Well, the stereo in the "V" is finally done. I have a build link if anyone is interested but going to post the completed pics. Everything turned out just as I wanted and I'm very happy. Big thanks to Steve Hester who helped bring the trunk together and doing the faceplate for the Alpine W205. List of components below:

Alpine IVA-W205 /with high speed Ipod cable
Alpine PXA-H701 digital processor
Alpine HD Tuner
Alpine DHA-S680 DVD changer
Alpine sirius radio
JL Audio 450/4
JL Audio 500/1
Morel Elate 6 in front doors with JL XR series tweeters in a-pillars
JL Audio XR 650 CXi Rear Doors
(1) JL Audio 12W6v2
All Stinger wiring, 4 Bulk packs of Dynamat Extreme along with some Second Skin from firewall to end of trunk. All doors sound deadened and sealed.

Build pics are here: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17514

Waiting on "custom" replacement mat for the trunk and the car is complete. Hope you guys enjoy the pics.

Shane

That looks good, where did you get that big v logo in the trunk?

thanks

I had the piece custom made for that location. Needed something to break the trunk up a little.

Shane

Do you have access to the DIC anymore?

No, and to be honest I don't miss it. I can still go into competitive driving mode and still have all chimes and warnings along with onstar. I did make an adapter cable that is tucked under the center console that will plug into the factory NAV and let me see if there's anything going on. I may end up trying to do a facory NAV relocation but at this time I'm not really interested.

Shane

wowzerz

Yeah thats pretty crazy in a good way

Awesome.

I figured I needed something on the inside to help complement the outside.:)

That last pic was four years ago almost to the day. Took a lot of digging to find that pic.

Shane

Morels, huh? Any custom enclosure work for the mid-bass?

Jim,

Didn't need to ..........just a lot of deadening. If I had to do it all over again I would have done the Morel tweeters also. The 6 1/2's were kind of a last addition because of mid bass issues. The JL XR's didn't have any :suspense: I've got the Morel's crossed over at 71 hrtz and they'll play it all day........incredible mid bass up front. Just got done listening and watching the Eagles live at Melbourne......car sounds incredible. I really couldn't be happier. Looks like she may start to be my daily driver all over again.

Shane

being a audiophile that looks AWESOME!!!! And i bet it sounds amazing, im a huge JL whore, it is kind of expensive, but the sound quality is amazing!!! How do you like the HU so far?? One of my friends has one and im in love with it, once you connect the iPod its kickass! Me and you have the same taste in stereo's, Alpine and JL. Enjoy it

Jim,

Didn't need to ..........just a lot of deadening. If I had to do it all over again I would have done the Morel tweeters also. The 6 1/2's were kind of a last addition because of mid bass issues. The JL XR's didn't have any :suspense: I've got the Morel's crossed over at 71 hrtz and they'll play it all day........incredible mid bass up front. Just got done listening and watching the Eagles live at Melbourne......car sounds incredible. I really couldn't be happier. Looks like she may start to be my daily driver all over again.

ShaneIf you don't mind me asking, how much for the Morels? And who is your connection?

I'll PM you Jim. Don't want to let that info out to everyone.:rolleyes:

Shane

I had the piece custom made for that location. Needed something to break the trunk up a little.

Shane

This is the cleanest stereo job i have seen in cts. it looks as if came from factory this way. Where did you get that thing made? How much did it cost you? I would like to get a copy if that is okay.

Thanks

V10,

Thanks for the complements. About 90% of the work I did myself from the Dynamat to the actual installation of the equipment. The dynamat probably taking up more hours than anything. Steve Hester out of Austin did the final trunk panels and the faceplate for the radio. I don't know if you looked at the install pics on the DIY thread I put a link too but they show the process of the car from beginning to end. Cost factor...hard to say. With me doing most of the work it's hard to figure. Steve had my car for about a month finishing the trim panels and making the faceplate. He could do the job in about 3-5 days now on just that work. The "V" isn't my daily driver so I let him have it for as long as he wanted. I would guess that the install labor for everything that was done if it were done by a "professional" installer would cost in the $2,500.00 range for labor. That's a rough guess. I'm very anal retentive though so some of the things I did the average installer wouldn't. You can see some of that in the other install thread. You could take the pics off the threads and show them to whoever you wanted to do the job. They should be able to give you a quote. I will say this........there is no comparison between the stock Bose system and this. I did some upgrades along the way before I finally did this and I should have just done this in the first place.

