JOey Knapp

New Ford Bronco Wildtrack Full Audio System Upgrade

August 12, 2022 By JOey Knapp

When this client approached us about upgrading the audio system in his new Ford Bronco Wildtrack, we were very excited! We love the new Broncos and have not had the opportunity to work on one yet. After putting together some options for the client, we settled on a design that would give him everything he wanted. The result was a system that would sound and look great.

Ford Bronco Amplifier Upgrade

A mounting plate was laser cut to give us a base for mounting the electronics.

It was a tight fit, but we managed to fit two amps and the integration piece on the board.

The two amps and processor were hidden behind the factory side panel.

The large screen of the Bronco served as the media source.

Powering the audio system upgrades would be two Rockford Fosgate amplifiers. A 4-channel amplifier would power the front and rear speakers, while a 500 watt mono amplifier would power the subwoofer. Integration with the factory audio signals is handled by a Wavtech processor. Based on the popularity of the new Bronco, we took the opportunity of having one in our bays to create some Bronco-specific mounting pieces. For mounting the electronics in this Bronco we make a CAD drawing of a mounting board that would fit the spot behind the rear quarter panel on the passenger side. We then cut that pattern out in 1/2″ plywood with our CNC laser. By carefully positioning the amplifiers we were able to mount not only them, but also the Wavtech processor.

Ford Bronco Speaker Upgrade

We laser cut an acrylic adapter plate for the tweeters.

The tweeters we added fit under the factory grilles.

It is rare to find a vehicle these days with kick-panel mounted speakers.

The factory speakers would not be able to handle the power of the new amplifiers, so they had to be replaced. We chose as are replacement for the front speakers, Kenwood XR components. These speakers are very efficient and will ensure the client has audible tunes, even with the roof off. We cut a custom acrylic plate on our CNC laser to adapt the tweeter to the factory speaker location. The woofer from the Kenwood component set was installed in the factory kick panel location. The client wanted to keep the rear pods factory-looking, so we simply replaced the speakers in the pods with a JL Audio coaxial speaker.

Subwoofer Upgrade for Ford Bronco

The enclosure base was test-fit on the door to check the mounting points.

Additional contouring was added to the enclosure.

The enclosure was primed with high-build primer so we could sand it smooth.

Strips of foam were added to the back of the enclosure to limit vibrations.

The client can open the tailgate with pride, knowing he has the great-looking enclosure bolted to it!

The woofer was sunk into the front baffle to help reduce the space it takes up in the storage area.

This acrylic beauty panel is removable to access one of the mounting bolts.

The enclosure was kept as thin as possible so the client could retain his storage space.

The final piece of the puzzle for this Bronco was adding some bass. The client wanted to retain as much usable space in the rear of the vehicle as possible, so we decided on an enclosure that mounts to the rear door. To make sure the enclosure would hold up to any of the elements this Bronco might see, we built it out of marine plywood. The enclosure was designed to be attached to the back door with 5 bolts. The bolts attach to the rear door with rivetnut inserts. This lets the enclosure be removed and reinstalled without affecting the attachment integrity.

To complement the stylish interior of the new Bronco we decided the enclosure would be upholstered in a black vinyl. In order to have the vinyl be nice and smooth requires a bit of work. Once the enclosure was constructed, we sprayed it with a high-build primer to fill in any voids in the wood. The enclosure was then sanded and any remaining imperfections were repaired. The acrylic beauty panel on the front of the enclosure not only looks great, but it also serves as a cover for one of the bolts that secure the enclosure. Strong magnets attach the panel to the enclosure and allow for removal if the enclosure ever needs to be unbolted.

Radical Audio Transformation

When we were done installing all the gear it was time to setup the processor and amplifiers. We made sure the levels were matched properly and that the crossovers were set on the amplifiers. After giving the vehicle a quick wipe down, it was time to return it to the owner. The owner was very happy with the upgrades and glad he would now be able to enjoy his music with the top on or off. Give us a call or contact us if you would like to learn more about options for your vehicle.

