derickveliz2]

Coming along, slowly but surely.

Hey :thumbdown: I quit writing my hours in a log... it was embarrassing :redface:

Take your time!

That's what I do. :thumbsup:
D.

[Herbicidal]

Hey :thumbdown: I quit writing my hours in a log... it was embarrassing :redface:

Take your time!

That's what I do. :thumbsup:
D.
Wow! I never even thought of keeping a log! Glad I didn't. :tongue: Man, I love working with the Ensolite (peel and stick version)! :thumbup: Much like the RAAMmat, smaller sections work best since it sticks to everything! However, it's very easy to remove and reposition until you push it into it's permanent place. Last night I mostly completed the rear wheel wells and the floor area directly below the rear seat. Started on a section of the rear deck too. At this time, I am not going to do the trunk with Ensolite, just within the passenger compartment. No pics yet. I'm coming down with some kind of bug, so I went to bed early.

[derickveliz2]

Wow! I never even thought of keeping a log! Glad I didn't. :tongue: Man, I love working with the Ensolite (peel and stick version)!

That's the same stuff I'm getting from http://raamaudio (http://www.raamaudio.com/) I was tired of using the 3M 77 spray on the trim panels, Rick just changed his website but still offers the same materials. Also got more CLD Tiles from sound deadener showdown (http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi)

[Herbicidal]

I ordered my speaker adapters on Friday night last week and they arrived TODAY! All the way from PA! Holy smokes! All the way across the country in 3 days via USPS! That rocks! I spent some more time tonight doing the Ensolite, then fitted the adapters to the rear 6x9's and it's a perfect fit! This pic was before I mounted them so they are just sitting on top of the speaker. Even the tiny pre-drilled holes lined up perfectly. Now I need to wire up the new speakers and then I think I can start putting the back 1/2 of car together again.

If you need speaker adapters, I would HIGHLY recommend car-speaker-adapters.com (http://car-speaker-adapters.com/about.php). :headbang:

Speaker adapters:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2476

[derickveliz2]

How deep are your 6.5 speakers? how thick are the adapters? It's probably that you may end up putting a spacer to clear the magnet and the glass of your window.

[Herbicidal]

How deep are your 6.5 speakers? how thick are the adapters? It's probably that you may end up putting a spacer to clear the magnet and the glass of your window.
I just checked SonicElectronix and they say: Top mount depth is 3". This is measured from the bottom of the speaker magnet to the bottom of the mounting holes on the rim. The adapters are pretty slim, perhaps 1/4", maybe a little thicker. The speakers mounted in the adapters fit fine in the rear deck, no clearance issues that I can see. I bought the adapters so I could reuse the stock mounting holes in the rear deck without drilling new ones. To that end, it's a perfect fit!

[derickveliz2]

Top mount depth is 3". This is measured from the bottom of the speaker magnet to the bottom of the mounting holes on the rim. The adapters are pretty slim, perhaps 1/4", maybe a little thicker.

It's hard to tell, but you'll find out once you fit the 6.5 speaker into the front doors and lower your windows.

D.

[Herbicidal]

It's hard to tell, but you'll find out once you fit the 6.5 speaker into the front doors and lower your windows.

D.

Ohhhh! These are for the rear deck, not the doors. I'm not to the doors yet. :wink:

[derickveliz2]

But on this picture you show to the right the 6.5 speakers and they go in the doors, is that right? if so you may need a spacer.

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2476

[Herbicidal]

My bad, I misunderstood which speakers you were referring to. :redface: The ones on the right in that picture are the Kickers. According to Sonic, the Top Mount Depth is: 1 15/16's inches. Just a click short of 2 inches deep. These are used in "shallow mount installations", according to Sonic. Maybe I'll be OK? :iono:

[derickveliz2]

The ones on the right in that picture are the Kickers. According to Sonic, the Top Mount Depth is: 1 15/16's inches. Just a click short of 2 inches deep. These are used in "shallow mount installations", according to Sonic. Maybe I'll be OK? :iono:

They may be OK, I had the window control handy and plug it into it's connector to move the window up and down when I had the door naked, to test fit the speakers. It's good also to double check if the speakers wires don't get stuck with the glass too. But you won't know until you get to the doors.

Keep it up!

:thumbsup: Nice speakers by the way! :thumbsup:


.

[Herbicidal]

Put some more time into the car tonight. Finished installing the rear speakers and actually put the entire trunk, rear deck and 'C' pillars back in, plus some plastic body panels that go over the rear wheel wells. The back seat is still out as I have some more deadening to do underneath and in front of the back seat. The rear speakers sound great! But I'm still toying with getting an amp before the backseat goes in. Before I get too much further I may buy some higher quality speaker wire and pre-run it before I cover everything up again. That will make it pretty much plug-and-play without having to remove a bunch of plastic panels again.

Deadened the license plate and inside the frame with scraps of RAAMmat and Ensolite. Don't throw your scraps away!
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2483

Put some extra Ensolite on the back of the plate where it may touch the car during EXTREME base. :biggrin:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2481

Reassabled the trunk area after installing the rear speakers. The new ones sound great!
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2482

[Herbicidal]

I decided to get an amp, an amp wiring kit and a line output converter. Since I'm already 'into' the car, I might as well do it right!

Amp: Eclipse EA4200, free shipping, no sales tax (already shipped) for $129.99 from Crutchfield. Sonic Electronix wanted $209.99 and it's out of stock and backordered on their site.
http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/ImageHandler/scale/340/342/products/2008/099/h099EA4200-f.jpeg

Amp wiring kit: Earthquake Sound AK-3000, free shipping (already shipped), paid CA sales tax from Sonic for $29.99.
http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/435968/main/ak3000.jpg

Line output converter: PAC SOEM-4, free shipping (already shipped), paid CA sales tax from Sonic. Listed at $32.99 but had a make offer button. I clicked it and submitted an offer of $25. It countered with $26 and I bought it! That savings more than covered my CA sales tax. :thumbsup:

http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/398922/main/soem4.jpg

[derickveliz2]

Amp: Eclipse EA4200, free shipping, no sales tax (already shipped) for $129.99 from Crutchfield. Sonic Electronix wanted $209.99 and it's out of stock and backordered on their site.

Amp wiring kit: Earthquake Sound AK-3000, free shipping (already shipped), paid CA sales tax from Sonic for $29.99.


Line output converter: PAC SOEM-4, free shipping (already shipped), paid CA sales tax from Sonic. Listed at $32.99 but had a make offer button. I clicked it and submitted an offer of $25. It countered with $26 and I bought it! That savings more than covered my CA sales tax. :thumbsup:


Some thing tells me that WE ALL LOVE FREE SHIPPING!
:bow:

,

[Herbicidal]

Oh yeah! I'm sure we're paying for it somewhere, but it looks good to see "free" where usually you see a big number!

Speaking of big numbers, I randomly checked the price of the Kicker speakers I bought for $109.99 at Sonic Electronix and they are now $199.95!!! :eek: What the heck happened to the price!!! :iono: I would not have bought them for $199! I guess I got real lucky on that one. :rolleyes: Kind of the same thing price-wise with the Eclipse amp I bought today, Sonic was like $80 MORE than Crutchfield! That's just crazy!

[Herbicidal]

The line output converter and the amp wiring kit arrived yesterday. The amp should arrive tomorrow. I've been chipping away at laying down the Ensolite on top of the RAAMmat the over the last several nights. I just about have it done up to the existing sound deadening on the floor of the passenger compartment. Once that is done, I'm turning my attention to the doors, front speakers, amp, etc. I'm leaving the rear seat out until I can run the speaker wires from the amp to the rear speakers since I have pretty good access on the passenger side. Since the jack is under the drivers seat, I think I will mount the amp under the passenger seat. By the way, the Alpines in the rear sound great even with only the power from the stock HU! I can hardly wait to wire up the fronts and the amp! :thumbsup:

Here's two pictures of my progress in the back seat area:

Passenger floor area, drivers side. I still need to lay some Ensolite on top of this small section of RAAMmat to finish up the rear seat area. Maybe another 15 minutes worth of work.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2492

Passenger floor area, passenger side. I have layed the Ensolite on top of the RAAMmat up to the existing sound deadening material on the floor.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2493

[Herbicidal]

The Eclipse amp arrives today! Knowing that I need to remove at least the passenger seat, I searched YarisWorld and found the size of the socket I needed for those seat bolts. It's a Torx or Star socket, size: E10. Thanks to the person that posted that size up somewhere on here. :thumbsup: I picked one up from Autozone yesterday. Once the amp arrives, I think I have everything to complete the audio upgrade portion of the install. I do need to pick up some stiff screen or some other material to lay over the rather large opening in the door panels so I can deaden both "walls" of the doors, then seal 'em up with Ensolite. Now the only other thing I need is time. Where the heck can I get that?!? :rolleyes:

[Herbicidal]

I was finally able to dedicate some time this past weekend to work on my car. This time it was pretty much all about the sound system upgrade portion. I pulled the stock radio out and with a radio wiring diagram, cut into the wiring harness and connected up the line output converter. Then I ran the power, ground, remote start wire and the RCA’s from the line output converter to the amp. I also ran the power lead for the amp through the firewall and up to the battery via a 60amp fuse block (no picture yet). Found a good ground to a bolt used for the parking brake lever, connected up the RCA’s from the line output converter, along with the remote start wire to the amp. Ran new speaker wires to the rear speakers and up to the amp. Powered on the radio and it all works! Nothing shorted, fried or otherwise crapped out. I’m working on mounting the amp and making all the wires running to it neat and tidy. Now I can start putting most of the interior back together. I still need to run speaker wires for the fronts and install them. When I get to that point, I’ll deaden the front doors too. Here’s some pics from my efforts over the weekend.


