Full Stereo Install w/ 3D Printed Speaker Grills

[Coultl]

Sharing in case anyone is thinking about a stereo upgrade. No right answer but here's how I reworked everything audio in my car within a reasonable budget.

I have much more important work to do on this car, but I needed a fun project. The car came to me with an old Blaupunkt head unit (not correct vintage and not one of the nice ones) and rough looking speakers.

I went for the Continential/VDO head unit as it has the most correct look of anything I could find. Truth be told, it's a really basic unit. No line outs, no ability to adjust fade or balance, etc. I wired it up and it just didn't have enough power to sound good...in my opinion. I'm not sure how much better the the $500 Blaupunkt would be, but maybe that would have been the right call.

So I upgraded the speakers to Infinity 5032CFX in front and 463XF in the rear. The rears required a little bit of trimming on the plastic speaker backing to fit the parcel shelf opening. Nothing major. These need a good bit of power so I also installed an Infinity 6004A amp. Put in a new Hirschmann AUTA 2050 antennal while I was redoing everything stereo.

In retrospect that would have been enough, but it was so flat sounded when the head unit was powering the speakers that I added a small sub (Kenwood KSC-SW11) at the same time. It all fits easily under the passenger seat. The sub and amp draw a decent amount of power so I wired them directly to the batter on a new fused 12 AWG line.

The sounds is quite good now. Much more base than I need, but no real downside and I just have the sub turned down a good bit. It does help fill out the sound from the little speakers.

The grilles that were on the car is really what bugged me. I thought about replacing with the factory grills but I don't love the look and the cost was high. I ended up designing 3D printed grills and printing them in ASA on my FDM printer. I went for a minimalist look that felt period correct to me. I sanded them lightly and painted with Rustoleum black textured paint (#7220-830). The texture really helped them look like factory parts.


before:




after:

[fallingat120mph]

Nicely done.

I went down a similar path (minus the 3D Grills of course)...amp, sub, HU, component speakers and as much as I like the sound of the engine/exhaust itself, the stereo has been a great upgrade for long road trips and cool fall days.

As old fashioned as I am, and a purist at heart - nice to see a modern take on things (3D grills).

Again, nicely done.



Erik

[eflight]

Originally Posted by Coultl

it's a really basic unit. No line outs, no ability to adjust fade or balance, etc.

Not sure which model you have but try this from the TR7412UBA manual

BALANCE, FADE and Loudness

To adjust Balance, Fader and Loudness press the [SEL] button and then push [ << / >> ] button to select BALANCE -> FADER -> LOUDNESS. Rotate the [VOL] knob to adjust Balance, Fade and Loudness according your needs.

[Coultl]

fallingat120mph, agreed, love the sound of the engine and sometimes love some good music! I didn't go component up front. That would have sounded better.

[Coultl]

eflight, I'll try that. Would be nice if it's there and I just missed it!

[MTN930]

@coulti - KBCO rocks. memories of living over in the tantra park area. good luck w/ the upgrade.

[fallingat120mph]

Originally Posted by Coultl

fallingat120mph, agreed, love the sound of the engine and sometimes love some good music! I didn't go component up front. That would have sounded better.

Component up front and rear made a big difference in the end. Just an FYI.

PM if you ever have questions...

Erik