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jdbnsn
09-01-2008, 07:01 PM
I recently traveled back to my folk's house for a visit while I studied for the boards. While there, it occurred to me that I still had all of the equipment from my old stereo system except for a speaker enclosure. I decided to pick up a sheet of MDF, some cheap carpet, and a couple of drawer handles and build an enclosure. The rest was all sitting around gathering dust so I replaced the stock head unit, ran the cables, and built an enclosure for the subs. I wanted to build it with the absolute minimum of modifications or screw-holes on the car itself because it's not exactly my car, until I start getting paid that is. So, no screw holes were needed on the car itself, and all audio hardware is built into the box. The speaker wires, power lines, and signal cables are all run inside the box through holes barely big enough for the wires to pass through and the distribution blocks are mounted inside as well. Then I used a silicone based sealant to seal all of the seams and around the in-running cables from the inside. A second reason that I wanted everything mounted to the speaker enclosure is that if the car does get broken into, everything can be removed with minimal damage to the car itself whereas my old car would need to be trashed to get everything out. The enclosure dimensions were calculated by Rockford Fosgate's online tool as well as the wiring of the subwoofers. It's running 400 watts RMS in a 2 ohm loop which produces pounding bass and fantastic lows. The system would sound better if I had made the enclosure larger (it has just above the minimum recommended airspace for such a system) but I didn't want to give up my whole hatch. Here are some pics...

Here is the Kenwood Deck I mounted to replace the stock unit. It's by far the best head unit I've ever owned, with a mind boggling amount of options to use for tuning your sound. I actually bought this years ago because it was a reasonably priced unit which had aux RCA inputs for my Rockford Fosgate Omnifi (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Yc3ypi5kL8S/learn/reviews/20040227/omnifi_review.html) MP3 20GB storage system (which I did not install this time). And of course, my TomTom :)


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/1.png

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/2.png



Found a handy place to mount the controller for the Audiocontrol Epicenter (audio processor)


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/3.png



Here is the enclosure from the interior of the car, the seats are folded down to reveal the components but normally they cannot be seen. On the left, the Epicenter, middle is a 1 Farad capacitor, and on the right is the Amplifier.


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/4.png

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/5.png

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/6.png

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/7.png



And a view from the hatch...


http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/car/8.png

OvRiDe
09-01-2008, 07:34 PM
Way cool... Man that Epicenter brings back some memories! I used to own a stereo shop, and remember when it was introduced. Man, can they make a difference in a car stereo setup! Great looking install, I am totally digging the aluminum edging around the box. Really gives it a finished look! Looking forward to hearing it in person. :D

Luke122
09-01-2008, 08:40 PM
Yeah, this totally takes me back to my audio days too! I was an installer for a local shop. I never got to build a system like this when I was there (usually just head units and speaker upgrades), but I did build quite a few systems for myself and friends.

Did you have any trouble routing power to the rear? What did you use for a ground point for the amp?

Looks like 4awg wire.. very nice. :D

jdbnsn
09-01-2008, 08:59 PM
yes that's 4awg wire, and the ground just runs under the carpet in the hatch and is bolted to part of the frame.

As for the trim, that's actually not aluminum, it's cheapo plastic trim. I was trying to find something like black plastic or rubber but I looked around and found nothing affordable. I was hoping the trim would have looked alright but it actually looks terrible (maybe it doesn't translate in the pics). In the future, I'll pull that off and use something nicer.

OvRiDe
09-01-2008, 09:36 PM
wow.. from the pics it looked like aluminum, but now that you say what it is, I guess I can see that its transparent. Its doesn't look too bad, but I bet you will come across something that will look better to you.

Luke122
09-02-2008, 12:36 PM
I dont think it looks bad in the pics.. *shrug*

Play any Chumbawumba in there yet?

dfigravity
09-03-2008, 06:40 PM
I think this fits this thread.....

Nice setup btw :)


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jdbnsn
09-03-2008, 06:55 PM
Lmao!!!!!