Installed subwoofer and door speakers

I'd appreciate any comments or even constructive criticism. This is my first time at doing something like this and it's a miracle I got the car back together. I would not doubt, this is most useful as a guide for an example of what not to do But it was a good experience.

I wasn't happy with the stock stereo. Often there was some peaks or valleys in the frequency response that fatigued me after a while. CD was acceptable, not great, but FM hit or miss. Satellite very hit or miss ( mostly miss ). What I ended up with was lots more bass, cleaner vocals, no headache inducing peaks and better stereo separation. It's not sonic bliss by any means, and I realize a head unit would be a step up. But it's enough that I really love listening to CDs again.

The photos ( link below ) tell most of the story. I built my own enclosure. I wanted something small and the driver I chose enabled me to save most of my hatchback space. The enclosure is movable with a hook that unsnaps and some velcro. I just wanted enough bass for fuller music and moderate clean thump when I needed it. I'm using the fader control of the head unit for bass control, but I can also use the EQ of the head unit. Lastly, I added a fader knob to control output the the 2 amp inputs for the bass ( bridged output for rear channels ).

I'm guessing that reusing the stock midrange mounts ( is midrange the right word ? I wanted to say woofer in my photo descriptions but didn't want to confuse with the subwoofer ) helped a bit on the bass response but the Boston SR60 drivers really don't have a lot of bass response.

Here's the link to all the photos. I know there are a lot - just view the thumbnails and skip what you don't want to see. I tried to take photos of most of the steps but missed a few: Zenfolio | TychoBrahe | Prius Shared Stereo

 

Thanks ! Yeah, if I have to carry a large load it will be a pain, you're right. I wanted to put it under a seat but there's not a lot of room, plus I cringed at removing a seat due to the airbag risk. Oh, and the heat too. I wasn't sure if it would dissipate the heat well enough. But after using the amp, it doesn't seem to get very hot so it would probably have been okay. The wires are long enough to at least move the thing around ( enclosure/amp combo ) if I have to, but only for maybe 3 or 4 feet in each direction.

Your point on the terminal post is well taken. After completion I did wish I did something nicer with that part.

 

The cover around the radio snaps right off. Just put something flat and small ( key sized ? But not so sharp as to scratch the plastic ) on the bottom right where there is a gap. Keep gently working your fingers around the cover perimeter and it will come right off. The hazard light switch may need to be disconnected ( or you could let it dangle with the cover ). Then the radio comes out with 4 screws, just like squalllheart mentioned but will be attached by one million harnesses ;-) Take a look at my comments/description on this photo page for the wiring colors: Zenfolio | TychoBrahe | Prius Shared Stereo | Random Images of Head Unit Label and Harnesses

Also, I'll include a horrible drawing I just did in paint.net. The only accurate wire colors in this diagram are the factory head unit speaker outputs. I didn't bother to make accurate amp input colors as I figured you wouldn't have the same amp anyway. I did not bother to break the front speakers down to the components and the potentiometer ( knob fader ) is just something I wanted to do for my setup but you can just ignore it and take the wires straight down to to amp instead. And obviously I left the many feet of speaker wire out of the diagram.

 

It sounds pretty darn good. I'm comparing it to what I had, so I guess it's not a surprise it's better but I'm happy. Nice clean bass but still a little peaky. I'm playing with the gain and EQ a bit and think I have it where I want it. Was definitely worth it and a fun thing to try.

 

I think you would might be satisfied doing that. The speakers I got were only at 90db sensitivity. Using a Polk at 92db or Infinity at 93db will get it about twice as loud. The first thing I did was install the new front door speakers and listened for a week. The factory unit had more trouble powering my speakers but they were very noticeably better. Clearer, more dynamic, better presence / stereo separation. But needs more power, like you said. I did not find that my amp output was unacceptable with my medium efficiency spearkers but you would probably be better off with something around 93 db. Also, my speakers had less output on the mid and low bass than the stock speakers.

To me, and this is very subjective and hard to get a handle on, adding just new front speakers improved the sound around 15 to 20 %. Adding the amp another 10 to 15% and adding the subwoofer another 15 to 20%. I think each piece in the chain can be the weak link. I've heard every opinion on what's the most important piece in the chain and they are across the board.

