New Ice Set Up For My Avensis

[Ken]

I know we have quite a few experts in this field on here and could you look this over and see if there are any flaws in this system my local dealers recommended for me.All i asked him for was clear crisp tunes at high volume will this do or can you suggest any improvements.

Existing sony cd/cass/radio WX-C570R.

4 infinity silk dome tweeters 105t.

4 infinity two way door Speakers 605cs

2 infinity 6x9 three way Speakers 6953i (on existing parcel shelf)

1 infinity basslink x with built in amp.

6 disc autochanger.

Not much change out of a grand fitted.

Advice much appreciated,ken

[mellow_yellow]

Infinty do some good stuff!

your looking at the Reference range arent you? not Kappa or Perfect?

If i was you, i wouldnt go for the Basslink, but instead a Perfect 10.1 or Perfect 12.1, 300w / 350w RMS respectively.

I run the Perfect 12.1SE, and it rocks! the Perfect 12.1 (which i did have til it got nicked) was absolutely mental!

[Ken]

It is the reference range,sorry should have said.

It was the size of the basslink that i liked,you don't lose that much bootspace and the amp is built in.

How large would the enclosure be on a 10.1 or 12.1 and i assume a seperate amp would be needed to run that.Also i am after a balanced sound right through the range would getting a 12.1 improve that or make it a bass orientated system.

As i said i know very little about ice so all help appreciated,ken

[mellow_yellow]

the Perfect series subs are very vocal orientated as supposed to hard hitting bass like Kicker or Rockford Fosgate. its hard to explain but when you put the two together, u'll know what i mean.

if this system is mainly for yourself and not very passenger orientated, i would loose the 6*9's altogether. dont get me wrong, they are very good Speakers in clarity and oomph, but from personal experience i find they drown out the sound of the fronts. u may get away with it cos ur goin for 4 mids upfront though.

i just find, with hte sub acting next to the 6*9s(or any rears for that matter) the sounds get slighlty muffled in each other.

but if your goin for 6*9s, dont keep the original shelf. you just wont get the full potential out of them.

Dynamat the front doors at the minimum (as much of the car as you can afford really). This kills road noise, and allows the sounds to reverb nicely in the car makin it sound sweet.

and finally, to answer your q :) ... the sound can always be adjusted to how you want it. just take the bass right down on head unit, and play about with the gain on the amp till you get the best sound for how you want it. dependin on what sort of music you listen to, the 10s are better for harder, tighter bass like Dance/Trance, but 12s are better all rounders if you tend to diverse into R&B n stuff...

hope this helps.

[Ken]

Thanks so much for your response mellow.

The system is just for me, but i have listened to all the Speakers running at once and they sound great.

He said because running the mids upfront with the 6x9's would balance out,but his overall brief was to have an overall balance thru the range and up to now i think he is doing ok.

Also because the 6x9s have their own metal brackets and screw direct to the back shelf i don't need a custom shelf or so he said.

Or do you think i should do something else with my cash,,ken

[mellow_yellow]

i know it may sound like an expensive option, but if it were my money it would go straight on a set of Perfect Components upfront and the 12.1 Sub with Ampage to suit... these Speakers would set you back around £400 in total (depending on your source) leaving ample amounts for an amp or two and Dynamat...

Remember, your ears are designed primarily (chk sp) to absorb sound from directly in front of you - look at a concert set up etc where all the kit is usually in front of you. These 4.1 surrounds are only useful if you want the world to hear your music.

For ultimate clarity, i would definately invest in strong fronts, even leaving the rears to run off the head unit with bass down could suffice....

if your still gonna go for the four corner setup, i really would invest in a strenthened shelf. eventually, the existing parcel shelf will start to sag from the weight of the Speakers... the are not designed to support that kind of weight when they have had holes cut into them reducing their rigidity. The custom shelf will give a lot more disciplined (chk sp) bass reproduction...

the choice is yours..

[+Steve]

hmmm i will have to see who has the better system for the same money at our next meet!

[Ken]

I think i will go for the custom shelf after all it is only a extra ton so not to much over budget and as for the dynamat i hadn't even thought of that i know it is £19.99 a roll how many do you think i would need and would you put it under the carpets as well as inside the doors.

I am going back on friday to order the system and arrange a date to drop of the car so will have a listen to the Speakers running with the 12.1 and make a decision then what to go for,cheers ken

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Ken,

I would definatly stack your cash into front Speakers - a nice bi-amped 3-way setup allways sounds top dollar! Mellow is quite right in that systems with front focus much more defined than a typical four speaker surround system - I only have some relativly low key componant Speakers in the back that I switch on when there's people in the back.

As for dynamamat - do as much as you can afford - I bought 3 big packs of dynamat extreme at £70 each, each pack contains 4 roll packs (4 sheets) worth of dynamat extreme. I did the doors, the floor, the boot, rear quarter pannels, pillars, boot sides, lid, door etc etc. Also seal, resin and dynamat the inside of the sub box if its a sealed type.

I always work backwards, good amplifiers are no good without good Speakers, good speakers are no good if you dont mount them well - so start with your sound deadening and de-rattling - with my car i took everything out very carfully, firstly dynamat all metal surfaces, then run foam tape round all cable looms and anything that looks like it might rattle, secured all the plastic pop things that hold the door cards on, foam tape anything that can move. I also fixed foam sheets on the back sides of any plastic panel work so that nothing could ever rattle against it.

