I wish I knew what I was doing.
 

Dug out my old stereo system, Eclipse head unit and MB Quart speakers, friend gave me the a/d/s amp. Stereo and speakers with a JL 300/4 were originally installed in my 84 Targa in 2003 by professionals, been in storage for years after I parted the car out.

I still have all the wires and can sort of figure out what goes where, but was wondering if anyone has a schematic or info on how the separates work with the crossovers and how they work with the amp. If I remember correctly, I think they wired the tweeters directly to the Eclipse and all else via the crossovers.

Also don't want to cut up the door panels and rear deck so I have to make speaker boxes. And still need to figure out how to get the Monterey SQR out of the dash. Turning out to be a big job.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1402016946.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1402016957.jpg

Omg choice stuff. The tweeters most likely downstream of the filters. Do you have multiple audio jacks? External crossover somewhere?

OK, so.....

Is the a/d/s is a 4 channel amp?

Connect the 4 Male RCA:

(Left Front, Right Front, Left Rear, Right Rear)

Of the Eclipse into the 4 matching female RCA that are coming out of the right corner of the amp.

Out of the amp with the gold speaker wires to each crossover input. + and -.


Out of the crossover Lo, High, into each corresponding separate, +, and -.


IMO the speaker outs of the head unit directly to the speakers was probably a compromise somewhere along the way, or you had something different happening before, and you should NOT have any speaker outs of the head unit being used.

IF what you have on the table there is everything you plan on using.

My $.03. :)

meh, it's old stuff. I'll give you $2 plus shipping.


;)

Enjoy.

I-pod?

And ear buds. Done.

a/d/s is 6 channel so I guess I would just use the first 4 channels. Thanks Jeremy, I'll hook it all up tomorrow night per your instructions and see what happens.

I have a pair of Boston Acoustics speakers I could use for channels 5 and 6. Can't imagine needing them though.

Is the A/D/S/ amp the PH-15?

yes it is. any knowledge of it?

Shaun,

The 5th and 6th channels would be used to power subwoofers in a complete system, they might even be "bridgable" to run a single sub with double the power.

Did a quick google search and the amp can be bridged

http://www.directeddealers.com/manuals/og/ads-mobile/ads_PH15.2_Owners_Manual.pdf

excellent, thank you!

You're welcome, A/D/S made a quality amp, you should be able to get some nice sound out of your set up. Good luck.

Rwest is right on,

If you want a sub bridge channels 5/6 and run 1 mono sub.

From the pic it doesn't look like your Eclipse has RCA "Sub Out", but you could still conceptually do it if you really felt the need.

I think the subwoofer will wait for a few reasons. I'm sure I've never listened to a system with a good one because they always sound boomy/muddy to me. Other thing is this car is something of a quandary. I typically go for lightest weight possible within reason. Pic below is of my 84 Targa with the system I'm reinstalling; towel is covering crossovers mounted on a board. Given I have to make speaker boxes and need to keep this car nice, a sub would only be possible if I found a rear deck I could install the rear speakers in to delete the what I think will be heavy MDF boxes.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1402314380.jpg

It's going to be a challenge to even find space for separates in the back!

One suggestion:

If you're not going to have the stuff "on display", as they say, you might want to find a way to mount the crossovers closer to the speakers.

That way you'll only run 4 speaker wires all over the car instead of 8.

It's nice to make a cool-looking mounted setup with the amp/ crossovers etc. but if you're just shoving it under the seat it doesn't really matter anymore.

I mounted my crossovers in my Targa in the front trunk and then I had to try to feed two speaker wires through each door jamb etc. and now i wish I had wrapped them up in some cellophane and snugged them in the bottom of each door. I don't need to see them or access them.

Yes, I upgraded the stock system in my e28 M5 a couple of years ago and used a NOS PH-15. I have the instructions/manual and I would be happy to scan it for you.

