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Audio Nightmare Rebuild

Discussion in 'Audio & Video' started by drumzdj, Feb 25, 2021.

  1. Feb 25, 2021 at 7:21 AM
    #1
    drumzdj

    drumzdj [OP] New Member

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    I had a local shop here in Tucson do my initial stereo build. I did my due diligence. Got multiple quotes, checked out shops in person and read countless reviews. I felt like I found the perfect place to get my truck done. I was terribly wrong. Here are a couple highlights

    - Broken trim plate for the headunit
    - Used aluminum speaker wire instead of copper
    - Grounded the sub amp to a partially painted part of the truck. Sub amp would cut out
    - Headunit would shut off and restart on it's own
    - Cut through the antenna cable and "reconnected" it
    - Used scraps of sound mat instead of full sheets
    - Speaker "pods" were drilled into the door panels with roofing screws.
    - Said they used a idatata link for my steering wheel but used some cheep crutchfield one instead
    - Alarm would lose connection with remote. Would have to bypass alarm to get it started

    I'm sure I'm missing some stuff but basically a complete disaster. Truck looked good/sounded good at first but over the the first 6 months or so it started to slowly fall apart.

    IMG_7500.jpg IMG_7579.jpg IMG_7577.jpg IMG_7578.jpg IMG_7569.jpg IMG_7568.jpg IMG_7571.jpg IMG_7567.jpg IMG_7570.jpg IMG_7572.jpg IMG_7582.jpg IMG_7584.jpg IMG_7580.jpg IMG_7502.jpg IMG_7501.jpg IMG_7840.jpg IMG_7828.jpg IMG_7842.jpg
     

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    Last edited: Feb 25, 2021
    Rica25 likes this.
  2. Feb 25, 2021 at 7:21 AM
    #2
    drumzdj

    drumzdj [OP] New Member

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    Part 2 the rebuild

    Took the truck to James Scheppelmann at Kartunes in Tempe, AZ. James specializes in Toyotas and has worked on a ton of Tundras, Tacomas and 4Runners. Obviously hindsight is 20/20 but wish he would of handled it from the get go.

    We basically started from scratch and ripped out everything except the shoddy sound mat.

    NEW EQUIPMENT

    Compustar alarm w/ remote start
    Kenwood DMX 907S
    Focal PS165FX Flax 6.5" 2 ways x 2
    JL XD600/1
    JL VX600/6i
    Digital Knob for FIX
    JL 10TW3 x2
    Mesa Mat x 15
    New door panels from Toyota

    IMG_7566.jpg IMG_7826.jpg IMG_7830.jpg IMG_7855.jpg IMG_7859.jpg IMG_7824.jpg IMG_7849.jpg IMG_7844.jpg IMG_7846.jpg IMG_7834.jpg IMG_7823.jpg IMG_7832.jpg IMG_7857.jpg IMG_7848.jpg IMG_7835.jpg IMG_7839.jpg IMG_7890.jpg IMG_7888.jpg

     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2021
  3. Feb 25, 2021 at 7:49 AM
    #3
    SouthWestGA

    SouthWestGA New Member

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    Did you pay with a credit or debit card? I would initiate a chargeback and begin negotiations
     
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  4. Feb 25, 2021 at 7:50 AM
    #4
    drumzdj

    drumzdj [OP] New Member

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    Stereo was built in 2018. It was half credit half cash. I did get a portion of the charge on the credit card back.
     
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  5. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:34 AM
    #5
    drumzdj

    drumzdj [OP] New Member

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    The rebuild exceeded my expectations. The DSP built into the VX series amps is worth it's weight in gold. Love having the fix knob to be able to move through audio profiles with ease. Also having the bass knob integrated is a huge plus when I have my youngest in the truck. It's clear, loud and I can't help from grinning ear to ear at times. Sucks the first setup was basically a complete wash but very glad where we ended up.
     
  6. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:39 AM
    #6
    PWMDMD

    PWMDMD New Member

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    Lots of losers in that industry. I did my due diligence too and finally decided to do it myself. Having zero experience in audio installation, between this site and YouTube videos, it isn’t rocket science. If it was my profession, I’d be good at it because I’d take it seriously. When I watch some of these guys on YouTube, it’s clear many are really bright guys who take it seriously and have a compulsive need to not cut corners. The good ones would be good at anything they chose to do for a living. Unfortunately, most people are by definition average and not exceptional. Sorry you had to deal with that installer.
     
