I think having speakers being of the same manufacturer is more important that being the same model. At least that is the way I was always told (in regards to home theater). Not sure if this line of thinking is prevalent in the car audio world.

 

Looks great!!!
Car audio is all up to your personal likes. Manufactures would tell you to just use there product. Honestly since all you speekers are from the same manuf. I wouldn't worry at all. There probably isn't a person out there that would notice a difference in those speekers front from rear in sound. You lucky they gave you the upgrade for no extra cost. Just keep what you have and enjoy.

 

I fully agree with this. And yes, your setup does look great. Guessing that the sub enclosure is 'glassed?

 

First of all, nice sub enclosure! That's what I'm aiming to do with mine eventually.

As far as the speakers, you should be fine, they are both the same manufacturer. I would ask him to put the better set in the front, since that is your main sound stage. The rears are more for fill, you won't be noticing fine nuances from speakers that are firing behind your seat. That is why most people put components in the front and coax in the rear... or no rears at all!

With your amps being under the spare tire cover, I would just try it for a while. The worst thing that will happen is they will overheat, go into protect mode, and cease output until they cool. You can always ventilate them later. Before the A3, I had an SUV with two 12's in the hatch and a false floor with two Infinity amps (a 1200w 2 channel and a 500w 6 channel). There were a few particularly hot days (95+ F) when I would have the windows down and the A/C off and the 6 channel would overheat. However, it only happened after running the amp hard (drowning out 80 MPH wind) for 3 continuous hours or more. Those amps had approx. the same airspace as what you're working with, maybe a bit more, and very minor ventilation-- basically a 3" slot on each side. In fact, I'm kind of surprised there is that much room over the spare. How hard is it going to be to get that spare out if you need it?

 

n/t

 

You should get a single din adapter with cubby space underneath.
IMHO, it does not look good at all to have that floating in the middle like that.
I like that amp rack though, pretty clean looking.

 

I got to hear the sytem finally and the K2P sound different than the KPS. They use the same tweeter but the crossover is different. The KPS are much brighter. I had to set the KPS at -6db to make them sound similar to the K2P. The head unit( i decided to get the 9887) has a built in equalizer but I am not sure if I can change the frequency for just the front speakers. I decided to leave the KPS at only -3 db since I know some songs can use the extra bright sound of these. I found that by adjusting the fader to the rear just a wee bit that it seems to blend very well on the songs that are too bright for the KPS. One other thing I haven't tried yet, is that I can set the gain on my DLS amp so that the rear speakers receive more power. That should also help make them sound more like the front. It could just be the K2P require more power and the amp was set for middle gain on front and rear. Seems like a great setup and I am extremely pleased.

There might be a problem with the sub enclosure. He made it 0.9 C.F. and the spec says 0.625 C.F. This is my first subwoofer so I am not sure what that does to have too large of an enclosure. I like a tight bass sound, whcih this sub seems to have , but on some songs it really booms. I wonder if the enclosure(fibreglass sealed) size affects the tightness of the sound?

I tested my ipod and it sounded very good on this system. I was expecting to hear a drop in quality using the ipod but it was really good! I wonder if its the Brown Burr DAC making it sound good?

Head unit can be changed to red/green/blue/amber. It actually looked good with the blue contrasting with the red. I kind of liked it. But I am glad I can switch it to red though if I get tired of blue.

The Blue tooth in the head unit works real well on the receiving end. The instaler called me from the car and I could hear him very well. He said he could hear me very well too.

I am disappointed that the sterrign wheel controls do not work. Alpine claims it can work with a special device but the installer said he tried the decice from PAC and it wouldnt work. I will call PAC and Alpine to see what's up. I really hate having useless buttons on my wheel.

The head unit single DIN by scosche was a shiny black and didnt match the flat black. Also, the fit was not perfect. I cant find a maker so I am going to ask him to try and paint it to match . The bottom of the DIn part edge is very thin and it is already warping upward about 1/8 " Cheap part. Wish I could find a better part online somewhere, anyone know of one?

I appreciate everyones comments! Thanks!

 

Glad to hear it's all done, sounds like it should be a nice setup!

From my experience, having a smaller volume in the sub enclosure will make the bass sound tighter, but you will lose some 'oomph.' Pretty much what you've already deducted. The difference in volume shouldn't adversely affect the sub's operation or lifespan though. I'm not really sure if fiberglass vs. wood makes any difference in sound production. Theoretically, it shouldn't, but I know some real hard-core audiophiles that swear by certain types of wood for richer sound. Just a thought, is the 0.9 ft/3 volume without the sub? Keep in mind that the sub itself is going to displace some of that volume. When I built my first sub box, I built it to spec without considering that fact. It did sound nice and tight, but the really drawn out low notes sounded flat. I'd say your enclosure should be just about right. I've always wondered how they measure the displacement of a fiberglass box when they are shaped irregularly...

Glad you like the 9887, it is a nice unit. The Burr Brown DAC definitely produces a nice, clean sound, but I think it only comes into play when you're listening to a CD. The Alpine Full Speed connection uses the analog line out directly from the iPod. Basically, the iPod is decoding and playing the file, and routing it to the HU via analog signal. I don't think the 9887's DAC would be processing that audio. However, I used to have a 9855 with the old, slow, Ai-Net iPod connection (KCA-420i) which also uses the iPod's line out, and it sounded great to me. I think the fact that you are sending a good, clean signal to an amp and a nice set of speakers is the main factor.

If you are really unhappy with those useless buttons on your steering wheel, you can send it to me. I'll trade you a plain old steering wheel with no audio buttons

Dude, that Scosche dash kit should go in the garbage. Go to www.vagparts.com, they have an authentic, Audi made single DIN dash kit. It comes in a VW/Audi genuine parts box and has a VW/Audi part number stamped on it. I just got mine about two weeks ago and it is a perfect match to the factory color and texture, plus it is great build quality (no warping). It's a bit expensive, because they are priced in GBP (came out to about 35 USD shipped for mine) and it took about a week and a half to get here, but it really comletes the installation.

Hope that helps. Oh, and, [sm=ttiwwp.gif]