My VXR8 Stereo upgrade
Discussion
OK - So the Radio. It's shit. On the plus side, you have a built-in 6 disc changer that plays MP3's. On the down side you have an Aux button that does nothing and no RDS, so no Radio names or tracking. The speakers are mediocre at best, run off the head unit (including a bizarre little centre speaker) and a pair of 8" subs on the back shelf powered by a 2 x 40w amplifier in the boot.
The head unit itself isn't practical to change because it incorporates the Air con display and to make matters worse it has no RCA outputs.
I love a challenge. So not only do I want decent sound I also want decent features. And all on budget. All the components I will by will either be items I've used before, got cheap/trade/off ebay or a combination of all.
The car will look completely stock. No bass boxes in the boot , no disco light displays and for the majority of time when it's just me in the car, the best sound I can get.
EQUIPMENT
The single most expensive bit of kit (£400) is the 'Quasi Media Hub' from JHP in Australia. This plugs into the Aux Socket and will give be full control of my 160Gb Ipod from the steering wheel and will also play ipod video. This will sit in the central armrest and also in the glovebox will be an SD and USB socket. But the clever bit is the electronic switch: Hold the mute button on the wheel for a second and it switches through an additional Aux in. On this I have a Hideaway DAB Tuner (+new DAB Ariel, £175) so will have full DAB radio. This actually has a further Aux-In so could connect another video device in the future.
So maximising the signal before amplification is key, as I only have speaker levels to play with, so that's left to the Audio Control LC6i
This will take the Speaker level inputs from the head unit and give me a clean pair of phono pre-outs. This clean RCA signal then goes into my magic box, the Alpine PXA 600
This not only splits the signal into 4 channels and a sub output but adds parametric EQ and crucially, Time Alignment - so I can digitally delay the signal reaching each speaker, so the sound from all speakers reaches my ears (or any other seat) at exactly the same time. The setting are controlled by a remote display unit which will sit in the ashtray, allowing me to adjust settings, bass phase etc. etc. The only slight concern is the LEDs are green and I'd want white LEDs for a factory look.
Onto the Amplification. Nothing special here, just two very powerful very reliable Amps
The larger Amplifier is the Alpine F600, powering the front and rear doors. This Amp has been recently serviced and tested at 4 x 105Watts RMS.
The Amplifier used for the Bass speakers is a Boston Acoustics GT22, rated at 1 x 375W RMS into a bridged 4 ohm load (which it will be as I'm using a pair of 8ohm speakers)
These will be fitted on a back board on the back of the rear seats. I'll lose 3" of depth in a boot you could lose a horse in.
Speaker-wise, I've amassed this motley crew:
Starting from the front , Diamond Audio M66.1 6.5's with Silk tweeters and their own passive crossovers, in the rear doors I've got a pair of ridiculously awesome CDT Audio M6 Mids, running up to 3500Hz through a custom made pair of passive crossovers and brining up the rear, a pair of Kicker Comp 8 8 Ohm 8" subs.
So where to start?
Week 1: Prep
This involved stripping out the car as far as I could and sound deadening and sound proofing the living shit out of it. Put very simply, you use 'mass loading' to lower panel resonance and absorb vibrations, which turns the clunk of a panel into a thud and then you overlay with closed structure foam layer that absorbs airborne sound. So convert rattles to thuds and then you reduce the volume. Not only will this help with the sound quality of the Stereo but allow me to use less volume and should dramatically reduce the cabin road noise as well if done properly.
Also as the speakers I'm using are what's known as 'infinite baffle' or 'free air' (sitting on a shelf or in a door) it's vital that as little of the sound waves from the rear of the speakers interfere with the front sound waves - so I will try to seal as many holes in panels as I can to further enhance the sound quality.
So I'll start with a rear door.
and this is what greets us
A large hollow door where the total sum of any soundproofing is that little 1mm thick sticker you can just about see on the left.
