Car Audio

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.

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.

Jeep Wrangler Backup Camera and Audio Upgrade for Live Oak Client

May 24, 2022 By JOey Knapp

Jeeps and customizing go hand in hand. We don’t think anyone purchases a Jeep and thinks “It’s perfect, I will leave it just like this”. Customizing and enhancing safety were on the mind of a Live Oak client when she called us. The client wanted to make it easier to see when backing her Jeep Wrangler up and also get it sounding a little better. Jeeps aren’t the quietest vehicles on the road, so they always need a little help in the audio department.

Jeep Wrangler Backup Camera and Radio

The Sony radio gave the client access to her backup camera and smartphone.

The backup camera is barely visible hiding away in the wheel spoke

The backup camera is mounted in a metal tube, keeping it safe and secure.

Once the client dropped her Jeep off we began working on the numerous projects. The first we tackled was the Jeep Wrangler backup camera. For our Jeep clients we stock a special mount that positions the camera between the spokes of the spare tire. This provides an excellent vantage point for viewing, as well as having built-in protection from getting hit by anything. To help the client view her new camera, we installed a Sony touch screen radio in her dash. This radio not only shows the output of the backup camera when the Jeep is in reverse, but also give her the option for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

Speaker and Bass Upgrade

We designed and cut this acrylic adapter plate on our laser.

The front speakers were upgrade with Morel component speakers.

The small Sony subwoofer fit perfectly under the rear seat.

With the camera and radio done, we moved onto the speakers and subwoofer upgrade. We removed the factory speakers and replaced them with Morel Maximo speakers. We love the Maximo speakers for their smooth response and detailed sound. To fit the tweeters in the factory location we used our laser to cut out custom acrylic adapter plates. Once the speakers were done, it was time to add in a little bass. The client didn’t want to take up any of the usable space in her Wrangler, so we went with a thin, under seat subwoofer system by Sony. We mounted the subwoofer under the rear seat, leaving all of her hatch area accessible. With the new gear installed we went through and adjusted the radio as well as setting the subwoofer controls. The result was a great sounding system that was not only better sounding but also louder, with more bass. Now the client could safely backup her Jeep and sound good doing it! Give us a call or contact us here if you would like to find out options for upgrading your Jeep.

Ford Edge Car Stereo Upgrade for Lake City Client

May 22, 2022 By JOey Knapp

A longtime friend of Pinnacle Autosound decided he needed to upgrade the car stereo system in his Ford Edge. After a brief discussion on the phone, the client stopped by so we could get a better look at his vehicle. Looking at the vehicle, and talking with the client, we came up with a plan for satisfying his audio desires.

Morel Speakers and Rockford Amplifier

The rear doors were upgraded with Morel coaxials.

The front woofers were replaced with Tempo Ultra speakers.

The interior retained its stock look when we were done.

Our adapter plates mounted the tweeters in the factory location.

These plastic adapters were heat formed to fit the tweeters.

The first step in the stereo upgrade for the Ford Edge was to replace the factory speakers. The speakers that came in this Edge were lifeless and sounded even worse when cranked up. Our discussion with the client led us to the direction of Morel speakers. The Morel speakers are a natural choice for those that musically oriented, like this client. We have found that the Morel speakers are very natural sounding and require very little equalization to provide balanced sound. We used Morel Tempo Ultra components in the front and Morel Tempo Ultra coaxial speakers in the rear doors. To mount the tweeters in the factory location, we used our laser to cut some custom ABS plastic mouting adapters. Powering the speakers is a four channel Rockford Fosgate R2 amplifiers. This amplifier packs plenty of power in a small footprint.

Rockford Fosgate Bass

We placed the remote level control for the subwoofer within easy reach of the driver.

The custom lasered plate trims out the bass knob.

The Punch subwoofer offered quite a bit of bass in a small enclosure.

The client wanted a fair amount of bass, but also wanted the option to retain all his hatch space. Given these parameters, we chose the Rockford Fosgate Punch 12″ powered subwoofer enclosure. This awesome setup contains a 12″ subwoofer with a 300 watt amplifier, in a sealed enclosure. Both the power and signal wires into the enclosure are connected with quick release plugs. These make it easy for the client to remove the enclosure, should he ever need every bit of space in his hatch. The enclosure comes with a remote level control. We once again used our laser to make a custom trim plate for the knob.