Shane

WOW>.....how big is the box you put the W6 in? Looks really small....Im assuming its a wide box and not deep with polyfil in it for more depth and sound......Great Install!!! Looks killer!!!! Hows it sound :D

FlyFlip,

Box volume is 1.25 cubic foot right to JL spec. It's just deep enough to clear the magnet with about 3/4" breathing room for the vent. About a pound of polyfill. I wanted the bass to be tighter than boomier. Car sounds incredible.........couldn't be happier. A lot of tuning with the 701 and some pretty good time delays for the rear fill speakers and sub.

Shane

I had a set of morel's WAY back when. Was in a honda civic. Speakers cost more than the car was wrth :D Sounded great though.

-Chris

^^^Hey FlyFlip are you running corvette hubs for the 5 lug conversion?

^^^Hey FlyFlip are you running corvette hubs for the 5 lug conversion?Wanna V...

Wowie Wow Wow!

I did make an adapter cable that is tucked under the center console that will plug into the factory NAV and let me see if there's anything going on.
Shane

:bulging::alchi:
Shane you got to be retired or just plain bored....
But I'll take one of those cables, cause I know you didn't make just one:bouncy:

Well I'm glad you're done, Once again, I can't wait to hear it.

7/29-8/12. I plan on taking a big much needed vacation.
I'm going to need S.H.'s number from you again. When I spoke to him last I told him this summer, above are the dates. He also said there's a guy he trust's in houston If you know who he's referring to could you send me his #?

GM,

I may have gotten ahead of myself a little on the cable. I have found all the ends to make the cable but one and have them ready to plug in to do this. Still not 100% sure if it's a go. If I can pull it off I will make you one though.

I wish I was retired. That was many an hour worked from 7pm to way after midnight to get this car finished. It was worth it though. I promise that when you get a chance to listen to it you won't be disappointed.

Talked to Steve last night. He's ready when you are. He really did a good job on the changer piece for the trunk. Pictures don't do it justice. The guy in Houston works at Custom Car Stereo........he's supposed to be really good. I trust Steve though so he got my work.

Shane

Still working on Vacation plans right now. I'm trying to make sure I have enough time to drive from KS, To Houston to Austin and back to IAH to catch a flight to somewhere Tropical!
If this was going to be next to impossible, I was going to try the guy in houston and save the 2hr drive to Austin.

Very nice, Shane!

I haven't been on the forums much lately, but I've gone a similar route with my sound system. I'm Eclipse/JLA with hard drive nav and ripped tunes.

All factory nav/radio/warnings gone a year ago, and I miss them not at all.

Best,

Bob

Teros,

You were my inspiration man. I stared at the pic attached for a long time before I finally made the plunge to replace my deck. Thanks for the compliments.

Shane

One of the guys on the corvette forum wanted me to post some build pics, these are for him.

Shane

I like that a lot, that's real clean. I've gotta figure out what I'm gonna do in a V if I end up buying one here soon.

