So, car is in the shop, complete engine rebuild, etc... suck a dick, blah blah blah.... whatever.

And I'm going freaking insane without it, so I have made all kinds of lists of crap to do to the car when I get it back.

One big upgrade I want to do is a full audio system replacement. I plan to do the ipad mini in-dash upgrade with the suggested Pioneer head unit, etc controlling it.

My question now is regarding speakers and amps etc. My car came with the Bose system, with sub box in the back etc. But i currently utilizing a ****ty BOSS double din head unit. It's garbage and the whole system sounds like garbage. My understanding is that the Bose subs in the back are 2 ohm run in parallel which puts them at 1 ohm. I can't imagine they are doing anything being run by this ****ty head unit.

So I want to pull the factory amp, factory subs, and all factory speakers and replace with new units. Not over the top ****, but just a good matched package. Problem is, I can't get any kind of determination on what size the rear sub units are, and what will fit in that box. Also mixed answers on what will fit in the doors and the dash, etc.

Does anyone have this information or can list out possible options of speakers/subs/amp I should go wit on this build? I want to have it all sitting and waiting for when I get the car back.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

sub box has 5" sub in it. behind the seat and the dash are 4" mid and tweeters.(behind the seats don't have tweets most use coaxial here) doors are 5.25 mid bass but 6.5" can be made to fit. i have a picture of an auto leads connector that would allow the factory wiring to be used for everything but the dash tweets which needs a added line to your amp. emailed the company in uk waiting for a response

i did the iPad install and it was cool for a bit but in the end its not what i wanted so ill be ripping all the bose out and doing a d/d install this summer.

focal speakers are what most are using but I'm seeing hertz , jl audio components that are a nice alternative

 

What didn't you like about your ipad install? I ask because I was thinking the 8" Double Din unit too, but was enamored by the look of the ipad in-dash for odb2 diagnostics and music collection, pretty images, etc.... what was your beef about it, i don't wanna make an expensive mistake.

 

i didn't care for the fitment of the iPad into the dash bezel. it was ok but not factory looking to me. I'm also a bit of a techno deficient retard so i was never able to get the iPad to turn off completely and turn on with the key. i can get it to sleep but it still drains the iPad over the weeks to maybe month i don t drive the car. iPad just drains to nothing. it was fun when i did it and i used the factory stereo so i spent less than a 100$ doing the mod. considering an app radio parrot or something like that now.

 

My suggestion if you are looking towards the ipad mini setup:

Alpine ICS-x7HD or Pioneer Avic AVH4000NEX both apple car play unit and with IOS 8.3 you will get apple wifi play for wireless connection to head unit

Speakers: Door can handle up to an 8" but most go with a 6.5 midwoofer
Dash : A single tweeter will do the job most of the time but a true three way setup is the way to go with this vehicle
Rear: Rear staging is a personal choice for every listener. I have run 4" and tweeter separates back there without any issues.
Sub: There is a following for compact form factor with running 3 and 4 JL Audio 6" woofers back there in a custom box for subs or you can opt for 2 8" that are still discreet in mounting space. To fit a 10" or 12" back there you are looking at a rear seat delete with a rather larger box .
Also consider front passenger foot well with a well designed 8" DVC sub there if your passengers tend to be 5'8" or shorter

Power wise: Don't skimp on power, a good 5 channel amp is at a minimum . Consider JL HD amps for size, Hertz or Zapco for cleaner power but big plates with higher voltage requirements.

Consider speakers from Hertz, Focal K2, Hertz, Hybrid Audio Clarus separate or Legatia, or get more specialized with SEAS or VIFA (check with Madisound). Passive crossovers are sufficient for most audio builds but if you have room for amplifiers look at using a DSP unit like Mosconi, Arc Audio or Zapco. Most are 8 channel or greater DSP allowing you to tune your car via a active crossover .

 

Part of me wonders if I should just go the route of 8" in dash unit... I just want it to look better than the garbage I have now. Hearing 32 say that the fit wasn't the best concerns me, I like it to look factory.

Is this the unit you have rxbike?

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-9o2h4EW...NE-Z928HD.html

Seems cost effective... Do you have any pics of yours installed?

 

rxbike what are your thoughts on jl audio components? also if i run 3 way componets in the dash and door do i run coaxial speakers behind the seats and will that require additional wiring to the amp?

 

remember you have to cut out the face of the factory dash horseshoe by hand to get the iPad to fit. d/d stereo install kits have machine cut pieces to give you the factory look. thats what i didn't care for.

i have also done some research on alpine d/d units and the reviews regarding the gps maps and the usability of the bluetooth aren't good
seems the Alpine ICS-x7HD isn't iPhone friendly by the reviews

 

Yes that's the unit I have , it is previous year's unit and they have a newer one now with a little nicer interface with optical toslink output capability to run single cable direct to a DSP unit . Will require a bit of cutting to make it fit. The 7" alpine is an easy drop in with NAVI if you don't want the carplay route which will work with all your primary IOS app including nav.