Great Sounding Car Stereo Upgrade

With all the gear installed, it was time for us to setup the system. We adjusted the levels on the system interface and then the amplifier and powered subwoofer. The result was a great sounding system that exhibited wonderfully balanced tonality and awesome detail. The client loved the upgrade and couldn’t wait to listen to his favorite music in it. If you are interested in turning your vehicle into a rolling concert, give us a call or contact us here.

Chevrolet Silverado JL Audio Bass Upgrade

April 11, 2022 By JOey Knapp

A repeat client contacted us about adding some bass to his wife’s Chevrolet Silverado. After discussing a few options with him, we came up with the perfect solution. A pair of JL Audio 10Tw3 subwoofers and a 750 watt Rockford Fosgate amplifier would give his wife all the bass she could want.

Rockford Fosgate Subwoofer Amplifier

To power the JL Audio subwoofers we chose the Rockford Fosgate R2 750 watt amplifier. While officially labeled as a 750 watt amplifier, this powerhouse actually packs over 900 watts in a small footprint. The amplifier was tucked away under the driver’s seat.

JL Audio Bass Upgrade

To maximize the amount of bass we could fit under the rear seat of the client’s wife’s truck, we looked to one of our favorite subwoofers, the JL Audio 10tw3. The JL Audio 10tw3 subwoofer offers all the performance of a full sized traditional subwoofer in a profile that is a little more than 3″ deep. The shallow mounting depth, small enclosure requirements and great power handling all make for a subwoofer that is nearly perfect. It’s no wonder it is our go-to truck subwoofer.

Custom Subwoofer Enclosure

With the gear selected, it was time to build the enclosure for the subwoofer. We headed into our woodshop to construct a sealed enclosure with the subwoofers in a down firing orientation. Firing the subwoofers down not only offers them a bit of protection, but also provides some sonic benefits, as well. We noticed that the truck had some pink accents on it, so we decided to take that theme and run with it. When the enclosure was fabricated, we used our laser to cut a 1/4″ MDF template that was glued on the enclosure. The template was then blended into the enclosure with body filler. The template formed a pocket for a custom acrylic insert. We used our laser again to cut a 1/4″ black acrylic insert for the pocket. We set the laser to cut “Silverado” just deep enough to cut through the protective paper on the acrylic, and then used that as a mask. With the letters peeled out, we primed and painted the acylic with pink paint that was a perfect match to the other accents on the truck.

Underbody and Interior RGB LED Lighting

The final request for the client was for us to add some RGB LED lighting to the underside of the truck as well as the interior. We used one of our premium LED Glow kits that gives the client smartphone control of the lighting. Another thing that makes this kit special is that LED’s are addressable. Normal kits offer just the ability to change to a single color at a time. This premium kit has LED’s that can be programmed to change to multiple colors, as well chase and form patterns. An added benefit of the interior lighting is that the rear lighting also helped illuminate the front of the new enclosure.

Chevrolet Silverado Bass and Lighting Upgrade

With all the work done it was time to return the truck to the client. Both the client and his wife were thrilled with the way the upgrades sounded, the added details on the enclosure and the lighting on the truck. We were happy that they trusted us to help fulfill their goals for the Silverado. If you would like to know more about Chevrolet Silverado upgrades or other truck options, give us a call or email us.

Premium Stereo Upgrade for Lake City Ford F-250 Pickup Truck

June 11, 2021 By JOey Knapp

A previous client from here in Lake City brought his 2015 Ford F-250 pickup truck to Pinnacle Autosound for a stereo system upgrade. We’d worked on the client’s boat in the past, and he was very happy with the enhancements we installed. He wanted the stereo in the Ford to play louder, sound clearer and, of course, deliver much better bass response. After inspecting the vehicle and talking to the client about his listening preferences, our team put together a premium audio upgrade that would deliver on all his expectations.

Ford F-250 Pickup Truck Stereo Upgrade

We used our laser to cut the ABS adapters for the Morel tweeters to mount in the factory location.

