Project 'BOSE BE GONE!' audio upgrade completed

[Mr. Mac]

Mr Mac, our excellent audio advisor: I have a question for you on this tweeter.

It can go down to 2.5 K. I am thinking about using the Mundorf AMTU60W1.1-C Air Motion Tweeter: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/amt/mundorf-amtu60w1.1-c-air-motion-tweeter-4-ohm-94-mm-round/

And this unit in the doors: https://audison.com/product/th-6-5-ii-sax/ These can run up to 1K. My rears will fill in minor valley between 1K to 2.K

Any thoughts?

I have no experience with those Mondorf tweeters so can't really comment on them other than 1) at 94mm (3.7-inch) highly doubt they will fit in the factory dash locations without possibly major surgery (if that's where you're planning on installing them). And 2) even if you do somehow manage to install them in the factory dash locations I would first fully vet with those who have experience with them that they are suitable for off-axis performance. My Spidey senses tell me that type of tweeter may not perform well off-axis, but I could be wrong.

My other thought is that you do not want to have a gap in frequency range in the front stage thinking that it will be filled in by rear fill speakers as that would highly compromise staging and imaging. My personal opinion/taste is that rear fill speakers should only be used to slightly augment the front stage using filters and time delay so that the front stage is lifted and broadened while adding a bit of ambience. Rear speakers should never be used to fill in front stage gaps (talking midbass and up here of course, not subs).

 

[zermatt]

Mr Mac. Thks again for your attention. They are just under 3.00 without the round bezel. I was planning to mount horizontally. Over on the diymobileaudio site, there are many fans of this design and some are highly recommending it. Its critical that the door driver fill in as high as it can. That's the big unknown for me right now. I will ask them about the off-axis performance.

 

[zermatt]

Ok, here is one users experience:

AMTs usually have great dispersion left to right when they are installed vertically but have a smaller sweet spot height wise. The inverse is true when mounted horizontally. I have seen them used both ways successfully in a vehicle, run some tests and be careful of your final aiming

 

[Mr. Mac]

zermatt – No sweat. Please let us know what you learn about the off-axis performance. Would definitely like to learn more about that.

Regarding "critical that the door driver fill in as high as it can" – Just keep in mind that the higher the frequency the door speakers play the more directional/locatable they'll be heard by your ears. This may or may not be important to you depending on how high/elevated you want your front sound stage to appear. Time delay can certainly help with getting things sounding how/where you want them to beyond their physical locations, but there are limitations.

 

[Mr. Mac]

Looks like we were posting at same time. haha

 

[zermatt]

Mr. Mac; I had one shop quote on using a devise called KEYLOC Smart Line-Out Converter. Any thoughts! It look’s like you hardwired into the amp harness connector based on your other thread. Can you fill the details.

Much appreciated!

jk

 

[zermatt]

If anyone is interested: I have a Zen subwoofer enclosure for sale 10" inch sub . It needs a small repair on the carpet. The mfr replaced my box so this is extra. Here is the thread. Any offer that covers shipping will be accepted!

https://www.nissanzclub.com/forum/t...-z-1-10-upfire-subwoofer-box-with-z-log.2719/

 

[zpro_fast]

Woot! Project 'BOSE BE GONE!' now complete.

After learning just how horrific Bose's so-called "premium" audio system is in the new Z and being beyond disappointed with its laughable performance I got to work on ripping it all out and designing and building a proper setup. She now sounds downright AMAZING! Beyond thrilled and looking forward to enjoying many fully soundtracked cinematic road trips with her, because music is life, and life is much too short to waste on crappy audio.

System is fully concealed/stealth install for a factory appearance and consists of a total of eight speakers powered by 1,500 watts of amplification, fully active design with dedicated channels per speaker, DSP controlled filtering, time alignment, parametric equalization, etc. A clean 2-channel audio signal was acquired from the OEM source unit by tapping its low-level stereo outputs that originally fed the factory Bose amplifier. System was also designed so that it can be completely removed and returned to 100% factory should time come to sell vehicle without leaving a trace of aftermarket setup ever being installed.

System is controlled by a dedicated dual rotary digital encoder mounted in center console that allows for quick and easy operation of volume, subwoofer level, and various DSP custom presets. All factory volume controls on source unit and steering wheel maintain secondary operation as well. The custom DSP presets are...

1: Driver position optimized for older recordings with windows closed

2: Driver position optimized for newer recordings with windows closed

3: Driver position optimized for older recordings with windows open

4: Driver position optimized for newer recordings with windows open

5: Driver and passenger positions optimized for older recordings with windows closed

6: Driver and passenger positions optimized for newer recordings with windows closed

7: Driver and passenger positions optimized for older recordings with windows open

8: Driver and passenger positions optimized for newer recordings with windows open

There's also an additional 'security' DSP preset activated by a hidden switch that locks out the volume control for when vehicle is in service or being valet parked for protection against anyone monkeying around with sound system.

Aftermarket equipment includes...

(1) JL Audio VX800/8i DSP/8-channel amplifier

(1) JL Audio VX1000/1i DSP/1-channel amplifier

(1) JL Audio DRC-205 wired remote control

(2) JL Audio 10TW3-D8 10-inch subwoofer speakers (spare tire well)

(2) Focal K2 Power ES 165 KX2E 6.5-inch midbass/midrange speakers (factory door locations)

(2) Focal K2 Power M FRAK 1.25-inch midrange/tweeter speakers (factory dash locations)

(2) Pioneer TS-A879 3.5-inch coaxial speakers (factory rear fill locations)

Subwoofers are loaded in a 1.25 net cubic feet sealed air suspension enclosure (0.75-inch MDF, fully braced) that is mounted in spare tire well, completely hidden underneath factory cargo carpet mat, and is secured and coupled to body by bolt using the factory subwoofer/spare tire threaded mounting bracket. Enclosure serves double duty as mounting platform for amplifiers and power distributions as well.