So on with the SilentCoat NoiseDamping Mat - 2mm thick. Cut peel, stick, heatgun, roller, done.
The jury's out as to how much to use with opinions varying from 25% coverage to 66%, but as I ended up using 50 sheets throughout...
Double-up behind the speaker aperture
When the Damping mat is done the noise Isolator is cut and stuck on top
8mm thick
I used two of these in total:
And the finished door, prior to the weather seal going back on
Finally I looked to see if I could do anything with the inner door car card
I managed to find some very light 9mm Carpet underlay which has been used to great effect for noise dampening across large areas
So was cut and attached to the back of the door card too using an adhesive spray
Front door was the same procedure:
The boot was a little easier on the floor level
With 40 sheets of another slightly thinner dampening material being swallowed way too quickly.
The fun started when you're crawling around upside down trying to plug hundreds of holes and dampen complex pressed single skinned shapes.
Luckily the Battery's in the boot, so I could route the power cables at the same time.
The Tyre well was done also and a lot more underlay used round the sides and under the carpet floor too
When I'd finished, the rear shelf underside got sealed the best I could with a couple of sheets of 4mm dampener
Even the boot lid has been dampened from this
to this
Once I'd got the rear seats out and the rear shelf, I used the same technique (dampening/noise absorber/underlay) not only on the exposed metal but under the carpet and over the tranny tunnel too.
The rear shelf was going to be a little less straightforward due to the shape
but just carried on, burning fingers on the heat gun, cutting fingers with the Stanley, etc. etc.
Slightly ahead here showing the subs mounted.
Speaking of Speakers, the problem here is that the replacement door speakers are considerably larger than the OEM units they're replacing:
and the little plastic collars holding the originals simply wouldnt be up to the job of providing a solid mounting base for the new drivers.
The rears were straightforward.
A 6.5" MDF spacer siliconed in to form a seal and tehn 4 self tappers to secure it.
The fronts were a little more difficult as the former was an odd shape
So I cut out a template
and used a few drops of paint to mark the screw holes
.
Then using some more MDF, got the spacer ring to the angle I wanted (passenger one On axis with the driver and vice versa) and secured with some tacks.
Then just filled with P38 and sanded smooth.
As a final measure I mixed up some resin and brushed it over the inner and outer surfaces
When dry, a little MDF primer and a coat of Plasti-dip rubber paint and then back into the car.
The Subs were a little more awkward due to the shape
Luckily the subs with in the standard collars and the rear shelf only needed the very slightest of metal bending so I decide to use the originals, but dampen them extensively - and also when screwed down, used sound deadening strips overlapping the shelf and the speaker pod.
So at the end of week one the car is ridiculously 'dead', all speaker mounts are in situ and all trim panels are off ready for cable runs. I've got one day off next week and am hoping the Ipod thingy arrives from Oz on Tuesday.
I need to make the mounting board for the amps and then the really tedious job of wiring up can begin. But that wont be as tedious as setting up the levels and settings
The head unit itself isn't practical to change because it incorporates the Air con display and to make matters worse it has no RCA outputs.
I love a challenge. So not only do I want decent sound I also want decent features. And all on budget. All the components I will by will either be items I've used before, got cheap/trade/off ebay or a combination of all.
The car will look completely stock. No bass boxes in the boot , no disco light displays and for the majority of time when it's just me in the car, the best sound I can get.
EQUIPMENT
The single most expensive bit of kit (£400) is the 'Quasi Media Hub' from JHP in Australia. This plugs into the Aux Socket and will give be full control of my 160Gb Ipod from the steering wheel and will also play ipod video. This will sit in the central armrest and also in the glovebox will be an SD and USB socket. But the clever bit is the electronic switch: Hold the mute button on the wheel for a second and it switches through an additional Aux in. On this I have a Hideaway DAB Tuner (+new DAB Ariel, £175) so will have full DAB radio. This actually has a further Aux-In so could connect another video device in the future.
