my system and updates

**naughty** · 23-09-2008, 03:52 AM

okay when i bought my Polo GTI i actually installed a pretty decent system into it - but i have since then upgraded lots of stuff

heres some details of the system as i had it first installed - it consisted off

1) alpine 9827 head unit

2) MB Quart reference series component split set

3) JBL 755.6 amplifier

4) JBL 1502D 15" subwoofer

all of this in a decent looking custom install - so it was all good for awhile - but then i found myself wanting to improve it as i saved up the cash

so i basically upgraded the head unit to a Kenwood K-CD01 cd player - this had dual burr brown 24 bit DAC's and is regarded as kenwood's topnotch SQ unit

then i replaced that JBL 6 channel amplifier with a phoenix Gold xenon x200.4 amplifier

and the front splits from the reference series was upgraded to a top of the line set of MB Quart QSD216 "Q-Lines"

i also got myself a PG EQ215 graphic equaliser but i did not permanently install this - reason for this will become apparent later

**naughty** · 23-09-2008, 04:02 AM

so the reason why i didnt install the EQ215 was cos the person who organized me that EQ managed to find me a mint condition EQ230 - so i sold off the EQ215 and managed to get the EQ230 from the UK

heres what the amp rack looked like with the quart passive crossovers and the PG amp

i also managed to score a 6 disc cd changer from when my bro sold his old car - he pulled out the sound system but his new car came with some decent stuff as stock - so he didnt want to install the old stuff

at this stage i decided that whilst i was going to do a reinstall a rethink about the subwoofer situation was in order since the 15" took up too much space and i didnt really need such a big sub - so i bought a JL audio 10W3v2 since these were EOL (end of life) stock and the 10W3v3 was introduced - got this thing very cheap

- so i installed it in a prefab enclosure just to test it out

wasnt really happy with how one sounded - so as a matte rof curiosity i spoke to a friend who purchased another identical sub to lend me his to check how two sounds

i was resigned to purchasing the second one - but then i was made an offer on something far more high end - so i returned the one sub and then sold my one to the guy who lent me the other one - since the two sounded great as a pair

**naughty** · 23-09-2008, 04:07 AM

so what was i now going to use as a subwoofer since i was also in the process of selling that JBL 15" with its enclosure - answer is pretty simple

enter the Morel Ultimo 12" subwoofer which i got used or 2 months at a price around 1/3rd of its retail value - so selling the JBL and JL and puttingin a balance took me around 5 notches up when it comes to a subwoofer

- again ive just got this temporarily inmstalled into the car in a prefab box for now

closeup of the ultimo

the original morel grille is also on its way - should have it in around a weeks time - so i wont need to use that cheap grille to protect the sub a bit

**naughty** · 23-09-2008, 04:27 AM

so now this left me in a dilemna - the ultimo needs 1000watts RMS to perform optimally - so what was i gonna do bout power since the x200.4 only gives 400 watts from a pair of channels bridged - i had two of those x200.4 amplifiers and the solution was to sell one and purchase a PG xenon x1200.1

so now i decided to biamp the Quart split set - since i could feed 200 watts per channel to the mids as well as the tweeters - but another idea was to use the mids as dedicated midbass drivers and run them active fromt he amps crossover at 400 hz and below - and then run the the passive crossovers from the split set at 400hz and above - this would then run the tweeters from 2400hz up but inbetween 400hz and 2400hz i needed something to fill in the gap - enter the hertz 3" HL70 midrange

pictured next to a measuring tape so you can see the size - and heres the rear of the mids

in the meantime my buddy visiting the UK has also managed to get me a Phoenix Gold balanced line set

i only need to connect the transmitter since the EQ230 is a balanced line receiver already - so the theory is to reduce noise by using a very short RCA interconnect from the headunit to the transmitter - then connect the balanced line from the transmitter at the front of the car to the EQ at the rear of the car - and from there a short RCA interconnect to the amplifiers - this allows me to get far better quality interconnects at the same price as a 6m pair of lower quality ones

also got some dynaxorb to place behind the midbass drivers

further plans include to dynamat the entire car - this will be expensive since im going to do the floors and roof as well as the entire hatch and also the firewall and all the doors - so i need around three bulk packs

another possible upgrade im planning is to change the headunit - if i can sell the current headunit and cd changer then the plan is to get an alpine 9887 headunit since that also has the 24 bit burr brown Dac's but also has the time alignement and active crossovers if i wish to use those as well as a 13 band EQ or it can be configured as a 5 band parametric for any temporary EQ changes - th eidea od duplicating EQ is to use the front one as tone controls - and the rear one will be adjusted for the acoustics of te car and left like that permanently - but that rear EQ is also a balanced line transmitter and line driver (up to 8v)

also trying to come up with ideas on the cosmetics for the install - will report on the install as it happens - but it will take a long time for this since i am waiting on the balanced line parts as well as the dynamat - will start the install as those parts start arriving - the headunit isnt too critical since that can be a last minute change cos im using harnesses on the factory fittings

**naughty** · 23-09-2008, 04:33 AM

just to show the type of ideas i am mulling over here are some pics - hopefully i can pull it off to finish the system at this level of finish - but im going to borrow a few ideas from these setups

**FJ Steve** · 23-09-2008, 08:35 AM

Bloody hell...and here I was getting worried that AM wasn't going to work on my AVC9000.

Nice job

**DaveMack** · 23-09-2008, 11:49 AM

Hey Naughty ... suggest you add one more item to your regular car servicing list ... check all seam welds / glue and for loose fitting bolts etc. (including the fillings in your mouth).

Dave

**naughty** · 23-09-2008, 06:33 PM

Originally Posted by DaveMack

Hey Naughty ... suggest you add one more item to your regular car servicing list ... check all seam welds / glue and for loose fitting bolts etc. (including the fillings in your mouth).

Dave

Haha - yeah - come to think of it one of my fillings is coming loose - but i think thats more because i went to a bad dentist - 27000km's on the clock of the car but not a single rattle or creak besides the cd covers moving about whilst driving and for a South African assembled VW thats no mean feat

also shows that the system was built solid - forgot to add that when i complete the dynamat job the interior of the car will be looking something like this (still planning this cos the dynamat is expensive - and im still buying an electronic gadget here or there to complete the equipment list for the complete system first)

if anything is going to be loose enough to rattle apart after three bulk packs of dynamat it deserves to do so