Passenger front seat and radio removed. Now to find a way to get the power lead for the amp through the firewall.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2543

Man, it was a pain trying to find an access point through the firewall without drilling a hole! The passenger side floor has an A/C vent hose running through a rubber grommet. I used this as my access point through the firewall.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2542

I drilled a hole in it and then angle cut the wire and put a little grease on it to help get it through the hole. Very snug and does not impact the vent tube nor does it touch bare metal.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2541

This works great from my purposes.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2540

Close up of the power lead inserted into a hole in the A/C vent grommet.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2539

Sorry for the dark photo (the flash was blocked by something in the engine compartment), but this is the power lead coming out from the rubber grommet next to the A/C vent line in front of the firewall. I then routed up some other pre-existing lines and zipped tied the power line to them for a nice clean install.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2538

I removed the access panel directly below the steering wheel and behind it is a panel parallel to the floor that I mounted the line output converter to. Works great and everything is hidden.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2535

Here's the line output converter mounted (test fit) onto a panel that goes up above the foot pedals and behind the panel below the steering wheel. It is close to the back of the radio, about 24 inches away.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2534

Line output converter mounted to panel above drivers feet (you can just barely see the top of it, some wires - blue and yellow - are sticking out to the right).
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2536

Test of the: (Radio and wires not connected in this picture) line output converter, and all the wires run for the amp and rear speakers. Yeaaa! It works! I still need to run the speaker wires for the fronts. Now I need to put it all together the right way.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2533

[derickveliz2]

Good progress makes me feel like I should make more time to work on mine!

I did find a grommet up high almost to the end of the firewall, very hard to access though, but keeps my power wires far right from all audio wires; Just in case,... don't let the RCA wires run near or parallel with the power wires for the amp, try to keep them as far as possible, if you have to... cross them in a 90 degree to prevent engine noise.

:thumbsup:

Very nice, looking good! I'm still so far away from turning it on for testing.. )o:

[Herbicidal]

Thanks for the tip! I put enough of the car back together last night so I could drive it to work today. The rear speakers are the only ones connected and they sound great! No engine noise transmitted via the wires. Now I need to add some more sound deadening to the rear wheel wells and under the rear seat before I put it back. Then I can shift my focus to the front doors, such as installing the new speakers, speaker wire (it's going to be fun getting it from the doors to inside the car), tweeters and deadening. Woohoo! :smile:

[Herbicidal]

I almost have the entire car back together again. I was at Lowes yesterday and picked up some scrap carpet padding that is 1/2" thick. I stuffed it into some open cavities in the 'C' pillars (already sound deadened on the actual metal surface) and put some more under the rear seat as I have a resonator for the exhaust almost exactly under the seat. Plus there is a ton of room under the seat so why not add more (cheap) sound deadening while I'm in there? Somehow I lost a single bolt for the rear seat so I was not able to complete getting it all back together. I'll stop by the dealership on the way home and get what I need. Then I'm on to the doors and installing the front speakers along with the sound deadening. I need my front speakers! I'm looking forward to this next "stage" of my project. Doors, Doors, Doors!

[derickveliz2]

I started with the rear doors, they are much easier than the front doors, I still have to do the pilot's door! and replace left speaker.

Sounds like you are almost there! awesome!

D.
.

[Herbicidal]

I started with the rear doors, they are much easier than the front doors, I still have to do the pilot's door! and replace left speaker.

Sounds like you are almost there! awesome!

D.
.

I think I'm going to start with the fronts as I really want to hear my new speakers! Since I'm doing only about 1/4 of the sound deadening you are doing, it figures I should be done much sooner! :biggrin: After the doors, and if I have leftover Ensolite, then I'm going to add it to the trunk area, right now it's just covered in RAAMmat.

[derickveliz2]

I'm curious to see how your speakers go with the speaker adapters you got, since I'm going to use the 6.5 that goes in the door as a mid-bass I'm going back in there to beef things up and may replace the OEM adapter for one like yours and probably have to use a spacer.

good job!

[Herbicidal]

Thanks! I'll post up some pics and comments when I get there.

[Herbicidal]

I have completed what I'm calling stage 1. The car is completely back together but only with sound to the rear speakers. I have deadened everything from the front of the base of the rear seat to the trunk and everything in-between. The noise reduction based upon the sound level of my exhaust is quite dramatic! I still hear the exhaust, but it is a pleasant, underlying, background sort of sound. :thumbsup: Having conversations in the car is much easier, I'm hearing instruments in the music that I have not heard before. Probably due to both the upgrade in speakers and the sound deadening. Now I can hear outside noise coming through the doors and little shifting sounds up on the headliner and I think from the back left and right corners of the car. The exhaust now exits in the center so I think that's why I can kind of hear it from both sides. At the moment, I did not put down any Ensolite in the trunk, it's just RAAMmat. If I have any Ensolite leftover once I'm done with the doors, I'm going to do the trunk.

I'm VERY happy with the results so far and I look forward to doing the doors. I should be able to start on them this weekend!

Oh yeah, after ordering a new bolt for the rear seat (yes, had to order it) I found the missing one stuck to a piece of RAAMmat in the car! Sheesh! That's the way it goes sometimes. :rolleyes:

On to stage 2 - doors and front speakers!!!

[Herbicidal]

This past weekend I was finally able to tackle the drivers side door. Woohoo! This door is now 'dead'! Not a rattle, squeak or noise out of it when it's shut. Just a nice solid - thud. My Father-in-laws Lexus has nothing on my door! :biggrin: With all the sound deadening, I've basically made the door a speaker box. I'm quite anxious to hear how it will sound. I made sure not to block the drain holes at the very bottom, in-side edge of the door. Also, the door panel had some hard foam door stiffeners that I was able to trim very easily by taking a hack saw blade out of the hack saw and cut through them by holding the blade in my hand. In the end, I had to totally remove the largest foam piece as it used to fit through an opening in the door, but I blocked the opening with sound deadening material.

Here's a photo montage of what I did for just the one door. Now to repeat on the passenger side and then the rear doors. It is alot of effort, but I'm already "hearing" the difference. The car is noticeably more 'solid' and quiet.

Door panel off. My work is cut out for me.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1797.jpg

Drilling out the rivets that held in the factory door speaker.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1798.jpg

Old speaker removed. You can just see the rubber boot where the wiring harness goes through the door.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1800.jpg

The dreaded rubber boot that I needed to get the new speaker wire through.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1801.jpg

Coat hanger with speaker wire taped to it. My first effort failed. I redid the taping job and put some Vasoline on the wire and that time it worked!
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1802.jpg

New speaker wire routed through the rubber door boot. Yeah, that was fun!
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1803.jpg

Close up of RAAMmat inside the door shell. With the large openings, I was able to deaden 95% of the inside of the door.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1804.jpg

RAAMmat fully applied within the door shell.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1805.jpg

Plastic panels secured with small sheet metal screws to cover the access holes.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1806.jpg

Close up of the speaker opening with the RAAMmat applied inside. That's the bottom edge of the window. Just testing to make sure everything worked correctly after applying the deadening material.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1825.jpg

Speaker opening with RAAMmat behind the Ensolite. A small square of it sits behind the speaker, per the instructions on RAAMaudio.com
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1826.jpg

RAAMmat applied on all available surfaces. Crossover for the Kicker speaker and tweeter is in the lower left with the cover off. The new speaker is mounted in the door using speaker adapters. Perfect fit!
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1828.jpg

This is one dead door! The final layer is sound deadening Ensolite foam. I made sure to stay back about 1" from all the edges so that the door panel would fit back on correctly.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1829.jpg

Kicker tweeter (back view) installed in small plastic window panel. Had to use a 2" hole saw to cut the hole in the panel.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1830.jpg

Kicker tweeter (front view) installed in small plastic window panel.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1831.jpg

Door panel back on and the Kicker tweeter mounted in mirror cover panel. There is a beveled housing that allows the tweeter to be mounted at an angle. I may need to adjust the angle again when dialing everything in.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1835.jpg

On to the passenger door! Once that's done, I can connect up my front speakers and finally have all the speakers working again. :thumbsup:

[DailyDriver]

Looks awesome! I can't wait to deaden my doors! Thanks for the pics.