Gaming Bus Customization for Local Entertainment Service

August 5, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The folks at Game Zone gave us a call about converting the van that they tow their gaming trailer with into a gaming bus. We had them stop by Pinnacle Autosound with the bus so we could take a look at it. What they had was an empty bus. The scope of the project would include TV mounts, wiring, upholstery, bench fabrication, lighting and installation of all the parts. While it was a huge project, we hate to turn down a challenge, so we booked an appointment for the bus.

Preparation for Building

Once we had the bus at our shop, the first thing we had to do was prepare it for the work we needed to do. The floor had many metal parts bolted through it, for previous seating. Those all had to be removed. The bus also once had a power lift gate for a wheelchair. Many pieces of this system, mechanical and wiring, were still in the bus. We spent hours going through the wiring systems and removing the parts that were associated with the lift mechanism. This not only would make our upcoming wiring work easier, it would also make it easier for anyone servicing the bus in the future.

The AC for the bus previously was in the rear of the bus and was now going to be in the center on top of the roof. There were wires, cables and hoses associated with that system that we removed. Again, the goal was to remove any parts that were not needed to simplify what was left. We were going to be adding plenty of our own wires, so we wanted everything to be able to be as organized as possible.

With all the old parts removed, we gave the interior a good cleaning and prepared to work our magic!

Gaming Bus Design

The concept for this bus was to have 6 independent gaming zones. There would be 2 rows of benches with monitors mounted at angles above the benches. The person sitting on the bench would look above the people sitting in front of them to see the monitor they would be playing on. To provide the players with audio, a pair of speakers were to be located in the tops of the benches, so the players would hear the sound for their monitors right at ear level. The idea was to get the speakers close enough to the gamers, so they didn’t need to be turned up so loud that the sounds all of the different games blended together. In addition to the video and audio, we were also adding lighting below the monitors and in the storage areas in the benches.

Miles of Wires

Because of all the different lighting and audio-video zones, this build was going to require a LOT of wiring and cables. We started by running the wires that would go behind the monitor mounting plates. This included the speaker wires, HDMI cables and the power wiring for the USB charging ports and lighting. These cables were neatly routed and secured in the factory wiring loops found along the perimeter of the roof. Some of the wires were routed to the future gaming console rack, and others to the front overhead storage area. We made sure to label all the wires we were running on both ends, so when it was time for all the connections, there would be no questions on what went where.

Overbuilt Monitor Mounts

The two 2×12’s will provide a solid foundation for mounting the large monitors.

The 2×12’s were painted black to blend in with the bus.

The metal brackets were primed and painted with industrial grade metal paint.

The metal brackets were cut, welded and drilled for mounting the 2×12’s.

The first 2×12 was mounted and the brackets for the next board were being installed.

The bus owner’s concept of having the monitors over the heads of the gamers was a great one, it maximizes the usable space in the bus. What wouldn’t be great, however, would be one of those monitors falling on some young gamer’s head! We wanted to make sure no one got hurt while in the care of the Game Zone so we made sure that our design for securing the monitors was over the top. We knew we would need some adjustability in where the mounting brackets would be positioned so we wanted to build in as much flexibility as possible. What we planned out was a 2×12 on each side that would be mounted with steel brackets we would fabricate. The brackets would give us numerous mounting points to make sure that the 2×12’s, and monitors they would eventually hold, were solid. We were thankful that there was a lot of exposed metal framing on the sides and top of the bus. These points gave us very secure mounting locations to bolt the brackets to. Once we had the brackets all bolted in, we were able to screw in the 2×12’s. To help hide any parts of it that might be seen after the monitors were installed, we painted the 2×12’s with a flat black paint.

Benches, Lots of Benches

Every now and then we are smart enough to realize that sometimes its ok to ask for help. In the instance of the benches for this bus, we happened to have a moment of enlightenment and realized we should get some help. We enlisted the help of a trusted friend with a cabinet making background to construct the benches for us. This would free up our time to focus on other parts of the bus. We worked together with the bus owner to come up with a design for the benches that would fit all the criteria, then handed off the plans to our friend.

We designed the benches to be in six pieces. This made the most sense for not only construction, installation and transportation, but also for the natural layout of the seating. The top of each bench would have two speakers and a USB charging port, to charge the controllers. We also made room at the top of each bench for two storage pockets, for convenient storage of game controllers. When drawing out the plans for the benches we noticed a big area of space under the seating area. After a brief chat with the bus owner, we learned that having a space where gamers could put their personal effects would be a bonus. So, we turned the bottom space into a storage area!

