Sub for stock MS3 Sport?

[BluMicaR]

Tell you what, when I get back from lunch I'll come up with a solution involving price and equipment, and post it up. I'll just use readily available products on websites I trust.

Sweet; I really want to do the soundproofing asap because that is the one complaint I always have of my cars, I want my interior whisper-quiet but it's NEVER happened. I can take a weekend in my garage with an assistant's help and pull everything out relatively easy (I hope) if it's like the center console. I put the SS in and a boot and it was really cake how everything came apart so well - I assume the rest of the car is the same way. I /don't/ have experience doing stereo wiring, but if I follow your DIY which I haven't looked at yet, I am assuming the info is there as far as wires where, what kind, etc bla-yadda. It'd be worth it alone to have a silent interior while I'm going 80mph on the interstate - As long as I don't touch the firewall I'll still hear my engine though, correct? It'd be a shame to not hear the heart and soul pumping oil and gas...

 

[fourthmeal]

It will attenuate everything, but you're not going to get dead quiet. You can get close though.

If you go the "money not an issue, weight IS" route, then go with Second Skin. Purchase 80sq ft of Damplifier Pro, and pick up Overkill closed cell foam, about 4 sheets. Then you'll need a few cans of their adhesive.

If you go the "money IS the issue, weight isn't" route, go with Raamaudio. One roll of Raammat BXT, and 5 yards or so of Ensolite, and a few cans of adhesive. Should be about 1/2 price.

The instructions provided on both websites provides you with the accurate way to use the product.

My suggestion is to at LEAST run your power/speaker/rca wires at the same time, because you'll be knee deep in car parts anyway.

 

[xcoldr1cex]

the cascade audio vmax is lighter than second skin - not sure how they compare (probably very comparable) but i think you can get it cheaper than the damplifier - i could direct you to him if you're interested.

if you want to do it right BE PREPARED TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME. i've been working on my audio system over the past 2-3 months, planning, figuring things out, and doing things stepwise when i have time... and it's still not hooked up! deadening your whole car is a long process but it's worth it! i went the raam audio route and did almost the whole car... i'm still going to add to it later on when i have the time and money.

i didn't have everything at the same time so i had to take apart my car several times. it'd be much faster if you were running your wires while you were deadening. be aware- running your speaker wires to your doors took me a whole day - it's pretty frustrating so i wasn't in the mood to do anything after that.

oh and 2 rolls will cover everything. fourthmeal told me to get 12 y of ensolite but that was far too much!

 

[fourthmeal]

sorry bout that. I use the stuff for EVERYTHING, and I used a lot to do it. Lots of nooks and crannies where you can stuff this to quiet things down. I used pads of it under my amps to reduce vibes, and under the dash area to quell squeaks. Works like magic. Covered the inside of my sub box with it, to reduce standing waves and other anomalies.

 

[fourthmeal]

I'm working on a few solutions for you regarding what equipment to use. So many options, so much crappy product out there. do you have any brands you like?

 

[fourthmeal]

Here's some options:

So, you probably already know that there are 100's if not thousands of brands out there that are in car audio, and you probably know that about 10% of them are decent, and 5% of them are GOOD. Knowing which ones are good and which ones are junk isn't easy. One hint is the price, but that is a partial story. Brands rise and fall, and get bought out and restructured. Its hard to know which is at its peak, and when to get what. Also, it is even more scary to know that there are only a few build houses that actually make product, and the rest are simply companies that get things built under a different name. Tricky!

Here's a setup I think you'll find acceptable, given what you are after in a system:

Raammat and Ensolite with spray adhesive - $160 estimate
Knukonceptz 4 gauge wiring kit - $42.99 (includes power/ground/RCA's)
Knukonceptz speaker wire, Karma 16 gauge 100ft - $35.99
Knukonceptz speaker wire (for sub) Karma 12 gauge, 5ft -$3.75
Pioneer Premier C720 front components, best sellers by far - $254 (seriously almost as good as stand-alone speakers)
JBL GTO 10" Subwoofer (best sub for 50 bucks easy) -$54
Stick that in a .75 cubic foot sealed box in the trunk. Your choice if you want to make it high-tech fiberglass, hidden, or just a simple box that can be removed if need be. My suggestion is to start simple and work your way to a stealthy fiberglass box.
Audiocontrol EQL (an EQ and Line driver to get clean sound out of the speaker outputs) - $169 (this is optional, but it will greatly help)
Phoenix Gold XS6600 6ch amp (an old but still around great amp for the whole system) - $299

So complete (less install costs and some materials like wood) would be $1018 or so. And it would ROCK.

 

[xcoldr1cex]

sorry bout that. I use the stuff for EVERYTHING, and I used a lot to do it. Lots of nooks and crannies where you can stuff this to quiet things down. I used pads of it under my amps to reduce vibes, and under the dash area to quell squeaks. Works like magic. Covered the inside of my sub box with it, to reduce standing waves and other anomalies.

good advice- will do that. also it's good for wrapping wires so they don't vibrate and make noise in doors and such- so don't throw away your scraps.

 

[Falconx84]

fourth -- ever consider writing up a thread for the how-to section? seems to me this is a good start, just include pics and specifics and you're done

 

[Breeegz]

Wow.

I'm a chump compared to you...

