A Quest for Better Sound

[bbrown]

So this is kind of an obvious statement, but Cabby stereo's really stink. I was fed up with mine, so I decided to change something about it. My car came with a Pioneer head-unit and Sirius Radio when I got it, but the speakers didn't seem to perform and there was a serious lack of bottom end. So I cashed a couple paychecks and head to SoincElectroix (an ebay store that has amazing prices on all the electrical goodies) and ordered a bunch of stuff. I have always liked the equipment from Polk Audio so that is what I went with for this whole project. All of the speakers I used (save the sub) are Marine Certified which is great for a convertible. So what did I put in and how did I do it? Well lets start with a list of what went out and what went in:

Front Driver and Passenger:
Out-Kenwood 4x6 coaxial speakers (didn't know it by the sound of them)
In- Polk Audio dB series 4x6 plate speakers (separate woofer and tweeter)

Rear Driver and Passenger:
Out- Infinity 4.5" coaxial speakers (once again wouldn't have known I even had speakers back there let alone Infinity's)
In- Polk Audio 3.5" coaxial speakers

Trunk:
Out- Nothing
In- Polk Audio SR 10" DVC Sub Woofer driven by a Polk Audio PA 600 mono amp and a 1 Farad cappaitor to help with the power supply.
The Box is made of 3/4" MDF and I painted it to resemble a weathered luggage trunk to help go with the wood floor giving a classy look I think

I also upgraded all the speaker wiring in the car which was a major pain in the a$$, but it was a necessity in the quest for better sound. One thing I learned it that not all 4x6 speakers are created equally and by that I mean is that a 4x6 speaker and a 4x6 plate speaker are totally different as far as fitting in our cabbies. Not wanting to send the Polks back since they didn't fit in the door pocket I cut them and the door to fit. I removed the corners of the plates to give them an oval shape that fit in the speaker grille and then I cut the door to allow for the bigger magnet to clear. All in all I like the setup, but I will soon be replacing the rear speakers with either some 5.5" speakers that I have from my Ranger project, or I will be buying some 5x7/6x8 and making them fit (I have a plan, but I won't go there). On to the fun part. Pics.

The loot:



3.5" next to the 10" Sub


See what I was talking about earlier in difference in dimensions?


Big magnet and little magnet


Here are what pics I have of the install. I got really excited with the whole thing and worked like a mad man so I didn't take many pics or get much sleep before work the next day (I ended up riding with just my drivers seat and no other interior items the first day of this two day ordeal)









Cutting out the new speaker holes and don't laugh at my gloves I was following OSHA guidlines


I added the sub components about a week after the speakers due to the fact that I had to construct my sub box and work was busy so my free time was down. The box was a fun project and my first time doing anything like it. I am not going to lie so I will admit to getting some my grandfather who is an excellent carpenter and has all the tools that make this type of job a cinch i.e. edger, router, sander, etc... However, he didn't understand what I wanted the box for, I told him it was for a speaker and he just looked at me. He got the picture about two days later .

Before Paint and wood putty filler:


Primed and Painted (not the edge bindings as of yet) and Loaded


The Amp:




The Capacitor:


All Painted and Stickered (still adding stickers as I buy/find them)










The sub had a 40 hour break in period which meant no excessive volume cranks or bass cranks (I don't have a pic, but I mounted the remote sub control in the ash tray and it is totally concealed and very cool IMOP) and after the 40 hours I noticed the bass did actually hit harder or I just was going def and was turning it up more. This sound system really cranks and I like it a lot. I think the 10" sub is plenty and I am running 400 watts RMS and it is all I want. Still looking to go bigger in the back speakers to help fill the mids, but really it sounds pretty good as is. So what do you guys think?

[SoCal_Cabby]

nice install, but lacking in originality.

as far as components, i refuse to use anything but boston acoustics for my mid and highs range....and as of late the only sub i prefer is the JL. if it were mine i'd do a stealth mount for the sub and get AAA

[bbrown]

nice install, but lacking in originality.

as far as components, i refuse to use anything but boston acoustics for my mid and highs range....and as of late the only sub i prefer is the JL. if it were mine i'd do a stealth mount for the sub and get AAA

Not sure what you meant by lacking originality? The trunk style sub box is quite original and compliments the hardwood flooring. Plus I never use the trunk so I didn't feel guilty filling it with a sub. I looked at the Boston stuff, but I decided to go the Polk route and I don't regret it other than I should have gone bigger in the rear. The JL's are over priced in my opinion. The JL W6 10" DVC offered just about the same performance for and added $100 which kinda interfered with my budget build. Plus I like matching brands of components and the sub/amp (you would think they would design them to work well with each other). To each his own and glad you liked the install.

[Briano1234]

nice install, but lacking in originality.

as far as components, i refuse to use anything but boston acoustics for my mid and highs range....and as of late the only sub i prefer is the JL. if it were mine i'd do a stealth mount for the sub and get AAA

Not sure what you meant by lacking originality? The trunk style sub box is quite original and compliments the hardwood flooring. Plus I never use the trunk so I didn't feel guilty filling it with a sub. I looked at the Boston stuff, but I decided to go the Polk route and I don't regret it other than I should have gone bigger in the rear. The JL's are over priced in my opinion. The JL W6 10" DVC offered just about the same performance for and added $100 which kinda interfered with my budget build. Plus I like matching brands of components and the sub/amp (you would think they would design them to work well with each other). To each his own and glad you liked the install.

