Hey all,
I just bought myself a 05 G35 coupe with the premium Bose radio, and am interested in a viable sound upgrade. I plan on keeping the factory radio and am thinking about replacing the speakers and adding a sub, along with the PAC IPOD interface. I have a Kicker 600watt mono amp that will be going to either a Alpine Type R, or a Infinity Kappa Perfect sub. Same for the speakers Type R or Kappa Perfect.

A few questions regarding this:
1. What kind of quality will I get by replacing the speakers? Will it be noticeable? Or will it just be completely terrible? And should I look at component speakers(separate tweeter and midbass)?

2. What kind of items will I need to hook up the Mono amp? A line output converter? or is there a better option while still keeping the factory radio?

3. Would there be any point in adding a separate amp to power the doors? I am under the impression that if I add a sub I should disconnect the 6x9s due to the interference between the two playing a lot of the same signals.

Any recommendations regarding the speakers? One brand sound better then the other? Something else I should look at? I am looking for the fullest sound possible, I don't need something that people will hear down the block, I just like SQ.
Thanks,
Adam

P.S. Love This Car!!

 

Congrats on the new purchase! I haven't done anything audio wise to my vehicle but I know quite a bit about the audio scene.

Replacing the stock speakers with aftermarket ones you can notice a difference, however, it is best to hook up an amplifier to those speakers to get the optimum performance out of them.

As for getting components or going the separate route, it's all personal preference. I personally would take components only if it is a very good set. Some might do it for the ease.

If you go with separate mids and tweeters, this would be taking the active route. Active as in using an active crossover. Components come with a passive crossover, thus going with a passive setup. You can always go active with components, you just dont use the crossover it comes with, you use the head unit or an external processor.

Going with an active setup can be difficult you don't quite know what you're doing, because you will have to manually set crossover points and you need to understand what some of the speakers specs mean. If you set a crossover point too low on the tweeter, you can blow it easily, and it doesn't need to be at loud volume either.

No matter which route, active or passive, I highly recommend using an amplifier. Going with an active setup, you don't need as much power either.

As for disconnecting the rear speakers it for proper staging. Your soundstage should be on the dash, eye level and in the center of the vehicle. Having rear speakers pulls that stage backward towards the driver and reduces depth. Some people like rear fill. I personally don't. I've had a setup in my previous car with over 3,000w RMS going to an 18" sub and having a pair of mids and tweeters receiving approx 50-100w rms each and they kept up VERY well (I went the active route), and people in the rear heard the music just fine. Having, or not having rear speakers is personal preference.

As for the what you need to hook up a sub, check out this DIY: https://g35driver.com/forums/audio-v...g35-coupe.html

As for recommendations for speakers, what is your budget? There's a wide array of speakers I could recommend. If you could get your hands on Zapco CK-16.2's, I'd highly recommend them. I wish I didn't have to sell mine. Hands down some kick *** components. The tweeters are phenomenally smooth.

 

Don you've been trying to sell those speakers forever. quit whoring them out on these threads.

Aja,
I'd say disconnect the 6x9s, because you could get some phasing issues (I know I did in my 04)
The type Rs are a great speaker. I'd recommend putting an aftermarket amp to them to get the most out of them though.
To hook up the mono amp all you'll need is the LOC pwr wire, amp turnon and ground. Because it's only playing low end frequencies a basic LOC should work fine. although you will get an improved sound with the better LOC you buy. (usually higher output voltage = more boom due to the amp having to work less.

If you want a significant sound improvement swap the deck first. You'll get a clearer range, and better vocals right out the gate. you lose a bit of the low end stuff though. That's where your mono amp comes in though

 

I sold them several weeks ago. I recommend them because they are absolutely great. There's a reason why even some SQ competitors rave about them

There is absolutely no way you can compare the Type R comps to the Zapco comps. Midbass is going to be vastly improved, they drop down lower, they have a solid design and there are very few tweeters that actually can compare to the Zapco's, out of a component set. There are several that I can think of with the DIY route, though.

Also, your last statement would be somewhat inaccurate. That has alot to do with the EQ the deck is equipped with.

 

Thanks for the help, I must have missed the link on the amp addition. So I will be using a KX600.1 Kicker amp on the Type R, probably looking at the Kappas possibly for the doors. I will probably go the passive route, but I have a 2 Channel JBL amp left over from my Jeep, would hooking that amp be the same as the sub amp? Just another LOC, and bypass the Bose amp all together except for the 4x6s? In my old Wrangler I had all this stuff in it along with a Pioneer 7700, and Alpine 5.25s and Pioneer 4x6s. Sounded great! Just hate to have all this equipment sitting around collecting dust....Also what are the opinions on Sound Deadener? I know Dynamat is the most know brand, but I have also seen Elemental Designs liquid application, opinions? What about their component systems? I know DLS is a very high quality speaker manufacturer(not as good as Zapco I'm sure) but still decent. For components I probably wouldn't look at spending over $300 for a set. Any other speaker recommendations in that price range?

Thanks Again,
Adam

 

If you're looking at upgrading all your speakers and putting amps on them, while keeping the factory deck look into getting a JL Cleansweep, Rockford 360.2, or a RE-Q 5. It will require pretty much double the work of the basic LOC, however it will allow you to get proper signal to all the speakers. IF you can't go that route for whatever reason. if your full range 2 channel amp has a pass through you can go from the pass through to the mono amp. (you'll want to go that route over top of mono to full range - usually they don't have great circuitry to repeat the signal to the next amp.)

