Anyone upgraded their stereo system?

NYC LS8 said:
Stock head unit:

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Pioneer AVIC-D3 (with the same trunk set-up above):

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Have to bring this thread back up! NYC you had the amp & sub hooked up to the factory radio correct? I want to replace my 6x8 subs with full range 6x9's & put a speaker in the back like you have. Did you have to rewire anything or did you use the existing wring & all?
 
Dennis, if you want to use full range 6x9's in the rear shelf, your best bet is to disconnect the rear door speakers, and use those 2 channels for the 6x9's. The stock subs in the rear shelf are only for lower frequencies, and I believe they filter out the higher frequencies using the rear setup the way it comes from the factory.
 
My rear speakers sound like they are "flapping" around - do these blow or go bad easily? The first owner was an older fellow so I don't think they were abused before I got the car.

What do these rear 6x9 subs sell for?
 
pektel said:
Dennis, if you want to use full range 6x9's in the rear shelf, your best bet is to disconnect the rear door speakers, and use those 2 channels for the 6x9's. The stock subs in the rear shelf are only for lower frequencies, and I believe they filter out the higher frequencies using the rear setup the way it comes from the factory.
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That's what I plan on doing, but I also want to run a bass tube or box like NYC off the wires currently running the factory subs. This can be done correct? Or am I seeing NYC post the wrong way?:confused:
 
DENNISJR60 said:
That's what I plan on doing, but I also want to run a bass tube or box like NYC off the wires currently running the factory subs. This can be done correct? Or am I seeing NYC post the wrong way?:confused:
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Are you saying that you are trying to run a sub off the factory amp using the wires that are connected to the 6x9 wires?
 
DENNISJR60 said:
That's what I plan on doing, but I also want to run a bass tube or box like NYC off the wires currently running the factory subs. This can be done correct? Or am I seeing NYC post the wrong way?:confused:
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Yes, you can tap into the wiring using a Line Out converter. This will convert those wires into rca connections. Then you run the RCA's from there to your aftermaket amplifier.
 
I line out converter can be used the only problem is you may get some alternator whine if it is not hokkesd up correctly. You will be better off upgrading the whole system. I currently have the following in my car.

2000 LS V8 Black on Black
Pioneer Avic N2 flip up screen
2 alpine 1" dome tweeters in the center console
2 Rockford Fosgate 5.25" power series 3 way component in the front doors
2 Polk audio 6.5" coax in the rear doors( going to change those over to the Fosgate
5.25" coax later)
2 Rockford Fosgate 6x9" 3 way in the rear deck
2 12" TMA( they are made by JLaudio. considered 12w3's) in the trunk.)
1 MTX TA5601 for the subs
1 MXT TA5604 for the doors
1 JLaudio e2150 for the 6x9"s
1 farad cap.
2 gauge wire
1 sound stream BX10 sound maximizer (same as a epicenter but less money)

I am going to redo the system in the trunk this summer and am adding some Lexan to the amp rack with the Lincoln logo, lit up with blue led's. Trying to maximize my trunk space. might also get rid of the mtx amps and replace with Alpine PDX amps. they are much smaller.
 
dlo sounds good. Im always wanting to maximize trunk space, i was thinking about building a false floor for the amps, but these trunk are not high at all, so im still thinking. Anyway keep us update on your build
 
The speakers in the rear factory sub are 6x8/5x7 type. I just replaced mine with some JBL GTO 5x7 2way and what a difference it has made. The oem ones had started to crackle real bad. I can hear the bass way better than the oem ones ever did. But I do agree that the rear door speakers are in such a spot as to not really contribute to the sound very well. I think the next thing for me is to upgrade the front door speakers with some 3 ways.
 
LEOV5 said:
The speakers in the rear factory sub are 6x8/5x7 type. I just replaced mine with some JBL GTO 5x7 2way and what a difference it has made. The oem ones had started to crackle real bad. I can hear the bass way better than the oem ones ever did. But I do agree that the rear door speakers are in such a spot as to not really contribute to the sound very well. I think the next thing for me is to upgrade the front door speakers with some 3 ways.
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Front speakers to components does make a big difference in clarity. Check out how clear this is on just some cheap Eclipse SP5700 component speakers. Even my 2 year old loves it lol:

YouTube- kid likes the sub
 
Does anyone with subs in there trunk have that little rattle noise from the trunk lid and that grey cover inside the trunk that hides the reverse light wires? I think its made of fiberglass with carpet on one side? I can hear it a little in my car on certain higher bass frequencies. I was thinkin about maybe using some spray glue and felt to try and eliminate it. Its not a severe rattle like license plates against the bumper. Just a tappin/slight rattle.
 
