I like the new concept. Bear in mind that these vents are not only for AC. They let pressure out every time you close the door or trunk and play a crucial role in ventilation and preventing moisture buildup. There are two of them for a reason. I would not block any of them if the car is meant for daily driving and If you'd seal both you would likely regret it. Also, cutting IB holes in the wheel wells sounds like a recipe for road noise to me ;-)
Just wanted to pop in and say thank you very much for making this content. You're very thorough in explanation, inspiring, and motivational. You have me determined to get good clean amplifiers and a DSP and doing a similar build to your final and ultimate build. Only thing is I don't understand infinite baffles much or how to properly prepare for them or which subwoofers make for good candidates.
@honeybadgerwrx Well, you don't necessarily HAVE to use subwoofers in an Infinite Baffle configuration to get great bass response in a vehicle. Yes, I.B. does SOME things better, BUT sealed or ported subs will do other things better. It's a game of trade-offs and compromises, and the total system design comes into play. The vehicle itself may dictate which method you use: The available locations for your subwoofer(s), and the modal response at the listening position that results from those locations, whether or not you are willing to cut holes in the vehicle (a brand new $100k+ Porsche/Audi/Mercedes, etc, that's still under warranty?), and IF you can do that without compromising its structural integrity, safety, or affecting resale value? All of these will be dependent on the owner's perspective on the matter, objectives, and the vehicle itself. But YES, we can all agree that Nerijus does a fantastic job with these videos and explaining his process and the What, How, and Why behind his choices.
@bbfoto7248 for my IB is the only way. As we take our vehicle camping as a family and need maximum cargo space. I understand there's a trade off and I'm okay with it. We're never selling our vehicle so that's not a concern either.
I'll watch this closely, since I also want to improve my car audio in the Skoda (Superb hatchback). Thinking about 3d scanning the wind shield corners and creating custom pods for fullrange drivers (either Faital, Tang Band or MarkAudio alpair 7MS). I won't play as loud but the current setup is just too much distortion...
The cabin flapper vents serve BOTH functions and are EQUALLY important! There are usually at least 2 flapper vents in every vehicle (left & right), and I would advise to at least keep one of them fully intact and operational. When I still owned my new 2001 Mini Cooper S, in addition to the cabin flapper vents, the driver's and passenger's side windows would automatically lower about 3/8" (1cm) in order to create an air gap as soon as you opened either door... The windows would stay down 1cm maintaining that air gap until ~2 seconds AFTER both doors were closed, and only then would they automatically "roll up" to fully close. This was to prevent intense and instantaneous cabin pressurization which might damage the components in the HVAC air box, interior temperature sensors, the sunroof, OEM speakers, and/or cause a window to crack or blow out a window seal, especially on extremely hot days. Subsequent BMWs that I owned had this same "feature". As a side note, in my sedans and coupes, the flapper vents were usually located in the lower rear quarter-panels where I often chose to place my DSPs & Amplifiers in my stealth SQ installs. I do a lot of wilderness and desert hiking and camping, so I'm often driving "off-road" on very dusty dirt or gravel roads, and/or crossing seasonal creeks & streams. Every time I've removed the rear quarter-panel trim pieces to begin mounting my equipment behind them, this area would usually be coated and loaded with fine dust, and sometimes there was evidence of water droplets or light water mist/spray on the dust. To help prevent this dust or potential water spray/droplets from entering these areas, I cut out rectangular frames out of 1/4" thick ABS plastic that would fit around and over the perimeter of the flapper vents. I then attached multiple strong Neo magnets with epoxy into recesses around the perimeter of the ABS frames. I would sometimes need to use a heat gun to soften the ABS and make it conform to the contours of the surrounding sheet metal around the flapper vents. Then I used a damp towel or rag to quickly cool the ABS to "set" it to maintain its shape. I would then cut out a larger rectangular piece of thin, compressible, polyester 3M "FILTRETE" air filter material and place it over the flapper vents, and secure it by placing the rectangular magnetic ABS perimeter frame over it. The 3M Filtrete material looks like thin, white, lightweight felt material, and is commonly used as the air filter medium in small portable or window-mount home air conditioning units. The 3M Filtrete material over the flapper vents kept the vast majority of harmful dust away from my amplifiers and DSPs, and it's inexpensive and easy to remove and clean or replace. I've also used the 3M Filtrete filter material in some of my custom PC Tower computer cases/enclosures place in front of the PSU and cooling fan intakes with good results. I'm looking forward to the progress on this new "RAW-CAt" install! Cheers
I've had the exact same setup, I made the subwoofer box out of polyester. I simply put down a big sheet of plastic in the trunk and made a wood piece as the bottom of the subwoofer in the shape of the side of the trunk, then I first made the inside of the box of polyester(attached to the wood bottom), let it cure and then took the thing out. Then saw off the excess poly so I had a nice tub with rounded edges. Then I made a ring which fitted the subwoofer and attached it to the tub. Then I took a duvet cover and pulled it over the tub and attached it with staples to the ring and pulled it down and put polyester on it. Then 5 more layers of glas and it was a solid box. I also put the midranges on the dash with the same technique, shaped a little box in the corner of the dash with polyester, made rings, pulled fabric over it then polyester and reenforce with glass. I tested quite a bit and I think the best staging is achieved with the midrange pointing at the same angle(left facing the passenger and right facing you). Then do the staging with time alignment.
