Audio Integrations rear seat rack project thread
03-05-2008, 11:11 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
Audio Integrations rear seat rack project thread
The first step in my project. My best amp finally arrived. McIntosh MC427. Here are some pics. Spec is 100Wrms x 2 to run my front stage. This amp is pretty much MINT and I got it for $325 on ebay. Most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on, I may just hang it on my wall instead. I had a MC440 in 2003, but it wasn't close to this condition.
The amp rack might arrive today, and I should have more pics by tonight.
The amp rack might arrive today, and I should have more pics by tonight.
Last edited by plac; 03-05-2008 at 11:18 AM.
03-06-2008, 11:29 AM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
Picked up all the special nuts and bolts I needed. I wont give away all my security bolt secrets, otherwise what is the point?
I finished drilling all my holes in the rack. The 8 tiny holes are the amp mounting holes. The 3/4" holes are for the wires and will be behind the amps. I have a choice of 1/2" spacers or 3/4" spacers once I see how the wires look.
This was my first time touching fiberglass. It has a funny smell. Reminded me of when my parents built a 30 ft. catamaran in our backyard in Ireland. I now know it must have had fiberglass portions.
I finished drilling all my holes in the rack. The 8 tiny holes are the amp mounting holes. The 3/4" holes are for the wires and will be behind the amps. I have a choice of 1/2" spacers or 3/4" spacers once I see how the wires look.
This was my first time touching fiberglass. It has a funny smell. Reminded me of when my parents built a 30 ft. catamaran in our backyard in Ireland. I now know it must have had fiberglass portions.
03-06-2008, 11:00 PM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
Got the amps mounted tonight. They look a lot better in person. The gloss black is flawless in person, but the flash shows imperfections. My only worry is whether I will have room to fish the speaker wire and RCA's thru from under the amps. The amps are all on 1/2" spacers.
03-07-2008, 10:45 AM
#5
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
Got the amp rack done and the rear seats are back in.
Tip: Use a larger spacer than 1/2" behind your amps. I had everything installed and had to loosen the amp bolts to get the RCA pulled thru under it. 3/4" spacers would have been PERFECT.
This is by far the sweetest cleanest system I have ever had, and its all because of Audio Integrations amp rack. Without it, I would have had another sloppy install.
I tested one CDT woofer on a McIntosh channel and it worked. I turned the McIntosh gains all the way down, which is marked as "2V". Since I have 4V, I guess I should keep it minimum once the speakers are installed? The next phase is to install the CDTs in my doors tomorrow. Then I had that sub sire you can see for my JL 10W6v2. Just waiting for my Audio Integrations sub box to finish it all off..
Tip: Use a larger spacer than 1/2" behind your amps. I had everything installed and had to loosen the amp bolts to get the RCA pulled thru under it. 3/4" spacers would have been PERFECT.
This is by far the sweetest cleanest system I have ever had, and its all because of Audio Integrations amp rack. Without it, I would have had another sloppy install.
I tested one CDT woofer on a McIntosh channel and it worked. I turned the McIntosh gains all the way down, which is marked as "2V". Since I have 4V, I guess I should keep it minimum once the speakers are installed? The next phase is to install the CDTs in my doors tomorrow. Then I had that sub sire you can see for my JL 10W6v2. Just waiting for my Audio Integrations sub box to finish it all off..
03-08-2008, 02:01 AM
#6
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
Got my speakers installed. Stayed up 5 hours after work to get it done. Got the tweets in a perfect location. I'll have pics later.
But I have a problem...
My left door has a weird problem. A rough staticy fuzzy sound. Hear plenty of music, but its not as clean as the other side at ALL. My first and best outcome might be a bad RCA. (I had some weird RCA results when I got them too..) The next worse could be a bad speaker? And the worst of all, a bad channel on the McIntosh. None seem likely, so I will try the RCA first. I was getting confused on how to see if its that one side of the RCA. Could I just switch the RCAs at the amp only? Or would I have to switch the RCAs at the deck also? I'm too tired to think it out, hopefully someone has some hints tomorrow.
But I have a problem...
My left door has a weird problem. A rough staticy fuzzy sound. Hear plenty of music, but its not as clean as the other side at ALL. My first and best outcome might be a bad RCA. (I had some weird RCA results when I got them too..) The next worse could be a bad speaker? And the worst of all, a bad channel on the McIntosh. None seem likely, so I will try the RCA first. I was getting confused on how to see if its that one side of the RCA. Could I just switch the RCAs at the amp only? Or would I have to switch the RCAs at the deck also? I'm too tired to think it out, hopefully someone has some hints tomorrow.
03-08-2008, 09:58 AM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
I am 99% sure the McIntosh amp is faulty.
