Stereo Upgrade finished!
Discussion
Ok i know that a Tuscan doesnt NEED a good stereo, it has its own wonderful soundtrack! But, sometimes when stuck in traffic, or just bumbling along its a nice to have! 
Also thought a thread may help anyone else thinking of doing it!
So, i changed the standard head unit to the Alpine IDA X305s which allows full ipod control and it really is great quality with a really easy ipod style user interface. Ipod sits next to headunit so dead easy to take out to update.
I then installed the mid range, which, without cutting things up (didnt want to start that) went in the standard locations. But, i had to beef up the fibre glass - as the way TVR did it isnt really a good way of achieveing sound quality - i.e. by screwing straight to a piece of fibreglass!! So made up some MDF boxes and sealed them trim against them. I also made up to adaptor rings in MDF as they were smaller than the standard co-axials.
excuse the rough egdes but the box is behind trim
Tight squeeze but they are in...
Then the tweeters, tricky to get the position right so you didnt hear the separation from the mids, just above the door pocket about halfway across it was the best compromise, may yet sink them into the door card but im going to see how it sounds for a while before i make it permanent! I used some MB Quart crossovers in the footwell to separate the frequencies for mids and tweeters.
Next bit was the rears, i decided not to go down the sub route, but instead installed some deicated midrange /midbass, which do the job amazingly well. I made up an MDF board, sound deadened behind and filled with wadding to help dampen the enclosure. Covered the board with faux suede to match the black lamonta.
left over sound deadening added rather than thrown in the bin...
Speakers installed...
Decided the head unit wasnt really up to powering this lot so i purchased a Genesis P2 amp for the front and tweeters (also had some MB Quart crossovers). So 2 x 50 w going to the front. I installed a JL Audio e4300 for the rears - 2 x 200w. All hidden in the passenger footwell behind a false panel. I have lost a bit of legroom, maybe 3 inches, but that isnt the end of the world as im 6" 1 and can still sit comfortably with legs outstretched!
Its all done now and it is 3000% better than previously, with the roof on the quality and detail is fabulous, it really is. With the roof off, well, its never going to be for the audiophile! But the volume is more than adequate to listen to music as a fair old speed Speakers for those interested are from CDT, they are American origin high end speakers, the tweeters are called DRT 125's , the mids are HD3 and the rears are ES-06's. They are the best speakers i have ever heard, genuinely! I am also running whats called 3-way, with high frequency to the tweeters, then obviuosly midrange to the mids and just midbass / bass to the rears. I had lots of help from the guys on Talkaudio, friendly bunch, and much of the hardware came from there too.
Also thought a thread may help anyone else thinking of doing it!
So, i changed the standard head unit to the Alpine IDA X305s which allows full ipod control and it really is great quality with a really easy ipod style user interface. Ipod sits next to headunit so dead easy to take out to update.
I then installed the mid range, which, without cutting things up (didnt want to start that) went in the standard locations. But, i had to beef up the fibre glass - as the way TVR did it isnt really a good way of achieveing sound quality - i.e. by screwing straight to a piece of fibreglass!! So made up some MDF boxes and sealed them trim against them. I also made up to adaptor rings in MDF as they were smaller than the standard co-axials.
excuse the rough egdes but the box is behind trim
Tight squeeze but they are in...
Then the tweeters, tricky to get the position right so you didnt hear the separation from the mids, just above the door pocket about halfway across it was the best compromise, may yet sink them into the door card but im going to see how it sounds for a while before i make it permanent! I used some MB Quart crossovers in the footwell to separate the frequencies for mids and tweeters.
Next bit was the rears, i decided not to go down the sub route, but instead installed some deicated midrange /midbass, which do the job amazingly well. I made up an MDF board, sound deadened behind and filled with wadding to help dampen the enclosure. Covered the board with faux suede to match the black lamonta.
left over sound deadening added rather than thrown in the bin...
Speakers installed...
Decided the head unit wasnt really up to powering this lot so i purchased a Genesis P2 amp for the front and tweeters (also had some MB Quart crossovers). So 2 x 50 w going to the front. I installed a JL Audio e4300 for the rears - 2 x 200w. All hidden in the passenger footwell behind a false panel. I have lost a bit of legroom, maybe 3 inches, but that isnt the end of the world as im 6" 1 and can still sit comfortably with legs outstretched!
Its all done now and it is 3000% better than previously, with the roof on the quality and detail is fabulous, it really is. With the roof off, well, its never going to be for the audiophile! But the volume is more than adequate to listen to music as a fair old speed
Speakers for those interested are from CDT, they are American origin high end speakers, the tweeters are called DRT 125's , the mids are HD3 and the rears are ES-06's. They are the best speakers i have ever heard, genuinely! I am also running whats called 3-way, with high frequency to the tweeters, then obviuosly midrange to the mids and just midbass / bass to the rears. I had lots of help from the guys on Talkaudio, friendly bunch, and much of the hardware came from there too. Nice install. Those head units are excellent. On mine I used the standard locations for the sides and added some tweeters to the dash to bring the sound forward. I then beefed the whole sound up with an amplified slimline underseat style sub in the passenger footwell where you've put your amps.
