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View Full Version : Audio Sneak Peek! (Who said the NSX can't be custom?)


BoneZ
03-24-2002, 03:14
I know this probably shouldn't go in this section, but many folks question the audio quality of the NSX and want to see some "custom" work.

Well here is a "sneak peek" at my system (which is complete, but the website is not).
http://www.agonyguild.com/nsx/audio/

All of the work was performed by Craig Harde at Mobile Car Security.

He is based in Northern California, and can be reached at: craigharde@hotmail.com

I will be building a website in the near future with all of the cars modifications. Information about the audio, engine, and all changes will be detailed there.

Some of the pictures have bad lighting, and some "revised" photos will be up soon.

PS: Yes, that really is a Linksys wireless network access point you see http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif The real question is, can you figure out why its there?

-B

lemansnsx
03-24-2002, 11:19
Originally posted by BoneZ:
PS: Yes, that really is a Linksys wireless network access point you see http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif The real question is, can you figure out why its there?

-B

Transferring music to the head unit.



------------------
Andrew Henderson
The NSX Model List Page (http://www.extendednetworks.com/nsx/nsx.html)

"We have long acknowledged that enthusiasm for things automotive is a sure
sign of emotional instability if not outright dementia" - Brock Yates

NSX4U2
03-24-2002, 12:43
Looks like a very clean install. What City in N. CA was the work done?

Please list the specific equipment used.

You must be pleased with the sound?

What was the total cost to complete a project like this?

Regards,

97-T #009 @24K

Andrie Hartanto
03-24-2002, 14:07
I was there yesterday and it is a beauty. Sounded really good. Glad you like it. The whole car itself is a beauty. With SC and NOS? that thing must be scary fast. It need a big brake though http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/wink.gif

Craig is a friend of mine. He can be reach at 510-455-1161. His name is actually spelled Craig Hardy, but his email is craigharde@hotmail.com. He is located in Hayward, CA

If you want to see work in progress, check with him on the next NSX system he will be doing. Currently there are 2 NSX in line. A Yellow 97, and a red 92 (mine) http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif

As far as the cost, I'm sure he can work around your budget. Any system can be customize according to your budget.


[This message has been edited by Andrie Hartanto (edited 24 March 2002).]

BoneZ
03-24-2002, 14:35
Andrie : Thanks for the name correction, didn't even realize I typo'd it http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif and as for the NOS, what NOS? ;P

Equipment used:

Door Speakers: MB Quart DSD 216
Subwoofer: Illusion Audio ND-10
Amp: Arc Audio 4150-CXLR
Cables: Stinger twisted blue/silver
Head Unit: EMPEG 30GB (aka RioCar)
WAP: Linksys WAP
Street Glow Neon in Blue, 2 20" tubes, 1 4" tube.
Stinger 8" cooling fans for the amp rack (you can't see them, but you can feel them blowing air with your fingers on the left side. They were placed specifically to allow the warm air from the amp racks to blow under the NOS bottle, acting as a air driven bottle warmer.).

---

As far as sound quality, its fantastic. Im very happy with it, considering the amount of space we had to work with, I couldn't ask for anything more.

I sacraficed only 1/4-1/2" of footroom on the passenger side to fit the box in there and stay within the specs of the speaker. 1/4-1/2" isn't much, and most of it is carpet.

The car seemed to attract a lot of attention during the time it was being installed. It appears other NSX'ers got a chance to see it as well, and would agree it was quite the install.

The car has a few more things that need to be finished, but once that is done you will get a chance to see it in person at any west coast event im able to attend.

I will be building a more detailed website in the near future with complete specs, links, and information about everything in the car... so stay tuned http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif

-B

Russ
03-24-2002, 19:12
Originally posted by BoneZ:
PS: Yes, that really is a Linksys wireless network access point you see http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif The real question is, can you figure out why its there?


Because the Rio is permanently mounted in the dash, and thus can't be removed to load the hard drive with mp3 files, you use the Linksys to upload songs into it wirelessly from your home network.

------------------
Russ
'91 black/black

[This message has been edited by Russ (edited 25 March 2002).]

Factor X Motorsports
03-26-2002, 20:21
Looks Great!

Soulstice
03-26-2002, 22:41
That is a very clean custom job.

On a related note, people interested in car mp3 audio should check this product out: http://www.phatnoise.com/ . Easier install without the hub for the not-so-tech-savy people out there.

(And no, I'm not affiliated, it just looks like a great toy and I had to share).

------------------
'96 Black/Tan NSX-T

sjs
03-26-2002, 22:55
Too heavy.

BTW, if the Linksys is for uploading MP3, why bother with a low-fi source on a big buck hi-fi system?

nsxxtreme
03-26-2002, 23:42
Originally posted by Soulstice:
That is a very clean custom job.

On a related note, people interested in car mp3 audio should check this product out: http://www.phatnoise.com/ . Easier install without the hub for the not-so-tech-savy people out there.