I tested a few ways:
RCA test:
Put in brand new RCAs for my front, same exact noise.
It's not the RCA.
Speaker test:
Swapped CDT woofer door to door, still had noise in same door.
Even bypassed that doors crossover and put direct input into the speaker, same noise.
Its not the speakers or the passive crossover box.
Deck test:
Moved my RCAs from front to rear output. Same noise on rear output.
It's not the deck.
Its the dream amp I got. I almost cried like a baby. I give up now. At least I only paid $325 for it. It is loud static on one channel when you run it at 20-25 Alpine volume. It seems the mostly likely also, because every other piece was bought brand new. Now I've ruined my amp rack with holes for an amp that doesnt work. I might go back to coaxials and just run that sub amp. There are no other amps I want right now in that same footprint, and definietly not an Alpine PDX. I'm very sad.
I tested a few ways:
RCA test:
Put in brand new RCAs for my front, same exact noise.
It's not the RCA.
Speaker test:
Swapped CDT woofer door to door, still had noise in same door.
Even bypassed that doors crossover and put direct input into the speaker, same noise.
Its not the speakers or the passive crossover box.
Deck test:
Moved my RCAs from front to rear output. Same noise on rear output.
It's not the deck.
Its the dream amp I got. I almost cried like a baby. I give up now. At least I only paid $325 for it. It is loud static on one channel when you run it at 20-25 Alpine volume. It seems the mostly likely also, because every other piece was bought brand new. Now I've ruined my amp rack with holes for an amp that doesnt work. I might go back to coaxials and just run that sub amp. There are no other amps I want right now in that same footprint, and definietly not an Alpine PDX. I'm very sad.
03-08-2008, 01:27 PM
#8
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
anyway... here is the work I did on my CDT speaker install. Stayed up until 2am last night just to hear them..
This is the strapping I used for my tweeter install:
This is a CDT CL60? mid mounted in my door. I had to enlarge my cutout just a tiny bit, these are big. But depth was not an issue, these are shallower than Alpine Type-R coax. Still using the 3/4" custom HDPE spacer. Oh I had to drop my mounting bolts under the flush surface or the speaker would sit on them. I used a large drill bit to angle the 3 main bolt holes.
This is my tweet install on right side. Rather proud of the design, since I didnt have to cut anything. This is close to the kick panel, and the bracket is very strong. I can bend them any direction I want to play with all kinds of imaging.
Here is the screw I used to mount the bracket:
Here is the passive box which I 3M taped to the floor. It gets in a way a bit, but overall I don't mind the area:
This is my drivers side tweet. It is in basically the same place as the other one:
And finally, the bolt I used to attach the drivers side tweet bracket. One of the hood handle bolts:
As you know, my amp is broke, so I never even got to hear them..
This is the strapping I used for my tweeter install:
This is a CDT CL60? mid mounted in my door. I had to enlarge my cutout just a tiny bit, these are big. But depth was not an issue, these are shallower than Alpine Type-R coax. Still using the 3/4" custom HDPE spacer. Oh I had to drop my mounting bolts under the flush surface or the speaker would sit on them. I used a large drill bit to angle the 3 main bolt holes.
This is my tweet install on right side. Rather proud of the design, since I didnt have to cut anything. This is close to the kick panel, and the bracket is very strong. I can bend them any direction I want to play with all kinds of imaging.
Here is the screw I used to mount the bracket:
Here is the passive box which I 3M taped to the floor. It gets in a way a bit, but overall I don't mind the area:
This is my drivers side tweet. It is in basically the same place as the other one:
And finally, the bolt I used to attach the drivers side tweet bracket. One of the hood handle bolts:
As you know, my amp is broke, so I never even got to hear them..
03-08-2008, 03:22 PM
#9
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
Well, I stepped away and thought about my plans a bit. I have too much invested to rip it all out now. Especially with my 4 hour front speaker install last night. I am going to go active. I am doing this because it is the best use for my matching amp I will order. This will also do away with the passive crossover boxes which get in my way under the carpet. I already ordered new JL RCA cables cuz I just can't trust these anymore with all these issues. I have a 17' 4 channel set and a 17' 2 channel set. I will have the RCA's and speaker wire laid out to the trunk before the new amp arrives. My only concern is blowing the CDT tweeter with 75Wrms. I know the Alpine 3 way outputs are a bit weird:
Front: mids
Rear: tweets
Sub: sub
That is opposite of what I would have thought, I guess thats how people blow their tweets if they dont research carefully.
Front: mids
Rear: tweets
Sub: sub
That is opposite of what I would have thought, I guess thats how people blow their tweets if they dont research carefully.
