Well I finally commited: PPI art a300

After wavering back and forth on what to do ampwise for my system in the Bimmer, I finally decided on using the jack bin to hide the amps... which then led me to a very nasty problem... how to cool them when the lid is closed. The custom rear jump seat basically locks that bin closed when it is bolted in place. This car is eventually going to have a DVD-A system in it.

so instead of looking for an audison 6 ch amp, I decided to go back to my roots and go PPI art series and water cool them instead.

Just bought the first amp of three, an a300 for the sub channel, and eventually will add an a404 for the main 4 channels and use one channel from an a200 for a center channel. That will give me 6x50 and 3001 x1 at 4 ohms


Will be running 5 components (possibly avincar's inhouse brand speakers, or possibly DLS 6.5s) and PROBABLY will only be able to fit an IDQ10 or Zapco Iforce 10, though a 12 is what i'd like to have in the rear corner of the wagon. I'm leaning towards the zap since it seems to be a little flatter response in the proposed .75 cu ft enclosure, it's not on permanent backorder like the IDQ and a couple of people I respect have indicated it is a very SQ woofer as well.

Eventually I want to add an eclipse DVD-A head (just don't know if I should do the 8v mod on the PPI's to use an 8533 or stick with the lesser 2.7v output eclipse DVD-A head). I like the Eclipse DVD-A heads better than the few other dvd heads that have been produced (pioneer 7500, panasonic, kenwood 915). an f1 status would cost more than the car, so it's out of the running.

mods that will be required are:

`glass enclosure in driver's side rear storage panel.
remove kicks and modify to hold 6.5s instead of 5.25s
Remove rear roof speakers and modify to get them more angled towards front of car instead of firing at rear floor.
remove center vent on dash and build/mod it into a 6.5 center channel pod.

Mount amps in existing storage bin under floor, in MDF + fiberglass tub, add watercooling lines, reservoir, pump, and radiator. I want to do a flush smoked plexi top to show off the amps and water cooling with no touching or dust issues, plus it will make adding some illumination effects more dramatic (black when off/ can see thru when lit. The car has a micro filter, but it also has dual sunroofs that will let dust in when open.

Rewire all speakers to completely get rid of the common ground 10 channel factory amps, then relocate the warning chime wires from the extra voice coil in the driver's side DVC mid to the driver's 2" dash speakers to retain that functionality.

Luckily the battery is under the rear seat stock, so power wiring runs will be very short, say 2ft.


Ultimate goal is not an SQ competion car of course, but one that sounds VERY good as a 2channel + sub on stereo sources, and sounds Exceptionally good on 5.1 source material (I have a lot of dvd-a and dts audio discs as well as dvd-v music discs), with no funky timbre shifts as voices & instruments shift from one channel to another, and is suitable for display when opened up at any local stereo or car show.
This while retaining a very (at first glance) stock appearance, and FULL usage of the cargo space for stroller (my 3 year old son is getting a little brother in October) groceries, luggage etc.
In the mean time I can enjoy it as I work up in stages, (A:sub amp and enclosure, B:kickpanels front components and second amp, C: rear components, D: DVD-A head, E: 3rd amp and center channel).
And yes, don't tell the wife, but I bought the wagon with the stereo as much in mind as the family practicality. I think she is starting to figure that out now.

EDIT: added a few shots of the exterior, interior.
















I'll shoot some pics with the bins in question open if anyone wnats to see, but you can seethe covers in the above pics.

 

umm, yeah. The ART series IS the older ones, the best of the older ones. thank you for that insight. I guess you are who Joey got to replace me as mod here?