2006 Mazda 3 Worklog - Page 3

durwood · 09-23-2007, 01:01 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Dennis5587

So, what does everyone think of these speakers... I know they're technically home speakers and 8 ohm... but I'm fine not having an increadibly loud system, 40 watts to the woofers and 10-15 to the tweets would be fine with me...

Focal 6W4311B Utopia 17Cm http://www.speakercity.com/Merchant2...t_Code=6W4311B

Focal TC120TD5 20mm Titanium Tioxide Tweeter http://www.speakercity.com/Merchant2..._Code=TC120TD5

I run home diy drivers.

Nothing wrong with that.

Here is a review of popular 7" home drivers including your focal. Not a bad choice. If you wanted a little more midbass, I might recommend either the Seas reed pulps from madisound.com or usher audio 8945P. Although not completely designed for car use, they will give you a little more sensitivity in the low end.

I don't know anything about those focal tweets, but great idea using large format tweeters. How did you hear about them? Hiquphon makes some great tweeters, maybe the OWI-FS version or the OWII-both great off-axis. Another tweeter that has been getting great reviews is the Peerless HDS tweeter.

Dennis5587 · 09-23-2007, 09:19 AM

The tweets are whats worrying me more I guess... I've heard the focals before with a friend and like them (hopefully I still do in a car). But tweeters I'm having a hard time picking something because I'm going to have to go off of what people say about them, not being able to listen to them on my own...

The focal is large format... but thats one of the biggest reasons I'm second guessing, I'm not sure really how I would mount that cleanly...

Dennis5587 · 09-23-2007, 09:23 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by turbocad6

hey dennis, really looking great so far, like durwood said, nice attention to detail, most guys would want to throw everything in & get it working right away, almost like there testing the waters to see how it works out, then if it works out ok they'll want to go back & redo everything, but to install everything right from the get, knowing it's just going to work out is the right way to do it, keep up the good work, & patience dude;D

Thanks, and I can't wait to see yours at the meet up :P

Kinda ****ed (wow... mp3car edits now...) about the meet up though. I wanted to have something running... but with my amp having to go back, thats not going to happen. At least I can have my screen in, and the amp rack up with just the behringer on it. and have the rack all wired up just to show what it would look like.

turbocad6 · 09-23-2007, 09:32 AM

yeah, don't feel too bad, I doubt mine will be 100% by saturday too, but that's ok, I think most meets are a bunch of guys at different stages of completion anyway

Dennis5587 · 09-23-2007, 09:51 AM

lol, last time I was at the my car was just totalled and now I have this one with nothing in it stage... felt a little akward

Dennis5587 · 09-23-2007, 09:57 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by durwood

I don't know anything about those focal tweets, but great idea using large format tweeters. How did you hear about them? Hiquphon makes some great tweeters, maybe the OWI-FS version or the OWII-both great off-axis. Another tweeter that has been getting great reviews is the Peerless HDS tweeter.

I was actually researching woofers for a set of speakers for my house I plan on building after the carputer is in... thats when I found the woofers, and if they're the same woofers as in focal's utopia be line home speakers, then I know I like them (my friend has a pair). Thats when I saw the focal tweeters on the same site, so I started to research those a little.

If I can figure out how to mount large format nicely... then I'll start really looking into more tweeters... Right now I at least feel like I'm pretty much stuck on getting those woofers, so now I guess I should start looking for tweets to compliment them... (stupid first times)

EDIT: Hmm... wonder how the Focal TN-52 tweeters would sound, they're the tweeters from the K2P kit speakers from focal... They would fit nicely without any/much noticable modification.

and if they don't work out i could always get the Focal Utopia Be Tweeter found them online for 1250, lil pricy for me right now

durwood · 09-23-2007, 02:53 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Dennis5587

I was actually researching woofers for a set of speakers for my house I plan on building after the carputer is in... thats when I found the woofers, and if they're the same woofers as in focal's utopia be line home speakers, then I know I like them (my friend has a pair). Thats when I saw the focal tweeters on the same site, so I started to research those a little.

