2014 Corolla Hertz Alpine

[BoNgHoLyEO]

This is my first post but I thought I'd share what I recently installed in my 2014 Corolla. The goal was to get good sound quality at a fair price without sacrificing space or OEM look.

Alpine V9 5 channel amp, Hertz ESK 165 components, Alpine R 6x9 coax, Alpine R 8" subs x2, LC7i line out converter, 4 gauge OFC wire, Big 3 Upgrade, Redtop Optima Battery

First things first big 3

Hid the LOC behind a panel

Then Built the boxes for the subs

Installed the speakers with some Knonoise mat, forgot pics of the rear 6x9s/

.

Overall the system came in a little under 1k for everything and turned out sounding great! I was super impressed with the Hertz ESK components they surpassed my expectations! The rear alpine R 6x9 do the job for rear fill. The 2 little alpine R 8" produce a lot of bass for the size but if I was to do it over again I would build the boxes for 10" subs however it's not worth my time at the moment as I have a few hours invested in each box. The alpine pdx v9 makes a ton of power for the size, the birth sheet says 132w RMS x 4 for the speakers and 601w RMS x1 for the sub channel.

Let me know what y'all think.

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[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Overall the system came in a little under 1k for everything and turned out sounding great! I was super impressed with the Hertz ESK components they surpassed my expectations! The rear alpine R 6x9 do the job for rear fill. The 2 little alpine R 8" produce a lot of bass for the size but if I was to do it over again I would build the boxes for 10" subs however it's not worth my time at the moment as I have a few hours invested in each box. The alpine pdx v9 makes a ton of power for the size, the birth sheet says 132w RMS x 4 for the speakers and 601w RMS x1 for the sub channel.

Let me know what y'all think.

Yours fall into bad C territory. Should have had the subs as close to the lid as possible and face inwards. The way you have it, the bass waves are conflicting with each other and canceling each other out. This is called cancellation.

I'd try to upgrade from the audiocontrol unit to a proper Digital sound processor as soon as possible because all you are using is the stock head unit's processing and its not good at all.

Corollas have poor vehicle acoustics (i used to own one) and you need proper sound control or else you wont get proper results and those audiocontrol head units are DINOSAURS compared to what we have nowadays. Weak EQ, No time alignment or anything.

 

[The Camry]

Yours fall into bad C territory. Should have had the subs as close to the lid as possible and face inwards

I was thinking just that! Try flipping the polarity of one sub and see if you gain a output boost

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

You have some room left for drastic upgrades whenever you feel the itch again.

 

[The Camry]

This is my first post but I thought I'd share what I recently installed in my 2014 Corolla. The goal was to get good sound quality at a fair price without sacrificing space or OEM look.

Alpine V9 5 channel amp, Hertz ESK 165 components, Alpine R 6x9 coax, Alpine R 8" subs x2, LC7i line out converter, 4 gauge OFC wire, Big 3 Upgrade, Redtop Optima Battery

First things first big 3

Hid the LOC behind a panel

Then Built the boxes for the subs

Installed the speakers with some Knonoise mat, forgot pics of the rear 6x9s/

.

Overall the system came in a little under 1k for everything and turned out sounding great! I was super impressed with the Hertz ESK components they surpassed my expectations! The rear alpine R 6x9 do the job for rear fill. The 2 little alpine R 8" produce a lot of bass for the size but if I was to do it over again I would build the boxes for 10" subs however it's not worth my time at the moment as I have a few hours invested in each box. The alpine pdx v9 makes a ton of power for the size, the birth sheet says 132w RMS x 4 for the speakers and 601w RMS x1 for the sub channel.

Let me know what y'all think.

flip the polarity of one sub and see if you gain an output boost. You are most likely having a lot of cancellation due to sub orientation.

The ESK line was great till i heard was else i could have for the money. Its leaps and bounds above stock but there is a lot of midrange distortion that youll notice with the ESKs.

 

[BoNgHoLyEO]

You have some room left for drastic upgrades whenever you feel the itch again.

What upgrades would you recommend given the criteria of a OEM look and not losing any cargo space?

flip the polarity of one sub and see if you gain an output boost. You are most likely having a lot of cancellation due to sub orientation.
The ESK line was great till i heard was else i could have for the money. Its leaps and bounds above stock but there is a lot of midrange distortion that youll notice with the ESKs.

What would you have recommended for the same money?

 

[BoNgHoLyEO]

Yours fall into bad C territory. Should have had the subs as close to the lid as possible and face inwards. The way you have it, the bass waves are conflicting with each other and canceling each other out. This is called cancellation.

I'd try to upgrade from the audiocontrol unit to a proper Digital sound processor as soon as possible because all you are using is the stock head unit's processing and its not good at all.

