CRISPICS of musical aspiration... (Vol. I~?)

[crispone]

^^^ WHAT UP with the GRAPHICS on these! (MIAMI VICE! BWAAAAHHhhhh ha ha ha!)


I'm even thinking of "settling" with this old PPI amp for the FRONT pair... even though it's NOT that STOUT! (I'm not driving TOO low up there... so it should be ok for now.)

Eventually, I'll run THIS little guy on JUST a pair of TWEETS in the dash... (I have my eye on some earlier series MB Quart with x-over that are NEW in BOX for a favor from an old installer... the PPI will CERTAINLY bring some stage to those... then run the doors off my Orion or something...)

Hmmm... still thinking...


-crisp

[crispone]

^^^ OLDER THAN OLD SCHOOL!!!

(Dug that one out of my pick-up... don't really need the 125W a side on the little 4" in the dash... )


Well, I finally decided I wanted adequate power all around, so here's the setup:

- Pioneer GM-H200 (bridged) = 300W RMS x 1 (single 12" sub)

- Kenwood KAC921 (stereo) = 100W RMS x 2 (REAR 6x9's)

- ORION 2125 SX (stereo) = 125W RMS x 2 (FRONT 6x9's)

- Coustic Electronic Crossover XM-3


Later, I MIGHT add the PPI for independent control of the dash mount tweeters if I get them... (MB Quart with x-over)

This stuff might all be OLD, but since I'm not concerned with "competing" or "showing" the stuff, (all will be hidden), I believe I can get some GOOD sound out of the system for now... hell, for THAT matter, it should DOWN RIGHT ROCK!

(...and if it isn't up to SNUFF for SOUND, I KNOW I can ALWAYS bake and EGG on the ORION once it gets "cooking"! )


-crisp

[crispone]

Okay... I've been busy...


Well, after FINALLY installing all three amps, running copper, tapping into stock wiring and intervening with a line-level converter...

...much "dialing" of the "trim pots" on the converter... trial and error with FRONT/REAR/RIGHT/LEFT function and each amps independent control through the electronic crossover... and encountering a problem wherein the LEFT FRONT channel WOULDN'T even PLAY at ALL... precipitating an AMP swap... (still NO...)... followed by an eventual DISASSEMBLY of the DOOR panel again only to discover that the WINDOW had PULLED A WIRE loose upon it's decent earlier in the day!


So, I GET the amps dialed in... (as best I can)... along with the converter "trim" and the x-over... dial in the SUB for a STRONG hit and fill... but I'm STILL sensing something is not "quite" right. All in all, I was able to bring EXTREMELY strong body and volume to the system... (Never mind that it still sounds like the HIGH POWER system that MARTY plays at Doc Brown's at the beginning of BACK TO THE FUTURE !!! (It was EQUALLY effective at "obliterating" an older SUB today... )

Now I gotta get some pics to illustrate the next couple chapters...


-crisp

[crispone]

Okay... so here are a couple DURING the line-level conversion....







And almost IMMEDIATELY.... (less than 24 hours LATER....)




^^^ I'M FED UP with trying to use the STOCK HEAD UNIT and generate any "audiophile"-esque sound quality altogether!!!

ADMIT IT!!! SOME OF YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING ALL ALONG!!!!



SOOOOOOOooooo......


I DON'T have the cash (after paying $1360 for TWO CAPS on my TEETH this week!!!! WTF --> and that's AFTER insurance pays their portion! ), I decide to DIG THROUGH some more of my old stuff... and come up with THIS set of "oldies but goodies".




^^^ THE "SUITCASE" REMOVABLE UNIT from WAAAAY back! (BEST security... but you ended up CARRYING this BIG WEIGHT around everywhere!)

Here are some shots.... very basic, but GOOD at what it does. I always liked the SINGLE DIAL volume that was INFINITELY variable (spun 360) and had a VERY positive feedback and QUALITY feel....




I KNOW I KNOW.... EQ's are a THING OF THE PAST.... but alas... so is crisp....


If you were GOING to HAVE one... THIS IS IT!




(Yes, SUB control AND parametric equalization! )


I TEST MOUNTED the units (without a bezel at the moment) just to see SORTA how they would FIT and LOOK.








^^^ Actually, I think it might look alright until the ALPINE I am looking at finally comes out this summer...



What do you guys think?


-crisp

[MCOjerry]

Um...me no like But if your ears couldn't wait...then I guess you had no choice.

[theprodigy79]

Hahahahahaha wow Crisp, you're just tearin in there aren't ya! At least you have a wiring guide to go by... I did my install 6 months after I got the car and NOTHING was available to go by... I just had to take things one step at a time and figure it all out But it all worked out in the end.

Your setup is comming along nicely, I love the oldies! Not sure if I'm fealing the LOOKS of the headunit (that's a TBD), but the SQ on that thing is pretty good. Definitely a nice EQ though! Do you plan on getting a dash kit to live with meanwhile, or just stay like that 'till your Alpine comes out?