In addition to benches, we would also need a cabinet to house all of the game consoles, audio amplifier, etc. Once again, we were smart enough to ask for help and tapped our cabinet friend in for another round of fabrication. The goal was for the cabinet to serve its purpose and disappear in the bus. To that end, we planned for it to be completely black.

Upholstery

The start of the upholstery process was to cover the roof.

Each of the six benches were covered with the blue and black vinyl.

With the upholstery complete, the pieces could now come together.

At this point we had all of the fabrication complete and parts ready for the next step. The next step was to begin the process of upholstering pieces in and out of the bus. When it was brought to us, the roof of the bus was shiny white. This would not go well with our goal of pushing the focus to the screens and ambient lighting. In order to change the color, and also help a bit with reflected noise, we used a low nap black carpet to cover the roof. This would help make it disappear, and also help the bus to be not quite so loud inside.

The next parts we had to cover were the long “walls” of the bus. We had created two long panels that would fill the space between the top of the benches and the bottom of the monitor support beams. To blacken them, and help with reflected sounds, we once again went with our black carpet.

The next to the last thing to be upholstered was the floor of the gaming bus. The color scheme for the interior was blue and black, so to define the walking space, we chose blue as the color for the floor. The carpet was glued down using a commercial grade adhesive, for long term durability.

Our final upholstery project was to cover the benches. We had outsourced the fabrication and upholstery of the bench cushions, but the benches themselves were something we chose to tackle. The cushions were going to be two-tone, with a blue stripe at the top of the backrest cushions, and the rest of that cushion and the bottom cushion being black. In keeping with that theme, we upholstered the tops of the benches in blue vinyl. This would complete the blue lines when looking down the length of the bus. The bottoms of the bench faces were upholstered in a black vinyl. Finishing off the bench upholstery was the inside floor of the bench storage areas. These were upholstered in the same blue carpet that we used on the bus floor.

Gaming Bus Assembly!

All the work we had done so far led to the final stage of the project, assembly! We first loaded in all of the benches into the gaming bus. Then they were fastened together with bolts. The whole bench assemblies were then carefully aligned and bolted through the floor. After the benches were installed, we then installed the side “walls” of the bus. These were fastened into wood pockets we had created on the back of the benches. The tops were screwed into the monitor support beams.

Now that the bench assemblies were in place, we could install all of the mounts for the monitors. Having the benches in place allowed us to properly align the brackets for maximum headroom of the players. We had researched the various mounts available and chose a mount that would securely hold the monitors, while allowing for adjustment, and removal for servicing. These brackets were installed into the 2×12 support beams with large lag bolts, to ensure they would stay in place.

With those items checked off our list, we were then able to install the cabinet that would house the gaming consoles. This was bolted the floor and secured to the side of the benches. We routed all the wires from the monitors and speakers into this cabinet.

Final Wiring and Lighting

The lighting power supply and controller fit nicely in the front overhead wiring area.

A lighting controller was added giving the owner control over the flexible RGB LED lighting.

A USB charging port was added between the speakers, for charging the wireless controllers.

Lighting was added to the under seat storage areas.

The pieces were all in place, it was time for more wiring. We started the final wiring process with installing the speakers and USB ports in the tops of the benches. Rockford Fosgate Punch series coaxial speakers were chosen for their great sound, efficiency and rugged grille.

Our next step was to move on to the lighting. We added RGB lighting strips to the inside of each of the storage compartments under the seats. We also added strips along the monitor support beams, these lights would shine down below the monitors and “paint” the bus walls with color. The wiring for the lighting went to the front top storage compartment. There we installed a power supply and lighting controller. The final part of the lighting was to install the controller plate. This piece has a rotary knob that allows the user to adjust color, brightness and lighting patterns.

The bus owner was going to be in charge of installing all the game consoles in the cabinet. Our task in the cabinet was to route the power strips, organize the HDMI cables and install the audio amplifier and wire it up. The twelve-channel audio amplifier provides audio output to each of the six pair of Rockford Fosgate speakers, giving each station its own stereo sound. Independent volume controls on the amplifier allow the owner to tweak the audio settings for each zone.

