rx7tt95
06/06/2008, 10:47 AM
Made another post and for some reason the title came out slightly different than I'd typed in. Very strange...anyway....
So I'm daily driving the VX again. My wife has been driving it for several years and I've been driving a Mitsubishi Evolution which has a very good Infiniti sound system with a built-in sub.
I did a bit of work on my RX7 and made it a bit closer to a full-on race car (that's street legal) and I pulled all the stereo equipment out. I had four MB Quarts, I think 6.5", two ways with built-in tweeters and an 8" Diamond Audio sub. I had been using an older Rockford 5-way amp to power everything but switched to a 4-way JL as the Rockford would overheat in the 7's rear hatch during the summer months.
I spent umpteen hours this week putting the head unit in (Eclipse w/8v preout +self amped internally) and running all the wires. Got everything hooked up last night and it sounded like absolute crap. Now I had put stock-sized JL components all around and they were just tinny sounding using the stereo's amplifier and no sub. Sounded REALLY bad to me. I thought "maybe" they were just underpowered but after hooking up the amp (probably incorrectly) it didn't sound much better.
Now the VX's interior is quite a bit larger than the 7's and maybe that's part of the problem but the difference in sound is quite dramatic. I had the stereo shop hook up the new amp and I can't remember how they integrated the sub into the system with a 4-way amp. I remember they said I wouldn't have f/r fade so maybe they just ran all four component speakers off the front speaker amp outputs and the sub off the rear (amp is bridgable on rear to 2-way). That's the way I have it hooked up now and it's ok at best but you really have to crank it to have any decent output. The stock tweeters in the a-pillar are still functional (is that an issue?) and all the JL's have built-in tweeters. Would a weak ground cause power issues and bad performance?
When they hooked up the sub, they used two single wires coming from the sub box and used a butt connector to pigtail two additional wires off of each single wire. I tried multiple configurations last night but just couldn't get it to work correctly. I figured in non-bridged mode, that each pigtail would go to two of the + sides and the other pig tail to both of the - outputs.
Also, neither amp will fit under the seat. Not even close. I'd really like to be able to slide an amp under there. Is there a decent 4-way that'll work under the seat?
My goal was to just reuse what I had and not purchase anything but I'm already purchasing a custom sub box from a list member for the rear hatch. He's offered a box with two 8" holes for subs. Would I be better off with that as opposed to say a single 12" sub? I'm not into the boomy rap thing. I have a pretty eclectic ear for music however and I'm looking for good solid, full sound.
I'll try to take pics of the amp's controls and post them later today. Might help someone trouble shoot anything I'm doing wrong...
Any help REALLY appreciated. MODS, feel free to delete the other thread. Thanks!
Michel
So I'm daily driving the VX again. My wife has been driving it for several years and I've been driving a Mitsubishi Evolution which has a very good Infiniti sound system with a built-in sub.
I did a bit of work on my RX7 and made it a bit closer to a full-on race car (that's street legal) and I pulled all the stereo equipment out. I had four MB Quarts, I think 6.5", two ways with built-in tweeters and an 8" Diamond Audio sub. I had been using an older Rockford 5-way amp to power everything but switched to a 4-way JL as the Rockford would overheat in the 7's rear hatch during the summer months.
I spent umpteen hours this week putting the head unit in (Eclipse w/8v preout +self amped internally) and running all the wires. Got everything hooked up last night and it sounded like absolute crap. Now I had put stock-sized JL components all around and they were just tinny sounding using the stereo's amplifier and no sub. Sounded REALLY bad to me. I thought "maybe" they were just underpowered but after hooking up the amp (probably incorrectly) it didn't sound much better.
Now the VX's interior is quite a bit larger than the 7's and maybe that's part of the problem but the difference in sound is quite dramatic. I had the stereo shop hook up the new amp and I can't remember how they integrated the sub into the system with a 4-way amp. I remember they said I wouldn't have f/r fade so maybe they just ran all four component speakers off the front speaker amp outputs and the sub off the rear (amp is bridgable on rear to 2-way). That's the way I have it hooked up now and it's ok at best but you really have to crank it to have any decent output. The stock tweeters in the a-pillar are still functional (is that an issue?) and all the JL's have built-in tweeters. Would a weak ground cause power issues and bad performance?
When they hooked up the sub, they used two single wires coming from the sub box and used a butt connector to pigtail two additional wires off of each single wire. I tried multiple configurations last night but just couldn't get it to work correctly. I figured in non-bridged mode, that each pigtail would go to two of the + sides and the other pig tail to both of the - outputs.
Also, neither amp will fit under the seat. Not even close. I'd really like to be able to slide an amp under there. Is there a decent 4-way that'll work under the seat?
My goal was to just reuse what I had and not purchase anything but I'm already purchasing a custom sub box from a list member for the rear hatch. He's offered a box with two 8" holes for subs. Would I be better off with that as opposed to say a single 12" sub? I'm not into the boomy rap thing. I have a pretty eclectic ear for music however and I'm looking for good solid, full sound.
I'll try to take pics of the amp's controls and post them later today. Might help someone trouble shoot anything I'm doing wrong...
Any help REALLY appreciated. MODS, feel free to delete the other thread. Thanks!
Michel