Hi! :D
I thought some of you might enjoy pictures of a basic audio system complete with component separates, coaxials, a couple amps, and a twelve inch sub in a decent enclosure - all of which is well hidden from prying eyes (except the sub)...

http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/diagram.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/my_element.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/front_amp.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/front_door.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/front_door_closeup.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/rear_door.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/rear_door_closeup.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/sub_amp.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/sub_1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/sub_2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/sub_3.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/wiring.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/audio/bonk.jpg

Jesus Pete!

That's some nuclear audio you've got going on!

Do they hear ya comin'?

They can usually feel me long before they hear me. :wink:

EMASS, with that thing on FULL BLAST you might make your BOX ELEMENT into A CIRCULAR BEETLE :lol: 8) :D :shock:


HEY AT LEAST YOU GET MORE HEADROOM...............RIGHT? :P

maybe i'm wrong, and correct me if I am, but isnt it usually not a good thing to mix and match components? i.e. if you have jl speakers in the front, you should have them in the back as well.

I could have sworn that I had heard that somewhere before. maybe i'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

Where is the best place to bring the power leads from the battery through the firewall? Also, take some silicone spray to that engine bay!
Nice setup.

[quote:d502601545="katchwreck"]maybe i'm wrong, and correct me if I am, but isnt it usually not a good thing to mix and match components? i.e. if you have jl speakers in the front, you should have them in the back as well.

I could have sworn that I had heard that somewhere before. maybe i'm wrong, feel free to correct me.[/quote:d502601545]

It's extremely common to mix and match components. The reason many people have the idea that it's bad is because all of the competition vehicles they see generally have components from the same vendor. This is usually because they are sponsored (read: paid) to use a specific brand.

I try hard to choose the best sounding product for each application in my vehicles and as with anything "the best" products are always consistently changing. New manufacturers displace old ones and sometimes old manufacturers return to greatness.

3 years ago I was using Eclipse head units, MB Quart for fronts & rears, PPI amps, & JL Audio Subs. I would have never in my wildest dreams have thought I'd use MTX for amps (MTX was considered junk for a long time), drop MB Quart components (they got too bright sounding - quality went downhill), and I never, ever thought I'd start using Eclipse subs over JL audio. IMO - Focal now has the most natural sounding mid/high component set I've ever heard for under $400 - and I've listened to a LOT of component sets. To me, the Eclipse subs have the smoothest, most musical response of any sub - ever. :shock:

So the only thing that I remained brand-loyal to over the past 3 years is the Eclipse head unit!

Anyway - based on my sound prefs, this combination gets me to my favorite audio sound sweet spot - silky smooth highs, crisp mids, and tight warm musical bass. (I oughta be in product marketing - huh?:lol:)

I'd certainly agree in theory that it sounds like a good idea to stick with the same brand but FWIW I've never come across a single manufacturer that could do everything really well. :D (and believe me - I'm such an Eclipse fanatic I only WISH that someday they can do it all well)

P.S. I chose the JL's for the rear doors because they are a warm sounding coaxial with very respectable (not harsh) tweets. The reality is that in any good system, you fade down the back speakers quite a bit anyway though so they don't compete with the front soundstage - rather they just supplement it for the back seat listeners. Most people looking for sound quality just use them for filler.

[quote:7ffbdd08fa="Black Elephant"]Where is the best place to bring the power leads from the battery through the firewall? Also, take some silicone spray to that engine bay!
Nice setup.[/quote:7ffbdd08fa]

In the picture above where the wiring at the battery is shown - you can actually see the spot on the firewall where the wires have been routed through.

...and you're absolutely right about needing a good healthy dose of silicon spray for the bay. :oops:

Major props! Beautiful installation and great documentation.

Beauuuuuuuutiful.......

Definitely don't have to worry about a muddy middle there. Crisp, clear highs and BOOMING lows I'm sure.

