DIY SQ install: Gill's Swift

[gunbir]

Gill Saab,

Congratulations on your install. A job well done I must say. Nothing DIY'ish about it, looks like a professional job. My sincerest appreciation for the work done by Rajat (Scary) and Rrishabh (Clip). Rajat made sure pre-install that no detail big or small was left to chance and Rrishabh, well... I am impressed with your work and your evaluation of the system.

I look forward to having young professionals like you in the Industry. If we have more passionate people like you, all will be well.

Again, good job done, I hope Gill knows how lucky he is to have you guys to lean on.

Cheers!

[m4ugr8]

Originally Posted by clipto333

thanks m4u. the 75.4 is a good amp. it packs a heavy punch. its really powerful. go for it if you really cant affor audison.may i know the model No of your amplifier?

cheers
clip

Sir, My amp is kenwood 8401.
Sir how much difference does an Hu make. My Hu is Pio FH-P5000.I think that also needs to changed.What is your opinion on that??

[abhibh]

I would say GR8 work guys. So Mr. Darawni Khopdi aka Cre***** aka SS had fun installing it . I bet the SQ is smokin' hot because someone named clipto was smoking to make it better.

At the end if GILL is happy with the install and SQ (which one can feel from what he posted earlier in this thread) i would say the money is well spent.

Kudos to you guys.

Originally Posted by ScarySkulls

I admire Gill's decision to give a STRICT no-no to anything pioneer. The kenwood, as expected from previous experiences, turned out to be a real VFM for the price.

I do the same. 90% i try to stay away from Pioneer but u never know lol.

[ScarySkulls]

Notes:-

Initial Days.
Getting an audio for yourself and getting it for a long time buddy are two things poles apart.
Earlier days were spent in taking off Gill's mind from a "Bill bhi hai, Warranty bhi hai" Sony setup. It was tough, but in the end, he complied.

Gill sahab also wasnt comfortable when I told him that he shouldn't be much concerned about the rear speakers as they will act as mere fillers. I even suggested dropping the idea of rear speakers at all since they wont be put to much use. Anyways, the money spender's satisfaction is paramount and thus, we go for a co-axial at rear. Powered through HU.


Planning Stage
This surely HAS to be the longest time I've dreamt of audio day and night. In class. At work. In bathroom. At dinner table. At movies with GF. Wherever damn possible. Audio Audio and more Audio.
A period of frantic browsing of various car audio forums. Interacting with many known persons. Chatting till late in nights thru to early mornings discussing all possible system options in the budget.

Finally, the dream began to take shape and Gill and Me would exchange notes on whatever component we had finalised based on our research during the day. Around 1 week before the install, we had the final spec sheet in front of us. Time to order then.

BUT WAIT!

This is Punjab. I wouldnt get any professional help here. Nor any professional equipement/accesories.
So, I guess our spec sheet isnt so much final afterall. Accesories part is still pending.
So, off I went spending hours and hours everyday in this Sound Off Show Off section. This was the MOST FRUSTRATING part of my research since I'm using a SLOW 64kbps connection. So each thread takes LOTS OF TIME to load. Simple workarounds were to open a thread just before going for dinner or bathroom or market. Slowly, it was turning to be enjoyable as I would always be thinking what I would see when I go back to my PC.

Anyways, it all finally paid off with me realizing, I didnt have any good connector for the Sub enclosure. Connection Audison AT25 terminal ordered.
I should be making any tape joints. WEURTH bullet type connectors ordered.
Self tapping screws also requested for.


Implementation Stage
Final spec sheet prepared and the stuff is ordered.
Next day, I recieve Sub Box calculations for the ID.

Finally, the time has come to get down to work.

I get reading on the internet on various sites on how to Best make the box.
With a few basics cleared, I'm confident.

Search begins to find a shop selling Nuwud "green stamped" MDF. This turns out to be tougher than expected. Most shops have some unbranded MDF.
Others have Nuwud MDF, but it is unstamped. Then sometime after an agonizing search through the day, I get the required grade of MDF. Pay the guy, and cart over the sheet to my friend's speaker box building facility.

My friend is not here. He's in Mumbai getting his rally license made, so I need to get down to work on the Jigsaw.
Firstly. I try and work with waste wood lying around. Ply, particle board and other varieties. After learning basics on how to operate the machine, I get down to cutting the MDF.
Turns out, it blows too much dust. Within 15min, I'm covered from head to toe in it. Anyways, over the next two days, I try to juggle schedule of my classes, work, family appointements to try and squeeze time for the Box.
Help arrives in shape of my friend, who comes back and helps me build the box.
I waste a LOT of material bought from Gill's money (Sorry yaar) in my aim to get the internal volumes perfect.
Lesson learnt:- Think before you cut/fix the MDF. A wrong placement means that a 3/4" of MDF is NOT where it is supposed to be and thus messing up the Goal of the required internal volume.

