[soundman98]

Originally Posted by blueskiesgreenlights

My immediate concern is to find a set of 3.5" or 4" coaxial speakers for the back seat as well as a sub amp for about $100 each. I don't have an enclosed garage so I might end up spending the winter making my way along the learning curve. I'd much prefer to get it done quickly and well. We'll see.

firstly, i would recommend considering shifting the install to the springtime with the in-between time used to better understand the materials and components you'll be using.

my installs, i generally tend to take at least 2 relaxed days to install everything. first day is gutting the interior and major wiring with some component install. 2nd day is finalizing component installs, and then testing.

but then my last install in my 'temporary' ranger took me about 2 weeks. but i was having fun with wire routing.



you might be able to find some used speakers for $100. but the amp, used would be your only possible, but unlikely option, and currently, there aren't any quality options in that price point on ebay. fyi-- you're going to want at least a 300w rms amp for sub duties. also critical, adding an amp will require increasing your power wiring size, as well as adding a power splitter, generally recommended to be a fused splitter. you'll also need double the grounding stuff as well. 2 amps make for 2 times the complexity.

it serves as a reminder here that any used equipment will inherently have an unknown history, lifespan, or quality, no matter the brand or it's implied quality. i don't like using used amps or speakers unless they're nearly free--or at least cheap enough that if it blows a week after setup, i won't cry over it. it's less of a building block of a 'i want this done in one go' type setup, and more a 'tinkerers paradise' type setup. my first setup, i had 4 different amps like that early on. i never paid more than $40 for any of them. but they were questionable quality at best. most car audio shops wouldn't even bother using them as door stops...



speakers are speakers are speakers. the emphasis on any specific coaxial being 'better' than another is really going to boil down to individual preference. the alpine type s, infinity kappa, or polk es, just to name a few, are all really built to the same quality, using similar components, with only slightly different acoustic signatures flavored to each brands specific identity, but are all largely the same. none of them 'flavor' their sound similar to what sony does, so there's going to be some difference no matter what.

Originally Posted by blueskiesgreenlights

It occurred to me that the center console might provide an easy "tunnel" to the front dash. So I'll mark this problem as solved until proven otherwise.

i have used this method in the past--back for my carpc build, when i had more wires than space. biggest hurdles are re-installation of the center console and rear seats, and keeping the carpet flat. it required cutting notches in the bottom of the center console, and using double-sided tape to hold the cables flat enough to correct the carpet bumps. but then, to do this, i removed the entire interior, so i could route wires underneath the carpet easier.

my current install with the amp under the passenger seat does in fact use the center console to route my custom rca interconnects down to just behind the front edge of the seat. because it falls within the seat/console area, notching the plastic and the carpet bulge is invisible.

Originally Posted by blueskiesgreenlights

AudioControl checked in by pointing out that the HU keys off the factory amp so the white/grey wires should be prioritized over the green/purple wires. According to AudioControl support, failure to use the white/grey wires could result in the HU volume control not working. See below reply to soundman98 for full details.

i really don't understand this.. unless they're implying to use the white/gray for the turn-on signal as part of an auto-on setup? which is entirely unnecessary, as the blue amp turn-on wire is available in the factory harness, so auto-on is not needed.

Originally Posted by blueskiesgreenlights

I had originally planned to route it under the passenger side door sill covers but my understanding is that a power line located next to a speaker wire will cause sound issues. If I can't easily route the power line under the center console, would it be OK to, say, route the power line along the passenger side floor and separate the two by running the speaker wire a few inches higher?

yes, running parallel wires next to each other for long distances creates the opportunity for cross-talk. but this is true for any wiring, even multiple speaker cables. the reality is that there's only so much space available in the vehicle.

i would suggest routing the power cable through the door sill, and run the speaker wires through the center area. speaker cables are smaller, and will be easier to conceal.

Originally Posted by blueskiesgreenlights

I was considering using a passive crossover in lieu of the bi-amp crossover that Sony provides but I couldn't get the FS value of the tweeters from Sony that would allow me to calculate and acquire the correct sized capacitor for the tweeters. Also, as this is pushing the edge of my confidence I decided to bi-amp the Sony components.

fyi-- a capacitor-only crossover is only a 6db/octave crossover. any quality external crossover like those sony units are going to be at least 12db/oct., which is a capacitor and a coil. i wouldn't recommend running silk dome tweeters with anything less than a 12db/oct slope.