Budget stock Audio upgrades (XL) - plan, research, options and experimentation

[uh50]

on the dynamat, you can get 15 sq ft of smart mat 90mil for like $24 on Amazon or 18 sq ft of Kilmat 80 mil for like $33.

Cool...thanks.

Sponsored

 

[BootXL76]

Ok I haven’t swapped the tweeters yet, this is still with them, not bi-amped yet, but just confirming my hours spent on sound deadening is already paying off…. These are fresh out the box (people say go easy on new speakers, I live by push em at higher levels than normal without distortion and let them flex and break in those voice coils), the mid bass on these things is impressive (sub turned off. Logo right side up this time!

i

I still don’t know if people can actually see videos I post (I can’t), but here’s a sound test vid (no rattles, no plastic vibrations (except for the rear c column panels that aren’t bolted in currently). This is also without retuning the key

 

[BootXL76]

Also, tip to remove the panel once you have it popped…. The plugs are easy, this thing that connects to the door handle and locking mechanism can have you like “how tf do I get this off?”…. There’s a little tab on the left, my finger nail is on the top on the pic below (I already have it released out of the clip)…. You then lift up from that side and the rest will release

when you’re taking the door panels off, release the 5 bolts/screws loosen up from the bottom and remove the bottom up, then release the top lip. When putting it back on, roll the window down before trying to put it on (have it up while you’re working on it, especially if sound deadening as you’ll want to hit the metal backside of the door). Slide that top lip back over before you try clipping in any of the other attachment clips on the door.

 

[jc888888888]

thanks for the tips !!

 

[BootXL76]

one more update here, since I haven’t seen many pictures/posts utilizing the stock mount for tweeters:

they clip in pretty well without much struggle, but the dome is slightly too high and can’t quite get the dash cover completely flat…. I’m pretty sure if I shave off the plastic circle under the grill piece (and leave the foam), it’ll work, might have to edit the foam but one way or another I’ll make it look stock

And here’s how the powerbass fit (since I never showed a pic with them actually clipped in). To the right, you can see that there’s a gap where there’s enough room to put part of your hand in there. If you’re using crossovers and they’re small enough, it might be possible to mount the crossover there (also provides enough space to feed wiring through, driver side is a bit tighter with more existing wiring, etc)

 

[BootXL76]

Played around with the rear speakers some more today and realized when I swapped the 5601 with the 5600 adaptor, I plugged the driver side adaptor upside down and had the positive on the grey/purple . No wonder I wasn’t happy with how they sounded (also I’m pretty sure I had it on driver when I faded to back to see how they sounded…. ). Mistakes you make when you’re in a hurry…. Take your time…

I also realized how to best go about the upper c column…. Once you have the lower blue part removed, remove the screw/bolt and pull out the lower, as you’re lifting up to try to get the top (annoying) clips to push up into the wider part of the slot, you can work your hand inside and push up on the clip housing…. Works better than trying to push it up with a tool. Got them off relatively easy today.

4x6s back there make a difference, if rear fill is your thing, definitely more mid bass than the 4” (but if you go that route, you might need to add sound deadening, especially in the floating part by the grill).

You can also make them work without a bracket but again be careful and make sure you’re lining the magnet p other hole (if you have the 16 slot housing like below). The key to make this work is a foam gasket and making sure you make a nice seal.

I tried a boommat for the 4”, too tight of a fit and felt like it sounded worse so I scrapped it.

Tried to make the boommat work on the 4x6…. Yeah, nice try

 

[JaxMav]

one more update here, since I haven’t seen many pictures/posts utilizing the stock mount for tweeters:

they clip in pretty well without much struggle, but the dome is slightly too high and can’t quite get the dash cover completely flat…. I’m pretty sure if I shave off the plastic circle under the grill piece (and leave the foam), it’ll work, might have to edit the foam but one way or another I’ll make it look stock

And here’s how the powerbass fit (since I never showed a pic with them actually clipped in). To the right, you can see that there’s a gap where there’s enough room to put part of your hand in there. If you’re using crossovers and they’re small enough, it might be possible to mount the crossover there (also provides enough space to feed wiring through, driver side is a bit tighter with more existing wiring, etc)

Does the protective grill pop off the hertz tweeter?

I recently switched out with morel ultra 603 and tweeter was to big unfortunately. I ended up surface mounting on top of the grill in corner with double sided tape as to not have to modify. Not to happy with Woofer 6.5 came with this morel 3 way. The cdt audio I originally installed sounded better. Maybe be it’s Because it’s more of a shallow mount than the morel. The morel 2.5” mid and tweeters sound clean though.

Your install is looking good!

 

[MikeyG]

Looking good so far! How do the new hertz sound compared to the powerbass components?

 

[BootXL76]

Looking good so far! How do the new hertz sound compared to the powerbass components?

I still need to retune everything, but they definitely sound “better”, if I’m being honest I’m not sure the difference is enough to justify almost 3x the cost, but there’s a little more clarity, a litt more range…. Still trying to get it completely dialed in (I’m also still not bi amping and using the crossovers currently - I wanted to really huge the difference and going straight to bi-amping wont give me a fair comparison)…. I’ll be changing out the low end sometime this week too (will likely re-do the auto-tune while I have the sub disconnected).

compared to some of the higher end stuff, I’d say the powerbass are a tad more muffled (not bass, still way less than the stock set up), but the PBtweeters being soft dome are just pleasant. These Hertz ones are still tetelon dome and are pretty pleasant and aren’t harsh, but they’re a tad harsher than the powerbass.

Does the protective grill pop off the hertz tweeter?

