New Audio for Mark VIII

[YouthKwest]

Greetings,

I have just purchased a new system for my 95 Mark VIII. I have a meeting with the owner of the store, the manager, Install manager, and lead installer about how to install this and still be in my budget.

About the equipment...

Head/Source Unit: For the Head Unit I chose the Eclipse CD8445 for the ease of operation, 8v pre-out, and 7 band parametric eq. If I want to add GPS to my car, I can do so for another 200 dollars through this head unit.

Front Stage: For the front soundstage I chose the Focal 165KP 6.5Mid/inverted aluminum tweeter component set along with an additional 6.5MidBass Focal Driver for the doors. The components will be 'glassed into the kick panels, aimed individually at the bridge of the driver's nose, for optimum imaging.

Rear Fill: Originally I had thought that for rear fill I could just use my stock speakers in the rear side panels, but after looking at them, 10 yrs did a heck of alot of damage to them. So I opted for a set of Focal Access 165CA coax's. Should sound very well with the gains down on the rear amp.

Subwoofer: Unsure of the placement for the subwoofer, either under the rear tray or a box showcasing the sub, I have decided to keep the Focal theme and go with the PolyGlass 33Vi 13" sub. I have heard this sub in the lead installer's car and it is amazing!

Amplification: For amplification I chose to go with the European standard, Audison. Since the Focals basically ate up alot of my cash so far, I decided that the mid-line LR series of amps would be sufficient for my Sound Q needs.

Front stage will be run by one LRx2.150 to both pairs of components as well as the midbass drivers.

Rear fill will be run by another LRx2.150

Sub will be powered by an LRx1.400 at 2ohm. My sub is dvc so I can get a true 900w out of this amp at 2 ohm. Amp is stable to one ohm...but that is getting hot at that load.

Equalization: In the past I had acquired an Orion Concept 97.2 Digital Eq, but sadly needed money a few years back so it was sold. Since they don't make the Concept series anymore, the DEQ30 is the same eq, just without the brushed aluminum case.

All power wire, caps, battries, and possibly a new alternator will be handled by Stinger.

Installation will be done by Audio Midwest of Oklahoma City.

 

[Pepsi2185]

Sounds good to me, the only thing i have a few questions about is that do you know how much room the components are going to be taking up in the kick, and is the 13 a bandpass setup, or the mainstay sealed/ported. It seems like they know what they are talking about, just curious about some things?

 

[KainDTE]

If you looking for ALOT of bass and some real good clarity id go with all kicker everything like i have it hits insanely hard and the clarity is amazing... kicker doesnt make CD players though... but,if your gonna be spending as much money as your going to be on that system you might as well spend a little more and get the best... thats just my philosophy though...

 

[Lincolnpimpin]

In my OPINION Alpine is the best after all the did get an award for best sound quality for Type S speakers. But If you want bass go with Type R or Type X will get it down they hit hard.

 

[YouthKwest]

If you looking for ALOT of bass and some real good clarity id go with all kicker everything like i have it hits insanely hard and the clarity is amazing... kicker doesnt make CD players though... but,if your gonna be spending as much money as your going to be on that system you might as well spend a little more and get the best... thats just my philosophy though...

I have had Kicker in the past and was impressed with it's ability to get loud...but that isn't what my system is made for. I plan on having a strict sound q system. I couldn't care less if the sub hit 120db, just as long as it sounds good. Sorry, but I have to disagree, Kicker as good as it is, is not in the same league as Focal and Audison. But the again, to each his/her own. It is how it sounds to your ears that matters.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[YouthKwest]

Sounds good to me, the only thing i have a few questions about is that do you know how much room the components are going to be taking up in the kick, and is the 13 a bandpass setup, or the mainstay sealed/ported. It seems like they know what they are talking about, just curious about some things?

The 13 we ran into some problems, from the floorboard to the rear tray, is 15 inches, so that killed our mounting it straight up for vanity reasons, so we are building a wedge shaped box that will fire down towards the floorboard. It will be sealed as the sealed box is per Focal specs.

As for the kicks, I had originally opted for the polyglass 6 4 tweet component set, but after hearing the clarity produced by the 165KP's, I decided to go with them. We will be mounting the mids more toward your knees and the tweets will be mounted aimed at your nose. Foot space will be hindered somewhat, but this car is not a daily driver, and will soon be a trailer queen after my paint job. Aside from the foot space, leg room is still good.

Thanks for the reply.

Joe

 

[YouthKwest]

In my OPINION Alpine is the best after all the did get an award for best sound quality for Type S speakers. But If you want bass go with Type R or Type X will get it down they hit hard.

I went and listened to the Alpine Type S speakers and they sounded full and rich, but the tweeters were as shrill as my old MB Quart speakers. So I passed on them. The alpine headunits all sounded nice, but the only one that has what I am looking for, F#1, is about 2 grand then buy the processor seperate for another 2 grand. Definately not in my budget.

I hope to have my car back in about 2 weeks after the system is installed and tuned. Thanks for the reply.

joe

 

[Lincolnpimpin]

The alpine headunits all sounded nice, but the only one that has what I am looking for, F#1, is about 2 grand then buy the processor seperate for another 2 grand. Definately not in my budget.

Ya this years headunits suck big time last year kicked ass CDA-9831 to 9835. I hope I'll be able to find a 9835 if not I think I'm just gonna start saving for Mobile Multimedia Stations.

 

[YouthKwest]

Update, made a few changes on the setup.

First, no rear fill, so I traded in the 165CA's in on a 13WS 5" subwoofer to be placed in front of the center console.

Second, upgraded 165KP's to 165K2P's. Should sound fabulous.

Third, decided NOT to do the kickpanels. Decided that the legs on both sides will get in the way, so mounting the midbass driver in the doors, and trial and error placement of the tweeter will follow.

 

[YouthKwest]

here are a few pics of the install