WHY?
This customer is a Saab enthusiast, and this is the second Saab he has brought into the shop for upgrades. This time he brought in a 2006 Saab 9-3 that he was restoring back to showroom quality. Not that the vehicle was in rough, because it wasn’t, but he now has this vehicle looking immaculate.
The vehicle is a convertible, so we knew we needed to provide plenty of power to the front stage in order to have plenty of safe volume with the top down. He also wanted something that imaged really well and would not lose its quality at louder volumes. Lastly, he wanted to use the factory head unit and keep everything else looking completely stock when we were done.
During the one-on-one consultation process, Aaron and Don were able to come up solutions that blew away the client’s expectations while keeping the interior appearing as if nothing was ever changed or added to the vehicle.
WHAT?
Replaced front three-way factory speakers – We decided to go slightly unconventional with the setup and use JL Audio C7 6.5” woofers in the front doors and we used BLAM Signature tweeters and 3.5” mids in the dash. We decided to use 2 ohm speakers in the dash to maximize the amplifiers power output without bridging or adding more channels, and then we needed a 4 ohm 6.5” woofer for the doors in order to bridge channels on our amplifier to get the maximum potential from the front stage. Mix-n-matching brands on speakers is not uncommon for us if it makes sense for the build, we are building the system in the way that maximizes our client’s money.
Added two amplifiers with integrated DSP – We added two JL Audio VXi amplifiers with integrated DSP to run the entire system, and connected them together using the VXi-Hub. We used the VX700/5i and the VX600/6i for a total of 10-channels for the mids and highs, and a mono channel for our subwoofer. If you clicked on the previous link, you already know the benefits of DSP. If not, here’s that link again!
We decided using two amps with integrated DSP for the setup made the most sense and we used the JL Audio VXi-Hub to link the two amps together. From there we can distribute the channels in the JL Audio Tune software in the configuration that they were wired into the amplifier.
Channel Layout
1 and 2 – Tweeters
3 and 4 – 3.5” mid drivers
5+6 and 7+8 – 6.5” Door Woofers
9 and 10 – Rear speakers
Mono channel – Subwoofer
Add an Infinite Baffle Subwoofer behind the rear seat – We had originally planned on using a JL Audio W3 and building a box that would port into the interior through the ski-pass in the trunk. Once we got the vehicle pulled apart, we realized there was an OEM infinite baffle subwoofer location behind the rear seat, that would need very minimal modification to fit a JL Audio infinite baffle sub.
You may be asking why I am specifically saying “infinite baffle” subwoofer in this build, and you may also be wondering what exactly infinite baffle means. An infinite baffle subwoofer is a subwoofer that does not require an enclosure to produce bass effectively. In this application we are essentially using the trunk as the enclosure for the subwoofer; however, the infinite baffle application is more popular in home audio applications, and fairly common in marine audio (boats). It really comes down to the fact that most vehicles do not have a location that would be able to use the trunk as the enclosure, while also clearing the back seats. When we saw the hole for an IB subwoofer, we decided to call an audible and use our customer’s money most effectively. This was a slight gamble, because if the subwoofer did not sound great, we would have ended up taking it out and going back to the original plan. We’re not even going to let our client here the sub if we did not feel confident that it would meet the expectations given.
We had to slightly modify the sides of the OEM location in order for the subwoofer to properly fit, and then we completely sound dampened the wall using Sound Shield to provide a solid surface for the subwoofer to play on. We also wanted to reduce the chance of rattles throughout the vehicle, not just on the back wall, by limiting the amount of energy being transferred throughout the vehicle from the new subwoofer.
Bottom line on the subwoofer, we were blown away by the amount of output it provides, but also with how low the subwoofer was able to dig. It truly sounded like more bass than a single 10” sub would typically provide in a vehicle, much less a convertible! If you are considering an upgrade in your Saab 9-3, I would highly recommend considering the IB subwoofer route.