I recently switched out with morel ultra 603 and tweeter was to big unfortunately. I ended up surface mounting on top of the grill in corner with double sided tape as to not have to modify. Not to happy with Woofer 6.5 came with this morel 3 way. The cdt audio I originally installed sounded better. Maybe be it’s Because it’s more of a shallow mount than the morel. The morel 2.5” mid and tweeters sound clean though.

Your install is looking good!

Wow that sucks to hear that you don’t like them as much (they’re not exactly cheap), I’ve seen better reviews/feedback on the tempo ultra > the Maximo ultra, sucks the tweeters don’t fit either. Did you leverage the 3rd “way” for the rear speakers, or…?
On the protective covers I think it’s part of the whole housing so you “could” take them off but you’d have to mangle the tweeter to do it I’m pretty sure (they also make a OEM version of the cento tweeters (stand alone tho, not part of a component set I can find) that have a beefier outer edge but are flat across the top.

 

[JaxMav]

I still need to retune everything, but they definitely sound “better”, if I’m being honest I’m not sure the difference is enough to justify almost 3x the cost, but there’s a little more clarity, a litt more range…. Still trying to get it completely dialed in (I’m also still not bi amping and using the crossovers currently - I wanted to really huge the difference and going straight to bi-amping wont give me a fair comparison)…. I’ll be changing out the low end sometime this week too (will likely re-do the auto-tune while I have the sub disconnected).

compared to some of the higher end stuff, I’d say the powerbass are a tad more muffled (not bass, still way less than the stock set up), but the PBtweeters being soft dome are just pleasant. These Hertz ones are still tetelon dome and are pretty pleasant and aren’t harsh, but they’re a tad harsher than the powerbass.

Wow that sucks to hear that you don’t like them as much (they’re not exactly cheap), I’ve seen better reviews/feedback on the tempo ultra > the Maximo ultra, sucks the tweeters don’t fit either. Did you leverage the 3rd “way” for the rear speakers, or…?
On the protective covers I think it’s part of the whole housing so you “could” take them off t you’d have to mangle the tweeter to do it I’m pretty sure (they also make a OEM version of the cento tweeters (stand alone tho, not part of a component set I can find) that have a beefier outer edge but are flat across the top.

Ya it does kinda suck but it is what it is. I don't want to poop on the 6.5" just yet as it could be a depth of fit and in my haste I did not notice that when it goes full excursion maybe its hitting the door panel? Its kinda like a distortion sound which I cleaned up by changing the setting I had for the CDT where the CDT would drop off at 120hz and now the Morel is set to drop off at 400hz. Everything is front stage.

I had to modify the sail for the 2.5". Not the best fit but it works. It would be perfect fit if the tab on back side of the sail to insert into the door was 1/2" higher. I'm waiting on a new mono sub amp, but that could be lost in the mail, haha. It was supposed to be delivered on Friday, and its running late with zero updates from last Saturday. Once I get that I can go active and see maybe issue is with the passive crossover, but I doubt it. If it is what I assume which is the depth issue then I will put the CDT back in and frankenstein it for the 3 way set up. ( morel tweeter/mid and use cdt for the doors. Other than that I'm happy with the overall sound. Everyone that hears the 6.5" subwoofer can't believe that tiny thing is outputting so much bass.

Anyways, look forward to your finished pics of the install.

I swear it's an all consuming hobby/addiction that I unleashed and I'm sure my wife wished I didn't, haha.

 

[BootXL76]

I swear it's an all consuming hobby/addiction that I unleashed and I'm sure my wife wished I didn't, haha.

same man, same

 

[BleedBlue87]

Wow, thanks for putting all this information together for us all! After reading through everything I’m gonna go ahead and use your original set up with the powerbass speakers and tweeters just for the plug and play feature. Planning on adding some sound deadening to the doors too. Does anyone know how much sound deadening material is needed to cover both front doors? Want to get it all taken care of in one shot.

 

[BootXL76]

Wow, thanks for putting all this information together for us all! After reading through everything I’m gonna go ahead and use your original set up with the powerbass speakers and tweeters just for the plug and play feature. Planning on adding some sound deadening to the doors too. Does anyone know how much sound deadening material is needed to cover both front doors? Want to get it all taken care of in one shot.

I’m guesstimating based on how much I’ve used in total, but I’m gonna say roughly 5-7 sq ft per door. You might be happy with less, but better to over-estimate. This S’Mart Mat seems to be the best bang for your buck out there at $1.67/sq ft (<$25 for 15 sq ft) and is thicker than most of the direct comps, was pretty dang easy to work with too.

**Random observation related to sound deadening:
I got out of my truck yesterday, closed the door, opened the rear door to grab something and closed it…. WOW!!! The sound difference between closing the front door and back door is insane. I’m contemplating removing the rear door panels to deaden those too (might be an excuse for me to figure out how to build 5 1/4 components into the rear door panels ).

 

[BootXL76]

Another quick update as far as pre fab boxes go…. The Kicker CompRT 48TCWRT102 is looking like it’s not gonna fit behind the seat…. The placement of the latch and rear seat Support beam are a problem for the passive radiator…. I’ll report back if any new development on that, but looks like a no-go even with the amp bracket cut off…. A single sub or custom box are looking like the only options for 10’s. I’ll continue to experiment on the subs….

Also, if you wanting to remove the amp rack, you don’t even have to cut it off…. It’s such thin metal If you fold it back and forth enough times you can break it off (and just clean up any sharp edges you might leave)

 

[Red Ryder]

Also, if you wanting to remove the amp rack, you don’t even have to cut it off…. It’s such thin metal I’d you fold it back and forth enough times you can break it off (and just clean up any sharp edges you might leave)

Good to know, I have been eyeing this (see below) for that task:

https://www.harborfreight.com/16-gauge-air-nibbler-96661.html

Sponsored