CL9 + Sound system

Hey guys, real keen on upgrading the sound system in my CL9. Stock system sounds good, but gets a bit distorted around 30+ on volume control, I want it a bit louder :P
I want to put front splits, 6x9's, 4 chan amp and a sub in, BUT i want the amp and sub to be hidden. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get the sub and amp concealed in some form or way in my boot? I just don't want them showing for personal preference, but im a bit unsure on how to. Just curious if anyone has done it in their Euro and if they can offer some tips or advice?

I wanted this at one point in time...but its basically impossible. The usdm version at least as that is were I am from. If your guys' accord euro is exactly the same as our tsx(cl9 as well) then I guess you could try taking out the spare tire and putting your sub in there. And if you have an amp small enough you could maybe put it under the front passenger seat. Your also going to need more then 1 4 channel amp as well to power your sub.

Dunno if can b done but two 6 inch subs in the middle seat of the back seats with the removal of the ARM rest and place a bit of board over it should make it invisible then amp in under passenger seat might vibrate a bit though

If your going to get a sub don't get 6x9's just get 6inches. Otherwise when you turn it up the 6x9's will distort. As for the sub being concealed, you could get it put in your boot and have a false wall put in. The only negative is that you loose boot space, but is probably the easiest way to do it.

i got 6.5's 3 way splits in the front door... 6x9 4 ways in the rear and 2 12 inch Subs in the boot... with 1 4 channel amp and a monoblock for the bass box =-D

My amps are mounted on my back seats behind the Sub box and the box is in the boot just havent braced it down yet... but the speakers are mounter on top of the panels.... =D

any questions just ask i did it all myself so yeh =D

which state are you located in? budget?

of course it can be done. simply ask for a 'stealth install' when you enquire installers. you want something like these, correct?:

http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.co...ealthbox_1.jpg
http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.co...ealthbox_2.jpg
http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.co...ealthbox_3.jpg
http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.co...ealthbox_4.jpg

it doesnt apply to only subboxes either. you can do the same with your amp/s. or if the dimensions are right, have it placed under a seat.

Arverson that is exactly what I want!! I just wanna stick my amp somewhere where it can't be seen!
I live in the south east suburbs of melbourne

perfect. get in contact with 'phatt audio concepts'. theyre located in braeside - literally a 2 minute drive from the kings pool place, if you know where that is. speak to sam.

check out their website if you have any further enquiries. www.phattaudio.com.au

how much did that set you back?

those aernt my boots. theyre 4 different cars done by the guys at fhrx, tho these will be easy work for the guys at phatt too. or frankston car audio if you supply a headunit.. or riverside customs in werribee. google their websites for contacts if your curious about anything they do.

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Originally Posted by white_ep3_civic

If your going to get a sub don't get 6x9's just get 6inches. Otherwise when you turn it up the 6x9's will distort. As for the sub being concealed, you could get it put in your boot and have a false wall put in. The only negative is that you loose boot space, but is probably the easiest way to do it.

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You can tweek the gains or scope it to ensure that they dont clip, thus no distortion. I hate 6X9 thou... lol


You can have stealth install or hide them in the spare wheel well, removing the spare tire, god help if you get a flat in the middle of no where, nothing a can of tire repair cant fix unless your tires blows up. Some friends of mine does it, they keep a can or repair kit and a electric mini pump in the car.

guys how did you go about connecting the stock head unit to the amps?

I only just purchased my CL9 and coming from a civic where i had a DIN headunit and full system 2 x amps 2 x 12 inch subs and 4 x 6 inch splits I am real keen on getting some of this gear into my 05 CL9.

Ive seen the double DIN modification , is what you all are using? (i dont like the idea of having 1 redundant unit in my car) Anyway to add an EQ to the stock head unit and some kind of connector that adds RCA connections to the stocky?

Really appreciate any info on this.

Yes there is a thing called a hi low converter. It taps into the speaker wire which then allows the rca's to be plugged into it. This way you can run everything off the standard head unit

ok ive done some further reading. Is a Hi low converter the same thing as like a sven4 , LC6? seems like thats what ur talking about.

My plan is to sound deaden the doors & boot as much as possible using dynamat , then get some new splits in for the fronts and hook it up to a sven4 & my alpine v12 4 x 80+ W RMS amp.

