Review my stereo plan please

[martin]

Hi

As I am a keyboard cowboy with limited knowledge of stereo things I would like opinions on the plan for upgrading my stereo system.

This is what I have:
Zeetool sub box for 10" sub (JL10W1)
Seas Lotus Reference series speakers
D'Ecosse speaker plates. Made with Seas Lotus's in mind (Same as SOS?)
Grom Ipod adapter which I will route to the box between the seats hooked up to the cd changer cable behind driver seat/covers.
OEM stereo. As long as I have the Grom it does what I want.
Sos Factory head unit to aftermarket amp & speakers
One trunk mount panel and one in order as soon as SOS replies

Plan was one amp until yesterday. Now the plan is two amps.

What I plan to buy:
10" sub SW 250/1Sheet here
Should fit the case I have. It demands about 21liter and the case is 19 liter. Should be okey
2*BF1502 amp's
One BI7378

Then 6 meters of 25mm^2 power cable. Speaker cables*3 and 2(*2) 5 meter rca's.

I need a splitter for the sos thing so I get the rca's hooked up in the front for the two amp's. Then a power distribution block and ground cable for the amp's. And a 200A automatic fuse which will be next to the battery.

How does this sound? I would think that I am on the right track. I will need ofcourse some other thingis too to get all hooked up. I am not sure if I will buy this and have a separete remote cable as that package has no remote. Or if I will buy two of this one which has remote

Please review my plan and give me pointers. I would think this will be in the same category as the high quality Tubi Style exhaust I have on the silver princess already.

One amp will be bridged to power the sub with 1*480w. And 2*150w would be good for the Seas Lotus Ref series speakers.

AFAIK I will have to hook the power cord to the BI7378 and then the powercord to the power distribution thingy. And then to the amp's.

I may be wrong as I think that the salesman talked about 25mm^2 from battery to the BI7378. And then 10mm^2 from the distribution thingy to the amp's and ground.

Please let me know if there are anything here that I am not thinking of. I will at some time exchange the oem unit with a Kenwood 2*din and that is why I would like two set's of rca's go back to be future ready for the Kenwood.

Now I will post this thing and see if it looks good and edit it if it does not look good.

AFAIK there are two holes behind each of the seats where I can route the cables. I will need some pointers on how I will do the routing as well.

Edit1: How about one BF0756 amp? Bridged it will give 2*240w for the front set and 1*600w for the sub. I have no idea why this amp was not talked about when I called them.

Edit2: I have measured the plate from SOS and the BF0756 will not fit the plate. Well I will not have room for the condensator. So I will stick with the plan of going with two amps back there as I describe above. That means I get enough space for the condensator.

TIA

Regards

[Veleno]

I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say "condensator."

The only openings are behind the passengers seat.

Which Zeetoolman box do you have (V1/V2/V3)? I'm going to assume you either have V1 or V2 because you mentioned using the JL10W1. The SEAS SW250/1 is a good choice for the enclosure. However, what type of sound are you hoping to achieve? Lots of bass, more sq, a little of both? There are lots of good subs to chose from depending on what you're after.

D'Ecosse's speaker plates for the SEAS Lotus reference set should come out more than the SOS speaker plates. I know he builds out the rings to 3/4" or 1" to accommodate the speakers and bring them closer to the speaker opening.

SOS harness is fine for what you want to do. I believe they can put 2 sets of rca's on there (one for front, one for rear) if you ask. If not, contact Bailey (Malibu Rapper) and he can build you one.

What type of control(tuning) do you want to have over the speakers? I ask because this will somewhat dictate how many amp channels you need, as well as how many amps you want to use. If you want to be able to tune each speaker, you'll need 5 channels (either 4ch. amp + 1ch. amp, or 2-2ch. amps + 1ch. amp, or 5ch. amp, or...get the picture?).

Do you want to run your speakers passive (with the supplied crossovers) or active (with an external crossover)? There are pros/cons to both setups.

I'll write more when I have more time

[martin]

I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say "condensator."

The only openings are behind the passengers seat.

Which Zeetoolman box do you have (V1/V2/V3)? I'm going to assume you either have V1 or V2 because you mentioned using the JL10W1. The SEAS SW250/1 is a good choice for the enclosure. However, what type of sound are you hoping to achieve? Lots of bass, more sq, a little of both? There are lots of good subs to chose from depending on what you're after.

D'Ecosse's speaker plates for the SEAS Lotus reference set should come out more than the SOS speaker plates. I know he builds out the rings to 3/4" or 1" to accommodate the speakers and bring them closer to the speaker opening.