For the steel baffle, you could design a shape in CAD (or even draw on paper) and approach to a shop that has a plasma table to have them cut out the exact shape. Instead of welding, you could design in a flange or two so that you can bolt the assembly in, and then go over any seams with a sealant (butyl rope, seam sealer, etc.) and a layer of CLD
@RAW-CAt Looks like a solid plan. But if you plan to keep this vehicle long-term, and in regards to welding in a steel plate baffle for the 18" subwoofer, you will need to think about retaining access to the rear tail light for bulb replacements or complete tail light replacement if they are LED. If you don't significantly reinforce the sheet metal cavity behind the subwoofer with a fiberglass/wood enclosure I would expect some serious flexing of that area, even if heavily sound treated and vented outside via IB. So you may just want to stick with a thick MDF or Baltic Birch baffle and fiberglass enclosure construction.
That is a fair point. I would imagine the bulb replacement would be possible if sub is removed. I am not too worried about flex as there is no back pressure to contain, IB is not an enclosure. Yes, you have the vibrations, but it's not like a sealed enclosure.
@@RAW-CAt Yes, I know that I.B. is not a sealed enclosure, ha...I have Two AE IB15AU subs in IB, myself. But you would be surprised at how much pressure is still exerted on the structure/area behind the cone regardless of the "open vent"! Your tail light will probably rattle like crazy as well. :) You might want to wrap the back of it where it meets the sheet metal with 1/8" compressible CCF. ;) Have fun, mate!
I’m really interested in the battery choice, the whole isolated battery system and the dc to dc charging system. Is this a incoming video possibly please 🙏 Loving the content
I am in the same position regarding the battery. I want to install an additional battery but don't want to jave to deal with the BMS. It is an Audi A8 aand the BMS is very tricky
Hey my vehicle has dash speakers at 8 ohm and front door 6x9 midbass at 4 ohm. When wired in parallel give 2.7 ohm. Just wondering can I build my own component set - meaning pick speaker replacements how would I know if their output levels will match? I liked the look of the lavoce wideband from one of your videos and there's a brand in the states called cdt that makes a lot of nice midbass drivers that people speak highly of. I was going to put a 500hz high pass filter and low pass filter on them, but just wondering now about their output levels if it's ok for me to do this? The lavoce is 89.5 db sensitive, 30w RMS, the cdt hd-690cfs is 89 db sensitive, 90w RMS. I'm planning on using an android head unit to gain some more control over the speakers, I just haven't seen the eq/DSP functions of it yet to know how much control.
@mcjonner You can't wire the 6x9 door midbass and dash speakers together in parallel IF you want to use separate DSP and amplifier channels on each one to be able to apply independent crossovers, time alignment, levels, and EQ....which would be the best approach in order to provide excellent imaging/soundstage and SQ. CDT makes some decent or "okay" speakers for the money, but I wouldn't consider any of them in the upper tier of performance. Some are really good, but not great. IF you want to stick with using 6x9s in your front doors, look into the Hybrid Audio Technologies (H.A.T.) Unity U69v2 or even the shallow mount Unity U69-S. They will be more expensive than the CDT, but they offer excellent midbass performance...as long as your doors & door cards/panels are properly and heavily treated with sound deadening. If fact, U.S. SQ competitor, DSP tuner, and car audio shop owner Michael Meyers (The Sound Factory in Knoxville, TN) used the 2-ohm shallow mount H.A.T. Unity U69-S 6x9s in the OEM front door locations of his 2020 Subaru Forester to win 1st Place SQ Champion at the 2020 U.S. Finals as well as "SQ Best Of Show". The Unity 6x9s are available in a 2-Ohm version. He installed Audible Physics RG100 midrange speakers and Audible Physics Avatar tweeters flush and level in the top of the far left & right sides of the dash. There is a single 15" H.A.T. CLARUS subwoofer in a 1.6cf sealed enclosure in the far rear center cargo floor that is firing upwards into the cabin. The playback source is a portable iBasso DX160 DAP (modern "iPod") connected via analog output to an ARC Audio PS8 DSP. The system is powered by two ZAPCO Z-AP series amplifiers. Unfortunately, this car was totaled in an accident, but he purchased a new 2021 Subaru Forester and installed the same system in it. Copy & Paste the following text into the u-toob search bar to watch an overview of his system: UnlQ2v-pKx0
@@bbfoto7248Appreciate your response. So maybe if I reevaluate the system, I should just skip out on rear fill and wire the front 2 way speakers on dedicated channels to add the control needed? I was worried about level matching of the speakers. My goal was to be budget minded while maximizing quality. Meaning my budget isnt set in stone and this is a learning process and it can change if need be for the right reasons. I wanted to stick to one amplifier for ease of install and fitment into the vehicle, it's a quad cab Dodge ram so no trunk, the back seats don't fold down either and id like to keep the fold up feature they have under the seats for storage. I was thinking of getting the cdt 5 channel amp, it has decent output for a modest system and original price is $400, regular sale price when on sale is $200, but for black Friday it went down to $100 which I imagine they might do for boxing day as well. So that seemed like too good of a deal to be true. When you say IF I wanted to stick with 6x9 midbass, what would you recommend otherwise? I have seen one Dodge ram owner mention he found adapters to be able to use 8" drivers in the front doors. I did try to see if raw-cat had a midbass shootout or recommendations, but I did not find one unless I missed it. I will look into the ones he mentioned in this video right now though. That guys build looked very clean. He didn't use back fill either.