 

I'm just not sure. I remember from the manual for the stereo it mentioned that you could also see a display of what the air pressure was for each tire. When I asked my salesman about that he said that feature ( and the backup camera ) only came on really expensive cars. So, since the manual mentions it I assume the radio must have the ability ( hence the connector ) ?

One thing I notice is that people debate whether to change the speakers first ( or at all ), the head unit first, an amp first. Honestly, I have no clue and the more I read the more confused I get because there are a lot of people vouching they did it their way and it worked out for them. All I know is I was not ready to replace the head unit and did what I could to make the quality acceptable - at least for now. I remember right after I replaced just the front speakers and nothing else my wife was very impressed with the sound and we both wondered if I should even do the rest. But since I had already bought the amp and started working on the subwoofer I wanted to proceed. I do wonder ( and am tempted ) how much a new head unit would add to what I already have. If only there was a magic switch I could use to tell - just for a few minutes. Also, lots of people say just adding an only amp will help the sound. I am guessing that a new head unit has a much better amp than stock ( though still not as good as a dedicated offboard amp ) and is part of the reason for the better sound. But a nice EQ built into the head unit sure would be a nice thing to have.

 

You're welcome. About $500.00.

After all is said and done I would say that eliminating road noise would be the next best thing I could do with my setup. I notice that the stereo sounds so a lot better when the car is idle ( even at high volume I can notice that effect.) I didn't think the C had that much noise until I started to scrutinize and tune my new system. How to go about that I really don't know. Not sure exactly where the most road noise is coming from ( hatch ? doors ? floor ? ). The expense would probably be out of my league. I do find myself frequently wondering how a new head unit would improve what I have now.

As for the cost: I could only afford low to medium quality stuff but here's what I had to buy:

• Alpine MRX-F30 amp for $170.00
• Dynamat door kit for $26.00
• JBL GTO804 subwoofer driver for $60.00
• Speaker terminal spring clip for $4.00
• 60 ft 18 gauge Speaker wire $13.00
• 75 ft 24 gauge speaker wire for $6.00
• 3/4 inch 2 ft X 4 ft MDF board for $11.00
• Speaker / auto carpet for $9.00
• Spray on adhesive for $8.00
• Boston Acoustics 6.5 inch component SC60 speakers for $150.00
• 8 gauge amp wiring kit for $35.00
• 100K dual ganged audio taper volume control pot for $4.00
• Silver knob for $3.00

Total: approximately $500.00

I think that amp family might be in the process of being replaced by a newer model and can be found for a good price. I'm unsure if the tiny bit of dynamat did a thing to help but I just wanted to be sure the area around the front door speakers didn't rattle.

I did go to the hatch area this week and installed thin foam weatherstripping around the backside of that oval plastic piece on the hatch. From the inside back seat I could tell that it was rattling with the subwoofer sometimes. I need to open the passenger door up and eliminate a rattle there as well.

Anyway, I'll stress again that I'm not sure what I have is great but I think it sounds very good. Could be better, for sure. After a few more days to get used to it and listen to more CDs I think what was gained was:

• Minimizing most of the dips/peaks in the frequency response so it's not fatiguing to listen to.
• Able to listen to louder music which helps to cover up some of the road noise
• Got a lot more bass, not perfect but relatively clean and level, from the subwoofer ( but lost some from the front speakers ), so overall the music is fuller and more enjoyable
• Able to adjust the bass quickly with a knob. This really comes in very handy since FM stations and my MP3s vary so much from song to song or station to station.
• Midrange and highs are much more clear. Before I often couldn't hear much vocals in some songs ( I tried adjusting the EQ ).
• Stereo sound stage opened up quite a bit and the dynamics improved

Cons:

• The expense and time.
• Loss of hatch space.
• Some FM stations are somehow just have an annoying mix of bass ( or maybe it's my crappy new system doing something ! ) and I have to turn the bass knob way down.
• Probably some minute level of gas mileage lost due to higher power drain, plus when I'm ever parked in my car in accessory mode I wonder if I'm going to drain the battery ( I sometimes just leave the car turned on )
• I'm probably never going to resale the car but did I affect the resale value ?
• I'm constantly tweaking it and wondering if the quality is really as good as it could have been had I gone another route ( head unit ) or chosen different speakers. I think I'd like the car stereo to sound as good as a good set of headphones and this is probably very unrealistic mainly because of the response curve ( transfer function, whatever they call it ) of the car's interior.