e-man

First of all, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Darius, engin_ear, Percy and others. Without their experience, insight and support, I truly do not believe I could have completed this project. I also would like to thank Frank and the guys over at Tweeter in Vernon Hills, Illinois. If you're in the area and considering doing something like this, I HIGHLY recommend them. Frank was extremely helpful (this is an understatement) and was more interested in making me happy than making a sale (and that's really hard to find these days).

Now, here's my contribution to the site. The plan was to swap the stock Pioneer speakers for a set of Boston Acoustic SL60 6.5s. After many trials (and errors), I finally accomplished the task. However, it was no small feat, and here's why. For the most part, I followed Darius' lead on constructing the boards to mount the speakers (as opposed to cutting up the stock plastic speaker enclosures). However, I forgot to check one small but very important detail when installing the speakers. Once I had the driver's side woofer and tweeter all wired up, I figured I would mount the crossover inside the door (as Darius and others have done), and I'd be good to go. Big problem. The Boston crossovers are absolutely huge. I mean they're about double the size of the Polk crossovers and much bigger than other brands as well. There was absolutely nowhere to put them (and I tried everywhere).

Rather than bore you with the details, here are some pix of the final install. Anyone considering swapping their stock speakers for Boston Acoustics -- it can be done, but it just takes a little imagination. Oh, and by the way, they sound really good -- much more full, smooth, less shrill, and plenty of bass. The only downside is that they are a bit "bright," but that may be more of a problem with the signal the amp is feeding them as opposed to the sound they are capable of producing. The system isn't a 10 on a 0-10 scale. But if it was a 5 before (just adequate), it is now definitely a solid 7.5-8, and for a few hundred bucks, that's not a bad upgrade.

I'll be downloading a 5 or 6 pictures, so please don't respond to this thread until I'm done. Thanks again to everyone and if anyone has any questions, please feel free to PM me.

e-man

e-man

Here's the completed install:

e-man

Here's a picture of the board:

e-man

Here's a picture of the cutout for the crossover:

e-man

Here's the front of the board with the crossover mounted, facing inward:

e-man

Here's a picture of the back of the board with the guts of the crossover exposed:

e-man

To protect the crossover, I covered it with electrical tape once it was mounted in the board and all the wires were connected:

e-man

Crossover completely covered with electrical tape:

e-man

Here's the finished board, with the speaker and crossover mounted to it. You wouldn't even know the crossover was there:

e-man

By the way, I forgot to mention that I am running the speakers off of the stock Pioneer amp (which I believe is 215 watts). One of my main concerns is that the speakers would be underpowered. Well, let's just say that if they are underpowered, I am not enough of an audiophile to know the difference. They sound great. I can turn the volume **** to the maximum setting and there is no distortion whatsoever. Please feel free to PM me with any questions. I received a lot of help from fellow CL members and I would be happy to return the favor to anyone who needs it.

e-man

PHML

iTrader: (33)

e-man....

Great writeup and pics. One day I will prolly need ur assistance in this mod.

Pete

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Nice pics, e-man. I especially like your mounting of the crossover, nice idea. One suggestion though, the use of electrical tape to cover it is not likely to hold up over the long haul. Electrical tape adhesive tends to deteriorate over time, especially when subjected to hot/cold temp swings and extremes. A different way to do the same thing would be to use a piece of either solid or perforated material (not cloth material) to cover the crossover, and attach it with glue/staples/screws, etc. If your crossover does not get warm and needs no airflow, you could cover it with a piece of Dynamat Extreme, for example. Point is, I just wouldn't trust the electrical tape to still be on there after a year, especially if it was stretched at all when putting it on. (I've had this happen to me TOO many times... )

e-man

Thanks, engin_ear. Good call on the electrical tape. I e-mailed Boston Acoustics to ask them a question about one of the adjustments on the crossovers. When they saw my set up, they highly recommended that I remove the electrical tape. Apparently, the crossovers heat up during use and, over time, it will destroy the adhesive on the tape. Also, the crossovers need to be able to breathe, and the electrical tape won't allow them to do that. So, the tape is coming off and I am cutting a small hole in the headliner foam on the back of the board so the crossover will be able to breathe. I think I may also install a metal bracket across the bottom of the crossover (which is on the front of the mdf board) to make sure that it doesn't pop out if someone slams the door (it's just pressure mounted now).

e-man

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

One thing you can do to affix the crossover to the panel is to drill hole(s) on either side of it and run a wire-tie or two around it. Easy.

TwentyTen

Great job Eric,

That was genius with the crossover! I was just at the fabric store today picking up poster board and saw a perforated platic sheet that about 8.5 x 11 inches and thought " That would be great to install over my amps so they can breath. It would also work with your crossovers.

I think covering it woth the headliner and cutting slits, using wire like engin_ear said, or the metal plate would work too. I never though about slamming the door.

Great photos too.