[DaveNagy]

Like many others, I'm filling the empty months before my MSC arrives by dreaming up crazy schemes about what I'm going to do to the car after it finally gets here. There's the various painting schemes, the waxing strategies, and the wacky lightweight wheel gambits, but mostly I worry about what I'm going to do with the stereo system. Perhaps Harmon/Karden will finally ride to rescue, but right now I'm assuming that I'm going to have to do this the old fashion way. So without further ado, I give you...

----------Dave's Crazy ICE Proprosal------------

Head Unit This one's still up in the air. If somebody comes up with a clean way to control an aftermarket HU with the MF wheel, then I'll probably get a new unit that supports .mp3 playback. If not, then I'll just live with the stock HU. Which would be fine except for the lack of low-level outs. (dammit)

Front Speakers After randomly Googling around the net for a while, I ran across some nice reviews for "CDT Audio" brand speakers. They supposedly have great imaging, smoove highs, and stonking good mid-bass. And they're from Merry Olde England, which seems fitting. I'm thinking of splurging for the something in the High Definition line. Here's a place that sells them. It's a two-way component system that I hope will fit in the standard spots in the doors.

Back Speakers I couldn't care less what it sounds like in the back seat, so maybe I'll just leave the stock 6x9's in there. But, it would be kinda cool to stick some kind of mid-bass drivers (6.5" rounds?) back there. It wouldn't be the same as a real subwoofer, but it would sure be clean and stealthy. I'm kinda waiting to see if anyone succeeds in stuffing a legitimate woofer back there. (And does anyone know what the volume of the sealed space behind those speakers is?)

Subwoofer Assuming I don't come up with some way to use the 6x9 holes constructively, I think I'd like to throw a little 8" sub in the boot. By a weird coincidence, CDT also makes a couple Cast Alloy Minibox Subwoofers. "MINI box", get it? It's too perfect! Plus, again they're supposed to be a damn fine subwoofer that works best in a small (.3 cu. ft.) sealed box. Expensive though.

For the "MINI box" itself, I was thinking of going with this one, because it's cheap and tiny. Or maybe this other one because it's cool.

Amplification Let's see, the amp(s) need to be small, powerful, small, efficient so they don't overburden the already strained(?) alternator, and most of all, small. Hey, lookie here. There's a fine German amp that fills zee bill perfectly. The PA2150. The "PA" stands for "Plastic Amp", I kid you not. Take the plastic part off, and the things are tiny. 2" x 7" x 9". Mount'm anywhere. Under the dash, or back in the rear-fender-compartment-thingies. They don't need much ventilation, since they run so cool. Maybe I could even stick'em down in the battery well. If only the battery wasn't so big... Wait!

Battery I first read about these small "racing" batteries over on the "i-club" Subaru forum. They're small, light, and completely sealed so you can mount them any which way. The downside is that they don't like high under-hood temperatures, and they don't have as many "cold cranking amps" especially when it's freezing out. Well, I live in California, and the battery lives at the opposite end of the car from the hot engine compartment, so it's all good, baby. Even better, these types of batteries can discharge way faster than "regular" lead acid batteries over the short term. Just the thing for getting rid of the dimming headlight syndrome when the power-steering pump kicks in, or you're just kick'n some tunes.

And it turns out that they're pretty cheap if you know where to shop. Read all about it on this fine informational page: Dyna-Batt and Other Sealed Lead Acid Batteries

Anyway, with one of these babies you've lightened the car, freed up space in the back for other goodies, and just maybe, evened out the voltage levels a tab. I'm sold.

Well, that's my plan. At least this week. I anxiously await your comments and criticisms.

-Dave

[Dom]

Dom's quick notes:

Never heard of CDT

Replace the back speakers. It really makes a difference. 6.5" should fit, although may need some chopping, or creating a space of some kind. Shouldn't be difficult.

A power capacitor could save the need for a different battery.

I'm running the standard battery, and my lights don't dim at all, even with the engine off.

Dom

[DaveNagy]

Howdy, Dom.

Quote:

Never heard of CDT

No, I hadn't either, at least until I started my so called "research". I get the impression that they're a bit of a boutique brand. Not mass-market, audiophile pretensions, that sort of thing. They seem to always be mentioned in the car audio forums when somebody asks about the "best" SQ speakers out there. CDT certainly doesn't get mentioned as often as companies like Focal, MBQuart, Dynaudio and the like, but the people that have them seem to love them. Not sure why they've caught my fancy... Maybe because they're supposed to image very well even when installed in non-perfect positions.

For whatever it's worth, here's the link to CDT's "reviews" page. I doubt they've posted any bad reviews however!

Quote:

A power capacitor could save the need for a different battery.

True. My thinking was that one of these sealed batteries would actually free up some space under the boot, while adding a stiffening cap would just take up more room. (Plus, I'm trying to come up with ways to lighten the car in general. But's that's another thread...)

Quote:

I'm running the standard battery, and my lights don't dim at all, even with the engine off.

That's good to hear. I'm sure that my modest audio system wouldn't tax the electrical system much either. I've heard people complaining that their headlights would dim whenever the power-steering pump went active. I assume this was when the engine was just idling along.

I poked around on a couple battery websites last night and they do indeed market these sealed batteries to people with "excessive sized" stereos. So much for me thinking I had come up with an original application! Here's an example. That "billet hold down" is super cool, but I wonder how much they want for it?

-Dave

[Dom]

My lights don't dim with the power steering either. Perhaps I've got a well behaved battery

I think as long as the good reviews for CDT are from popular magazines, they should be ok.

Of course, if you're trying to save space, then a power capacitor may defeat the object!

Dom

[Lewmar]

If you're looking for high end speakers and amps, try DIAMOND AUDIO- their M6 range have titanium cones which would perfectly match the dash on the s