Meanwhile, equipement arrives. I'm very very impressed with the quality. I love it. So much infact, that I open all boxes and take the stuff with me to my bedroom. All the stuff is placed around my bed and I take a "sound" sleep


With 1 day to spare for the install, the Box is finally complete. Measurements indicate everything to be perfect. Box is sealed with MDF dust mixed with Fevicol. Then that is topped off with a silicone sealant after a few hours. Box is carpeted by evening. I also try and fabricate the spacer rings with some success (They were accurate size, but cutting was a bit wavy and not perfectly round). Anyways, I'm happy with the effort and I take it everything home.


Install day notes
Turns out, it was wise to get help of the my installer's guys. They open doors and dashboards everyday and thus are better at this than us.

I show them initially on how to exactly stick the damping and where and how to use the heat gun. They continue with me overlooking them.

As soon as Clip arrives, I heave a sigh of relief. I can finally concentrate more on the administration part, While dear Clip gets his hands dirty with the install. Meanwhile, Gill is helps us track down every nut and bolt that we have been throwing around. Very cumbersome job, But he does it perfect :-)

It is soon learnt that installer's guys or not, THEY NEED TO BE ADMINISTERED. They are crude and not professional. I wouldnt blame them though. They are non-educated and get equally ignorant employees and customers everyday.

Clip does the crucial job of speaker, Sub, amplifier mounting. Very well done. I meanwhile need to administer the guys.
One of them overzealous ones, cuts through the stock speaker wiring to power the front midbasses. And then tapes up the joints. I somehow catch the sight of a tape joint as he is putting back the door. Alarm raised! Not damage done.
Audison speaker cables are used which prove SUPER SUPER tough to route through the doors. I got a few cuts myself on the hands trying to shove them in somehow. Finally, the bullet type connectors come in for connecting the crossover wires to the speaker cables.
Installer is surprised and thinks I'm a stupid guys spending 80 bucks on EACH of this connector, but no worries. I wouldnt blame the poor guy

All set and done, system is test fired.
I must make a point not to sit in the car next time Clip is playing one of his test tone Cd's. I had a severe ear ringing when he was testing the components for clipping.

Another thing to be kept in mind is that each system needs to be tuned independently and with an OPEN MIND. We realised this when we Clip was tuning the amp.
We had taken regular breaks for listening sessions in Clip's car during the install and got accustomed to the punch of a 15" Sub.
Thus with the same level of expectation, the gains were set too high causing the Sub to bottom out on heavy bass notes.

Mistake realised and amp retuned according to Gill's taste now.

The sound is Sweet now. Superb integration of the sub with the front soundstage. No more bottoming out. Just smooth and accurate bass.

End of a happy install.


Some more notes. Off Topic.
Gill sahab, please dont free wheel around so much in neutral. Always best to take corners with the gear ENGAGED. I understand that it's a new car and adjusting to response of a turbo diesel engine for a petrol head takes some time. So, I'm hopeful that you will adjust to it soon.

Clip, PLEASE REDUCE SMOKING. QUIT IF YOU CAN MANAGE THE COURAGE.
So much smoke, I could hardly stand near you (I'm allergic to cigarette smoke). That is why I was happy to take camera instead and click your cute face working :-)
PLease Quit brother. Honest request.

I need to apologize to Gill and Clip for trying to cut corners and hurry up the install later in the day. Had a very important family appointement at 9PM.
In the same breath, Thanks to Clip for being a little harsh and bringing back sanity, and thus my heart and soul back into the install. Thanks Brother.

[ScarySkulls]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Gill Saab,

Congratulations on your install. A job well done I must say. Nothing DIY'ish about it, looks like a professional job. My sincerest appreciation for the work done by Rajat (Scary) and Rrishabh (Clip). Rajat made sure pre-install that no detail big or small was left to chance and Rrishabh, well... I am impressed with your work and your evaluation of the system.

I look forward to having young professionals like you in the Industry. If we have more passionate people like you, all will be well.

Again, good job done, I hope Gill knows how lucky he is to have you guys to lean on.

Cheers!

Thanks for the kind words brother.

This install wouldnt have been possible without all the advice from You and JB. Cheers to you both!

P.S.>> How would you rate the effort on damping from the pics? Plan is to strip down the doors after a week to make sure that none of the damping has come loose.

[clipto333]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Gill Saab,

Congratulations on your install. A job well done I must say. Nothing DIY'ish about it, looks like a professional job. My sincerest appreciation for the work done by Rajat (Scary) and Rrishabh (Clip). Rajat made sure pre-install that no detail big or small was left to chance and Rrishabh, well... I am impressed with your work and your evaluation of the system.