That actually reminds me a bit of the first setup I ran in my Celica:

Alpine CDA-7832 (crappy pic, but best one I could find):

Alpine ERE-G180:

Haha good 'ol fiber optics!

Keep us up on how it's going!

-James

[mcsoccer7]

Here is the EQ I'm currently using. It's a full din, so it fits in well in with the HU.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Spq9DunBqu ... 130DEQ7600

[crispone]

^^^ Yup... EARS COULDN'T WAIT! (Jerry...)


James... I GOT IT WORKING tonight... and then... the CD player doesn't want to play!!! WTF?


I took the damn thing ALL apart... BUILT LIKE A TANK back then! (And MODULAR, so easy to disassemble.)

I couldn't find anything "OBVIOUS", like LOOSE CHANGE in the slot! (my TWO year old did that once...)

The RADIO plays fantastic! (Definitely FUN to dial in everything from the DASH with this arrangement!)

As far as the BEZEL goes, NO, I CAN'T wait until the Alpine. I'll figure SOMETHING out in the meantime. Don't know quite WHAT yet, but I can use the OEM to create a "template" and then fab something out of some kind of material... hmmmm....

I'll dick around a little more with the head unit, and if it STILL doesn't work, I might have to RIP my PIONEER SUPERTUNER out of the P/U for a temporary unit!

Gotta have the killer TUNES now!


PS Anyone know anything about Boston Acoustics "G-TUNE" sub box? (I can get one from a BA agent I met the other day... for under $200 bucks... I might throw it in "temporarily" until I get the "stealth" unit built into the trunk later.)


-crisp

[crispone]

OKAY.... so the OLD SCHOOL HU doesn't want to PLAY CD's now... HUH?!!!


...no worry... made a quick call to my stereo shop owner buddy... and then "slipped" out of a morning meeting ( ) and picked up my new "TEMPORARY" head unit... (until the Alpine IVA-205W comes out this summer?)

Whadd'ya think? (Are these okay?)




While I was at it... since I BLEW my old sub apart... (10 years in the basement... even a "previously premium" Infinity Pro series appears to have suffered from some "dry rot"... or at least some foam deterioration around the cone...)

Here's what I decided to "toss in the trunk" until I can have a "STEALTH" enclosure built later on...



^^^ I guess these Boston Acoustic G-Tuned are supposed to be decent as well....


Anyway, looks like FINALLY I might have enough to put my "interim" system into play....


(BTW, I am out about three-hundred and change for the above two items... INCLUDING the iPod cable from Alpine... I think I did pretty good, no?)



-crisp

[crispone]

:think: Um...me no like But if your ears couldn't wait...then I guess you had no choice.

Jerry,

I hope you like my ALTERNATE HU.... I picked it up 'cause you DIDN'T like the OLD K-woody I was tryin' out, 'ya know....


-crisp

[Jack Soulfire]

What are you planning to do as far as the dash trim replacement? I'd like to know if there's a place I can order a matching silver single-din sized one or one with a little shelf underneath. I know I've seen something posted on here awhile back but I can't find it.

[crispone]

What are you planning to do as far as the dash trim replacement? I'd like to know if there's a place I can order a matching silver single-din sized one or one with a little shelf underneath. I know I've seen something posted on here awhile back but I can't find it.

Honestly, I hadn't plan to "tear into it" so suddenly until last night, when I got "fed up" with the stock HU setup.... so I haven't "prepared" to answer that question!

I'll be going back through threads as well, and locating the SPECIFIC faceplate for the STOCK NAVI unit, I think... then working from there. I may pick up TWO so I can modify ONE and still have a clean one for when the new ALPINE HU comes to market... in the meantime, I'm still "thinking" about how/what I'll do to make the dash look acceptable...

I'll keep you posted... please do the same!

-crisp

[MCOjerry]

:think: Um...me no like But if your ears couldn't wait...then I guess you had no choice.

Jerry,

I hope you like my ALTERNATE HU.... I picked it up 'cause you DIDN'T like the OLD K-woody I was tryin' out, 'ya know....


-crisp

LOL, I'm not a fan of the "look" of aftermarket HUs, unless they are double din units with navigation. They just look out of place to me. JMO

[crispone]

:think: Um...me no like But if your ears couldn't wait...then I guess you had no choice.

Jerry,

I hope you like my ALTERNATE HU.... I picked it up 'cause you DIDN'T like the OLD K-woody I was tryin' out, 'ya know....


-crisp

LOL, I'm not a fan of the "look" of aftermarket HUs, unless they are double din units with navigation. They just look out of place to me. JMO

Okay.... so "FORM OVER FUNCTION"....

.....

I'm gonna go with "FUNCTION OVER FORM" for NOW.... and then LATER...

FORM AND FUNCTION COMBINED by utilizing a DOUBLE DIN w/NAVI as you suggest!


(All about pleasing JERRY with this project.... ) HA HA!


PS. I TRIED to keep the stock/OEM look.... it just didn't perform well enough to "make the grade"...


-crisp

[MCOjerry]

Heh heh heh...yup all about form!

You got me!

You did ask for opinions