So maximising the signal before amplification is key, as I only have speaker levels to play with, so that's left to the Audio Control LC6i
This will take the Speaker level inputs from the head unit and give me a clean pair of phono pre-outs. This clean RCA signal then goes into my magic box, the Alpine PXA 600
This not only splits the signal into 4 channels and a sub output but adds parametric EQ and crucially, Time Alignment - so I can digitally delay the signal reaching each speaker, so the sound from all speakers reaches my ears (or any other seat) at exactly the same time. The setting are controlled by a remote display unit which will sit in the ashtray, allowing me to adjust settings, bass phase etc. etc. The only slight concern is the LEDs are green and I'd want white LEDs for a factory look.
Onto the Amplification. Nothing special here, just two very powerful very reliable Amps
The larger Amplifier is the Alpine F600, powering the front and rear doors. This Amp has been recently serviced and tested at 4 x 105Watts RMS.
The Amplifier used for the Bass speakers is a Boston Acoustics GT22, rated at 1 x 375W RMS into a bridged 4 ohm load (which it will be as I'm using a pair of 8ohm speakers)
These will be fitted on a back board on the back of the rear seats. I'll lose 3" of depth in a boot you could lose a horse in.
Speaker-wise, I've amassed this motley crew:
Starting from the front , Diamond Audio M66.1 6.5's with Silk tweeters and their own passive crossovers, in the rear doors I've got a pair of ridiculously awesome CDT Audio M6 Mids, running up to 3500Hz through a custom made pair of passive crossovers and brining up the rear, a pair of Kicker Comp 8 8 Ohm 8" subs.
So where to start?
Week 1: Prep
This involved stripping out the car as far as I could and sound deadening and sound proofing the living shit out of it. Put very simply, you use 'mass loading' to lower panel resonance and absorb vibrations, which turns the clunk of a panel into a thud and then you overlay with closed structure foam layer that absorbs airborne sound. So convert rattles to thuds and then you reduce the volume. Not only will this help with the sound quality of the Stereo but allow me to use less volume and should dramatically reduce the cabin road noise as well if done properly.
Also as the speakers I'm using are what's known as 'infinite baffle' or 'free air' (sitting on a shelf or in a door) it's vital that as little of the sound waves from the rear of the speakers interfere with the front sound waves - so I will try to seal as many holes in panels as I can to further enhance the sound quality.
So I'll start with a rear door.
and this is what greets us
A large hollow door where the total sum of any soundproofing is that little 1mm thick sticker you can just about see on the left.
So on with the SilentCoat NoiseDamping Mat - 2mm thick. Cut peel, stick, heatgun, roller, done.
The jury's out as to how much to use with opinions varying from 25% coverage to 66%, but as I ended up using 50 sheets throughout...
Double-up behind the speaker aperture
When the Damping mat is done the noise Isolator is cut and stuck on top
8mm thick
I used two of these in total:
And the finished door, prior to the weather seal going back on
Finally I looked to see if I could do anything with the inner door car card
I managed to find some very light 9mm Carpet underlay which has been used to great effect for noise dampening across large areas
So was cut and attached to the back of the door card too using an adhesive spray
Front door was the same procedure:
The boot was a little easier on the floor level
With 40 sheets of another slightly thinner dampening material being swallowed way too quickly.
The fun started when you're crawling around upside down trying to plug hundreds of holes and dampen complex pressed single skinned shapes.
Luckily the Battery's in the boot, so I could route the power cables at the same time.
The Tyre well was done also and a lot more underlay used round the sides and under the carpet floor too
When I'd finished, the rear shelf underside got sealed the best I could with a couple of sheets of 4mm dampener
Even the boot lid has been dampened from this
to this
Once I'd got the rear seats out and the rear shelf, I used the same technique (dampening/noise absorber/underlay) not only on the exposed metal but under the carpet and over the tranny tunnel too.