I look forward to having young professionals like you in the Industry. If we have more passionate people like you, all will be well.

Again, good job done, I hope Gill knows how lucky he is to have you guys to lean on.

Cheers!

thanks alot for the appreciation gunman. SS did make sure every thing was in order before the install took place. i did the best i could. this install was a special one for me as it was the first time i have ever touched some one else's car and i know it will continue and im looking forward to serve the audio industry professionally.

we were really inspired by the way yo click your install pics so we tried our best to be as close as we could. but we couldnt click more pics because of the reasons given earlier. i hope gill posts more pics.

the amp wire are still not done properly and are visible. ss and gill couldn't understand what i was planning to do so i left it there. im leaving for chandi tomorrow so if i have the time(im going with my wifey) to meet gill i will definitely do it up nicely. and i request him to take out some time on sunday. the chances of me meeting gill are 99% but only if he wants me to do it.

cheers
clip

Originally Posted by abhibh

I would say GR8 work guys. So Mr. Darawni Khopdi aka Cre***** aka SS had fun installing it . I bet the SQ is smokin' hot because someone named clipto was smoking to make it better.

At the end if GILL is happy with the install and SQ (which one can feel from what he posted earlier in this thread) i would say the money is well spent.

Kudos to you guys.



I do the same. 90% i try to stay away from Pioneer but u never know lol.

hi abhibh,

i cant work if i dont smoke. lol but im quitting soon.

cheers
clip

[Gill]

Originally Posted by ScarySkulls

Planning Stage
This surely HAS to be the longest time I've dreamt of audio day and night. In class. At work. In bathroom. At dinner table. At movies with GF. Wherever damn possible. Audio Audio and more Audio.
A period of frantic browsing of various car audio forums. Interacting with many known persons. Chatting till late in nights thru to early mornings discussing all possible system options in the budget.

Rajat even i did the same and as you know this setup could have costed me my job :-)

All set and done, system is test fired.

Another thing to be kept in mind is that each system needs to be tuned independently and with an OPEN MIND. We realised this when we Clip was tuning the amp.

Yes even i do agree with it!!Tweeters were mounted at 30 deg then 70deg and they sonded to bright for my taste even after setting treble at-3,so i returned the positions to the day of install and finalised it,they sound amazing!!

Some more notes. Off Topic.
Gill sahab, please dont free wheel around so much in neutral. Always best to take corners with the gear ENGAGED. I understand that it's a new car and adjusting to response of a turbo diesel engine for a petrol head takes some time. So, I'm hopeful that you will adjust to it soon.
Yes sir ji,Point taken!!
I need to apologize to Gill and Clip for trying to cut corners and hurry up the install later in the day. Had a very important family appointement at 9PM.
In the same breath, Thanks to Clip for being a little harsh and bringing back sanity, and thus my heart and soul back into the install. Thanks Brother.
System is great and getting better as i an learning the different options in HU,only i shortfall that is Hu has 2 preouts will upgrade to 3 preouts soon.

Originally Posted by gunbir
Gill Saab,

Congratulations on your install. A job well done I must say. Nothing DIY'ish about it, looks like a professional job. My sincerest appreciation for the work done by Rajat (Scary) and Rrishabh (Clip). Rajat made sure pre-install that no detail big or small was left to chance and Rrishabh, well... I am impressed with your work and your evaluation of the system.

I look forward to having young professionals like you in the Industry. If we have more passionate people like you, all will be well.

Again, good job done, I hope Gill knows how lucky he is to have you guys to lean on.

Cheers!

I was more the lucky!!results are fantastic!!Yes they deserve to be in Industry and i wish all the best for them!!!

[clipto333]

Originally Posted by navin

Scary, this reminds me of the old days. Only then I worked alone. None of my friends cared to understand audio. This was before the dawn of the PC (Apple IIe etc...).

i thought you were saying the install was scary lol.

BTW navinji, you didnt ask any question on this install like you do everytime. i was expecting a few questions lol. kidding

cheers
clip

[Gill]

Can one have parallel speaker wiring in the following setup:-

Amp -JBL 75.4
4*142W RMS channels at 2 Ohms
4*104W RMS channels at 4 Ohms
Speakers:-
ESk 165
Power handling Peak-200W,Continuous-100 impedence 4 ohms
ECX 165
Power handling Peak-140W,Continuous-70 impedence 4 ohms

I am asking cause i want to increase rear speakers output as they sound quite low as in comparison to fronts!And when one sit in rear,one can feel the gap!!
What will be the effect of the above configiration on the system!! and on sound dynamics of the system!!

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by Gill

Can one have parallel speaker wiring....

I am asking cause i want to increase rear speakers output as they sound quite low as in comparison to fronts!And when one sit in rear,one can feel the gap!!
What will be the effect of the above configiration on the system!! and on sound dynamics of the system!!