Don: I know we will never see eye to eye, but the I speak in general because most aren't as well versed with audio so as to not confuse or information overload someone I like the KISS method. As soon as you put a deck in a car, most people don't automatically go to EQ, and depending on the deck it may not have the flexibility to adjust lower frequencies well. And I wasn't comparing the type rs to the zapcos. I don't really care about zapco because I've never heard them. I was going back to the original question. If a person is looking for direct comparisons in a certain price range that's likely their budget so your Zapcos, and my Focals likely out of his budget.

 

sorry AJA, Sound deadener is a great way to improve the sound quality of any car. I personally haven't used the liquid stuff but I'm interested to see how well it works. I've installed a ton of dynamat, and it works well. But you can get the same stuff for a fraction of the cost. Brown Bread comes to mind - same thing as dynamat but cheaper. There's others but I can't think of them at this moment in time

 

Only deadener I will truly recommend is Second Skin. I've used Rammat, Dynamat Xtreme, several Second Skin products, and didn't use, but have had Elemental Designs in my possession.

Throw Elemental Designs out the window, their deadener is pure crap. Rammat is a good choice, and great value to quality ratio, but quality is still not the same as Second Skin. I'd put Dynamat Xtreme below Raammat due to price. Dynama is a name brand, like Kleenex is to tissue.

For deadening purposes, I have used Second Skin's Damplifier, Damplifier Pro, Spectrum and Spectrum Sludge. The Damplifier is a ton better than Dynama Xtreme. It doesn't stick as instantly, which is good, because if you mis-place it, it will be easy to take off and put in the proper location. Once it's on, it's on. People talk about using a heat gun or blow dryer to apply it, but all I did in my previous car was use a roller.

I have Damplifier Pro on the trunk lid of my G35 and at first I thought the Pro is a waste, but after using it I realized it's VERY well worth it. I'm going to go with Pro instead of regular damplifier when I do the rest of my vehicle.

Spectrum. It's the liquid version of deadener. How effective? Depends on how much you apply. In my previous vehicle I applied 3 thick layers diluted with water. If doing the trunk and you want to go the easy route, I would do the liquid deadener. Make sure you get the spray gun, but you need an air compressor to use it. See if you can find someone who has it, just don't forget taking the spray gun when you go their house like I did, then you will have to dilute with water. To be somewhat effective, you need at minimum 3mm of Spectrum.

Spectrum Sludge is where you will get the thickness. However, it can only be applied by hand (using a glove is recommended) or with a putty knife (I prefer the hand and you can go over with a putty knife or ice cream shaver, or something of that sort). I literally had no rattles remaining in my Accord when I did my rear deck and trunk, this is with 3kw of power and doing low 140 dB on music (using the proper mic/sensor).

Deadening not only eliminates road noise, and vibrations, but it also helps improve bass output. Dont' get confused between vibrations and rattles, they are two different things and require two different products to be used. For rattles, you would need to use Rattle Trap (or Rattle Pad, forgot the name) by Second Skin.

To show you the difference between no deadener and one layer of Damplifier Pro, check out the following two videos.



I will actually be adding another layer or two of Damplifier and top it off with a layer or two of Sludge, which is close to what I had in my previous car.

Depending on how elaborate you want to get, there are levels upon levels of different things you can do to the vehicle. For example, using expanding foam in the rear deck, quarter panels, pillars, etc. You can also use deader in those locations as well. If you want to reduce road noise, put a couple layers of Spectrum on the inner portion of the fenders as well as the wheel wheels. Then add a layer or two of Spectrum. The firewall is another place to consider as well, but this is taking things to the extreme. If you want a full deadener job, it will probably cost somewhere around $1 - 2k....I spent about $600 in my previous vehicle and don't regret a single penny.

The other liquid deadener I would recommend is made by Cascade, but it may be hard to find their products.

Here is a link to some pics with the deadening I did on my previous vehicle: http://www.secondskinaudio.com/rides...p?userride=117

If you have any questions in regards to deadening, how much you need, etc, call Second Skin...Ant (Anthony) is a great guy, helpful, and honest. He is the owner and he would be answering the phone as well.

 

Thanks, I'll take a look into Second Skin......now I found the model number for the amp I am using for my doors speakers, it is the P80.2 JBL amp, but it only has an in for High Level and RCA inputs. No pass through. I think that my Kicker amp has both in and out, would I be better off running it through kicker then to the JBL? Would that effect quality?

 

I can't tell you for sure, pretty much every time I've daisy chained the amps I've used the same manufacturer. Another thing you can do is because the JBL has the low level inputs, you can run signal to that amp and get an LOC for the Kicker amp.
It will work but it likely won't look pretty, probably more of a cluster Fuzz, a chocolate nougaty cluster fuzz

 

Sooo what your saying is that it will be a FUBAR sound? or would it be better then the Bose system? If its just looks I'm ok with that, its just the trunk....haha
Thanks for the humor though, gave me a good laugh....

 

you may have good sound or it may be bad, it's a combination I have yet tried, so it's worth a test.
Look at it this way, with the front speakers amplified you will have better sound. the rear speakers may only play lower frequencies, I dunno if the filter was built into the Bose amp or the speaker. If the rear speakers only play lower frequencies you may end up with some distorted harmonics between the sub and rear speakers.
And everyone needs a couple Dane Cook quotes in their lives.

 

I'll cut those rear speakers out because of the sub and see how it works. Should be a project capable of being done in the next week or so. Once finals are done and over with. I'll let you know how it goes.

My favorite is "Ya, he was hit by a Dodge, kind of ironic..."

 

When you say cut them out, do you mean by take them out? If so,why not just leave them and disconnect them?

 

^^^ +1