[Herbicidal]

Thanks DailyDriver and you're welcome! It is nice to see what needs to be done ahead of time. Derick's photos in his sound deadening thread helped me quite a bit too. :thumbsup:

Well I couldn't wait any longer! I HAD to hook up the front speakers to hear how they sound even though the front passenger door isn't deadened yet. After about 2 hours worth of work, I had the new speaker/tweeter/crossover (the crossover location is temporary, but works for now) installed and hooked up to the amp. WOW!!! I LOVE it! The highs are so crisp it feels like you could cut paper! However, that front passenger door is begging for mercy! :eek: There are some rattles (of course) and noises that will be killed once I deaden that door. The drivers door is very tight and the mid's just punch through! This clearly demonstrated the value of sound deadening. With a 3-day weekend coming up, I should be able knock off that passenger door and maybe even the rear doors!

On another note (no pun intended) this morning on the drive into work I had a guy in a Toyota T-100 catch up to me on the inside lane and as he pulled slightly ahead I could see a thumbs up coming from him. Did he hear my music too? Nah....but it made me :smile:.

[centrysis]

I also pulled new wiring through that boot in the front door. My wire puller didnt want to go through until i dipped it into a tube of lithium grease. Then it went no problem.:thumbup:

[Herbicidal]

I also pulled new wiring through that boot in the front door. My wire puller didnt want to go through until i dipped it into a tube of lithium grease. Then it went no problem.:thumbup:

Yeah, trying to pull it through the rubber boot was tough with no lube. OK, not going there...

On another note, I completed the deadening on the front passenger door and the right rear passenger door, just one more to go!!!! :thumbup: Pics are still on the camera.

And ya'll may have seen my post about needing another amp for a subwoofer. I'm this close to pulling the trigger on a mono Eclipse amp, Alpine Type R 10" sub and a box for the sub. THAT should round out the system nicely! :thumbsup:

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Make sure that the amp is pushing no less than 500 watts. My Alpine M450 is underpowering my Type R (only 400 watts). What kind of box are you getting? If you want a sealed box, I'll sell you mine as I want a vented/ported box now.

[sqcomp]

Be careful with the vented enclosure. I've seen a lot of people kill woofers with less power on a vented application. With with all due respect to taln and his love for vented enclosures, he is a small minority of people who can control themselves with the voltage potentiometer.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Really? hmmm, so if the Type R (10") is rated at 500 watts, and the ported box that I'm looking at is the max volume rating for it, would that cause any problems?

[Herbicidal]

From my other thread about asking whether I needed another amp to power a woofer, here is what I'm looking at now based upon recommendations by Alien Mantis. I would run the Eclipse XA1200 from the pre-outs on my current Eclipse amp. He also suggested setting the amp for 2 ohms:

Eclipse XA1200600W Max, XA Series Class D Monoblock Car Amplifier (XA-1200) for $129 at Sonic.
Product Features:XA Series Class D Monoblock Car Amplifier with ICE Technology
RMS Power Rating:
4 ohms: 350 watts x 1 chan.
2 ohms: 500 watts x 1 chan.
Max power output: 600 watts
MOSFET switching power supply
ICEpower class D design
Wired remote bass level control included
LED power indicators
Bass Boost (0-8 dB at 50 Hz)
Bass boost frequency selection (32-64 Hz)
Mono channel operation
Protection temperature (90 C)
Heavy duty aluminum alloy heatsink
RCA level inputs
Screw terminals
Variable low-pass filter (40-200 Hz, Linkwitz Riley 18 dB/octave)
Subsonic Filter (18 dB at 20 Hz)
CEA-2006 compliant amplifier
Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz
Input sensitivity: 1.2V-8V
Damping Factor: 90
Dimensions: 10-1/4"L x 10-1/8"W x 2-3/8"H
4-gauge power and ground wiring is required for installation.
http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/248315/big/xa1200.jpg
http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/248214/big/xa1200.jpg
http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/349559/big/xa1200.jpg

Alpine SWR-1042D (TYPE R)10" Dual 4 ohm Type-R Subwoofer for $99:
http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/449596/main/swr1042d.jpg

Sonic Sub Box: 1SV10 (BLACK CARPET)Single 10" Vented MDF Enclosure for $29.99:
http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/36189/main/1sv10-black.jpg

[swidd]

Uh, I'll be driving the Type R 10" 1042D with 300W at, I believe, 2ohms, from the Alpine PDX-5, in a sealed 0.7cubic box. While I don't worry about SPL, could this hurt the sub?

[talnlnky]

Really? hmmm, so if the Type R (10") is rated at 500 watts, and the ported box that I'm looking at is the max volume rating for it, would that cause any problems?

probably not, as long as you keep with the Alpine reccomendations it should be fine... Companies make recommendations so that customers won't be blowing subs left and right....

If you stray from those recommendations however you may start to run into mechanical limitations of the moving parts... if you start hearing a slapping noise (like metal on metal or a hammer) at all you need to turn it down ASAP. i'm not sure if you'd head the former slap the back plate first, or if the spider would start to tear first.

be nice to the sub, listen for distortion, distortion is your best warning that your sub is running out of steam.

[Herbicidal]

I have reached another milestone!!! All four doors are now sound deadened!!!! Woohoo!!! :thumbup: Pic's are still on the camera, I'll download and post them up later. I used up all my RAAMmat, but I have a ton of Ensolite leftover, so next I will lay the foam on top of the RAAMmat in the trunk area in preparation for whatever subwoofer I end up with. Waay back at the begining, I only did the RAAMmat in the trunk, not knowing how much Ensolite I was going to use for the doors and under the rear seat. I ended up buying more Ensolite, so now I have PLENTY to do the trunk.

[derickveliz2]

Looking good!

It's nice to see a project like this grow and been done!

D.

[Herbicidal]

Looking good!

It's nice to see a project like this grow and been done!

D.Thanks Derick! Well, almost done. :rolleyes: Still need to do the trunk area with the Ensolite and decide on the amp and subwoofer. But I'm darn close! :biggrin:

[Herbicidal]

After completing the front passenger door, I was starting to run out of RAAMmat. I had only six 15" squares left, so I divided them up amongst the rear doors. I wasn't able to cover them as fully as the front doors, but since they don't have speakers, I wasn't as concerned. I do have plenty of the sound deadening Ensolite foam, so I put that on as thick as I dared. Too thick and the door panels would not fit back on correctly. All four doors are now "dead". You can rap on the outside and it's just a 'thud' vs a hollow sound. Since I have quite a bit of the Ensolite sound deadening foam, I'm going to go back to the trunk area and line it with the Ensolite. Right now it's just covered in the RAAMmat. Then I'll need to try the decibel meter again and see what it reads. To my ears, it is quieter inside and not nearly as much road and exhaust noise makes it's way into the cabin. The stereo sounds better than ever with the new front Kicker speakers and tweeters, plus the new Alpine Type R's in the rear. Now to decide on another amp and subwoofer.

