Just wanted to say “Hi” to everyone and please bare with me. I’m likely to have many stupid questions in the near future. :blush: I’ve just ordered my last piece to this puzzle. A Brahma 15 will arrive soon, I hope. As for the rest of my setup: Pioneer 860MP CDT CL-61a Components Hifonics 4000 Hifonics BX1500 1/0 guage power Dynamate Xtreme bulk I wish I had known about the Koda 6.1 Components before buying the CDT’s but not much I can do now. I have a 2k civic which I believe has 40 or 50 amp alt. so I’m sure I will need to look at replacing that really soon. If any of you guys see any problems with the stuff I’ve ordered plz let me know. I’m still learning here. I know the Hifonics amps aren’t the “cleanest” amps in the world but I’m hoping they will get me by for the time being. This being my first system I had planned on getting it from Circuit City and have them install it as well but after doing a little research online I figured I would try doing it myself. I’ve already had my struggles with the install so far but non-the-less it has been a good experience. I would also like to say “Thanks” to Seth for being so patient with me and taking the time to answer my questions.
Hey Chris, glad to see you aboard bud. My theory is the only stupid question is the one that goes unasked. Everybody here will tell you, they started out in the same place as you , only some of us have not had such sweet equipment. Just a question, did you already get the Dynamat? If not, I might suggest www.b-quiet.com and look in on their "Extreme". Otherwise, great gear . Look into the tutorials I linked as a sticky. They are extremely valuable for the do it yourselfer on every level. Glad you're here!!!
Unfortunately, yes the dynamat has been ordered. Actually, I’ve already started applying it to the car. I do regret however not looking into the alternatives a bit more; since my purchase, I’ve learned of four or five other brands of sound dampening material that were much cheaper. I’m sure I will need more in the near future though as I have heard that doubling up on the trouble spots was a good idea. As for the tutorials you linked, I have a separate book mark for that link. I’m very interested in all the fiber glassing tuts. The alpine demo cars are just amazing! They make it look so easy too. I have no intentions of glassing up my hole car like that but I would like to do up something for the sub. My only concern was sacrificing sq by building an enclosure out of fiberglass because of some comments a local stereo shop made. In their words fiber glassing sub enclosures was only for looks and would sound like “ass.” Steven Kephart reassured me that if built properly a fiberglass enclosure will be fine. Whatever I end up doing I hope it sounds really good, I need to introduce the Brahma to Augusta. Not one dealership that I spoke to here had even heard of them.
that's one hell of a first system, actually... Mine came from travelling "sale of the century!" type mobile flea-market things, as I didn't have hundreds to spend when I turned old enough to drive... much less thousands!
I agree that in the future look at cheaper alternatives to dynamat (I also like B-quiets products... brown bread is awsome) Fiberglassing might look easy, but it is quite diffficult, especially if you plan to have a nice smooth painted finish at the end. The system looks tight though.
Laying 'glass is easy... like doing paper mache. The fumes are worse, it's messier, you don't want to drip it on anything, and it's not as easy as being at the kitchen table... but otherwise is virtually the same. Finishing 'glass is difficult, if the panel is going to be prepped for paint.. just like doing bodywork for a car, but often the curves are sharper/more complex. Doing fiberglassing such as a spare tire well, or the backside of a molded kickpanel isn't nearly as bad, since you don't need to see the end product.
hmmm..... I dont thnk so. First you have to master the art of hardner ratios. Too much and its like a rock in seconds, too little and it dosent harden for days to weeks. The resin cannot get on ANYTHING or it will not come off again. The fumes are toxic, and you have to keep using new brushes for every coat because it hardens like a rock (paper mache washes off easily with water). Then comes dealing with the fiberglass. You try to layer it on and it falls apart or leaves bubbles. Try to flattten bubbles on very rounded areas and it just turns into a disaster. If you use the mat, it is very diffficult to get good curves in tight areas, but if you use the cloth, it gets fibers everywhere, and it sticks to your hands, the brush, the roller, the squeejee and never sits still on the Item you are producing. Then comes the fun of sanding. You nearly get your finish in one area, then suddenly you break through aan area where you had a some small bubbles..... this equils rough finish. Add bondo..... again requires the art of hardner ratios........ and sand again. My pods came out OK..... but it was an experience I dont think I will ever go through again. I have made MANY paper mache-based cabinets for my home audio, and am thinking about doing it for my next set of pods. I use standard paper mache materials, but I add a bunch of elmers wod glue to the liquid. This makes a final material that is hard as a rock. just my opinion and experience with fiberglass. Many people seem to be very good at it and like to do it.
Thanks for sharing your experience with fiber glassing, it was very insightful. I’m expecting it to be extremely time consuming but hoping that I can find a few tricks of the trade by searching the internet. I had spoken earlier of my struggles with the install so far one that stands out the most is when I tried installing the components in the factory position in my door. The 6 ½ wouldn’t fit without cutting away the plastic cup that I believe shields the speaker from the rain. Is this called a baffle? I’ve also read that the baffle is also what you mount the speaker to so I’m not sure exactly what a baffle is. By cutting away the plastic cup this gave me enough room for the magnet to fit but now it gets stuck on the basket. I thought of making a spacer ring out of mdf that I could make my own holes that would allow me to mount the speakers to the door properly but then the cover that goes back into the factory position would not fit and my door would look funny. As a temporary solution and I know this is extremely “Ghetto” I have used wire ties to hold the speaker in place. This is a very temporary solution; I was running out of time and wanted to at least be able to hear something for all the work that I had put into the car at that point. Obviously, I have no midbass and since my sub is on backorder I have no bass at all. I’m still unsure of what to do but at this point I’m leaning towards some kind of door pod. The part that I was most intimidated by was running the power wire since I would need to drill a hole in the firewall but this took no more the 15 min. Infact I ran all the speaker, rca, and power cable in less then 2 hours; This did not include running the speaker wire into the door itself. That was another project for me. I could not figure out a way to get the cable in to the door and thru the molex connector and the fact that I was using 12 gauge didn’t help matters. I ended up taking the doors off the car and drilling holes to run the wire. I still need to get some grommets and some kind of sheathing to protect the wire. I hated having to take the doors off and at that point I almost said the hell with it and have it professionally done. I’m still wondering when the best time to say “Maybe its best left to someone more experienced.”
I will be soon enough (going to be getting one real soon)... So will a new Pioneer convert... Yes, we have an Alpine guy who has finally seen the light. He will be making the change soon and he is very good at doing reviews. I cannot say who it is fellas, but he will let us all in on the new unit soon enough
I'm not the best person to review this HU, sorry. I really have nothing to compare it to, and since my installation isn't complete, I can't really tell you how it sounds. If there is any information that you need on this unit that isn't on their website but might be in the manual let me know and I can look that up for you.
I am not sure of this is a fair assessment, but I'll try it anyway. I have an Alpine 9813 and a Pioneer cd changer. I play cds in both and I will say without a doubt that the Alpine sounds much better to me than does the sound from the cd changer. The changer sound is too bassy for me, whereas the Alpine seems more accurate. Of course, my Pioneer changer is not an 860, but I am sure there are similarities in the sound output of the two.
that is a terrible comparison..... Its like me trying to compare toyota a honda and saying that the MR2 was an overall better performer than the Honda. Not bothering to even mention what model honda you were using. For all I know, it could be a 1993 civic. A MR2 vs an S2000 would be a much nicer comparison
