Hi folks, I've been out of the aftermarket audio game for a few years, and as I've done my research, I've finally comfortably purchased the core component speakers for my Z's system. After browsing online I got a great link to this website for front speakers and settled on the Boston Acoustic component speakers for the front, JL C2 650x's for the rear speakers, and a Kenwood Excelon X600F(class AB) to send about 100x4 RMS to each speaker.

For subwoofer I pulled the JL W3v2-d2 12's from my old car and the 500/1 JL mono amp. I looked on ebay, found a great custom box to fit the trunk of my Z:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NISSAN-350Z-Cus ... 397wt_1240

I called the guy up, had him build it for only one W3 subwoofer in the center of box, and he is building it close as spec as he can for the subwoofer. I decided to avoid putting both w3 12's in the trunk because i figured it would be overkill for a hatchback plus the volume of the box are less than ideal for 2 of them.

What I have so far:

Headunit
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X696 CD Receiver http://www.crutchfield.com/S-rixMJPqooS ... -X696.html
120ASWC Metra ASWC Auto Sensing Steering Wheel Cntrl Intrfc

Subwoofer System
JL Audio - 12" W3v2-d2 subwoofer http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_727 ... 2W3v2.html
JL Audio - 500/1 500 Watt RMS Mono class D amp. http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_117 ... 500-1.html

Component System
Boston Acoustics - Pro60 SE 1 http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_149 ... 60-SE.html
JL Audio - C2-650x http://www.jlaudio.com/c2-650x-car-audi ... tems-99618
Kenwood Excelon - X600F 4 channel amp 100 watt RMS http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... KsBEPMCMAA

The car itself is a 2007 350z Hatchback Enthusiast model, not roadster. There is no BOSE and no Navigation.

So right now I havent actually wired up a system in about 7 years and I'm probably going to take it to a local shop somewhere here in Jacksonville, but I'd like to purchase whatever else I need for a reasonable price beforehand to minimize costs.

1.) What kind of wiring kits do you guys recommend for this set up? I want the best bang for the buck, exactly what i need for good sound quality and enough length, without paying for a brands name(monster cable comes to mind). I need the wiring for a 4 channel amp, and the wiring for the subwoofer, and distributor.

2.) How should the subwoofer run off a 500 RMS amp to 1 channel when its 300 RMS? Do I simply turn the gain down?

3.) Same issue for the Kenwood 4 channel amp, it should be close to optimal for the boston speakers, but may be a bit much on the JL rears, anyone know how to tweak the rear speakers with this amp?

4.) How much dynomat should i consider purchasing, is it even necessary, do Z door panels rattle? What about the trunk?

5.) Any suggestions on where to mount the tweeters on the boston acoustic speakers? I definitely dont want them inside the door speaker spot.

6.) What's a reasonably priced distributor that will do the job to run the power cable to both amps without losing power?

7.) Do I need a Capacitor for this set up based on the wattage?

8.) Does anyone use Google Music to play music to their car stereo? Anyone know the highest quality I can achieve playing music through my android smartphone?

9.) Is there anywhere visible to mount the crossovers for the front speakers or is it best to tune the crossovers before putting the door panel back on then simply concealing them inside the door?

I've got more questions but these would solve a bunch!!! Thanks!


-Mike

 

Once the moderators move this to the audio section, you'll get tons of answers.

1. For what it's worth, Sonic Electronix has good prices on wiring/kits. I've dealt with them several times now with good results.

4. I have no dynamat in my car and don't have rattling.

5. I have my tweets in the stock spots but plan on moving them to the A pillar, firing towards the windshield.

7. With your set-up, you should need a cap. I don't think I need one in mine (only installed it since I had in the previous car) and I'm running 900w to the subs and 880w to mids/highs.

8. I've used both my old iphone and my android and the music sounds ok. You can definitely tell the difference if you compare the same song to the CD version.

9. Can't think of a good spot off the top of my head. I concealed mine.

 

Thanks for your help, on number 7 did you mean I would not need a cap?

 

Probably meant shouldn't. You are running JL Audio - 12" W3v2-d2 subwoofer. I ran 2 of those in my last car and didn't need a capacitor.

You'll want a capacitor if you are running.... say a JL 12"+ W7 cuz those easily can draw 500-1000w+

 

Rear speakers aren't needed I have the JL audio c6.5 componets in my door and love them

 

Correct. I meant "shouldn't".

 

I've never seen any system on the street that NEEDED a cap. Competition systems, maybe. Also, either ditch the rear speakers or run them off of the head units amp. For wiring, go 2 gauge to the trunk into a distribution block. From there, I'd go with 8 AWG to the 4 channel and 4 AWG to the sub amp. Make sure you get a fused distro block if you plan to reduce the wire size. I always go bigger on my wiring.

 

Thanks for your input, I already purchased the rear speakers, won't they provide a substantial improvement over the stock speakers, i understand the majority of the sound is going to be heard from the front due to location, but wont the back still benefit even a bit from aftermarket speakers, also any reason why I should run them off the headunit instead of the 4 channel amplifier if I can reduce gain on the back channels?

Continuous Power Handling (RMS) 60 W
Peak Music Power 225 W
Recommended RMS Amplifier Power (per Ch.) 15 - 100 W
System Efficiency 91 dB @ 1 W / 1 m
System Nominal Impedance 4 Ω
System Frequency Response 59 Hz - 22 KHz ± 3 dB

Would they perform better on the 4 channel amp vs. the headunit since the amp has 2 open channels to run to them?

 

Go big or go home I have 0 gauge I'm only running a 1200w amp and a 400w amp

 

So anyone got some length ideas for me on the wiring? Was thinking 25 feet of 2 gauge from battery to trunk, or should i get a 50 foot spool?

For the 4 gauge from the distributor to the subwoofer amp, I figure I wouldn't need more than 25 feet from cap > amp > subwoofer.

For the 8 gauge running from cap > amp > front and rear speakers I figure I would need a 50-100 feet?

Also I understand I'll need RCA's to run from both amps to my headunit, 25 feet each should be more than enough right? Any other wires I'd need?


Any reason it would be bad to just run 4 gauge all the way from the battery to the block, to both amps? any reason I should use the higher gauge on the 4 channel amp?

 

Try and spend a good amount of time here.

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-builds-496/

Before my install I had not done much Audio stuff. So i spent a chunk of time going through some of these projects by members, most of them with pics and almost every info for a successful complete install of any kind.
Trust me, all your questions plus more would be answered by the time you are done

 

I think you're overestimating how much wire you need. 25 feet of 2g will be more than enough to get from batt to trunk. I did an undersized 0g from batt to block, then 4g to both amps.

You shouldn't need much length of 4g. Your block shouldn't be far from your amps.

Your RCA's don't need to be 25 feet either. You're going to want to run them down the center console to keep them away from your power cable so they run a very straight line to the back.

Don't forget your separate ground cables from each amp.

Also, on the topic of rear speakers, many people don't run them because they fire straight into your headrest. I like having mine in but admit they don't do much for the total sound.

 

Your stock charging system will suffice. Dynamat isn't just for rattles thats a misconception of its purpose. Do not use a cap. As far as wire always go larger so if you decide to upgrade you won't have to change it out. Imo raw drivers offer more bang for the buck your probably not at that point yet.

 

If they're rated at 100W, run them off the amp. The JL site listed 65w I believe, but I might not have been looking at the right speakers.

4 AWG is barely big enough to handle the current draw. I don't like my car to catch on fire, and constantly blowing fuses is annoying. I'm sure you feel the same lol. As far as the amount of wiring... I've done probably 100+ installs and never used more than like 20-22 feet. Even on Suburbans.

awwww yyyyeah!

 

Just an update, the audio system is fully installed. I've got some questions at the bottom.

Full Technical Specs:

Front door speakers: Boston Acoustic ProSE 60 series.

Tweeters: Boston Acoustic Pro60 SE tweeters mounted in stock tweeter location. Crossover used.

Rated 125 Watt RMS 90db sensitivity. 250watt peak. 3ohms.
Tweeter crossover attenuations: 0, -2db, -4db

Rear Speakers: JL 650 C2 Coaxials.
Continuous Power Handling 60 watts.
Recommended Amp power 15-100watts RMS.
Nominal impedance 4 ohms.


Subwoofer:Single JL 12" W3v3 4ohm, in custom 350z trunk box facing upward in front of stabilizer bar.

Rated at 500watts continuous RMS.
Recommended Watt rating 150-500watts.

Subwoofer Amplifier: JL 500/1 Watt RMS mono class D amp

Key Features
Amplifier Type Mono Channel
Channels Mono
Input Voltage 11 volt
Bridgeable Not Bridgable
RMS Power at 2 Ohms 500 W x 1
RMS Power at 4 Ohms 500 W x 1

Bass Boost Frequency 15 Hz
High - Pass Frequency 40 Hz - 60 Hz
Low - Pass Frequency 40 Hz - 200 Hz

Speaker Amplifier: Kenwood X600F 4 Channel CLASS AB amplifier.

