SQ build

[ford freak]

I thought i would share the details of my latest build in my 04 XLT 4 door. I'll start at the hu. I bought my Eclipse CD 8454 off CL for only $100. 3 Way active,8 volt signal,10 band parametric eq,Auto eq via the included mic......It does it all. This hu was $699 when new.

This had to be the deal of a lifetime at that price. I bought it from the original owner with the box,mic and manual. These float around on CL quite often but most people don't realize what they are capable of.

 

[NRA4ever]

I like Eclipse HUs. I ran several over the years. If they didn't quit US sales I would have a 7200 right now.

 

[ford freak]

Amps....I am running 3 Zed built Usacoustics/Alphasonik amps from the late 80's. Underrated and absolutely bulletproof. These amps aren't for the high school kid looking to show off his chrome and flashing lights...they're for the serious audiophile that wants the purest sound. I have a USA 2100 on my tweets....A 4050 bridged on my mids...And a 2150 bridged on my sub.

These amps are rated rather low. The 2100 is rated at 100 x 2 and it was benched at 126 x 2. The 4050 is bridged to 2 channels. It is rated at 160 watts bridged x 2. It benched at 189 watts x 2. The 2150 is rated at 500 watts bridged and it benched at 692 watts. Those bench tests were all done at my local Tweeter store before they went under.The really funny thing is that they only needed 11 volts to make that power.

The 2100 and 2150 I bought from the classifieds on Diy for $200 and the 4050 from CL local for $20.

 

[ford freak]

On to drivers. My tweets are a derivative of some sort of the Vifa XT25 ring radiator. These are the clearest high's I have ever heard. Since installing these I have really heard things in music that I didn't know was there. amazing to say the least. The Vifa's replaced a set of Alpine ring domes from the Type X Ref comp set. There is no comparison at all.

Shot at 2011-06-20



Alpine on the left and Vifa on the right. I bought the Vifa's off Ebay for only $52 shipped. The best money I have ever spent.

 

[ford freak]

My mids are Image Dynamics OEM. These drivers are sick......I am giving them damm near the power that the 4050 bridged can do and they are begging for more. These are more like subs in my doors.

BTW....The baffle I used was cut from a plastic cutting board from Wally world. Yes....the thing you cut veggies on and all that sort of stuff and that's the previous Alpine Type X Ref mid next to the monster. $100 shipped ....DIY classifieds.

 

[ford freak]

The sub is a tiny little Monster SSA Icon 10.

$125 from my son.

 

[ford freak]

Crossover points are 2.5 on the mids and tweets and 63 on the mids and sub. I will challenge anyone to spend this amount of money and get these results. The soundstage is unreal. The impact is awesome. Here are some random build pics.

Shot at 2011-07-04

Shot at 2011-07-04

Shot at 2011-07-04

Shot at 2011-06-12

Shot at 2011-05-01

Shot at 2011-07-09

Shot at 2011-07-09

 

[BrianDye]

Cool!

 

[ford freak]

Glad you like.

 

[BrianDye]

These kinds of builds are my favorite man, it looks great!

 

[NRA4ever]

I had 2 of those 2150s for years. Great very underrated amps. I ran 4 JL Audio w4/10s with one & used the other to drive a 3 way set of Boston Pro components in my wifes Crown Vic. It was loud & clean. I could hear her when she turned on our street & it was 3 blocks long. I had a Eclipse 5302 for the HU in it.

 

[ford freak]

Glad you guys like it. I wish you could hear it. Nobody believes that it's only a single 10 in here. These amps are some of the most overlooked gems in car audio. I find them on CL all the time dirt cheap I just wish they were closer to me or I would own them all.



A couple more pics finished.

Shot at 2011-07-11

The box is 1.5 cubes tuned to 32 hz. There are no screws at all in the box itself. All joints were glued and clamped.

Shot at 2011-07-11

 

[ford freak]

Some more pics of the box being built.

