"Budget+Cargo Space" Complete Audio Upgrade Journey

[HBEcoBeaST]

Mission: Good Value High quality audio upgrade with quality sound and thumps(SQ over SPL), Keep cargo space, Reduce road noise

Requirements: ~$1000 budget, use pre-existing Pioneer Ts-swx3002 12" sub/box, stock head unit, no permanent modifications to car, no need for capacitors/battery upgrade

Budget and space were my main consideration for this build. I'm saving for a house with my (for now)girlfriend and I use my little car to haul a lot of surfboards and other junk. This immediately side-lined anything like my truck's system - old-school boston acoustics g5 12'' sub in a big box(weighs like 40lbs, hits like a cannon), polk audio speakers, audiobahn amps, pioneer head unit, capacitor, optima, freaking beastly, heavy, expensive, ancient system.

For this build I decided to go all Pioneer speakers and amp since I already had the sub. Pioneer head units have always been my go-to and the speakers were only $50/pair online. I'm splurging on a 100% oxygen-free copper wiring kit from NVX because I believe wiring quality is VERY important for sound quality and your car's electrical system.


PARTS LIST:

AMP
-Pioneer GM-D9605 Class D 5-Channel amp
RMS: 75w x 4 + 350w x 1 @ 4ohms
Amazing reviews, high-power output, class D (easier on electrical, runs cooler), compact size, great price

SPEAKERS
-Pioneer TS-A1606C 6.5" component speakers (front)
-Pioneer TS-A1686R 6.5'' 4-way speakers(rear)
Only ~$50/pair, good reviews, Crutchfield says they'll fit, high sensitivity, 60w RMS so they'll be a little over-powered but shouldn't be a problem (better to over power than under)

SUBWOOFER
-Pioneer Ts-swx3002 12" Subwoofer/box combo
Barely takes up space and I can set stuff on top of it. Unfortunately, it doesnt fit under the hatch lid, but it rests on top and hasn't been much of a hassle so far.
I already have this from a previous system. It was attached to a dying amp so I can't really judge it's sound yet. I may upgrade to a ported 'slim' box that fits under the hatch lid and go with a different sub if this one doesn't impress.

FACTORY INTEGRATION/PROCESSOR
-Audio Control LC7i
Wanted something with bass restoration, channel summing and the ability to keep my fade adjustable from the head unit. This will allow me to send full signal to all my speakers and (mostly) get rid of the factory EQ, fade and bass roll-off. I know people swear by DSPs with built-in EQ but for this level of build and budget I believe my money would be wasted.

WIRING
-NVX 100% Oxygen-Free Copper 5/6 channel Amplifier Wiring Kit
It's expensive but I believe in high-quality wiring after messing with cheap amp kits and fuses. This kit comes with generous amounts of all wires and are much higher quality than the wires a basic installer would use.

SOUND DEADENING
-KilMat 80mil 36 sq ft.
It was the cheapest 80mil and got good reviews. It's only going on the doors
-Boom Mat Round Slim foam speaker baffles
I've heard good things and they double as mounting rings for speakers so installers won't charge me extra like they would to apply an additional layer of sound deadening. I'm hoping they will fit in the doors and not interfere with the window, they are pretty shallow and only add about 1'' behind the speakers.
-12''x12'' acoustic foam panels from amazon
Bought these on a whim, put one under each seat and a few under the hatch lid over the spare tire area. Makes a noticeable difference with tire noise especially on bad surfaces. They were cheap, I'm happy.

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

INSTALL
I have an appointment at Best Buy tomorrow to see what they are able to do. I'm expecting a sub $500 install. Why best buy? They offer lifetime install warranty, will return it to stock or uninstall for free and they are a big company with many locations. The ones around me get good reviews.

I had bad luck with my truck's system having multiple issues and the audio shop that did the work went out of business. Had to pay others to fix their work.

There's a few quality audio shops around here that will do it for about the same price. I just get nervous since one just changed owners. I've been quoted 360-480 by local shops.

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[HBEcoBeaST]

A NOTE ON REDUCING ROAD NOISE
After getting tired of road noise drowning out the crap OEM speakers, I've been looking for some solutions.

Raise the back seats! I drive with a lot of surfboards and crap in the back frequently so the default rear seat position is down. This creates a big hollow, boomy sounding space in the rear. After actually having a passenger in the rear, I noticed that road noise was greatly diminished with both rear seats up. I can't believe how much of a difference having the seats in the raised position makes. Even just having the small seat down and the big seat up is noticeably louder than both the seats upright. There goes my idea of a rear seat delete....

