I think I've decided to go with the Cadence CEQ-650 to tie my system together. It fits my budget and does everything I need.

http://www.cadencestore.com/ProductC...3&idproduct=48

Reasons I chose it:
1) Has aux input so I can direct connect my XM roady 2 I just got!
2) Parametric so I can have more adjustment flexibility and hopefully more effective or pleasing adjustments in the end. I realize that this is more complicated and could be disasterous if I don't know what I am doing. I was wondering if a good starting point can be achieved with a CD full of test tones and an SPL meter? I could eventually find a friend with an RTA or see if any local shops use one but I must be realistic that I may not have access to one.
3) Built in crossovers both LP and HP so I can split up sub and fronts. Remember I am trying to keep as tight of a budget I can without getting junk. This is a big plus to me as long as this Cadence unit is good quality.
4) hopefully will fit in the navagation cubby. I know the main felt covered opening is just over 6" and the Cadence is 7x1x4.5" but I think with enough cutting in the right place it will fit and have access to all the front *****. The overall opening of the cubby including the recessed corner is closer to 8" and the HU is definately that wide and not too far below the cubby. I hope the whole center part of the dash is that wide all the way up the console behind everything. Anybody believe that it won't fit somehow for a good reason? This is my main concern at this point.

Almost forgot - bassmasters has it for $169 and nobody else seems to have it for less than $215. Are they reputable and is there a better price on this somewhere else?
thanks

 

I like!

A five band parametric will give you lots and lots of control. Using a test tone CD and an SPL meter will give you the same results as a RTA ... it will just take longer than using a white noise test CD and a RTA.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I probably will hold off a week or so before buying since I won't have any time to start my instalation due to work. If anybody else has comments on my other concerns please help me out.

 

So it took me about two hours to rip my dash open for you to make the measurements.

I have the 7-speaker Bose system with the double DIN headunit (6-CD and cassette). It measures:

Width - 7 3/4" in the front and 7" in the rear. The first 3/4 of an inch is wider than the rest of the unit.

Depth - 6 3/4 top, 6 3/8" bottom. The top half of the double DIN is deeper than the bottom half. Looking in the pocket it looks like you can get 7" deep in most places with just pushing the wires out of the way.

Your equalizer is 1" tall which is half a DIN unit high.

The inside of the dash has a seven inch wide hole with metal on either side so your equalizer will fit width wise too.

 

Wow! Thanks. I can't believe you did that for me
I was noticing on the ride to work this morning that the plastic face of the center seems to get wider as you go up towards the 3 gauges. Anyway it sounds like you have proved that it will fit. I was hoping that someone might know from previous installs. Thanks a million!

 

Well, this looks a little shady to me. What is going on with these guys?

http://www.bassmastersonline.net/Cad...rossovers.html

the main page www.bassmastersonline.net doesn't work and when you ask to see your shopping cart you are dumped into some paypal page.

Anybody order from these guys? The PRICES are great but not much else I can see so far!

 

I am sooo mad right now I had to come back and look at this again.
There is no way my eq will fit in the cubby. If you go any wider than the 6" opening from left to right you will have to destroy the whole bracket system and molded mounting points that hold the cubby door on! If you go any deeper than the 3-4" deep that the cubby is you will be cutting into HVAC ducts!! WTF! Luckily this only takes 20 minutes to get to and I am kicking myself for not doing this on my own. I had no idea how easy this car comes apart. It is much different than any car I have owned in the past. If anyone still out there is scared to start tearing apart their car just know that if you are patient there is just about nothing with the interior panels that is very difficult except the rear speakers. Now I will have to redesign my whole system. I wish I would have never asked for help. May I ask how you thought this would fit? I am really curious. Paul350Z, I realize you were trying to help me out and aprreciate the effort but I think other people that have read this should know what they are getting into. I've seen some other discussions about using the navi cubby for this and that and none of it is very helpful. Basically what you see from the front is what you get. The only empty space around the cubby is directly below it for an inch or two until you hit the top of the HU. Somehow venting just doesn't make me feel better, the weekend is officially ruined!
So unless someone can prove me wrong about the cubby, the new goal is to put the EQ in one of the storage compartments behind the seats in between the rear speakers. Both the compartments are in there so loose it seems like they are only held in by something on the top wall. I'd like to know if there is an easy way to remove the door/box without taking all the interior apart around the rear speakers since this one WOULD be a major pain. I just need to get the liner out of there to figure out where to put a big hole for wiring to go through and make it easier to work on a plexiglass panel to mount it in there securely or something. Thanks!