Audio install checklist

Alright so just wanted to put this down in front of the experts to make sure I'm not missing anything.

As far as equipment I have the HAT Clarus 6.5 speakers going up front / leaving the rears in and powered off of my Pioneer 4200 DVD / and Mr. Marv is building me a box for a single 10 Arc subwoofer.

so the list looks like this so far

• HAT Clarus speakers + tweeters
• Speaker adapters via Mr. Marv
• JL Audio HD600/4 amp - bridging two for the sub and two are running the fronts.
• Arc Audio 10in Subwoofer w/ Mr. Marv box (woot!)
• Stinger 4 gauge wiring kit that has the RCA cables / speaker cable / remote turn on cable
• 50A fuse
• Raammat / Ensolite for the 4 doors / rear cab wall

For some reason I feel like I'm missing something....don't need speaker adapters as I'm running new wires from the amp. I'll probably pick up some of that weather stripping for installing the subwoofer / speakers into the adapters. Can anyone think of anything else I should look at? Thanks!

 

beer.......lol

 

....I'll probably wait on the scotch till after I'm done lol

 

mmm. Glenfiddich.
Although any of the "glens" would do, I prefer the fiddich.

 

nice setup... you have to dump the back speakers entirely unless you're going to get a processor... it will only degrade the overall system.

 

Hmmm I can understand the degrading of the sound quality but why would you need a sound processor? Can it not output through the RCA cables for the amp and through the stock audio cables for the rear speakers? *edit* I guess I don't really know what a sound processor does past seeing them used to run the stock headunit and run RCA's to the amp.

To be honest I've seen several people talk about just removing the rear speakers from the equation entirely and had been curious about it. Not sure how I feel about just having sound up front / bass in the back....is it there a noticeable "void" behind you or do you even really notice if you're not a passenger?

 

Regarding rear fill... I'd rather refer you to others that are much more knowledgable than me on this topic...

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/how-articles-provided-our-members/81191-rear-fill-speakers.html

 

Hmmm well reading that thread gave me some thoughts....I'll be running the RCA's to the amp / but leaving the rear speakers wired up to the stock wiring harness. At that point does the EQ in the HU only have an effect on the rear speakers? or will it still process the sound going to the amp as well? This will be my first component / amp + subwoofer install so I'll be learning a lot in the next few weeks.

Also they mentioned just "fading" the rear speakers out entirely...I might play around with it and see which I like better. I am curious about the EQ though.

 

Well I went out to my truck to try fading just to the front....sat in the front and the back seats. From the front seat it seemed like something was missing but honestly I think that's because all I've ever known is sound from all sides, because it didn't sound bad just different. I'm actually glad you pointed out that thread out as I hadn't dug through all of my HU's settings - found out it has several I hadn't even touched yet. From the rear obviously the sound is greatly diminished but honestly I only have passengers when I'm driving coworkers to lunch so that's not a huge issue to me. Made me curious at least! Thanks for the link I'll have to do some more reseach on the subject.

 

Spend some time on the subject there... you've got some nice gear so it's worth looking into. Personally I'm ditching my rears altogether on my build as to me the rear fill not properly done (with a t/a) only degrades the sound stage...

 

typically this will still affect the output to the amps, not just the internal amplifier. This is done so those not running any other EQ or processing will have a bit of "tuning" available, even when using aftermarket amps.

I have not read any good rear fill arguments like the one on DIY in a while, but Treetop's post #6 on that thread with links to the Left-right/right-left method is good stuff, and as Lycan pointed out, there are some ques from behind you in a venue, but it is rarely a full signal, rather a very limited or echo'd . Remember that is *can* be a very positive ambiance effect, but very very very very few people do it properly, or even understand how to do it properly. It does not entail putting rear speakers in and then fading them down...

With that said, that is referring to a essque system, and many prefer or need rear speakers for the kids, rear entertainment systems, etc.

Take the thread with a grain of salt, as it is not a good solution for everyone. I personally found several years ago that rear speakers were never needed in my vehicle. It detracts from conversations with people in the back, even when turned down low. It gets plenty loud up front and in the back when I want to rock out, and I listen while driving, not competing, so the ambiance is not really noticed when implemented properly, and it saves me from needing 7+ channels of amplification (though that has not stopped me from having it...)

 

Also, I would argue that, running passive, it is a waste of time to worry about "proper" implementation of rear fill, in the sense they are speaking about in the thread on DIY.

I would tell you that if you think you need it, attempt it with just midbass drivers, no tweeters.

 

Well when I mentioned using fading what I meant was run the HAT's and the subwoofer off of the amp and then just fade the HU all the way to the front so the rears are not in the equation. That way if I ever do need them (who knows why) I can just fade rear again. Anything fundamentally wrong with that?

I drove home from work with it all the way front and honestly liked it better...while with stock speakers I'm obviously not going to get a huge boost in clarity I could definitely tell a difference. That feeling of something missing goes away pretty quickly once you start listening to the music.

I agree! although my new favorite is the bottle in the center with the copper oval on the front. It's called Bernheim and it's a wheat whiskey....very very good for the price. Glass of that on the rocks and I'm set for the night. Have you tried any of the Glenrothes? My gf bought me a sampler for christmas and it was very good.