 

[wgillam]

Looking at crutchfield his morning, you coudl do what I did for $600. Basslink sub $299
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?search=infiniti+basslink&i=108BASSLIN

5x8 infiniti reference rear door speaker $99
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=52200&i=1086822CF&c=3&tp=92

5x8 compnent Infiniti Reference front door speakers $199
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=410&i=1086820CS&c=3&tp=106

 

[fourthmeal]

Ouch dude...just ouch..

You've got to give up this basslink thing. I've put in maybe 50 of them, and each and every time I just shook my head in shame...

Open pandora's box and look around for other brands! There are some amazing things in the DIY community, a.k.a. screw the so-called name brands and go for the REAL companies who make nothing but speakers, like SEAS, or Canton, or ScanSpeak, etc.

Also, don't expect a self-contained sub to be impressive. Too much plastic, too much bean counting and corner cutting. A strong set of front components (ala' the Pioneer Premiers I recommended) actually will outperform a Basslink sub just by themselves. They are not lightweights in the mid-bass to say the least. In fact that is why I picked them out of about 500 different options for BluMicaR.


Breeegz - LOL why are you a chump??!

 

[fourthmeal]

fourth -- ever consider writing up a thread for the how-to section? seems to me this is a good start, just include pics and specifics and you're done

I did on the DIYMA forum and on another 3 forum. On this forum Chuyler1 and some other guys have really blazed the trail. I posted quite a few things in the audio sections and nothing really became of it.

 

[Breeegz]

Breeegz - LOL why are you a chump??!

Since your post I've come to the realization on how "out of it" I am. I've still got the same amp from 5 years ago (I f'ed up the subs on a botched experiment had to replace'm) and I haven't spent the time/money to upgrade my front components (like I wanted since Jan 2004).

I guess basically because I'm mostly happy where my audio is, and cause of new a new kid. Maybe I'll upgrade with my Carputer install.

 

[$inCitySpeed3]

get some JL Audio...one of teh cleanest hitting speakers ever made IMO...if u dont want to spend alot pick up some older w-0 or w-3..if you want serious bass get some W-6(i have 3 and the are ******* awesome, no distortion whatsoever) and if you want to be a big dog and go to competitions get some W-7's, i have been out of the loop for awhile there is prolly something better from them now, but they are good priced good speakers...

 

[Breeegz]

JL is what I am pineing for, my other brands got bought out and started producing crap (as of 2.5 years ago).

 

[wgillam]

you're losing context. This thread is about adding to a factory system using line level input. My other cars have proper boxed subs external amps etc but they're connected to an Alpine or Sony head unit. I have multiple setups and this one works well for the application required.

 

[Breeegz]

sorry, I'll do better.

 

[fourthmeal]

I want to keep my stock head unit, however I may be upgrading speakers, putting in an amp to power those, and I'm looking for a self-contained (amp and sub) sub unit. I'd like to put the amp under one front seat, and the sub unit under the other. I think Clarion has a unit like I'm looking for, but I don't know anything about it. Does anybody have suggestions or experience to share? I do NOT want to replace my stock head unit because I love how integrated it looks and the little lights when I turn it up and down... Just dig it's looks. Can I even replace the speakers with better ones driven by an amp and put a sub unit in off of the stock head unit? I have an '07 MS3 Sport with zero options but the dimming outside temp/compass mirror.

THIS is the context. The O.P. wants to keep the stock head unit (done), wants to upgrade speakers (done), buy an amp to power those (done), wants a self contained sub and amp (I recommend against it for MANY reasons), wants a sub under the seat (not happening), and an amp under the seat (not happening in most situations), I think I stayed within context.

Also, this thread blossomed into what REALLY plagues the car, which is poor sound dampening, and poor head unit equalization.

 

[BluMicaR]

THIS is the context. The O.P. wants to keep the stock head unit (done), wants to upgrade speakers (done), buy an amp to power those (done), wants a self contained sub and amp (I recommend against it for MANY reasons), wants a sub under the seat (not happening), and an amp under the seat (not happening in most situations), I think I stayed within context.

Also, this thread blossomed into what REALLY plagues the car, which is poor sound dampening, and poor head unit equalization.

Yay; yeah, I knew I needed sound dampening and I'm really happy with Fourth's answers - I just need to 'weigh' the trunk thing, I have a 94 TBird with no trunk because of a box. Incidentally I'm on vacay right now, just checked for jollies. I am going to move forward on the sound deadening, don't know if I'll be REALLY anal about everything, but I'm going to be careful and precise. I may start out just doing the amp and door speakers, and decide on the sub down the line. Thanks 4th, you really put some effort in and it shows. I'm pleased, just need the time and materials now. Peace!

 

[fourthmeal]

no problem bud, have a good vacation.

I was thinking of how to get a hidden sub in the trunk for you, and I think I figured it out. Similar to what I had going on in my setup before I decided to abandon it for the spare tire well, if you are able to fiberglass decently you can make a totally stealth 10" sub box in the trunk UNDER the factory carpet area. There is roughly 4.5" of space in between the floor and the carpet. This is slim, but it is enough to build a very tidy box. It could also hold two 8's. If you gave up an inch or two in height, you could build a false floor just a tiny bit higher, and get pretty much any standard sub in there no problem. The amp(s) can take residence on the other side as well, making for a completely hidden solution.

Lastly, you can go the route I had planned, as well. I am going to get a big sonotube (the concrete form tubes made out of strong cardboard) and build a sealed, .75 cubic foot cylinder that will be removable when I need the extra space. Left in, it would take up about 1/5 of the trunk, but it would still be lightweight. The amps would reside under the factory carpet area as planned already.