Monitor Installation and Logo

The cabinet was pre-wired and ready for game consoles.

The rear fuse panel was cleaned up with this cover that features an acrylic sign.

The perimeter lighting on the Game Zone sign was the finishing touch this project needed.

One of the most exciting parts of the build was the installation of the monitors. Up to this point, the bus still didn’t look very complete inside. Adding the huge 55-inch monitors to the bus threw in a big heap of WOW factor. We were finally able to stand back and look at how awesome all of the pieces came together. One final piece we added at the very end was a cosmetic trim panel to cover over the breaker box in the rear of the bus, over the emergency exit door. We made a trapezoidal shaped cover that finished that area for a much cleaner look. We didn’t want to waste that extra space, so we took the opportunity to create a two-color acrylic sign on our CNC laser to add some branding to the interior of the bus. The final touch for the logo was some RGB LED perimeter lighting.

Gaming Bus Completion

If you have read some of our other build posts, you will notice that this project was much larger than our typical job. We had the gaming bus for about 2 weeks of intense work. More time was spent planning out the layout and wiring. In the end it was all worth it. We had radically transformed a shell of bus into killer gaming machine! The owner of the bus was thrilled with the work we had done and couldn’t wait to get it on the road and full of gamers. Normally we end our build logos suggesting if you want similar work done to call us or email us. For a project such as this one, though, please bring your bus by.

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade for Repeat Lake City Client

July 29, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The owner of this 2015 Honda Civic previously had a stereo system installed by us in his old vehicle. We had removed that stereo system for him, and now he wanted his equipment installed in the Honda Civic. We came up with a plan for his Honda Civic stereo upgrade that would use a combination of his old gear and a few new parts.

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade: Speakers

We mounted the Morel tweeters in the factory tweeter location.

The Morel Virtus speakers fit perfectly behind the door panel.

In addition to upgrading the rear speakers, we also removed the factory 8″ subwoofer to provide a vent for the bass upgrade.

The OEM radio was retained as the source unit.

The previous setup the client had used a pair of Morel Virtus component speakers. These are some of our favorite speakers, so we were happy to be using them again in the Civic. Adding to the Virtus components, we added a set of Morel Maximo coaxial speakers in the rear deck. Powering the speakers are the 8 channels from two Rockford Fosgate 5-channel amplifiers. Six of the channels are powering the Virtus speakers (4 channels powering the woofers, 2 powering the tweeters) and two of the channels power the rear speakers. This provides the client with an incredible amount of power on tap for a very dynamic sound. The client liked the functionality of his existing factory radio, so we integrated his amplifiers with the factory radio outputs. Our Mitchell1 software was used to look up the wiring charts for the Civic and integrate our convertors.

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade: Subwoofers

The small enclosure left the client with plenty of trunk space.

The corners were rounded on the enclosure and the carpet was neatly wrapped.

The custom lasered insert gives this enclosure a unique look.

We lasered a custom remote bass level plate for the client.

Phase two of this installation was to add some bass. In the clients previous vehicle he had a single 10″ subwoofer. This time he had the trunk space, so he wanted more bass. Answering the call for more bass in this Civic was a pair of Rockford Fosgate 10″ P3 subwoofers. This subwoofers handle over 600 watts each and work in a very small enclosure. We designed and built the enclosure to fit up against the back seat of the Civic. It took up very little of the trunk’s usable space. To add a little bit of cosmetic flare to the enclosure we added an additional front plate that not only recessed in the woofers, but also gave us a mounting spot for a trim plate. The center trim plate featured a Honda emblem. We cut the plate on our laser and used a lower power setting to cut the acrylic paper and use it as a template for painting the design you see.

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade: Result!

After all the installation work done, we setup the amplifiers to extract all of the potential output from the speakers and subwoofers. The result was a very dynamic audio system that played loudly and cleanly. The client loved this Honda Civic stereo even more than his last car! We would love to chat with you about your next stereo upgrade, stop by Pinnacle Autosound or contact us online to make an appointment.