03-09-2008, 02:04 PM
#10
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
SO stoked so far.. The amp has not made a noise all day, so I'm going to close everything up for now. If it makes a noise again I'll play with the RCA input connection a bit to see if thats the issue.
On to my experience today:
The McIntosh MC427
The amp totally blew me away. It was far louder than I ever expected. The gains are probably half way (I know, way too high), and I can go to Alpine 9887 volume of 25 with crystal clarity. I took it to 30 with crystal clarity also. At 30, it is way too loud like a club, and has to be bad for my ears. I will probably trim down the gains next to get a bit more comfortable.
Crossover setting for front stage on Alpine deck: 80Hz HP with 18dB slope. All amp controls are disabled/off
The CDT Classics with upgraded DW25 tweets
Mixed feelings about these, although I have done NO tuning yet. All EQ is OFF right now. The vocals, midrange is fantastic. They dont have huge bass, but thats why I'll be adding the 10W6 sub in a few days. They were plenty clean down to 80Hz with no rattles or distortion. The tweets are a different story, they don't sound good at all so far. First off, my aiming is terrible. Having the tweets aim at the opposite persons head is way too bright and harsh. (I have my passive crossovers set flat with no attenuation yet, I can go -3dB jumper later if I want to). I like the tweet location a lot if I can aim them somewhere to sound good. I was thinking of trying to aim them at each other next.
Overall impression
I realize this will take tons of tuning to get it halfway decent. I will probably buy that IMPRINT kit soon enough. I already spent over $2000, so whats another couple hundred to have it tuned correctly automatically. I will be finding my IASCA CD deep in storage that Dingaling gave me 6 years ago. I need to start auditioning real sound quality to get a better idea of the system. I know its too early to say this, but now I'm thinking the CDT classic may not be enough speaker for that sweet McIntosh amp.
On to my experience today:
The McIntosh MC427
The amp totally blew me away. It was far louder than I ever expected. The gains are probably half way (I know, way too high), and I can go to Alpine 9887 volume of 25 with crystal clarity. I took it to 30 with crystal clarity also. At 30, it is way too loud like a club, and has to be bad for my ears. I will probably trim down the gains next to get a bit more comfortable.
Crossover setting for front stage on Alpine deck: 80Hz HP with 18dB slope. All amp controls are disabled/off
The CDT Classics with upgraded DW25 tweets
Mixed feelings about these, although I have done NO tuning yet. All EQ is OFF right now. The vocals, midrange is fantastic. They dont have huge bass, but thats why I'll be adding the 10W6 sub in a few days. They were plenty clean down to 80Hz with no rattles or distortion. The tweets are a different story, they don't sound good at all so far. First off, my aiming is terrible. Having the tweets aim at the opposite persons head is way too bright and harsh. (I have my passive crossovers set flat with no attenuation yet, I can go -3dB jumper later if I want to). I like the tweet location a lot if I can aim them somewhere to sound good. I was thinking of trying to aim them at each other next.
Overall impression
I realize this will take tons of tuning to get it halfway decent. I will probably buy that IMPRINT kit soon enough. I already spent over $2000, so whats another couple hundred to have it tuned correctly automatically. I will be finding my IASCA CD deep in storage that Dingaling gave me 6 years ago. I need to start auditioning real sound quality to get a better idea of the system. I know its too early to say this, but now I'm thinking the CDT classic may not be enough speaker for that sweet McIntosh amp.
03-09-2008, 08:50 PM
#12
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
Getting ansy as I wait for my sub box to arrive, it ships ina day or two. So I took out my sub to admire it and study it closely.
Last edited by plac; 03-09-2008 at 09:03 PM.
03-10-2008, 05:39 PM
#13
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
The CDT passive crossover boxes:
These two pics show my passive crossovers moved from under my front floormats to the back of my amp rack. I used 3M tape again. The tape is so strong I had to use a screwdriver to pry them off the front floor.
My wiring work. I soldered, then shrink wrapped with my heat gun, then double shink wrapped again:
I soldered my crimp connections also. First I lightly crimped, then I soldered for backup:
always confused me.. I always figure the white stripe wire is GROUND. But the large spade here has the white striped wire. I also always assumed the large terminal is the POSITIVE. My speakers came with no paper at all so I have no way to make sure.
And finally.. my new tweet locations. Its not a flawless install, but clean enough for now. The pillars are not flat so you can't get the tweet fully flat. But its barely noticable. I def did not want anything crazy like fiberglassed flush mount, although it would look killer. If I ever sell the car I'll just buy new A-pillars.
