2005 Scion tC SQ Hertz Audison Pioneer Build Log

[Why So Cereal?]

I bet this tC sounds 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000x better than mine

Great work man! Wish I had smart friends to help me work on my install

[IronOutlaw]

hello sir, this is an awesome build thread to follow. I have a scion tc so i have found this very helpful. My question is what did you aim the tweets at? do you have a picture of where you aimed the laser pointers at?

[keep_hope_alive]

hello sir, this is an awesome build thread to follow. I have a scion tc so i have found this very helpful. My question is what did you aim the tweets at? do you have a picture of where you aimed the laser pointers at?

no pic of where we aimed them, we did aim for the middle of the top of the rear window. once there we can rotate for aiming higher or lower. we have also experimented with a few heights. with tweeters, experimentation is good, but aiming can be figured out ahead of time.

there are two ways to approach tweeter aiming.

1. aim them at the rear of the car - this puts them more on-axis with each seat. using processing and presets you can tweak level for each so you get a good sound stage. remember that high frequencies (>3kHz) are located based on intensity (level) so the louder one will pull the soundstage toward it. some cons are required level adjustment and adverse affect on head related transfer function (HRTF). you can get a reflection off the nearest window that can help HRTF and also widen the soundstage (if the rest of the system and processing coincides).

2. aim them at the opposite c-pillar - this puts the tweeter slightly off-axis with the nearest seat and on-axis with the opposite seat. great approach if you can't control level on the tweeters separately or easily. also a good approach for a car setup for two-seat judging. some cons are a reduction in high frequency detail/response in the nearest tweeter, as well as a potential narrowing of the sound stage (depending on the other speakers in the car). the HRTF is well addressed thanks to the acoustic center and aiming from outside to inside (not aimed head-on). one downside is a reflection off the opposite glass (passenger tweeter sound bounces off driver window into driver's left ear), but since this reflection is delayed in time, HRTF is maintained - but level attenuation (R vs L) is not much different.

if your tweeter crossover point is below 3kHz, then T/A is desired on the tweeters as well. If you can maintain a higher tweeter crossover point, you don't need to T/A them. if you go for option #2 then you don't need any processing on them other than a crossover. level is also addressed. That is what I do in my car with a 3-way front stage. my tweeters are on the same HU output channels as the mids, i just use an external active crossover. it works great. with a 2-way system you don't have the luxury of a higher tweeter crossover point if the woofers are door mounted - an off-axis woofer rolls off much sooner. one big advantage of kick mounted woofers/mids is aiming for improved high frequency response of the woofer, another advantage is reducing path length difference between left and right.

car audio is such a fun challenge when you look at acoustics. if you can visualize the propagation of sound waves and some of the interaction caused by specular reflections, then apply the concepts of IID, ITD, PLD, and HRTF, you can get a good idea of what is going on - which will help when designing and tuning the system. This Scion build is further benefited by the owner, who has a good critical ear and experience as a recording engineer - so he can tune by ear and make it perfect.

note: we are considering a HU upgrade to the 80PRS - mainly for the benefit of USB performance.

[heebs 09gts]

Hey kha, where do you buy the thin closed cell foam from?

[keep_hope_alive]

Hey kha, where do you buy the thin closed cell foam from?

Ensolite IUO Peel and Stick, 14 sq ft - RAAMaudio Inc.

[cyn]

Hey man... I was pondering something tonight for my rebuild.. Running my RCA's to the Trunk, Building a small Rack to hold RCA Barrel Connectors and connect from my HU to them then out from them to the Amps for more flexablility on routing the cables around cleaner etc.. Is there a loss in signal if I do that? @keep_hope_alive ;

[keep_hope_alive]

Every connection is a failure point. I have soldered my own RCA cables and jacks, and if you take your time and get them perfect, they can be good.

Short answer, yes. I do stuff like that often for flexibility because I experiment constantly.

[cyn]

Every connection is a failure point. I have soldered my own RCA cables and jacks, and if you take your time and get them perfect, they can be good.

Short answer, yes. I do stuff like that often for flexibility because I experiment constantly.

Aight, other question.. If my goal isn't complete sq or perfect/near perfect sound/imaging staging, but more a long the line of sql-ish for the front/rear stage is it that much of a loss or degrade in the signal.. same with the sub stage..

[keep_hope_alive]

No appreciable signal issue due to introducing additional barrel connectors. No worries.

[keep_hope_alive]

after a long time - we are going to do some finishing touches...

starting with a new enclosure.




fiberglass enclosure (about 1/8" thick) with 4.5 sheets of BXT II inside.






more to come this weekend

[keep_hope_alive]

fabricated new supports for the new floor. i had a 3/4" MDF cutout for the box that we used as an original template. to that i added 2x4's and 4x4's for support of the floor seam and the box. box has multiple secure points (not shown on purpose). it won't move.





the new floor has layers of 1/8" CCF on the bottom and rests on the factory support points as well as some new points.



also new tweeter spheres




we move the tweeters closer to the apillar for a better look. change the angles, image is perfect.

[keep_hope_alive]

a sub grill is on order (matching Mille grill is cast metal).

sorry for the blurry tweeter pics. we will recover the apillars to hide the other holes. as you can see, we are experimenting with height and we are done changing. we have new fabric to recover, but ran out of time this weekend.

[DDtC]

I went back in my doors and laid the sheet metal. It helped but it was a PIA to get the panel back on

[keep_hope_alive]

I went back in my doors and laid the sheet metal. It helped but it was a PIA to get the panel back on

Yea. Some door panels extend into the cavity with foam, light housings, etc. And you need to remove the foam or whatever to clear it.

[DDtC]

Yea. Some door panels extend into the cavity with foam, light housings, etc. And you need to remove the foam or whatever to clear it.

I figured it out. The 1/2 dynaliner made it worse but now the only noise comes from the headliner and something broke in the dash.