nice job on the fabrication.

 

First time I turned this on after running the HU's auto eq...

Part of it is probably because I have been listening to wind noise for a while That aside, this upgrade provides a sizable bump in the SQ of the system over my previous install. Mid bass and overall clarity are significantly improved, imaging and stage are marginally improved, and the music definitely sounds more coherent.

The alpine pdx has enough headroom to power the zapco woofers with sufficient punch that the midbass sounds better already without the 12" sub in terms of impact and clarity.

I haven't gotten a chance to run through my reference songs on the IASCA CD and some of my Itune plus picks, but I did get a chance to further tune the system after getting the initial setup done by the 880PRS HU automatically.

Tweeter: High-pass@2k hz @ -24db/octave slope, -15db level
Woofer: Low-pass@2k hz @ -24db/octave slope, passenger side -8db level
Woofer: High-pass@100 hz @ -12db/octave slope, passenger side -8db level
Subwoofer: Not setup yet - Muted

Interesting point to note here is that the driver side woofer needs to play at 8db louder (2-3 times) than the passenger side woofer to match their output level with the driver side woofer mounted off-axis with 1 leg semi-blocking it.

The other interesting point is that I have to cross my tweeter very low @ 2k Hz with a steep slope (24db) to get an additional boost in tonality, stage and image of the system. For reference, auto-eq suggested 2.5k @ 12 db, which is no good.

All this tuning is done with the top down. The tuning settings for top up will likely be very different because I expect less cabin gain throughout the frequency spectrum and more road/wind noise. I'm still debating whether to get some tuning equipment to assist with this because it'll add another $200 to the upgrade which I'm very happy with already.

 

wow - awesome install - you put a lot of work and it looks great, I am sure it sounds great as well.

 

sorry to bug you again, lol, but what;s the mounting depth of your drivers? 2.84" right?

just curious because i have a pair of ID cx-64's with 2.8" mounting depth. they should fit with the same mdf baffle right?

how was it making yours work?

thanks, looking good.

thats a d*** good idea for the tweets. appearance wise- much better than dash mounts imo.

those fiberglassed pods?

 

Do you have more pictures of the amp mount and how it is held on?

Does the spare tire area open up without any hitches?

 

The mounting depth for the Zapco is 2.75". I'm pretty sure your 2.8" will fit with the 3/4" MDF baffle because I've wrapped my Zapco with the XTC baffle and there is still space behind it before hitting the window (scrolled down).

Yes the tweeter pods are made of fiberglass + rage body filler, wrapped in vinyl. Thanks for the compliment!

 

I took a snap of the amp mount from the past (see below). Two aluminum strips from OSH and plastic grommets from pepboys/autozone that fits into the OEM holes in the trunk. Then I secure the strips to the grommets using tapping screws, and cut a thin MDF board to mount the amp onto.



The spare tire area opens up fine without unmounting the amp. I can take the spare tire in and out without unmounting. That's before I decided to replace the spare tire with an amp a number of years ago.

 

looking really good

 

So, whatever became of this? I think I'm going to have to give Knukonceptz a call myself, as it appears one of the channels on the 4 channel RCA cables that I just installed does not have a good connection. I've got to test it a little more to make sure, but I'm pretty confident that is the problem. Just like you, replacing it will mean tearing everything back apart. I hope that they can make me somewhat satisfied.

 

That's right, I should've posted an update about resolution. In a nutshell, I'm now looking to other RCAs to replace them. Money down the drain and lesson learned. Luckily I don't have to pay someone to re-do the wiring. I think their speaker and power wires are still ok just that I won't bet on the RCAs again.

The long story is that I contacted Bill at Knukonceptz and he confirmed it's a defect that rarely occurs. It's not completely clear to me how the soldering fix got through their quality control though. They are sending a free replacement as part of the warranty. I was hoping to get the next model up but for car application the Krystal Klear is their best RCA, so no soup for me.

Lesson learned is to check the cables before install and consider paying more for higher quality cables to avoid this type of issue. For higher price cable, I guess what I'm paying for is insurance against this type of issue. Sound quality wise, in the S, I don't think RCA cables will make a noticeable difference.