SOS harness is fine for what you want to do. I believe they can put 2 sets of rca's on there (one for front, one for rear) if you ask. If not, contact Bailey (Malibu Rapper) and he can build you one.

What type of control(tuning) do you want to have over the speakers? I ask because this will somewhat dictate how many amp channels you need, as well as how many amps you want to use. If you want to be able to tune each speaker, you'll need 5 channels (either 4ch. amp + 1ch. amp, or 2-2ch. amps + 1ch. amp, or 5ch. amp, or...get the picture?).

Do you want to run your speakers passive (with the supplied crossovers) or active (with an external crossover)? There are pros/cons to both setups.

I'll write more when I have more time

Hi

Thanks for your reply both here and there.

Condensaor is the direct translation of what I think is called a capaciator in the US.

This is what I am talking about

I understand it is mixed opinions if a device like that actually does what it is supposed to do. Which is to give a steady voltage to the two amps.

Zetoolbox: I am not sure if it is a V1 or a V2. Bought a looong time ago and I do believe it was also sold with the JL10W1.

SW250 can not be used. The magnet on it is just too wide. The box can not handle it. I could put a spacer ring there. But the spacer would have to be so thick that the speaker would extend above top of the box. So I guess the hunt is still on for a good 10" sub.

I have the measurements for the W1 and I will use that to go hunt for a good sub.

What type of sound? Well I probably started to nuke the oem speakers playing old Captain Hollywood and Haddaway on my way home with the car in 2003

I like a lot of Hans Zimmer/Soundtracks. Dan Reed Network. But also some music like C & C Music Factory and things like that. So I would like some punch. And the 10" that I find in the end needs to be top notch as the Seas Lotus Reference series are top notch. (I guess I still live in the 90's based on the music I like).

D'Ecosse: I said that I was going to use the Seas Lotus Reference series speakers. I have a newer version of the speakers compared to the ones he had. But they should be the same to mount so they are made to fit the ones I have.

Sos harness: I already have that one. I should think that I only need to add a splitter bought everywhere to make it 4 outputs.

Amp's: I will go for two BF 1502's. They are 2*150W RMS in 4 ohm. That would be good for the Seas Lotus Reference series set. I can bridge the other amp and that gives me 1*480w RMS in 4ohm for the 10" sub.

Control: The amp's have gain and filters so I filter out the bass to the Ref series and bass boost the amp to the sub. I have no need to control them any more than that.

I will use the crossovers that is in the Reference series kit if that is what you are talking about.

I will go with a 25mm2 from the fusebox in the enginebay. There will also be a 100A automatic fuse there.

Then it will go to the capacitator. Then to splitter. Then to the either amp 10mm2 with a 50A fuse to each amp. And the - from the amps will also be 10mm2.

Each amp has 3*25A fuse.

I will read more in detail what you wrote in the other thread on where to route the cables. I will either have the cap on left side of the trunk and have the splitter box be there or I will have the power go to the right side of the trunk and then under the carpet to the left amp.

Probably have the power go to the left side first.

I will also have to route the 4*rca's+3 speaker wires through that hole behind the passenger seat. And not have them go alongside the power cable to the trunk.

The rca I was thinking of using is this but since I will have one amp on either side of the trunk I will instead use two of this which also has the remote which I hook up to the antenna thing on the oem stereo.

The Grom Ipod Adapter also needs to be hooked up. I will do that behind the driver seat. The cd changer cable goes from behind there and all the way back to the trunk. That will not be used anymore. So I guess I could remove that and put the power cable through the hole to the trunk instead.

One guy in the norwegian Club-Honda said I should use 35mm2 or 50mm2 for power. But that is way crazy.

I would think that 25mm2 is good and then 10mm2 to each amp. And have 3mm2 speaker wires go to the Seas Lotus Reference series set and also the sub.

Regards

[Veleno]

caps do what they're suppose to do, so I'd use one. I doubt though that you're going to be doing a lot of power drawing since it's a single 10" sealed so I wouldn't worry either way.

I would go with the BF2252 since it has more power = more headroom. Better to have more power on hand IMO, but either way will work (maybe price is a factor?).

D'Ecosse did have the "older" version of the reference set. The newer versions come with an updated tweeter and midbass. The rings will work if he made it.

The crossovers will take care of what frequencies pass to the speaker, that's its job. The amplifier gains will allow you to have more "power" when turned up (but will result in a hotter running amp). You would usually want the amp gains as low as possible to avoid clipping the amp (running it hot thus causing it to go thermal and shut off).