If I can figure out how to mount large format nicely... then I'll start really looking into more tweeters... Right now I at least feel like I'm pretty much stuck on getting those woofers, so now I guess I should start looking for tweets to compliment them... (stupid first times)

EDIT: Hmm... wonder how the Focal TN-52 tweeters would sound, they're the tweeters from the K2P kit speakers from focal... They would fit nicely without any/much noticable modification.

The focal TN-52's were pretty good int he car I heard them in. I was pretty impressed.

As far as the large format mounting options, my fiance has a mazda 3 and the sail mounting location is huge. I was thinking of taking a piece or two of MDF and making a whole new one, then cutting out a mounting hole. It might take a layer or two until it's big enough for ho deep they might be, but still mate up with the door and look stock. It looks like you could come out almost an 1.5" I think ya know? Then I would wrap them in grill cloth covering the tweets. If you could counter sink them before wrapping in grill cloth it would look even better. The other option is to install them in the kick panels.

Dennis5587 · 09-23-2007, 09:07 PM

installing them in the kick pannels would be too low no? I thought that tweeters were best if at head level?

And every time I think about putting them in the door with the mdf method you suggested, I almost always end up thinking that at that point, I'd sooner go all the way and do what red did in her gti, put a mid range and tweeter in teh A-Pillar... that would prob. be sweet. However then I run into the problem that she currently is... the behringer only has 6 outs, not 8.

So as of right now, as cool and as much as I'm seriously considering putting large format in... I'm leaning more towards smaller 1-1.5" tweets. Maybe fiberglass/grill cloth them out to face me a little more...

Felix509 · 09-24-2007, 06:19 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Dennis5587

installing them in the kick panels would be too low no? I thought that tweeters were best if at head level?

Tweeters in the Kick panels work very well.. I semi understand the principals that make them sound eye level, but not enough to write it up.. Many Word champions in every competition organization has had tweets in the kick panels over the last 10 years...

I think it really depends on the particular car.. In my truck I have the 6.5 in the door, 4" in the kick, and 28mm tweeter is about chest high.. It really sounds great and images fantastic.. With you going active it will be easy to integrate the drivers with different mounting locations..

LATERS.......

blackchevyss · 10-20-2007, 06:54 PM

That install is looking like some tight work! Hope we get to see the finished project soon. I see the las post date was in Sept.

Dennis5587 · 10-22-2007, 08:32 AM

hey, hate to disappoint you, but the project aint getting finnished 'til this summer. I'm paying for my college right now, so money isa bit tight. I finnished the bezzel so I an put some piks of that up, also do to the nie weather I started to finnish the sub, so I'll put that up also. ...and I'll put up the sound processor installed, havn't posted that yet either. I'll get that up later... in class right now

Dennis5587 · 12-22-2007, 01:56 AM

small update: I finally put up some pics of the 99% finished screen, and tomorrow I'll probably put pics of the sound processor up as well.

Sorry for the long time of no updates, if anyone cares, but I've been busy with school and short on money and time because of it. I have the next month off so hopefully I will be able to make some extra money and do some more work... assuming I don't spend it on lift tickets

Subwoofer87 · 12-30-2007, 10:22 PM

Hey Dennis,

Would like to see some more pictures. I have a mazda3 as well and have started recently redoing my install. I had an idea similar to yours, but yours was much easier so today I decided to start building something very similar to this.

I want to see how you installed the sound processor.

Dennis5587 · 01-10-2008, 12:55 AM

np, sorry for the long response time, I'll take some pics by this weekend.

Edit: wow... this is a first for me... I've exceeded my photobucket bandwidth limit. I'll put those sound processor pics an another account so they go up.

Shaymas · 01-22-2008, 10:00 AM

I just read your whole thread. This project looks great, I am starting a new project (Carputer in 2001 BMW 330xi) and looking for good ideas. It looks like a lot of thought and effort went into this, I love the stock look and the LCD in the trunk. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished product!