The rear doors got upgraded with the Morel coaxials.

The speaker adapter plates were reinforced with sound deadener.

The Morel Virtus speakers were a huge upgrade over the stock speakers.

The front doors were retained their great stock look, but sound much better.

We started the project by removing the stock speakers to make way for new drivers from Morel. Our team used a set of ABS plastic adapters to mount the 6.5-inch woofers from a Virtus 602 component set in the OE speaker location in the front doors. The adapters are lined with sound deadening to make them more rigid. We mounted the tweeters from the Virtus 602 set in the stock locations at the top of the sail panels, and we made ABS brackets to hold the tweeters in place behind the grilles.

For rear speakers, we used a set of Morel Tempo Ultra Integra 602 two-way coaxial speakers in the doors. While the door trim panels were off, we treated the inner and outer door skins with sound deadening to make the interior of the vehicle quieter.

JL Audio Subwoofers Add Impact and Warmth

Our Thunder Laser was used to create the acrylic trim plate.

LED lighting and chrome trim was used to accent the bottom of the enclosure.

Different layers of trim were used to accent the front of the enclosure

We were able to squeeze all of the electronics on the back wall.

The next step in upgrading the stereo in this pickup truck was to construct a custom enclosure for a pair of 13.5-inch JL Audio 13TW5 subwoofers. The enclosure fits under the rear seats with the subs pointed down at the floor. We added a custom trim piece to the face of the enclosure with a panel that bears Ford’s Platinum logo. We used our CNC laser to etch the logo into a sheet of cast acrylic. The trim is wrapped in gray vinyl, and the rest of the enclosure is finished in a gray carpet that matches the interior of the vehicle. Blue LED lighting under the enclosure and behind the accent piece gives the whole thing some extra style.

The subwoofers are powered by a JL Audio RD1000/1 monoblock amplifier that’s mounted to the back wall of the truck. A four-channel Morel MPS 4.400 amplifier that’s mounted beside the sub amp provides power for the front and rear speakers. The amplifiers, passive crossovers for the front speakers and the system’s signal processor are affixed to a carpeted panel to keep things tidy.

We used a PAC AmpPRO interface to connect the new audio equipment to the factory radio. This interface extracts the audio signal that’s normally fed to the factory-installed amplifier and provides a full-bandwidth, processing-free signal that we used to upgrade the sound system in this truck. The preamp outputs of the PAC interface are connected to a JL Audio TwK-88 digital signal processor.

Signal Processing Improves Car Audio System Accuracy

The TwK-88 processor handles frequency filtering for the sub and speakers in the truck. We also used it to equalize the output of each speaker to deliver a smooth and natural response that’s free from peaks and valleys. Finally, we set the signal delays and output level adjustments so that the system would create a very realistic soundstage that spans the width of the dash.

We upgraded the TwK-88 with a JL DRC-205 remote level control, which we mounted on the dash to the left of the steering column. We created a trim ring for the remote with our computer-controlled laser to identify the functions of the adjustments.

North Florida’s Best Car Audio Upgrades

With the audio system installation complete and the processor and level controls on the amplifiers dialed-in, it was time for the client to return to pick up his F-250. He was thrilled with the sound of the upgraded stereo in his truck and loved that everything was integrated so nicely.

If you are interested in upgrading the audio system in your vehicle, drop by Pinnacle Autosound in Lake City and speak with one of our Product Specialists. If you can’t come by the store, give us a call or send us an email using our online contact form.

Product Spotlight: Rockford Fosgate T1650 Euro-Fit Coaxial Speakers

April 27, 2021 By BestCarAudio.com

If you want a fantastic bang-for-your-buck speaker upgrade for your car or truck, check out the Rockford Fosgate T1650 Euro-Fit speaker set. Using many of the same technologies found in the popular Power Series T1 components, these speakers optimize every dimension to deliver impressive efficiency and great bass output while delivering crystal-clear sound.

What Size Are My 6.5-inch Speakers?