@@mcjonner Sounds good. Yes, I would do 2-way front for independent speaker control and omit the rear fill for now. If you can fit 8" midbass in the doors without too much fabrication/modification that would be great...BUT they will be harder to match to a tweeter in a 2-way front setup due to "beaming" from the larger 8" midbass. You'll want a tweeter that can play really low like the SB Acoustics SB19RDNC that Nejirius likes...about $145 USD from Madisound. You'd also probably need to do some trimming to the back of the door panel around the OEM speaker grill for clearance for the 8" midbass. And you'll need to HEAVILY treat the doors and door card with sound deadening! When you step up to a 8" midbass, you'll want to do a 3-way front setup with a dedicated midrange. So, you might want to stick with good drop-in 6x9's in a 2-way with the SB29RDNC tweeters and use your Subwoofer(s) to boost your midbass output... ua-cam.com/video/aIAV-jDafq0/v-deo.html Regarding using an Android Head Unit, note that Nerijus (RAW-CAt) is ultimately still going to use a separate HELIX DSP PRO Mk3 to maximize the SQ in his system. IMO & IME, only the best Android units like the ones Nerijus tested are worth bothering with and spending your money on. Othewise they are "janky" and unreliable. I would keep the option open and look for a good deal on a traditional used but good condition Kenwood eXcelon Reference ("XR") head unit like the 2018 DDX9905S double-DIN. It should be about $300 USD... Fantastic SQ, HD capacitive touchscreen, iDataLink Maestro compatible, 5v Front/Rear/Sub outputs that don't clip or distort, can attach a 2tb SSD or HDD, plays Hi-Res files, etc. Unfortunately, the Kenwood's don't have a Digital Output like most of the Android Head units... HOWEVER, please take note that Michael Myers in the video above was using the ANALOG OUTPUT from his portable iBasso DX160 DAP, and NOT a Digital source signal when he won IASCA & MECA 1st Place at Finals and SQ Best Of Show. ;) If you have plenty of foot room in the front passenger side footwell, that is an EXCELLENT place to put a subwoofer. A good single 10" subwoofer like the ARC Audio Arc Series A10, or Stereo Integrity BM11 in a 0.5cf sealed enclosure with the cone firing towards the firewall/floor will give you a FREE 12dB-17dB boost in SPL due to the corner boundary loading or "cabin gain"! This is SIGNIFICANT when you consider that you need to DOUBLE your amplifier power for every +3dB gain in SPL! This location for the subwoofer also usually fills in the common front near-side cancellation null that occurs in every vehicle due to the width dimension of the vehicle when using subwoofers mounted in the rear. ;) Good luck.
Im trying to do a build myself on my new car and ao far ive replaced my dash speakers with cdt unity 8 plus. Now i just need to install my zapco 10ch amp/dsp. I may use a mono depending on how 240 watts push my sql12. Im going for SQL so i may use the jp23 i have.
Illusion Audio has the C3CX, so why not opt for a coaxial in a pod and just build a recess into the A-pillar to help the pod block less of your visibility? Then you can omit the separate tweeter.
@ thanks. In my car It would have to be the bottom of the wheel well, which would be very obvious from under the car. I know there are a few cars in the UK with IB done that way, however not sure if they were relying on ‘friendly’ MOT testers. I’d been keen to know the specific rules that might be used to invalidate an MOT should anyone know them.
will you make a video or small tutorial about the amp repainting and clean up? i got some old amps that could really use that too and a tutorial would be nice!