SoundShield damping material treatment was applied to all interior panels, doors, and rear well area to control unwanted resonance and eliminate any annoying rattles/buzzing at high volume.

All cabling protected in braided nylon sleeving.

Oh, and system of course received the TK-421 modification.

A big "THANK YOU!" to fellow forum members here who were able to provide some pre-planning intel that helped out on this other thread: https://www.nissanzclub.com/forum/threads/factory-audio-system-questions.2432 Cheers!

PS: System diagram and enclosure specs provided in OP for any other fellow hardcore music lovers/Z owners who may wanna tackle project for themselves.

View attachment 22809

Amazing set up!!! Totally jealous. I replaced the sub but have issues with all the noise cancelling etc.

That must sound crazy!!

 

[Mr. Mac]

Mr. Mac; I had one shop quote on using a devise called KEYLOC Smart Line-Out Converter. Any thoughts! It look’s like you hardwired into the amp harness connector based on your other thread. Can you fill the details.

Much appreciated!

jk

No need for such a device if acquiring the clean, pre-amp level signal from factory head unit BEFORE it reaches the factory amplifier the way I described earlier in this thread.

 

[Mr. Mac]

Amazing set up!!! Totally jealous. I replaced the sub but have issues with all the noise cancelling etc.

That must sound crazy!!

Yeah, you're definitely gonna want to have the ANC and faux exhaust sound systems deactivated by your dealer if not bypassing the factory amplifier for audio signal as both of those systems will wreak havoc on aftermarket upgrades.

Yes, new system sounds downright amazing at any level and for hours on end. Effortless power and clarity for days.

 

[zermatt]

Mac;

I will be starting a new thread very shortly on my updated sound system in my Rosewood Z. My system build will be interesting! Thanks for all of your help!

jk

 

[Intrepid Z]

Mr Mac, awesome job - set up looks amazing.
What thickness MDF did you use for the layers?

 

[Mr. Mac]

Mr Mac, awesome job - set up looks amazing.
What thickness MDF did you use for the layers?

Thanks. Everything was constructed from 0.75-inch material. Interior of subs enclosure was also reinforced with fiberglass resin.

 

[zermatt]

Mac;

Questions,

Did you replace the speaker wires going thru the left and right Door. I am estimating that to be about 8 feet to the cargo area and the same length for the speakers on the dash.

How is much room is there to push new wire in the door harness and thru the protective conduit?

Do you update the rear wire speakers also? What is the length for that. I am estimating about 5 ft to the cargo area.

The battery cable: what gauge did you use and how did you fish this into the interor of the car?

Thanks a mil!

jk

 

[Mr. Mac]

Mac;

Questions,

Did you replace the speaker wires going thru the left and right Door. I am estimating that to be about 8 feet to the cargo area and the same length for the speakers on the dash.

Yes, I replaced and upgraded all speaker cables and left all OEM speaker cables fully intact so vehicle can be easily returned back to 100% stock without a trace of aftermarket system ever being installed should the need ever arise for that in future. I used high quality 16-gauge speaker cable for all speakers except the subs which are using 12-gauge. >>> https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/car-audio-connection-systems-speaker-connections

Don't remember the exact length of each run from dash to amplifiers in cargo well, but I'm pretty sure it was more than 8-feet, especially after all the turns and slack was accounted for. Any time I do an install I overdo the cable lengths on initial routing with plenty of slack hanging out the back, and then trim back to correct lengths only after all equipment is positioned in their final installation locations. It's much safer doing it this way to ensure nothing's ever short.

How is much room is there to push new wire in the door harness and thru the protective conduit?

Plenty of room, thankfully. I disconnected the OEM rubber conduit boots between body and doors and routed through them for clean, fully protected install. Here's a video I found that shows in detail how to do this. It's of an older 370Z, but tracks with how to do it on the new Z. >>>

Do you update the rear wire speakers also? What is the length for that. I am estimating about 5 ft to the cargo area.

Yes, as described above for dash. Again though, pretty sure it was more than 5-feet run for each after all was fully routed.

The battery cable: what gauge did you use and how did you fish this into the interor of the car?

After my total current requirement was calculated I arrived at 2-gauge for both + and – power cables (like speaker cables also JL Audio) being more than suitable for this system. >>> https://www.jlaudio.com/collections...roducts/xd-rpw2-50-car-audio-power-wire-90345 and https://www.jlaudio.com/collections...roducts/xd-cpw2-50-car-audio-power-wire-90349

There's a large rubber boot located on passenger side firewall directly behind battery that provides very easy passthrough access for routing + power cable from engine compartment to interior and on back to cargo well. Just pop off the plastic panel frame shown here (see attached pic) and you'll find it where the green circle is. That 2-gauge + power cable meets a 2-gauge fused distribution block next to amplifiers where it splits into two individually fused 4-gauge cables, one for each amplifier. Each amplifier has a short 4-gauge ground cable that runs directly to a prepared chassis ground point in cargo well.

About a 10-inch 2-gauge + power cable connects battery to master system fuse. There is an open factory +12VDC stud located underneath the protective red plastic cap. I trimmed an opening in that cap to allow this stud to be used for connecting this cable that goes directly to master fuse. (see attached pic)

To ensure optimum current flow I also upgraded that factory ground by running a short 2-gauge cable (~1.5-feet) from battery's negative terminal to a prepared ground point on chassis as the factory ground cable is a bit small. (see attached pic)

Thanks a mil!

jk

No sweat.