 

[NRA4ever]

I have just 1/10 sub in my Ranger. Everyone swears I must have 2 because my box is so big. I have it in a 1 cubic ft ported box tuned to 30 hz. It hits hard as hell & still has the lows I like. I'm running a 1999 Phoenix Gold ZR 475ti for my front stage. Its a good clean amp. I have my newest amp on my sub. Its a 2004 model JL Audio 500/1. It doesn't draw a lot of power & slams my sub. I have a old USA Amp Merlin 42 in my F250 for the front stage. I may swap them to get the extra power the USA has for my Exodus audio 6.5s. The USA amp is way under rated. Its rated at 90 by 4 but it is closer to 125 by 4. Its clean & strong. My MTX Jackhammer sub can't handle one side of it mono. Its 180 RMS mono but it overdrives the 250 watt sub. Old school amps are hard to beat. Todays amps are built cheap to sell. Face it most people don't know how to build SQ systems. They just want loud.

 

[ford freak]

You're right. Most people don't have a clue. They think they need 2 15's and a couple thousand watts in a fart box to get good sound. Most of those people have never heard a system done the right way. Those Exodus mids are insane. How the hell did you fit them though?

 

[cam101]

I like your build man. I have always set up my audio systems for clarity and quality first. I will eventually deaden everything and Audio Control pieces. My older car had my dream system in it.
HU= Alpine CDA 9811
Audio Control 4.1
Audio Control EQS
Image Dynamics 64 & 62 Chameleon Components
Digital Designs 3512
Stinger Wiring
Autotek Stealth 900.4
Autotek Stealth 1500.1
Optima Red Top
Dynamat on Doors

 

[ford freak]

Totally love the system. Let me list my comments and questions.


Those Alpine hu's are hidden gems. So many of them come up on CL and people have no idea at all what they have. My dream has always been a 7998 but people seem to know what that model is.



How do you not kick the mids in the kicks like that? Don't they suffer in midbass without the airspace of the doors? I have always understood the logic of the tweets there but not the mids.



The DD sub is badass as well as the eq and xover. Nice stuff.



I also love the Autotek amps. I had several Autotek amps way back when. 330 mxi and a few from the BTS line. Awesome!

 

[NRA4ever]

Believe it or not the Exodus mids fit Ranger doors. I have them on a 1/2 inch baffle with a baffle inside the door to stop the flexing of the panel. They hit hard

 

[ford freak]

Believe it or not the Exodus mids fit Ranger doors. I have them on a 1/2 inch baffle with a baffle inside the door to stop the flexing of the panel. They hit hard

I almost bought a pair before I got my Id's. I thought I might have trouble clearing the window track. My Id's are close even with a baffle. What other mids have you owned? I'm just curious how you would compare them to others. I might get a pair anyway.

 

[NRA4ever]

I've used Boston pro Mb Quart & Phoenix Gold mid drivers. The Exodus 6.5s blow them away & I had the best 6.5 they offered the year I bought mine. These mids are equal to drivers costing 10 times as much. I'm driving them with 250 RMS which equals 125 RMS since they are 8 ohm. They stay so clear & accurate at outrageous volume. They will hit lows down to 45 hz. They put my bass up front like no mid bass driver I ever heard I plan to get a set of Dayton Reference series silk dome tweeters to go with them. I had planned adding a set of 4 inch mids but I don't have the room & the Daytons will go down to 1200 hz if I want. I'm building this system without using speakers from the major car audio companies. I believe I can get the SQ of speakers costing much more than mine if I try. I wish I had bought a Shiva 12 before Exodus quit making them. They were awesome subs. Once I set the delay & crossovers in my 9887 & use the Imprint unit to its fullest my sound stage should be like setting center stage front row at a concert. Its a slow process but its the build that I enjoy. Hearing the little improvements your choices in gear add to the sound. I've never had a system I called finished. They are a project in the works.