I would love to learn more about your lithium charging system. I am overly paranoid about messing with my stock electrical and have a secondary AMG and ultra cap but I really want litium but am trying to find options to safely add lithium. My OEM alternator is 14V and I have seen it spike on a cold start up in the winter hitting 15.8V and worry about lithium seeing spikes like that. Can you please explain how this DC to DC converter works for our application as I have quickly looked at these but have no idea what I am looking for in regard to specs for one of these and would love to be able to safely add a lithium LTO battery to my build when I finally get the install going, this is one of main factors holding me back from starting the installation.
@RAW-CAt , thank you. I will check it out. I should have known you had one somewhere. I truly appreciate your videos, we need more SQ content creators. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and not trying to hide how you do things like others tend to in this space.
In my experience those Helix 8 inchers don't have the guts to play loud at the low frequencies you need for good IB sub transition. They play, yes, but to keep up with SQL levels? Not a chance. Maybe with careful tuning and if you can push the electrical HPF to 50Hz 24db/oct, there's a chance you won't destroy them at high levels, but I'd be very careful. I recently tuned a system with those in a Porsche 992 and I had to get pretty aggressive with the HPF in order for them to cope with any level above speaking level. A bit disappointing for 8 inchers, but I guess the shallow profile comes with downsides. Maybe it was just this specific car in question, but the install was done properly, the equipment was pretty nice and still this was the weakest link in the whole system - not nice on such a special brand new car... I hope your experience with these is better than mine.
@@RAW-CAt not many places these can be installed in a 992. They were in the doors and the doors were treated properly - the install was done by a pretty capable installer who's also an EMMA judge. So no shortcuts were taken. It was all as solid as it gets in a door and I've had pretty amazing low end response from doors even on 6.5s, but these helix drivers didn't do it for me and managed to bottom out pretty easily, triggering the protection of the custom high end amps that were running them.
@@ah4800 that is not UK, that is the rest of the world 😀 Only in America you see so many big trucks. In the UK SUVs are "reserved" only for the rich as owning one you need much more fuel, more expensive insurance and a gated driveway. Most popular amongst the rich are land rovers that are most often stolen cars in the uk.
@@RAW-CAt Can you measure the pods when you get the drivers in there to see if the internet myth of "suffocating" the drivers is true for the frequency range you are using them for?
Nice transition to the different components. I really liked it
Thanks for catching it, thought that would be a cool idea🙃
I like the new concept. Bear in mind that these vents are not only for AC. They let pressure out every time you close the door or trunk and play a crucial role in ventilation and preventing moisture buildup. There are two of them for a reason. I would not block any of them if the car is meant for daily driving and If you'd seal both you would likely regret it. Also, cutting IB holes in the wheel wells sounds like a recipe for road noise to me ;-)
Just wanted to pop in and say thank you very much for making this content. You're very thorough in explanation, inspiring, and motivational.
You have me determined to get good clean amplifiers and a DSP and doing a similar build to your final and ultimate build.
Only thing is I don't understand infinite baffles much or how to properly prepare for them or which subwoofers make for good candidates.
I have an hour long video dedicated to IB, watch it here:
ua-cam.com/video/dNO-q1y23KQ/v-deo.htmlsi=5yLaW-JY0HdtFNDT
@honeybadgerwrx
Well, you don't necessarily HAVE to use subwoofers in an Infinite Baffle configuration to get great bass response in a vehicle.
Yes, I.B. does SOME things better, BUT sealed or ported subs will do other things better. It's a game of trade-offs and compromises, and the total system design comes into play.
The vehicle itself may dictate which method you use:
The available locations for your subwoofer(s), and the modal response at the listening position that results from those locations, whether or not you are willing to cut holes in the vehicle (a brand new $100k+ Porsche/Audi/Mercedes, etc, that's still under warranty?), and IF you can do that without compromising its structural integrity, safety, or affecting resale value?
All of these will be dependent on the owner's perspective on the matter, objectives, and the vehicle itself.
But YES, we can all agree that Nerijus does a fantastic job with these videos and explaining his process and the What, How, and Why behind his choices.
@bbfoto7248 for my IB is the only way. As we take our vehicle camping as a family and need maximum cargo space. I understand there's a trade off and I'm okay with it. We're never selling our vehicle so that's not a concern either.
Editing on this video was amazing! Very well done. Looking forward to the build sequence.
Those transitions to the equipment placed...genius! 🔥
I'll watch this closely, since I also want to improve my car audio in the Skoda (Superb hatchback). Thinking about 3d scanning the wind shield corners and creating custom pods for fullrange drivers (either Faital, Tang Band or MarkAudio alpair 7MS). I won't play as loud but the current setup is just too much distortion...