(And no, I'm not affiliated, it just looks like a great toy and I had to share).



Yes it is a very neat toy. The only problem is that it was sold to Kenwood. Now it only works with Kenwood decks and not OEM's. I really wanted to get on of these, but they are no longer available.

Soulstice
03-27-2002, 12:11
Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
Yes it is a very neat toy. The only problem is that it was sold to Kenwood. Now it only works with Kenwood decks and not OEM's. I really wanted to get on of these, but they are no longer available.

Darn....that's too bad. I was almost considering their product for my next to-do. Thanx for the clarification.

BTW - where did you hear about the Kenwood acquisition? I searched on the phatnoise site, but did not see anything that said it will only interface with Kenwoods.
(see http://www.phatnoise.com/products/systemoverview/headunit_interaction.php )



------------------
'96 Black/Tan NSX-T

Soulstice
03-27-2002, 12:34
Nevermind. I searched some more and found the answer to my question.....double darn.

( http://www.phatnoise.com/products/systemoverview/compatibility.php )

------------------
'96 Black/Tan NSX-T

altman
03-27-2002, 18:41
Originally posted by sjs:

Too heavy.

BTW, if the Linksys is for uploading MP3, why bother with a low-fi source on a big buck hi-fi system?

Apart from MP3 being better than you probably think it is (especially at high bitrates through actual audio grade circuitry and not through a crap PC soundcard), the Riocar will also play uncompressed WAV files.

Hugo
(who co-designed the empeg/riocar hardware)

BoneZ
03-27-2002, 20:17
keke go Hugo go! :P

The sound quality of the Empeg (RioCar? pftt.. we know the truth!!)... is top notch.

As Hugo stated, its not just a generic PoS sound card tagged to a psuedo PC... its got industry standard "car audio" style design in mind.

4V Pre-outs, AUX In, DSP driven audio, etc etc.

Also, from an MP3 perspective, I don't put any MP3's on it under 160k in recorded quality. 128kb is "CD Quality" .. so I do everything in 160k or 192k. If I don't like the way it sounds (this hasn't happened yet), I can just put the original CD into my cd player, and turn on the AUX input and listen to the raw CD.

So far, Im not disappointed... the quality is fantastic.

-B

WhooHoo
03-31-2002, 20:34
Love the install!!! I am getting ready to upgrade mine and hoped to get a bit of info from you first.

1) What year is your car?
2) You said you only lost 1/4 to 1/2 inch of foot room, did you have to relocate any sensors or remove any stock items from this space?
3) What is the internal volume of the new box?
4) What did the mfg recommend for the 10" illusion?

I only hope my system sounds half as sweet as yours looks.
Thanks.
Scott.....

------------------
SCOTT@GOHUS.COM

BoneZ
04-01-2002, 17:08
1) 1992
2) No, nothing was moved/relocated.
3) Air space used was .7-.8 cubic feet (some sections were rounded, so its hard to get an exact number)
4) The speaker calls for .7 to 1.2 cubic feet of air space in a sealed box.

-B

NMYMIRR
04-01-2002, 18:46
Hi BoneZ,

I am as I speak getting my 1997 NSX-T stereo upgraded. I have one question in regards to the subwoofer placement. Is the stock subwoofer if there is one located in the same place as the one you have installed in the passenger floor location?

nsxtasy
04-01-2002, 18:48
Originally posted by NMYMIRR:
Is the stock subwoofer if there is one located in the same place as the one you have installed in the passenger floor location?

Yes.

NSXlent in az
04-01-2002, 19:07
Re 128kb is "CD Quality"...

That is a very subjective statement! While I'm sure your system ROCKS, and car audio applications tend to be much more forgiving than home listening experiences, I really think 128kb and less Mp3's are only suitable for very non-critical listening. Mp3's can and do sound really good however at about 3-6MB per song! That is at VBR and 320kb however... That is "Almost CD Quality" to me.

Just my $.02,

-S

NMYMIRR
04-01-2002, 20:27
Thanks for your fast reply nsxtasy. Do you know or anyone that knows....exactly what size the stock sub woofer is in an 1997 NSX-T?

BoneZ
04-01-2002, 21:44
To re-iterate nsxtasy's answer.

Yes my car "did" have the factory subwoofer.

Does it have it now? No, of course not it was replaced, as were all the speakers by new ones.

The "stock" woofer is 4" .. hardly what I call a subwoofer http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif

The funny thing is that the door speakers are actually larger than the subwoofer is, on the stock stereo.