Here's the rest of the pictures from this weekends efforts:

Getting started on the left rear passenger door.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1844.jpg

Close up of the RAAMmat on the inside of the door panel.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1845.jpg

Left rear passenger door. RAAMmat stuck to the inside of the door.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1846.jpg

Plastic signs trimmed to fit and covering up the large holes in the door.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1847.jpg

Left rear passenger door with RAAMmat in various places. I was just about out of it and to be selective on where I placed it.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1848.jpg

Left rear passenger is done!
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1849.jpg

I added some Ensolite to the inside of the door panel for good measure. It's the black material.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1850.jpg

Starting on the right front passenger door. The plastic weather piece is already stripped off and I've placed RAAMmat inside the door on the inner panel.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1836.jpg

I had to buy some more plastic signs to fill the rather large holes in the door before I could lay down the RAAMmat on this side of the door panel. Figuring out what size they needed to be.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1837.jpg

Signs all in place held by small sheet metal screws. Now I can lay the RAAMmat onto of everything and seal them up.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1838.jpg

RAAMmat covering everything! Next is the Ensolite.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1839.jpg

Right front passenger door is done! Tweeter mounted in the plastic panel near the mirror. New Kicker speaker mounted in the door along with the crossover.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1840.jpg

Getting started on the right rear passenger door.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1841.jpg

More inexpensive plastic signs to cover the holes with. Then I put the RAAMmat and Ensolite in layers on the door.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1842.jpg

Right rear passenger door is done!
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1843.jpg

[Herbicidal]

As mentioned in my 'do I need another amp?' thread, I have ordered the Eclipse mono channel amp, Alpine Type R 10" subwoofer and an enclosure. Now I need to pick up some 4 gauge wire (power and ground), another fuse block, firewall grommet and a few other odds and ends. Now I'm motivated to get the trunk lined with Ensolite to provide a nice snug home for the new subwoofer. :headbang: I'm so glad to be done with the doors!!!!

OK, I thought the 'Danger High Voltage' signs in the right front passenger door was funny, even if they will never be seen again! Even my daughter laughed! :bellyroll:

Did I mention I'm glad to be done with the doors??? :tongue:

[derickveliz2]

Did I mention I'm glad to be done with the doors??? :tongue:

Something I really like about the doors after deadening is (and just for key-less entry) that when you lock / unlock your car with the remote, you can barely hear the noise of the system, standing next to your car...

give it a try!.


:clap:
:thumbsup:

[Herbicidal]

Something I really like about the doors after deadening is (and just for key-less entry) that when you lock / unlock your car with the remote, you can barely hear the noise of the system, standing next to your car...

give it a try!.

:clap:
:thumbsup:Yup! You are right. Just a little 'snick, snick'.

My parts arrived yesterday! Ohhhh yaaaa! I stopped by Fry's Electronics on my way home from work and picked up an amp install kit that has 4 gauge wires for power and ground, speaker wire, remote turn on wire for the amp, plus all the little stuff that comes with the kit. I also spent $20 and bought a Monster 3-way slim line distribution block (will accept 4 gauge wire) that connects to the battery. I'll use two of the three openings for the power wires to both amps. This leaves me one for whatever floats my boat down the road. I still need to pick up a rubber grommet for the firewall as this time I think I will drill a hole next to the A/C vent drain plug hole that I used for the last power wire. Hopefully this weekend I can start running the wires, etc.

By the way, with the subwoofer enclosure, is there a "right way" to position it?

[talnlnky]

By the way, with the subwoofer enclosure, is there a "right way" to position it?


usually facing it toward the rear of the car will give you the most bass.

[Herbicidal]

usually facing it toward the rear of the car will give you the most bass.

Thanks much! I'll try it that way first. :thumbsup:

[centrysis]

In my hatchback, facing towards the rear is the best.

[Herbicidal]

So I guess that is bass-ackwards! :biggrin: Sorry, that was pretty bad. :rolleyes:

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Still gonna do that dB reading after your speakers and sub are broken in? :biggrin:

[derickveliz2]

Still gonna do that dB reading after your speakers and sub are broken in? :biggrin:

Hi Kaotic, I'm sure herb can do that too, but the dB reading was to measure the noise level in the cabin before and after deadening with out music playing.


.:thumbsup:


D.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Hi Kaotic, I'm sure herb can do that too, but the dB reading was to measure the noise level in the cabin before and after deadening with out music playing.


.:thumbsup:


D.

hahaha, I know. It's one of those shits-and-giggles things. I just want to see how loud his system can get :tongue:

[Herbicidal]

Sure, I'll do it both ways! I'll need some earplugs before doing the stereo check. :biggrin: Still gotta tune it! Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some time to play around with amp settings.

[Herbicidal]

My parts arrived yesterday! Ohhhh yaaaa! I stopped by Fry's Electronics on my way home from work and picked up an amp install kit that has 4 gauge wires for power and ground, speaker wire, remote turn on wire for the amp, plus all the little stuff that comes with the kit. I also spent $20 and bought a Monster 3-way slim line distribution block (will accept 4 gauge wire) that connects to the battery. I'll use two of the three openings for the power wires to both amps. This leaves me one for whatever floats my boat down the road. I still need to pick up a rubber grommet for the firewall as this time I think I will drill a hole next to the A/C vent drain plug hole that I used for the last power wire. Hopefully this weekend I can start running the wires, etc.

In case you haven't been following my thread about whether I need another amp to power a subwoofer, here's an update on what I've done since the new equipment arrived from Sonic Electronics. For others, this will be a repeat of the info, sorry about that. :redface: Just trying to keep some continuity. By the way, I ended up returning that Monster slim-line power block. It wasn't slim enough. With it on the positive battery post, the battery cable would not fit on correctly, so I took it back. I was able to attach the power wire for the second amp to an existing accessories 'tab' on the cable.

Here's my most recent set of pictures. As I mentioned before, the install went pretty smooth, just time consuming to do a ‘clean’ install. I used an air powered cut off wheel to remove the jack bracket under the driver’s seat and the jack does fit snugly in the spare tire compartment. I had to place a piece of 2x4 under each amp to get a level mounting spot because of a funky space between some horizontal body supports. This made it easier to connect up the wiring. I figure this allows the air to flow partially underneath and will help with the overall cooling of the amp. I’m still experimenting with placement of the subwoofer box in the trunk. Laying it flat with the sub pointing to the rear of the car takes up the most room, but standing it up and rotating it 90 degrees gives me the most space in the trunk and puts the weight closer to being over the rear axle. Anyway, I’m still playing with the positioning for sound and space maximization of the sub.

Without further ado:

Eclipse XA1200 mono channel amp.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1858.jpg

Alpine Type R 10" sub.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1859.jpg

Alpine Type R 10" sub, top view.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1860.jpg

Alpine Type R 10" sub, connectors. I used the jumpers to set it up for 2 ohms.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1861.jpg

10" vented sub enclosure from Sonic Electronix.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1862.jpg

Alpine Type R 10" sub-in-the-box.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1863.jpg

Preparing for surgery. That car jack mounting bracket has to go!
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1864.jpg

Where the bracket for mounting the car jack was, under the drivers seat. Needed to make room for the other amp.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1865.jpg

The blue wire is 4 gauge for power to the subwoofer amp. The black tube is the A/C breather that vents to the outside of the firewall.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1866.jpg

4 gauge power wires through the firewall passenger foot well red for the speaker amp, blue for the subwoofer amp.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1867.jpg

Eclipse mono channel subwoofer amp on the left, Eclipse 4 channel amp for the speakers on the right.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1868.jpg

Alpine Type R 10" sub in a box. I'm still trying different locations and positions so the wiring isn't finalized yet.
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1877.jpg

[Herbicidal]

And my experience of "tuning" the amps, also from my 'do I need another amp...' thread:

I finally was able to spend about 2 hours yesterday to tune my amps. Crawling around in the back seat with Alien Mantis's instructions in one hand and a small screwdriver in the other, moving the front seats all the way forward so I could get to the adjustment screws, making adjustments, moving the seats back to the regular positions so I could sit in the drivers seat and listen, then repeat the process all over again about six more times. When I first took a look at the adjustment screws, everything on both amps was basically turned "off". While installing them, I didn't even look at the adjustment screws because I really didn't understand them. Since last Saturday, essentially I have not been using the subwoofer amp, and for another two weeks at least, the speaker amp! I was so focused on the install and keeping it all neat and tidy I just didn't even pay any attention to what position those adjustment screws where in! What a dumba$$! :rolleyes:

HOLY FREAK'IN MOTHER OF BASS BATMAN!!!

I can't believe the difference! I still have a HUGE $hit eating grin plastered on my face this morning! AND I'm using the stock head unit! I can't imagine the sound getting better than this, let alone what a decent quality HU would do for me! WOW!!! Obviously I am very happy with the amps, speakers and subwoofer! Once I was done, I even vacuumed and washed my car. Ahhhhhhhh! :smile: My 13 year old daughter was in the house and came out to the garage to find out what the heck was going on! :biggrin:

LESSON: Make sure to TUNE YOUR AMP(s)!!! If you haven't done it yet, get out there and do it!!! Othewise you are just wasting your hard earned $$$'s!!!

