.......in my opinion I do. Take a look and tell me what you all think. It is not done but the meat is in place and the touch ups include a mirror across the back to cover up the rear seat back.
http://jonlittle90se.freeservers.com/photo2.html

 

just remember-there will always be someone louder than you.
tell me more about this mirror thing you are doing

 

True. I have experanced this already. XantMax Has the best set up i have seen but i also like mine.

In the back where the back of the seat is showing we are going to cover that with a cut mirror to get more reflection out of the strobe lights.

I already want to beef it up with 8000's and a bigger amp. But money is going to my engine. 161,+++ is taking its toll on the engine.

 

Thats a pretty cool set up man but you are taking up way too much trunk space. Well thats only cause I like trunk space for my cooler and lots of beer

 

I store the beer in the spare tire well!
Cops dont usually look there
I being not of age yet

 

thats pretty cool what u are doing with the mirror. like to see ur lights sometime. Im trying to take pics of mine but its hard cuz the flash from the digital camera lights up the whole area and looks like the lights are not even on. anyone have a way to take pictures in the dark to show neons? I tried covering the flash but thats not working.

 

If you are talking SQ with high power and lots of driver surface area that's easy, me. Of course I am considering the system with it's next two stages done, which will roughly double the midbase cone surface area and add a center channel. But even as is mine is probably the best. And I am not biased in the least. But if you think you have better let's meet somewhere in VA or at a rest area between your place and mine so that we can more accurately form subjective opinions.

Alpine 50X4: front tweets (DA silk)and rear speakers(DA8.6)
PG 475 Ti: 4Front DA HEX 5 1/4's and 4 front DA HEX 6 1/2's
MTX1000D: 3 DA MD12.8
X-over: RF symmetry
Head: Sony ES XRC-900
Cap: Alumapro 15 farad
Bat: Westco SVR1000
Alt: Ohio Generator 185amp
Cascade damping material, almost everywhere but more can be added.

 

hey jon, how do those alpine's fit?? cause i was think of getting alpines for the fronts and maybe some boston acoustic tweets

 

i would say that i have the best sound quality, most rattle free system in a maxima. but why dont you visit my webpage with 112 pics and state your own opinion. thanks

 

Steve5891
I had a bose system and we used the same pod as the bose speaker. We used a dremel tool to cut and the alpine speaker fit right down in it.
With the ported pod it sounds real good

SWEETSOUND2001
Yeah i know there are systems bigger and better but i wanted to put up my system for review and to get reactions. I like your set up. Did you do it yourself?

 

Hmmm, I'd like to some of you guys come to a competition and see how you hang with everyone else before you say you've got the best.

I only made it to 10th place in the world last year- someone try and beat me.

 

I say my ghetto system is the best

 

Sorry to say that competition has very little to do with sound quality. One reason I have never competed, I could care less how my system does on an RTA scale, so long as it hits all the notes, all the notes in music. There is a difference.

 

I know there is always going to be some one better, and that is cool. But this is my first big system and i did it myself.
I would like to see some pictures of your setup jmax and Matt93GXE(i can't get your site to work)
jmax where would be the half way point from Louisville, KY? I am up for it.

 

Looks like it would be a little east of Charleston WVa. I didn't have any plans to travel that direction, unless you know of a beach not on my map, but I will look into it. But seriously, I wouldn't mind meeting. I am planning to travel to North Carolina, Emerald Isle area, next month. I am hoping to have my subs istalled and powered at that time, still have my fingers crossed.

 

when ever, if you are over this way let me know i would like to see it completed
I will have mine completed by the end of April

 

Subwoofers are for PUSSIES!!!!!!!!! naw i just can't afford em rite now, got me a POLK MOMO setup and Sony Xplod amp powering all 4 speakers, 2 or 3 JL 10W6 with a 600watt amp will be added sooner or later.

 

parts are parts, anyone can have the same parts. it all boils down to presentaiton.. mine is one of the worse for now..

 

----Wiring-8ga. Hi flow power wire=$0.32 a foot,20 feet-Partsexpress.com.
----Clear fuse holder-w/24KT Gold 25A in line fuse=$8.50-Partsexpress.com.
----Fuses-Gold Plated 20A,25A,5 per pack=$2.79-Partsexpress.com.
----Stinger amp kit,RCA's,10ga ground and power wire=$15.50-Autotoys.com.
----0.5 Farad 500W RMS Capacitor=$20.00-Ebay.com.
----Pioneer-10" Subwoofer 140W RMS,400 PK 4 OHM=$45.00-Pawn Shop.
----Q-logic type 2 Hatchback style sealed box=$80.00-Crutchfield.com.


