jeffrey

Just got back from hanging out with my bud Eric that's going to do my install at Mobile One in New Orleans (Eric Hunn at the Metairie location). I'm typically not a big fan of Mobile One, but I know Eric personally and he is a fantastic installer.

Here's the short of it:

This headunit: Clarion VRX935VD


I checked out the Kenwood, Eclipse, Panasonic and I think a Pioneer today (didn't really care for it so I didn't pay much attention to it). The Kenwood was nice, but I didn't like the image quality as much as the Clarion and the touch screen was much "slower" and not nearly as responsive as the Clarion. I also felt that for the money (the Kenwood was more expensive) that having to manually tilt the screen was unacceptable at that price point. I did like the Eclipse, but for the money the Clarion was better with the touchscreen and larger (.5" advertised, we actually measured .7") screen. The Panasonic, in general, just felt cheap. Bleh.

Overall though, the Eclipse and the Clarion sounded very close. The audio quality on both was excellent. And both sounded noticeable better than the Kenwood.

I'm using this amp for my highs (popular on this forum ): JL Audio 300/4



I have some really nice PPI's from back when they were still good (the grey/red ones) in my F150. I was going to pull them out but Eric, the bastard he is, talked me out of it.

I'm using this one for the subs: JL Audio 500/1



Speaking of speakers..

Fronts : Boston Acoustics Z6's


We are going to seperate these and put the component tweeters in the back of the mirrors like the factories. He said he can get them to fit perfect and flush with no problem . For those that don't know, the tweeters are removable and mountable as seperates.

Rears : Boston Acoustics Rally Series 6.5"s



I really didn't see the point in buying two sets of Z6's. I just don't hear my rears as loud as my front stage. The Rally's sound fine enough for that application.

Odd thing is I've always had MB Quarts in all my installtions. I've always been a huge fan of them. I just had the urge to try something else so I figured what the hell, I'll try the Bostons. My only concern with the Z6's is the paper cones' durability. I guess we'll see.

Subs, no big surprises here, I've always been a JL fan, so why change a good thing?

Two 10W6v2's



For the sub enclosure, we were going to do the no-spare-tire route, but I really wanted to explore everything. So we got a 10w6v2 and climbed around my car. The spot we're going to put them in I think will work really well. There's a void of sorts between the strut tower brace cover and the back of that big console thing that holds the rear speakers. I can't ever really put anything there since the floor isn't flat below it. Eric's going to make me custom fiberglass boxes that fit in each side, kind of below the little side window between the tower brace and rear box angled up towards the hatch (firing indirectly lengthens the bass sine wave and makes it easier to "hear").

Misc accessories, 1 farad cap, high end RCA's, etc.

And lastly, we're going to do an EQL flush mounted in the space for the factory sub behind the driver's seat (the amps will be mounted inside the compartment on a custom rack).



There is a chance I may do an EQS as well. I'm still musiing a full 5.1 setup with the Clarion center-channel speaker. I just haven't decided yet.

It's not going in until April or so because I live 10hrs away and won't have the time off until then, but I'll make sure to take lots of pics and stuff.

LS350Z

I think your plans are excellent!!! Great choice for everything IMO.

Play with the position of the tweeter when you mount them. The stock tweeter location is very high and I just had to go with Boston Pro 5T ambient tweeters to lower the stage (and get better imaging). I'm running Boston Pro 6.5s and I'm not familar with the Z6s yet so I can't say if you'll have to mount them else where but it's real easy to sit in the car and just move them around to test them before permentantly mounting them in the stock location. I'm kicking myself in the *** for not doing this upfront because it would have saved a ton of time from having to go back in and add wiring and tear the car apart again.

My only thing (and it's my personal preference really) would be to recommend holding off on the EQLs till after everything is installed. I personally hate adding things to a system because in the long run all they do is add noise into the system. EQs can help some for personal preferences in sound but they also hinder. The great thing is they are easy to add in later and that will give you some time to figure out if you need them or not.

jeffrey

Well, about the EQL.

I used to compete in RTSA competitions with my F150. They were absolutely mandatory to properly tune your system. IMO, at least for me, at last one EQL will always be mandatory in my car. I can't imagine not being able to EQ my sub. And if properly installed, none of the Audio Control EQ series add any noise. Seriously. I've never had a squeak of noise that was caused by my EQL's, EQX's, EQT's or EQS's (I've had all of those at one point or another in different installes). Actually, I've never had a noisy stereo.

I actually like the tweeters where they are. I'm not a big fan of them farther forward because it gives it more of a treble in my face feel that I don't really care for.

The Z6's are Boton's top of the line components at the moment. They sound fantastic. It was a noticeable difference between them and the Pro Series.

LS350Z

Yeah I'm well aware of the Z6s supposely crushing the Pros (which still amazes me because not to many speakers beat the Pros still) but until I get my own set I can't comment on how they will sound in stock location, hence my comment.

As far as the EQLs go, even though we don't often hear the noise, it's being added. It's a fact that anything added into a system adds noise, regardless of how little it is, will add noise. I know that many competition vehicles run them and I can't argue because I don't compete, but too me it's not intuitive to add noise into a system. To each his own I guess.

jeffrey

System is going in for install this weekend, probably won't be finished until Tuesday or so at the earliest because of the custom glass work.

Also, I've decided on 2 pairs of the Z6's, they just sound TOO amazing!

I'll try and take lots of pics (not sure if I'll be able to hang around there the whole time).

Can't wait!

Encore

Boston, JL, Audio Control. All that great equipment might make up for that crappy clarion. jk. Seriously good luck. Bye the way what is RTSA?

jeffrey

Heeeeeeyyyy! Clarion's Pro Audio stuff is great, I've used it forever!


RTSA = Real Time Spectrum Analyzer.

They stick a mic in your car that compares the signal coming from your stereo with what it should sound like based on computer graphcs and whatnot (spectruc waveforms, etc).

It's pretty much the test of true audio reproduction.

Encore

I was just kidding on the clarion. Didnt you see the jk. I always called it a RTA. Did you compete IASCA? I always thought systems set up from a RTA didnt sound as good as one set up by ear. Although it gives you a good base to start from. Im sure your systems going to sound great as long as you dont have Forest Gump to install it for you.

jeffrey

Yeah it was IASCA.

I know you were kidding, I was kidding right back (notice my j/k too? hehe).

I don't agree though about the RTSA systems not sounding good to the ear.. maybe not what you were used to, but I prefer them.

Eric is an amzing installer. One of the best in the country and definately one of the best in the south.

You don't get half a dozen cars over the years featured in Car Audio and Electronics (among other magazines) and build manufacturer demo cars because you suck.