lithium's build part deuce

[lithium 358]

sorry guys, been busy...

ok i know its looking alittle ugle but ill be cleaning things up shortly. but first i have to do afew things. turns out my doors aren't deadened enough for these sls's... i believe the rattles i have are parts of the mechanism that moves the windows up and down... so now ill be opening things back up to see what i can do there. next up i have to make new pods for the full ranges. originally i thought they would fit right into a 3" pvc end cap but i had some specs messed up. i should have ordered the 2.5 inch full range and that could have fit in the 2" end cap. then again i think i have a solution to my problem here. i plan to use the fancy new router jig i baught my dad to make some rings that i will form into something that looks like the endcaps....or.... ill try fiber glassing them up there (never done fg before...)

after this all is taken care of i plan to move on to remake my amp rack.. currently i have it holding my amps upside down under my rear deck (hides them pretty well ). but i think i want to change this up by making a false floor. this would provide allot more security for the amps and make for a much more stealth install. i am also considering integrating the sub into the false floor by fg'ing the spare tire well, etc.

well that takes care of what i plan to do next... ill save a review of the speakers and everything till after i get the install correct. however, so far everything is amazing. i took some time to make sure that im not over reacting thru some kind of psychological mind trick where i think it sounds better just because its new. this really is the best sounding system i've ever heard (cant compare it to anything tho...). the detal is very impressive. the 8's can dig so damn low im not even using the sub. if i can get the door rattles calmed down ill be golden. up top the 3's are beautiful. no harshness or lack of upper end. current restriction dont allow me to get the driver side mid completely on axis so once again i wont go into more detail till the install is complete.

[porkchop 304]

big jump

[crosspug 2]

Looking good!

Glad to hear that your happy with the sound thus far. My 2.5in Peerless just arrived....... Excellent.

Jono

[///M5 2,833]

Not sure how you couldn't love that combo. Near full range point sources with monster midbass up front sounds pretty much ideal to me, at least for in a vehicle. Enjoy playing with them, tinkering will really make them sing

[///M5 2,833]

Oh, and good luck with the door rattles. Biggest problem with finally having "enough" driver.

[lithium 358]

Oh, and good luck with the door rattles. Biggest problem with finally having "enough" driver.

Haha. Thanks, these beasts make my sub seem pointless LOL!. I have them crossed at 40 w/ a 18 db slope. Next step down is 32.5 I think. The driver side 3" is alittle off axis buy will be corrected with new pods.

[lithium 358]

Sorry my iPod is double posting

Edited July 2, 2009 by lithium

[///M5 2,833]

If my next car can house a pair I will surely not run a sub

[lithium 358]

If my next car can house a pair I will surely not run a sub

if i can come up with a way to get my sub mounted in my friends regular cab s10, he'll probably take it off my hands (actually i have this worked out pretty well ).

from there im not sure where to go... any ideas?

edit: just remembered... i've considered building a cheap RTA, cost is about 100 bucks. i've read alot about it on diyma, specifically, a post called build a RTA for under 100 bucks (i think that's what its called). i dont think i have the ear for more tuning... im more of a hands on/visual kinda guy

Edited July 2, 2009 by lithium

[Adrian_D 520]

I'm not a big fan of tuning with the rta.

In the end, you will listen with your ears, not your eyes or a microphone. Play around with al the equalizer bands untill you like the sound. This should be done, IMO, after figuring out the right crossover points.

[lithium 358]

I'm not a big fan of tuning with the rta.

In the end, you will listen with your ears, not your eyes or a microphone. Play around with al the equalizer bands untill you like the sound. This should be done, IMO, after figuring out the right crossover points.

ya, i've gone back and forth with this for awhile... before this install i was all for it, but now i think i can get some good results with other tuning methods.... then again, maybe with an rta i can do even better... its a tough choice

right now i should probably be focused getting this build done before i try and tackle another project. hell, i dont even have the door panels back on yet, and now im starting to plan a false floor of some kind...

im out for the night, any opinions on the build and shit is welcome. thanks guys

[///M5 2,833]

I have a $2k microphone and $40k spectrum analyzer at my disposal at anytime and I never use either for tuning. A little troubleshooting and verification but not actual tuning that I do with my ears.

[efxtruck 0]

looks great

[lithium 358]

I have a $2k microphone and $40k spectrum analyzer at my disposal at anytime and I never use either for tuning. A little troubleshooting and verification but not actual tuning that I do with my ears.

guess ill try some walk-throughs ive read for tuning by ear first. i think the rta would be useful, as far as, a visual verification.

i think my plan for my doors are to open them back up and try to kill as many rattles as i can. if that doesn't take care of them all ill try a closed cell foam and mlv barrier (like i should have done in the first place lol).

[lithium 358]

I'm not a big fan of tuning with the rta.

In the end, you will listen with your ears, not your eyes or a microphone. Play around with al the equalizer bands untill you like the sound. This should be done, IMO, after figuring out the right crossover points.

thanks for the advice, id hate to waste cash on something that not effective.

[lithium 358]

sorry ive been so lazy here guys. cell phone pics for now, ill take real ones later.

sooo, progress wise, im finished with the midbass! it took almost the remaining matt i had left to deaden up the doors... but their solid as hell now. id say 97% of the rattles are gone and the remaining 3% are caused by my sub when its turned up louder then it should be. all i needed to do was open my major access hole back up and deaden the rear side of the internal panel (the piece the mids are mounted to). after sealing it up i added the 2nd pound or modeling clay around the baffle as well.

modeling clay FTW!

next up will be cleaning up the full range install and new amp rack.