Corollas have poor vehicle acoustics (i used to own one) and you need proper sound control or else you wont get proper results and those audiocontrol head units are DINOSAURS compared to what we have nowadays. Weak EQ, No time alignment or anything.

I appreciate the advice, the polarity on the subs is reversed for whatever its worth. I have read about sound processors but i still have much research to do before making that jump, the LOC was a 30$ craigslist purchase and works as a nice bandaid until i upgrade. Feel free to recommend me a sound processor and tell me a little about it

 

[The Camry]

What upgrades would you recommend given the criteria of a OEM look and not losing any cargo space?


What would you have recommended for the same money?

Upgrading headunit to something with DACS which is make music sound the way it was supposed too without the source(phone, headunit,ect) coloring the sound.

If you were deadset on keeping your stock stereo look. You could get a MINIDSP C-DSP which is a sound processor that lets you do EVERYTHING you can imagine to the sound.

This would allow you to drop the rear speakers as for a proper front stage, they really arent needed and use the 2 channels you gain on your amp to power your fronts actively.

As for whats good for the money. Zaphaudio.com, check out the 6.5 reviews and tweeter reviews

I have been using Stereo integrity tm65s and they have a MK2 version coming out soon. I am very very impressed with those drivers. If you can get your hands on them, the M25 tweeters are also very very nice and will make a great component set paired with the tm 65s.

Try flipping the polarity on ONE sub, not both. Do you have the wire in parallel?

 

[The Camry]

There are also plenty of GREAT gear for sale over on DIYMA.com, guys over buy great gear and sell it for 1/3 of the price all the time.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Sound deadening everywhere. Sealing up the doors. That being a budget car I'm sure MLV layer in the floor will help. And as mentioned, a DSP. Keeping the stock radio is perfectly fine with one. It's the way of the future

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

What upgrades would you recommend given the criteria of a OEM look and not losing any cargo space?


What would you have recommended for the same money?

They all recommend the speakers and processing. Thats the most important part atm. As for subs, try unhooking one and run full power in proper phase with the right side instead of two.

 

[BoNgHoLyEO]

Try flipping the polarity on ONE sub, not both. Do you have the wire in parallel?

Yes they are wired in parallel, with the polarity swapped on ONE sub. they are 4ohm DVC wired to 4ohm at the amp.

Sound deadening everywhere. Sealing up the doors. That being a budget car I'm sure MLV layer in the floor will help. And as mentioned, a DSP. Keeping the stock radio is perfectly fine with one. It's the way of the future

I did about 20 sqft of Knonoise sound deading on all the doors, trunk, and above the trunk where the 6x9s go about 65%-70% coverage, nothing on the floor yet. Next on the list will be sealing the doors up properly. I like the stock radio because it has backup camera, steering wheel controls, and displays the gas mileage ect.

Try unhooking one and run full power in proper phase with the right side instead of two.

I originally had only built one box and ran full power to it like you suggest but i built a second after i blew the sub in less than 24 hours turning it up too high because i wanted more bump. 2 does sound better but like i said in the original post, should have built them for 10s but everyone is a Monday morning coach...

As everyone has suggested i will be researching a DSP, but i am still very please with how this turned out for my first build.

 

[The Camry]

Yes they are wired in parallel, with the polarity swapped on ONE sub. they are 4ohm DVC wired to 4ohm at the amp.


I did about 20 sqft of Knonoise sound deading on all the doors, trunk, and above the trunk where the 6x9s go, nothing on the floor yet. Next on the list will be sealing the doors up properly. I like the stock radio because it has backup camera, steering wheel controls, and displays the gas mileage ect.

I originally had only built one box and ran full power to it like you suggest but i built a second after i blew the sub in less than 24 hours turning it up too high because i wanted more bump. 2 does sound better but like i said in the original post, should have built them for 10s but everyone is a Monday morning coach...

As everyone has suggested i will be researching a DSP, but i am still very please with how this turned out for my first build.

Im sure it sounds great but once you get proper processing, its changes the entire game. You get a whole stage in front of you. You asked for opinions. We gave them to you. Were a harsh crowd. Always something to nitpick

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[BoNgHoLyEO]

Im sure it sounds great but once you get proper processing, its changes the entire game. You get a whole stage in front of you. You asked for opinions. We gave them to you. Were a harsh crowd. Always something to nitpick
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

I appreciate the honest feedback! no one ever learned anything from being sheltered. I liked your suggestion of losing the 6x9s and going active in the front with processing. I can hardly tell they are back there anyways. I have much research and reading to do on DSPs ahead of me.

 

[BoNgHoLyEO]

Here is the debated headunit

Valentine v1 hardwired with mute knob on my wiper switch.

The Volume control for the subs