My Car Setup - 56k = no

[Computerpro3]

I'm cross posting it from a car forum I'm on, but I thought some of you might like to see this. You guys will appreciate the audio side of it more than the car forum. After all, it's not everyday you see JM Labs speakers in a car!
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Well I finally got a chance to take some pictures of what I've done to my Escape so far. I realize that the interior is fairly dirty, but I just finished a 15 hour car ride through snow and ice storms, so there is no way around it. Add that to the fact that I keep it in a parking garage in a REALLY bad area (a student just got shot here the other day), I can't clean it because it's just not safe to do so without exposing what I have in the car. Even these pictures I took quickly. Sorry about that!

Anyway,
I am a long-time audiophile, and upon hearing the audio system in my stock Limited I was horrified. I knew it had to go. Since then I've been working in small increments and upgrading slowly until I've reached my ultimate system, which is almost done. The only thing I want to upgrade is my subwoofer stage. Make no mistake, the sub I have now is VERY good and the amp is better, and will stomp all over the sony/jensen/pioneer stuff you see on the street. It's just not the ultra-high end tier that I want (Hertz Mille).

Anyway here is a list of stuff I have in it:
2006 Ford Escape Limited Black
Alpine IVA-W200 Dual Din Head Unit/DVD Player hooked up to 60GB ipod in glove compartment
JM Labs Focal 165 K2P Polykevlar Upgraded Edition Componet with TN52 Tweeter
Zapco Reference 360.4 bridged to 180w RMS x2
Soundstream Pic 1.900D 900W RMS into 1 Ohm
Cerwin Vega Vmax 12.2 wired to 1 Ohm in a self-built computer designed sealed box with HEAVY bracing and dampening inside
System tuned flat with a spectrum analyzer
Gains set properly with multimeter

Other stuff:
- Valentine 1 with custom remote display (changed out red LED's with colored ones to tell me which band I'm getting hit on
- Laser Interceptor Jammer system - a real, LEGAL, police laser jamming system based on genuine Class 1M laser diodes
Here are some pictures:

Here's the Alpine Head Unit: This thing is GREAT hooked up to my ipod



For the door speakers, I cut out the stock speaker cover and had a mdf cutout wrapped in black leather. That's bolted to the plastic door cover and then the grill was inset. Grill is removable too in case it gets kicked in and I need to replace it. You can also see the tweeter mounted in the sails.



Tweeter shot:



Zapco Reference 360.4 Pure Class A amp and Soundstream Pic 1.900 D 900w RMS. The Zapco is among the best amps you can buy. The soundstream is going to be upgraded to an Audison shortly.



Subwoofer. Yes, I know, I know, I need to carpet it. I can't find matching carpet ANYWHERE though. Anyone have any ideas?
Box was designed in WINISD and custom built by me. 3/4in MDF with heavy bracing inside. Great sounding box.



Trunk Shot - Yes, I KNOW it's dirty! Sorry!

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Here's my Valentine 1 Remote Display. No pics of the actual unit as I didn't want to take it out in the parking garage since there were lots of people around.



Here's a shot of the Laser Interceptor Jamer Diodes:



Close up of a genuine Class1M laser



And here's a kill switch mounted so it looks like a 4wd switch! This is hooked up to my laser interceptor and the Valentine 1, so as soon as I hit it they both turn off



That's pretty much it for now, I have a lot more ideas but I can't really do them until I get home on break and have a driveway to work in. Hope you enjoyed and if you have any questions let me know!

[goldenratiophi]

does the bass go to 11 and drown everything out?

if yes - good job!
if no - needs more bass!

[Computerpro3]

Originally Posted by goldenratiophi

does the bass go to 11 and drown everything out?

if yes - good job!
if no - needs more bass!

Nope. Don't like it that way either. I tuned the system for classical music since I am going to conservatory for piano performance. It also does pretty damn good on classic rock and jazz.

Rest assured though, with the touch of a button I can impress the kiddies with bass if I wanted to

[SR-71Panorama]

Not bad. The cerwin vega is probably the weakest link in the chain.
Keep an eye on those focals; some of them have drivers that physically distort and warp when it gets hot. I think they solved the problem, but I dont know; I havent been into car audio much since I had my stuff installed. [JL audio 10w7, 500/1 amp, kinetic battery, JL speakers (my weak part of the chain) Alpine HU]

I wish I had zapco. Very nice.

[roastpuff]

Sick car. I love the fact that the audio gear probably cost more than the car in total.

[Computerpro3]

Originally Posted by SR-71Panorama

Not bad. The cerwin vega is probably the weakest link in the chain.
Keep an eye on those focals; some of them have drivers that physically distort and warp when it gets hot. I think they solved the problem, but I dont know; I havent been into car audio much since I had my stuff installed. [JL audio 10w7, 500/1 amp, kinetic battery, JL speakers (my weak part of the chain) Alpine HU]

Thanks. Supposedly they fixed the warping problem in my revision, but I still will keep an eye on them. That's one of the reasons I was adamant that I be able to easily see the speakers.

As for the sub, it IS the weakest part of the chain. I got it as a gift so nothing I could do there, but when I have the cash I'm going to grab an audison amp and a utopia sub. Then I will be truly done.

[SR-71Panorama]

I dont see too many people use Focal for the subs for whatever reason. I bet they are very nice. And yes, quality is 100,000,000 times more important than quantity for bass. Thats why I went with a sealed enclosure myself, and a 10 inch sub. For those new to car audio, the smaller subs are tighter and faster. They won't impress your friends as much as 15 inch subs, but they are (imo) the audiophile choice. But I wont deny that there is something impressive about a ported 15" rocking away shaking your rib cage

One of these days I need to get a capacitor. I dont have headlight dimming at all (strange, since my engine is 4 cylinder, and my old dodge intrepid 6 cylinder had dimming; I attribute that to the new kinetic battery) but I want the SQ benefit of a cap. (Better voltage stability)

[Computerpro3]

Originally Posted by SR-71Panorama

I dont see too many people use Focal for the subs for whatever reason. I bet they are very nice. And yes, quality is 100,000,000 times more important than quantity for bass. Thats why I went with a sealed enclosure myself, and a 10 inch sub. For those new to car audio, the smaller subs are tighter and faster. They won't impress your friends as much as 15 inch subs, but they are (imo) the audiophile choice. But I wont deny that there is something impressive about a ported 15" rocking away shaking your rib cage

Because the focal subs are not that loud when used properly and they are EXPENSIVE as hell. Of course, you throw them in a ported and anything will be loud and farty. I got to hear a full blown Utopia BE system and it was the most incredible thing I've ever experienced as far as subwoofers go. He had 2 of the 8in Utopia BE subs and you simply couldn't tell there were subwoofers there at all. Just a firm, smooth, utterly liquid and visceral low end. Not in your face at all. In other words, how it's supposed to sound. Too bad those 8in subs are 2k a peice...

[SR-71Panorama]

Whoa, I didnt know they were that much. I bought all my stuff back in college. Now that I have real money coming in, I think whatever my next car is, Im going to do that or something similar. Spare no expense on audio. I dont care about rims, etc. Just audio.

......someday....

[SR-71Panorama]

I dont remember the name of it, but Cerwin Vega has some new fancy sub with 2 spiders that apparently sounds very nice. I have no idea on the price or specs though.