[Isaiah5411]

Well...after a minor electrical glitch (which probably bored you guys to death), the sub is finally in its custom-built enclosure and in the car....and sounds great, especially with the addition of a few electronic upgrades.

I had all sorts of electronic gear sitting in my closet from my E46 car stereo project (amps, EQs, Crossovers, and subs) and wondered if I'd ever get around to putting them in the E93. "Why upgrade the sound in a convertible", right? Plus, I thought I had sooo much to do to get the sound right.

Enter the AirEnabler (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1066001 ). With the Creative Labs Soundblaster (a mini DAC), the sound of the Logic 7 system was absolutely transformed. Never thought about a DAC for the car.

So...the logical thing to do next was add a sub. Again, I had two Diamond D3s and two amps sitting in my closet so why not?. I knew I wanted it in the ski pass and found a couple of threads that showed others doing this. But I had a few other requirements, like how to fit it in the trunk with my spare tire set up. (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...1&postcount=90 )

I also wanted to use my Audiocontrol EQL as my LOC and to be able to EQ the sub. I like tight, accurate bass that feels like someone doing CPR on you. That was the goal, anyway. Found a great place to put that Audiocontrol piece. I also wanted to be able to quick disconnect the sub and amp in case I wanted to lose the sub for a trip that required some luggage space (which is rarely, thankfully).

I ordered a sub enclosure from Amazon that looked like it might work (Atrend 10" slim box). I made a "nose cone" out of 3/4 MDF to slide into the ski pass, attached my old Phoenix Gold XS2500 to the back, installed the EQL, ran the wires and hooked it up. (I ultimately tapped the power to the front cigarette lighter for the remote-on power. I was very happy to see that it acted like a switched connection: ON when the car is turned on, OFF when you pull out the key or lock the car. This was thanks to the ambient lighting around the lighter socket.)

I was blown away at how good it sounded! With the DAC and a little time tweaking the EQs, it was starting to remind me of my old system. I decided to upgrade the DAC and ordered a Fiio E17 to replace the Soundblaster. EVEN BETTER!!! Now, I was VERY excited the project...until I tried to put the roof in the trunk. Yep...the sub enclosure was 1" too tall for the roof to fit in the trunk.

So, I designed a new box...went to Lowe's, bought a sheet of 3/4 MDF for $38 (after mapping out all of the cuts) and they cut it up...AT NO EXTRA CHARGE...into the 9 pieces I needed, including three pieces to make a new nose cone if I couldn't get the old one off the failed enclosure (which had been glued and screwed on). Thankfully, it DID come off and I didn't have to redo the nose, which was the hardest part of the project.

I'll be posting pictures of the whole thing after it stops pouring down rain today. In the meantime, here is one pic I took with the original sub box after test fitting the nose piece. Fit like a glove!

And...no rattling from the front ski pass door, which I wanted to retain to protect the sub, like when transporting pets (thus the dog hair on the seat backs ).

More pics to come.

[Isaiah5411]

Here's the work in sequence. The box dimensions had a few specific requirements: Had to be as large as possible (as close to 0.75 cu ft as I could make it); sub had to fit inside the ski pass; had to allow the amp to be mounted to it; had to be able to have the convertible top go into the trunk (VERY important ) and still allow me to get my spare tire in the trunk (which necessitated the side-mounting of the amp).

So, the enclosure ended up being 25"w x 13"h X 5"d with a 9.5" amp mount as the left side piece. The internal volume of the box ended up being 0.62 cu ft (including the volume of the nose cone. Haven't had to use "pi" in a while ), a bit shy of the minimum 0.75 recommended by Diamond for their 10" D3 sub, but...it sounds GREAT (especially with the signal cleaned up by the AirEnabler/Fiio E17 DAC. THAT was an amazing upgrade...like having a new component system.). I like accurate bass (not deep boom) and, combined with the mid bases under the seats in the Logic 7 system, this box does the trick. Right now I have everything set FLAT on the EQ and it's close to perfect.

Anyway, it all started with a cardboard template of the ski pass....



Then the "nose cone" made from 3 pieces of 3/4 MDF...



Here's the box before adding the extension. Getting it centered in the trunk so that there was room for the side-mounted amp on the driver's side and have the nose go into the ski pass was the trick (hole was made off center intentionally to accomplish this), but it all worked out...after triple-checking every measurement...



Here's the driver's side where the amp will be mounted. Had to be very specific dimensions for the convertible top to work, thus the angle to the top right edge...




The nose was mounted to the sub box and test fitted before putting in all of the 3" mounting screws of the extension and covering the box...



Here's the finished product...










Now, to thoroughly detail the interior (which you can see it needs badly)...while enjoying the new sound, of course.

[Isaiah5411]

Here it is installed...

[WilliamS]

That looks amazing.

[Isaiah5411]

Originally Posted by WilliamS

That looks amazing.

Thanks! It was a lot of fun to do. Even though the enclosure is slightly undersized by Diamond's specs, the sound is really good...just what the Logic 7 system needed...tight, hard-hitting bass that sounds like it's coming right out of the windshield.

But, I can't over-emphasize what the digital-to-analog converter along with using Apple Lossless Encoding and the Onkyo HD app (for ALAC/FLAC files) did to the overall sound quality. I highly recommend that app and the Fiio E-17 Alpen DAC (http://www.amazon.com/E17-Alpen-Port...ords=fiio+E-17 )

[smith.james0]

I know this is an old thread but I am interested where the high-level input for the EQ was taken from, is it taken from the rear speakers?

Can anyone help?

Regards
James

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by smith.james0

I know this is an old thread but I am interested where the high-level input for the EQ was taken from, is it taken from the rear speakers?

Can anyone help?

Regards
James

In many cars the rear speakers are high passed. Often best place for signal is the source feeding the under seat subs.

But it does depend on which system you have.

Best bet is just use a technic harness