:bow:

[derickveliz2]

The but of that woofer looks intimidating

Too bad we can't hear it / feel it.

D.

[Niels J]

Hi Kaotic, I'm sure herb can do that too, but the dB reading was to measure the noise level in the cabin before and after deadening with out music playing.


.:thumbsup:


D.

So what was the "after" reading?? I can't find it anywhere :help:

[Herbicidal]

So what was the "after" reading?? I can't find it anywhere :help:

Sorry my friend! I have not made the time to get the "after" reading. Not your fault, it's all me! I was camping last weekend and I leave in a couple of days for another 4 night trip. I might not have it for a little while yet, sorry. :redface: But I have not forgotten!

[Herbicidal]

Nice. Just for shits and giggles, take a dB rating after you break in the speakers. hahaha.
OK, the wife wasn't home so I pulled into the garage, closed the door behind me and cranked up the tunes with the engine off and the windows up. The MAX my little hand-held db meter read was 97.7 db! That was all I could take! :eek: I wasn't detecting distortion, but I didn't want to 'blow' anything either. :rolleyes: With the same song playing at the same volume I stepped out of the car and closed the door and took another reading about 6 feet away at the side of the car: 77.3 db, basically a 20 db drop to the outside. I guess that's good? :iono:

Now the crazy part. I put the db meter in the backseat like I did way back when. I didn't tape it down, but set on a sweatshirt so it wouldn't slide around. Rolled up the windows, turned off the radio and nailed the gas. Now I digress for a moment, the car is not as quick as before with the RAAMmat layered all over the place (2 boxes worth), two amps, subwoofer box and subwoofer, plus slightly heavier new speakers front and rear. That's kind of a bummer, but that's the trade-off for a great sounding system. Oh well. I accelerated up to about 50 mph, then pulled over so I could read the db meter...86.3 db!!! This is actually louder than before! So you don't have to go looking, the original reading was 84.7! What the heck?!? The interior sounds quieter to me so I really don't understand why it's reading higher now. :frown: Beats the Ensolite out of me! However, I don't think I would do anything different. Very strange. I'm open to anyone's guess!

[centrysis]

I'd say its the meter. I've followed your work. I only put mat down on the back of my HB, and it was an improvement. Some of those meters aren't that reliable. Your ears are right. It is quieter.:clap:

[Kaotic Lazagna]

That's awesome Herb. Although, I'm not sure how I would feel about the louder exhaust reading (I do want my exhaust louder tho, lol). I wonder how different my system (just a JVC HU and a Type R sub) will sound compared to yours. hehehe.

[derickveliz2]

Hey Herb,

Maybe it's a guitar effect?

Or the meter it's bad?

It's true... you can hear/feel the difference, but it could be just another level/frequency of resonance inside the car that resonates different from the outside noise.



You have taken care of some of the resonance of the sheet metal panels of your car by applying Mat and Ensolite, now it's like a big speaker to the inside, what you may need now it's a "Noise Barrier" AKA Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV).

Send me that meter and I'll give it a try in my car.

D.

[Herbicidal]

I'd say its the meter. I've followed your work. I only put mat down on the back of my HB, and it was an improvement. Some of those meters aren't that reliable. Your ears are right. It is quieter.:clap:Thanks man. I decided I'm not going to waste a lot of thought processes on it. I'm VERY HAPPY with everything, so to heck with the reading. :biggrin:

That's awesome Herb. Although, I'm not sure how I would feel about the louder exhaust reading (I do want my exhaust louder tho, lol). I wonder how different my system (just a JVC HU and a Type R sub) will sound compared to yours. hehehe. We need to meet up again soon. I've never heard your system, it would be fun to do a comparison. :thumbsup:

Hey Herb,
Maybe it's a guitar effect?
Or the meter it's bad?
It's true... you can hear/feel the difference, but it could be just another level/frequency of resonance inside the car that resonates different from the outside noise.
You have taken care of some of the resonance of the sheet metal panels of your car by applying Mat and Ensolite, now it's like a big speaker to the inside, what you may need now it's a "Noise Barrier" AKA Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV).
Send me that meter and I'll give it a try in my car.
D.I'm thinking your "Noise Barrier" suggestion is probably hitting the nail on head along with another level/frequency inside the car. Weird. Again, I'm not going to worry about it! If you really want to try the meter on your project, send me a PM with your mailing address info (home or work) and I'll send it to you. Just send it back when you're done.

[derickveliz2]

Herb, take a look at this, you are not alone!...

LINK (http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-tutorials/7818-measuring-sound-deadening-improvements.html)

D.

[Herbicidal]

Herb, take a look at this, you are not alone!...

LINK (http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-tutorials/7818-measuring-sound-deadening-improvements.html)

D.
Thanks! I read through most, not all of the posts, and I feel better! So it's not just me! :tongue: I got your PM (I was gone camping the last several days), do you still want me to send you my little digital meter based upon that link? Either way, it doesn't matter to me.

[derickveliz2]

.

Yeah, lets give it a try...

[Herbicidal]

I've got the perfect box. I'll wrap it up and try to stop by the Post Office tomorrow on my way home from work.

[gates_2]

As part of my sound deadening project, I'm looking to add some CLD tiles to the roof..Anyone have tips/experience removing the roof liner? I'm a little nervous, as it seems more delicate than lifting up the carpet/trim pieces!

[Herbicidal]

As part of my sound deadening project, I'm looking to add some CLD tiles to the roof..Anyone have tips/experience removing the roof liner? I'm a little nervous, as it seems more delicate than lifting up the carpet/trim pieces!I believe that SQComp has done his headliner. He has a HUGE thread going on in this same forum section. I don't have the exact page, but I thought he did it about 2 months ago? I'm thinking about doing my roof too, but for now, I'm just enjoying my car!

[derickveliz2]

Look in here

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24585&highlight=sound+deadening

it's big and lots of information.

I'm going to apply at least 6 CLD tiles to the roof too. SOON!

I will post it here:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26150

.:thumbsup:

[talnlnky]

SQcomp had a big hassle with his headliner because of the side curtain airbags & sensors in the way. If you have an older modle (I think pre-2010, maybe pre-2009) you shouldn't have the curtain airbags unless you bought a special package or upgrade.

If you don't have the curtain bags, just go slowly, if you do have them, you may think hard about going to a stereo shop and having them install the CLD's for you... you'll pay a ton for labor charges i'm sure, but if they mess up they have to cover it.

[Herbicidal]

.

Yeah, lets give it a try...
The package is on it's way! The Post Office estimated 2-3 days for delivery.

[Herbicidal]

I finally mounted the grill cover to the subwoofer enclosure. Some people may not care for it, but it amuses me to no end! :biggrin:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_2169.jpg

This is the final postion of the subwoofer in the trunk, still plenty of space. I never used the pass-through for anything, so blocking it with the sub is no biggie:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_2170.jpg

[toy_toronto]

personally, i love that sub grill cover.

:thumbsup:

[Herbicidal]

Update: after nearly 3 months since I completed this project, everything is still working flawlessly! No burned out fuses, nothing rattling, no nothing! :thumbup: The only thing is that I need to secure that sub box in the back! It keeps sliding around due to my...errr...exuberant cornering. :rolleyes: I picked up some heavy duty Velcro that I just need to take 5 minutes and apply. Then that should be that.

I do want to replace the stock HU at some point, so in the meantime, I think I will order that Toyota replacement HU bezel to allow an aftermarket HU to fit.

:headbang: :burnrubber:

[derickveliz2]

Looking forward to see it.
hey how are the rear spring stiffeners doing?

D.

[Herbicidal]

I haven't checked since I put them in. I'll have to look this weekend. At the time, they raised the back end by 1/4". Honestly, I haven't really noticed a difference in the ride. :iono: I think a 1/3" to a 1/2" thick, circular, flat spacer directly under the rear springs would lift the rear of the car up by that much without affecting the spring rate.

[derickveliz2]

I know what you mean, it's very relative to the TRD springs you have compare to the NF210s I have. But take them out, and then you will feel the difference.

[Herbicidal]

New head unit arrives TODAY!!! Yaaaaay!!!! :clap: :headbang:

I'm so done with my stock HU and my battery powered Blue Tooth unit for my cell phone :mad:. After a bunch of research, I've decided on a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X994 (>>>link<<< (http://www.crutchfield.com/s_113KDCX994/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X994.html?tp=5684)).