  7. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:46 AM
    #7
    drumzdj

    drumzdj [OP] New Member

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    I think the guy was good at some point, maybe he just stopped taking pride in his work.
     
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  8. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:49 AM
    #8
    PWMDMD

    PWMDMD New Member

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    Yup...it’s that compulsive need to do it right, every time, no matter what, that separates the ok from the great.
     
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  9. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:54 AM
    #9
    Roborob70

    Roborob70 New Member

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    Sorry to say, but you already know....DIY Thay way you know its done right!!!!
     
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  10. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:56 AM
    #10
    drumzdj

    drumzdj [OP] New Member

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    Who's got time for that shit man? I work way too much to try to make that happen. Maybe in my 20's, not my 30's.
     
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  11. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:58 AM
    #11
    Roborob70

    Roborob70 New Member

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    You gotta make the time...not much difference between your 20's and your 30's wait till your in your 50's....its all downhill after your 40's LOL
     
  12. Feb 25, 2021 at 9:06 AM
    #12
    SouthWestGA

    SouthWestGA New Member

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    And my wife wants me to let Best Buy install Kenwood head unit haha
     
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  13. Feb 25, 2021 at 9:11 AM
    #13
    Danimal86

    Danimal86 Looks clean even when its dirty!

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    good lord. Call the shop out so no one goes there. Thats horrible!

    Why did they cut a hole in your door panel grills?
     
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  14. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:01 PM
    #14
    jwatt

    jwatt I heart men

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    That would piss me off. It took quite a while, but between a half inch spacer, a pair of wire cutters to cut out the grill webbing on the inside of the panel, and a heat gun and a basket ball I managed to make roor for some pretty thick speakers.
     
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  15. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:40 PM
    #15
    Toyotoholic

    Toyotoholic -4Life-

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    I cut out my door panels too, they are horribly thick and not open enough for a speaker grille. But I also built pods that bolted through the metal of the door frame and not to the panel! Lol that's terrible! So I think the concept started off good but turned to shite quickly. It can be done right, (but it takes 4 X longer) and then it could be done like this shop did... Yikes. Glad the OP found a good solution.
     
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  16. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:46 PM
    #16
    preacher35

    preacher35 RIGHTEOUS MEMBER

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    Hey, I'm 51 and I do all of my own work. I did a complete factory stereo gutting and new install. Call me cynical, but I just do not trust anybody to take the time to do it right and not cut any corners. It was a ton of tedious work, but the payoff is my system rocks and I know I will have ZERO issues with it.
     
  17. Feb 25, 2021 at 8:50 PM
    #17
    preacher35

    preacher35 RIGHTEOUS MEMBER

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    You're not the first poor soul to come on here with a "professionally" installed disaster. I think we had another member a couple of weeks ago post pics of his new system installed by somebody local and it was a hodge-podge of wires all spliced together with zero effort put into making it actually sound good. Glad to see that you got it sorted!
     
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  18. Feb 25, 2021 at 11:11 PM
    #18
    Roborob70

    Roborob70 New Member

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    I'm 50 and do all my stereo installs myself, been doing them since I've been a kid. I'm the same way when it comes to doing it right the first time as well. Very few people take pride in their work anymore. Regardless of job, whether its digging a ditch or doing stereo installs i take pride in my work!! It wasn't a slam on older people. I just don't think he should of been complaining in his 30's. I work 60 hours a week and stilll manage to get done what needs to be done.
     
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  19. Mar 7, 2021 at 8:05 PM
    #19
    Vector W8

    Vector W8 Old guy with a lot of expensive habits.

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    Wow, that is unreal. There are some bad shops then there are some really bad shops. That one was a chop shop.
     
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  20. Mar 7, 2021 at 8:18 PM
    #20
    Rica25

    Rica25 Got Bam? IG ......@TNDRA08

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    I agree I'm 38 and work 60 hrs. But I hate paying for shit. Soni do the work my self. So that way if something goes wrong I'm the only one to blame. But I do understand there is people that do not know how or want to learn on how to be handy. Example right now me and my neighbor will be installing on a 2018 Crewmax Tundra one 10 inch Kicker 44cvx102, infinity kappa 6.5 on all four door and a Audiopipe or skar audio amp mono amp. Also dynamat all four doors as well as the whole back behind the sub box. I told my buddy that's the owner of the truck he is 25 yrs old but does not know anything about mechanical or anything besides gaming. I told him that I would help him do the door speakers so he can learn. His response was heck no I will mess it up some how I don't want to learn.
     
