Snailblazer 2.0 Audio Build

Snailblazin'

Original poster
Member
Dec 9, 2011
164
Finally wrangled (almost) all of the necessary odd and ends to update the tired-ass factory Bose stereo in Snails. I didn't think it would be possible for me to survive almost 3 years of owning the truck and leaving it stock to allow the slow procurement of decent audio equipment. But it's done. Still awaiting the arrival of an amp and some random installation bits. The plan is the run an active 2 way front stage with the ability to shut off the rear door speakers as listening needs require. Amps will probably end up under the floor in the hatch. Nothing too fancy as I'm just sick of looking at it on a shelf.

Anybody know if changing the orientation of the sub to down-firing would require anything but adding "legs" to the face of the enclosure and flipping it?

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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
My home sub is down firing. Make sure the box has weight to it otherwise it'll move around. Maybe port issues could arise but I don't see why it would matter. Slap some legs on and be done.
 

Snailblazin'

Original poster
Member
Dec 9, 2011
164
I did some reading and apparently a down-firing sub in a vehicle is fraught with wave cancellation and muddled sound. Up-firing on the other hand seemed to be quite favourable. The only reason I asked was to protect it from my heathen dog who would either chew the surround out of it or otherwise render my sub incapacitated. Grounds for dismissal.

I had the sub up-firing in my bus but she is by no means an audiophile grade test subject with her vast expanses of uninsulated, paper-thin, 44 year old German sheet metal. Seems like I should just get a grill for it, or turn it around so it fires at the back of the rear seat.

Here's the game plan:
Front stage - 6.5" Hertz Mille Legend components powered by a PPI Phantom P900.4
Rear fill - 6.5" Hertz Hi-Energy coaxials powered by a PPI Phantom P600.2
Sub stage - 10" JL 10W7 powered by an Alpine PDX M6
Head Unit - Pioneer DEH-80PRS controlling crossover points on the front stage
~30 Sq ft of FatMat for the doors and hatch
Stinger 6000/8000 series interconnects and 14 AWG speaker wire
4 AWG power and grounds
Previously upgraded alternator and battery
 

Snailblazin'

Original poster
Member
Dec 9, 2011
164
Moar "progress". Ran all rca cables, remote and power wires. Super chilled timetable here so I pick away at it as I can.
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dna59

Member
Nov 20, 2015
327
Belize
I do my audio installs in the same manner... one step at a time. I don't have the patience for the everything in one day. Very nice equipment you gonna run.
 
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Snailblazin'

Original poster
Member
Dec 9, 2011
164
Not a whole lot accomplished today. I terminated all previously run wiring to the hatch sub-floor area and started deadening what I could lay my hot little hands on. Also put my oldest to work, his tiny little arms and hands could reach so much more than mine! I get why child labor works! The hatch area is now complete. I also installed some totally custom training wheels on a tiny little bike....ain't nobody care bout dat shit.
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Snailblazin'

Original poster
Member
Dec 9, 2011
164
This showed up today, completing hard-part acquisition phase. As I digest how I want to control this shit it dawned on me that I don't have enough pre-outs on the deck to run 3 amps. Y-splitters would work but then I reduce signal voltage. Probably not going to be a big issue due to the very limited use the rear speakers will see, especially at high volumes.PPI 2 chan.jpg I also lose the ability to fade front to back...I also need to craft a handy way to shut off the amps from my seat (to be able to turn off the front or rear speakers depending on who or what we're doing in the truck). Any suggestions?
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
I also need to craft a handy way to shut off the amps from my seat (to be able to turn off the front or rear speakers depending on who or what we're doing in the truck). Any suggestions?

Oh I got lots of suggestions! :biggrin: A lot of it depends on how many different audio configurations you see yourself using though.

For example, if you want to be able to (de)activate the front and rear amps independently, you could go with your standard toggle or rocker switches, or latching push buttons. Since amp turn on current is low, you could feed the switches source off an ignition source, and then the respective outputs to the amps. This would ensure that you don't drain your battery by accident when the truck is off, but you'd also lose RAP (if that's important to you)

Then you just have to figure out where you want to mount them. For an unfinished mod, I installed a latching push button in my headlight switch box, as I'd seen others do something similar.

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Another example, say you decide you'll always want your fronts on, but want to be able to toggle the rear amp. You could use a rocker switch for just the rear amp, and have the front amp's turn on signal connected to the HU to retain RAP.

You could use a 3 position switch, and connect both amps to 1 of the ON poles, and just the front amp connected to the 2nd ON pole. You'd need a diode on the front amp turn on signal coming from the switch, so the rear wasn't turned on through back feeding.

If you're not handy with diodes and such, you could use a DPDT toggle switch like this one, just have to split the incoming voltage across the 2 center pins, then connect the front and rear to adjacent pairs on one end, and then just the front to one of the other end.

*click for linky*


The possibilities are vast really. :cool:
 

Snailblazin'

Original poster
Member
Dec 9, 2011
164
Wow, thanks! That was an intense lesson on switches. I don't know which is going to be the best but I know where to start looking.

Until this point I thought I had done all the hard and unsexy work...turns out I hadn't even started. I had to fab templates for the front doors on account of the woofers being over 7" in diameter. First time for that, they turned out alright, I'm certainly not winning any installation points but whatever. Several other small fires needed extinguishing too so progress is brutally slow. Need more speaker wire now too. Of note is how much insulation my 2007 has vs my 2002, I tried to leave as much in tact as possible and squeeze as much FatMat into the inner skin and in between all the clips and such. I'm literally missing all the skin on my knuckles but I think it'll be worth it. Also found that the passenger side dash speaker had a hole in the cone. Far too many SPLs!!
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Snailblazin'

Original poster
Member
Dec 9, 2011
164
Everything is in, still need to tune a pantload, and I'm happy. Like all projects, you can chart my enthusiasm and watch it drop off hard the longer I'm involved with it, I get to the point where I just want it done NOW!!! That's how this was.
Here's where I grounded my amps, two smallish holes through the bottom of the hatch cubby floor and straight to the driver's side frame rail.
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