'05 Sound system build log

Amp wall and tv bracket..ahem...mounting frame

Tuning video: First time using REW
Keep in mind this is a non-dsp system with passive mid/tweets.
Midbass is highpassed at 70hz (-24db slope) on the radio with a tentative lowpass around 250-300hz on the amp.
Sub is lowpassed at 80hz (-24db slope) on the radio as well at around and the subsonic filter is roughly 15hz.



Edit: REW screenshots

Left and right individual peak readings

Left and right individuals and combined peak

Left/right combined peak and post-EQ peak

Did some deadening. Not done with the doors, need to make a blocker plate for the holes in the front of the doors still.

Threw a sheet worth on the trunk lid and directly over the sub. I'll add more on the rear deck once i figure out where the midbasses are gonna end up.

Did some more tuning after the deadener and because all my stuff from yesterday was crap.
I use a (kinda convoluted) setup
iMM-6->3.5 to lightning adapter->lightning cord->lightning to USB-A->laptop

Yesterday I couldn't find my little box with the adapter after I REW'd my room setup so I used a 3.5mm between the mic and laptop.....lost 12db between 800hz and 10hz. WTH.
Figured out the issue was the cord sent the signal through my soundcard and F'd it up, lesson learned.
Found my adapter box and re-tuned today.

Prelim tune from outside the car then replayed the PN when I got in the car

Moved my sub lowpass to 90hz and midbass highpass down to 60hz and killed that dip at 70hz (both are -24db slope)

Then played with the Musicolet 31band EQ. by smoothing out the highend and trying to clen up that dip between 600hz an 1kz, I got a peak at 1.8khz but it's alot smoother

All of them for comparison

Nothing beats german punk rock and installing on a friday afternoon.
Got the "seat" stained last night, poly'd this morning and now in.

Visual reference for the wall. Yes it's crappy, I did it in 2 minutes with Microsoft Paint.

How I solder all the custom-length rcas' ends
PG-13, I got startled and cussed

Bluetooth module

Laid the board in, wired it all up, plugged in the laptop.......I think this pic says it all

Glamor shot

........but apparently not too smart about batteries 😅


Had a roughly 10hr tuning marathon and had a customer/friend from another forum stop by to show me his tune on the gear I installed. It's nice to know all the deadener was worth it (dead silent in the Sprinter's cabin) but holy crap I know what it means to truly have a "center image on your hood."

So I deleted 3 hours worth of work, flatlined all the settings and went back to work from scratch 😅😅😅

Well, I had a 2nd battery daisy-chained between my car and an 8A charger.....luckily I saved the final adjustments before both batteries gave up their last juice......

So crystal clear though...

Edit: just gonna copy this over here:

Another day at the office. dual screen from the laptop with live RTA on the right (via REW) and the Helix dsp equalizer on the left.

Tweeters are pissing me off. My center image is right there and i can get it kinda move towards the windshield from my center dash but it doesn't want to behave. I'm gonna see if where in my pillars i can stuff a tweeter and not block my view....gonna drive me nuts now....

For all those that think I'm crazy-talking....🤪

"Image" is literally that. The goal of an SQ/SQL-oriented system is to put the "actual" stage in front of the listener/in the center of the car/truck's dashboard.
Yes, this is possible. Yes, I have heard these setups. Yes, the best one was actually today when the customer I did an amp board/deadener install swung by to show me his progress with HIS tuning. I kept feeling my eyes drawn to a spot about 4ft out from the center of his Sprinter's windshield.
This is my goal now. I have the clarity and warmth, balance across the whole front stage. I have the musicians on my dash and kinda in their correct places, but not quite...
And it's all because of those blessed tweeters I was so proud of sticking in my airvents.

That's fine because I'll find a 3.5" midrange to stick in there, right now it's those A pillar tweeters on the menu...

1. I'm sorry, the geek took over.
2. This might get confusing but just know that:
Image = the musical "picture" created when the left sound waves "blend" with the right.


Go to your stereo and mess with the balance. Sound goes from left to right.
Full left is left "image" because when you close your eyes and listen for the music's direction, you "see" it on the left
Full right is right "image"

It doesn't matter if you have a Center channel with speakers in your stereo because that is still just a combination of left and right signals and its purpose is to assist in blending (summing) the Full Left and Right outputs.

This combination of Left and Right signals in any point in front of the listener creates a Center Stage. This is when it sounds like maybe you're 40-50 rows back at the concert. You can hear on the track that the guitarist is on the Left side of the concert stage (left stage), the singer is somewhere around the center and the pianist is on the right side of the stage (right stage).

Start playing with Time Alignment (millisecond signal delay to assure that the sound reaches both of your ears at the same time) and placing speakers in good locations (not airvents) and you will create a more detailed Center Image to the point that you can HEAR that Sabrina Claudio is sitting to the right of the mic as she sings "Tell Me More."

What I'm trying to do is pull out a more narrow Center Image from my system. Having a narrow, defined, Center makes it sound like you're a little to the left side of the concert stage...in the 5th row.
For clarification, this is not about turning up the volume or making the music louder. The level of clarity and instrumental detail rises and actually travels from in-your-face to (generally) around 6-8ft in front of you as the music is EQ'd, T/A'd and the area has proper sound treatment applied.
It sounds like alot but it's really not.

You know how when you're listening at home and you kinda twitch one speaker a bit to the side....maybe a little more to get that "just right" sound so you can sit back and chill while listening?

You just tuned

Ended up pulling all my front speakers instead of just the tweeters.

New gear:

CDT DTR-20 tweeters
Diamond Audio s6.0m midwoofers

Tweeters. Old vs new

Pulled the A pillar trim after eye-balling a good spot to aim the tweeter

The point of this is to aim the tweeter at the dome lights in order to help create the best "live" image spread

Repeat for the other side

And boom, done.

Figured I'd do the doors to. Ended up having to make a new bracket because the new speakers are slightly smaller.

Old (black)vs new

Speaker plate and filler pieces since the door metal has dips.

Hit the picture limit...

Finished product