KManZ

iTrader: (8)

Snapped some pics today of my amp rack, which I have mounted in the stock Bose location behind the driver's seat (obviously). I'll try to get some measurements later for those that have been asking. Its a simple design, created from 1/2" MDF and 4 metal "straps" from Home Depot. The pictures are pretty much explanatory on how I mounted the rack. The rack isn't pretty, but it serves it's purpose well.

freedonutss

iTrader: (14)

Nice setup. Are you going to leave the door open or closed? Think it will overheat during the summer?

CaliBoy

iTrader: (4)

i would put in a fan in there to keep everything cool but looks good so far

KManZ

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, I am going to keep the cover on. Might buy the Bose cover too, since it is perforated and would let some air pass through.

As for putting a fan in there, if it gets too hot, I'll look into it.

SuperBlack350z

iTrader: (59)

not bad. i would add some black carpet on the mdf though for a cleaner look.

ninor

iTrader: (5)

I just made mine like this too... I don't have it mounted yet as I bought my wiring from guy that had it mounted in passenger glove box so the 4ga power wire can't reach to stock bose location Do you guys think I can just buy extra 3 feet of 4ga wire and patch it together or should I buy a whole new piece? Anyways, here is the pic of the amp rack in the trunk... I bought some carpet at home depot and I have plenty of it left... they only sell it by running foot which is 6 feet wide.

HeLLSaTaN

iTrader: (1)

attaching wire is a bad idea. dont be cheap and buy longer wiring =p

nice amp racks btw. I am going to do the same probably. What does the bose perforated thing look like? got any pics?

What are those things on the left of ur setup KManZ and same with u ninor? left and right there?

And whats the total power going thro this system? whats it powering? specs please

ninor

iTrader: (5)

Yea I actually ordered 14 feet of knukonceptz wire... the one that I currently have is 9.5 feet so 14 should be plenty...

those things are crossovers for the speakers... you plug in pos/neg wires from 6.5" midbass and tweeter in it and then run 1 pos/neg wire to the amp for each side.

My specs are:

Alpine 9887 head unit
Alpine PDX 4.150 powering Focal 165 K2Ps front speakers... I'll bridge the amp for total of 200-300 watts per side... speakers will be in custom kicks by Bing.
Alpine PDX 1.600 powering DLS Iridium 10" sub in fiberglass enclosure on left side of the trunk (you can kind of see it in the pic).
4ga power/ground wiring and 16ga for speaker wire...

so total system should be about 1000-1200 watts.

KManZ

iTrader: (8)

Our systems are very similar I have:

Alpine 9887 (tuned w/ Imprint)
Alpine PDX-4.150 powering Polk SR6500 components
Alpine PDX 1.600 powering a Diamond Audio 10"
4ga power/ground and 16 ga for speaker wire


On my rack, I have the crossovers on the left, and the box on the right is my distro block.

As for carpeting, I tried to get some at Home Depot a few months back when I redid my amp rack, but they didn't have anything thin enough. I am not too hard pressed to cover the board though, since no one will ever see it.

ninor

iTrader: (5)

I have some left over carpet and I can ship it to you just for the shipping cost.. I can measure today how thick it is so you might actually need longer bolts... I think I used 2" bolts for amps as the included ones were too short. By the way I didn't cover the bottom side of the amp rack as there is no point of it and it is much easier to drill holes in carpet if the bottom side is not covered.

Was it hard to tune the 9887 with Imprint? I will rent mine from Crutchfield... but don't you benefit more from Imprint if you are running active rather than passive?

Also, did you bridge the amp or you just used 2 channels? I will bridge the 4.150 and give the speakers between 200-300 watts... I am not sure how I will set up RCA cables though... I made a thread on DIYMA so hopefully someone will help me out unless you know how to do it

KManZ

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for the offer on the carpet, but I really don't want to pull the rack out again just to make it look better such a pain in the ***, I hope I never have to remove it ever again.