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/ImageHandler/scale/500/500/products/20100/113/x113KDCX994-h.jpeg
It has B.T and a rear USB port (which I want in the back, not in the front so I can throw a thumb drive on it and forget about it) and for the price, it has outstanding adjustability and control over the "sound stage". I wanted something more minimalist in appearance so as not to attract thieves.

Here's a quote from the product research team at Crutchfield, these are just some of the features that pulled me over to this unit:

Sound Excellence DSP: In order to optimize the sound quality, you can use the Sound Excellence DSP to set the type of vehicle and speaker sizes, locations, distances and x-over points. The DSP settings include the following:

Cabin Setting: Choose from Compact, Full Size Car, Station Wagon, Mini Van, SUV, Mini Van (Long), or Off
Speaker Setting: The speaker X'over is automatically set when the position and size of each speaker are select from the following items.
Front: Location (Door, On Dash, or Under Dash); Size: (6-1/2", 6-3/4", 7", 4"x6", 5"x7", 6"x8", 6"x9", 7"x10", OEM, 4", or 5"); Tweeter (None or Use)
Rear: Location (Door, Rear Deck, 2nd Row or 3rd Row; Size (6-1/2", 6-3/4", 7", 4"x6", 5"x7", 6"x8", 6"x9", 7"x10", OEM, 4", or 5")
Subwoofer: Size(10", 12", 15", None, 6-1/2" or 8")
Digital Time Alignment (DTA): Choose from 0.00 to 14.44 feet for the Front pair of speakers, Rear pair of speakers, and Subwoofer distances in reference to the distance between your listening positioning and the locations of the particular speakers.
X'Over: The Kenwood eXcelon headunit provides independent high-pass crossovers for the unit's front and rear speaker/preamp outputs, as well as a subwoofer low-pass crossover.
Front High Pass Filter: Frequency (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80,90, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, or 250Hz); Slope (-12, -18, or -24 dB per octave); or you can also select full-range
Rear High Pass Filter: Frequency (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, or 250Hz); Slope (-12, -18, or -24 dB per octave); you can also select full-range
Subwoofer Low Pass Filter: Frequency (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, or 250 Hz); Slope (-12, -18, or -24 dB per octave); Phase (Normal/Reverse); or you can also select full-range
Equalizer Control: Equalizer Control allows you to use one of the System Q presets, or set your own custom settings using the 5-band Equalizer. The EQ adjustments are as follows:

Preset EQ: You can select from Natural, Rock, Pops, Easy, Top 40, Jazz, Game, iPod (you can select from 22 EQ curve types), or User.
5-Band EQ: The User mode allows you to adjust the following 5-Band EQ (62.5Hz, 250Hz, 1kHz, 4kHz, 16kHz) settings.
Band Levels: Independent front and rear EQ level of -9dB to +9dB.
Bass Effect: Enhances the bass response of Band 1 (62.5Hz).
Position Control: For a better sound-stage you can select your optimal listening position. You can choose from All, Front Left, Front Right or Front. You can also select to manually fine tune the sound stage by selecting the distance for each individual speaker in the vehicle compared to your listening position. You can select between 0.00 to 5.58 feet for the Left Front Speaker, Right Front Speaker, Left Rear Speaker, Right Rear Speaker, Left Subwoofer and/or Right Subwoofer.

Plus: 24 Bit D/A Converter: The Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X994 utilizes a 24-bit digital to analog converter for superior CD sound quality.

Additionally, there is free sofware I can download from Kenwood for the USB device:

Music Editor Compatible: The Kenwood KDC-X994 supports the PC application, Kenwood Music Editor Lite (ver.l.0 or later). Kenwood Music Editor Lite is a desktop software that helps organize, manage and transfer AAC, MP3, and WMA music files to your USB devices from your PC. When you playback audio files that have been stored on your USB device using Kenwood Music Editor Lite (ver.l.0) through this unit, you can search a file by title, album, or artist name using the headunit's Music Search function.

This guy should really help all my other components shine! After install, I'm going to have to reset everything on the amps and re-tune the whole system. I'm actually looking forward to it! :thumbsup: And I thought it sounded good with the stock HU! :biggrin:

[derickveliz2]

New head unit arrives TODAY!!! Yaaaaay!!!! :clap: :headbang:

Speaker Setting: The speaker X'over is automatically set when the position and size of each speaker are select from the following items.
Front: Location (Door, On Dash, or Under Dash); Size: (6-1/2", 6-3/4", 7", 4"x6", 5"x7", 6"x8", 6"x9", 7"x10", OEM, 4", or 5"); Tweeter (None or Use)
Rear: Location (Door, Rear Deck, 2nd Row or 3rd Row; Size (6-1/2", 6-3/4", 7", 4"x6", 5"x7", 6"x8", 6"x9", 7"x10", OEM, 4", or 5")
Subwoofer: Size(10", 12", 15", None, 6-1/2" or 8")

X'Over: The Kenwood eXcelon headunit provides independent high-pass crossovers for the unit's front and rear speaker/preamp outputs, as well as a subwoofer low-pass crossover.
Front High Pass Filter: Frequency (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80,90, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, or 250Hz); Slope (-12, -18, or -24 dB per octave); or you can also select full-range
Rear High Pass Filter: Frequency (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, or 250Hz); Slope (-12, -18, or -24 dB per octave); you can also select full-range
Subwoofer Low Pass Filter: Frequency (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, or 250 Hz); Slope (-12, -18, or -24 dB per octave); Phase (Normal/Reverse); or you can also select full-range



This guy should really help all my other components shine! After install,


I'm going to have to reset everything on the amps and re-tune the whole system.


I'm actually looking forward to it! :thumbsup: And I thought it sounded good with the stock HU! :biggrin:


Congratulations!
with x-over features you only need to match gain the amps. By pass every thing else.

D.

[_S7V7N_]

The 794 has basically the same options, i've spent about an hour of tuning and wow, these things have settings out the Ying Yang. Congrats on the buy !

[Herbicidal]

Thanks guys! I'm really psyched about getting it! I've got a busy weekend ahead, but I hope to at least get it hooked up. The 'tuning' will come later.

_S7V7N_ - good luck with your tuning! Sounds (no pun intended) like you are pleased with your unit. :smile:

[Truchito86]

wow man, i've just read your thread from the very begining, and i've got to say that all of your work is very impressive. it also help me make the decision of going ahead and getting the sound deading job started on my yaris sedan. all i've done is replaced the stock speakers with alpine type-R's, but the door rattle has always annoyed me. can't wait to get started this weekend. great write up man!

[Herbicidal]

wow man, i've just read your thread from the very begining, and i've got to say that all of your work is very impressive. it also help me make the decision of going ahead and getting the sound deading job started on my yaris sedan. all i've done is replaced the stock speakers with alpine type-R's, but the door rattle has always annoyed me. can't wait to get started this weekend. great write up man!

Thanks! Glad you had some time to kill! :biggrin: In hindsight, I think I over did it on the RAAMmat. From what I know now, looks like a 25% coverage of the RAAMmat on the inside of the door panels would kill the resonance, then go to town with the Ensolite foam. Both products are VERY easy to use and do not require gloves. I LOVE the peel and stick, that's the easiest to work with. :thumbsup: All the door pictures are right there, so you know what's behind the panels. No big surprises, just lots of holes. :tongue:

Good luck if you choose to do it. I had fun! But then again, I'm sick like that. :rolleyes:

[sqcomp]

Now you guys know about some of the crossover and EQ capabilites Derick and I are faced with...

Add in a complete 1/3 Octave and another pre out...

[Herbicidal]

Yeah, I think I will stay at my level. Even with my relatively low-end components it will be the best system I've ever owned and I'm good with that. :smile: Especially since I did all the work myself. :cool:

[sqcomp]

I applaud the DIY work!

[derickveliz2]

There is nothing better than the feeling of doing it your self!

[Herbicidal]

There is nothing better than the feeling of doing it your self!

I applaud the DIY work!
Yeah, I do too! You guys, however, took THAT to the next level and beyond!!! Way to go! :clap: :headbang:

[Herbicidal]

Oh, I did get the new Toyota bezel that gives me the double DIN opening since I have the factory integrated radio. I did a quick test fit of what came from Crutchfield and it fits the Toyota bezel perfectly! Whew! Now it should be pretty much plug and play.