Really love the idea of two builds with different focuses. I actually plan to build a similar 2 way into my daily as your first build.
Rusted rear quarter panel, fix rust while addressing IB opening at the same time.
They either do stuff a whole lot different over there in the UK, or this dude is just plan out CRAZY 😜!!!!
Flaps are not for AC. Their purpose is to let the air out when you close the door so to not have pressure build up suddenly.
Put your ventilation fan on max and look- air will be exiting from there.
@ of course. More air in - higher pressure. But their main purpose was to drop pressure by letting air out. Even before AC.
The cabin flapper vents serve BOTH functions and are EQUALLY important!
There are usually at least 2 flapper vents in every vehicle (left & right), and I would advise to at least keep one of them fully intact and operational.
When I still owned my new 2001 Mini Cooper S, in addition to the cabin flapper vents, the driver's and passenger's side windows would automatically lower about 3/8" (1cm) in order to create an air gap as soon as you opened either door...
The windows would stay down 1cm maintaining that air gap until ~2 seconds AFTER both doors were closed, and only then would they automatically "roll up" to fully close.
This was to prevent intense and instantaneous cabin pressurization which might damage the components in the HVAC air box, interior temperature sensors, the sunroof, OEM speakers, and/or cause a window to crack or blow out a window seal, especially on extremely hot days. Subsequent BMWs that I owned had this same "feature".
As a side note, in my sedans and coupes, the flapper vents were usually located in the lower rear quarter-panels where I often chose to place my DSPs & Amplifiers in my stealth SQ installs.
I do a lot of wilderness and desert hiking and camping, so I'm often driving "off-road" on very dusty dirt or gravel roads, and/or crossing seasonal creeks & streams.
Every time I've removed the rear quarter-panel trim pieces to begin mounting my equipment behind them, this area would usually be coated and loaded with fine dust, and sometimes there was evidence of water droplets or light water mist/spray on the dust.
To help prevent this dust or potential water spray/droplets from entering these areas, I cut out rectangular frames out of 1/4" thick ABS plastic that would fit around and over the perimeter of the flapper vents. I then attached multiple strong Neo magnets with epoxy into recesses around the perimeter of the ABS frames.
I would sometimes need to use a heat gun to soften the ABS and make it conform to the contours of the surrounding sheet metal around the flapper vents. Then I used a damp towel or rag to quickly cool the ABS to "set" it to maintain its shape.
I would then cut out a larger rectangular piece of thin, compressible, polyester 3M "FILTRETE" air filter material and place it over the flapper vents, and secure it by placing the rectangular magnetic ABS perimeter frame over it.
The 3M Filtrete material looks like thin, white, lightweight felt material, and is commonly used as the air filter medium in small portable or window-mount home air conditioning units.
The 3M Filtrete material over the flapper vents kept the vast majority of harmful dust away from my amplifiers and DSPs, and it's inexpensive and easy to remove and clean or replace.
I've also used the 3M Filtrete filter material in some of my custom PC Tower computer cases/enclosures place in front of the PSU and cooling fan intakes with good results.
I'm looking forward to the progress on this new "RAW-CAt" install!
Cheers
I can't wait to see this new project. Love your videos, man.
That 3539 was my first amplifier back in the 90's, really surprised you have one still kicking and to hear that it measures really clean
Looking forward to seeing the progress!
NICE PLAN CAN'T WAIT
I've had the exact same setup, I made the subwoofer box out of polyester. I simply put down a big sheet of plastic in the trunk and made a wood piece as the bottom of the subwoofer in the shape of the side of the trunk, then I first made the inside of the box of polyester(attached to the wood bottom), let it cure and then took the thing out. Then saw off the excess poly so I had a nice tub with rounded edges. Then I made a ring which fitted the subwoofer and attached it to the tub. Then I took a duvet cover and pulled it over the tub and attached it with staples to the ring and pulled it down and put polyester on it. Then 5 more layers of glas and it was a solid box.
I also put the midranges on the dash with the same technique, shaped a little box in the corner of the dash with polyester, made rings, pulled fabric over it then polyester and reenforce with glass.
I tested quite a bit and I think the best staging is achieved with the midrange pointing at the same angle(left facing the passenger and right facing you). Then do the staging with time alignment.
Very solid advice, thank you👍
2 x 18 is a must for your project. Not only more fun but for visuals as well. The right side of the boot will look empty without a sub.
For the steel baffle, you could design a shape in CAD (or even draw on paper) and approach to a shop that has a plasma table to have them cut out the exact shape.
Instead of welding, you could design in a flange or two so that you can bolt the assembly in, and then go over any seams with a sealant (butyl rope, seam sealer, etc.) and a layer of CLD
That is a great advice, thank you👍
Dayton Audio has got some inexpensive AMT Tweeters, i will potentially get some of them for my own Speaker for my room
Nice plan. Those old Alpine amps are no joke.