How is the magnet on the SW250/1 too wide? I doubt it's as wide as the face of the speaker itself so it should fit in the opening. Maybe it's too deep? If that's the case then yes a speaker ring can be used. But based on the design of the box a 3/4" ring can be used and the speaker will still not protrude past the opening of the box. I have both V1 and V2 and I know this is true with the V1 box, and in looking at the V2 box things would be the same as well.

A member on here installed a JL10W6 (with a huge magnet, bigger than the SW250/1) in the V1 box and it worked out fine. Do a search you'll find it on this site

If that sub really won't work, then PM me and I can give you a list of some other "SQ" subs I've come across.

If you are going shopping for the sub at your local shops, by all means take the box to test fit the subs you might be interested in.

A splitter will work with the harness. However remember that you are limited to what the OEM HU can do. This won't be an issue if you don't have intentions of fine tuning the system.

I'm running 4ga. for both power/ground then 8ga. to the amps. I'm not sure what size that is in your part but you can convert it (i'm lazy)

Everything that you are doing I have done myself. I'm running a little more of an elaborate setup than yours (more gear) but basically the same in the end. It'll be worth it once you fire it up when you're finished and you hear the new found sound in your car.

[jorligan]

It sounds like you plan on using the Bose head unit. When I upgraded my setup, some of the biggest improvement was getting rid of the Bose unit and in my case, using an Eclipse head unit with 8v output. I used an Xtant multichannel amp, first the 4 channel (x604) when I used the SOS dual voice coil sub and when I when with the V3 from Zetoolman, switched to the x603 which is a 3 channel amp. The SOS sub sounded better but the V3 doesn't sacrifice any foot well room.

[martin]

Hi

I do want to plan this so it will be as good as it can. I know that exchanging the HU will improve the sound a lot. But I am at that stage that I have been without any sound in my NSX for years and I want to take this one step at a time. Any improvment to no sound is good for me. A Kenwood HU will set me back about $1700.

So plan is to get the speakers and amps sorted first and then exchange the HU in time.

So two BF2252 then. One for the fronts and one for the sub. Money is not an issue. The BF1502's came recommended that is why they was in the orginal plan.

The BF2252 is used in a stereo competition car they have and is even better then the BF1502. And the BF2252 is more correct if I follow the "best car = best stereo" philosophy.

My concern is space. I can't get to my NSX since the garage door lock is shutting me out. So I can not measure to see if it fits. I have the SOS Trunk mounting table which I have done some measurements on.

The BF2252 is (B*H*D) 258mm*50mm*450mm.

The SOS plate is (B*H*D) 250mm*xx*530mm

However there are things that limit the space since it is shaped as it is due to the NSX shapes in the trunk.

Here it is

On the left bottom side it is at most 11cm shorter than 530mm. And also at the top right corner it is 2cm shorter than the measured 530mm. (Left/right according to the SOS picture linked above).

I have no idea if I have enough room so two BF2252's will fit. I have to mount it further up since D is 258mm. But I have to mount it higher than the 0.8cm due to the limitations on the plate/space.

The Audioson on the Sos page looks massive. But I have to make myself a card board model of the Dynabel amp to see if it will really fit. It is probably massive too. I ofcourse have to force that garage door open too so I get access to the trunk.

Magnet
Well I found the physical dimensions on the JL10W1 and I have the physical dimensions on the SW250/1.

Mounting depth is JL=111.12mm
Mounting depth SW=128mm

Magnet diameter JL=123.83mm
Magnet diameter SW=189mm

The JL outer edge is 257.17mm and the SW is 266.5mm. Mounting hole diameter is JL=231.7mm and SW=231.5mm.

There may have been some misunderstandings when I had my father to help me with the measurements.

But what we found was that when we looked at how the box is shaped the initial space availible for the magnet was not enough for the SW. To have it fit I had to use such a huge spacer ring which would move the speaker upwards ofcourse. To make the magnet not hit the box wall the spacer ring had to be so thick that the speaker will protrude past the opening of the box.

A 3/4" will not be enough. Please let me know if we have screwed up the measurements here. Nothing would make me more happy than have the SW250 fit as it should be a classy sub.

Power cables

The plan was to use the middel one which is 25mm2. I did not find any converters on the net sorry.

Is that cable enough if I plan now is two BF2252? And how about the fuses?

Plan there is still 100A auto fuse near the fusebox. Then to the cap. Then to two 50A fuses. To the splitter and then to each speaker through the 10mm2 cable. The one on the top on the link above.

The amps have 3*30A each.

I will go and hunt some for the JL10W6 setup you talk about.

