Yet another stereo upgrade :)

muzzy66 · Postby **muzzy66** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:50 am

Inksta wrote:Cheers, I'll bear that in mind

Actually I have a question for you.

When I first booted it all up, I had the amp's gain set to 'MIN'. This was just too quiet (had to put the headunit to max volume on the highway to hear conversations properly on the radio). I now have the gain set to halfway between MIN and MAX and it sounds about right (the headunit's max volume is '60' and with this level of gain I don't think I'd ever go much further than '40'). Is it normal to have to set the gain higher like that? Before installation, I had assumed the gain would be set low or minimum, given that the headunit is putting out 5 volts, the amp is bridged for 200 watts x 2 channels, and the speakers are rated at 75 watts.

As this is my first proper car stereo I'm unsure what is normal.

Hmmm, hard to say as I haven't used passive splits in a very long time. Active systems tend to go louder because you dont have passive crossovers soaking up half the power.

Still though, 200w going to your speakers should be plenty enough to drive even a passive set veryyy loud. I only have 4x70 or so right now (2x70 to tweeters, 2x70 to mids) and at max volume it's very loud, to the point where the doors are rattling like crazy from the midbass.

I always set up my systems with all amplifier gains down as far as they will go. Amplifer gains are essentially input sensitivity, so the higher your gains are set the more electromagnetic interference or 'noise' you will have going through to the speakers. I find that at higher gain levels the added colouration is quite noticable.

Some amps are rated more conservatively then outhers. My Helix is old-school, so even though it's only rated at 4x60 this is rated at 12V...that translates to more like 85w per channel at the normal 13.8V. Some brands overrated certain amp models for marketing appeal (they claim more power then they actually produce) but Focal are a brand with a good reputation - I'd imagine they'd be accurate with their ratings.

Are you talking roof on or off? I haven't gone roofless for a while, but when I do so at high speeds it's always a struggle to have the system heard!

Inksta · Postby **Inksta** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:25 pm

Thanks for the as always comprehensive reply

I was talking roof up. I have now set the gain at about 25% and that's working well. Loving the speakers, they kick loads of butt. The Nakamichi head unit was faulty and the seller is swapping me another one, which should arrive next month.

sliq · Postby **sliq** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:28 pm

four pages and no photos?!?! can't wait to see some of that nakamichi goodness.

Inksta · Postby **Inksta** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 6:41 pm

Fair call! My camera is in with canon getting repaired. Soon!

muzzy66 · Postby **muzzy66** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:50 pm

Yeah, pics man!!

Ironically I just got a new car so the MX5 is now going to go up for sale. No gear at all in there right now

I do have a set of nearly finished custom A-pillars to fit an NA6 MX5 though that I'd be happy to give away for free+postage if anyone has a use for them. They are designed to fit a 3" midrange (FR88-EX) and a 1" tweeter (Scanspeak Illuminator). From my measurements though they'd also be a perfect for a Focal 3-way front stage, because the Focal 3" K2Power and Utopia mids are the same size as the Fountek, while the Focal tweets are the same size as the Illuminator.

If anyone was planning on getting a 3-way Focal front stage but didn't want the 'from scratch' custom job, they might come in handy.

Inksta · Postby **Inksta** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:49 pm

Okay peoples, you asked for photos... you get photos!

Got my camera back on Friday. Here we go:

Nakamichi MB100 Head unit

The unit is in slightly wonky - I'll straighten it up when the replacement head unit arrives. The half-DIN space under the head unit is filled with a nice piece of anodised black metal (that's the front of the digital-to-analogue converter).

Focal Solid 4 Amplifier

Everything's tidy when viewed normally. Nice.

This is the chosen install location. I tried to minimise the impact it would have on boot space by tucking it under the spare. It needs a vacuum, I know - I live in the country and it's my daily drive... inevitable!

Amplifier Wiring

Red is power, brown is ground, blue is speakers and remote wire (to switch the amp on and off). Yellow is the signal from the digital to analogue converter... it was a bit long. A shorter cable is on the to-do list.

Ground point (needs to be sealed still).

That's the main fuse on the power line for the amp, tucked behind the antenna base.

ScanSpeak Driver and Tweeter

MDF baffle is on the to-do list. It does at least have a nice thick mounting gasket behind it.

The final product... tweeter is a few centimetres further back than I'd like, but otherwise all good. I've since blacked out the red insignia with a permanent marker for extra stealth

Well, that's it! Thanks for all the help. Hopefully this helps others out in some way.

I'll post up more pics if anything changes.

PS. Muzzy, sorry to hear about your loss!!!

What is replacing the 5?

muzzy66 · Postby **muzzy66** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:04 pm

Congrats on the sound system, it looks like a very neat job. I hope it sounds as nice as it looks!

Inksta wrote:PS. Muzzy, sorry to hear about your loss!!!
What is replacing the 5?

That would be this:

It's an '04 Alfa 147, just picked it up about two weeks ago and really loving it! Of course it doesn't have the agility and balance of an MX5, but then you can't really expect that from a fairly heavy (1270kg) FWD hatch. Still a fun car to drive though, and it does have plenty of character!

I would have really loved a GTA (with the 180kw V6) but couldn't fit in the 10k-14k budget. Tried a 156 sedan and a BMW 318i among others but come test drive time the 147 just felt right!

Gonna miss the MX5 but I really wanted something newer and more practical. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to get myself an NB as a weekend car...we'll see!