FF Cobra

July 23, 2022 By JOey Knapp

Wet Sounds Soundbar for RZR Upgrades Polaris Audio

July 22, 2022 By JOey Knapp

We were contact by this client to see if there were any Polaris audio upgrades available for his son’s Polaris RZR. After talking a bit with the client about how the RZR was used and looking at the space available, we came up with a great solution.

Wet Sounds Soundbar Installation

We bolted the soundbar through the roll cage for maximum durability.

The soundbar was oriented to fire forward.

The controls for the soundbar were centered between the seats, the soundbar also has a wireless remote.

All of the parts we added to the electrical system were labeled, for future servicing.

The solution we came up with for the client was a six speaker Wet Sounds Soundbar. This would give the client’s son a rugged option that would sound good and keep his RZR off-road capable. We knew this little ranger was going to take a beating, so we wanted to make sure the soundbar could survive anything the son threw at it. To make sure the soundbar stayed in place, we drilled through one of the buggies roll cage bars and through-bolted the soundbar to the cage. This soundbar isn’t going anywhere! Our wiring was then neatly routed down to the battery. We made sure to label the added relay and fuse for the soundbar, that way, if anyone works on it, they will know what those parts are for.

Simple, But Effective, Polaris Audio Upgrade

When the client came back later that day to pick up his son’s RZR he loved the Polaris audio upgrade. He was happy to see how solidly the soundbar was mounted and appreciated the clean wiring. If you want to upgrade your child’s offroad toy (or yours!), stop by with it and we will talk with you about the upgrade options we offer. If you would like to setup an appointment you can contact us here.

Rockford Fosgate Marine Audio System for Blackwood Boat

July 15, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The owner of this Blackwood boat came to Pinnacle Autosound looking for a stereo system that was as powerful as his boat. We have worked on plenty of boats so we knew what to recommend to the client to give him the audio system he desired. What we designed for the client was a full Rockford Fosgate marine audio system. He was happy with our discussion and booked the appointment.

All About the Canopy

Any number of colors can be selected with the Rockford Fosgate lighting app.

The Rockford Fosgate tower speakers feature beefy mounting brackets.

The bow side of the canopy got a pair of coaxials and a pair of tower speaker installed into it.

The stern side of the canopy was a mirror of the bow side.

We like that the tower speakers light up on the front and rear of the pod.

We talked to the client about a few options of where speakers could be placed in the boat, and ultimately decided the best route was to focus on the canopy. There were already four speakers in the canopy, that we knew we would replace. The client wanted more output than those four speakers could give him, so we added two more pairs. Since the canopy did not have places to mount four more speakers, we turned to the Rockford Fosgate tower speakers. Rockford Fosgate offers some mini-tower speakers that were perfect for adding more speakers in less space. We were able to utilize the bars and brackets on the canopy to mount the mini-tower speakers. A pair was added firing forward, and a pair was added pointing to the stern. These tower speakers, in conjunction with the canopy speakers would give the client plenty of sound anywhere in, or out of, the boat. All that was left to round out the system was to add some bass.

All About that Bass

The combination of all the lighting on the canopy speakers gave uniform color coverage to the whole boat.

We were able to fit the subwoofers in underneath the rear seating.

The client talked us into installing his lighting bar while we were working on the audio upgrades.

The canopy of a boat is a very poor place to try and add bass. The physical space available, as well as the poor sonics of the location for subwoofers had us look other places. What we found was a location below the stern mounted seats. This location was on the boundary of the boat, which typically works out well. We were able to fit two 10″ Rockford Fosgate marine subwoofers in this location. The last thing we had to do was install, wire, and setup the Rockford Fosgate marine amplifiers and lighting controller.

Client Loved his Rockford Fosgate Marine Audio Setup

This boat ended up being just what the client wanted, loud and clear. With all of the speakers being up on the canopy, it was easy to hear the boat from a great distance (we like to do a “walk test” outside of our bays to see how the sound projects). After a short demo for the client, he was in love with his Rockford Fosgate marine audio system. If it is time to upgrade or start with a new stereo system for your boat, stop by with it, we will take a look at it and discuss options with you. You can also contact us online to setup an appointment.