B

eMass, where did that power cord of blue wires go from the battery thru the dash to? Did you have to drill a hole, or use an existing hole that had something already going thru? I tried an existing hole that had a grommet around it, but could not see or find it on the underside of the dash for my power to the ham radio. I ran mine from the battery to between the fender and body to the door where I brought it under the door weatherizing stuff and into the cab. Looks like it "might" pinch, but I do not think so.

Ger

SICK!

Nice work eMass!

Drew

i ran my power cord along the left fender also, but i made a hole just large enough for it to go through with a grommet close to where the hood release wire is run. you can find the area by simply following the hood realease wire, or by removing the plastic side panel where the front wheel is. i managed to run it without having to remove the outside panel with some tricky use of a coathanger and a small drill to make the hole.

Just bumping this thread since a lot of people have been IM'ing me asking about install specifics. For those folks - please check out the pics and descriptions in this post - they cover a lot.

:?: eMASS,
I bought the JL Audio 6.5's and I am having a hard time getting them to fit. How did you get them to sit flush? I cut out pretty much all of the plastic behind the speakers and they still wouldn't set all the way back. Did you also use the baffels behind these speakers too?
Thanks for your help,
Garth

[quote:9f01c79b2a="gc1021"]:?: eMASS,
I bought the JL Audio 6.5's and I am having a hard time getting them to fit. How did you get them to sit flush? I cut out pretty much all of the plastic behind the speakers and they still wouldn't set all the way back. Did you also use the baffels behind these speakers too?
Thanks for your help,
Garth[/quote:9f01c79b2a]

I used a trim ring on the JL's which keeps the speaker depth out of the door cavity just enough - also, no baffles on these but I bet adding baffles with or instead of trim rings would give you plenty of depth to work with - only concern with using both is the height protruding into the grille.

Where'd your pictures run off to? I was hoping to see how you had your amplifier under your seat mounted.

All of the personal web sites at Comcast are down today. Should be up soon though according to them. :evil:

Please fill me in, what is silicone spray for in the engine compartment, is it that engine detailer stuff or something better.

It's just silicone in an aerosol can. It repels water and makes plastic and rubber look new. You should be able to get it at just about any place that sells car cleaners, etc.

eMass, ur gonna leave it like that? all in the open? or are u gonna cover those speakers and the amp where the stock subbie was?

Um, no. Thos pictures just show everything exposed so you can see where everything is installed. The door grills and sub cover go back on and hide everything.

kool, it must sound awsome

Hey Emass:

How is the eclipse sub? Thinking of getting one, or a JL W6V2. Is it a tight sound in the Element. Thanks.

Nate

I love the Eclipse sub, but you'll probably bejusta as happy with either - both are great subs!

[quote:13ad59b796=" "]eMass, where did that power cord of blue wires go from the battery thru the dash to? Did you have to drill a hole, or use an existing hole that had something already going thru? I tried an existing hole that had a grommet around it, but could not see or find it on the underside of the dash for my power to the ham radio. I ran mine from the battery to between the fender and body to the door where I brought it under the door weatherizing stuff and into the cab. Looks like it "might" pinch, but I do not think so.

Ger[/quote:13ad59b796]

If your E is an automatic there should be a grommet (under the floor covering) in the spot where the hydraulics for the clutch go into the engine compartment high and to the left of the brake pedal. My E is a standard trans so I had to drill a hole for my power wires and siren wire for my alarm.
If you have to drill be careful of the power steering drum and plumbing for the master cylinder. Your install could have disasterous consequences if you do not have a fused link to the battery. I have seen some ugly things happen to cars (mostly amp installs with big power wires) that the "installer" didn't use a fuse under the hood and ended up turning the power wire into welding cable and really messing up thier car. Be extremely careful and respectful of the power of the battery in your car.

Eclipse 8443

Dei Viper Neo 5.25 components front and rear.
(tweeters installed on the c pillar)

Memphis Belle mc-1300d (5 channel amp)

115x4 and 1100x1 (underrated according to the birth sheet)

Resonant Engineering HC 12" in a 1" mdf enclosure which btw is built to the spec's for SQ on the site where you buy RE subs.