I've got an '06 Premium that came with the Audiophile (12 speaker) system. I pulled the head unit and put a Pioneer Premiere F90BT in. I posted a thread for the install with pics here in the LS forum.

I now have Infinity Kappa Components in the front - the tweeters are mounted in the sail panels by the windows, and the crossovers and woofers are mounted in the doors.

Infinity Kappa Coaxials are in the rear doors - direct-fit replacement from the stock Mach speakers that were there.

The door speakers are currently driven from the Pioneer F90BT head unit, and actually sound pretty good. Factory 6x9 woofers are currently hooked up to the Pioneer head unit, but are being driven from the factory sub amp that is between them.

I bought (and have started to install), 2 10" Alpine Type R DVC subs in a custom box made for the LS trunk by Concept Enclosures (Ebay store).
I have an Alpine PDX 4.150 amp ready to drive the door speakers, and a Kicker ZX 750.1 sub amp to drive the Alpines, with a Tsunami 5F cap. The amps will receive RCA's from the Pioneer that will be routed through the center of the car to avoid interference from power lines along the side. After I make the amp mounting boards and cover with matching trunk liner (identical to LS' liner found at parts-express.com), I will install the amps and wiring to complete the setup. LoudLS has been willing to help me with the wiring to ensure that it's done right.

I have initially decided to leave the factory 6x9 subs in the deck (but obviously disconnected), as Loud indicated that the Alpines will still be able to get enough sound into the cabin of the car from other places. The rear deck on an '06 is a pain to remove due to the C-Pillars having permanent retaining clips from the air bags that are in the headliner.


TRU
 
tru blu can we see pics of your tweeter mounted, I want to mount mine some where but want a nice factory look
 
I actually wish I would've mounted mine differently. If I were to do it again, I would put them near where the A pillar meets the headliner.
 
SSmith, here's a few shots (excuse the crappy BlackBerry quality) of the Kappa tweeter in the sail panel:

IMG00020-20100625-1535.jpg


IMG00021-20100625-1536.jpg


I'll also include one of the custom sub box I bought from Concept Enclosures(even though you probably aren't interested in it). It's a great fit and matches the rest of the trunk perfectly:

IMG00022-20100625-1541.gif


I was going to use the flush-mounts with the tweeters, but the space behind the sail panel was iffy, so I decided to go with what you see in the pic.

Hope that helped,

TRU
 
tru, i was thinking about put my tweeters there, have you ever thought about fiberglass or bondo around the tweeter
 
Nah, you'd have to be REALLY good to get fiberglass/resin to look somewhat of an OEM design - professional/competition skill level for sure. There would be a lot of challenges to deal with as well - designing the panels to be removable without damaging the shell, paint/color matching, etc.

All in all, I don't think it would be worth the hassle to go that far. While they don't look completely factory, I don't think my tweets look that bad, either. Like I posted earlier, I would have liked to do the flush mount route (it would have definitely looked more factory that way), but I didn't want to take the risk of ruining the sail panels if the housing cup was too deep and couldn't be used. I wouldn't have been able to do the surface mounts after that.

I still have the option of trying the flush mounts, but the initial measuring didn't look like it was in my favor. I decided that it would be better to get them mounted on the surface to make sure I liked what it did to the sound stage of the audio.

TRU
 
pektel said:
I actually wish I would've mounted mine differently. If I were to do it again, I would put them near where the A pillar meets the headliner.
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i would be careful putting the tweeters too close to your head, they will be pretty "bright" in that location and you really dont want to have too much distance between the tweeter and the woofer for proper imaging, also the closer one tweeter is to your head, the bigger the difference is in the distance between your ears and each tweeter is, and then you make time alignment issues worse (some radios do have time correction but its very uncommon) and you really dont want the same sound leaving both tweeters at the exact same time, and arriving at your ears at different times (because the sound from one tweeter has more that twice the distance to travel) for the best imaging, you really want the tweeters to be as close as possible to the same distance away from your ears (which usually means putting them as far away as possible to minimize the difference in distance: like at the base of the a pillar or in the panel closest to the wind shield )

ive worked on a couple of cars that have had tweets mounted real high and it was just too much, kinda gave you a headache.
 
I was thinking about aiming them more towards the glass.

I was talking about it with one of my customers. He was an engineer, and was on one of the teams that originally developed the JBL/Infinity systems in cars. He actually made the suggestion that he would've placed them higher, and aimed slightly towards the glass. We didn't get into too much detail about it.
 
pektel said:
He actually made the suggestion that he would've placed them higher, and aimed slightly towards the glass. We didn't get into too much detail about it.
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thats how a lot of the newer GM's and Nissan's with bose have them, but not too high, about 1/4 of the way up the a pillar.

i did place mine in the panel that has the PATS light and the defrosters pointing up toward the glass, and it does sound great.
 
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