EZGO Stereo System for Repeat Powersports Client

July 8, 2022 By JOey Knapp

We don’t only install great sounding stereo systems in cars, trucks, RV’s and boats, we also make golf carts sound good too! The owner of this EZGO golf cart had previously brought his son’s Polaris to us to install a soundbar in it. He was so happy with the work we did on his son’s Polaris that he decided to bring us his golf cart for a stereo upgrade. Follow along as we go over his EZGO stereo upgrade.

EZGO Stereo, Controls and Amplifier

The custom lasered plate housed the switches and new radio.

We mounted the JL Audio amplifier and Rockford Fosgate lighting controller on a custom HDPE plate.

Typically on golf carts we use some sort of Bluetooth controller for the audio source. This client wanted something a bit nicer, as well as the ability to listen to FM radio stations. The radio he picked out was a Fusion color radio. It has tons of features and along with its’ bright color screen, was a great choice. We would be installing the radio and two switches in the dash of the golf cart. To integrate all of the electronics in the dash we used our laser to make a custom acrylic plate to house all of the gear. In addition to securing the gear, we also etched labels for the switches into the plastic. To power the new speakers we went to our go-to EZGO amplifier, the JL Audio MX 280/4. This little powerhouse provides the speakers with lots of power, while being a nearly waterproof amplifier. We mounted the speakers and lighting controller on a HDPE plate that we fabricated.

Rockford Fosgate Speakers with Lighting

The Rockford Fosgate speakers feature integral lighting.

The rear speakers provide more sound for the driver as well as the rear passengers.

One of our favorite locations for speakers in golf carts is in the front pockets. We have templates made to custom fit the pockets of the EZGO carts. These templates help us create perfectly fitting speaker adapters in the EZGO’s. In these templates we installed a pair of Rockford Fosgate coaxial marine speakers. In the rear, behind the seats, we installed another set of Rockford Fosgate speakers. To reinforce the plastic on the cart, we cut a piece of black HDPE plastic and mounted the speakers on the plate. When discussing the build with the client we mentioned that the Rockford Fosgate speakers had lighting built in to them. The client wanted to take advantage of the lighting so he agreed to add in the Rockford Fosgate lighting controller. This gives him the ability to control the lighting via the Rockford Fosgate lighting app on his smartphone.

EZGO Audio Pros at Pinnacle

Our final step once the gear was installed was to setup the JL Audio amplifier and make sure the lighting functioned properly. When the client picked up the EZGO he was blown away by the sound from his golf cart. We are sure he was happy that his toy was much louder than his sons! Contact us online or stop by if you would like to know more about stereo options for your powersports vehicle.

Ford Raptor Stereo System Upgrade

July 1, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The Ford Raptor is an awesome bit of engineering. Take one of the most popular Ford Trunks and pump it full of steroids and you have a Raptor! It is unfortunate, however, that the team at Ford didn’t design an audio system that was as awesome as the truck itself. Luckily, this is where Pinnacle Autosound comes in! A local client contacted us about upgrading her son’s Ford Raptor stereo system. She was very knowledgeable on mobile electronics, so it was a pleasure to work with her to design the perfect system for her son’s truck.

Speaker Upgrade

The front door speaker adapters were cut on our laser.

The speaker were installed behind the factory door panels.

The JL Audio C3 speaker was mounted as a coaxial speaker in the rear doors.

The client is a long-time fan of JL Audio, so we leaned heavily on that brand for this stereo system. For the front and rear doors, we used the JL Audio C3 speakers to form the foundation for great sound in this Raptor. The C3 speaker is unique in that it can be installed as either a component set or a coaxial speaker. This is fortunate for this Raptor, because we needed a component set for the front doors and a coaxial for the rear doors. The JL Audio C3 speakers were the perfect fit for each set of doors! To adapt the factory 5×7′ speaker to the JL Audio 6.5″ we used our laser to cut acrylic adapter plates. In the rear doors we used an aftermarket speaker adapter and topped it off with a bit of sound deadening material.

Amplifiers and Integration Processor Installation

We pre-wired much of the wiring on the amplifier mounting plate.

We carefully laid out the gear on the amp board to make sure they all fit.

We made a custom plate for the remote bass knob.

