Re: NICE install!!

Carefull what you offer, I MAY JUST TAKE YOU UP ON YOUR OFFER.

I'm in the process of designing a system for my wife's car. She's finally
decided she wants a system that at least approaches my Subaru. Like you,
designing is SOOOOO very fun. I too can spend months on designing. The
actual execution is always the part I hate (although my wife seems to think
I love tinkering with my system, she doesn't seem to realize it's the
planning that is TRULY fun), though the end results always make it worth
while.

Anyway, the car is a 1989 Mazda MX-6 and I have already replaced the front
speakers and put in a Pioneer aftermarket HU. I had done this right after
she bought the car b/c I couldn't stand the sound of the factory system,
even listening to talk radio. It was tricky b/c if you research this car
you would find the front speakers are in the dash and are 5" (NOT 5 1/4" but
exactly 5") but I was able to showhorn 5 1/4" speakers in there, mainly
because I already owned an extra pair of good 5.25" speakers. The factory
speakers were an ABSOLUTE joke. Not even dual cone with the obligatory
whizer. Just a VERY cheap cardboard midrange driver, tiny magnet,
incapable of reproducing any frequencies above about 6-8 kHz. It was like
it was designed for AM or talk radio or something.

It was very tricky because unlike the door, it wasn't like I could just put
in some spacers or use tin-snips to enlarge the size of the hole and call it
a day. Because they were in the dash I couldn't put in new screws (as I
routinely do with door speakers when enlarging the factory size) as they
would plainly stick out of the dash and look very ugly. But after two days
of studying the problem, I found a way to secure the slightly larger
speakers in the dash factory location.

But what it SO badly needs is amplification and a subwoofer. I have on hand
a 10" MTX sub in a carpetted box bought for a job I did for a friend who
decided not to build it. I was planning to put that sub in, or use the box
and buy a more powerful 10" sub for it (it is not a very good MTX sub).

But I would prefer putting a pair of 10's or 12's in as the trunk is
enclosed from the rest of the car and I worry a 10" sub won't float the
boat, at least not enough for me.

So I actually am shopping for a pair of 10's or twelves and am thinking of
building my own enclosure. I do have an extra 2 channel amp, but I'd like
to get one more so I have one to power the sub and one to power the front
speakers. Anyway, I've bid bidding on amps and woofers on Ebay lately in
anticipation of this project. If your offer is genuine, and I reallly have
to know if it is, I could bring the materials down to Federal way once I buy
the subs and you can help me build the enclosure.

Again, I'm serious if you're serious. My Email is ntanner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As soon as I have the two speakers I want, or single powerful speaker, I
would love to build a custom enclosure for her car. Perhaps you could help
me hook up the amp, too, as I do not see any logical spot to thread 8 guage
through the firewall for power. This, however, has not stopped me in the
past, I just drill a new hole. I had to do this for my Subaru to fit the
two 4 guage cables I have running back from the battery (one cable for the
sub amp and the other cable to a distr. block to power the other three
amplifiers).

Anyway, if you are serious I will keep you up to date and when the time
comes I really could use your help. I just have to decide on the subs I
want to use first. As far as my Subaru goes, I use a pair of 15's in a
sealed box (with 1.5 square feet of airspace each, the subs are mounted
backwards which gives the subs a bit more airspace). I am very happy with
the sound out of those subs and box so I see no point in messing with those.

But the MAzda is the project that currently preoccupies me.

MOSFET
"Mister.Lull" <Mister.Lull@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:df39ce7e-9946-4d0d-9ff3-bf4f4323deed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ah - you see, I so rarely get to work with wood, that I think of it as
less of a hassle and more of a fun project!

And while buying a prefab box may be cheap-ish, there are so many
advantages to building your own...

The one on my cardomain site probably cost me $75 or $80. Total. If
you already have the wood, you're talking about probably $25 for the
other materials (and one sheet [4ft x 8ft] of 3/4-inch MDF is all
you'd need). [I can hear you now, "Um, $50 for one sheet of wood?!
What the hell??" I buy it at a place that cuts the main pieces for me
with a laser guided machine that's guaranteed accurate to 1/16th of an
inch. Saves 4 hours and a hell of a lot of frustration when all you
have to cut the wood in a straight line is a cheap hand-held circular
saw... But I digress] Actually cutting everything and putting it
together only takes a day - and 1/4 of that is letting glues and
whatnot dry.

