Does anyone know what those things are on the floor...speakers maybe?

 

That area is called the kick panel technically. The speakers were placed there for sound quality reasons. In my old Bonneville I had my midrange speakers in the "kicks" and tweeters up at the base of the "A" Pillars- Lexus, does midrange in the doors, and tweets in the dash at the corners.

Here's the point: In an ideal setup for sound quality, you would have equal path lengths from the speakers to the ears. for example, for best sound, you sit in the middle of the movie theater... In a car this is difficult, because you sit on one side or the other. But, consider this- and this is exaggerated for emphasis. While in the drivers seat, the distance from your head to the left speaker in the door is 3'. The distance to the right speaker in the right door is 6'= a difference of 3'. But, if you can move both of the speakers farther away from you, this happens: From your head to the left speaker in the kick panel is 5', to the right kick panel is 7'= a difference of 2'. That's a lot better, and theoretically, it places you closer to the center of the car (or listening area).

Furthermore, for ideal sound quality setups, less is more. When I used to compete, I had just 5 speakers. The two mids, two tweeters, and a single sub in the trunk. That, combined with high quality components, and proper placement and aiming for an ideal "sound stage" results in a fabulous listening environment.

side note: sound quality cars rarely, if ever, have rear speakers. most cars put small speakers in the front, and 6X9's in the back. uh.... when you go to a concert, where does the sound come from? the stage or the back doors? just seems asinine to have sound from the rear... The sub is a different situation, ideally yes, put it in front as well, but most cars can't accommodate it (other than like a Porsche... which has been done many times), but since space is usually an issue with subs, the trunk works fine since bass is non directional anyway- set up right, you shouldn't perceive the sub behind you anyway.

jeff

 

what is that screen inside the sunglasses holder up top? and whats the point in putting a head unit where the 6 disc in dash changer used to be if you have a navi car?

 

I was thinking of doing the same, maybe adding an aftermarket HU with for a USB plug in. He probably added that so he can use it with his ipod.

The sunglass holder could be a DSP EQ. I had one in my GS:

 

The head unit up above is a Pioneer Premier unit- and a nice one at that. Here's why he did all that: The ML system, and Navi... is so stinkin intricate, you don't wanna mess with it. So, This guy built himself a completely stand alone audio system. New source unit, new speakers (in new locations- note the new tweeters in the A pillars) obviously new amps and sub(s) in the trunk. He has a competition sound system that is totally removable with no negative effects later on. I've actually seen stuff done to this level on Leased cars- and when its pulled out- no trace it was there...

For what its worth... I know the components of the ML system are expensive... but I'm not impressed at all with the sound quality of the system. For about $2k, a system could be built and installed and sound MUCH better than the factory system... If i didn't have the Navi joined with the head unit, it'd be out of there in a second...

 

Thanks for the explanation

 

That's interesting. Those would be in my way though.

 

If you get the JBL MS-8 (when it comes out), you won't need to put those speakers in the kickpanels to get good sound or imaging.