The stereo sounds amazing now. It became more magical with this new tweet location, and more evenly distributed it seems. I also checked my clipping on my McIntosh amp using that easy power guard light. I found my exact clipping volume. 25. With my IASCA CD at volume 24, no clipping light. Then right at 25, using my deck remote control, the orange power guard light flickers just barely. Now I have to decide what to do about that. Either never use my deck up to volume 25, or turn the gains down a bit. I like to use 25 as my max deck volume.
These two pics show my passive crossovers moved from under my front floormats to the back of my amp rack. I used 3M tape again. The tape is so strong I had to use a screwdriver to pry them off the front floor.
My wiring work. I soldered, then shrink wrapped with my heat gun, then double shink wrapped again:
I soldered my crimp connections also. First I lightly crimped, then I soldered for backup:
always confused me.. I always figure the white stripe wire is GROUND. But the large spade here has the white striped wire. I also always assumed the large terminal is the POSITIVE. My speakers came with no paper at all so I have no way to make sure.
And finally.. my new tweet locations. Its not a flawless install, but clean enough for now. The pillars are not flat so you can't get the tweet fully flat. But its barely noticable. I def did not want anything crazy like fiberglassed flush mount, although it would look killer. If I ever sell the car I'll just buy new A-pillars.
The stereo sounds amazing now. It became more magical with this new tweet location, and more evenly distributed it seems. I also checked my clipping on my McIntosh amp using that easy power guard light. I found my exact clipping volume. 25. With my IASCA CD at volume 24, no clipping light. Then right at 25, using my deck remote control, the orange power guard light flickers just barely. Now I have to decide what to do about that. Either never use my deck up to volume 25, or turn the gains down a bit. I like to use 25 as my max deck volume.
03-12-2008, 11:33 AM
#14
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
Posts: 491
Car Info: 2009 VW GTI
General update:
I have pretty much confirmed there is something going on with the amp. I didn't hear any static for a couple days, but I heard some on this mornings drive for about 30 seconds. Like real obvious static, couldn't go past volume 15. I have to decide if this amp is worth sending off for a refurbish, or just sell it and try to get my money back (or almost get it back...) If I could have any amp FREE in a perfect world, I would take the TRU TO3 4.150. I would even forgo my nice amp rack for that amp, since it wouldnt fit. I would rather have a TRU on a piece of carpeted MDF. But that's just what I dream about, I am not into spending that kind of money again.
Hello, old friend. I miss you so. I forget who bought my amp back in 2003/2004, but it was someone from EliteCarAudio for $750 shipped.
So my options are get my current amp repaired, or buy a different amp for the system. That would let me send off the bad amp at my own pace and not be missing my system. A single McIntosh 4x100 would be nice, but would be a little weak on the sub half for my 10W6v2. A TRU T series 4x100 might be nice, but maybe not quite the look/sound I am shooting for.
Today, my new JL RCA's arrive. I am getting them just to make absolutely sure its the amp. I have the nice series with a 4 channel set and a 2 channel set. I will be using my 4 channel set for now and saving my 2 channel for a rainy day. I already took out my top line Stinger RCAs. I cut up my sub RCA to see if that crease made any damage. Well, it didnt, the wires were all perfect inside. But I do have my front RCA which I will probably sell locally. I prefer someone to test it before they buy it.
I have pretty much confirmed there is something going on with the amp. I didn't hear any static for a couple days, but I heard some on this mornings drive for about 30 seconds. Like real obvious static, couldn't go past volume 15. I have to decide if this amp is worth sending off for a refurbish, or just sell it and try to get my money back (or almost get it back...) If I could have any amp FREE in a perfect world, I would take the TRU TO3 4.150. I would even forgo my nice amp rack for that amp, since it wouldnt fit. I would rather have a TRU on a piece of carpeted MDF. But that's just what I dream about, I am not into spending that kind of money again.
Hello, old friend. I miss you so. I forget who bought my amp back in 2003/2004, but it was someone from EliteCarAudio for $750 shipped.
So my options are get my current amp repaired, or buy a different amp for the system. That would let me send off the bad amp at my own pace and not be missing my system. A single McIntosh 4x100 would be nice, but would be a little weak on the sub half for my 10W6v2. A TRU T series 4x100 might be nice, but maybe not quite the look/sound I am shooting for.
Today, my new JL RCA's arrive. I am getting them just to make absolutely sure its the amp. I have the nice series with a 4 channel set and a 2 channel set. I will be using my 4 channel set for now and saving my 2 channel for a rainy day. I already took out my top line Stinger RCAs. I cut up my sub RCA to see if that crease made any damage. Well, it didnt, the wires were all perfect inside. But I do have my front RCA which I will probably sell locally. I prefer someone to test it before they buy it.