What REALLY sucks you in is the planning. Fortunately, I lust for
planning. Planning is my secret lover (or it would be secret, but my
wife is fully aware and almost supportive). I will spend, literally,
months planning installations. I only get to do a new one every 5
years or so, and when I see one coming 6 months ahead - look out!
Diagrams, sketches, calculations, WinISD variations, I even downloaded
and learned how to use google's 3D modeling program (SketchUp) JUST TO
VIRTUALLY BUILD A SUB ENCLOSURE!! Side-Note: That turned out to be a
smart move, because only throught that program could I plan for the
thickness of 3/4-inch MDF cut at a 60-degree angle and mounted to
another piece of wood...

You get the idea.

So, when I say that I'll help you design, build, and install an
enclosure - and you tell me that your parents have every woodworking
tool known to man... Let's just say I need a clean pair of shorts.
So, don't think I'm just blowing smoke up your ass. I live in Federal
Way now, and can certainly get permission from the wife and child to
come hang out for a day or two... :-)

Lastly, you HAVE to wonder if that Ampeg's still kicking!!!

~Mister.Lull

On Apr 3, 2:32 pm, "MOSFET" <ntan...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
One of these days, you'll have to have me over and let me design,
build, and install an enclosure for you!

It's so funny you would say that. My father works with wood all the time
and has an EXTENSIVE shop with every woodworking tool known to modern man,
as well as an extensive storehouse of plywood, MDF, and all manner and
grades of wood. I have often flirted with the idea of building a custom
box
for my car and my father has offered to help.

The problem is that pre-made boxes are just so damn CHEAP. When I compare
the hastle (and I know it would be a hastle because I have never done it)
of
building my own enclosure vs. just buying a pre-made one, I always decide
to
just go the pre-made route. I'm not bad with my hands, my folks also have
a
framing studio in their home (it's a huge house), again with every
proffesional tool you would find in a framing shop. My mother trained me
to
cut glass (we have an IMMENSE glass cutter), cut matting (of course we
have
a huge matt cutter), and we have a casise (sp) so I can cut and join
frames.
I can now beautifully matt (double and triple matt if I want!) and frame
any
picture, something you would immediately notice when visiting our house. I
love knowing how to do this and take great pride in framing pictures. I
know I would have the same pride if I learned how to woodwork. I have just
never taken the time to learn. But hell, I'm only 42, there's still tons
of
time. ;)

Nick aka MOSFET

PS

I love your story about home speakers in your '83 car. We all did those
kind of funky things back then. At precisely the SAME TIME, I convinced
our
band teacher to let me borrow this HUGE Ampeg bass amplifier that was not
working. I said I was good at fixing things and would give it a try. It
was a huge affair with a tube head on top and two 15" drivers in the lower
enclosure. It was hell for heavy. Well after going to a local TV, radio
fix-it place in town where I knew the owner, I had replaced the bad fuses
(that was the only problem) and had the thing working. Did I tell the band
teacher? HELL NO!! I used that sucker as a subwoofer, wiring it to my
already large stereo in my room (as well as the latest Technics cassette
deck with DBX, a birthday gift from my parents, Technics turntable with
Audio Technica cartridge, I was the only one among my friends with a Sony
reel-to-reel deck, which could make FLAWLESS recordings of my albums,
radio
and several years later CD's), along with a 12 band Radio Shack EQ, and
speakers that each had a 12" woofer, 5" midrange and tweeter, and then a
HUGE Sanyo reciever (all of these were that brushed aluminum look popular
for that day). My stereo looked AWESOME, which was, of course, half the
fun.

It was INCREDIBLE, and was what fueled my love of bass. My friends told me
that when I had it REALLY pumping, you could hear it 5 blocks away (I am
HONESTLY not exagerating). It shook the house so much plaster LITERALLY
fell from the ceiling of the room below mine.

Of course, I loved it.

And the band teacher seemed to forget about it for three years until I got
ready to graduate and brought the matter up. I claimed it still didn't
work, but I HAD to bring it back anyway, of course. I was crushed.

This then set me on my course to reproduce the bass power I once possesed,
and my love of car and home audio was born.

Anyway, it's fun to reminise. The things we did with no money to satisfey
our NEED for LOUD BASS. And keep in mind, this was the days before
outboard
subwoofers were common so my set-up was quite unique, to say the least!

Ah, those were the days.....

Nick


.

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