My 6 to 10 speaker upgrade
- Thread starter veryverydarkblue
- Start date
Definitely some trade offs between the 2 options so not a clear cut win for the RCAs just yet. Even loosely draped (triple insulated) RCA cables around the outside of the car seemed quite susceptible to alternator whine in certain positions so I’ll A/B test in situ for the final solution.
That does seem a pain, veryverydarkblue - based on your experience, I was expecting some noise when I installed my amp. I used RCA cables to carry the high-level input from the old speaker feeds to the new amp, and kept good grounds, but perhaps the JL amp handles things differently and rejects the noise. In any case, I think we're all in a significantly better position than we were with the original system!
Z4C_er said:
Down the centre will be my plan with the RCAs. As you mentioned previously there might be an opportunity to feed them some of the way with even less trim removal, which I'll certainly have a go at. My test was with RCAs literally draped over the bodywork of the car!
I put my car back on the road this month to enjoy some of the spring sunshine and remembered that I never got around to posting an update on where I got to with my Z4's audio. In short, it sounds fantastic!!
The final kit list was:
- Focal 165AS3 speakers in the front with some brilliant custom mounts made by [ref]Z4C_er[/ref], and new heavy duty speaker cables through the door grommet and crossovers under the front seats.
- High level speaker wire extension to the crossovers (for easy switch back if I decide to remove the amp) and then RCA cable through to the boot. (I was planning to modify the head unit as [ref]veryverydarkblue[/ref] did, but in the end there was so little noise that I left it alone)
- Reckhorn D165 twin subs mounted into the original cavities behind the seats. I purchased some second hand original baffles and metal mounting plate (which I modified to fit the Reckhorns). I then added new speaker grilles and some fixings to use the original mountings.
- JL Audio class D amplifier mounted in the boot by the battery box with the cabling all run using the original cable channels on the right hand side. I took the switched live by soldering into the aerial feed on the passenger side rear wing.
-Bluetooth streaming via a Bluemusic adapter mounted at the head unit end in place of the CD changer.
Highly, highly recommended! Do it and you'll not be disappointed!
The final kit list was:
- Focal 165AS3 speakers in the front with some brilliant custom mounts made by [ref]Z4C_er[/ref], and new heavy duty speaker cables through the door grommet and crossovers under the front seats.
- High level speaker wire extension to the crossovers (for easy switch back if I decide to remove the amp) and then RCA cable through to the boot. (I was planning to modify the head unit as [ref]veryverydarkblue[/ref] did, but in the end there was so little noise that I left it alone)
- Reckhorn D165 twin subs mounted into the original cavities behind the seats. I purchased some second hand original baffles and metal mounting plate (which I modified to fit the Reckhorns). I then added new speaker grilles and some fixings to use the original mountings.
- JL Audio class D amplifier mounted in the boot by the battery box with the cabling all run using the original cable channels on the right hand side. I took the switched live by soldering into the aerial feed on the passenger side rear wing.
-Bluetooth streaming via a Bluemusic adapter mounted at the head unit end in place of the CD changer.
Highly, highly recommended! Do it and you'll not be disappointed!
mark_101 said:
Glad to here it worked out for you Mark. Great summary and fully agree with your conclusions! I sometimes go for a drive now with the primary intention just to enjoy some music cranked up to a level that would be anti-social at home. Trundling along in slow traffic with the roof up is now a joy rather than a chore; blasting out some guilty pleasures on a sunny day on an epic road is what I live for!
BobbyBoucher
Member
Great write up there buddy.
Did you say the bluetooth adapter goes directly in the back of the business cd? Is that the same for all of the head units ?
Did you say the bluetooth adapter goes directly in the back of the business cd? Is that the same for all of the head units ?
(And in my workshop taking it apart, smiles!)BobbyBoucher said:
Yep, that's the one. There are two options - one that goes into the multi changer cable in the boot, which has the advantage of being a two second install, or another that goes into the back of the head unit. The head unit one has the disadvantage of needing to remove the air vent to get at the stereo - this is actually very easy the second and third time you do it, but the first time will have you reaching for the swear box. I went for the head unit option since I planned to remove the multi changer and use the extra storage space. Good luck!
OJ343 said:
That’s not a good sign, but pop him a DM and see if he wants some beer money. The adaptors he made for me were for the 4” mids.