My Car Audio
The adventure began back in 1999. I started out thinking that I would only have a small system and add in one 12" subwoofer and change the stock Delco Bose head unit. As I began changing the head unit, I found out that stock wiring harness converters would not work with my Delco Bose system. It has its own propriety system and runs on a different ohm load compare to standard car audio systems. So I had to track down a specialized Bose harness converter that would allow me to change head units, while keeping the stock speakers and Bose amplifier.    After some time, I was able to find the converter at Auto Sound Barrier, which had to be special ordered. This unit would convert the output signal from the new head unit to allow the Bose amplifier to properly work without rewiring any of the system. I had purchased a Pioneer (model number) (shown) online to save a few bucks.        As I had learned more about car audio by reading forums and asking questions on Internet Relay Chat (IRC), I had finally made my choice for a subwoofer amplifier which I could in the future use as my main amplifier powering the front stage. This would be the ESX Quantum 1204. But at this time, I never thought about that too much. Having traveled many times to ABT Electronics to get wire and other odds-n-ends, I began seeing some items I may like to get. After reading and also listening to Image Dynamics products, I decided that this would be my subwoofer. I chose the 12" IDQ to run off my new amplifier. At the same time I thought that I could benefit from a 1.0 farad Lightning Audio capacitor. A few days later, I received my new ESX Quantum 1204 amplifier. This unit for those unfamiliar with ESX Quantum Series amplifiers was made in the United States by Zed Audio (manufacturers of such as Zapco, US Acoustics, and Lanzar). Since then, ESX has moved to have their products produced overseas.  I ran a 4 gauge power wire through the firewall down the drivers side to the trunk. I placed this wire in wire loom like it is required by IASCA rules. Before I could hook-up my amplifier, I had to figure out where I would be mounting it. I finally decided that the best bet would be to fabricate a piece out of plywood that would fit directly behind the back seat. Here you see me measuring and drawing on the plywood prior to it being cut and sanded.

 

Once all the cutting, drilling, and sanding was done, I came up with a piece that looked like this. Now became the somewhat challenging part for me. I had to figure out how I would be finishing the amp rack--vinyl, carpet, leave it ghetto style? As you see I decided to carpet it to go with a more stock appearance. I ran all the wires to the locations where they were to be connected to the amplifier.  The finished product ended up turning out very well and hid all wires just as I wanted it to be. It still kept that stock, clean look. 

 

 

 

 

 

Months Passed                                                                                         After a few months passed by, and more trips to ABT Electronics, I saw that they were closing out their line of IMAGE DYNAMICS. First thing I saw was another 12" IDQ subwoofer. For the price I could not pass this deal up and started thinking about how I would be running 2 subwoofers in my system. It didn't stop there. About another month passed when the refrigerator in the house went out. Time for another trip to ABT Electronics. This time I saw a set of IDQ 6's on clearance for a remarkable price. Had to get them. Christmas was coming near and I thought "what a good gift to ask for now would be an Image Dynamics components set." Perfect timing helps and on Christmas I received my new set of Image Dynamics 5.25 component set with silk dome tweeters.

Time to start thinking of a new amplifier, rewiring the entire car, and making subwoofer boxes. I decided to use Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) to construct my boxes. Reason I made two boxes instead of one large one was to be able to break down the system easily.

Next thing I did was to rip out all the seats and dampen the floor boards. I used Dynamat Original on the entire floor boards. On top of the Dynamat to further assist in dampening road noise, I laid some jute down. Finally came the easier part, laying down the new wiring for all the speakers, which I ran down the center of the vehicle in yellow wire loom. Left side, or the driver's side, of the vehicle had the power wire run, and the right side, passenger's side, of the vehicle had the remote turn-on, and the interconnects. I tried to separate the wires as much as possible to eliminate any unwanted interference.  

 

A few weeks, or months, passed by (as time flies) before I began researching about a subwoofer amplifier. Do I get a another ESX? Do I look for a mono-channel amp? What do I do? Well, I ended up getting a Directed 1100d mono-block amplifier made by DEI Electronics. This amplifier's output was larger than my subs recommended, but as long as I was careful while tuning the system, I would be just fine and had plenty of head room for the future.

After having the basics of the system completed, I wanted the visual presence of the audio components in the trunk to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Something that could be show worthy, but at the same time doesn't sacrifice trunk space too much. Sure I have now a smaller compact trunk, but I can still easily get many items in there without a problem. (PLACE A FINISHED OVERALL PICTURE OF THE TRUNK HERE)

The Future                                                                                                In the future, I would like to experiment more with fiberglass and possibly redo the entire trunk. I would also consider redoing many other items in the car as well. Check back and see if anything has changed. 

To see all the install pictures that are online click here.

 

 

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