05 Blazer Daily Setup

[joebobclark]

Hey guys, been awhile since I posted but I still lurk the forum from time to time lol.....

Thought Id share my Blazer build with you guys now that its complete (is it ever complete?)

Just a decent daily setup, nothing special, but it sounds good and is just what I was looking for...

Equipment:

Kenwood DNX-7100 with Ipod and Bluetooth
Rockford Fosgate P162S comps
MA Audio 6.5" rear fill
MA Audio M500XE 4 channel
MA Audio M1900XE mono
4x MA Audio MA80XE 8" DVC in a sealed 2 cube downfire box
Kicker PKD1 1/0 gauge kit

The truck
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_020.JPG
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_019.JPG

H/U
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0171.JPG

Front stage
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0162.JPG
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0182.JPG
Mounted 1 tweeter in the stock dash location and 1 high on the a pillar
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0113.JPG
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0142.JPG

Didnt get any pics of the rears in but heres the adapters I had to make...
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0052.JPG

Big 3 wiring
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_004.JPG

Heres the wire run
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0072.JPG

Box (glued, no screws, FG resined the joints inside and out, its SEALED)
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0022.JPG
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_003.JPG

Couple pics in the truck
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0042.JPG
http://www.tamparacing.com/photopost/data/3583/medium/Car_Audio_0053.JPG

Thanks for looking....

[Mafiakiller]

why face the subs down? and im sure there is a better way to hide some wires...but again very nice and its rare to see 4 8's

oh i might need your help on hooking a system on my s-10....if you are willing to.

[NT_Hardcore]

subs down ftw!!! looks good hows it sound?

[Mafiakiller]

what is that one rockford piece next to the speaker in the 5th picture

[MCOR]

what is that one rockford piece next to the speaker in the 5th picture


Passive crossover for the components...

BTW, we were having a discussion in another thread about MA's equipment. I personally wasn't happy at all distributing it a couple of years ago and returned most of the order after a short period due to bad sound and faulty amps out of the box. I have heard they fixed their manufacturing problems and possibly produce some decent sounding stuff now. What do you think in your honest opinion (compared to something simple like JBL's midlne stuff or Kicker comp subs)? I am interested about reintroducing their line at the shop if it is reliable and sounds good and I can drum up some interest in it...

[joebobclark]

why face the subs down? and im sure there is a better way to hide some wires...but again very nice and its rare to see 4 8's

oh i might need your help on hooking a system on my s-10....if you are willing to.

I downfired the subs, because I didnt want to get them damaged when I put stuff in the back (its still an SUV, lol). The wiring wasnt done when I took those pics (the speakers arent even hooked up on the 4 channel) it looks 100000x better now.

If you need any help just drop me a PM, it may take a day or two but I'll help ya if I can....

[joebobclark]

BTW, we were having a discussion in another thread about MA's equipment. I personally wasn't happy at all distributing it a couple of years ago and returned most of the order after a short period due to bad sound and faulty amps out of the box. I have heard they fixed their manufacturing problems and possibly produce some decent sounding stuff now. What do you think in your honest opinion (compared to something simple like JBL's midlne stuff or Kicker comp subs)? I am interested about reintroducing their line at the shop if it is reliable and sounds good and I can drum up some interest in it...


IMHO they sound just as good or better than most mainstream mid level equipment. I have always liked MA's stuff, I had also heard that they had fallin off in the past few years, but for the price I couldnt pass them up...

I have only been running this setup for a couple weeks and the only problem I have had is with the RF's (I think I blew a tweeter already....). If I have any problems with the MA stuff I'll be sure to post back here.....

I originally had plans to do 2 fiberglass pods, one each side of the rear seat, with an 8" each, then I found these 4 MA's brand new for $140 shipped, so I decided to do 2 each side. But once I started, I found that I couldnt fit 1 8" much less 2. So I just built the sealed box for SQ, I didnt really wont a big boom system (hense the 8's to begin with).

These do get pretty loud for just 8's on less than 1000w. Bass is tight and crisp, low-lows arent the best but..... Overall Im very happy with this setup.