You’d think that cars and trucks that use “6.5-inch” speakers would all be the same, right? The reality is, some OE speakers in this class are closer to 6 inches in diameter, while others are closer to 7. Rockford’s Power Series coaxial speaker offerings include three size solutions to optimize the upgrade in your vehicle. The T16 models are 6-inch speakers and fit in cut-outs with a 5.04-inch diameter. At the other end of the scale are the T1675 speakers, which are a 6.75-inch set and require a 5.68-inch cut-out. In the middle, we have the T1650 speakers that we’ll focus on for this spotlight. These two-way drivers mount in a 5.51-inch cut-out, have an outer diameter of exactly 6.5-inches and require 2.5 inches of mounting depth.

Rockford T1650 Features

The T1650 speakers are based around a custom-tooled, stamp-cast aluminum frame. Rockford Fosgate optimizes the rigidity of the design by including curved elements in both the vertical and lateral axis. Of note, there are four cooling vents near the magnet to let hot air escape from the outside of the voice coil and prevent air from pressurizing under the spider as the cone travels forward and rearward from rest. Also worthy of mentioning is the die-cut foam gasket on the rear of the mounting flange that helps to seal the speakers against the mounting surface. Not many companies include these gaskets, especially at a price point under $150 USD.

In terms of moving parts, the speakers use a carbon fiber-filled polypropylene woofer cone that’s suspended by a Santoprene rubber surround at the top and a long-lasting poly-cotton spider at the base. Rockford’s Vertical Attach Surround Technique (VAST) optimizes cone area by minimizing the width of the surround. Of course, the design team used its Klippel test equipment during the development process to ensure that these speakers operate linearly to minimize distortion.

At the base of the cone is a 1.1-inch diameter, high-temperature aluminum voice coil former with a winding that presents a 4-ohm load for the amplifier. Spade terminals in 0.25- and 0.205-inch sizes are provided for electrical connections.

One of the features that separate this speaker’s design from most competing products is how the tweeter is mounted. In most 6.5-inch speakers, the tweeter is mounted on a post that extends forward from the T-yoke through the center of the woofer cone. While this works fine, it sacrifices some cone area and reduces the efficiency of the driver. Rockford chose to mount the tweeter on a bridge that extends from the lower edge of the basket. The tweeter is angled upward to allow the installer to optimize the delivery of the highest-frequency information to the listener.

The tweeter itself is a 1-inch aluminum-dome design that has been treated to prevent unwanted diaphragm resonance. Importantly, Rockford Fosgate has integrated a 12 dB/octave tweeter filter network into the speaker to ensure a smooth transition with the woofer.

Going back to the basket design, these speakers feature Rockford’s FlexFit 2 mounting solution. Rather than being riddled with holes, the driver mounting lip includes eight holes and eight slots that make them compatible with a variety of vehicles to save your installer time and hassle. Last and certainly not least, Rockford includes a set of perforated steel mesh grilles with the speakers for custom installations.

Let’s Look at the T1650’s Specifications

While design features are cool, how all those components come together is crucial to recreating your music with accuracy and exuberance. Rockford Fosgate rates the T1650 to handle 75 watts of power continuously and 150 watts maximum. The drivers have a Qts spec of 0.74, indicating that they are designed for installations in an infinite baffle application like the door or rear parcel shelf of a vehicle. This Q factor also indicates that the speakers will reproduce bass without the unwanted distortion that would be found from drivers with Qts values above 0.8. With that said, the compliance (Vas) specification is low enough that an enclosure with an internal volume of 0.5 cubic foot or larger won’t result in unwanted resonance in the midbass region (100-200 Hz).

Finally, the Xmax specification, which describes how far the woofer cone can move forward or rearward from rest, is an impressive 5 mm. This spec is more excursion than on some high-end component woofers in this size range. The transducer design team at Rockford Fosgate knows what they’re doing.

