My Amplifier / Capacitor / Stereo Install

[rthouck]

Ok, so first off I'm not a stereo guy. But a year or two ago I got an old truck that only one speaker worked in, long story short I replaced the speakers with some mid level aftermarkets and loved having crisp, clear sound.

Because of all the nightmares I've seen about working with the Mach 460 systems, when I decided to put a Nav system in my Cobra I thought it would be best to replace everything.

I ended up using a Sony XNV-770BT head unit with Infinity Reference components up front and a similar version of their rear speaker. Since the stock unit used amplifiers I didn't want to be out done and got a Boston Acoustic's GTA-1105 Five channel amp. And since our charging systems suck, a 2 Farad Capacitor (at that point whats another $80 anyway).

I sourced a lot of stuff off ebay and waited for Crutchfield to have a sale BOGO on the Infinity speakers, to keep the prices low.


Anyway the point of this thread is to show where I ended up putting the Amp, I searched for pictures of installs before this and couldn't find too many I liked because most of the time they take up a ton of trunk space.

This isn't really a "How to" this is just to show what I did and give anyone else some options in their install.

Also the fact that I'm driving a convertible made it about a thousand times more difficult.

Final install:

To do it I basically used the trunk pieces as a pattern and a lot of back and forth fitting.

I made some holes for the wires and some just to lose extra material and lighten the mounting board up.

Then I ordered some carpet off ebay and covered it:

I ran out of heavy gauge wire and didn't want to run tons of extra as there was enough wiring running around the car as it was. I tried not to cross any or bundle it do to interference but this meant I had to wire it all when mounted: terrible idea.

I'm going to work on installing my sub next. It's an Infinity 120.9 and its way bigger than I thought it was going to be.

 

[Tunedprt91]

Nice your trunk setup is similar to mine. Any pics of the radio install? How does everything sound with the top down? I havent had my top down yet but everything sounds great with it up.

 

[TwinTurbo4vGT]

Capacitors are a big waste of money. They don't store enough power to do anything really. Should of put that $80 towards something more useful like a 200 amp alternator

 

[rthouck]

These are the only two I snapped of the head unit. Nothing much to see it looks just every other IMO.

Like I said I'm not a stereo buff but from the research I did capacitor's do what they're intended to do, supply quick current in times of need. Like songs with heavy bass, for my Infinity 120.9 sub.

I still plan on installing a high capacity amp as they're not designed to "band aid" strained systems, which a lot of people seem to think they do.


I think it sounds great with the top down, it's more than loud enough and because of the nice speakers stays crystal clear. I still need to adjust the high and low passes and set the gains a little better but I'm saving the fine tuning until the install is finished with the sub in place. I'll post some pics of the box once I get it finished.

(side note: the floormats where in it when I got it, I keep forgetting to order new ones)

 

[black 10th vert]

Good call on replacing those floor mats! They look like something that would be more at home in an F-series truck, or something. Good job with the stereo install. I upgraded my headunit several years ago to a Pioneer F700BT nav. I bought the correct harness adapters though, and was able to use the existing Mach460 amps and speakers. It sounds way better than the the stock stereo did, but probably not as nice as good aftermarket speakers and amps would. Doesn't matter to me, though, since I only drive top down, and rarely even play the radio at all since my car is so loud between the Bassani full exhaust, and the Whipple. I had thought of adding a sub at some point just so I could "feel" the music better without having to jack the volume so high that everyone for miles can hear it.

 

[rthouck]

I hate to say it but a small amount of my motivation to add a stereo is related to people driving near me blasting ghetto rap music. Normally I would use the whipple and the long tubes to drown them out but I get a little joy out of turning up some Jason Aldean louder than their rap music.

 

[Anabolic]

i love how undereducated idiots say capacitors do nothing

 

[cobracide]

Capacitors are recommended at a rate of 1 farad per 500 watts of RMS power. You should be about two farads on a typical install.

 

[sxecobra]

I was scratching my head wen I saw the floor mats.. lol

 

[MAX86GT]

i love how undereducated idiots say capacitors do nothing

Why bash the guys that don't know.....educate us!!

 

[rthouck]

I know you weren't asking me but Crutchfield.com was my source for a large amount of research for my project. This is directly from their site (and it makes sense).