Mount your front speakers well, make nice MDF mounts if the standard ones dont fit well or look *******. Make sure that nothing near the speaker can resinate, and also try and seal any nearby holes in the door that join the front and the back of the speaker.

It depends what extremes you want to go to - but if you are looking for real top sound - the thing that's ulltimatly going to produce that is the speakers them selves. So choose wisely and take you time installing them.

Steve.

Steve.

[Ken]

Cheers for that steve.

The price for the dynamat is better than round here,did you get it locally because my dad lives outside nuneaton and could pick it up when i visit him.

Didn't realise how much work went into fixing it methinks i better book a week off work :D .I bet it will feel great cracking open a cold one when it is done,ken

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Well I am in Leicester, so not far from nuneaton - I use a really good guy who does me really good prices. The place is well established and if I have any problems they get them sorted streight away.

If you want me to price up some stuff for you I would be more than happy to!

You asked in your first post if there were any suggestions - what have you allready got - and what are you looking for - also what car is it and whats your budget for the equipment it's self?

Steve.

[Ken]

It's a 98 avensis steve,just standard at the mo on the ice side but if possible i would like to keep the head unit that came with it,i haven't seen a better one yet.It is the sony wx-c570r radio/cass/cd but if it does have to go for the sake of overall sound quality then no prob.

Thought about a grand on budget but don't mind streching to 2 if it needs it.As to what i am looking for it is basically no distortion when played loud,not after been heard 2 streets away just after clarity when cranked up a bit.

Do not mind travelling to leicester at all.If you don't mind pricing up a system for me that would be great steve,ken

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Ok,

Gimmie a day or two and I will send you a design including wiring diagram's etc...

How much modification of doors etc are you looking for? Are we looking at Speakers that will fit in the original places with no major door builds etc?

If 2 grand is the absolute upper limit i will work on getting all cabling, dynamat, fixings and trimmings included for as little over 1 grand as possible.

I will find out about that head unit.

What sort of music do you listen to?

Could you measure your boot depth width and height and post the details, and how much boot space do you want left and usable - do you want it a show style install or hidden away for practicality?

Your going to need some security for this lot - do you want that budgeting in or is it sorted?

Steve.

[Ken]

Boot width at the back is 53cms going to 37cms at the front.Boot depth is 17cms.

Going to get a quote tomorrow about leather interior including doors/dash/boot so will let you know after 4 if going for a door rebuild or ones that will slot in the original place.

Hidden away please do a lot of fishing so still need to keep a bit of room,unless it is possible to have a show style tucked to the sides.

I listen to mainly dance/trance and hard house.

Don't include security allready budgeted for that.

Get back to you tomorrow steve,ken

[Ken]

Hi steve,just got back from pricing up the interior.Ones that will fit the original places in the doors please.It is a lot easier for how i want the interior to go down that road.Got a slap of the missus when she read cover up the boot install so i can get my fishing stuff in.So show style please for the boot.Thanks again,ken

This bits for the sneaky avensis owner who tried to cancel my booking at the interior spot and then phone up later trying to book theirs in for the same dates :o I've paid my deposit now and he is fully booked up till after july so there. :P ;)

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Ok, Ill get a design on the way tonight - now I know your into dance, house and trance I realise we need some hard hitting base and top quality vocals - which is easier than trying to get a system to do absolutly every kind of music really well.

Steve.

[Ken]

Cheers steve :D

Whoops forgot to mention won't need anything carpeting to match.Interior is been done from dash to boot,ken

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Oh Ok - So are you doing the install first - then they can carpet your false floor, sub etc to match what they are doing?

Steve.

[Ken]

Thats right steve install first and then they are going to match everything from front to back.

What they are going to do for me is as they take say the seats and floor out,give me a bell and i drive over and dynamat everything underneath.So hopefully should be a lot easier to do,ken

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Yeah that sounds cool - you can whack all your cables in at the same time!

Steve.

[Ken]

Didn't think of that steve.By the sounds of it they are going to do it in sections 1-seats,floor and dash.2-doors and 3-boot so could work if i did it bit by bit as they went on,ken

[mellow_yellow]

i live in coventry! between you both i think!... we shud meet up in lesta's Fosse park one day guysl... what do you reckon?

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Yeah sounds like a plan - exchange notes :P

Steve.

[Ken]

I live in scarborough mellow but my dad lives outside nuneaton so i'm down that area a couple of times a month.It would be great to have a look and see how you have both set your systems up and then maybe go on to where steve buys his stuff and have a good look at it before buying.But something tells me my wallet will be a lot lighter on the way back :D .

Do you both have weekends off or do you have days off in the week and it can't be for about 3 weeks due to the car been in the bodyshop.We are having a bit of a mare putting the new front skirt on which is designed for an avensis but is one inch to short so are putting a piece in the middle,when that drys we can start putting on the 8 coats of paint so 2-3 weeks tops,ken

[Steve Ratcliffe]

Hi Ken,

That sounds like a plan - we can meet up at my Audio Suppliers showroom - it's huge - loads on display and loads to look at - we can try the stuff for size in your car and they wont mind us meeting up in the Car Park either.

I'm working on a design with the guy I deal with down there - I can't make it for about three weeks either so hopefully we will have a pretty good idea what's going to do the job by then.

He will do us good prices and they also do a credit card with 6 months interest free credit if you want to spread the payments.

Cheers,

Steve.