New stereo system

[perucho]

So I got my 92 GL Festy a couple weeks ago and the first thing was to replace the stock head unit. How can someone drive around with that? Anyway, I installed an Alpine iDA-X100 head unit that I had and left the stock speakers in place. I was going to replace them with 3.5" or 4" direct replacements but I have a set of Focal Polyglass 165VR3 3-way components (6.75" woofer, 4" midrange, and tweeter) for the front and a set of Focal polyglass 165CVX 6.75" 2-way speakers for the back. The Focals would sound way better than just 4" speakers and I already have them so no need to spend more money Anyway, I also have a 8" sub in a bazooka tube to fill the lower frequency gap. They will be powered by a 5-channel Eclipse amp. I'm thinking of building a rear tray and mounting the rear speakers there, the front mids in the stock location, woofers and tweeters on the door panels. Any ideas/comments on speaker location? I'll probably de-badge the speaker grills so that the Festy doesn't get broken in to steal the speakers.

[Damkid]

Umm where's the pics? :lol: sounds like a decent set up for sure

[perucho]

I'll take some photos tonight. It should sound good when it's done. The speakers were three times the price I paid for the car! The nice thing is that I used them in my other car so I already had them.

[Damkid]

one of my subwoofers cost me the same as one of my festivas but 15" solo barics aren't cheap either :evil4:

[milehighbear]

When i had the grey ghost up for sale, i took the radio out of it and put in the new one. So when i decided to keep the ghost, i had to find a radio. Went to flea market this weekend and found me an alpine for 25.00 and put it in and it sounds great. They are good radios. This one has a cd player in it so it cant be too old

[perucho]

^ $25, that's a great deal. Most Alpine's are really good. I don't love mine but the ipod interface is great and you can control it from the head unit. Doesn't have a cd player but I haven't used cd's on cars for a while now. I just wish the color was orange to match the early dash lights. Maybe I'll get rid of the Alpine and get a Nakamichi to match the color

[perucho]

Here's a picture of the Alpine head unit after replacing the steering wheel and the white gauge cluster:



Then I replaced the cluster for the orange one with a tach:



Here is a picture of the Focal 3-way component speakers that will go on the front of the car and the amp that will power them. I have to find the coaxials that will go on the back and I can't remember where I put them.

[CHills]

Fancy Steering wheel!
I like it.

[perucho]

Well, I had some free time today so I installed the rear speakers and the crossovers. The rears are Focal Polyglass 165 V2 2-way components. I still need to wire them but that's going to be very simple. I also started to look where I'm going to install the front speakers. The fronts are Focal Polyglass 165 V3 3-way components. The midrange speaker is 4" and fits perfectly in the stock speaker space. The woofer is 6.75" and fairly deep so it will need a spacer. The window crank was also in the way so I shortened it. The tweeter will go on the door too. I don't know where the front crossovers will go. Here are some pics of the progress:

Rear speakers:




Front mid-range (bad photo):



Front woofer location (and shorter window crank):



More or less where the tweeter will go:

[JPT]

How did you shorten the window crank and how well does it work now?

[perucho]

^ I cut it, rounded the end, and drilled a hole for the knob. Then the guide for the knob broke It worked okay for the 2 seconds it was in one piece. The window is very small and light so you don't need much mechanical advantage. I'm thinking of using an older VW or Volvo seat back recliner knob for the windows. It may take a bit longer to raise and lower the windows but at least I can have good speakers. Something like this:



Not my picture, but this is what I'm thinking of replacing the window crank with. Or maybe an electric motor?

[perucho]

Finally had some spare time and installed the front door speakers. These Focals sound awesome! If you get a chance to buy some, I highly recommend them. Anyway, I also put an 8" Kicker sub in a ported Bazooka tube and hooked it up to a Waves MaxxBass 103. That thing makes it sound like a much bigger sub, it's really amazing. I put an output remote up front to set the bass on the fly. The whole thing is amplified by a 5-channel Eclipse amp. Anyway, here are some pictures:

Front door speakers (Focal 165V3): One 6.75" woofer with 1" spacer, one tweeter, one 4"mid on the stock speaker location.



Closer to the door woofer. Had to cut the window crank to clear the speaker.



Crossovers for front speakers.



MaxxBass 103 unit.



Remote bass level control for the MaxxBass.

[FestYboy]

really when it comes to speakers that sound great right out of the box, you can't beat Focal. i blind tested them against MB Quart, Eclipse, Pioneer, and Rockford Fosgate, nothing comes close to their clarity and fullness (with NO eq involved).

they ARE worth the price, really.

[BP-Festiva]

i am so jealous, focals are quite possibly the best speakers on the market, i just wish i could afford some.

[FeistyFesti]

Thats some nice looking work you did, looks outstanding! I might do the door speakers in the near future.