Added a full radar and laser defense system – This is a fun car to drive and the customer wanted to ensure he would be able to enjoy driving it without worrying about police around every corner. We installed the K40 360 radar and laser defense system. This system provides advance warning for radar, as far as miles away. The system more importantly provides full protection against laser, which is what police are using when you see them pointing a gun at cars to get speed.
I say more importantly because laser gun gives the officer an immediate reading, but also they are focused in on your vehicle only when you are getting hit with the laser. Laser is dependent on the officer hitting a flat surface on the vehicle (typically license plate) in order for the signal to bounce back to the officer accurately. The K40 system replicates the officer hitting the hood or windshield of the vehicle while you are slowing down, and then the shifters clear and the officer is able to get a clean reading on your vehicle after you slow down to the speed limit. The system allows you to set time limits for shifting, or to automatically not shift at a certain speed and below. Check out K40’s website for more information, they have some great literature on radar and laser detection in general. Best thing about the K40 360 system is that they’ll pay all of your speeding tickets for the first year of owning the system!
HOW?
Elevated Audio is known first and foremost for our customer’s overall experience from beginning to end. Winning the North American 2018-2019 Customer Choice Award in the 12-volt industry-validated our commitment to provide trusted interactions between our store in Denver and our customers.
We are using some great equipment in this install so it would be a shame to perform a bad install. Good thing we have a North American Top 12 Installer on our team!
Here’s how we performed the installation.
WIRING
The signal was found at the factory radio. We did not replace the radio in this vehicle because the customer wanted to keep a clean, factory look. Luckily we are typically able to clean-up most factory signal issues within the DSP tuning program. This vehicle was slightly different though, the factory signal was doing some odd things to the imaging, so we added a direct streaming option. I’ll go more into detail on how we added the direct streaming option below.
Power is supplied to the amplifiers utilizing our four gauge pure copper wiring. Never use copper clad aluminum (CCA) if you want the best current flow!
MOUNTING AMPLIFIERS
There was not a good location to mount the amplifiers inside the vehicle, so we decided the trunk was going to be the best location. We built a custom amp rack for the two JL Audio amplifiers, as well as the VXi-Hub and the Mosconi direct Bluetooth streaming module. The result was a clean and tidy install that still showed-off the two sexy amplifiers!
All wiring is wrapped in Tesa tape for a factory look and feel. The wiring routes in factory channels throughout the vehicle and is not merely “tucked” under panels, which always find a way to wiggle out after a few months. It’s our goal to make it hard to differentiate factory wiring from aftermarket.
DSP TUNING
Since the JL Audio VXi amplifiers have the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) integrated, this allows us to modify the whole audio experience. We set a microphone in the vehicle to capture the pre-tuned sound. We use this data to offset any peaks and valleys in the acoustic response to meet a particular response curve that our ears love. This creates music that sounds like the artist intended it to sound.
Another powerful tool in the DSP is the ability to time the sound. We measure the distance from each speaker to determine the firing order of the speakers. This process allows them to all hit your ears at the same exact time.
This process, along with level matching, allows a stage and image to be created on top of your dash. Now our customer can hear and imagine the artist and their band playing on top of his dash.
We programmed a few different tunes on this system for a few different reasons. First, we needed a separate tune for using the factory head unit so the customer could use his factory cd player and AM/FM radio still. Next, we needed our main tunes for the Mosconi direct Bluetooth streaming module so that we could create an accurate image, without combatting the factory EQ settings that we could not get around. Lastly, we wanted to give him a tune for top-down driving that was more focused on providing as much clean volume as the system would allow, rather than focusing on the details and subtleties of the music.
LEVEL CONTROLLER
The DRC-205 controller is flush-mounted for easy access and a clean look. This knob allows the customer to control the subwoofer level independently, but also the volume of the entire system when he is using the direct streaming options to the amps. Lastly, since we were providing multiple tunes on the DSP, this knob has a color changing light that indicates which tune is active. The lights on this knob are programmable, which means the customer can choose their favorite color of illumination.