Oh yeah, this little jewel (which served it's purpose) will be coming out too!
Now I'll be able to take advantage of the RCA outputs on the new deck and go right to the Eclipse amps. My little system will be able to breathe!!!! :laugh:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=396&pictureid=2534

[Herbicidal]

I've installed my Kenwood HU and it has TONS of adjustability. :eek: I've barely scratched the surface. My two amps (Eclipse EA4200 and the Eclipse XA1200600W) both have adjustability for the crossover's and bass boost as shown in the pictures below. Since my new HU has built in control over ALL these functions, should I "zero out" the amps and do ALL the tuning through the HU? Looking for suggestions. Thanks!

XA-1200:
http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/248315/big/xa1200.jpg

EA-4200:
http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/products/2008/099/x099EA4200-i.jpeg

[derickveliz2]

.

In theory you would "by pass" the X-over and only adjust the Input Levels AKA Gains

In your amp I don't see an option to go "full" like in my amp.

But I'm sure the Masters will correct me if I'm wrong and give a proper answer

http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/339996/big/asa11005x.jpg

[Herbicidal]

Thanks Derick! Anyone else? Suggestions on how to set the amps specifically, since my new HU can control all the settings?

[Herbicidal]

I've decided to replace the vented subwoofer box with a sealed one. I checked the requirments for my 10" Alpine Type R subwoofer and this one fits the bill from Sonic as far as internal box volume. Hey, for the price of a tank of gas, I bought the box and paid the shipping. It's worth it to me to give it a try. Plus it has a smaller footprint than the vented box I have now. AND it has an angled back that I think will fit nicely up against the back of the rear seat. Here's what I ordered for $17.99 plus shipping:

<link to the specs of the sub box> (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_24441_Sonic-Sub-Box-1H10-0.7-Black.html)


http://i.seimg.net/images/453440/main/1h1007-black.jpg

[derickveliz2]

Looks nice! Herb...

Please let us know how they compare to the ported box.

D.

[derickveliz2]

I was looking at this one (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_7566_Sonic-Sub-Box-1SL12-1.0-Black.html), but it's out of stock!

http://i.seimg.net/images/32261/main/1sl1210-black.jpg

cheap!

[Shinare]

I was going to ask why one would pick sealed over ported and googled it and answered my own question. :) Heres what I found:

Sealed Vs Ported Subwoofer Boxes

So you are ready to start building your car audio system? Where to start? Well a good place to begin is with the subwoofer enclosure. There are many types of enclosures for every vehicle and listening style and each has its advantages and dis-advantages. As just a general rule of thumb it is important to make sure your subwoofers will match the chosen enclosure so I recommend knowing what you are planning to run before starting. So for instance before deciding on a subwoofer box you will want to check what the recommended airspace specifications are for that model. Now we will discuss a few different options available for enclosures.

Sealed Subwoofer Boxes:
The most common and versatile type of enclosure is sealed. This style enclosure is ideal for any application where space is going to be an issue. In some cases a sealed recommendation for subwoofer box will be half of what the ported recommendation is. They also have the advantage over ported and band pass enclosures in terms of overall sound clarity. A sealed subwoofer box will deliver a tight, clean and accurate bass response and have a flat frequency response curve. In general a sealed box will be for listeners looking for sound quality driven system that is clean across the entire frequency band.

Vented & Ported Subwoofer Boxes
Next up are ported or vented enclosures, “ported” & “vented” are synonymous, it just means the enclosure has a hole in it to let air escape. You know that guy you can hear from 2 blocks away? Well he is likely running ported box. This style enclosure will likely be about twice the size of a similar sealed box since the airspace inside the chamber is much larger. Ported enclosures are tuned to a certain frequency range which is determined by the port length, width and diameter. The port can be in several configurations such as rounded or a slot which is narrower and taller. Each subwoofer will have a specific frequency they are designed to run at for maximum output. Depending on what you plan to use the enclosure for it can be tuned to various frequency ranges by modifying the port.

In general most competition SPL vehicles tune to high frequencies around 45Hz or higher. This setup would be designed for absolute maximum output but sacrificing a great deal of sound quality. A ported box tuned 25Hz will still allow your system to hit the ultra low bass notes while still keeping sealed like sound quality. The disadvantage is the enclosure will then have a fairly flat frequency range. And then the most common frequency range found usually in pre-built ported / vented enclosures is around 33 – 35Hz. At this frequency the enclosure will still deliver much more bass output than a sealed box but at the same type with still retain most of the sound quality. In other words you will get the best of both worlds with a ported box run at about 33Hz.


Bandpass Subwoofer Boxes
And last but not least are Bandpass enclosures. These are a hybrid box version and combine the features of a sealed and ported sub box into one enclosure. They are generally the hardest to build and design but offer some unique advantages. Bandpass enclosures are all about efficiency. How they work is a subwoofer or subwoofers in some cases are mounted inside a dual chambered box. One chamber is sealed and the other is ported / vented. The sound waves travel from the sealed subwoofer chamber though and out the port. This allows for a much deeper sounding bass and will be tuned to a narrow frequency band which creates a very aggressive sound. Not all subwoofers will work in bandpass enclosure so make sure you research or check the manual first.

[derickveliz2]

I got this from Image dynamics forum when I was asking for an advice between sealed or ported in my sedan:

1) when ever you place a sub in a box ( ported or sealed ) in the trunk of a car you will have to deal with the transfer function of the volume of air in that trunk.
Simply put larger the trunk thicker and heavy the lower octaves sound plus the notes feel lethargic.

2) A direct input to the cars interior is the best approach for best overall SQ but not necessarily what some people want in the bass tone ( to flat sounding to their ears )


D.

[Herbicidal]

Looks nice! Herb...

Please let us know how they compare to the ported box.

D.Will do! Since Sonic and I are both in CA, I should have it later this week. I'll try to get a pic of it up against the back seats so you can see how it fits. This one may be a better choice than that square one you were looking at. :thumbsup:

I was going to ask why one would pick sealed over ported and googled it and answered my own question. :)Good find. For the kind of music I listen to, I think the sealed box will sound better. We'll shall soon see...err....hear! :biggrin:

[derickveliz2]

I'll try to get a pic of it up against the back seats so you can see how it fits. This one may be a better choice than that square one you were looking at. :thumbsup:

From my statement above, about transfer function of the trunk ID recommended me to face the woofer up towards the 6x9 openings, so to me it doesn't matter the shape, it's about placement. (I know you have new 6x9 speakers there)

Maybe I'm going crazy on this one, but I will try and let you guys know!

D.

[_S7V7N_]

I have a pair of Kicker 12's and have them facing up towards the 6x9 openings, (6x9's removed ) maybe your outcomes will be different since your trunks are deadened but mine sounded okay at first, now i'm ready to face the box a diff direction. I think mine sounded best with the "ass" end of the box facing the rear seats and the subs towards the back of the trunk. I'm ready to also try a ported box, right now i have them in a 1.0 cubic foot per chamber sealed box. My Hifonics amp is fairly new so i haven't unleashed it on the subs yet, but i see some Type R 12's in my near future, with a ported box.

Oooo and i have a 4 day weekend comming up, so all i need is a saw, and i'm relocating my amps so i can play with the box placement.

[derickveliz2]

.

_S7V7N_ please let us know how it goes!

Enjoy your lonnnnnnnnG weekend.

D.

[cm_ls1]

I got this from Image dynamics forum when I was asking for an advice between sealed or ported in my sedan:

1) when ever you place a sub in a box ( ported or sealed ) in the trunk of a car you will have to deal with the transfer function of the volume of air in that trunk.
Simply put larger the trunk thicker and heavy the lower octaves sound plus the notes feel lethargic.

2) A direct input to the cars interior is the best approach for best overall SQ but not necessarily what some people want in the bass tone ( to flat sounding to their ears )


D.


I tend to disagree with 2) - i have tried various ways and in a sedan as close to the opening of the trunk face rear is the best in most situation, least cancellation of bass.

[derickveliz2]

I tend to disagree with 2) - i have tried various ways and in a sedan as close to the opening of the trunk face rear is the best in most situation, least cancellation of bass.

I'm with you, but this is the first time I have a sedan, and haven't really play with it, the Bazoka tube it's facing backwards (per instructions) and sounds good to me (sorry, feels good jeje)

Maybe they mean that if you have a ported box and the port opens to the cabin, like I've seen in some applications. :iono: (I know and I remember this was SQcomp's plans long time ago)

To me, it's all about learning and trying new things!

We'll see how it works for Herb? maybe he would need to fold down one of his seats!

D.

[cm_ls1]

We'll see how it works for Herb? maybe he would need to fold down one of his seats!

D.