"Big bass sucks up a lot of power, and most car electrical systems aren't equipped to deal with it. A capacitor acts as a buffer between your amps and your car's battery. You connect the cap inline on the power cable from your battery, as close to the amp location as possible. It stores up power from your battery, then releases it instantly to satisfy your amp's demand for the power needed to reproduce a big bass hit."

Q: What's a capacitor?
A: A capacitor, or cap, is an electronic component that can take up, store, and discharge electrical energy. Because they can do all that quickly, capacitors are used to filter or buffer any sudden changes in a circuit's voltage, smoothing the ensuing signal.

Q: What size cap should I get?
A: The rule of thumb is to put in 1 Farad of capacitance for every 1,000 watts RMS of total system power. But there is no electronic penalty for using larger value caps, and in fact, many see benefits with 2 or 3 Farads per 1,000 watts RMS. The larger the cap, the faster it gets ready for the amp's next big hit.

Q: Even if my lights don't dim, won't a cap still improve my system's low end response and overall sound?
A: Not really. A cap prevents the sound from deteriorating due to under-voltage, but doesn't actually improve the sound. It supports the amplifier by feeding it the power it needs for short bursts. So, while not improving sound quality directly, a cap does make it easier for the amp to perform its best.

 

[Instigator99]

Of course Crutchfield would recommend capacitors...they sell them. When a JL engineer tells you that caps are pointless. you tend to listen, just sayin.


-Eric

 

[rthouck]

They do sell them. But they sell a lot of stuff and they didn't recommend all of it during my install. While this is one of the most (if not the most) highly debated topic I can find in car stereo's the facts don't really change much.

Capacitors do put another load on the alternator. But if you're within normal operating limits that's not a problem. And they also do what they're intended to do - supply voltage quickly when needed. As I said they will not band aid a dying (spell checked it - "dieing" is not a word) electrical system just do their job when songs with heavy bass are on.

As for JL Audio - well I priced several amps from them. And they make (IMO) some of the best audio equipment out there. It's also some of the most expensive, amplifiers come with built in capacitors and I'm sure JL doesn't skimp out there, probably one of the reasons their stuff is so nice (but expensive). But since the 5 channel amps they sell range from about $500 to $1000 it wasn't realistic for my project. I almost bought a used one off eBay for the price of my new Boston Acoustic but car audio equipment is something I don't trust used (abused way to often). So for my build I think the Boston Acoustics 5 channel with a capacitor (which kept me around $250) was the way to go. Also as I said I'm not a car stereo guy so mid-level or even entry level aftermarket is a huge improvement to my relatively unsensitive ear.

 

[03 DSG Snake]

Any pics of the doors?

 

[rthouck]

I could get you some but they look identical to stock with the panels on.

 

[03 DSG Snake]

I could get you some but they look identical to stock with the panels on.

The speaker install is what I wanted to see.

 

[Fox-4]

Pics on how you placed the tweeters?

 

[michael.heying]

I agree that the cap is totally necessary, in my old lowered Dakota I had two kenwood 12's bridged at 2 ohms, and a 2000 watt 1 ohm stable amp, when I would get the "ghetto system" bumping you could see my lights dimming every time a bass drop occurred.

After the 1 farad cap inline my dimming issues were solved.

I digress!

 

[MTBSully]

so your running all 4 speakers and the sub off the one amp? How much was it if you dont mind me asking?

 

[rthouck]

I copied the tweeter install from someone else, he used vinyl siding to make an adapter I just used a piece of plastic I had laying around and cut it out with some tin snips. My tweeters were fairly large so I had to put the adapter on the inside rather than the outside like he did but same concept.

The stock door speakers come in this plastic enclosure:

I didn't realize it until I took it out, then I had to find a way to reinstall it (just used some screws) but the speakers I got fit perfectly in place.

And then I mounted the crossover with some double sided tape to the door panel.

The Amplifier I'm using is a Boston Acoustics 5 channel (GTA-1105 - they stopped making it). But it was designed to run everything, so its pretty big but does the job wonderfully. If I remember I was able to get someone down to about $220-250 on ebay (new), I think there's one on there right now for about $300.