To power the speakers and subwoofers in the truck we used two different JL Audio amplifiers. The amplifiers and additional electronics were mounted to a custom board that we constructed to go behind the rear seats. The board mounts using factory mounting points on the back wall of the truck. Powering the speakers is an RD400/4 amplifier. The JL Audio RD amplifiers provide the client with incredible value and great sound. Providing the 1000 watts we needed for the subwoofers is a JL Audio JD1000/1 amplifier. This amp provides plenty of clean power in a small footprint chassis.
Because the client wanted to keep the factory source unit, we used a NAV-TV Zen interface to obtain a clean audio signal. The Zen interface takes the factory digital signal and provides a clean analog output that we used to feed signal to the amplifiers.
The final piece of electronics that are mounted to the board are the passive crossovers for the JL Audio C3 speakers. To make future servicing easier we custom lasered plastic labels to designate the front and rear, left and right crossovers. To give the client’s son complete control over the subwoofer amplifier, we mounted a JL Audio remote bass knob to the left of the steering wheel. We added a custom lasered labeling plate beneath the knob.

Custom Subwoofer Enclosure

The enclosure was loaded with the subwoofers and ready to be installed.

The enclosure lighting and speaker wiring was wired with a quick release plug, in case the enclosure needed to be removed.

The enclosure was finished with a combination of carpet, vinyl and acrylic trim pieces.

Laser-etched accent panels flank the center Raptor logo.

The laser etched piece of acrylic was also lit with LED RGB lighting.

The Raptor logo was lit and accent lighting was added at the bottom of the enclosure.

Bass for this system is a pair of JL Audio 10Tw3 subwoofers. These are some of JL Audio’s best “thin” subwoofers. We have used many of these subwoofers over the years to fit in the tight spaces that modern trucks present us with. In addition to being a shallow-mount subwoofers, these winners also take very little airspace for their enclosure. A home run for trucks! The client didn’t want just a plain carpeted enclosure for her son, and that was music to our ears! We used a combination of laser cut acrylic pieces and LED lighting to really set this enclosure apart.

Ford Raptor Stereo Upgrade Success

As with all our installations, after the equipment was installed and the vehicle cleaned, we set the controls on the amplifiers to maximize the output of the stereo system. This truck was designed to sound incredible, and it didn’t disappoint. The client loved the way the truck sounded, and enjoyed the impressive amount of bass it had, she couldn’t wait to share it with her son. We have worked on hundreds of trucks, so we know how to make them sound great. If you have a truck and are interested in upgrading the sound in it, stop by or contact us online.

Sportsman Speaker Upgrade for Repeat Marine Audio Client

June 24, 2022 By JOey Knapp

We are thankful for any client we have. We are most thankful for the clients that have used us, and had such a good experience that they continue to come to us for their audio needs. One such client owns this beautiful 24 foot Sportsman Masters bay boat. We worked on the boat when the client first got it, adding an amplifier and some subwoofers. This time the client wanted to come in for a Sportsman speaker upgrade, moving up to the M6 series of marine speakers by JL Audio.

Previous Sportsman Work

When the client first got this boat he immediately noticed the lack of bass it had. He made an appointment and dropped the boat off for a bass upgrade. We added two JL Audio M3 10″ subwoofers at the stern of the boat. To give us the clearance needed, we made a plate out of 1/2″ HDPE (also known as Starboard). To integrate the plate with the color scheme of the boat, we added a 1/4″ black acrylic plate below the HDPE plate. This white a black combination looked right at home on this Sportsman.

Sportsman Speaker Upgrade

Two speakers in the bow and two in the stern were upgraded.

The canopy had 2 pair of speakers that were upgraded.

A pair of speakers that flank the subwoofers were upgraded in the stern.

At the time we were upgrading the bass, the client expressed the interest in also upgrading the speakers from the M3 series to M6 series. This was in the middle of the Covid pandemic and products were challenging to acquire. We placed the order with JL Audio for the speakers and began to wait. Many, many months later the speakers finally arrived and we scheduled the appointment to upgrade the speakers. The speaker upgrade went smoothly, as the JL speakers share the same basket size cutout. With the speakers replaced, we re-tuned the amplifiers to take advantage of the new speakers. The update for the boat was an improvement and the client was pleased with the work. If you are interested in upgrading the speakers in your Sportsman (or other) boat, stop by or contact us online for ideas to enhance your audio.