Bass passes through the seats whether they a folded down or not, thats not the problem, the issue here is if the wavelengths of the bass cancel each other out, of course i would suggest trying both and see what sounds best :thumbsup:

Imagine that the vertical line on the left is the back of yourbsedan, the red line is the bass coming out of the sub, the yellow is it reflecting, what you want is these lines to overlap or the sound will cancel each other out reducing bass.

So the last image is your ideal scenario

http://www.soundstream.com.au/userfiles/image/measuringsound1.gif

http://www.soundstream.com.au/userfiles/image/measuringsound2.gif

http://www.soundstream.com.au/userfiles/image/measuringsound3.gif

http://www.soundstream.com.au/userfiles/image/measuringsound4.gif

[derickveliz2]

I would suggest trying both and see what sounds best :thumbsup:

Your ideal scenario

http://www.soundstream.com.au/userfiles/image/measuringsound4.gif

Cool, I will try (once I get a box for the IDQ12, it's going to take me some time though)

Thanks
D.

[Herbicidal]

So is this illustrating that the 'opening' for the sub is facing the back of the rear seat? Or should the opening face towards the back of the car? :iono: Apparently I'm directionally challenged. :biggrin: Thanks!


Bass passes through the seats whether they a folded down or not, thats not the problem, the issue here is if the wavelengths of the bass cancel each other out, of course i would suggest trying both and see what sounds best :thumbsup:

Imagine that the vertical line on the left is the back of yourbsedan, the red line is the bass coming out of the sub, the yellow is it reflecting, what you want is these lines to overlap or the sound will cancel each other out reducing bass.

So the last image is your ideal scenario

http://www.soundstream.com.au/userfiles/image/measuringsound4.gif

[derickveliz2]

So is this illustrating that the 'opening' for the sub is facing the back of the rear seat? Or should the opening face towards the back of the car? :iono: Apparently I'm directionally challenged. :biggrin: Thanks!

Yeah it took me a couple of seconds too, I usually do sections going the other way, but the image shows the sub facing towards the back of the car.

D.

[Herbicidal]

Yeah it took me a couple of seconds too, I usually do sections going the other way, but the image shows the sub facing towards the back of the car.

D.Thanks, I was planning on facing it that way. The angle of the sub box (I think) will fit up nicely against the angle of the backseat. Whoever sits there will get a back massage!

OH! And I just received an e-mail from Sonic saying free shipping on all orders over $20 between now and Friday the 17th (within the continental US)! :thumbsup:

[Herbicidal]

Received the new subwoofer box yesterday and WOW! It has a much smaller footprint than the ported box. Right now, the ported sub box is facing sideways, so based upon those previous graphs, I probably have it facing the worst possible direction. :rolleyes: Live and learn. I'll take a side-by-side comparision picture this weekend and post it. If I like it, I'll end up getting more of my truck space back AND lose some weight. I'll try to remember to weigh the boxes without the speaker and see what the difference is. Probably just a couple of pounds at most.

[Herbicidal]

This past weekend, I pulled the Alpine 10" Type-R sub from the larger, ported box and installed it in the smaller sealed box. I am able to re-position the smaller box so that it is facing the rear of the car and the back of the box is snugged up against the back of the rear seats. I had to elevate the box about 3 inches so that the back would fit against the rear seats as there is an angled piece of hard foam (kind of hidden by the trunk carpet) at the base of the back seats in the trunk. To keep it from sliding around, I picked up some ultra-heavy duty Velcro and used it to help secure the sub box from shifting around.

Then I spent some time re-tuning the amps and new HU. WOW!!! What a difference! I'm feeling more of a 'punch' with the new sealed box, plus now it is oriented the right way AND it takes up about 1/2 the space of the ported box. It's a win-win! The ported box was facing side-to-side, not the best way, but gave me more trunk space. I have pictures, just haven't pulled them off the camera yet. I'll try to do that in the next couple of days. Kind of crazy right now with the holiday's and all that.

[derickveliz2]

.

Way to go Herb!

Looking forward to see the pictures!

Feliz Navidad!

[Herbicidal]

Thanks Derick! Same to my friend! And to your family. :smile:

On a slightly different note (no pun intended) I noticed this morning on the drive in to work (still dark out) that my headlights were pulsing in time to the music. First time I've seen this happen! :eek: I didn't think the volume was THAT loud! I was at a stop light waiting for it to change when I saw the headlights pulsing. This one particular music track has a TON of deep bass and it was definitely working both the amp and the subwoofer. I backed the volume down a few clicks and that reduced the pulsing effect. Obviously I'm not going to notice this during the daytime. Are there any inexpensive mods that I can do to eliminate the pulsing of the headlights? :iono: Besides turning down the volume? :biggrin:

[derickveliz2]

BIG 3

Let me check and I'll see if I can get a set of cables ready to install and how much they cost, and if you want them I'll send them to you.

D.

[Herbicidal]

I thought I was good on the cables, good ground, direct attachment to the (+) side of the battery, cables no longer than they need to be, that kind of thing. So, for the cables are you saying an even BIGGER diameter? I know you've been dealing with the BIG 3, but until I 'retuned' my amps, etc I didn't really give it much thought. I need to research that some more.

Thanks for the offer and yes, please let me know the cost. :thumbsup:

[_S7V7N_]

Are you still running the Factory battery ?

Big 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p82xRzCr-lc

[Herbicidal]

Are you still running the Factory battery ?

Big 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p82xRzCr-lc

Yes.

I can't get to youtube here at work - blocked. :mad: I'll check it out from home. Thanks for the link.

[swidd]

I've been running 600W on 4 year old stock battery, stock alternator and 4 gauge cable... with no dimming issues whatsoever, for about 8 months now.

[sickpuppy1]

Running a cap is supposed to help that too.

[_S7V7N_]

You're running 2 amps right ?

And 600 Watts Max ? So that'll be 300 per channel and if it's a really efficient amp you're looking at about 150 watts per channel, so 300 RMS. That's not to much of a strain on the factory battery and alt.

The cap will just work as a temporary fix, I'm running a Hifonics Brutus 1200 and a 1400 watt 4 channel with a cap, my headlights don't dim since i'm running HID's but my dash lights do dim a bit. I'm going to have to upgrade the stock battery and possibly stick a smaller one in the back close to my amp that is running my subs, to see how that works, after that i'll replace the alternator.

[Herbicidal]

You're running 2 amps right ?

And 600 Watts Max ? So that'll be 300 per channel and if it's a really efficient amp you're looking at about 150 watts per channel, so 300 RMS. That's not to much of a strain on the factory battery and alt.

The cap will just work as a temporary fix, I'm running a Hifonics Brutus 1200 and a 1400 watt 4 channel with a cap, my headlights don't dim since i'm running HID's but my dash lights do dim a bit. I'm going to have to upgrade the stock battery and possibly stick a smaller one in the back close to my amp that is running my subs, to see how that works, after that i'll replace the alternator.Yes, two amps. One is 500 watts, for the sub and the other is an RMS of 60x4. This is running the 6x9's and the 6 1/4's. Honestly, I probably won't do anything for now as I only notice the headlights dimming on that one song when it was pretty cranked on the volume. I still may look at a cap though. Thanks for that suggestion.

[Herbicidal]

Here's some pics of the ported sub box compared to the sealed sub box and how the sealed box sits in the trunk. I have the angled back of the sealed box up against the rear seats.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3291.jpg

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3292.jpg

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3293.jpg

14lbs for the sealed box, no speaker:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3294.jpg

24 lbs for the ported box, no speaker:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3295.jpg

Stuffing some batting into the sealed box:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3297.jpg

In the trunk. I had to elevate the box up about 3 inches so that the angled back would sit flush against the rear seats. I used heavy duty Velcro to secure it against the seat back so it wouldn't move around under heavy cornering. :biggrin:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3323.jpg

Takes up less room in the trunk, faces the right way for maximum thump and weighs 10lbs less, I like it! :thumbsup:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_3324.jpg

[derickveliz2]

NICE!

[Herbicidal]

Well I haven't provided any updates to this thread in awhile. All is well, no problems whatsoever. The new sealed sub box tightened up the bass and being able to orient it front to back certainly helped with the "punch". Less space and less weight was a bonus too!

Still lovin' my Yaris...errr...Vios! :thumbsup:

[derickveliz2]

Way to go Herb! nice to see you around!
Aiming it's key for tuning an audio system!

D.

[Herbicidal]

Thanks Derick! Still hanging around, mostly in the background. Take care my friend! :smile: