Need Advice on new system

[nicholas_r_d]

Here is the original invoice...

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

The song comes from a Disney movie Encanto and my 5 year old LOVES that movie. I am just happy we are no longer in the Baby Shark phase!


Gotcha. They didn't say it was "the only way" but they did push it above anything else they floated around after looking at my setup. I do want the best/most customized setup possible, so I am okay with the Virtuoso even though it is about 4x the cost of the JL.

They have a guy there and all he does is tune cars and has been trained to setup the bit one HD among others. I (think) I have confidence in him being able to tune the vehicle correctly.


Could the installers turn the "volume" down on all of those stock speakers? They sit within 6 inches of your ear and most of the time (after the first after market sound system install) I can hear them MORE than any other speaker in the car. They come through "first"...it is cool when I am listening to a podcast (makes it feel much more "full") but when it is music, the speakers are now more of a distraction, rather than helping "fill" the sound in the cabin.

I will speak with the installers and see what my options are.

I did a quick google search on "coloring" sound...follow up question. What if they say "yes"? Is that a good thing? Should I ask them to "color" it if they say no? This is a whole new thing to me, so can you give me a quick "coloring for dummies" so I better understand what I want/or don't want? I assume I do not want any "coloring" done?


SO...Lets go a little crazy (on paper anyway)...assume I have the space (because I kinda do)...
There are 4 sets of speakers in the ceiling above each persons head (dual 40mm speakers)
There are 2 sets of speakers in the very back (25mm tweet & 80mm mid)
There is 1 set in the front center dash (25mm & 2x100mm - these have already been upgraded)

How would you power these speakers? How would you DSP them?
There are 7 cables that would need to be run at minimum (1 cable for each "set")
Would you choose to run 7 cables into an 8ch amp and then to a bit One (8 port version)

I would not get a new DSP for them. Simply add enough amplifiers to connect each "corner". Then proceed to splice from the 3-way's feed, according to what each speaker is. 40mm head speakers seem to be tweeters, so I would splice from the tweeter's signal, et cetera.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

coloring"

Coloring means the speaker's design adds it's own signature sound to you music. A cheap speaker may sound tiny, muffled, echoey, or any other descriptive word. As you have stated, the OEMs color your music by being out of sync with the new system.

They have a guy there and all he does is tune cars and has been trained to setup the bit one HD among others. I (think) I have confidence in him being able to tune the vehicle correctly.

Fingers crossed cause I checked your reciept.... they were euphemistically dumb.

I am just happy we are no longer in the Baby Shark phase!

I then assume you have not heard the rebassed or metal versions of it. They were a great compromise between father and child.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

Here is the original invoice...View attachment 36156

Those installers did not know what they were doing. They installed an Active LOC (LPA-e4), which is great for Plain Jane OEM radios, but not upgraded ones. Then added a cheaper Passive LOC (LP5-2) which again, Plain Jane radios. I assume this is for the thunder. Now, here is the kicker. They installed an Mosconi DSP (Digital Sound Processor) amplifier. It has an built in Active LOC. But, it does not have Signal Leveller. When you get the Virtuoso, it will make this amp obsolete, totally. Best bet is to add other Mosconi non-DSP amplifiers. You can eliminate both LPA-e4 and LP5-2, and disable all the Mosconi's features.
Lack of a signal leveller and double LOCs is the reason for you sub par sound.

 

[nicholas_r_d]

I would not get a new DSP for them. Simply add enough amplifiers to connect each "corner". Then proceed to splice from the 3-way's feed, according to what each speaker is. 40mm head speakers seem to be tweeters, so I would splice from the tweeter's signal, et cetera.

I apologize, I didn't get an alert when you replied last month...I just came back to provide an update and saw the last couple posts by you...the one I quoted above went right over my head...and it's too late at this point...haha...anyway here is an update...


I FINALLY HAVE MY VEHICLE BACK

They did install the bitOne Virtuoso HD processor (the installer is very familiar with this hardware and has been using it for years and has been trained in it)

The new place re-doing the original installers work said it was just a mess. They said a lot of technical stuff I didn't understand but one thing I caught was they said one of the doors was in the wrong polarity (meaning the connected the wires backwards, right?)...they tried to be nice and not bad-mouth the original installers too bad...

