FINALLY got my new system

[Gatorsurgeon]

I finally got all my new stuff installed. Like most of these projects, it took longer than I had originally planned. I did not do the install myself, due to both a lack of free time and a fear of ruining an expensive piece of equipment. The dealer -- Ken's Car Tunes in Mobile, AL -- gets an A+.
The system now is:

Headunit: OEM
LOC/EQ : Audiocontrol EQS
Crossover: Audiocontrol 3XS
Front Components : JL Audio ZR650-CSI powered by a JL 300/2
Subwoofers : JL Stealthboxes powered by a JL 250/1

My goals were
1. The best sound quality I could get while
2. Keeping the interior completely stock-looking and
3. Using up minimal trunk space.

The sound quality is great. Ridiculously great. Mercilessly great. The clarity of those components is amazing, and suddenly the difference between a CD and a 128-bit MP3 is very clear. If you are going to play MP3's on a system like this, they need to be at least 192's and ideally 320's to do the system any justice.

Below are some pictures of the install:

[Gatorsurgeon]

The amps and the EQS are nicely tucked away under the rear deck; the EQS is reasonalby accessible and not in the way when the trunk gets filled with stuff.

[bigjae1976]

They did a good job. Yes, at least 192 bits on the MP3s.

[Gatorsurgeon]

The left Stealthbox required some remodeling of the left sidewall, but it does not get in the way of the door to my Phatbox and Navigation DVD.

[low]

good job.

[outlawd94cobra]

Looks nice & clean. I have my amp set-up just like that along with my capacitor and love it, only problem i noticed though is when im toying with my amp for a slight re-tune, i have to basically try and squeeze my big ass into the trunk.:lmao:

[nadir]

really clean install...

[Custom3]

good job...almost looks oem....clean yet affective

[Canuck328i]

Looks great! Glad to hear you got it all sorted out. :thumbup:

Mark

[dirsh]

looks great and still gives you a lot of trunk space

Is it true that it's fine to mount JL amps upside down?

[outlawd94cobra]

looks great and still gives you a lot of trunk space

Is it true that it's fine to mount JL amps upside down?

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=339744&page=2

[urban-yan]

looks great. may I ask why you didn't select the JL 500/5 instead?
Doesn't it provide the same 250RMS to the subs as the 250/1 ??

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[Gatorsurgeon]

looks great. may I ask why you didn't select the JL 500/5 instead?
Doesn't it provide the same 250RMS to the subs as the 250/1 ??

..

Good question. I thought about it, but using a 300/2 for the front components allowed 150W per side instead of the 100W provided by the 500/5. That much power makes those ZR's sound awesome. Since I set the system up with an active crossover, I could optimize things with multiple amps. I thought I might get a 500/1 for the Stealthboxes, but so far I've got no complaints with how they sound.

[urban-yan]

impressive. I didn't know the ZRs could handle that much power. I thought they were rated at 85w continuous ??

Also, wouldn't a 500/1 overload the 8IB4s.. not only that, but how would you fit the wider 500/1 in the rear deck???


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[TheArcticWhite]

Yeah I would definitely not put more than a 250/1 on the stealths. I have an mtx thunder 421d powering mine and I have accidentally pushed them past their limits quite a few times...with ease

[BigRain]

500watt to the stealthbox is fine. I'm using a Zapco 1000.4 for the ZR 525 and Stealthbox.

[maxzboy]

Guys, any ideas where to buy the JL Stealthboxes? I've search around and no one carries them.