I like it, I was w0ondering when I saw it that you didn't place a black line about 1 1/2 inches down from the top edge to simulate a "top" with a couple of hinges faked out in the back,,,,

[bbrown]

I like it, I was w0ondering when I saw it that you didn't place a black line about 1 1/2 inches down from the top edge to simulate a "top" with a couple of hinges faked out in the back,,,,

Thanks. Yeah, I thought about some hinges, but I didn't want something else that could rattle loose (my handle is made of plastic and it is glued so that it will not vibrate) and the black line would help to give the split top impression, but its already painted and stickered. Good idea and who knows maybe sometime down the line I will end up doing something like that.

[gull]

I find the biggest obstacle in my install is finding rear speakers that will fit that have enough power handling capacity.

[Calimus]

Awesome work Buster. Nice mix of components that get the job done, and not all that far off from the formula that I used in the crabby cabby.

For those looking for ideas, let me see if I can dig up the pics from what I did to the crabby cabby.

[bbrown]

Thanks. I heard that the Crabby Cabby had a unique setup, but I have yet to see it so pics would be cool.

[SoCal_Cabby]

nice install, but lacking in originality.

as far as components, i refuse to use anything but boston acoustics for my mid and highs range....and as of late the only sub i prefer is the JL. if it were mine i'd do a stealth mount for the sub and get AAA

Not sure what you meant by lacking originality? The trunk style sub box is quite original and compliments the hardwood flooring. Plus I never use the trunk so I didn't feel guilty filling it with a sub. I looked at the Boston stuff, but I decided to go the Polk route and I don't regret it other than I should have gone bigger in the rear. The JL's are over priced in my opinion. The JL W6 10" DVC offered just about the same performance for and added $100 which kinda interfered with my budget build. Plus I like matching brands of components and the sub/amp (you would think they would design them to work well with each other). To each his own and glad you liked the install.

the fact that it is just a box sitting in the trunk...period...

now if you made it a stealth system id oogle it like no other, but it is just simply a basic box simply just floating in your trunk space make it exactly the same as any other crappy install that your average 16 year old does....
JL is expensive ues...but nothing compares to their sound quality....polk would be my second choice for my high end, but as far as subs...nothing on the market compares to JL

[Calimus]

Take it easy there socal, not everyone here are master installers or sound guru's. Not to mention that as the old saying goes, one mans box with a speaker in it is another mans dream sound system. Ok, so I made the last part up. Either way, point is, we all like what we like. It doesn't have to be the same. Thats why it works, we are all different folks and if we all like the very same things, well, this place would be super boring. So lets take it a bit easy here before things get bent outta shape.

Ok, so yes, the crabby cabby has something "different". it's nothing special and it's certainly far from a professional level install. However, it makes great noise, whats better is that it's clean noise and can be heard well with the top down. So it might be ugly as home-made sin, but damnit, you can hear it and it sounds like it should. An thats what counts. I'll have to get some new pics as I can seem to find the one's I took forever and a day ago. Should be able to do that this weekend when the queen tells me where the hell she hid the camera.

[gull]

now if you made it a stealth system id oogle it like no other, but it is just simply a basic box simply just floating in your trunk space make it exactly the same as any other crappy install that your average 16 year old does....

I dunno, I thought the old luggage look was kind of clever, and nicely executed. It may not be an ambitious install but it's nicely put together. It wouldn't work for me, though -- I use my Cabby for auto touring and need the whole trunk for real luggage.

[bbrown]

now if you made it a stealth system id oogle it like no other, but it is just simply a basic box simply just floating in your trunk space make it exactly the same as any other crappy install that your average 16 year old does....

I dunno, I thought the old luggage look was kind of clever, and nicely executed. It may not be an ambitious install but it's nicely put together. It wouldn't work for me, though -- I use my Cabby for auto touring and need the whole trunk for real luggage.

Thanks Gull and Calimus. I guess I can't please everyone and let it be known that this was my first ever major stereo overhaul ever so I am quite pleased for the way things look, sound, and perform. SoCal I respect your opinion and that is exactly what it is, your opinion. Trunk space is not of any importance to me as this car is just used for commuting to work and summer driving. I don't haul groceries with it and when I do go out of town my duffel bag fits in the back seat easily.

Calimus I am looking forward to seeing the Crabby Cabby setup. Function over form is the saying isn't it?

[Calimus]

Function over form has always been my matto. Well, unless when your done it just looks too damn fugly for words and it's out where everyone can see it. Then there need to be some form.

Case in point. I've located one pic, will have to take new ones of everything else.

This is in the rear. The tiny craptastic factor speakers were replaced with infinity 6.5" rounds. Does the install look great? Hell no, but you can't see it and it sounds great.



An here is the head unit




Sub & Amp - yes that is an orange bungie holding everything in place





As for that wonderfull purple audio cable, you won't find a single trace of it in the passenger cabin. It's been very well hidden. Sure it's kinda sticking out there in the trunk, but hell, no one's looking back there but me so I don't care, lol.

[gull]

Hey, your trunk stll looks better than mine. It has carpet and interior side panels. Mine are long gone, I suspect they got moldy and the previous owner tossed them. If you have a leak you can grow some really impressive mold colonies over the winter here in the Seattle area.

[bbrown]

Nice. Are you still able to roll the back window down? I have heard of interference issues with bigger speakers and their magnets not allowing the window to roll down. Also, did you cut out the rear panel to allow the sound out? I was thinking of doing something like that and then covering it with some metal mesh (very carefully and tastefully) to get the speaker projection out. Hiding the cables is a must. I ripped up my carpet and ran my wires along the edge of the chassis to hide them and glued the carpet down once all was said and done. You couldn't find the wires even if you wanted to. I had friends in high school who had some big systems with the cables just run through the cabin not even trying to hide them, not cool.