---- Rear Deck Speakers-JBL Power Series,6 ½",2way Mid Bass=$30.00-Ebay.com.

 

it is simple cheap installed by me and still has room for diapers(GOT KIDS? 2 sons)strollers,and food for the family



---- Front Door Speakers-Kenwood KFC-1786,6 ½",3way coaxial=$80.00-Crutchfield.com

----Head Unit-Sony XR-1750 Cassette Deck=$25.00-Ebay.com.

----AMP-Kenwood KAC-820=$25.00-From a friend,20A inline fuse,95 RMS x 2 @ 4 OHMS,left channel used, set at 100Hz crossover slope. Powers 10" subwoofer.

 

metallic97gxe
-i understand, keep the kids up on their diapers!

 

Where in Indiana are you at? love to hear your system. Sweetsound does have a lot of sq for sure. If your reading this Sweetsound, you really should do your headliner too, it makes a big difference.

 

sorry dude..will never get around to doing my headliner since i will be selling my car.

 

Why are you selling your car? I haven't been on this forum in a long time. Seems like a shame after all that work.

 

I second that- anyone can throw a sub in a trunk, but making it look good is another matter.

 

Not to flame here, but if you've never competed, how can you judge the relevancy of competition? the RTA judging is only 20 points out of a possible 195 for novices. amateur and up, it's out of 225 points. SPL scores are your dB level-100, with a max of 35 points for SPL. (so there's no point in having a car louder than 135dB in competition)
sound quality and installation are each worth 60 points, 3 times that of RTA scores.
This was also last year's format. They've completely changed judging formats this year to something that focuses more on installation and sound than raw performance numbers.

Also, most people's RTA scores pretty much directly correspond to their overall score. a poor sounding car will USUALLY have poor RTA scores too.
just for further proof, here's a copy of one of my scoresheets from a show last year.

(2 pages total).
http://www.ee.utulsa.edu/~mblehm/stuff/scoresheet1.jpg
http://www.ee.utulsa.edu/~mblehm/stuff/scoresheet2.jpg

And no, the scores weren't doctored. the judge went over them again in pen so they coule be seen over the other marks. These carbon copies are horrible.

 

Oh... and if you wanna look at the full size images to actually read the text, here's the original scanned files..
http://www.ee.utulsa.edu/~mblehm/stuff/scoresheet1a.jpg
http://www.ee.utulsa.edu/~mblehm/stuff/scoresheet2a.jpg
WARNING: these are approx 350kbytes each.

 

I think that the use of the RTA score takes away from time that could better be used tuning the system to sound the way people listen to music as most will tweak the lows and highs regardless of the raw RTA. There is also a lot of money involved in getting a perfect RTA, either buying the meter or paying for time at a shop that has one. And then there are the changes that occur between tuning time and competition time like humidity and temperature. Whereas 'sound quality' can be adjusted with the ears and the EQ.

 

How 'bout a trio of twelves firing from three seperate sealed enclosures through the rear deck?

 

You are going have to replace the seal around the window and maybe even the window

But i like it... is it yours? I would like to see it when it is finished

 

Yes, it's mine. Actually I don't even know anyone else with a Maxima. So it couldnt' be anyone's. If I have to replace the window due to a blow out I am going to look for one made out of polycarbonate. Have any suggestions for where to find one?

 

a poly window would have to be custom made on our cars I'm sure.
you MIGHT be able to bend a piece of 3/8" Lexan to fit around it, but you'll have to have some $$ equipment.

your rear deck looks similar to what I've got planned.. going to be running a pair of 12s in the deck and 2 more in the seat. they'll be freeair though, cause I'm tired of not having a trunk. Focal's freeair subs sound gorgeous when installed correctly.


and FYI.. IASCA continually lowers the total score on the RTA to discourage people from tuning it just that way. BUT.. for any competition car/team, an RTA is essential for tuning the car- even for sound quality. you don't make the thing have a ruler flat response, you look for a smooth transition between each band. even if your RTA curve is a big smiley face or waves, you can still get a perfect score, as long as each 1/3 octave band is within a couple dB of each other.
they did this for the exact reasons you're talking about. the "true" RTA scoring method was thrown out years ago.
Check into the current competition scene and see what's going on. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

Polycarbonate/Lexan, different names for the same material. Bullet proof at 3/4 inch, 9mm yes, 0.44 - can't remember. dark tint at that thickness. Lexan and the more common acrylic are heat formable. It's just a matter of finding someone experienced in working with Lexan. The real difficulty will be attaching the defroster and never being able to scrape ice off the rear window.