Parrot is getting ready to release the Google Play compatible deck in spring/summer 2015 . This unit and also the alpine and pioneer apple car play units are mech-less decks which means that they are half the depth of a stock head unit. This allows for some creative mounting of amplifiers in a stealth setup also. Look at the alpine KTP-445 amplifiers, they can easily be mounted behind the alpine ics 7" unit for a 4 channel amp setup. I run this amp in my daughter's honda elements driving 2 pairs of hybrid audio mirus and it sounds pretty amazing for $150.00/pair of coax.

 

"optical toslink output capability to run single cable direct to a DSP unit ."

wtf does this mean?

 

Looks like alpine has several new units, holy wow they get pricey.... looks like they have a 9" one now too, will the 996 dash carry a 9" unit? And if only 8, where do i locate the bezel insert to get that factory look?

 

You can run a three way cross over network to the front speakers and still have rear coax or separates to rear fill with a two cross over network for rear imaging. I find that with my exhaust and tune the rears are often not heard much.

here are pictures of my current setup:





two and three way xovers





Dash speakers: Hybrid Audio Legatia 3.5SE and R2 Pro ring radiators





Rear panel using original mounting plate<br/>Hybrid Audio Legatia L4 and L1 Pro tweeter

I am currently powering the system with a JL HD 900/5 providing 100 watts/side to mids and highs and 500 watts to a pair of 8" DVC Hybrid Clarus subs.

With the DSP-Z8 unit in there now, my next step is to pull the passive xovers and use the 8 channels of the DSP-z8 as active crossovers, add an additional JL 600/4 and run the 6.5 of this amp in bridge mode and run the 900/5 mids and high channels to the 3.5 and r2 pro tweeter, eliminating the rear channels completely. Will be rebuilding the sub box to run a single 10" or 12" DVC and retiring the 8" subs.
The extra speakers will probably go to build a home speaker system

 

Jeez... i'm in deep i guess, lol.

Those alpines get awful reviews. Any complaints?

 

Instead of 4-5 sets of rca cables to the digital sound processor then to the amps, I run one single optical audio cable from head unit to the DSP unit then individual RCA to each amplifier channel. This gives the cleanest and "purest" signal source.

In regards to the Alpine 9", I've seen on FB where one was made to fit but with lots of hacking and relocating of switches including a new custom molded horseshoe to fit that monster in. We've put on in a Ford F150 recently and it is a monster but mates nicely with the newer big in your face dashes that are fully intergrated.
The internals on the 9" are identical in most aspects to the 8" with just a larger screen (marginal)
Personally I prefer the video resolution of the 7" over the 8" , better contrast and better blacks

I've not had any issues with the 8" alpine unit. My son has the 7" car play unit in his jetta and he loves it. My daughter in her honda element has the 6.1" INE-S920HD which is two years old and far superior to my INE-W940 6.1"in my DD Subaru legacy.
Sonically all four units are very good, and if Eclipse/Fujitsu Ten was still distributing in the US, that would be the only other mfg I would consider compared to a Pioneer or Kenwood deck.

 

Check this. This is basically what I'm doing except a pair of 8inch subs in the back. It's in the shop now, same installer. I've heard the system in that thread - note there's no rear speakers. It literally sounded like they were playing in front of me! Irish1000 is the user here who owns it. The company that makes those components up front have lower cost lines to consider but I matched his having heard it.

IMO the magic is in the DSP and tuning; you don't need speakers in back. When I listened to that car the sub was turned OFF and it sounded amazing. I'm going way smaller as all I want is fill and not teeth rattling bass, he's going smaller too. I'm not yet sure how the 8s will be mounted but I'm shooting for unobtrusive, possibly firing up. My Bose box is being removed and I need access to the DME easily

I'm swapping my exhaust for something that doesn't drone and finishing the sound deadening over everything but the roof. Cost for my install is eye watering but it's mostly the hardware. The installer is reasonable and a damned nice guy but it's taking awhile lol. I believe you can go lower end on speakers and amps and sound as good to most ears - probably mine too lol. I went with a different amp setup - no flash. I can post the hardware list in a week or so and the builder might do a build thread.

If you check those forums there's a great deal of information on using tablets for head units. I went with Alpine for size and NAV capability. I'd have considered the Apple Play stuff if Waze could be used. I was also unwilling to pay the monthly fee for yet another connected device. The new Parrot head unit looks good though but isn't out yet so far as I know.

Hope that helps a little, if you wait a week or two I should have my car back and have additional information and impressions that might help further.