The rear shelf was going to be a little less straightforward due to the shape
but just carried on, burning fingers on the heat gun, cutting fingers with the Stanley, etc. etc.
Slightly ahead here showing the subs mounted.
Speaking of Speakers, the problem here is that the replacement door speakers are considerably larger than the OEM units they're replacing:
and the little plastic collars holding the originals simply wouldnt be up to the job of providing a solid mounting base for the new drivers.
The rears were straightforward.
A 6.5" MDF spacer siliconed in to form a seal and tehn 4 self tappers to secure it.
The fronts were a little more difficult as the former was an odd shape
So I cut out a template
and used a few drops of paint to mark the screw holes
. Then using some more MDF, got the spacer ring to the angle I wanted (passenger one On axis with the driver and vice versa) and secured with some tacks.
Then just filled with P38 and sanded smooth.
As a final measure I mixed up some resin and brushed it over the inner and outer surfaces
When dry, a little MDF primer and a coat of Plasti-dip rubber paint and then back into the car.
The Subs were a little more awkward due to the shape
Luckily the subs with in the standard collars and the rear shelf only needed the very slightest of metal bending so I decide to use the originals, but dampen them extensively - and also when screwed down, used sound deadening strips overlapping the shelf and the speaker pod.
So at the end of week one the car is ridiculously 'dead', all speaker mounts are in situ and all trim panels are off ready for cable runs. I've got one day off next week and am hoping the Ipod thingy arrives from Oz on Tuesday.
I need to make the mounting board for the amps and then the really tedious job of wiring up can begin. But that wont be as tedious as setting up the levels and settings
Edited by Gary H 2008 on Friday 13th January 08:38
Wow - lots of effort! 
I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
mik_ok said:
Wow - lots of effort!
I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
you dont happen to have a odsey 05 CV8 monaro do you??I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
the_ferret82 said:
mik_ok said:
Wow - lots of effort!
I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
you dont happen to have a odsey 05 CV8 monaro do you??I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
mik_ok said:
the_ferret82 said:
mik_ok said:
Wow - lots of effort!
I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
you dont happen to have a odsey 05 CV8 monaro do you??I was delighted to find that the previous owner of my car had fitted a 600w Alpine amp in the boot with several Infinity speakers (inc two 6" (?) subs on the rear parcel shelf).
It doesn't sound quite as good as the 550w Harmon Kardon setup in wifey's Disco3, but it's nice
not to worry carry on....
Wow. Great work. Can't wait to see the media hub from jhp. Looks a great bit of kit and wanting to buy one myself but having already got iPod connection through a parrot not a matter of urgency. If you aren't listening to that supercharger of yours anymore I could give it a good home . I bought my r8 with an extensive audio upgrade. I think I have sound deadining but not sure. Does the r8 give in a lot of exterior noise? cause even with the wortec on loud with the windows up it's pretty quite.
. I bought my r8 with an extensive audio upgrade. I think I have sound deadining but not sure. Does the r8 give in a lot of exterior noise? cause even with the wortec on loud with the windows up it's pretty quite.
LOL thanks guys
The one place I haven't sound proofed is the front bulkhead - I want to hear the 122
No real skill here, just solid prep to maximise the sound quality from my components and make the car feel a little more 'German'
The whole car seems to be held together with poppers - in fact I've think I've only removed 6 T27 screws and only broken two panels (around £30 so not too bad)
The one place I haven't sound proofed is the front bulkhead - I want to hear the 122
No real skill here, just solid prep to maximise the sound quality from my components and make the car feel a little more 'German'
The whole car seems to be held together with poppers - in fact I've think I've only removed 6 T27 screws and only broken two panels (around £30 so not too bad)
Need to have a listen at the next meet 
ringram said:
Looks like a good way to add 1000Kg to the kerb weight!
That'll help with the inevitable traction issues at least... 
Does look like a lot of very good work though, I hope it makes a worthwhile difference, did you roughly weigh all of the materials before they went in the car?
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