Beautiful Project Mate ! 🎊 🎉❤
Sounds like an absolutely crazy plan 😂👌👌 I'm Curious about the build and the result 😄
You have the makings of a nice stealth system there. Some careful fabrication and you'd never know it's there!
You want to build it in steel?? 😮 Looking forward to see that "thing" come alive!
@RAW-CAt
Looks like a solid plan.
But if you plan to keep this vehicle long-term, and in regards to welding in a steel plate baffle for the 18" subwoofer, you will need to think about retaining access to the rear tail light for bulb replacements or complete tail light replacement if they are LED.
If you don't significantly reinforce the sheet metal cavity behind the subwoofer with a fiberglass/wood enclosure I would expect some serious flexing of that area, even if heavily sound treated and vented outside via IB. So you may just want to stick with a thick MDF or Baltic Birch baffle and fiberglass enclosure construction.
That is a fair point. I would imagine the bulb replacement would be possible if sub is removed. I am not too worried about flex as there is no back pressure to contain, IB is not an enclosure. Yes, you have the vibrations, but it's not like a sealed enclosure.
@@RAW-CAt
Yes, I know that I.B. is not a sealed enclosure, ha...I have Two AE IB15AU subs in IB, myself. But you would be surprised at how much pressure is still exerted on the structure/area behind the cone regardless of the "open vent"!
Your tail light will probably rattle like crazy as well. :) You might want to wrap the back of it where it meets the sheet metal with 1/8" compressible CCF. ;)
Have fun, mate!
I’m really interested in the battery choice, the whole isolated battery system and the dc to dc charging system. Is this a incoming video possibly please 🙏
Loving the content
Watch this one:
ua-cam.com/video/qzmq9IItQPc/v-deo.html
I am in the same position regarding the battery. I want to install an additional battery but don't want to jave to deal with the BMS. It is an Audi A8 aand the BMS is very tricky
Hey my vehicle has dash speakers at 8 ohm and front door 6x9 midbass at 4 ohm. When wired in parallel give 2.7 ohm.
Just wondering can I build my own component set - meaning pick speaker replacements how would I know if their output levels will match? I liked the look of the lavoce wideband from one of your videos and there's a brand in the states called cdt that makes a lot of nice midbass drivers that people speak highly of. I was going to put a 500hz high pass filter and low pass filter on them, but just wondering now about their output levels if it's ok for me to do this? The lavoce is 89.5 db sensitive, 30w RMS, the cdt hd-690cfs is 89 db sensitive, 90w RMS.
I'm planning on using an android head unit to gain some more control over the speakers, I just haven't seen the eq/DSP functions of it yet to know how much control.
@mcjonner
You can't wire the 6x9 door midbass and dash speakers together in parallel IF you want to use separate DSP and amplifier channels on each one to be able to apply independent crossovers, time alignment, levels, and EQ....which would be the best approach in order to provide excellent imaging/soundstage and SQ.
CDT makes some decent or "okay" speakers for the money, but I wouldn't consider any of them in the upper tier of performance. Some are really good, but not great.
IF you want to stick with using 6x9s in your front doors, look into the Hybrid Audio Technologies (H.A.T.) Unity U69v2 or even the shallow mount Unity U69-S. They will be more expensive than the CDT, but they offer excellent midbass performance...as long as your doors & door cards/panels are properly and heavily treated with sound deadening.
If fact, U.S. SQ competitor, DSP tuner, and car audio shop owner Michael Meyers (The Sound Factory in Knoxville, TN) used the 2-ohm shallow mount H.A.T. Unity U69-S 6x9s in the OEM front door locations of his 2020 Subaru Forester to win 1st Place SQ Champion at the 2020 U.S. Finals as well as "SQ Best Of Show". The Unity 6x9s are available in a 2-Ohm version.
He installed Audible Physics RG100 midrange speakers and Audible Physics Avatar tweeters flush and level in the top of the far left & right sides of the dash.
There is a single 15" H.A.T. CLARUS subwoofer in a 1.6cf sealed enclosure in the far rear center cargo floor that is firing upwards into the cabin.
The playback source is a portable iBasso DX160 DAP (modern "iPod") connected via analog output to an ARC Audio PS8 DSP. The system is powered by two ZAPCO Z-AP series amplifiers.
Unfortunately, this car was totaled in an accident, but he purchased a new 2021 Subaru Forester and installed the same system in it.
Copy & Paste the following text into the u-toob search bar to watch an overview of his system:
UnlQ2v-pKx0
Michael Meyers 2020 Subaru Forester SQ competition system video with H.A.T. Unity U69-S 6x9 midbass...
ua-cam.com/video/UnIQ2v-pKx0/v-deo.html
@@bbfoto7248Appreciate your response. So maybe if I reevaluate the system, I should just skip out on rear fill and wire the front 2 way speakers on dedicated channels to add the control needed? I was worried about level matching of the speakers.