Rosary Garden Panels for Mission Nombre De Dios, St. Augustine, Florida

June 17, 2022 By JOey Knapp

At Pinnacle Autosound we are almost always up for a new challenge. Not too long ago we were posed with an interesting project by a landscape architectural firm. The firm was putting together a project for the Mission Nombre De Dios in St. Augustine. The project was to make wood panels for the new Rosary Garden at the Mission. The panels would attach to aluminum frames that a metal fabrication company were making. Each panel has verses that are associated with the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

Project Planning

We work with a lot of materials when building things for cars and boats. One thing we weren’t sure about, though, was the best material for use in the outdoor setting. After consulting with a local woodworker and cabinet maker, we ended up settling on cypress. We were told that wood would age gracefully and stand up to the elements. One thing we had to check, though, was how well it reacted to being laser engraved. After we ran a test sample we found that it engraved beautifully. We worked together with the project engineer and the metal fabrication company to come up with the optimal size for the panels. The next challenge was sourcing the amount of wood needed for this project. After calling around to a number of suppliers we finally found a company that had what we needed.

Panel Fabrication

This is the photo of the wood shavings our cabinet friend sent us after the panels were planed.

We setup a jig on the laser bed for cutting each of the panels.

We mocked up the layout of the panels to check fitment.

The laser cut edges of the panels had a dark finish that helped add contrast to the design.

Weights were kept on the panels to keep them from warping.

The grotto panels and four base toppers were fabricated and ready for the finish.

The finish on the panels was flawlessly smooth.

With the details on the project nailed down, it was time to get to work. The first step in the process of making the panels was to plane the wood down to thinner, uniform thickness. This would allow us to precisely engrave and cut the wood panels. To expedite the planing process we once again turned to our cabinet maker friend. He was able to take the boards and plane them down for us.
Moving forward in the project it was time to laser cut and engrave the panels. Because we wanted the contrast of the darker lasered wood, with the lighter wood, we not only used the laser to engrave the text, but also cut the panels. There were going to be a total of sixteen panels for the Mysteries, along with 2 additional panels for a stone grotto.
To make the accuracy of the lasering process as precise as possible, we setup a jig on our laser bed, so each board could be placed and cut with exactness. Once the jig was setup we started the process of lasering the panels. The engraving part took quite a while, because the laser head has to move back and forth over the surface, much like an old dot matrix printer.
When the sixteen Mystery panels were finished, we moved on to the two grotto panels, and finally the construction of four square frames that would trim off the tops of the rock foundations for the metal panel frames.
After each panel was engraved and cut, we cleaned up the engraving residue by sanding each panel with fine sandpaper. It was then time to once again call in the help of our cabinet friend. We did not have a space large enough to handle laying out all of the pieces and spraying them with the protective top coat, but our cabinet friend did. He did an excellent job in laying down a glass smooth finish on the panels.

Panel Installation

The four panels were attached to aluminum frames.

The grotto panels were glued in place.

The completed panels blended well with the surroundings in the Garden.

One of our final steps was to hand-align each of the bolt heads so they were oriented in a cruciform orientation.

There was a lot of work and preparation that led to the installation day for the panels. All of the panels, necessary tools, and cleanup supplies were loaded up and the trip was made to beautiful St. Augustine. The installation process for the panels was to use the laser cut acrylic jig we made to drill the mounting holes in the aluminum frames. Then each of the holes were tapped for the 10-24 stainless steel bolts that would hold the panels to the frames. We lined the perimeter of the frames with bolts to help ensure the wood did not warp over time. After prepping the metal frames, we installed the square frames, and then we then began the process of bolting on all the panels. All four panels were loosely bolted on the frames and then each one carefully tightened in place. This allowed the panels to sit evenly and helped make up for any slight differences in the sides of the metal frames. The two larger panels for the grotto were installed using construction adhesive, as they were attaching to a stone base.

Cleanup and A Job Well Done

It was long day, but all the panels were able to be installed in one day. The final step was cleaning up the metal shavings and wiping down all of the wood panels. The Diocese representative and the engineering contractor both loved the panels and were excited to debut them and the beautiful new Rosary Garden.
While we won’t always say yes to every project, we like a challenge. If you need some custom fabrication work, stop by for a chat or contact us online.