Project 'BOSE BE GONE!' audio upgrade completed

[Mr. Mac]

Hello Mr Mac;

So I have the system up and running for about 3.5 months now. Was it worth the time and $$$. Yes, I love the system.

With running three amps my voltage never drops below 14V. The Amps and the DSP are very reliable.

The Blam's 2.0 sig. M/T speakers. They are very neutral due to the carbon fiber cone, 3d imaging is good. I like them but there probability a better 3 inch driver out there. Give soundworks audio in Pasadena Maryland a call.

I have the brax 2 inch drivers in the side rear, there are nice too!

I really like the Mundorffs ribbons inthe back, there are mounted on top of the sub enclosure. I just had the hole system retuned by Migel at waveform tuning.

Fantastic. Congrats and enjoy many smiles per mile!

 

[zermatt]

Yes, Thks Thks. It make driving the Z a blast in a half. Once thks for your post.

 

[Mr. Mac]

Update to stealth enclosure design since system was first installed. Redesigned the support frame around subwoofers to accommodate an extended trim panel that runs entire width of cargo area, tucks under interior edges of trim panels, and also now has supports over the subwoofers themselves with just enough space for maximum excursion. This way any heavy luggage that may be placed on top when covered by factory cargo carpet mat won't sag where voids under carpet mat used to be with original design.

 

[Mr. Mac]

Hey all. UPDATE: I've since moved from original fully active 2-way front stage setup detailed in OP to a fully active 3-way front stage. The original 2-way was fantastic, but over the year I've been listening to it I’ve picked apart little nuances that made me yearn for just a bit more fullness, airiness, and detail, especially with sustained sounds found in certain strings and synths.

This has now be achieved by having custom aluminum pods made that house Audiofrog GB-10 (OE-0001 version) 1.0” soft dome tweeters. These pods mount directly to the Z’s A-pillars with concealed wiring path, and can be freely articulated for precision positioning. The factory dash locations, which previously housed Focal FRAK wideband tweeters (which are amazing btw), have been freed up to accommodate Audiofrog GB25 2.5” midrange drivers. Everything else about system remains as before.

The end results are exactly what I was after from past year’s critiquing and provide the icing on an already delicious cake. Staging, imaging, accuracy, and overall OOMPH have all been elevated to the point I can now confidently say she’Z now done for good. Any other improvements over this would require much more extensive redesigning of the cabin, fabrication, etc., which I’m not willing to do on this particular vehicle. Happy as a pig in sh*t and ready to enjoy more fully soundtracked cinematic roadtrips. A few shots of the updates have been added here.

PS: Still need to get the tweeter pod bases re-anodized satin black due to the exposed raw aluminum along their outer perimeter edges from CNC process getting them the exact size to mate with flat area of A-pillars (purely an aesthetic issue).

 

[Bamafanatic]

Wow man this is amazing! I wish I had the talent, skill and patience to do this. Enjoy!

OMG!! I like to think I do a good job with audio/video installs but this is a SIMPLY AMAZING install!. Well done!

 

[Dying Star]

This amazing, I just want to upgrade the sub box and a few speakers that are compatible with the wiring. Nothing too crazy but the system does need a little extra sound boost.

 

[50thZ]

Well done. $$$$$ seems like.

 

[Apex_Z]

Incredible. Any idea how much improvement there would be by just replacing the Bose door and rear speakers with the ones used in this build?

 

[Mr. Mac]

OMG!! I like to think I do a good job with audio/video installs but this is a SIMPLY AMAZING install!. Well done!

Thanks! Cheers!

 

[Mr. Mac]

Incredible. Any idea how much improvement there would be by just replacing the Bose door and rear speakers with the ones used in this build?

Hi – I would not advise replacing the speakers with the ones I used if you're not going to also upgrade the processing and power that feeds them. The factory processing and power is very poor, really only suitable for the factory speakers, and will not do justice to these speaker upgrades, and may even damage them.

 

[Apex_Z]

Hi – I would not advise replacing the speakers with the ones I used if you're not going to also upgrade the processing and power that feeds them. The factory processing and power is very poor, really only suitable for the factory speakers, and will not do justice to these speaker upgrades, and may even damage them.

How would they be damaged? Is the impedance different than the stock speakers?

 

[Mr. Mac]

How would they be damaged? Is the impedance different than the stock speakers?

Impedance could be different. I never had need to measure the factory drivers since I was replacing everything except head unit. When I said "....may even damage them" that was more to do with lack of power from factory amplifier. You can't damage speaker with insufficient power, but what can happen when trying to drive a speaker with insufficient power is distortion, as in when overdriving the amplifier in order to try and give speakers what they need if/when the amplifier's outputs go into clipping. Anyway, aside from whether or not actual damage happens, there's still the issue of under powering higher-end aftermarket speakers like these, which pretty much defeats the whole purpose of spending that much dough on them. There's also the issue of processing. With the factory amplifier there's no way for you to dial in any of the filtering that's necessary in order to protect and optimize the signal being fed to speakers like you can with aftermarket processing. Oh, and the factory system 2-way front stage, whereas my setup 3-way front stage, so there's that complication as well. If you're just wanting to replace your factory speakers and not upgrade any of the processing or power, I would first verify what impedance(s) the factory drivers are, and them replace them 1-to-1 with suitable aftermarket drivers that aren't nearly as expensive or same requirements as the one's I'm running.

 

[Xylander]

I did a very similar upgrade to my Z. I like the OP's arrangement better than mine, but I don't think the setup I went with would fit under the mat anyway.

I went with:

• Focal Utopia M 2-way passive component kit
• 2x Focal EVO 10" 300 watt RMS subs
• D-5. 1300 5 channel DSP Matrix amplifier
• 2x Audison 40W RMS 4" mids
• 2x Focal dash tweeters (I forget which ones, sorry)
• 2x Focal replacement speakers in the doors (again, don't have the exact model #)

The subs are in custom built bass pods in the corners of the trunk nearest the rear bumper. The entire space under the trunk mat is filled with the amp and the DSP. Everything else is installed behind the factory speaker covers so it looks completely stock.

The shop worked with Yamaha Music in Japan to evaluate the environment and install sound deadening. Yamaha also tuned the system and provided the base reference tune for me to refine to my liking. The end result is a Z that is whisper quiet when the sound is off, even at interstate speeds. With the windows up, you can barely hear the exhaust note at WOT. No vibrations, no rattles, no audible perturbations of any kind. Down side, I probably added another 100lb to the car's weight.

I'll try and post some photos tomorrow of the trunk setup as I have to go back to the shop tomorrow to pick up the speaker covers and have them hardwire in a bass knob that wasn't in stock when I picked the car up last week.

 

[Mr. Mac]

I did a very similar upgrade to my Z.

Nice! Would love to check it out. Post up when ready.

 

[Mr. Mac]