  21. Mar 7, 2021 at 8:44 PM
    #21
    jwatt

    jwatt I heart men

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    I thought about a pod for the door panels, but have since decided the a pillars are a better choice. I might try something like the video below next summer.
     
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  22. Mar 7, 2021 at 10:54 PM
    #22
    Toyotoholic

    Toyotoholic -4Life-

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    I've built similar pods for different applications, but I found that the tweeter needed to be the further away speaker to sound right when both mids and tweets went into the a pillar, which sounds better but doesn't look as clean. Also, the mid needs to be a soft some type driver (does not need airspace) vs a diaphragm driver that moves air (albeit a small amount, the pillar does not provide this adequately). Lastly a multichannel DSP that gives you independent mid and tweet time alignment is critical. This is all assuming that you are running a 3-way active or multi wired front setup to give you the separate control.
    A-pillar pods are great but they need more than to just be fabricated, they need to be engineered. Take your time, be patient and do a lot of testing with positioning them BEFORE you start. You only want to build them once! Good luck.
     
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  23. Mar 7, 2021 at 11:58 PM
    #23
    jwatt

    jwatt I heart men

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    Tweeters are easy to move around compared the the mids. IMO the stock location of the mids are crap. Stock locations places the best sounds on axis and at your feet, and a person needs to lean forward to really hear what they re missing. I suppose if they were mounted a foot or so higher it would be much better sound but the way it is now the front seats block a significant amount of the lower frequencies. The a pillars should solve the off axis problem with the mids. My thoughts about the a pillar was a mid bass, and a wide range mid/tweeter. The actual tweeters will be in the sail panels. They have plenty of mounting pods around to keep the tweeters on axis as well.
     
  24. Mar 8, 2021 at 4:13 AM
    #24
    619Tundra

    619Tundra New Member

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    The stock location of the mids should be good. The sound reflects off the windshield. You can do time alignment and you should be good. What driver are you using?
     
  25. Mar 8, 2021 at 5:18 AM
    #25
    jwatt

    jwatt I heart men

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    I just pulled out a rain damaged mid from the passenger door. They were cdt ES06 s. They were supposed to last untiI I got the system built, and swap em out for Rainbow GL6.2 woofer and tweeter to match my 4ch amp, but since then I decided to go 3 way instead of 2, and throw in a set of cdt Unity 8.0 wide range drivers. I ve heard a lot of good things about unity drivers.
     
  26. Mar 8, 2021 at 5:22 AM
    #26
    619Tundra

    619Tundra New Member

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    I've never heard of Unity.
     
  27. Mar 8, 2021 at 5:30 AM
    #27
    619Tundra

    619Tundra New Member

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    How about Audiofrog GB25?
     
  28. Mar 8, 2021 at 6:01 AM
    #28
    jwatt

    jwatt I heart men

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    At $450.00 they better be good. New unities are $300.00 which is better, but still a lot. There are some differences between the two. The audio frogs have a better sensitivity rating, but they handle less power than the unities. If I win the lottery I will try them, but for now I ll stick with the Unities. One thing about the unities that makes me wonder; frequency response is 200hz to 33khz, and humans can t hear sound past 20khz. CDT states even though you can t hear it the unheard sound actually inhibits the surrounding sound you can hear. How they could know that is curious.
     
  29. Mar 8, 2021 at 7:18 AM
    #29
    619Tundra

    619Tundra New Member

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    Jeff Smith calls them the "Monster of a Driver". He's an industry leader in car audio for Amp Global. Been in the game for over 29 years and serves as a judge in car audio competition. He's got these on his own Toyota Camry. Check out 5 Star Car Stereo on YouTube featuring Jeff Smith. He goes over his recent build using Audiofrog Drivers.
     
  30. Mar 8, 2021 at 7:43 AM
    #30
    Roborob70

    Roborob70 New Member

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    So sad really, the lack of motivation the desire to learn. I always say" If you ain't fucking up shit you're not learning". Oh well, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink....
     

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