RMS Power at 2 Ohms 150 W x 4
RMS Power at 4 Ohms 100 W x 4
Frequency Response 5 Hz - 50 Hz
Signal to Noise Ratio 85 dB
THD at Rated RMS Power 1 %
High - Pass Frequency 50 Hz - 200 Hz
Low - Pass Frequency 50 Hz - 200 Hz

Headunit: Kenwood EXcelon x696



My thoughts:
Not terribly impressed with my head unit, it does the job but the equalizer is overly simplistic(3 bands, bass - mid - high). Bluetooth audio is pretty much pointless since the subwoofer wont work with it. The USB connection doesn't do me any good on my galaxy S2, the controls are extremely frustrating for navigating my music in this mode, google music doesn't work well. Pretty much have to use Auxilary port.


Things that I like: Mid range sounds good on the rear speakers, very good. At high volumes the voices don't distort so much as get 'whistley'. The front speakers are oddly muted compared to the rear speakers, when everything I've heard told me that the front speakers would drown out the rear speakers mostly. I have to fade the deck 5 points towards the front to 'overpower' the rear speakers sound, but since the subwoofer was installed I put the fader back to 0.

The subwoofer hits AMAZINGLY well on hip hop songs and heavy bass guitar songs, but I'd say it is NEARLY ABSENT in many rock songs that I swear were still 'punching' alot harder in my old car, what's wrong with my tuning???

The mids on the front speakers feel non existant. There is less mid bass on these front speakers than I had from the stock speakers when I installed the head unit. For a speaker rated at 125 watt RMS I figured they would be SLAMMING. I invested more money in those front speakers because I really wanted them to shine, and I feel a bit dissapointed, what am I doing wrong or what do I need to tune??

Also are any of my concerns related to the speakers being brand spanking new as well as the subwoofer? I've put about 8 hours played music into them, will the mid range open up more over time? Is the subwoofer experiencing something similar?

Low Pass Filter
High Pass Filter
Do I need to enable these on the headunit or the amplifiers? Where should I boost or reduce the gain? Is my subwoofer simply filtering some low range frequencies when it should be hitting?

Sorry for all the questions just felt like venting a bit, the system is great but I feel like some tweaks would make it so much better I just don't want to mess anything up.

 

Thats a solid setup. I also have the jl c2 6.5 components and coaxials with two jl w3 10"s and it sounds perfect. Just enough bass to rattle my rearview and set off car alarms, yet it sounds crystal clear no overkill what so ever.

 

Really not sure what to do, the highs are way too bright but not distorting..going to start messing around with the amp soon =x

 

Wow. Based on my experience with the 350Z stereo installations, there's some bad information in this thread. I've done 3 full installs to get my car to sound nice and solid and here's what I've learned:

1. Dynamat Extreme is ESSENTIAL. It will improve your bass dramatically. Get a trunk kit and do the whole trunk. Get a door kit and do both doors. Take your time, do it on a hot day, use a roller, cut out access holes for all the bolts so you don't have to dig around later when something (i.e., a window motor) breaks. I even used Dynamat on the hatch, behind all the plastic trim and went with a double layer over the wheel wells, which reduced road noise tremendously compared to the stock soundproofing. All up, I added about 15 pounds to the car, but the Bass hits beautifully now, from Beethoven to Beastie Boys. Remember, it's not just about rattles; it's mostly about resonance. Ever visited a recording studio?

2. Stuff polyfill in your subwoofer housing. It'll hit better and sound more balanced.

3. The rear speakers make a huge difference to the sound stage. You got the right speakers for the job.

4. Regarding the fronts: if you have speaker pods, which to me are a huge pain since they stick out so much and in the later model cars, you lose your dinky cup holder, then you'll probably not need to worry so much about rear speakers. However, if you're mounting your fronts in the factory locations, then put a 1 square foot piece of Dynamat behind each speaker, use a MDF ring to mount them to the door (preferably painted or otherwise sealed to protect it from the elements) and put Dynamat on the inside door skin (the one that can be removed with bolts). Also Dynamat around the area on the inside of the trim that gets hit with sound. This will improve your sound stage. If you use the factory tweeter locations for your tweets, then get tweets that can be aimed, otherwise, they'll sound terrible.

5. If you're not happy with the equalization options on your head unit, then get an inline AudioControl equalizer or something similar. It'll allow you to set your frequency levels exactly how you want them. You're right; high, middle and low controls just aren't enough. A better head unit or an inline EQ is the only way to solve this. Just remember that if you go with an inline EQ, you can't change the frequencies on the fly. You'll have to pull over, get out a little screwdriver, and make your settings until you're happy with your overall sound. Then you just leave it alone.

Hate to say it, but you're only about half way home re: your install. Trust me on the Dynamat, it's worth the effort.

 

This has got to be one of the funniest posts I've ever read . A subwoofer does not draw power from an amplifier . An amplifier powers a speaker . It does not matter what subwoofer you are using as long as the ohm rating is the same . It will draw the same amount of amperage from the battery . The listed power ratings( watts) of any given speaker is what said speaker can handle, not what it draws .