I wasn't aware they bent those stiff rules. It seems a pointless rating since any system could score a 40 with the right EQ. If I ever have enough money to complete an install I may enter my car just to see what it is like. Right now I am happy knowing that it sounds damn good.

 

By the way, the box for the twelves takes up very little space. It only dips about 7 inches below the rear deck.

 

Yup.. I was of the same opinion as you about a year ago.. Then I went to regionals and scored 3rd place in Novice.. I only missed 2 shows the rest of the season.


where are you located? there's lotsa audio shops that have vacuum forming equipment, so they could make you a windshield.

Personally I've found mine not to be a problem. mine flexes about 1/2" at full volume, but I haven't had any problems with breakage.
the back wall on my old Mitsu truck flexed over 1" back when I had my trio of 12W6s in it. I DID break one window in it- cracked right down the center, then shattered about 2 sec later before I could turn it off. DOH!
then again, I was running low 150s in the cab of that truck.

Also.. the only EQ I've got in my car is the 13 band "auto-eq" built into my Premier DEX-P1R head unit. I routinely scored 16 and 17 on my RTA scores at shows... and I could have EASILY gotten 18 or 19 had I actually hooked it up to an RTA after the auto-eq settings and turned my subs down.
usually I'd run the EQ, then turn the subs down 10dB, and they'd STILL be off the top of the chart when I got to the judging lanes. had I got the subs down correctly, I would have gotten 18 or 19 every time.

So no, it's not hard to do well in the RTA department, as long as you've got good speakers, a good install, and a decent EQ. a little time playing with an RTA helps even more.

 

I don't care to ever hit 150 dB's so I should never break the window. But if I do, then I will look for a custom rear window. The three twelves are to keep the tightness of a twelve, or hopefully a ten since I am using DA HEX cones, and to have the extension of a 15 or 18. If I would get off this damn computer and if it would quit raining and warm up about 15 degrees I should have it done. But damn if I don't need a drill press to get the mounting holes sqare for threaded inserts. That means another 70 mile drive to my friends wood shop.

By the way, I'm in Va. There is a show near Va beach next month. If I can get this portion of the install finished in a couple weeks I may enter. Although the subs won't be completely broken in for a full month, I started warming them up in my basement.

 

what is the rear deck made out of? does mtx make a free air sub?

 

I dunno of any shops right off hand in VA..

Hmm, I wouldn't really worry about getting the drill holes perfectly square through 3/4" MDF. just be careful when drilling and you'll be more than close enough to press in some t-nuts.

I built these with only a table saw, file, jigsaw, and hand drill.. of course I'm not done with the veneer on the front (have some gorgeous cherry pieces I'm goign to glue on sooner or later).

but the front baffle on these is made of 2 layers of 3/4" MDF. I drilled through the first one, countersunk around the holes about 1/8" on the back, then stuck the t-nuts into it and glued the back plate on top of it. I've had no problems there. all those screws are #10-24 with security heads (t-25) on them.. they make for a very nice detailed look, instead of nasty drywall screws.
http://www.ee.utulsa.edu/~mblehm/pic...aker_angle.jpg

 

The baffle/rear deck is 9/8 inch MDF. It is routed 1/8-1/4 inch around the mounting holes to recess the subs slightly. I will build up the top of the deck with polyurethane and wrap the whole thing with 9 oz 8HS weave glass and epoxy resin, before final mounting. I wouldn't go free-air with the subs because of 1) reduced power handling, 2) loss of pass through hole, 3) need for complete seal. My 4th gen has a pair of vents at the rear of the rear fenders so that the trunk can be closed.

 

Any thing new? Give me a month to finish and i will post some pictures and i am looking forward to it!