Stutopia Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Just over a month ago I had the stock stereo, amp and speakers replaced with Hertz HDP5 5-channel amplifier, Hertz HSK 165 Components (front), HCX 165 Coaxials (rear), a new Clarion 10" Sub - all wrapped up in lovely Dynamat. The sound was great, but I wasn’t entirely happy with the front speaker detail, it wasn’t a clear as I’d hoped for, so I asked for some advice on here. SpursMadDave alerted me to the fact that the front speaker grills are practically a solid lump of plastic and there was modifying scope there to let them breath. Having found a guide to remove the door card I finally got round to having a crack at the front speaker grills this week. Got my first look at the speakers and crossovers, once the cards were out, not bad if I do say so myself. Popped the grill out the card and found the source of the problem, exactly as SMD suggested, it’s a big old lump of solid plastic. A light application of Ryobi... ... to the affected area, problem solved. However, even the roughest of rough tough fellas can’t be happy with a finish like a dodgy Merc badge and some less than perfect lines. So I sourced some lily-white speaker grill cloth (in honour of SMD, and with me being a Spurs fan too, it made sense). The tricky bit here is fitting it to the grill, particularly with the pringle shape of it. Not being a seamstress myself I asked my old man’s special lady friend what she thought. In the end she decided some elastic thread cropping the cloth into small bunches round the back would cut down on needless material, be easy enough to remove in future if I wanted, and would give give a decent tight cloth finish on the front. She was dead right. After a bit of a faff and some minor alarm putting the door cards back, when the passenger window refused to budge, I got a finish I’m really pleased with. I’m sure the white won’t be to everyone’s taste but I’m hopeful they’ll be eye-catching enough to deter passengers from putting their foot through the weakened grill. It’s still rigid with 85% of it removed, which shows how serious the plastic they use is, and also the deadening effect it will have on sound above the bottom end. Now I’m not just a bass-line junkie, I can also keep it funky. Big shout to SMD for the tip on this, also the chap who did this (http://my350z.com/fo...ker-grills.html) which I’ve shamelessly copied. Well pleased with the new look, but more importantly I’ve finally found the new sound and hopefully I can get my door soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I liked all of that except the sp*rs part Very helpful chap is SMD :clap:Good job too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bounty Bar Kid Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I liked all of that except the sp*rs part Very helpful chap. SMD has the clap. Good job too. fixed that for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 bad man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I like the contrast, looks very tidy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Awesome work! Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuarty Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 That gear knob and boot reminds me of a baboon's genitalia that i witnessed on holiday last year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 That gear knob and boot reminds me of a baboon's genitalia that i witnessed on holiday last year!! So glad you said that, it's exactly the look I've been working towards! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 That gear knob and boot reminds me of a baboon's genitalia that i witnessed on holiday last year!! lol? Good job. Although personally i'd have still gone for something black as I don't think the speaker bits really get kicked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 I noticed a couple of scuff marks really close to the grills, but to be honest it was a toss up between white and red (in keeping with my gaiter) but I wasn't sure I could match the reds, so went contrast. Thanks for the +ve comments, it's my first proper mod. Gaiter & knob were all I've been brave enough to do myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete87 Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Looks tidy did cutting the plastic out improve the sound quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watshot Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 The reason Nissan left part of the cover filled in is because it is designed to fit cosmetically on the door card and isn't centered over the speaker. The speakers are offset behind it, the 'blocked' portion of the plastic doesn't sit over the speaker. Whether opening up the plastic has an effect or not I wouldn't know. Maybe removing the bulk of the grille has more affect than simply clearing the blocked part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) Very nice job mate I suppose I should really get mine done now especially as I have spare door cards anyway Is the sound quality that much cleaner, I would imagine the solid bit was bouncing a fair bit back around the door card Thanks for the kind words, glad it all went to plan! Edited April 13, 2013 by spursmaddave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 I wish I'd taken a photo of the lumps of plastic that were left on the table afterwards, loads of the stuff, and it's dense and thick. As Watshot points out the grill is offset from the speaker, so this isn't a silver bullett. When I had the card out and saw this, I did toy with some sort of bracket for the speaker to align it better, but decided against it. I gave her 20 minutes of a variety of styles of tunes yesterday, from some breaks (High Contrast) and grime (Dizzee) to Oldies (You Only Live Twice soundtrack) and some Yazz Flute (Bullitt title track). I am Steve McQueen. All were better, that means clearer for me not simply louder, and there was more sound. Vocals do benefit. I moved my fade back 1 notch after this, but will continue to adjust as I listen. I was very pleased, it definitely makes a difference IMHO, but having said that listening is a very subjective thing I've learnt. I've seen people swear they don't here the difference between an all in one home stereo Sanyo special, and a £5k separates system. Also some will always argue that you hear what you want, so you want it to be better after a mod/upgrade and convince yourself it is. I don't subscribe to that personally, I've seen people spend a grand on a home audio upgrade and freely admit they've gone backwards. If you're half interested in this, give it half a try. Without fully committing, all you need to do is take the grills out for a few days and leave the hole. Takes about 30 minutes for an amateur like me. You could probably get them out without removing the card, but I'm certain this will leave some marks on the grill and/or surround. It'll look tatty obviously, but gives you a chance to listen before hacking things up. If you don't notice any difference, just pop the full grill back in. When you feel the weight and see the volume of plastic in the grill, purely from a physics point of view, it simply must impede the movement of air. I'm off to Goodison today so will have a chance to listen for an extended period and report back. I'd love to hear what other people think if they go fully blown or just leave the grills out for a few days. One last thing to bear in mind, we're on about sound in a car. It is a fundamentally flawed place to listen to music. Beyond the engine noise, tyre roar, wind roar and exhaust note there are thousands of plastic and metal components which all want to resonate at different frequencies. To top it off the shape and size of the cabin is far from optimal with no natural baffles from the windscreen to the boot latch! Perfection is not achievable, but we can strive for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiingsi Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I'm off to Goodison today so will have a chance to listen for an extended period and report back. I'd love to hear what other people think if they go fully blown or just leave the grills out for a few days. One last thing to bear in mind, we're on about sound in a car. It is a fundamentally flawed place to listen to music. Beyond the engine noise, tyre roar, wind roar and exhaust note there are thousands of plastic and metal components which all want to resonate at different frequencies. To top it off the shape and size of the cabin is far from optimal with no natural baffles from the windscreen to the boot latch! Perfection is not achievable, but we can strive for it. Have you been taking lessons of Churchill? A very motivational speech haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Perfection not achievable? Speak for yourself 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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