In my current coupe I have:

-5.25 pair JM LAb Focal Utopia front speakers
-Run off of a 175watt Boston Acoustics Amp

-JL Audio Cleansweep with ipod input
-Monster Cables Throughout
-Dynamatt through entire car, doubled up on floorboard and doors (great Product)

-1 10" JLW7v3 Sub in a portedbox
-500RMS Bridged Rockford Amp

JL stuff is truely amazing and sounds great, I love Hi-fi audio, but I also like some good bass! And JL is def. a great route to go. I've got mine nice and clean too and I like other people who take the time to have it, or do it right!

side note, the W7 is unreal in a coupe, (I also fold down the one seat that the sub fires by, I have it mounted sideways b/c that gave me the best sound) but I bet that W6 rocks since it's faced forward and is in the back seat

Install looks really good and clean. Nice choice in componentry. As for a front firing sub though, I would'nt be able to fade the lack of efficiency/db as compared to a rear firing sub. Front firing subs IMO, are for aesthetics only. Good looking system though:thumbsup:

vegasVowner,

Thanks for the compliment. I think your information on a front firing sub for aesthetic reasons only is a little wrong in "my" opinion though. Rear firing and loading into the trunk will usually give you more bass response and better efficiency, but for an SQ car they are very difficult to tune. With having the sub completely sealed from the trunk and firing through the "made" ski pass I was able to get the bass response I was looking for along with being able to tune for what I think is fantastic sound quality. I've had numerous vehicles doing it both ways and while some sounded really good rear firing......to me.......this car sounded better this way. My opinion though :thumbsup:

Shane

I've seen the Light!!!
Just wanted to let you guys know, I've had the pleasure of hearing this amazing V for myself and it sounds out of this world!
It truly makes you want to slap somebody, it sounds so good.
Thanks SS for letting me check out your ride.

My house system is pretty good, B&W & Sony ES. But his V is matching and probably beating that.

All I have to say is...
I got next!

There are defenitely pros and cons to both ways. You make a good point about having it sealed off to the trunk cuts the efficiency as well. After all, its still a cadillac with alot of damping and stuffing between the cabin and trunk. If quality, not quantity, is a priority, then job well done sir! As for me, I still wanna utilize that rear deck so I have extra space in the trunk by using a downward firing slim enclosure. Can't decide what to do yet though.

There are defenitely pros and cons to both ways. You make a good point about having it sealed off to the trunk cuts the efficiency as well. After all, its still a cadillac with alot of damping and stuffing between the cabin and trunk. If quality, not quantity, is a priority, then job well done sir! As for me, I still wanna utilize that rear deck so I have extra space in the trunk by using a downward firing slim enclosure. Can't decide what to do yet though.

His 12W6 sounds way better than my 10W7 on the same 500/1.
I had mines built to face forward and it sounded like crap because it wasn't completely sealed off to the trunk so I had to face it rearward. His set up is the truth.:thumbsup:

Also please understand w/o the Ski Port, you're not going to get much bass into the cabin. Plan on keeping your seats down a lot

Thanks Phil,

Unfortunately for me Phils' car will be getting done by the same guy that helped finish mine and with the equipment he is buying will sound a lot "better" than mine. :helpless: Looks like I may be in for an "upgrade" later. :bouncy:

Oh well, got to put the kelyless entry in my Ford Ranger last night. Just didn't feel the same as working on my "V". It's gets 25 MPG though. :hide:

Shane

vegasVowner,

If your looking at doing a sealed enclosure off the rear deck it is actually going to take up more space than doing it behind the seat. I did it this way in one of my previous installs on this car. The deck lid sits so far back that even doing something very shallow it will protrude into the trunk space and limit your room. The enclosure in my car only takes up about seven inches from the back of the seat. If you rear fired the sub into the trunk it would take up a lot less. Removing the factory sub and doing it that way would probably give you the bass response your looking for along with kill some of the road noise from the trunk area. You will loose the pass through from the back seats though.

Shane

Shane,

I really like the way the system came out and especially the clean look of the trunk and dash. Definitely food for thought on futures projects. I am not much of a sound guy but do like the clean look of the car. Thanks for the pics.

I just wish Shane lived in CT to help me get rolling on mine....haha. Back in high school, installing systems learning by trial and error on $2000 cars didn't make me as nervous as I am trying to tear into my V.

What to do, what to do.......??

Bowen........when you start having problems.......give me a call...I'll walk you through it.:thumbsup:

Shane