My goal was to be budget minded while maximizing quality. Meaning my budget isnt set in stone and this is a learning process and it can change if need be for the right reasons. I wanted to stick to one amplifier for ease of install and fitment into the vehicle, it's a quad cab Dodge ram so no trunk, the back seats don't fold down either and id like to keep the fold up feature they have under the seats for storage. I was thinking of getting the cdt 5 channel amp, it has decent output for a modest system and original price is $400, regular sale price when on sale is $200, but for black Friday it went down to $100 which I imagine they might do for boxing day as well. So that seemed like too good of a deal to be true.
When you say IF I wanted to stick with 6x9 midbass, what would you recommend otherwise? I have seen one Dodge ram owner mention he found adapters to be able to use 8" drivers in the front doors. I did try to see if raw-cat had a midbass shootout or recommendations, but I did not find one unless I missed it. I will look into the ones he mentioned in this video right now though.
That guys build looked very clean. He didn't use back fill either.
@@bbfoto7248I wonder now if 4" wideband would be better than 3" if there's a way to easily modify the dash speakers location?
@@mcjonner
Sounds good.
Yes, I would do 2-way front for independent speaker control and omit the rear fill for now.
If you can fit 8" midbass in the doors without too much fabrication/modification that would be great...BUT they will be harder to match to a tweeter in a 2-way front setup due to "beaming" from the larger 8" midbass. You'll want a tweeter that can play really low like the SB Acoustics SB19RDNC that Nejirius likes...about $145 USD from Madisound.
You'd also probably need to do some trimming to the back of the door panel around the OEM speaker grill for clearance for the 8" midbass. And you'll need to HEAVILY treat the doors and door card with sound deadening!
When you step up to a 8" midbass, you'll want to do a 3-way front setup with a dedicated midrange.
So, you might want to stick with good drop-in 6x9's in a 2-way with the SB29RDNC tweeters and use your Subwoofer(s) to boost your midbass output...
ua-cam.com/video/aIAV-jDafq0/v-deo.html
Regarding using an Android Head Unit, note that Nerijus (RAW-CAt) is ultimately still going to use a separate HELIX DSP PRO Mk3 to maximize the SQ in his system. IMO & IME, only the best Android units like the ones Nerijus tested are worth bothering with and spending your money on. Othewise they are "janky" and unreliable.
I would keep the option open and look for a good deal on a traditional used but good condition Kenwood eXcelon Reference ("XR") head unit like the 2018 DDX9905S double-DIN. It should be about $300 USD... Fantastic SQ, HD capacitive touchscreen, iDataLink Maestro compatible, 5v Front/Rear/Sub outputs that don't clip or distort, can attach a 2tb SSD or HDD, plays Hi-Res files, etc.
Unfortunately, the Kenwood's don't have a Digital Output like most of the Android Head units...
HOWEVER, please take note that Michael Myers in the video above was using the ANALOG OUTPUT from his portable iBasso DX160 DAP, and NOT a Digital source signal when he won IASCA & MECA 1st Place at Finals and SQ Best Of Show. ;)
If you have plenty of foot room in the front passenger side footwell, that is an EXCELLENT place to put a subwoofer.
A good single 10" subwoofer like the ARC Audio Arc Series A10, or Stereo Integrity BM11 in a 0.5cf sealed enclosure with the cone firing towards the firewall/floor will give you a FREE 12dB-17dB boost in SPL due to the corner boundary loading or "cabin gain"!
This is SIGNIFICANT when you consider that you need to DOUBLE your amplifier power for every +3dB gain in SPL!
This location for the subwoofer also usually fills in the common front near-side cancellation null that occurs in every vehicle due to the width dimension of the vehicle when using subwoofers mounted in the rear. ;)
Good luck.
Im trying to do a build myself on my new car and ao far ive replaced my dash speakers with cdt unity 8 plus. Now i just need to install my zapco 10ch amp/dsp. I may use a mono depending on how 240 watts push my sql12. Im going for SQL so i may use the jp23 i have.
Don't forget you still will need to get to the stop light bulbs to change them from time to time.
Illusion Audio has the C3CX, so why not opt for a coaxial in a pod and just build a recess into the A-pillar to help the pod block less of your visibility? Then you can omit the separate tweeter.
Coax driver is a compromise for both the midrange and a tweeter. A quality wideband in my opinion is a better choice.
can you do a rear deck "ib" install video with some 10-12 inch subs? would love to see some measurements.
Deck? It's a hatchback, there is no deck.
Do you have any more info on the MOT risks of IB? Are they looking for something in particular?
I have ib in my car and no issue with mot, I know others who have no issue either. If done neatly and tidy they don’t really notice.
@ thanks. In my car It would have to be the bottom of the wheel well, which would be very obvious from under the car. I know there are a few cars in the UK with IB done that way, however not sure if they were relying on ‘friendly’ MOT testers. I’d been keen to know the specific rules that might be used to invalidate an MOT should anyone know them.
will you make a video or small tutorial about the amp repainting and clean up? i got some old amps that could really use that too and a tutorial would be nice!
Might do that🤔
@@RAW-CAt I'd be very interested!
2 18s would look very nice
I would love to learn more about your lithium charging system. I am overly paranoid about messing with my stock electrical and have a secondary AMG and ultra cap but I really want litium but am trying to find options to safely add lithium. My OEM alternator is 14V and I have seen it spike on a cold start up in the winter hitting 15.8V and worry about lithium seeing spikes like that. Can you please explain how this DC to DC converter works for our application as I have quickly looked at these but have no idea what I am looking for in regard to specs for one of these and would love to be able to safely add a lithium LTO battery to my build when I finally get the install going, this is one of main factors holding me back from starting the installation.
I have a video about this🙃
ua-cam.com/video/BjhDTMK9buw/v-deo.html
@RAW-CAt , thank you. I will check it out. I should have known you had one somewhere. I truly appreciate your videos, we need more SQ content creators. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and not trying to hide how you do things like others tend to in this space.
First 🔊 6:55 , i know that guy 😊
Haha, yes you do😂
link's to the drivers you use?
Just google them mate. My links would work only if you are in the UK.
I thought those vents were to relieve pressure if the airbags deploy
It's for regulating pressure in general. AC, door shut, air bag. There are two vents, so one still.be operational.
@@RAW-CAt the sub can move a little. I'm pretty sure the 2*18 sub will do the same xD
My simple system is still my only system a year later.
In my experience those Helix 8 inchers don't have the guts to play loud at the low frequencies you need for good IB sub transition. They play, yes, but to keep up with SQL levels? Not a chance. Maybe with careful tuning and if you can push the electrical HPF to 50Hz 24db/oct, there's a chance you won't destroy them at high levels, but I'd be very careful. I recently tuned a system with those in a Porsche 992 and I had to get pretty aggressive with the HPF in order for them to cope with any level above speaking level. A bit disappointing for 8 inchers, but I guess the shallow profile comes with downsides. Maybe it was just this specific car in question, but the install was done properly, the equipment was pretty nice and still this was the weakest link in the whole system - not nice on such a special brand new car... I hope your experience with these is better than mine.
Interesting. Where they were installed? In the insignia from the kicks with the cabin gain they gave me plenty of output.
@@RAW-CAt not many places these can be installed in a 992. They were in the doors and the doors were treated properly - the install was done by a pretty capable installer who's also an EMMA judge. So no shortcuts were taken. It was all as solid as it gets in a door and I've had pretty amazing low end response from doors even on 6.5s, but these helix drivers didn't do it for me and managed to bottom out pretty easily, triggering the protection of the custom high end amps that were running them.
Two 18s, yes baby please!
Subwoofer model ?
One Audio IB3 18
I am pretty sure octavia takes 8inch speakers in doors... That would solve your low bass issue
Nah, it's 6.5s.
@RAW-CAt so they changed it. Mk2, mk2 facelift, superb, mk5 golf, all Audi lineup had space for 20cm woofer
@@miki476Still the worst location to for listening music.
Do all vehicles suck in the uk?
In what way?
No the uk has some of the best cars with most brands excluding US brands
@@Adrimo911 no trucks or suvs? They seem to be all small economical cars
@@ah4800 that is not UK, that is the rest of the world 😀 Only in America you see so many big trucks. In the UK SUVs are "reserved" only for the rich as owning one you need much more fuel, more expensive insurance and a gated driveway. Most popular amongst the rich are land rovers that are most often stolen cars in the uk.
@RAW-CAt man that would suck. How do you guys buy sheets of wood or drywall or move anything big? Couldnt live without my truck
AMT dont have to be expensive. Omnes Audio AMT60.1 or AMT50 are not much money.
Thanks for the recomendations👍
Ditch the pods, please! You're suffocating those drivers 😢
Any alternative suggestions?
Just cut open the dash. You plan on building in those corners later anyway. Mount them straight to the dash for now.
The pods was for the "basic" install.
@@RAW-CAt Can you measure the pods when you get the drivers in there to see if the internet myth of "suffocating" the drivers is true for the frequency range you are using them for?
@@RAW-CAt I say just cut the dash and place it there.
You are running out of space. Buy a Van
really dumb thinking
Can you expand a bit more?