I bought some cheap 12x12'' acoustic foam panels on amazon. I put one under the front seats and the remaining in the hatch spare tire area. Not as big a difference as raising the seats but it did help with road noise especially over bad roads. I think I'll try to put some panels under the dash too.

Really happy with these 2 simple changes. I am no longer considering sound deadening anything but the doors. I don't need silent, luxury car sound levels, but I do want to hear my music without cranking it up to ear damaging levels.

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

Got everything installed at Best Buy. They had the car all day and were rushing to get it done before my deadline at 7.

When the car's off it sounds amazing but there's a slight hum. With Car on.... holy crap engine noise. There's also a pop when the system turns off a few seconds after turning the car off. If you're rummaging around with the car door open and ignition off, the 'pop' will happen every minute or so. Pretty annoying borderline startling.

Possible diagnosis is the LC7i turn on feature or ground setting is wrong, causing the power on and power off pops. The engine noise I'm attributing to the amp being mounted directly on the metal floor of the spare tire compartment.

Wiring looks good and organized. Sound deadening and speaker install looks solid. Road noise is greatly reduced and the doors close with a solid 'thud'.

Wasn't expecting a world class job from Best buy but I went with them because of the warranty and I won't fear they'll change owners or go out of business.

I ordered a couple 'noise killer' inline RCA filters for the engine noise and will buy a piece of mdf for best buy to mount my amp to. Still don't know why they'd mount an amp to the bare metal.

As far as the pop goes I'm going to have them try different ground settings and remote turn on for the LC7i and amp. If that doesn't work I may need some sort of relay/delay device installed.

Forgot about the 'tinkering' required for audio system installs.

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[HBEcoBeaST]

Wow ok I feel dumb. Noticed the touchscreen button chimes were super loud so I turned the gain down and the engine noise and pop are 95% gone. Once I install my signal filters I'm sure it will be gone 99.9%which is acceptable for me.

The installers also flipped the L and R front outputs but that was an easy fix.

The system now sounds amazing. I have to play with the crossovers and crappy Ford EQ but way better than stock and the slim sub hits hard and clean, had to turn it down.

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[HBEcoBeaST]

Didn't have to use the noise suppressors which really killed sound quality. Pretty happy with the system now. Not as perfect sound stage as my polks but I swear the Pioneers get better every time I get into the car. They maybe have 1.5hrs on them so far.

Pretty happy with the slim sub. I don't lose much cargo area and I can move it around or put stuff on top of it. Hits pretty hard and really clean.

Best Buy did a good job at installing the hardware but they didn't tune or adjust the system at all. I could have brought it back to them but instead decided to do it myself.

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[rattmobbins]

Great write up with the regular updates and whatnot. Surprised nobody has responded to this thread yet. Lol

I had an LC7i for about an hour in a 2013 Tacoma I threw a monster system in. Hated it. The pop and engine noise and hum couldn’t be removed enough by lowering the gain so I yanked it almost immediately after I installed it and swapped in a new head unit.

Kinda strange you were willing to pay Best Buy (of all places) so much for what was a pretty basic install. I take it you haven’t installed audio gear before? If not you should try it sometime. It’s pretty straight forward and fun, plus you save a TON of money and know without a doubt it was installed correctly. Just my $.02

 

[HBEcoBeaST]

Great write up with the regular updates and whatnot. Surprised nobody has responded to this thread yet. Lol

I had an LC7i for about an hour in a 2013 Tacoma I threw a monster system in. Hated it. The pop and engine noise and hum couldn’t be removed enough by lowering the gain so I yanked it almost immediately after I installed it and swapped in a new head unit.

Kinda strange you were willing to pay Best Buy (of all places) so much for what was a pretty basic install. I take it you haven’t installed audio gear before? If not you should try it sometime. It’s pretty straight forward and fun, plus you save a TON of money and know without a doubt it was installed correctly. Just my $.02

The only thing bad I have to say about the lc7i is the pop on shutdown. I only get electrical noise if I turn the gain way up.

I've installed audio equipment before but I'm far from an expert. My apartment complex is very strict about working on cars even in our private car ports. I got a letter just for swapping out air filters let alone taking off interior panels for an audio install.

I figure most people are spending $$$ to go faster or cosmetic mods. I think for most just adding a sub will do.

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