biggiej

hey guys, just had another opportunity to work on a brand spanking new Scion Xb again, a relatively enjoyable car to work on, though the equipment the customer presented did pose some challenges

here are the goals:

1. good sound quality
2. save as much space and utility as possible, hopefully sacrificing only the spare tire
3. somehow integrate the alpine PLT-5 active subbox into a custom install

anyway...the customer suppled pretty much everything except the front speakres

so lets get started:

the signal starts with a pioneer Avic-D3 nav/dvd unit, installed in the stock location of course:



the front stage is a set of DLS referenec MS6A 6.5" two way component set. as before, the tweeters were flush bottom mounted in the A pillars:




the front midbasses were installed in the stcok lower door location via spacers, new wires were run into the door and the door was dapemend with a combiation of V4 foam and second skin the customer provided...note on second skin, i have 20 or so cuts on my hand from them lol...





while i was at it, i had some second skin left over, so i dampend the outter door panels too, ensure for aboslutely no vibratoins and a pair of pretty hefty scion doors lol:



snap shot of the front:



the rear doors recieved a pair of customer supplied Polk DB5250 5.25" component sets, similar to the front, the midbasses were installed in the stock location and the entire door dampened. while the tweeter was flush mounted slightly above the midbass on the outter door panel. this ensures that the rear tweeter doesnt conflect with the front stage listening, whcih is would have more if it was mounted way up high







finally, to the cargo area:

here is the normal view, as you can see, 100 percent stock look, nothing different at all:



lift off the trunk carpet, and still...nothing:



it is only when you flip up the floor board that things are revealed.

a fake floor amp/sub rack takes place of the stock spare tire area...trimmed in matching vinyl. BOTH side storage units are retained for added utility. a window in the back peers into the plexi cover of the alpine PLT-5, and another window frames the customer supplied Rockford 4 channel powering the front and rear speakers, another center cutout vents the bass coming out of the PLT-5's port






the hardest part was getting tings to fit and center aligned, becuase the alpine window isnt cnetered on the box, its offset to the right, so the whole thing had to be shifted so it looks like its centered, and since the box is wedge shaped, i had to make a series of platforms and support brackets so it sits perfectly flat in an irregularly shaped surface

as you can see, the floor is dampened as well, and wires run neatly:





overall, sounds pretty good, the RF amp isnt the most powerful in the world, but it does okay, the sub, sounds quite good, though it doesnt qiute have hte bottom end of say a normal 10 or 12 in a subbox, and it tends to get a little bit boomy around 70-80hz, but one of hte best sounding prebiult active boxes i hvae heard and blends relatively well

simplicityinsound

thanks Jim

p.s. Fred, if you read this, i think there is sometihng definetly off with that stock headunit of yours...this install, whcih uses much lower end stuff, the fronts sound abit more like what DLS drivers should sound like than your car did...just wanted to let you know

biggiej

i have yet to hear the system, it gets here on friday but ill be out of town until monday Bing is an amazing guy. very down to earth and accomadating. i was nervous about droppng the car off at first but after meeting him i had no worries.

also i bought all the stereo stuff long time ago. i wish i had waited until after i met Bing because he knew what would sound the best, but he still worked with what i have and i cant wait to see the work in person.

i know for a fact if i have any more work needed in any car Bing is the guy to go to. very reasonably priced and very professional. higly HIGHLY reccomended. and no im not one of his friends or family.

THANKS BING! cant wait to see/hear it in person.

1_kLEan_tC

Looks hot...clean and simply....bing you do great. I love my system.

simplicityinsound

hehe jim, looks like your better half is going to enjoy it efore you do

the neat hting with this install is, and i am not BSing, is the bass acutalyl seem to INCREASE with the covers in place...i am thinking that the floor gives it an adidtional loading plane...but still surprised me the first time

XBFred

Looks awesome... Bing as always great work.

Thanks for confirming on the H/U. I figured as much, just no time and too lazy to do anything about it right now. I am just starting to look at H/U now

Honestly, can't wait to get another car down the road to do the work.

Anyone looking for an install, Bing is the man. From customer service, communication and quality of work you would be hard pressed to do better anywhere

Macavely

wow that is a sweet install.. ..

uberspeed

Dangit, why can't you be in South Florida!
Awesome install!!!

biggiej

okay i got back into town on monday and ive been driving around with my new system for a few days now...and wow is all i can say.

first the workmanship is awesome. everything looks so clean it looks stock. (i know some of you like more flashy ICE...you guys should check out bing's ICE install on a IS 350 on his website!) but everything is done perfectly. from the wireing to the wood work (perfect even gaps all around) to matching the colors with the interior. great job.

the speakers are installed clean also from the custom tweater placements in the fronts to the custom in th back. also the sound deadening is well...deading sound nicely.

now for the sound- the DLS fronts sound amazing! crisp, clear highs without being too harsh. nice powerful mids. the bass i have to say is better than i was hoping. at first i was just going to do a simple install in the back hatch area but later i decided on a custom stealth install...in hind sight i wish i waited so i could of just bought the sub seperatley rather than the powered box. BUT the apline PLT5 does its job pretty well. the sounds is very well balanced (im not a big fan of just booming bass). the rear polks are just okay. maybe ill upgrade later with a new amp but for now its plenty good enough, and im just getting greddy

overall the system is exactly what i pictuered in my head and bing just hit in on the nose. clean stealth install with good sound. very happy how things turned out and in the future i would go back to bing and would reccomend him to anyone.

one down side though (but not because of bing's work but for all ICE systems i suppose) with all the sound deadeding each door feels about 50 lbs heavier. haha. they do close with nice solid "thunk" much like my bimmer. and with the extra wieght in the spare tire area the car actaully feels more blanced but it is a significant amount of extra weight in the car... so it does drive a bit more heavy. but in return i get a more enjoyable drive due to the system.

if therees anything else ill update some more later.