Stereo and Speaker install guide

[Pointman]

Very helpful Nick, cheers.

Glad it`s not just me who is having a hard time getting the headunit to fit in because of the wires. LOL

[the lemster]

one question...

how did you get to the screw behind the window switch... how did you get the switch out in the first place?..

good write up though mate...

stickyfy please ...

[NixRX7]

Use a small flat bladed screwdriver to prise the switch out, then i used a magnetic screwdriver to extract the screw, its a right pain to get to, and without a magnetic screwdriver i would imagine a real pain in the a** to get back in.

Nick

[Tim Oldland]

Mods - Sticky? Ah go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on......

[probedb]

Excellent article I think the car I\'m getting has all the speakers replaced but no the wiring.

I don\'t know whether it\'s possible but in the Probe I managed to get wires through the wiring block that connects all the door wiring to the car, sorry not seen what it\'s like in an FD yet but that\'s how I did it without drilling.

[craigr]

Sorry all, I realise I owe you all some details on amps, sub, etc. Will get onto it over Xmas - the install is all done and working nicely, so I will get some pics and pen some instructions. Watch this space.

Craig

[cannibal]

Looking forward to it as I\'ve just bought a system (head unit + "brain", speakers, amp amd powered sub) and am interested in things like amp location.

[craigr]

A MUCH delayed update to this article.

Here is a brief (noddy) guide to taking it to the next step, and running everything from amps.

If you examine the diagram, I have tried to make it fairly self-explanatory, but there are a few tips that will come in handy.

1) Most people maintain that a decent amp/speaker combination in the front will negate the need to have rear speakers; in fact, rear speakers will only serve to make the sound more \'woolly\' and out of phase. I have removed my rear speakers due to high quality Rainbow front component speakers.

2) It is much easier to do this kind of install if your head unit has 2 or 3 discreet line-out jacks. The Kenwood I own has 3 - front, rear and sub which allows me to run separate amps for each channel.

3) Always, always put a correctly rated in-line fuse at the battery-end of the amp power cable, and then if you are running multiple amps, split the cable as near to the amps as possible.

4) Always, always use correctly rated power and earth cable for your amps.

5) It doesn\'t show it perfectly, but I tried to depict the separation of line-out phono cables, power cables and speaker cables. This will avoid line noise/interference. I ran power down the driver side under the carpet, speaker cables up the middle of the car along the transmission tunnel, and phonos along the passenger side under the carpet.

6) I used a monoblock amp for the sub woofer, but you can also bridge a stereo amp to do the same thing. Alternatively, you can use a multi-channel amp to handle both the front speakers and the sub.

I guess the best thing is to open this up to questions in order to cover the right things, so the floor is yours.... !

Cheers, Craig

[cannibal]

Craig, got any photos of the boot setup? Mine is in having the boot trimmed up this week. I\'ll post som pics when it\'s all done.

[craigr]

Yep, attached

Kenwood KDC-W8531 Headunit
Kenwood Music Keg MP3 unit
VIBE Monobox running VIBE Space 12 sub.
VIBE Blackbox III running Rainbow CS265 Profi Vanadium Kick components up front.
VIBE 1.0 Farad powercap.
Custom sealed MDF & fibreglass enclosure using wheel well for capacity.
Custom removable MDF & fibreglass cover with carpeted finish.
Sequential LED Neons.

[Archbish]

Wouldn\'t you be better off running power down the transmission and speaker along the side?  I\'ve taken my RCA leads even further away, over the top of the door, and behind the rear seats...

[craigr]

Good point, but as long as they are routed separately then job\'s a good\'un.

[dj_dee99]

When I fitted my amp & sub, I routed the power leads down one side of the transmission sunnel & the RCAs down the other side of it. The hardes part of it all, in my opinion was getting the main power feed into the car from the engine bay!!!!!

[craigr]

Agreed, power through the bulkhead was a bit of a nightmare, especially with the fat old cable you need (I used 1AWG if I remember rightly).

One thing I forgot to mention was the Powercap. There are two distinct schools of thought on these.

The first school thinks that Powercaps are good things, and are great when you are suffering from power issues such as dimming lights when the volume is cranked (it\'s a dirty great capacitor that stores energy for use when the amp(s) need it).  

The other school thinks that they do more harm than good, and the amount of time it takes for them to recharge is longer than the spike they are trying to smooth. Some research even showed that they remove more energy in the charging cycle than they give back when the power is needed.

I\'ve read so much conflicting stuff about it that I spun myself into confusion. My lights were dimming when the volume was reasonably high, I added the 1.0 farad Powercap and the problem went away. That\'s all I know....

I\'m sure there are some more technical audiophiles on here that can give a more considered opinion.

Cheers, Craig

[probedb]

...and in case anyone wanted to see the driver\'s side with a speaker/crossover installed:



I ended up hacking the speaker bracket to pieces to make some space for the crossover to sit but seems to be good.

If anyone kept the tweeter mountings for the speakers instead of throwing them away can you let me know as i used the same on both sides and the passenger door one can\'t point at me so not ideal