System nearly done -- new pics
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From: Dallas
My e8a finally shipped out to wlaurent, who got it installed in his trunk enclosure and turned around to me in a few days. I just got it yesterday. Since the leads from my amp were just lying there ready to go, installing the box took all of 5 minutes. Check it out:
My impressions:
- The Alpine 9813 head unit is great. No surprise I guess since almost everybody here seems to have one, but it sounds good, works nicely with mp3 discs, has a ton of controls for EQ and timing and such which are useful, and the tilt-down face thing is surprisingly nice.
- I love the Boston Rally component speakers. They sounded pretty nice initially, but I really like how they've broken in. They still sound satisfyingly smooth and they actually have a ton of tight bass and clear midrange. I have my sub crossed over pretty low.
- The e8a is pretty sweet. I'll have to see how it breaks in, but it's already impressively tight and deep for "just" an 8.
- wlaurent's trunk enclosure rocks. Everybody who doesn't need a pair of 10s in the tool well or whatever should get one. It's extremely well built and fits so nicely in that space and he was a real pleasure to buy from.
All I have left now is installing modifry/lucid's DCI.
One question though. My Phonix Gold has sensitivity knobs for the front and rear (or in this case sub) channels. I'm having to turn the front one all the way down (4) and the rear one about halfway up (top of the scale is .2) and set the subwoofer level on the head unit to about 5-10 for it to sound "right" to me. It sounds great now, but I just want to make sure that doesn't sound like too great a differential between the components and the sub or that the sensitivity settings will be bad for anything. Crossover wise, I'm running the components full range since they sound so good and crossing the sub at like 80hz (I think you said this was what you were doing, PJK3 -- I agree, it sounds pretty balanced).
Matt
My impressions:
- The Alpine 9813 head unit is great. No surprise I guess since almost everybody here seems to have one, but it sounds good, works nicely with mp3 discs, has a ton of controls for EQ and timing and such which are useful, and the tilt-down face thing is surprisingly nice.
- I love the Boston Rally component speakers. They sounded pretty nice initially, but I really like how they've broken in. They still sound satisfyingly smooth and they actually have a ton of tight bass and clear midrange. I have my sub crossed over pretty low.
- The e8a is pretty sweet. I'll have to see how it breaks in, but it's already impressively tight and deep for "just" an 8.
- wlaurent's trunk enclosure rocks. Everybody who doesn't need a pair of 10s in the tool well or whatever should get one. It's extremely well built and fits so nicely in that space and he was a real pleasure to buy from.
All I have left now is installing modifry/lucid's DCI.
One question though. My Phonix Gold has sensitivity knobs for the front and rear (or in this case sub) channels. I'm having to turn the front one all the way down (4) and the rear one about halfway up (top of the scale is .2) and set the subwoofer level on the head unit to about 5-10 for it to sound "right" to me. It sounds great now, but I just want to make sure that doesn't sound like too great a differential between the components and the sub or that the sensitivity settings will be bad for anything. Crossover wise, I'm running the components full range since they sound so good and crossing the sub at like 80hz (I think you said this was what you were doing, PJK3 -- I agree, it sounds pretty balanced).
Matt
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Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hey xmatt,
That looks pretty cool. Good job. I'm going with a very similar setup as well. William should be building the enclosure as I type. I've got the e8a sitting here, waiting to go in. I'm thinking of Phoenix Gold for an amp myself.
I've got a question for you. The e8a is a dual voice coil sub, at 4 ohms per coil. How do you have it wired up to that amp? Are you running a parallel load at 2 ohms? And are you bridging two of the channels? Is that PG amp taking a 2 ohm bridged load with no troubles?
Chris.
That looks pretty cool. Good job. I'm going with a very similar setup as well. William should be building the enclosure as I type. I've got the e8a sitting here, waiting to go in. I'm thinking of Phoenix Gold for an amp myself.
I've got a question for you. The e8a is a dual voice coil sub, at 4 ohms per coil. How do you have it wired up to that amp? Are you running a parallel load at 2 ohms? And are you bridging two of the channels? Is that PG amp taking a 2 ohm bridged load with no troubles?
Chris.
