Yesterday we installed for a forum member a full audio upgrade into his G35 sedan.

for pics, see http://kward1.homestead.com/G35.html (no 56k)

He had a Bose system which means he had the massive 6" "sub" in the back. We kept the OEM HU and installed a DLS Reference 3-channel amp, a set of UP6 components, and a Magnesium Reference 10" in a 4080 box. (We make boxes too, but using the off the shelf box allowed the whole system install to be done in one day...)

We removed the Bose amp and the Bose woofer from the R deck and used the space for an amp tray. We left the rear speakers disconnected to strike back against the Communist menace : )

We also used Cascade Vmax in the F doors and the trunk lid.

The DLS tweeters went into the OEM locations. Because of how little depth there was, we had to take a file and file off a little thickness from the DLS tweeter's plastic integral grille. I can see doing a buildout in the future that would expose more tweeter - the hole in the grille is not very large, even though the grille surface is pretty big, the hole behind it all the way through is actually like .75 inch.

System had ZERO noise - no hiss, no whine. We did find that the HU crapped out and audibly distorted at around 21-22 on the volume ****, and also if you faded all the way F or R (we used the F and R outputs as a sub level control). We tried some various Soundgate products and the best sonic results were with a simple Ground Loop Isolator, beleive it or not. Helped the bass AND helped the highs at higher volumes. When we used the GLI the overall volume was lower, but we could go up to 31 without distortion. The SOundgate LOCPREA sounded about the same but was a PITA to install so we used the GLI.

The weird part is that he has a PAC NISS adapter and an Icelink AUX and his iPod sounds BETTER than his CD player! They are both going through the same preamp in the HU, so that DAC in the CD section must be pretty lame.

I'm sure he will come along and tell us how it sounds... I thought it sounded pretty darned good. The HU is worse than many OEM HU's I've worked with, but the speaker locations are OK, and the doors are easy to work with.

 

Some thoughts after a couple days with the system.

There is actual nuance to the music being played. Not the feeling I always had with the Bose that something was missing. The UP6 components up front sound very natural and warm to my ear. The highs do not attack your senses. There is REAL mid-bass response. It moves the air around your legs. These response range is the biggest adjustment for me. It simply was not there with the stock system and it really adds to the music. I'm very impressed with DLS sub. It can pound if called upon but it seems to excel at SQ. Bass lines now sound like music instead of muddled bass-like noises. As Ken mentioned the iPod connection sounds awesome, better than the CD output. I'm so happy I had that done and highly recommend it.

As far as tweaking, I can see maybe "freeing" the tweeters but I need to log a few more hours so the speaks can break in and I'm used to the sound. The system is such light years ahead of stock I'm basking in the audio glow right now. Thanks Ken and Justin at avincar.

 

The space for mounting the tweeter in the sedan must be smaller than the coupe. I was able to get the tweeter to fit by cutting and drilling a piece of a cork-backed metal ruler and using it as a brace to "hold" the tweeter in place. Screwed the metal ruler piece to the stock screw posts the stock tweeter was attached to (with its stock metal brass-colored brace that was like JB-welded to the tweeter... quite lame).

Congrats geeman, I'm glad you're enjoying the DLS equipment and avincar's extensive knowledgebase (ie: el_duderino, lol, I don't know justin). I'm enjoying the DLS as well. I still need to sound deaden, add a GLI and play with the gains, but I'm happy even with my incomplete, untweeked system.

el_duderino, wanna sell me the GLI you used for geeman's install?

 

Hmmm...My Bose didn't distort on my scope until vol 28 (pre-amp).

 

It looks fine on the scope. I think that it's not tolerant of a wide range of input impedances. I suspect that if you tested the signal with an aftermarket amp connected to the outputs, you would see a different result.

Also, remember that the iPod sounds better than the CD. Perhaps the analog OP section of the CD drive is deficient.

 

el_duderino- your PM inbox is full.

As a follow-up~

Went outside, completely disconnected my rear speakers.

I put the fader all the way to the front, then to the middle and with the exception of loudness, I don't hear any distortion.

I left the fader at middle and moved the volume up around 20. Put it at 22, 23 and I didn't hear any noticeable breakup.

I'm either not good with hearing distortion or there was none.

Still, after adjusting my gains I have the system now set to have acceptable listening volume between 0 and 20. I figured I wouldn't even screw with it and possibly bring distortion (perhaps I don't hear it?) into the system.

My engine noise went away after moving my power wire around a bit. I noticed that while the RCAs were not near the power line, the power line WAS on top of the actual speaker wires (both inputs and outputs). figured that couldn't be good, move the power wire away, problem is gone.

Unfortunately I don't have a PAC-AAI-NIS installed to test the aux input vs. CD sound quality.

 

Sorry about that - thanks.

I want to follow up some more on this fader issue with geeman's car. We did talk last night about how the fader works, I hadn't explained it properly, so it is now working as we'd like (although it might not allow enough resolution on the +/- 5 clicks, so we might still bail on using it as a sub level control, TBD).