Before I begin, if the moderator of this area objects to me posting so many pictures please let me know.
I thought it would be neat to document my audio system upgrades. I challenged myself to do a complete overhaul for less than $700.00. I think I can do it. I will post pictures as I go along. I am am open to comments, questions or critisizm.
I dont really hate the Bose system. I, as many other members have voiced their dissatisfaction with the low and high end in the Bose setup. I dont think it is the result of the head unit. I rather believe it is a result of the amp and speaker setup. I happen to like the head unit. From my tests I have concluded that the full spectrum of sound is reproduced by the head unit faithfully. Something gets lost after it leaves the head unit though. So it is my objective to re-engineer this to my own standards.
Day 1: Out with the Bose subwoofer. Simple enough. I got a great deal on some subs from a vendor on ebay. They are 12" Bazooka raw woofers. They have decent power handling capacity and can be WATER cooled if I wish to extend their power handling capabilities. I dont think I am going to enter any SPL contetsts though so the water cooling may be overkill (not the case for the amps though..see details later) The subs were @ $43.00 each. Kinda low priced but I know others who swear by these puppys for their price/value. I had all the specs for these speakers even before I recieved them. I was able to do the neceassry calculations to make a proper speaker box using a bunch of calculators that are available on the net. I made the decision to go with a sealed enclosure for my setup. I did this because I did not want to give up my storage space. In a sealed enclosure my cabinet would require .93 cubic feet per chamber. With a ported enclosure that figure more than doubled to 2 cubic feet per chamber or a total of 4 cu. ft. I concluded that the smaller box, although slighly less efficient would be just what I needed. Off to Home Depot. Bought a sheet of 3/4" MDF @ $20.00. Bought liquid nails and another Marine adhesive to seal all seams air tight @ $12.00. Bought some really nice speaker carpet in China Town to compliment the black carpet in the cargo area @ $11.99 Whipped out some power tools and got to work. See photos
Notice that I shaped the cabinet to follow the contour of the rear seats to maximize space.
Also for those wondering. The side panels are recessed to accept another carpet covered panel and it will be flushed out when done.
I used liquid nails adhesive to glue all pieces together. I used 2 1/2" coarse sheet rock screws to screws boards together. All holes were pre-drilled and counter sunk.
Here is where I sealed all seams with a really tough marine adhesive. I used a dark color so I could see it well.
I thought it would be neat to document my audio system upgrades. I challenged myself to do a complete overhaul for less than $700.00. I think I can do it. I will post pictures as I go along. I am am open to comments, questions or critisizm.
I dont really hate the Bose system. I, as many other members have voiced their dissatisfaction with the low and high end in the Bose setup. I dont think it is the result of the head unit. I rather believe it is a result of the amp and speaker setup. I happen to like the head unit. From my tests I have concluded that the full spectrum of sound is reproduced by the head unit faithfully. Something gets lost after it leaves the head unit though. So it is my objective to re-engineer this to my own standards.
Day 1: Out with the Bose subwoofer. Simple enough. I got a great deal on some subs from a vendor on ebay. They are 12" Bazooka raw woofers. They have decent power handling capacity and can be WATER cooled if I wish to extend their power handling capabilities. I dont think I am going to enter any SPL contetsts though so the water cooling may be overkill (not the case for the amps though..see details later) The subs were @ $43.00 each. Kinda low priced but I know others who swear by these puppys for their price/value. I had all the specs for these speakers even before I recieved them. I was able to do the neceassry calculations to make a proper speaker box using a bunch of calculators that are available on the net. I made the decision to go with a sealed enclosure for my setup. I did this because I did not want to give up my storage space. In a sealed enclosure my cabinet would require .93 cubic feet per chamber. With a ported enclosure that figure more than doubled to 2 cubic feet per chamber or a total of 4 cu. ft. I concluded that the smaller box, although slighly less efficient would be just what I needed. Off to Home Depot. Bought a sheet of 3/4" MDF @ $20.00. Bought liquid nails and another Marine adhesive to seal all seams air tight @ $12.00. Bought some really nice speaker carpet in China Town to compliment the black carpet in the cargo area @ $11.99 Whipped out some power tools and got to work. See photos
Notice that I shaped the cabinet to follow the contour of the rear seats to maximize space.
Also for those wondering. The side panels are recessed to accept another carpet covered panel and it will be flushed out when done.
I used liquid nails adhesive to glue all pieces together. I used 2 1/2" coarse sheet rock screws to screws boards together. All holes were pre-drilled and counter sunk.
Here is where I sealed all seams with a really tough marine adhesive. I used a dark color so I could see it well.