[Johnen]

hi guys, i'm a real newbie at this. :dur:

My intentions are to install infinity reference speakers(not components) at the front. and amp all four speakers. 2006S sedan. i have 6 speakers, none bose system. i may install rear aftermarket speakers but at this time i'm not sure. Thats about it no intentions of sub.

i have gone through many post and pretty much have an idea how to install the front speakers. i also know that i have to get a navone LOC(4 channel). i intend to install the amp below the passenger front seat.

My question is, :?:

1) does anyone have a walkthrough with pictures to installing an amp under passenger front seat
2) how is all the wiring one on the LOC to the amp and the amp to the speaker wires?
3) how do you run wires? i mean rca and speaker wires( by speaker wires i think i mean wires that go from the amp back to the headunit)
4) how do u ground the amp if i install it under the seat, do i also need to install it atop of a piece of plywood? :klavergreg: :klavergreg:

i seen post that run the wire from the glove box down the carpet and then through the passenger side sills, but i'm not sure. pleaes correct me if i am wrong

i might be wrong but it seems like the RCA cable run from the LOC to the amp. subsequently, the amp have some wires that run to the speakers. do these wires that run from the amp, go back to the wires that i splice for the LOC??


i'm think i'm absolute clueless how this should start. please help anyone. i'm really interested with this self install because i think it would greatly enhance my knowledge. please help fellow M3 owners

 

[bossboy]

best bet:
get a pro to do it. Ask if u can watch.,
OR have a friend that has done this before do it, and again, you watch/assist.

That is exactly how I learned.

 

[Johnen]

i know that route sounds cool but i have asked around my friends no one really knows. besides i wanna diy if i can. i kjust need the knowhow.

thanks for your reply though!

 

[Johnen]

if anyone is living in the 562/long beach CA area. Maybe we could meetup, You could show me your system and i could learn some tricks thanks

 

[geewhizbang]

Before you replace all 4 speakers, you would be better off just replacing the fronts with 2x more expensive speakers than what you are considering and leaving the rears turned off.

That's what I did. Rear speakers add a secondary point source for each channel that nearly completely collapses the stereo imaging. Good quality speakers like the infinity reference series will make this effect even worse, since the current speakers in back don't have a tweeter. The highs are even more noticeable when you have two sources for each channel, since they are even easier to localize than the mids and the bass. So even if the current system doesn't bother you with the rear speakers on, if you put tweeters back there, it will be very annoying to listen to.

Now if you are going full 5.1 surround-sound, the rear speakers should be good speakers too. But if you are doing stereo, it ALWAYS sounds better with a single good-quality woofer/tweeter per channel. Just leave the rears turned off.

With the excellent dispersion of my Focal Access 165a drivers, I don't even need to adjust the balance between left/right like I did on my older cars. Because the dispersion is so good, I get a stereo image, so the left channel does not sound louder than the right, even though I am much closer to it.

Other people will chime in and disgree with me as usual, but you can search for some of my past posts and I think I show very clearly that this is based on sound acoustical principles, with an accidental blind test to confirm this.

 

[hengsheng]

hi whizbang! did u use an amplifier to drive your focals? what kinda setup did u make? please share

 

[geewhizbang]

I am getting acceptable volume out of the Focals without an additional amplifier. I have gradually become convinced that either an ampflier or a new head unit for some additional headroom would be a an improvement.

But since the speakers and the head unit are pretty much independent of each other, there is little additional cost or work in replacing the speakers first, then replacing the head unit or adding an amplifier later.

In fact this is my order of priority:

1. Better speakers and door sound-deadening (but just the fronts only!). If you don't do lots of acoustamat (or equivalent) you will have vibration issues. About $350 installed. This is something most people can do themselves and save $100, though I recommend that they buy the $5.00 tool designed to slide under the plastic snaps. Definitely the biggest bang for the buck. See #4 below as well, because it would be good to do both of these at the same time.

2. Add a good sub. I now have a 12" 14 mm xMax sub in the back. A 10" sub with the same xMax would probably be just about as good, since this one is loafing. The system sounded good without it but the kick-ass bass sure is a heck of a lot of fun. Almost as good bang for the buck as #1, but would be rather pointless if you didn't do #1 first. Some decent bass coming from the sub would only make the OEM speakers and their lack of crisp highs or decent midrange sound even worse. I built the sub, paid to have the wiring done, about $450 total and several hours of sub construction time.

3. Add more power to the fronts. I doubt that this is going to be quite as dramatic of an improvement, but it should help a bit. I doubt that it will be anywhere near as much bang for the buck as 1 or 2, but I will acknowledge that even with the high efficiency of the Focal Access 165A components, the head unit is somewhat strained. Unless someone can show a picture of a console adapter that looks good and a head unit with understated stying (most are gawdawful teenage kiddie garish), I will just add an amp and make do with the OEM head unit. I would like to have some equalization control and back down the high mids a bit. Instead, I could also add a 12 -30 ohm shunt to the crossover and tone down the upper mids by a couple of db.

4. Add some strengthening ribs or fiberglass to the door. If I had known what I do now, I would have done this along with #1. The interior door panel is rather flimsy and even with the acoustical damping mat, could really use some strengthening. I don't know if what I want to do will fit under the frame, however, until I open it up. I am waiting for warmer weather for this. This will be almost as good as #3, and it could be cheaper, since I will do it myself.

 

[operator]

Johnen
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=2117.0
That should help out a great deal. And there are alot of walk-throughs in this section: http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?board=973.0

 

[Johnen]

basically i have a better idea after going through the posts.
In particular this post helped me alot to understand how to pull the power from the battery to the amplifier. i guess i almost good to go. this walkthrough by autoexer showed actual pictures of where to pull the wire through the so called firewall. and subsequently line the power wire through the side sills and under the passenger seat.

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=27267.0

 

[ambiguity]

The only thing I would be most concerned about installing an amp where you can't have easy access to it (under the seat) is if you don't like what it's outputting. Then you have to struggle a little bit to turn the bass controls, frequency, etc til you get it to your liking.

 

[quiksilverx181]

johnen i live in irvine... if u really need help u can come down and i can show you what to do...

 

[hengsheng]

yes i would very much like to have your opinion and advice. when would it be good for you to meet up?

i'm free this friday and saturday. How does that sound ?

 

[Johnen]

hengsheng and i are neighbors and fellow mazda3 drivers. We would like to meet u soon.