altoncustomtech

i went with the Bg neo 3's because 1. i wanted something different, 2 because i wanted something that had a smooth sound, 3. because i had already used a number of domes. the reason for the way they are installed is because they are very directional and i use the sundown neo pro 8s for no other reason then being team. That's kewl, I was just curious. Every one of them I've heard have a terrifically smooth, open, airy sound for sure, but I wouldn't have guessed they had the output to keep up with everything else you have. What I was looking for about the installation was more about how they were installed, I'll try a little harder to search through the forum for a build log though instead of littering the thread about the Ethos up with it. I wasn't sure what mids you were using at all until you listed them here. I sure wish I was closer to TX as I'd love to get a demo of yours, Steve's and another member or two who are all from down there. Makes me wonder if that one little prick is still lurking around here. All I know is I saw you say that right after my post and I'm thinking "What the hell made him think I did anything?" or "What the hell did I say wrong and where?" LOL..... Sure is BS no matter who's doing it and to now go picking on Danielle is really wrong.

to the forum!

Considering this is immediately after my post, I hope it's not directed at me.

Love the work the Ethos are doing in the Lincoln. I'd also love to hear more about the front stage as well, the ribbon tweeters (or at least that's what they look like) and the story behind the choice and installation along with what they're paired with has had my interest peaked for awhile I've just been to lazy to ask, lol.

what's up?

LOL, well sure, but I'm working on learning how to repair it. Otherwise I'm having fun learning how to listen and what to listen for on what I like and don't like about the response to pinpoint it and work on what to do to eliminate it. It's not easy and will take a lot of time to get to the understanding that Sean is trying to enlighten me to. In the mean time I'm also just enjoying the ride which is the point of the hobby is it not? This is the first time I've ever listened to or played with full range speakers in a vehicle and just wanted to share my opinions on the experience. But yeah, bad short like with 480 3 phase sitting here for sure.

Well, I've still not been able to find a place to mount that amp, but my curiosity got the best of me. I grabbed up those little old enclosures, put them on the same level aimed directly at me on the dash of the Jimmy and connected them to the 125.2 to do a little test. Holy shit. My initial reason for doing the test was to verify there wasn't something weird going on with the equipment causing some weird boost in the midrange because it's been pretty much impossible to completely EQ out. Even with the mids wired up and run active the response was much better I could still hear the ear shattering anomaly on the songs that were hard to listen to before. I was afraid there might have been an issue with the HU, RCA's, the used 125.2 who knows, but I wanted to be certain. So I disconnected the components and hooked up the little Logitech enclosures with the Faital's in them and set in to listen to a couple of the worst songs to be sure it wasn't an equipment problem. I set the DTA for the new little drivers up on the dash, set the EQ flat and set the HPF to 125hz to start with. Again, holy shit, there it was. Light, airy, open sound with no harshness. I played around with it for a bit and then I couldn't help it and started turning it up because it just sounded too damn good. I had to turn the crossover up to keep from feeling nervous about the output levels I pushed the Faital's to but even without hardly any midbass at all music sounded more like it does in the van than it ever had. Eventually I got in about half a dozen songs at the same listening level I listened to them on the components without ever adjusting the gain. Those Faital's are some tough bastards. I never adjusted the EQ and while I will readily admit it needed a little something just to kinda level things out I was more than surprised and pleased with the results. I can't say that I won't try to fix what is wrong with these components (if possible) but I'm really leaning toward yanking them and going a bit bigger with an 8" dedicated midbass and the full ranges up top. To anyone who's considered the Faital's as an option for the same application I can say that for the price and the performance they can give I can't see how anyone could go wrong. Their high end extension is phenomenal and except maybe for the most discerning ears will never feel like a tweeter would be necessary. That's enough of that but I can't wait to go play with it again! I have a list of songs to play on it.