-B

NMYMIRR
04-01-2002, 23:03
I was just down at the stereo shop where my stereo system is being installed on my 1997 NSX-T. They told me that there wasn't a sub woofer in my car. They look under the passenger side floor left of the kick panel and only found a metal plate and they say it's probably a computer of some sort. So my question is, is there a sub woofer in previous year NSX's as oppose to mine (1997)? And it this an option that for the car? I just bought this car about 2 months ago and so I'm just trying to get familar with it. If someone can tell exactly wether or not there is or is not a so call sub woofer and where exactly is it located? Thanks for any replies to this matter.

nsxtasy
04-01-2002, 23:21
Originally posted by NMYMIRR:
is there a sub woofer in previous year NSX's as oppose to mine (1997)? And it this an option that for the car?

The sound system is standard equipment on the NSX and is the same for all years (unless yours was removed from your car).

If someone can tell exactly wether or not there is or is not a so call sub woofer and where exactly is it located?

Look in the service manual. If you don't have one, there's one here on NSXprime - click here (http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Reference/1991_svcman/1991servman.pdf). (If you don't have a high-speed connection, it's going to take a REALLY long time though, because it's the entire service manual.) Go to the electrical section, labeled in the manual as page 23-238 (in the Acrobat version, it's page 1224 of 1379). It tells how to peel back the cover to find the subwoofer in the passenger footwell.

Ojas
04-01-2002, 23:43
Originally posted by NMYMIRR:
...and only found a metal plate and they say it's probably a computer of some sort...

"probably"???

Have they actually removed the metal plate? From what I remember, it is what covers the sub housing.

BoneZ
04-02-2002, 00:52
Who is doing your install?

I mean, what shop that is?

-B

WhooHoo
04-02-2002, 00:54
NMYMIRR -
I am about to upgrade as well and I'm trying to get as many options as possible before the upgrade. Would you let me know (private) how it turns out, what components you use, and how they installed and built the sub box.
Thanks,
Scott.....

------------------
SCOTT@GOHUS.COM

Michigan NSX
04-02-2002, 01:03
Does anyone here have experience with the Dali Racing Golden Ears Subwoofer/Enclosure (actually an Eclipse sub)?

------------------
'91 Black/Black

NMYMIRR
04-02-2002, 02:28
Thanks for the decisive information guys. I will now tell the guys at the shop to look before they assume. The shop that is doing the install is Custom Car Alarms in S.F. Honda. I have used them in the past on my 89 Supra Turbo for a total custom install and I trust their install techniques. I recommend them for anyone who is considering a custom stereo install or alarm upgrade. Here is a link to some pictures of some the work done by them on my 89 Supra Turbo. http:// photos.yahoo.com/bc/nmymirr69/lst?.dir=/89+Supra&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/nmymirr69/lst%3f.dir=/89%2bSupra%26.src=ph%26.view=t (http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/nmymirr69/lst?.dir=/89+Supra&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/nmymirr69/lst%3f.dir=/89%2bSupra%26.src=ph%26.view=t)

[This message has been edited by NMYMIRR (edited 02 April 2002).]

Syonara
04-02-2002, 03:54
Originally posted by NMYMIRR:
They told me that there wasn't a sub woofer in my car. They look under the passenger side floor left of the kick panel and only found a metal plate and they say it's probably a computer of some sort.[/B]

Tell them to remove the metal plate, it is right behind it. I removed/repaired all my speakers 2 months ago. Ya, it is annoying to get out, but that's where the sub is.

------------------
1992 NSX Red-Black 5-Speed

ERicincal
04-02-2002, 21:58
wow.. that trunk looks great.. as does the head unit install. Have they done an install with a video screen/ DVD Nav for the NSX?

Question 2: how do the golf clubs fit in the trunk?

ck
04-02-2002, 23:05
NMYMIRR,

The sub is in there, trust me http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/wink.gif , I know.

Chris

BoneZ
04-02-2002, 23:08
The trunk space only lost about an inch of depth. The amp is recessed into the area where the factory toolkit is to prevent losing trunk depth.

And the top piece where the WAP is, is actually a little deceiving. It appears that you "lose" a lot of space, but the reality is that the only space you lose is the littly cubby in the top left. The board that covers it is 3/4" so you lose about 1" of depth and 3/4" of width total in the trunk.

And as far the golf clubs, I don't know... I don't play golf http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif

-B

nsxhk
04-02-2002, 23:49
FYI, you guys might want to check out the new kenwood stuff. They just came out with a dvd changer which can play cd, cd-r, vcd, dvd and MP3!

Henry.

Carguy!
04-04-2002, 05:58
Just so no one goes through the same hassle I have.

The Subwoofer enclosure on the 97+ NSX's isn't the same as the '91-'96's. In the more recent NSX's they mount some box to the floor of the passenger footwell so there isn't as much room for a new subwoofer box. Craig was making one for me similiar to the one in the pictures above and it will not fit in my car. The box on the floor takes up about two inches of space and Craig is now looking at creating a box that will fit the newer cars.

I recently took some pictures of the sub enclosure and the passenger footwell with everything except the box on the floor removed. If anyone would like to see these pictures email me and I will send them off to you.

On another note I have noticed other changes on the '00 NSX-T on other items that I am installing and will post more information soon.