That site is www.respl.com

Very very loud. Very clean. the box is a fair amount larger than yours though but still enough useable room to throw a quad bowling ball bag in there wo messing with the front seats

I also have the 8443 and I love it. Question, how do you have your time alignment set up. mine is
tweeters =dash
vehicle type =suv
rear =door

Have you had any luck with a better setting?



[quote:6a3b34630c=" "]Eclipse 8443

Dei Viper Neo 5.25 components front and rear.
(tweeters installed on the c pillar)

Memphis Belle mc-1300d (5 channel amp)

115x4 and 1100x1 (underrated according to the birth sheet)

Resonant Engineering HC 12" in a 1" mdf enclosure which btw is built to the spec's for SQ on the site where you buy RE subs.

That site is www.respl.com

Very very loud. Very clean. the box is a fair amount larger than yours though but still enough useable room to throw a quad bowling ball bag in there wo messing with the front seats[/quote:6a3b34630c]

Man that looks like one sweet system.
:twisted:
I am about to install 2 10" subs in a box in my E.
I was just wondering, do you get much vibration from the internal parts of the E? Like the door molding and stuff like that.
I am considering investing in some sound dampening material to line some of the interior.
In particular I wonder about the rear where the sub actually sits. Does the spare cover that it sits on vibrate much? It seems like its not really locked down or anything. I also noticed the piece of plastic between the gate and the rear compartment looks like it would vibrate against the gate when closed.

Nope, I really get very little (if no) vibration. You could invest in sound dampning materials but I'd only do it if you also are investing in a much better system. The spare tire cover and plastic folding gate do not vibrate audibly and probably won't unless you get much crazier with subs and wattage. :D

I will say this.

The element is a sob to install stuff in. and hide the wires... I hate installin things under cars and unless you have a gift it will be nigh impossible to put a-o gauge in the e wo running it on the outside.

I stepped up to 2 gauge power kit. which is fine for the amp I have. Though I would normally run 1 gauge or larger.

/shrug. intsalling everything at once took about 10 hrs. 2 of those were spent finding the factory sub amp. (pass kick panel.)
sucks sucks sucks
only broke 1 piece the little triangle piece at the window. cost like 12.79
pri from the corner out then up instead of pullin from the window side striaght out like 99% of all cars/trucks

How big is your amp that you need to install 0 or 1 gauge power wiring? 4 gauge wiring handles about a 1400 watt system while 0 gauge covers up to about 3500 watts.

Did you stuff a 3000+ watt audio system in your E? If so, I gotta see that! :D

I have to agree, Installing in the E is pretty insane. As far as the stereo goes. I spent a little time trying to install an amp and sub last weekend.
I ended up taking it down to the local Best Buy where I bought the amp. It took the installer there about 3 hours to install one amp.
I was totally lost with the built in sub and amp.
Anyway, at least its installed.
Installed the computer and touch screen yesterday on my own.

(pics will be coming soon) :)

[quote:698f9eca58=" "](pics will be coming soon) :)[/quote:698f9eca58]

yay!

-brendan

The memphis amp is capable of about 1340 to 1375 rms at 1ohm for the sub channel and up to 150 to 165 watts x 4 at 2 ohm stereo.

So 4 gauge could choke it a little. Plus slightly bigger is better.

Having issues with the memphis xover now though.

Seems like the sub xover is not working but the xover for the front and rear works for the sub... which means either i get no highs from my front or back channel so i have a sub. or i get highs going to my sub... and it would not take long to blow a sub with 1100 w of highs going to it.

other than that it sounds nice still...
even wo/ the sub... just missin a lot of punch...

I have looked on the JL Audio webpage and only the present years speakers are shown.

Would you still use those or have you found something else you would use?

Please include a link to where I may buy them.........

Thanks

Dave

[quote:c355822f4a=" "]I have looked on the JL Audio webpage and only the present years speakers are shown.

Would you still use those or have you found something else you would use?