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From: Baton Rouge, LA
i don't blame you for working w/ the PG's crossovers, but the Alpines will give you a bit more specific control. i'm an old analog hand myself, but in the S - i've given up some of that AR mentality... 
at home, i'm very very specific -- down to D/A converters, pre-amps, cabling, etc.... of course, i don't have the noise floor that's in the S.
it's a tradeoff i suppose. *shrug*
as for me, i'm stuck w/ the Alpine's crossover for now, as my Adcom doesn't have a built in crossover... it's a small price to pay...
maybe if i could find a decent one, i'd pop for a good analog crossover, just so i could play with the settings more.
cross reference:
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=171268
and yes, the PG 600.4 is 2 ohm stable.
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PHOT6004
i think that amp installed there (2nd or 3rd i've seen) is a great option and has a very sexy look.
at home, i'm very very specific -- down to D/A converters, pre-amps, cabling, etc.... of course, i don't have the noise floor that's in the S.it's a tradeoff i suppose. *shrug*
as for me, i'm stuck w/ the Alpine's crossover for now, as my Adcom doesn't have a built in crossover... it's a small price to pay...
maybe if i could find a decent one, i'd pop for a good analog crossover, just so i could play with the settings more.cross reference:
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=171268
and yes, the PG 600.4 is 2 ohm stable.
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PHOT6004
i think that amp installed there (2nd or 3rd i've seen) is a great option and has a very sexy look.
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From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
William, thanks for the good news! Lately, I've had a ton of trouble with my IPS, so I'm not surprised they are now bouncing e-mails too.
Thanks for the info on the PG amps. I've checked out their website and read about how they handle a 2 ohm bridged load. They do use some current limiting circuits. If the current draw is too large for too long at a 2 ohm load, the amp will turn off. They say the chances are pretty slim that the conditions to turn the amp off would happen, but I'd like to hear from some people who are actually using the same parts as I'm going to. I've been toying with the idea of getting a Titanium 500.4.
Chris.
Thanks for the info on the PG amps. I've checked out their website and read about how they handle a 2 ohm bridged load. They do use some current limiting circuits. If the current draw is too large for too long at a 2 ohm load, the amp will turn off. They say the chances are pretty slim that the conditions to turn the amp off would happen, but I'd like to hear from some people who are actually using the same parts as I'm going to. I've been toying with the idea of getting a Titanium 500.4.
Chris.
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From: Dallas
Kronos:
It's just attached with long screws that go through the amp holes, through the mounting board, and into the trunk panel.
chrissa:
I am indeed running bridged out of the PG. As of yet I haven't had any problems at all. I also haven't tried ear-splitting volumes but I've had it pumping. I got the 600.4 instead of the 400.4 basically purely to be on the safe side with the e8a, between its low impedance and 250-400W suggested power I hear bandied about. Who knows if that was necessary. Right now I'm happy
PJK3:
Ya, I'll probably give in and do things in the Alpine. By the way, thanks for linking my other thread for continuity. I forgot to answer a couple of your questions over there. I did go with the stock locations for the components, mostly because I wanted everything to look completely stock looking in from outside, but I actually think it soundstages and such pretty decently. As for my cap, the installer suggested a 1F cap which is what I went with. I'm certainly not having any dimming problems under high load so it must have worked.
It's just attached with long screws that go through the amp holes, through the mounting board, and into the trunk panel.
chrissa:
I am indeed running bridged out of the PG. As of yet I haven't had any problems at all. I also haven't tried ear-splitting volumes but I've had it pumping. I got the 600.4 instead of the 400.4 basically purely to be on the safe side with the e8a, between its low impedance and 250-400W suggested power I hear bandied about. Who knows if that was necessary. Right now I'm happy
PJK3:
Ya, I'll probably give in and do things in the Alpine. By the way, thanks for linking my other thread for continuity. I forgot to answer a couple of your questions over there. I did go with the stock locations for the components, mostly because I wanted everything to look completely stock looking in from outside, but I actually think it soundstages and such pretty decently. As for my cap, the installer suggested a 1F cap which is what I went with. I'm certainly not having any dimming problems under high load so it must have worked.