First of all, hearty congratulations! That is one helluva DIY job. Even though need is what triggered it, you managed to do a kick-a$$ job!


I'm no guru, but I just have this to say:

As of now, your components and ID are running off the amplifier, right? Leave it there, the sub and 4 speakers would be asking for too much from the 75.4 IMO.

I am not trying to stretch your budget, but if you do want to amplify the rear speakers, you can consider a monoblock for the ID and run the speakers off the 75.4. That would do great justice to your sub and the speakers.

P.S: And I did not think of a decent 2-channel amplifier because it would not be a good addition to your awesome setup. Besides, amplifying the rear and front speakers from the same amplifier is a better choice - does not bring in variations.

[ScarySkulls]

Originally Posted by Gill

Yes even i do agree with it!!Tweeters were mounted at 30 deg then 70deg and they sonded to bright for my taste even after setting treble at-3,so i returned the positions to the day of install and finalised it,they sound amazing!!

Very well then. Even I felt so after the install.
Glad that it's now set up according to your taste. Treble boucing off the windscreen is better still than having a treble that gives you a headache.

Also. Do me a favour. Check and tell me what frequency has been kept at the HPF on the HU.
To aid in tuning system to your specs, I think it has been kept at 180Hz.
If yes, then please bring it down in steps and us know what results you have. Last HPF cutoff frequency on your HU is 80Hz. Spend some time at each position to find your sweet spot.

Originally Posted by Gill

I am asking cause i want to increase rear speakers output as they sound quite low as in comparison to fronts!And when one sit in rear,one can feel the gap!!

I consider that a boon if it was my car. My mom normally sits in rear and then I have to keep fader to front so that I can enjoy my music at a volume higher than what the rear passengers are getting.
See this on a brighter side yaar....

[Gill]

Very well then. Even I felt so after the install.
Glad that it's now set up according to your taste. Treble boucing off the windscreen is better still than having a treble that gives you a headache.

For tweetrs i spent Two hours as i have to rip the plastics of to get hold of the wires then flush off the tweeters and then placed then at 30deg and 60 deg,reverted back to original settings, though i missed place my double tapes (Rishab did said if u missed them then you will realise the value of this tape as the other double tapes are on that effective).so hope the one i used sticks!!

Check and tell me what frequency has been kept at the HPF on the HU.
To aid in tuning system to your specs, I think it has been kept at 180Hz.
If yes, then please bring it down in steps and us know what results you have. Last HPF cutoff frequency on your HU is 80Hz. Spend some time at each position to find your sweet spot.
Will work on it!!probably i changed it yesterday(If i recall correctly it's already at 80hz),will let u know about the current settings i am working on.

Plz give your views on this:-
Amp -JBL 75.4
4*142W RMS channels at 2 Ohms
4*104W RMS channels at 4 Ohms
Speakers:-
ESk 165
Power handling Peak-200W,Continuous-100 impedence 4 ohms
ECX 165
Power handling Peak-140W,Continuous-70 impedence 4 ohms
I am asking cause i want to increase rear speakers output as they sound quite low as in comparison to fronts!And when one sit in rear,one can feel the gap!!
What will be the effect of the above configiration on the system!! and on sound dynamics of the system!!

[hydrashok]

@Gill, I'd also suggest that you wait a bit and get a good mono amp for the IDQ. You can then use the 75.4 for the front & rear speakers. Don't get a so-so 2-ch amp for the rears just to get rears up for the time being.

Don't do all that wiring jugaad either. I'm sure that will affect the overall sound in a not-so-good way. Patience, man! A good system takes time to build, and you are better off not cutting corners in between.

[navin]

Originally Posted by clipto333

BTW navinji, you didnt ask any question on this install like you do everytime. i was expecting a few questions lol. kidding

What I loved most in those pics was the smile in the faces of everyone invloved. In the future you should consider making a custom box for the sub. I believe that integrating the sub to a car (like the dual 8" installed in the CRV) would allow many more people to consider a sub for their cars.

To do this you would need to gain some experience of working with fiberglass (and resin) and also look at MTX's custom sub boxes for ideas.

[ScarySkulls]

Originally Posted by abhibh

So Mr. Darawni Khopdi aka Cre***** aka SS .

Thy shall NOT speak the code word, or thy wont get the custom enclosure from me for your system.
You have been warned.

@Gill-> Patience my friend. It's not even 1 week since the install. Adding a monoblock will mean New wiring. RCA, installation problems, boot space lost.

Run the system as it is with a simple workaround.
Reduce gains proportionally for both front and rear channels.
You now need to turn up the HU volume more for the same level of sound from the front components and the Sub.
This in turn increases the sound of the co-axials and thus, lessens the gap of front and rear volume.

You can try this for today. If you dont like, revert back.