Please include a link to where I may buy them.........

Thanks

Dave[/quote:c355822f4a]

Not much has changed in this year's JL model line so there's really no reason to avoid the new ones.

Here is what I found to be the same as yours. Are these the present year equal to yours from last years. These will be going in my rear doors.

They will replace some 5.5 Boston Acustics that were sold to me at Ultimate Electronics sold to me and installed. Im more dissatisfied with the system that Ultimate Electronics then when the new engine on my boat had to be replaced this past spring.

Dave

[quote:8ccb7adb3e=" "]Here is what I found to be the same as yours. Are these the present year equal to yours from last years. These will be going in my rear doors.

They will replace some 5.5 Boston Acustics that were sold to me at Ultimate Electronics sold to me and installed. Im more dissatisfied with the system that Ultimate Electronics then when the new engine on my boat had to be replaced this past spring.

Dave[/quote:8ccb7adb3e]

The very first post in this thread clearly details these speakers as TR650-CXI's. The VR's you mention are a step better. If you're dissatisfied with the sound of Boston Acoustics then you may not like these either since the BA's are probably better than the TR or VR series of JL Audio speakers. BTW, the TR650-CXI's are still listed on JL's site at: http://www.jlaudio.com/evolution/TR650CX.html

I am a bit confused however about why you are so discriminating about rear door speaker selection since most people just buy a decent set of midrange drivers and turn them way down just to achieve a fuller soundstage for the back seat listeners. Generally people want the soundstage to sound like it's coming from up high in the front - just like it would be if you sat in the front row of a live concert.

[quote:98aafd2717=" "]I have to agree, Installing in the E is pretty insane. As far as the stereo goes. I spent a little time trying to install an amp and sub last weekend.
I ended up taking it down to the local Best Buy where I bought the amp. It took the installer there about 3 hours to install one amp.
I was totally lost with the built in sub and amp.
Anyway, at least its installed.
[/quote:98aafd2717]


SERIOUSLY...I thought I was REALLY comfortable with doing this on my own (especially with all the help Emass has given me as well as others on this forum)...but DANG I'm not ready to cut and snip anywhere as of yet.

In the end, my fear of screwing it up has done me in.

I'm ready to breakdown and give in to the local audio installer. I'm also considering Circuit City which I know is a general no-no, but they've said they've done a few Elements...but of course, they'll be my last choice.

Should I be worried if my local installer has never worked on an Element before?

[quote:dd7a5aedde=" "]Should I be worried if my local installer has never worked on an Element before?[/quote:dd7a5aedde]

As long as you have seen the kind of work they can do and/or have a couple good references on the installer you should have nothing to worry about.

:shock: VERY DOPE SETUP! I just had a quick question. For your sub in the back, does it shift a lot when you drive and take turns? or is it bolted down somehow. thanks again!
KVN

It's not bolted down. It has some nice rubber feet on it and does not seem to slide at all since it's really heavy. That being said, speed bumps do make it move a bit if I take them too fast.

hello emass,

nice work on the E. just wondering how you managed to get that big of an amp under the passenger seat. i can barely even fit my punch 40 under there. i was planning on getting a bigger amp so that's why i'm contacting the man. did you have to cut into that air duct there. i can't tell from the picture. what did you do with the wire harness to the seat too.

in advance, thank you.

Eddel Veloso

We had to cut the plastic tray underneath the seat to drop the amp down a bit. I had no problem with this since the plastic piece is easy to replace and costs less than $30 if I ever need to return things to stock condition.

We also used some urethane bolt spacers to bring the amp up just enough to feed the heating tubes under and out the finished back end of the plastic tray where they normally come out - there's no loss in functionallity.

Also, IIRC the seat wiring harness was not an issue since it was positioned along the side of the seat I think. One thing to be careful of is disconnecting the seat to airbag sensor - it has to be reset at the computer if you break the connection or the ABS light will come on after and stay on. Not a big deal though - just do a search for the reset procedure or simply try to keep it connected.