As for Imprint, it works wonders whether you go active or not. You can switch between the original settings and Imprint settings, allowing you to compare the 2 sounds. Imprint sounds so much more clear and focused than what I could accomplish. It does sap some bass though, so make sure you turn your gains down on the amps before you begin.

I originally bought the 4.150 to run the components on 1&2 and a sub on 3&4, but now I have the 1.600, and the 4.150 is just running the components on 1&2. If you bridge 3&4 on the 4.150, you get 300w... not sure what bridging 1&2 will get you. As for the RCA's, not sure what to do there, since I haven't looked into doing that.

ninor

iTrader: (5)

Yea I will hate the part where I have to connect all the wires to everything and make them look neat... Did you rent Imprint from Crutchfield or you just bought one?

Bridging 1&2 will also give you 300 watts so by bridging 1 and 2 and then 3 and 4 it will give me 300x2... I'll turn the gains down so I get 28.28v by using Digital Multi Meter... formula is SQRT(watts x Ohms load) so SQRT(200x4)=28.28. I read on caraudio and DIYMA of several people giving 300 watts per side to Focal K2Ps in passive without running into any problems even though the speakers are rated at 100 RMS and 200 Peak... I might turn the gains up later.

Also, like someone mentioned above... I think I'll be scared of my amps overheating in the summer as I live in FL and it might get pretty darn hot in the bose stock location dept... I'll look into getting bose window but then that will defeat the whole purpose of "hidden dept" that I was going for lol...

adamtaylorpcb

iTrader: (7)

just use a y splitter and run 1 to the first 2 channels and the other to the other 2 to give you stereo sound or run 2 sets from the back of the head unit and make sure they are on the right terminal

ALO8

iTrader: (5)

is it really necessary to get ventilation? I don't have a stock amp, but those who do, is it Vetilated?

ninor

iTrader: (5)

I don't need to use the Y splitter as I already have 4 channel RCAs. I plugged 4 RCA jacks in the back of the head unit... 2 to Front (left side) and 2 to Rear (right side) pre-outs... then i guess in the amp I will plug left to channels 1 and 2 and rights to channel 3 and 4... correct?

35oZephyR

iTrader: (4)

I know this is a little off topic but how do you like the PDX amps? Do they weigh a good amount? The size/imprint seems pretty good.

I 86'd a similar amp rack with Arc XXK amps because they were big and heavy making alignment almost impossible.. Talk about back pains. The PDX's look pretty good in there though.

adamtaylorpcb

iTrader: (7)

no because your front set of rca's is stereo... think of it as red (left) white (right)

your going to want both reds on the input set for the left speakers and both whites on the side for right speakers

ninor

iTrader: (5)

I get it. Thanks! It can go either way though, right? Like both reds for right speakers and both whites for left speaker?

My Knukonceptz RCA cables are not red/white but they are blue/white/black/red... here is how I will hook them up... correct?

KManZ

iTrader: (8)

I rented the Crutchfield kit for $50. Twice already though since I upgraded my amp and speakers and wanted to re-sample. Expensive kit for using it just once or twice. Even if you unplug your HU or disconnect the battery, you don't have to re-sample because the Imprint settings are saved in the HU's memory.

I was just doing some tuning today, and my Polks (rated at 50-125w RMS) sound fantastic with 150w. Your Focals run at about the same specs as my Polks; have you learned what would be the benefit of running 300w vs. the 150? I want to know, because I might take a page from your playbook this time

As for overheating in the Bose location, I didn't have any issues this past summer, though I was only running the 4.150 at the time. 2 amps might be cause for a cooling solution, but we will see. The PDX amps run very cool from what I have read.



The PDX amps are beautiful; very small form factor, clean finish/appearance, and the ability to stack them is great. As I said above, they run a lot cooler too, so the Bose location is a very feasible location for installation. The good part is that these amps produce the same power at both 2 and 4 ohm.

adamtaylorpcb

iTrader: (7)

just make sure the right side outputs on the head unit are going to the right channels and left to the left



and as far as speakers, careful on the power if your still using a passive crossover. heard of them burning out....

if your active.... crank them till you hear some slapping then back off