phenryiv1 325ic Stereo Install & Interior Thread

[AndrewBird]

Fancy!

[phenryiv1]

The brand new E34 Premium speakers arrived. I had resisted ordering these, trying to buy used. I should have just bought new from the beginning.

[phenryiv1]

Will be interesting to see how they are in a vert application. If it is a success I will consider adding one to each of my cars.

This is the same model used in military simulators and high-end home theater setups. I have high hopes for tactile feel in the absence of actual SPL.

[rcsoundn1]

Will be interesting to see how they are in a vert application. If it is a success I will consider adding one to each of my cars.

[phenryiv1]

Im interested to see how this works. I have heard of them and always wondered if they were worth the trouble.

We shall soon find out.

[rcsoundn1]

Im interested to see how this works. I have heard of them and always wondered if they were worth the trouble.

[phenryiv1]

The Clark Synthesis TST329 transducer arrived:





Looks like the measurements from the spec sheet were accurate. Fitting an 8" disc between the seat rails should not be an issue.



Bad picture but my mock-up was pretty accurate:



And the test fit of the actual unit shows that the fit should be spot on.

[phenryiv1]

It likely that the VC got crushed during shipping. I have crap aftermarket speaks all around in my car. At some point I will go back to premium sound speakers because when I had them in my 2dr they rocked.

Hopefully the 935 are worth the money.

I am (literally) searching right now for a new HU with less glare. Prospects are dim (no pun intended).

[rcsoundn1]

It likely that the VC got crushed during shipping. I have crap aftermarket speaks all around in my car. At some point I will go back to premium sound speakers because when I had them in my 2dr they rocked.

[phenryiv1]

Frustrating night in terms of the stereo install.

So a month or so back I got a set of the Premium E34 speakers - front, rear, tweeters. Unfortunately, one of the fronts had some shipping damage so the seller said he would send me a replacement...but it was all rear speakers.

I decided last night to try to install them anyway but the process was a failure.

Removed the existing Pioneer coaxials. Not bad speakers, in terms of cost : performance ratio. Pioneer TS-A speakers are far from the worst option in the cheap coaxial category.



Wired up the GAS passive crossover network (PCN) and installed it in the kick panel:



Installed the (damaged) E34 woofer:



Fired it up and the speaker was damaged beyond just visual issues. It huffed and chuffed and sounded generally horrible. Having only 1 other in the pair (the rest are all rears) I decided to go with something new rather than searching for a "mate" to the remaining 608 that was undamaged.

I nearly ordered a set of the Pioneer TS-D1320C or TS-D1330C but I decided to stick with Luke's recommendation of the E34 Premium woofers and ordered a new set of the 65138370935 woofers from ECS Tuning. I hate paying ~$85 for a pair of stock midranges (the TS-D sets can be had - complete- for about the same price) but if they sound best, I guess that is the way to go.

http://www.ecstuning.com/ES181850/

Now I wait.

[phenryiv1]

I have been sitting on the stereo install for a while, doing a little bit at a time. I have the GAS enclosure for my 'vert but with 2 little kids I just don't know if it is the right way to go. I drive with the top down 98% of the time (I drive my WRX if it is supposed to rain) and even with the GAS setup I lose nearly all of the SPL to the open cabin. With the top up it will be different but I don't put the top up unless I am stuck in an unexpected storm.

This got me thinking, which can be dangerous. I started researching other convertibles- Miatas, S2000s, etc. Several use (from the factory or recommended in aftermarket installs) some variation of a tactile transducer. Some Miatas even came with them. So I looked at the various options from AuraSound, ButtKicker, Clark Synthesis, Dayton, and ADX. After much research, I settled on the Clark models, specifically the TST209 or TST329.

http://www.parts-express.com/clark-synthesis-tst209-tactile-transducer-bass-shaker--300-861

http://www.parts-express.com/clark-synthesis-tst329-gold-tactile-transducer-bass-shaker--300-862

I talked to the engineers from Clark about mounting, powering, and other technical tomfoolery and decided on a single TST329 under my seat (I rarely run the stereo with passengers) for the time being. The 329 is about 180% as powerful as the 209, given the same input.

After a mockup using the finest quality cardboard and running the seat through all possible positions to be certain that there was no interference, I was ready to order.



Powering this is tricky, as they have a narrow band of acceptable power - basically 75W (minimum) to 150W (max). Rated max is actually 135W but ~10% over is not an issue unless I am cranking it. I was all set to buy a small Alpine amp that put 150W mono into a 4 ohm load when I decided to check my storage cabinet in the shop. I found this little beauty from a past install:



Typically they were under-rated so while the specs are 2x25 @ 4 ohms or 1x100 @ 2 ohms (into a 4 ohm load) my guess is that this will push closer to 125-135...pretty much perfect for the TST329. If I don't like it I still have the GAS enclosure and subs and can buy a bigger amp. The return policy on the TST329 is pretty liberal for the first 45 days.

[robrez]

I believe I was able to install the large magnet front e34 speaker in my vert's rear speaker location. It was tight but it fit. I'll doublecheck the part number when I'm home.

[phenryiv1]

Nothing major here but I finally got tired of the glare on my Pioneer HU. My daily WRX has a double DIM touch screen Pioneer with an anti-glare screen but this single DIN has really bad glare.

Amazon and other sites had glare shields for $10-15 but I went to WalMart and got some phone screen protectors from discontinued model phones for $1. Not that I need that much coverage but $1 got me enough for 8 screen covers.

I did a quick test and it works well. Now I will take some of the remaining material and do a more precise cut and coverage job.



Additionally, I got tired of the ashtray (which I use for storage) having those metal tabs to tamp and hold a cigarette. They got in the way and stuff got lost under them so 30 seconds with a pair of pliers and I removed them, converting my ashtray to a storage tray.

[phenryiv1]

Subbed as I'm doing an audio job in my vert at the moment as well.

When you get more into speaker install, could you post a picture of the hardware for the rear speakers? My car came with both rear speakers uninstalled and no hardware in sight. I'd like to see what was used originally.

Here is the rear speaker mounting configuration:





Looks like 1 point attaches to the bracket on the inside of the body and the rest of the mounting points are just a part of the interior panel. I may employ some bracing to augment that.

Also, the rest of my e34 midrange speakers arrived:



These all seem to be 547 models. Passenger side front and rear.

I am so confused now about what the "good" e34 drivers are that I can't think straight. Luke noted them to be large magnet SVC but the part number that he posted (935, which superseded the 608s) is a large magnet with DVC. The location that was posted is actually a small magnet SVC, or at least it was in every e34 (with premium) that the seller was parting- and he had 4 of them.

[exhaust]

That would be great!