The Delicate Sound of Thunder continues...

[SuperHO]

So I've begun the task of upgrading the sound system in the 98. The factory MACH system is acceptable to most, but I have more refined tastes in my audio. And since the 95 is seeing its final days in my possession, the time has come to make the 98 sound as good inside as it does out.

It's going to be a multi-step process, as I suffer from some physical ailments that prevent me from doing the whole thing at once. Today was the easiest part of the whole gig in replacing the tweeters in the sail panels.

I've got a pair of Phoenix Gold RSD 6.0" components that I pulled from the 95. I yanked the sail panels off and pulled out the factory tweets. They're actually somewhat impressive...though I'd be more inclined to call them mids rather than tweeters as they are full cone with suspension. They're the same size as my computer speakers. Not the best idea for crisp, clear highs. For now, I'm sticking with the factory "bass blocker" that's wired inline in the factory harness. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to keep those or use the PG crossovers yet when I install the amp. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I was fully prepared for some fabrication to make the tweeters fit. To my surprise, the fit was absolutely perfect. Screws weren't necessary, but I felt the need to use em anyway. Here's the finished product before I aimed the tweeters for proper imaging.




It's almost as if they were designed for the spot. The improvement in sound quality is already evident. Highs are much crisper now. Imaging needs some work, but the wife needed to be somewhere, so I'll have to fine tune tomorrow. Might even work on mounting the mids. I have an interesting idea concerning putting a round speaker in an oval hole.

After the mids are in place, I've got two amps and a sub to install. The amps and sub are Craigslist specials. The amps are a Jensen 4 channel for the mids and highs and a 500 watt mono amp for an older model Earthquake 12" sub in a vented box. Stay tuned as I make this beastie sing.

 

[notbange]

Pink Floyd fan?

 

[SuperHO]

Somewhat, although Comfortably Numb will be one of the first songs I feed full power to.

 

[Liquid_force]

Ooh, sound - can I play along?? :wave:


My comps, 250w rms per side --

Comp amp:

It's bridged running my components. Supposedly capable of 360x2. I have it tuned down to about 250x2

Sub:

Sub amp (early '00's Zed Audio goodness):

Sub box - about 3cf, tuned to 28hz. I have a kicker grill on it now for protection from flying cargo:

Install was pretty straightforward.
I have an LOC feeding signal to the two amps.
Most meticulous part for me was feeding 12 awg through the driver's door molex and mounting the component crossovers behind the door panel.

I also did the cassette to aux-in mod which works great for my external xm receiver and my phone.

 

[whiteman_01]

You need a football conversion like mine.

 

[SuperHO]

Part II: Round peg in an....oval hole.

So our saga continues on the quest for eargasm producing sound. In part 1, we saw how easily a Phoenix Gold tweeter slipped ever so snugly in the factory tweeter spot. Now we'll see what happens when we install the 6" woofers into the doors.

First off, anyone who's played with a gen III sound system knows the speakers are all 6x8". The woofers I'm installing are 6". Hmmm...how's that gonna work since I didn't buy aftermarket adapters and have the fabrication skills of a fingerless lemur?

First, with regards to Mr Will Smith, old and busted:



With the paper-coned wonder successfully pried from the door, we can now get down to business. After some brain-storming, an idea struck. I didn't need to buy or make adapters after all....I already had some that simply needed a little modification to fit.



That's a gen II speaker mount with one tab lopped off. It ain't perfect, but it'll do for now.

One new hole later, and I present to you the new hotness



And what install log wouldn't be complete without an action shot of me ****** off the neighbors?



Next phase involves adding significantly more power than the stock MACH system ever dreamed of producing followed by a much needed bolstering of the bottom end of the frequency spectrum.

 

[Liquid_force]

nice fit.

I bought an 18"x18" sheet of 1/8" plexi that I used to make 5x7 to 6.5" plates.
I spent a lot of time getting 12awg wire through the molex connector and mounting the x/o's on the door panel.