Sound great too.
Sound great too.
Looks like a good job. I'd never attempt anything like this myself but I would certainly like to try and upgrade my sound system in a similar vein. Does anyone know a place I could get something like this done? I'm in North Yorkshire. I actually contacted these guys http://www.icehouseaudio.co.uk/projects/tvr-tuscan... a couple of months ago but they didn't email me back, which I found a bit strange because I'm guessing that this kind of install would be seriously expensive.
1PMA said:
Looks like a good job. I'd never attempt anything like this myself but I would certainly like to try and upgrade my sound system in a similar vein. Does anyone know a place I could get something like this done? I'm in North Yorkshire. I actually contacted these guys http://www.icehouseaudio.co.uk/projects/tvr-tuscan... a couple of months ago but they didn't email me back, which I found a bit strange because I'm guessing that this kind of install would be seriously expensive.
Thanks for the comments guys, For something similar i think Google Carl Baker, Car and Bike Installations, he is renowned for good quality installs on TVR's. It is expensive though
1PMA said:
Looks like a good job. I'd never attempt anything like this myself but I would certainly like to try and upgrade my sound system in a similar vein. Does anyone know a place I could get something like this done? I'm in North Yorkshire. I actually contacted these guys http://www.icehouseaudio.co.uk/projects/tvr-tuscan... a couple of months ago but they didn't email me back, which I found a bit strange because I'm guessing that this kind of install would be seriously expensive.
thats my car on the icehouse web site. i work for them and have checked out our email. we have a very good spam filter that sometimes filter normal emails out and deletes them. i suspect this is where yours went for which i apologise. to install something simular into a tuscan can be expensive depending on the quality of the equipment used. the subbox is custom moulded fibreglass and mdf construction and trimed in matching leather as are th door panels. a ball park figure would be £1000 fitted inc equipment upwards for more information please give me a call on 01782 574900.cheers andy
loudandfast said:
thats my car on the icehouse web site. i work for them and have checked out our email. we have a very good spam filter that sometimes filter normal emails out and deletes them. i suspect this is where yours went for which i apologise. to install something simular into a tuscan can be expensive depending on the quality of the equipment used. the subbox is custom moulded fibreglass and mdf construction and trimed in matching leather as are th door panels. a ball park figure would be £1000 fitted inc equipment upwards for more information please give me a call on 01782 574900.
cheers andy
Thanks Andy, I'll be in touch, probably in a few weeks. I only got my Tuscan a few weeks ago and I've started having every single little niggle looked at and fixed where possible, so I've got it lined up to visit all kinds or engineers, trimmers etc over the next few weeks and the stereo has slipped down the list of priorities just a little. Thanks again.cheers andy
D14 AYS said:
1PMA said:
Robertjp said:
For something similar i think Google Carl Baker, Car and Bike Installations, he is renowned for good quality installs on TVR's. It is expensive though
Thanks Rob I'll check it out.
He really knows his stuff about the rather particular electronics and acoustics in TVRs. See here for his website.No problem, I have had work done by Carl before on my alarm and keys, he was great. Was going to go for him to get my stereo done but fancied a go myself. Its good to see him being recommended.
Also, I think my install has probably cost around £800 with the new Head Unit and the remainder from guys on Talkaudio and eBay. With the cost in ths range for the gear alone it completely blew any ideas of having it installed by someone else, but even then i dont think a professional would have approahced it much differently, so im happy i did it myself anyway.
Just note it really isnt a cheap thing to do, i tried to keep the weight to a minimum and the Genesis amps are great for this. I got a steal with the Genesis P2 on eBay, £20 for a £200 amp, and it's in perfect working order. The rear drivers take serious power through so the JL amp is a fairly chunky beast.
If i had bought all this gear new it would have cost well over £1400...
Also, I think my install has probably cost around £800 with the new Head Unit and the remainder from guys on Talkaudio and eBay. With the cost in ths range for the gear alone it completely blew any ideas of having it installed by someone else, but even then i dont think a professional would have approahced it much differently, so im happy i did it myself anyway.
Just note it really isnt a cheap thing to do, i tried to keep the weight to a minimum and the Genesis amps are great for this. I got a steal with the Genesis P2 on eBay, £20 for a £200 amp, and it's in perfect working order. The rear drivers take serious power through so the JL amp is a fairly chunky beast.
If i had bought all this gear new it would have cost well over £1400...
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