Thank you very much for your insight. Much appriciated. I have things that I am good at and stereo things is not it.

Regards

[martin]

Hi again

I found the size of the Audison LRx 4.5 4x75W that is mounted in the trunk of that silver NSX on Sos page I refer to.

The dimension is:

B x H x D: 198mm x 56mm x 388mm

Compared to the BF2252 which is:

B x H x D: 258mm*50mm*450mm.

So the Dynabel is 6cm higher than the Audison. 0.6cm thicker. And 6.2 cm longer.

Arg I have to force that garage door open so I can test fit a cardboard amplifiler in the trunk with the plate.

Regards

[Veleno]

I think I was mistaken (because I can't find the W6 thread), it was a JLW3 and not a W6, sorry about that.

When going out to measure your amp space (side panels), be sure to take into account that the connections are on the sides of the amps, so you must have enough space for all the wires. Any reason you don't want to mount the amps on the floor? If you're worried about storage, you can always do a false floor setup and have a top cover piece you can put stuff on that prevents damage to the gear.

In the picture of the wire, it's hard to tell what sizes they are. The 50mm2 looks like 4ga. wire. However, looking at the sizes listed (10, 25, 50mm2) then I can assume that 50mm2 is 0ga., 25mm2 is 4ga., and 10mm2 is 8ga. respectively. If the shop that you're buying from is a reputable stereo shop then I'm sure they'll know what to use, so go with their suggestions.

Like mentioned above, the HU will make a big difference in the final sound. A Kenwood HU for $1700? What features are you looking for in a HU? I can get you one over here if it's cheaper, or I can get you an SQ HU for less/more (just depends on how much you want to spend on one). Just let me know.

Too bad it doesn't show a 4 channel amp with more power. You could use each channel to run each speaker since each speaker has its own crossover.

Is the amp stable at 2ohm loads?

Just wondering, what are these amps costing you each? Any specific reason you chose these amps over other brands? I'd like to see what other amps are within the same price range for comparison so prices would help

I'm going to guess that you have the V2 (I believe shorter by 3 inches on the face) since the V1 had more space and I'm "almost" positive would fit the SW250/1. Maybe someone is willing to trade their V1 for your V2 (if that's the version you have), just know that it'll take up a couple more inches of legroom.

Wiring (power) will look something like this:
-wire from engine fuse block into fuse block/breaker (less than 12"), then out and into the cap, then out and into another fuse block (only 1 needed), the out and into a distribution block/splitter (25mm2 in, 10mm2 out = 1in-4out or 1in-2out), then out to the amps possitive(+) connection (not speakers).

The main ground wire will go into another distribution block/splitter (25mm2 in, 10mm2 out = 1in-4out or 1in-2out) then out to the amps negative(-) connection.

Speaker wires and rca's will come from the main cabin, through the engine bay, then into the trunk. Each wire will connect directly to the amps speaker/rca connections respectively. Be sure to label each wire (or at least color code it at the ends) so you can easily determine which goes where at the amps. If not you'll spend some time testing each wire to figure out which is LEFT and RIGHT or LEFT FRONT/LEFT REAR, RIGHT FRONT/RIGHT REAR. In your case, you'll label them TWEETER LEFT/TWEETER RIGHT, MIDBASS LEFT/MIDBASS RIGHT, and SUB, or something similar to that.

How does your speaker wire look like? Is it one shielded cable (exterior) with 2 individually shielded cables inside?

Where are you mounting your tweeters?

[martin]

I think I was mistaken (because I can't find the W6 thread), it was a JLW3 and not a W6, sorry about that.

Hi

I will be replying tomorrow when I can see straight again. Some may have put some beer's into my body.

I just wanted to say that according to the chart I have the dimensions are the same for the 10W1 until 10W4. And it seems to be the same for the W1 until W8.

So the 250W will not fit.

Regards

[trainingrevolution]

To run RCA's from the Head Unit back to the trunk (passenger side) I needed a 6M cable. If you have 25 feet of speaker wire for each door, and the floor subwoofer that will work out nicely. You may want to consider a larger gauge for the subwoofer cable. I did 16 gauge for the doors and 12 gauge for the sub. Don't forget to run a remote wire for the amp because you will at some point want to change the head unit. Pick up some split loom tubing, I used 1" and it work pretty well. For power I used 4-gauge cable with an inline fuse adapter and connected at the jump start terminal. I went bigger with power because if I change the size of the amp its easy to swap out a new ground cable, but more of a pain to do the Power Cable (since its all tied up, and in the split loom tubing) For ground I used 8-gauge (I do have a small amp).