Question is the sven4 only has 4 RCA outputs, so whats that Front Left , Front Right, Rear Left & Rear right. How can i connect up a monoblock + sub(s) to this config? Would u go L (Fr&Rear) 1 channel then R ( Fr&Rear) 1 channel then leave 2 channels for the sub(s).

Here is another question on my civic i ran better speaker wire and then for the door connection i just snipped it off and left factory wiring for the bit between the door join and then ran more aftermarket speakerwire to the crossovers. What is everyone else doing about this? Is it possible to feed aftermarket speakerwire through the door tube?

Cheers

Can't remember how to run the rca's for the sub but for the 4 Channel amp you will need to run RCA splitters. That will convert 2 rca's into 4. I wouldn't bother about changing the speaker wire as it wouldn't make much of a difference at all really.

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Originally Posted by belowzero85

guys how did you go about connecting the stock head unit to the amps?

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what you need is a 'line-out converter' (or hi/low converter). theyre offered from brands such as pac-audio, stinger, david navone, aerpro, jaycar, jl, rockford fosgate, audison, alpine - to name a few. price depends on the features you need, so make sure you've got a clear idea on the system before you decide which L.O.C to buy. price ranges from under $100 to over $1000.

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Originally Posted by belowzero85

Question is the sven4 only has 4 RCA outputs, so whats that Front Left , Front Right, Rear Left & Rear right. How can i connect up a monoblock + sub(s) to this config? Would u go L (Fr&Rear) 1 channel then R ( Fr&Rear) 1 channel then leave 2 channels for the sub(s).

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front outputs on the L.O.C go to the amps used for the speakers. rear outputs go to the monoblock. no need for rca splitters IF you get a 4-channel L.O.C.

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Originally Posted by belowzero85

Here is another question on my civic i ran better speaker wire and then for the door connection i just snipped it off and left factory wiring for the bit between the door join and then ran more aftermarket speakerwire to the crossovers. What is everyone else doing about this? Is it possible to feed aftermarket speakerwire through the door tube?

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how thick is the speaker wire? you can undo the wiring loom/plug in the door, look for any unused holes then drill them a little wider so your aftermarket wire fits. then thread it thru with the old wire with a temporary join. presto, you'll have you're aftermarket wire the entire length. tho factory speaker wire should be more than sufficient in this case. really up to you if you want to go the 'extra yards'.

Thanks for the reply arverson!

So ill give you a little bit of information about the system I am planning , then you can let me know what you would do.

Right now as it stands I am looking at the Focal 165VRS for the splits since i cant be bothered messing about with spacers & the focal slims are roughly in the price range im keen to spend on splits at the moment ($300-500). I am hoping to install some better splits down the track and will probably pay 600-1000 when that time comes.

Regarding rears what are people doing on this car? I mean i could probably just upgrade those 6 x 9's but i mean since ill have 1 , possibly 2 x 12 inch subs connected im sure its only to provide a bit of rear fill. What would u suggest doing here? Is anyone using those speaker pods in the rear doors? thatd be 6 cabin speakers total, any thoughts on this?

I used to have a top end pioneer deck that would auto TA & auto EQ and i could then manage and tweak each speaker. But with the stock deck im not going to have any control over anything. I suppose this brings me to my choice of LOC's , initially i was just going to buy a cheap sven4 just to get the system up and running. Then down the track save up and try and pick up a second hand RF 3sixty.2 which i could control from my laptop and set the EQ, would this replace the sven4 or would i need both? From what i read the RF 3sixty.2 is a DSP and the sven4 is a LOC , the sven4 reduces signal noise & the DSP will allow me to adjust the signal? Can you clarify here?

The amps ill be running are my current Alpine v12 (4 x 80+ W rms) & then ill have to pick up a new monoblock for the subs. Any ideas? and also if i picked up new subs cos ive only got some old pioneer bullets (2 x 12 inch) what would u recommend? I have a pretty big cap that will go on the system too.

Regard the speaker wire, the stuff i purchased in the past was just the silver and bronze figure 8 speaker wire , u know with the clear plastic cover. Just picked it up from dick smith or something. Pretty hard to squeeze thru the wiring tube , but i know what u mean re: tying it to the old wire and pulling it thru. Any ideas on whether the stock speaker wire can handle 60-80W RMS? How are we to know what spec it is?

Finally i plan to sound deaden the entire car using dynamat. Just the front doors to start with & the boot / parcel shelf and whereever i find rattles. And if i can be bothered down the track ill do more of the chassis.