I'm not sure 1/4" MDF would be that much more substantial, it's fairly flimsy stuff. Maybe try making another set of 1/4" MDF baffles and doubling the thickness. That should be a fairly inexpensive and easy to do first step. As for the deadener start by reading everything you can on Sound Deadener Showdown and read through the sound deadening section on this forum as well. To begin with you don't need to cover everything in a solid layer of CLD (like Dynamat or Second Skin's Damplifier) and you sure as hell don't need multiple layers. A coverage on each panel of about 25% is typically sufficient for every day vehicles. Much more than that and the law of diminishing returns comes into play and you're basically just throwing money that could go into other aspects away. The next product that goes with the CLD is CCF or closed cell foam. This goes on at 100% coverage and works to help stop rattles between the plastic panels and sheet metal as it's primary function. The next product that makes the biggest difference in the amount of noise a person has to deal from outside the vehicle is MLV or mass loaded vinyl. This product absorbs sound and is what helps block outside noises from getting in the vehicle. Covering the holes in the doors is the age old way of sealing the back waves of the speaker from cancelling the sound waves that come off the front of the speaker. It works but is generally a PITA to get back into the door if the window falls off the track, the window lift motor needs replaced, or other such maintenance. With the CCF and MLV applied along with the creative use of some weather stripping or window air conditioning foam seals around the speaker (sealing it to the opening in the door panel) the back waves get blocked/absorbed and there's no need to seal the door up tight. A proper sound deadening project isn't cheap, but it can be done in stages too. My build log on my Jimmy shows how I did mine. I applied the CLD tiles first, mainly because I had them on hand. Then I built and installed my baffles. Then I applied the CCF of which I also had a fair amount already on hand from another project. Then it took me a bit but I bought the MLV for the doors, though I've not had an opportunity to install it. There's actually a couple of years in the process so far but just the CLD and CCF has made a tremendous difference along with some VERY solid baffles.

to the forum!

I too can say I've not had any issues with all the KNU one's I've used which is all but the most expensive sets. Used the Klarity series in my co-worker's son's truck, the Karma SS series in the Jimmy and the Krystal series in the van all without any issues.

I think 1hz and 3hz increments would be a little too much. However the Clarion has more frequencies to choose from on each of the filters, 25hz to 20khz & through HP on the highs (only 1.25khz to 12.5khz on the 80prs), 630hz to 10khz & through LP (only 1.25khz to 12.5khz on the 80prs) and 25hz to 10khz HP on the mids (only 25hz to 250hz on the 80prs), 25hz to 10khz & through LP (only 25hz to 250hz on the 80prs) and through & 16hz to 250hz HP (none for the 80prs) for the sub. All slopes are -6dB or -12dB for each of those filters which is a bit limited but hell, you can almost set the SSF for the sub with the HU! Not to mention that each of the 5 bands of the EQ can be set to any frequency in the list from 20hz to 20khz with Q slopes of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 20 for each band as well where the Pioneer's EQ doesn't appear to be parametric but graphic. I also like the fact you can turn down each of the high/mid/sub sets of channels separately as well allowing some level matching without going to the gains on the amps. Like I said, add that adjustability to the Pioneers better number of EQ bands plus L/R separation, being able to switch phase on the individual speaker, and crossover slopes and it would be the ultimate HU. Who do we need to talk to about building a HU with all these capabilities? LOL

I just read through the manual for the 80PRS. I like the crossover frequencies in the CZ702 better than the 80PRS, there's just plain and simply more frequency options with the Clarion but the Pioneer has more slope options to choose from. The EQ in the Pioneer is superior though and the DTA seems to be more user friendly. If only there was a way to combine the capabilities of the two, it would be the perfect HU.

The CZ500 doesn't have the same capabilities as the CZ702. I've got to get a chance to play with an 80PRS one of these days.

What about the Clarion CZ702? Quite the powerful little HU as far as processing is concerned but priced about the same as the miniDSP.