SPEAKERS
Speaker plates were manufactured to allow for proper clearance of speakers and to allow them to sit perfectly against the door panel. Fast Rings foam baffles create a seal against the door to ensure the midbass does not get trapped in the panel, causing unnecessary rattles and loss of clarity.
Speaker wiring is soldered directly to the JL Audio and BLAM speaker terminals, eliminating any connectivity issues later.
As mentioned before, we decided to mix and match speaker brands on this build in order to get the most power from our dual-amp setup. We opted to use the JL Audio C7 6.5” woofer in the doors because they provide fantastic sound quality and can handle a lot of power. In the dash, we used the BLAM Signature 3.5” high-efficiency driver and 1” high-resolution tweeter. Remember, we are tuning everything through the DSP for accuracy, so the fact that we used different brands of speakers will not throw off the way the system sounds. .
SOUND DEADENING
While you’re performing any upgrade to your sound, it is crucial to slow down the transfer of energy throughout the door panel and to cut down the external road noise. At Elevated Audio, we use Sound Shield premium sound deadening to achieve both results. We sound dampened the front two doors with full coverage, which is 11 square-feet per door. We also dampened the back wall where the IB subwoofer is located.
SUBWOOFER
We used a JL Audio marine subwoofer in the back wall, mainly because we have used this woofer in the past for infinite baffle setups and it always sounds great. We used the JL Audio M10IB5 and we were extremely pleased with the results!
MOSCONI AMAS-96K DIRECT BLUETOOTH STREAMING MODULE
As mentioned before, we wanted a way for the customer to stream music directly to the amplifiers through Bluetooth, so we could provide a better image on the front stage. Since we were using the factory radio, there were restrictions to how great we were able to make the system image. Being that the factory system was a high-end system in 2006, there were certain EQ functions that we were not able to undo. We have used this Mosconi Bluetooth streaming module in the past a few times and we are always pleased with the results, and most importantly the part is reliable.
You may be asking how a Bluetooth streaming module can sound good since Bluetooth compresses music. That is why we love using this piece, because it supports high-resolution audio streaming up to 24-bit, at 96 kHz audio data format. This Mosconi piece supports A2DP and Bluetooth 5.0, and it also has a built-in high-quality DAC (Digital Analog Convertor). We used an Audioquest Cinnamon Optical cable to connect the Mosconi Bluetooth module to the JL Audio amplifiers. This is a fantastic piece to use if you need to stream Bluetooth in high-resolution.
RADAR AND LASER DEFENSE SYSTEM
The client wanted to be able to enjoy driving the vehicle without worrying, so we installed a K40 system that provides full protection against radar and laser. Sure, the cost of one speeding ticket is not massive; however, if you have multiple vehicles, the insurance costs from speeding tickets will stack-up over time.
The K40 system provides full protection against radar and laser, and the best part is that the system is completely stealth and inconspicuous. All of the radar and laser sensors are hidden in the bumper, and the system uses two discrete LEDs and a hidden speaker to notify you when you are being hit. Perhaps the best part about the K40 system is that they’ll pay your speeding tickets for the first year of owning the system. They want to ensure the system is installed correctly and being used correctly. A radar detector is a tool to use while driving, not an invisible cloak.
THE RESULT!
This system build was a lot of fun because of how unconventional it was, but also because of how fantastic the end result was in terms of audio quality and imaging. It’s not often that we are able to do an IB subwoofer in a vehicle, and this one may have been the best sounding one that I’ve ever personally heard. We were extremely excited to deliver the vehicle to the client and he loved it more than we did!
Now he has the ability to cruise through the mountains with the top down, the sound system pumping, and have full confidence his K40 system is going to protect him from police officers trying to take his money!
Please contact us for your own system design consultation because, while this is an AMAZING setup, it may not be what you need. We tailor each build to our customer’s needs and expectations, so we must build something special just for you.
Music. It’s What Moves Us.
-Elevated Audio