[NT_Hardcore]

was there any math for how much you raised the box from the floor? id like to try it out on mine but i didnt know if there was antyhing you took into thought or if you just kinda winged it...

[joebobclark]

was there any math for how much you raised the box from the floor? id like to try it out on mine but i didnt know if there was antyhing you took into thought or if you just kinda winged it...

I guess if you had a long throw sub (high Xmax) it would make a difference, you wouldnt want it to hit the floor.

I just wanted it to come up right under the rear headrests when they are folded down. I went 4" from floor to baffle, gave me the height I needed overall.

[Mafiakiller]

I downfired the subs, because I didnt want to get them damaged when I put stuff in the back (its still an SUV, lol). The wiring wasnt done when I took those pics (the speakers arent even hooked up on the 4 channel) it looks 100000x better now.

If you need any help just drop me a PM, it may take a day or two but I'll help ya if I can....

aight cool....but i got to get the car running first before ill hit you up :lol:

[NT_Hardcore]

ok i figured id be good as long as my subs had a lil more than enough room to move, thnx-

[MCOR]

was there any math for how much you raised the box from the floor? id like to try it out on mine but i didnt know if there was antyhing you took into thought or if you just kinda winged it...

Actually, downfire is extremely common now. Example-we sell those premade underseat custom sub boxes for the 4 door and extended cab pickups, Avalanches, Escalade EXT's, etc. Most of them are down fire and can artifically make the bass seem even louder because they pound into the floorboards. Most boxes have only 2-3 inches spacing from the floor to the sub. I have never had a problem with a sub exerting too much excursion and hitting the floor.

[luke81]

Most of my custom enclosures are with the subs aiming down. This way often sounds better, especially if you are near the subs, IE ex. cab trucks. This masks any mechanical noise the sub may produce and allows it to be protected.

[TJElite]

Downfiring can extend bass by 1/2 octave, or more. It works even better if you give it a solid 'wall' to load into, vs. just the carpeted floor. Just take the box you have, and add one more piece of wood for the subs to fire into. You can also achieve the same thing with a loading face in front of the subs, regardless of orientation. Make the loading area more like a slot (5 sided box) and you'll probably get even better response.

We used to downfire a lot of woofers in the late 80's / early 90's...back before subs got 'pretty', and everyone wanted to see them.

Toby

[joebobclark]

......It works even better if you give it a solid 'wall' to load into, vs. just the carpeted floor. Just take the box you have, and add one more piece of wood for the subs to fire into. You can also achieve the same thing with a loading face in front of the subs, regardless of orientation. Make the loading area more like a slot (5 sided box) and you'll probably get even better response.....

Hey Toby good to see you still posting here....

I actually thought of doing the "slot", but would it turn it into a pseudo "bandpass", sealed rear chamber/ported front? Is there any calculating Id have to do? I was expecting a little better response from these, my last downfire box was in my Civic and sounded good, I figured this one being in the cabin would be better. How much do you think the carpet is effecting it? In the Civic I had 1 cheap 15" downfiring, but it was firing into a bare 3/4" MDF false floor. I may try adding the loading face.....

[Skittle]

Nice work man!

[TJElite]

Hey Toby good to see you still posting here....

I actually thought of doing the "slot", but would it turn it into a pseudo "bandpass", sealed rear chamber/ported front? Is there any calculating Id have to do? I was expecting a little better response from these, my last downfire box was in my Civic and sounded good, I figured this one being in the cabin would be better. How much do you think the carpet is effecting it? In the Civic I had 1 cheap 15" downfiring, but it was firing into a bare 3/4" MDF false floor. I may try adding the loading face.....

Yeah, I'm still around.

It may look like a bandpass, but its not. Its technically more of a horn load, but I wouldn't worry about calculating anything...As long as the subs don't hit, you'll be fine. Remember to make the loading baffle removable, so you can get the subs out if you need to. I'd just screw a couple pieces of MDF to the 'feet' that are already on the box, and see what happens.

Its hard to quantify how the carpet is effecting it, but it does dampen it. Its also not just the carpet, but the padding, and whatever flex is in the panel.

Toby

[94civiclx]

MA FTW! how funny we were just talking about them. looks good. i need to post pics of my setup.