I wanted to keep it period correct so I went with a Blaupunkt Sydney head unit. An Ipod interface cable uses the CD Changer/Aux input plug.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...BlauSydney.jpg

Back speakers are a/d/s 345i and went in stock plastic housings.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...reo/ads345.jpg

Front speakers are MB Quart PSD 210 (these are old school ones that were made before RF bought MB Quart)
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...o/DSC07348.jpg

PH15
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...o/DSC07351.jpg

a/d/s 642CSi crossover/signal processor/interface adaptor
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...o/DSC07352.jpg

a/d/s AC500 remote bass level control
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...o/DSC07354.jpg

I put one these NOS Blaupunkt subwoofers (back when they were still made in West Germany) under each front seat. I know it's not ideal but I'm not a big thumpy bass guy.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...1230572960.jpg

Shaun,

That is one behemoth of an amp and might just be more than what you need for just the regular speakers.

I'm going to throw another idea out. That would be to just use the best pair of speakers in the front and get a 2 channel amp to power them. I think that rear speakers are a general waste especially in a noisy car like the targa. After all, when you go to a concert, you face the front, there isn't a band behind you too- now, a concert hall will have reflections that come from behind, but they are different then the original sound. Doing it this way will save a bunch of work and space, although you'll need to spring for another amp, but they aren't all that pricey for a good two channel.

Rutager

I was thinking the speaker boxes would sit on the backs of seat backs. Was planning on putting little spikes on the bottom so they didn't move around too much. And I'm the opposite of on display! I never even stuck the MB Quart stickers on the speaker grilles. The less attention the car gets, the better.

If I mount the amp under the passenger seat, there may be enough room for the front crossovers too, or I could mount them inside the speaker boxes I need to make, or on the back, not sure. My 84 Targa had the crossovers under the seat but I mounted the JL in front of the HVAC in the front trunk. That was a lot of speaker wire.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1402363846.jpg

Really beautiful stuff! Mine is all pretty shabby. Rutager kindly provided a link to download the manual, so I'm all set there thank you. How does it all sound?

Thank you Rutager. I'm sorry I wasn't clear, this system was installed in an 84 Targa many many years ago. All this is going in my 84 now, a coupe. You know a lot of people say rear speakers don't do much but I can tell you earnestly, the JL 300/4 coupled with these speakers provided fantastic sound and the rears played a serious role as shown with playing with the fader. Even at high speed trips to NYC with the top off. Good days those were.

But you are right, I can get a JL Audio 360/2 for $125 right now at Onlinecarstereo.com - Wholesale Car Audio/Stereo Deals At Bargain Prices and it might be everything I need.

My issue is while that's short money, my budget is tight with a new leather dash coming and I just unexpectedly picked up a 76 tub that was priced too right to pass by. So for now, I think I'm using what I've got.

It sounds great.
In early summer of 2012, in addition to the stereo upgrade, I was trying to get the car ready for Monterey Week. I had never entered a car in a show but in 2012 I registered for "Legends of the Autobahn" so I was more focused on the cosmetics than the stereo. At the last minute I discovered I had an engine whine through the Ipod connection so I ended up listening to cassette mix tapes I had made back in the '80s for the 1000 mile round trip and it was somehow fitting. The Ipod- engine whine issue was since troubleshat (sp?) and I'm really enjoying it.
(BTW, I got 2nd in my class )



Monterey Week last year at the Laguna Seca Porsche/BMW Corral:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...W/image001.jpg

Cool story. Let's see some more pics of your M5!

I plugged the amp into the Eclipse last night and it wasn't happy, thought I had fried it. You get a "GOOD MORNING" message on the screen when the radio goes on which became a random flashing G and GO. Unplugged it, let it sit, it seems to be working now. May be important to note that both the amp and radio RCAs are female, which must have been how the JL was since I already had the cables.

So I called Sound in Motion, local car stereo store and described what I had. Turned out to be a good call, talked with one of the owners who has a 964. He was impressed with the system, perked up when I mentioned the amp, understood the need to not cut the door panels up and offered the following:

He'll bench test the amp and if it checks out, wire the whole system up. Wants to see the car too.