Hope that gives you an idea of what im planning so you can give me some advice on what i should do re: the HU & LOC. Cheers!

ill be heading out soon. ill get back to you tonight or tomorrow when i find the time.

but to quickly clarify before i leave, i mentioned jl, rockford, audison & alpine as they have dsp's which allow speaker level input. so i guess you could say they're a more advanced LOC with more tuning features than the cheaper varieties. seems like you want those tweaking features so most likely you'll be heading down the path of dsp's - as opposed to a sven which is fairly basic.

that should do for now, will get back to you another time. im sure someone can pitch in & help you while im gone tho.

oh and the terms 'do it once, do it right' and 'save up more now, instead of wasting money later' applied to a lot of things you mentioned... will catch you later for explanations :)

cheers mate. Yea i see what ur saying , its just kinda nice to get something happening to hold me over till i can afford the bells and whistles

fair enough. if you really want to have 'something going' then thats completely up to you. wont be the best path in terms of value but if you (and the budget) are fine with it then thats your call.

now, if it was me and i really couldnt hold out, then id just get a cheap 2channel l.o.c. hook that up to the monoblock and get the bass aspect of the system going. if you wanted to use the alpine multi-chan then get a 6channel l.o.c.

in regards to speakers, get your $300-$500 splits for the fronts. make sure you audition other options cus youve got plenty of great speakers in this price bracket. definately no need for 6x9s. no need to get speakers in the doors as well. rears have very little benefit for 'sq'. more isnt always better... leave the rears stock. doubt your passenger will complain. but anyway when the time comes when you get those $600-$1000 splits, just move the '$300-$500 fronts' to the rears.

dsp's, youve got lots of options but you can research that when that time comes. any reason for you wanting the RF 3sixty.2 specifically?

sub recommendations, depends on your budget. how much space are you willing to give up for the box/es? any brand preferences? would help a little too (in terms of impedance matching) if you gave an indication of what monblock you were looking at.

no need for the cap. just take the steps to ensure your electrical system & power supply is 'up-to-scratch'. that can include a better battery, healthy alternator, appropriate power wiring & ground upgrades. once theyre taken care of you wont need a cap.

havnt used that jaycar speaker wire but it sounds like a 'twisted pair' type. what gauge is your 'figure 8' speaker wire? 4x80rms would be no sweat for 18 or 20 awg wire. cant remember how thick the stock wire is but you should be fine if you had a little section of stock wire in the door wiring loom & your 'figure 8' for the rest. if your stock is 18/20 or thick then youre sweet.

good to know your using SD. SD may not fix a few rattles (for example, 2 surfaces rattling against each other as opposed to a surface resonating on its own) so you may need some ccf (closed cell foam). just a heads-up before you jam more SD (and waste SD) between those '2 surfaces'

think i covered everything. sorry for a slow reply, been busy.

where state are you located in?

thanks for the advice. I am in perth WA unfortunately.

The reason for the RF 3sixty.2 is that its got some decent reviews & well i really havent looked into the others yet. I will do some more research.

Ill start investigating monoblocks and get back to you aswell.

Just remembered that my brother has like 2 sets (ie 4 x 6.5inch) sound stream splits sitting under his bed. Brand new unused. I think he paid about 800 a set so they should be pretty good speakers. He got into bikes so is selling his car , so if i can get my hands on them thatd be ideal. The only issue is that from memory the magnets on them were pretty massive , big bulky silver things ... Probably gonna need some kind of large spacer.

Re sound deadening ill use a combination of CCF & SD.

Quick question , if i purchase a DSP does that negate the need for an LOC?

its not so much how much he paid for em, its all about whether you actually like their sound. if so then sweet, that'll save you some coin right there. what the depth on em? either way making spacer should be no problem for a pro, or yourself if you have the tools & materials.

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Originally Posted by belowzero85

Quick question , if i purchase a DSP does that negate the need for an LOC?

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put simply, yes. like i said before, just think of dsps as a more advanced L.O.C. A L.O.C with much better tuning abilities than, say a sven, lc6, etc. - which is perfect given the details youve given me. just depends on whether you wallet agrees or not..

[QUOTE=belowzero85;3055878]thanks for the advice. I am in perth WA unfortunately. /QUOTE]

hey mate just wondering if you have installed this all yet, ive bought all my speakers, amps and subs and was just wondering how easy you connected it to the stock head unit? im in perth as well

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^fail quote is fail