pbelamy

First off, I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Paul, longtime reader, first time poster.

I've had a 2010 Scion xB for three years now, and I'm starting to look into upgrading the stereo system. I was pretty happy with it as is, but this summer I've been doing a lot of driving with my windows down and the stock system doesn't sound too great when you turn it up loud enough to hear over the wind noise.

I have the Alpine upgraded stereo, and everything else in the car is stock. The Alpine unit was definitely not worth it, but it is what it is and I'm not really looking to change that. Since it has front, rear, and sub preamp outputs I'm just going to keep it in, because I think it'll work just fine with what I have in mind.

Here's what I'm looking at adding:

Front: Infinity Kappa 60.9cs
Rear: Infinity Kappa 63.1i
Amp: Alpine MRP-F300
Sub: Infinity Basslink

I already have the 63.1i and the Basslink from one of my last cars, so those are going in for sure. After doing some price shopping I can get the 60.9cs and the MRP-F300 plus all the wiring I'll need for the whole system for ~$300 on Amazon.

My real question isn't about what components to get, but rather what order to install them all in. Since I already have the Basslink I'll probably install that right away, but should I bother to install the rear speakers without buying the amp first? And should I wait and save up and buy the amp and front components at once?

I'm most worried (well, worried isn't the right word, but you know what I mean) about the HU interacting with a half-completed system, since it has the xB preset to make the stock speakers sound pretty good, but from what I've read on here won't work very well with upgraded speakers.

Sorry for such a long first post, I just wanted to make sure and get all the details out there.

(Also, big thanks to all of you for posting your pictures and ideas of stereo/speaker installs; from the very minor speaker replacements all the way up to the competition level-systems, it's very helpful to get ideas and to learn how easy/hard the installation process is. Again, thank you all!)

ntm

welcome...

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Here is what I would do...


First I would look into sound deadening your doors and sealing the inner skins.. that alone will hands down improve the system 10 fold.. even if you stuck with stock components. Putting components alone wont make you eat your pants off.

There are various vendors around here to get deadening.. I personally went with Raamaudio but your preference is your choice.

Next I would focus on the front components.

If you are installing a sub make sure you set that sub to handle all frequencies below 80hz. I personally like my 65 and below but again YMMV..

Make sure your components are set to roll off at 80hz and below as long as your sub is set to pick up anything lower than 80hz.


then worry about your back door speakers...

pbelamy

Thanks for the tip on Raamaudio. That looks like a fairly inexpensive solution to get rid of road noise and improve the sound inside the car. How many square feet did you use? And did you just put it in the four doors, or did you install it all throughout the car?

And I definitely agree with the frequency cutoff. The Basslink has manual controls, but my head unit has frequency controls as well; do you think it matters which I choose to "control" the frequency barrier?

I already have the rear speakers from an older car, so I think I might throw them in and see if they make a difference in sound. I won't bother to push them hard until I get the amp purchased and installed.

kingofthecrate

iTrader: (1)

Rick will sell you how much you need. I only did all 5 doors and my trunk floor. I have some extra that I should use on the firewall. Look the cars are noisy, they just are.

as far as the hi pass filter. I would do it from the radio to cut voltage and amperage from the source point plus you can control it when you want to change it around. Different styles of music will always need tweaking.

pbelamy

Thanks for all the info, that really helps a lot.

One other question, does anyone have any pictures or sketches of how they wired up their car? I've done a lot of searching through this forum but most of what I've come up with has pictures that are no longer available.

I'm curious as to where everyone has wired their new speaker lines and power lines in the cabin of the car. There's a lot of talk about how to get through the firewall, but not a lot of where the wire is being laid between the firewall and the amps or amps and speakers.

Any sketches or tips on that would be greatly appreciated!

KaneoheKoa

Front speakers first, along with the dampening material (since you have the door open anyway), then amp. As for using the Infinity speakers on the stock HU, just keep the HU control as neutral as possible, until a new HU is put in.
I would recommend putting in the rear door speakers in last. Thanks to their down on the floor, right behind the front seat positions, you won't hear much of them until the system is amped.

BTW, I wouldn't use anything about 14ga for the doors: the wire path through the rubber boots are a major headache. If you do use heavier wire, make sure women and children are out of earshot, due to the harsh language you'll be using trying to work the wires thru the boots.

xbdition

I ran power and remote turn on along the driver's side, speaker wires and RCA's along the passenger side.

On both sides, the kickpanels and sill covers just pop off and there's white plastic clips along the door sill wherein you can run power and signal wires. Zip tie the wires under the dash so they are out of the way, and its a straight shot to the back. Pretty simple. I'd share them if I had them, but trust me, you don't need pictures.