Said that the MB Quarts won't react well to being mounted in a small box. He suggested I "go to Pelican and get some RS door panels" and use those to mount the 6.5s in the front.

Don't bother with the rears, he said in a coupe there may be too much sound and I should just focus on the front. I relayed my Targa build to him and he thought maybe the Targa glass helped.

Definitely nice to talk to a fellow enthusiast.

So I'm bringing everything over on Monday and leaving it there for a few days. Never a dull moment.

And illegal!

Maybe where you live...

Shaun
Glad to see a sound thread...especially for a targa as I need to do the same for one of mine and hoping for ideas. Appreciate you documenting what you do.

In your photo, I notice that you have not installed sound proofing. Do you not plan to do so?

I am generally against adding weight and do whatever I can to lighten a car. But for my old 84 Targa, I did line the insides of the doors with Dynamat and also around the speaker opening for the fronts. For the rear, I laid some Dynamat on the top of rear deck but deleted the factory found pad. I can't say for sure, but I think the Dynamat helped.

For this car I need to leave it as factory as possible so I am probably not installing any sound deadening, car is too heavy as it is. I have a ton of FatMat if you want me to send you some. Was going to line most of my 4Runner with it but sold the truck and went to the wagon before I got much done.

Shaun,

Sounds like you're it great shape now. Always nice to come across someone who is just as excited about your car as you are. Please post some pictures when done. On my Targa, I built custom enclosures in the kick panel area and used a set of MB Quartz co-axials that I could separately amp the woofer and tweeter.

Best,
Rutager

New news here. 2 weeks ago I dropped everything off, they tested it and confirmed it was OK. They thought the power in my spare battery wasn't enough for everything and that's why the Eclipse was doing the G-GO thing. I can see that given how I hooked it quickly. Anyway, after two more visits to show them the car and talk about the job, they said they'll provide a quote for installing:

Head unit
Speakers in doors
Amp under seat
Crossovers
sound deadening

with Dynamat extreme and all necessary hardware and wiring.

Anyone want to take guess on how much the quote came to?

$1250

$2,112

20.5 hours of labor, some at $85/hr, some at $95/hr.

Wow! What car?

Without knowing what you really want, I suggest that you blow off the dynamat, because that's probably half of that labor time.

If it's an open car like a Targa I say absolutely blow off the dynamat, and physics agreed with me. :)

Good audio costs money. But that is a lot of wonga.

Pretty sure it is the '84 M491 coupe he bought from an idiot's mother :D

That might make a good album title.

For my 84, it's a coupe. And while I normally strip interiors out of cars, I want this to be a nice sounding system so will do it right. And the car is special, so no holes, everything has to be as factory as possible and has to be reversible to factory with little to no effort.

Dynamat was $160 for the material and 4 hours for putting it in, so $500 total. They have 6 hours of labor for installing just the speakers in the doors. I've got a new leather dash coming someday, so am on a bit of budget, and this quote went fairly well past that.

I have a ton of FatMat and mini-roller. And with Ian's thread, can do the doors myself.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/357520-car-stereo-installation.html

New door panels I don't mind cutting up are on the way. I'll put the amp under the passenger seat on Al C-channel velcro'd (industrial) to the floor, crossovers in the doors as you suggested. The only tricky part is the wiring, that is the head unit to amp to crossover connections. If it weren't a big FU, I'd ask them to wire the system together or draw a schematic and charge an hour or 2.

I don't think I'll have time to do this until mid-August though. I might try to install just the Eclipse for a temporary fix. Have to get the correct pin-puller to get the Monterey SQR out first.

:)

I would allow one big 1.5" hole or 2" hole with a grommet if you end up needing to run a lot of cables. If its a quality job then its a quality job. You have to have holes sometimes.

The audio itself cost next to nothing. I could see $1K for a top, professional job in labor and then whatever wiring, etc. costs.

This is double of the high end of the range of what I was expecting.