CURRENT SETUP NOW

4 - 3-way Focal K2's
2 - Focal Mids (I think they are the K2, they are in the center dash area)
1 - H.O. JL Audio Box (12w7AE)

1 - JL 600/4HD
2 - Mosconi 4channel amps (one from the original install and a newer one I purchased to get all my speakers active)
1 - bitOneHD Virtuoso
1 - Stinger battery
1 - JL 1200/1HD

RESULTS
It sounds MUCH better. There are no issues with "sh" "ch" or anything like that now. The hum that I would hear when accelerating is now gone. They moved and properly installed the bass knob.

HOWEVER
I (and the installer) think we can make it sound better by doing 2 things
1) Properly dynamat all 4 doors
2) swap out the 2 Mosconi amps for 2 more JL 600/4

BECAUSE
The woofers are "hollow" not "tight" or just "weak" would be the words to describe them...the installer spent a bunch of time trying to make them sound right but he is convinced that the dynamat will greatly improve the acoustics of the woofers. I do not know how much dynamat the original place used but the new installers said that they didn't do it right and did it the "easy" way which is not providing the sound isolation that it should

The new installer does not sell Mosconi so he is not as familiar with them as the JL's...He believes he can get a better sonically accurate sound with the JL vs. the Mosconi.

At this point, I am inclined to believe him because of how good the vehicle sounds now vs. what it was when I brought it to him. The Mosconi might be just as good as the JL 600/4HD but if he can tune the JL better and he is more comfortable with the JL brand, I am fine with that.

Thoughts?

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

Thoughts?

It is always pleasant to hear an update. Sound deadening definitely helps you hear all the nuances that your speakers can produce, including getting rid of the echoey sound you now hear. I am not sure what is the incorrect way of installing Dynamat. I have seen guys do the entire skin while others do only the largest flat panels. They both sounded clean to me.
As for the amplifiers; I am a fan of JL Audio, but to claim they will sound better than the Mosconis is a tall order. They are both class D design so I do not know how much improvement you will hear. Will be glad to hear that update.
On that note, I am glad your issues have been solved. The few more tweaks left and you will once again be not talking about Bruno.

 

[nicholas_r_d]

I am not sure what is the incorrect way of installing Dynamat

The new installer explained that the "right" way to do it would be to disassemble the door mechanism to allow access to the panel behind the "guts" of the door.

but to claim they will sound better than the Mosconis is a tall order.

Yeah, I am curious to see what they sound like when they are changed out. The Mosconi is a 4x100w and the Jl is 4x150 so there is a decent amount of power that is being added (right?)...maybe that is why he thinks he can get a better sound? He also made mention of the Mosconi's doing some weird things if the power dips on them at all (if the bass hits and takes power away). Where the JL's were solid no matter what the sub was doing...again, might just be a preference thing but I am at his mercy at this point. He has done a good job so far so I am giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I appreciate you staying with me in this journey. It feels good to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We are now jamming out to Kings & Queens by Ava Max but Bruno is always on our mind!

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

The new installer explained that the "right" way to do it would be to disassemble the door mechanism to allow access to the panel behind the "guts" of the door.

This might be a blesssing in disguise. No telling what issues you'd be having if they'd disassembled.

there is a decent amount of power that is being added (right?).

Yes, you can never have too much power.

He also made mention of the Mosconi's doing some weird things if the power dips on them at all (if the bass hits and takes power away). W

This is odd, more so because they are Class D design. They should not be sensitive to power fluctuations. Then again I have only heard but never owned a Mosconi, so I've no idea how they behave.

Where the JL's were solid no matter what the sub was doing...again, might just be a preference thing but I am at his mercy at this point. He has done a good job so far so I am giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I have a few JL Audio products and just love the performance of them all. I honestly think that I will no longer shop other brands for my car audio fix. As for your current installer, seems like no need to doubt his expertise. His work speaks volumes. I am glad you are just about done. As for myself, like most others on this site, will probably be tweaking till our bodies can no longer get up off the floorboard!