Random Harmony's New Tunes

[D'Ecosse]

We put the finishing touches on Shane's audio makeover today.

This is a stock console, re-worked for the new Alpine 9815 Head unit. I cut the slot and profiled the edge, we also removed the ash-tray cover & the Vent surround frame and Shane had them professionally painted. The red is growing on me, now I see it all done.

Today we changed the colours of the clock & A/C screens to match the blue of the Alpine Head - looks a lot better don't you think?

Before:

After:

The speakers are Eclipse SC 8264 Components and the amp is an older model MTX Thunder 4200X - I actually had this exact same model amp in my own car when I first bought it! Nice thing about this amp is it's really compact & light making for a clean install behind the driver's seat with minimal invasion of space.
This location actually worked really well for this small amp - it's also relatively discreet behind teh seat - not terribly obvious from outside potentially inviting theft. It also made for relatively easy hook-up with short runs for the speaker & RCA cables down the centre console & the power coming in from just the other side of the bulk-head (similar to Jonathan's in This Thread but obviously coming forward though the front engine bulkhead, as opposed to through the rear to the trunk.

When we hooked it up initially it was really struggling to drive the speakers in single channel mode. But when bridged the difference was incredible - all the distortion evaporated & once the head was tuned in, the sound is really pretty incredible considering no sub.

Amazing the difference going from 25W to 100W per channel makes! Many people confuse "more power" (as my name-sake Scottie from StarTrek would say) with out & out volume - you need the higher power ouput to be able to drive components & if there isn't enough (like when using the built-in head unit amp) they will clip & distort horribly. I didn't realize it was only 25W per channel until I looked up the specs before we bridged it.

The tweeter install: too bad we didn't take any of the door interior before re-assembling the door panel. Shane put a lot of work into covering the door with Raammat and of course the speakers were mounted with the famous D'Ecosse speaker mounting plates.

You just have to trust us on this one - there's a great looking install behind that panel!

Finally, here's laughing boy himself giving it the seal of approval I think - right Shane? (Or maybe it's just the soda he was appreciative of!)

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[randomharmony]

Much THANKS to Ken for all of his help from beginning to the end. THE SOUND and LOOK IS AWESOME!!! As you can see from my big smile!! It's been more of a D'Ecosse production than a Random Harmony project. It's not a difficult project to do, but also NOT an easy one. Plan on spending a whole weekend or two before you start, especially if you are not very experience(like me). THANKS AGAIN KEN!!!

I like to share my experience with fellow members, and i like to give as much thoughts to this as i can. Obviously, Ken has established himself as the DIY write up king for the forum, and i want to make sure what i'm sharing is as informative and funny as Ken's. I will break it into parts since it will be easier to write and read.

Although i won't claim that i'm an expert on the subject, but now that i've completed the project, and with all the generous help i've received from Ken, I like to offer my service to anyone locally who like to upgrade their stereo on the NSX. My old professor used to say that "to teach is to learn twice." Anyone locally like to start this project and need help, please feel free to contact me.

 

[randomharmony]

Part I:

This projected started back on March 12. Originally I thought about just upgrading the CD changer to a MP3 Changer. But I realized that with the stock head unit, there are many features you can't use by this simple upgrade. And if you are going to do something, do it ALL THE WAY!

So on our car wash day, NSXER119 helped me took out the console and journey to the ultimate NSX stereo nirvana begins. I really didn’t have any idea what I was in for back then and how long or how much it would take me. All I knew was that I already have a decent deck (Alpine 9815), an outdated but OK Amp (MTX 4200x), and wires from my old Prelude which I can migrate to the NSX. Seem like I was half way there already right? NOT!!

Between work and so much rain this year and weekend engagements, the project took a lot longer than I expected.

The first step was the console. Stock or aftermarket. The way I see it, there must be something we can do to the stock console, it's a beautiful piece. Luckily, the DIY God was able to confirm that and pointed me to the right direction. So I took the console to his place and with the Dremel, the middle strip between the tape deck and radio was off. Point of no return now. Then God said, “ye shalt strip out all the paint and chrome on the top, and fill up the big hole with Bondo and Bondo ultimate!”

to be continue... :biggrin: