My VZ Berlina - Focal & Alpine

[Zend3r]

Hey all,

Long time lurker. Finally have something worth posting so here goes.

My '06 VZ Berlina audio install. Done the whole lot myself so far, hope to keep it that way.

Here she is, front and back. Pics are about a year old but hasn't changed much on the outside, except for losing the P Plates!

The system is a Focal Polyglass, 165VR splits up front and the 690CVX 2-ways in the shelf. Presently powered by an Alpine PDX-F4. The whole lot is running out of a Pioneer 7" touch deck.

Here are some pictures of the audio installed with the skin off :yeah: :
[ The images are quite large so I've linked rather than embed ]

Passenger side 6" w/ Dynamat:
http://i.imgur.com/NZ0CO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sGYpC.jpg
The dynamat on this side is pretty rough as it is my first go. I have a few "process" pics around somewhere of the dynmat install on the passenger and drivers door, if anyone is interested.

Rear seat 6x9s w/Dynamat
http://i.imgur.com/doShN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1EnuG.jpg

All the speakers have been wired and soldered and the speakers are mounted with acoustic putty to minimise contact rattling.
http://i.imgur.com/aVhFm.jpg

I have also wired in a switch to control the antennae relay as the head-unit doesn't have a seperate 12v control out for that.
Stuffing around with the wiring: http://i.imgur.com/BVPvA.jpg
Bypassing the 12v control: http://i.imgur.com/dVHPW.jpg
Glovebox quick'n'dirty switch: http://i.imgur.com/JZdUS.jpg

There is a bolt in the passenger side door that appears to hold the window guide to the frame of the door, here. It kept getting rattled loose by the bass so I ended up coating the bolt in Selley's all-clear (as I had it lying around) and bolting it back in. Seems to have stopped the problem so far.

Another problem I have encountered is that the 6x9s in the parcel shelf now vibrate the metal shelving to create an irritating rattle in high-bass situations. My planned fix for this is to reinforce the parcel shelf with two steel plates sandwhiched either side through existing holes. I'll post pictures and a report of how this goes if there is any interest.

My planned upgrades is to round it off with a 13" Focal 33KX sub, powered either by a matching Alpine amp or by the appropriate Focal amp, depending on the sort of price I can get for the Focal amp.

Well that's all I have for now, any questions/comments/criticisms?

Cheers!

 

[sweefu]

Looking very good mate, nice car and choice of gear. How does it sound?
It looks to be you installing? (DIY) if so, congratulations of tackling the project yourself, it makes me happy to see more and more DIY installs.

Did you treat the doors any further? Eg, inside skin with dynamat? Or service holes with MDF or similar?

I would be keen to see any more pictures you may have.

Keep up the good work mate.

 

[Zend3r]

The SQ is fantastic, really happy with the Focal stuff. Bit hard to find here in Aus, but I generally take that as a good sign

Yep, the whole lot is DIY. Pretty proud of myself I must say. I'll try and track down my in-progress pictures of the doors. It's been a bit of a saga but keeps me busy on the weekends isolating rattling, engine interference etc etc. Every time I isolate and remove a little noise I hear a different one I hadn't noticed before!

The only dynamat on the doors is what you can see although I did cover up all the big (service?) holes with MDF thoroughly taped in. Hoping that my electric windows never fail so I don't need to get back in there.

 

[MAG00]

Very nice install mate.

For your parcel shelf, I have mounted a piece of 12mm mdf underneath my own. Traced the curvatures of the shelf onto the wood, and cut it a few times with a jigsaw before it fit up there nicely. Gives a nice flat surface to mount anything I want on there (my amp used to be up there), as well as adding a nice amount of mass to the panel to lower the resonating frequency.

As for subwoofers, given you seem to have a nice budget and a taste for sound quality, another alternative is the Morel Ultimo 12" subwoofer. Highly regarded subwoofer at the moment over on the MEA forums (dedicated to in-car entertainment). Marty Price over at FHRX recently had them going for a very cheap $700 shipped.

Marty also reviewed them for IN-CAR magazine, review is here.

Repost your post in the "Sticky: Post your car audio system and pictures" up the top of the car audio section as well, so it is kept in a thread with other installs, rather than being lost in all the posted questions in the car audio section.

Keep us updated mate, this is a fantastic build so far!

 

[Zend3r]

Thanks for the suggestion, the review is a very interesting read! The trouble I'm finding with this higher end gear is that it can be hard to find a store to listen to them properly hooked up. I don't know anyone with a Focal sub and that makes me a little worried, so the Morel could be the way to go.

With the MDF you mounted, how did you go about actually attaching it? Did you just punch holes through the parcel shelf for screws?

I'm having a little trouble tracking down the in-progress pics (too many damned photos!) but I have one at home of the footwell lighting and head-unit that I'll try and remember to post.

I've posted her up in the sticky as well, so I'll keep you guys up to date.

 

[MAG00]

I'm unsure of stores in Melbourne, but according to the internet, Street Sound and Vision stock Focal equipment, they may have a displayed sub.

Other very good stores in Melbourne (known for their fantastic installation techniques and good brands) are:
Phatt Audio Concepts
Frankston Car Audio
Riverside Customs

I had my dad helping me out when I did it, one held it, one drilled it. From memory I think we just drilled long enough sheet metal screws right through the wood and into the parcel shelf (obviously making sure that they were in a suitable spot before drilling). We then protected the screws by covering them with foam.

Keep us posted!

 

[Zend3r]

Bundoora SSV is where I have gotten most of my gear from so far, my Focals and Amp.

Their service is decent if you get the owner and he really knows his stuff. I find the younger staff to be a bit stand-offish and unwilling to cut deals.

In a bit of a bind about subs now!

Quick question regarding bootinstalls, I searched around but couldn't find a definitive answer. Are they typically just a large box that slides into the boot, built into the boot or some other kind of solution?

I guess what I'm asking is, how would I go about building a boot install.

It'll be 2x amp, a sub and probably a fire extinguisher..

 

[MAG00]

Bundoora SSV is where I have gotten most of my gear from so far, my Focals and Amp.

Their service is decent if you get the owner and he really knows his stuff. I find the younger staff to be a bit stand-offish and unwilling to cut deals.

In a bit of a bind about subs now!

Quick question regarding bootinstalls, I searched around but couldn't find a definitive answer. Are they typically just a large box that slides into the boot, built into the boot or some other kind of solution?

I guess what I'm asking is, how would I go about building a boot install.

It'll be 2x amp, a sub and probably a fire extinguisher..

Ahh, the question of boot install. The design really is a personal choice and it all boils down to how much space you want to sacrifice, what you want it to look like etc.

You really just need to go out to your boot, look at it and imagine your ideal set-up. The only real constraint is how big the box for your subwoofer needs to be, which boils down to which sub you end up purchasing.

Have a look through some installation pictures in the Car Audio section and just get a rough idea of what you want it to look like. Design is the main thing you need to consider, you really need to decide what you want.

Common ideas:
-Subwoofer facing the front of the car through the middle of the back seat, amps mounted on the back of the box.
-Subwoofer facing the back of the car, amps mounted on the top or side of the box or an amp mounted in each side of the boot.
-Subwoofer mounted in the spare wheel well or amps mounted in spare wheel well.
-Subwoofer mounted in the corner of the boot, amps on the back of the seat.

Many options, many ways to go about them, it all comes down to what you want.

 

[Zend3r]

I've built a few cardboard mockups (based on the Focal 13" - I figured the boxes will be roughly the same size between the Morel and the Focal as I haven't made up my mind yet.) and settled on a good boot install that'll include everything I have, a small electrics fire extinguisher, still leave me with some space and also feature a hidden(ish) cupboard for the crap I always have with me (jumper leads, coolant, torch, tools etc).

I'm contemplating redoing the whole boot in black and purple vinyl. I think it'll look good but I'm not 100%. Might toy around in photoshop a bit.

 

[jaime85]

Nice combo on the speakers. Love the black VYs :beer chug: