Build log for complete upgrade of factory system

[pascalc]

Hi everyone, Im new to the forums here but not new to the car audio scene, im not an expert by any means but I know enough to get by on my own....this upgrade is simply for my daily driver, I listen to heavy metal music about 95% of the time and hard rock/rock the odd time, I don't listen to rap/hiphop and all that bassy stuff so the most important aspects of this system for me will be SQ, fast punchy bass and good volume....anyhow let's start!! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

With that said, the following items were ordered yesterday...

Audio components:

Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD

Alpine PDX-5

Alpine SPX-17REF

Alpine SPS-609 (Type-R's were backordered so i'll start with these and upgrade later on)

Alpine SWS-1023D (Type-R's were backordered so i'll start with this and upgrade later on) - Will wire the DVC in series to get a 4ohm load

Cables and misc.:

PAC OS-2C (needed for my GM to keep OnStar/Chimes)

Pioneer CD-IU200V iPhone A/V cable

Relay for brake bypass

Sonic sub box (1.01cf) w/ 10" generic grill to protect SUB

Monster Cable XLN 16S-50 S/B (new wiring for all speakers)

Monster Cable XLN 12S-18 S/B (for SUB)

Monster Cable ILJRC-5M (three sets for FR/Rear/SUB)

Monster Cable ILJRC-0.5M (from HU to Scosche RLC)

Scosche RLC (no bass remote on the PDX-5 so I will see if this is any good for my SUB)

Rockford Fosgate RFK4 (amp wiring kit)

I usually never buy the overpriced Monster Cable stuff because usually its not worth the money but with the current USD/CAD exchange rates and ridiculously low prices on all this stuff in the US made this descision a no brainer, about 80$ for all the above Monster Cable stuff...that's a steal for us Canadians //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I will post pictures as I progress but any opinions/feedback on my chosen setup is welcomed, good or bad....you only get better by learning from your mistakes! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Click to read more...

 

[pascalc]

Part of my order finally came in late last week! I am still waiting on the PAC OS-2C adapter to complete my install which should hopefully be in later this week or early next week...

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I knew the PDX amps were small but its still pretty impressive nonetheless when you actually hold it in hand...Here a picture of the verification certificate which indicates 97W x 4 and 357W x 1...gotta love Alpine! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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So I got to work last weekend, I ran my wires, installed the front components and rear deck speakers. I ran my power cable/remote turn-on following the hump on the passenger side, my interconnects run along the edge of the car on the passenger side along with two speaker wire runs for the passenger front components and two speaker wire runs along the edge of the car on the driver side for the driver side components. Here is a teaser pic with the inside of the car half gutted....its not much for now but more to come in the following week!

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[dubeeyu 10+ year member]

Maybe I missed it somewhere but I was wondering what car that is?

 

[pascalc]

Maybe I missed it somewhere but I was wondering what car that is?

No worries, I never mentionned what kind of car this was going into, its a Pontiac Grand Prix //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

 

[pascalc]

A little more progress tonight, I took a few minutes after work to mount my amp and crossovers. I cut some 1/4" plywood to size and slid that under the fabric of the rear seats, then I used plastic rivets to secure the board to the seat back and screwed the equipment on. I know that it still doesn't look like much yet but its getting there, here is a pic of my amp/crossovers mounted.

View attachment 26523554

I also wired the sub and mounted it in the box along with the grill but I forgot to snap a pic of it. I might have some free time tomorrow evening to work on the build so I plan to make the connections to the amp and crossovers and secure the wires down.

 

[ZO6killinsbf 10+ year member]

Sweet man. I love alpine equipment. Looks good so far.

 

[pascalc]

Thanks!

Alright so its been a little while since my last update and I still have NOT received my PAC OS-2C to complete my install.....so Im glad to say that I didn't wait or else I would still have no radio in my car! Last weekend I just couldn't wait so I tapped into the factory harnesses and wired up the HU along with all speakers but ran out of my 16ga monster speaker wire for the rear speakers so I ended up using generic 14ga speaker wire I had laying around for now. Everything is working great except that I no longer have my chimes and OnStar (expected), and now that Ive had the car as such for the past week, im thinking of leaving it as is and not installing the PAC unit whenever it gets here, chimes are annoying and I don't use OnStar anyways...

For the past week ive been playing and tuning the system and I think im pretty close to having it as perfect as ill get with the current equipment. I started with my gains set at 1/2 for the front/rear speakers but eventually lowered them to about 1/3 of the way because the speakers were way louder than the sub and the sound was not balanced. For a DD, the Type X components really deliver and they sound so good, really clear but they lack some mid bass for my taste. The Type S rear speakers are doing their job serving as real fill, nothing spectacular but better than stock, they do what they were bought for. I started with the HPF turned on the amp at 80hz for the front/rear but eventually turned it off for the front and controlled the crossover frequency from the HU set at 63Hz, this gave me a little more mid bass from the Type X but they still lack some IMO. I had my tweeters attenuated at -6db because I found them bright but after setting my HPF through my HU and turning it off the amp I felt they were no longer as present so I changed the jumper to -3db and they are better. For the sub I have the gains set at about 2/3 of the way and the crossover set at 80Hz. My HU volume can reach 40 but I set everything at 30, at that volume it gets pretty loud already so there's no real need to go louder for listening inside the cabin but a little more mid bass and sub bass would be nice //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Overall im very satisfied with the way the system turned out, it sounds amazingly clear and balanced on a variety of different music ive been testing with, the bass hits hard on techno/pop/dance (synthesized music) but for my metal I feel like I could use stronger and tighter bass. Ive also tested with DVD's and DivX video's from an SD card and they both look very nice and sound great as well, my daughter is already enjoying this aspect of my setup. Im already thinking about of some upgrades...

Below are some pics of my amp/crossovers wired up, the sub and HU, nothing spectacular, its a DD afterall and I do use my trunk...Im temporarily using bungie cords to secure the box until I think of something more permanent...

 

[the Answer 10+ year member]

that is the funniest movie