So, anyone have any idea where the hell to stuff an 8-11/16" x 7-7/8" x 2" amplifier in a 2 door 2nd gen Jimmy/Blazer that's completely hidden? I've literally about torn this truck apart looking for some empty spot to mount the Solid 2 with no luck whatsoever yet. I had a guy tell me there was space behind the glove box for it, but not that I'm seeing or have yet found. I've got to get that little bastard in there so I can start playing with things actively. Just before I started typing this an idea came to me to modify the glove box so that it isn't as deep as it is now, but I'm not sure I could make up a whole 2" doing it. Everything about these trucks is like a puzzle box with all the pieces fitting together so tightly it doesn't leave any wiggle room. On a side note I'm finding I really like the sound of the Founteks and the Faitals almost equally, though for different reasons. The Auras have an incredibly rich sound to them but lack the presence and upper extension the other two have. The Auras would really shine as a wide range midrange in a 3 way setup. Damn do I wish I had more time to work on and play with this truck.

Wow, that sure is nice of you to say.

Directly from PAC Audio's website for a 2013 Hyundai Sonata, unless the one you have listed with your info isn't the car you're trying to put a HU in. PAC Steering Wheel Control Interfaces

Why not get a PAC unit to control the aftermarket HU with? Here's a link to the model you need for your vehicle and for the JVC HU you're looking at. It's additional cost to the HU but for the price Sonic has that HU at including installation accessories I think it would be well worth it to pick up the HU and the PAC adapter to keep your steering wheel controls. LINK

The end result of the sound you get from your speakers is far more related to the installation of those speakers than the speakers being used. How do you have them installed? I assume they're mounted in the factory locations, in the factory baffles with no other considerations given to them. You don't have to make fiberglass pods and do all kinds of cutting and hacking of the vehicle to get more from the speakers you have right now. Have you even considered sound deadening? You'd be amazed at what a proper application of sound deadening materials can do. Mounting the speakers to the factory baffles, or to the sheet metal isn't ideal either. Most vehicles have enough room behind the panels to at least mount a simple MDF or plywood baffle to give the speaker something solid to mount to. An amazing amount of energy is lost to flimsy baffles and the strongest energy a speaker makes is in the bass and midbass frequencies. Without making sure the installation of the speakers is as good as you can possibly give them spending more money on better speakers is a waste. If you're not getting all the performance you can from the current ones how can you expect to get the best you can from the new ones? Make sure the installation is as close to ideal as you can, then if your current speakers still don't perform to your liking it would be time to move on up.

Typically when I've seen this it's one of two things, a cell(s) is going bad or has gone bad or the alternator isn't charging like it should be. I would take the vehicle to get the electrical system load tested and try to determine which the issue is.

Happy Birthday!

to the forum!

Time and time again we tell people that increasing power is the least effective way to get louder, and here I think you've provided a prime example. You have to at least double power input to get a theoretical 3dB gain in output which, again, is the theoretical doubling of output. The problem is that even when you double the power due to things like power compression you'll never see that full 3dB anyway. Plus 3dB to the ear isn't twice as loud anyway so it's all a wash. As we've mentioned before, adding power and worrying about those small increases like that aren't a big enough difference to go chasing and spending money on unless you're competing and trying to get every tenth of a decibel you can, and even then there's better ways to go about it most of the time.

I agree with the others, if you're wanting to do a real 3 way active setup there's a better way to go about it. If it were me I would run the subs at 2 ohms until you were able to make the changes necessary to run them at 1 ohm or a larger amp to run them with more power at 2 ohms. I don't think the small gains you would get from running it at .5 ohm would outweigh the stress on the amp and other possible issues that could arise. Of course that's me, I'd rather play it safe than be sorry I had a problem. I'm not sure what kind of experience you have with sound deadening but the application of the KnoKnoise CLD is a bit of a waste. CLD is used to stop panel resonances and if it's not attached to anything like when covering a hole it's not doing anything and it's too damn expensive to do that with. It only takes about 25% coverage of CLD to be effective to stop resonances. To block noise and sound from coming through the door or any body panel some CCF and MLV are much more effective. Hell just the CCF made a tremendous difference in my Jimmy but the MLV is the real product to be used to block noise. I hope you don't think I was being overly critical, I like the ambition behind the build and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. I think you've got a great foundation in the plans you have and it should turn out to be pretty decent overall.