Upgrade the Speakers in Your Car or Truck Today

If you’re shopping for a 6.5-inch speaker set to upgrade your car audio system, drop by your local authorized Rockford Fosgate retailer and ask for a demonstration of the T1650 set. Their unique combination of features will undoubtedly prove to be impressive. You can find a Rockford Fosgate dealer near you by visiting the dealer locator on their website. You can keep up with the newest product releases from Rockford by liking their Facebook page and following their Instagram feed. They also offer informative and entertaining videos on their YouTube channel.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Pinnacle Autosound

1895 SW Main Blvd

Lake City, Florida 32025

United States (US)

Phone: 386-269-0060
Email: sales@pinnacleautosound.com

Product Spotlight: Rockford Fosgate R2-750X5

April 20, 2021 By BestCarAudio.com

In the spring of 2020, Rockford Fosgate launched the latest generation of its Prime Series amplifiers. While the focus of this spotlight is on the full-range Class-D five-channel R2-750X5, it’s worth noting the R2 series also includes a two-channel, two four-channel and four monoblock models. Equipped with features and technologies that have trickled down from the Punch and Power series, these compact yet powerful amplifiers are ready to bring your music to life.

The Basics – Features and Ratings

Rockford leads the car audio industry with power specifications you can trust. The four main channels are rated to produce 50 watts of power into 4-ohm loads and 100 watts into 2 ohms. The front channels can be bridged to provide 200 watts into a pair of 4-ohm speakers. The subwoofer channel is rated for 200 watts at 4 ohms and 350 watts at 2 ohms. In total, that’s 750 watts – just like it says in the model number. Signal-to-noise specifications are -80 dB for the main channels and -75 dB for rear, and just like the power ratings, these numbers are fully compliant with the CTA-2006 testing standard.

If you look at Rockford’s website, you’ll see another set of power ratings. Tested using their internal RATS (Rockford Automated Testing System) and verified by the Audio Graph PowerCube, these elevated numbers represent the real-world power production capabilities of the amp when playing music that’s dynamic instead of single-frequency test tones. The Dynamic Power numbers are 70 watts by four and 241 watts for the subwoofer at 4 ohms, and 114 watts by four and 426 watts by one at 2 ohms.

Rockford R2-750X5 — The Rockford Automated Testing System (RATS) is used to verify the continuous and dynamic power capabilities of amplifiers like the R2-750X5.

All of the electrical and signal connections are found on the front edge of the amp. Angled terminal blocks for four-AWG power and ground cables are next to the five eight-AWG speaker output connection blocks. The amp includes six RCA input jacks that will accept up to 4 volts of signal. Beside them are three jacks for the included speaker-level input pigtails. All of the inputs use balanced differential circuitry to help prevent noise from getting into the audio system. The high-level inputs will accept up to 12 volts, and an accompanying switch labeled Auto Remote Turn On will bring the amp to life when it detects that your factory radio has powered on. A three-position input selection switch allows the amp to feed all five channels from four or just two of the inputs to eliminate the need for Y-cables.

The controls have been placed along the top to make it easy for your installation technician to configure the amplifier. The front and rear channel pairs have dedicated sensitivity adjustments and crossover function and frequency controls. The filtering can be set to high- or low-pass modes, or bypassed. The crossovers are adjustable from 50 to 250 Hz and have a -12 dB/octave Butterworth response curve. The subwoofer channel shares the same low-pass filter frequency adjustment range as the main channels and adds an infrasonic filter that’s adjustable from 15 to 40 Hz. The last control is the Punch EQ adjustment that your installer can use to add up to 18 dB of boost at 45 Hz to the subwoofer channel. Rockford includes a remote level control so that you can adjust the subwoofer level from the front seat.

Rockford Technology Improves Performance

If you’ve been a fan of Rockford products for a while, then acronyms like MEHSA, P.O.W.E.R., C.L.E.A.N. and NOMAD should be nothing new to you. What is new is finding all of these features on a Prime Series amp.

The amp is based on a 1.9- by 6.8- by 11.2-inch cast aluminum heatsink that wicks heat away from the switching devices quickly and efficiently. Rockford calls this design MEHSA 4, which stands for Maximum Efficiency Heat Sink Application version 4. What this means to users is that the amp will keep making its rated power hour after hour, even with the volume cranked. Sure, the heatsink will get hot – but that’s its job. MOSFETS don’t like being hot. In fact, their maximum current capacity drops quickly as they heat up. A thermal design like MEHSA 4 extracts heat from the output devices to reduce distortion, improve efficiency and extend the life of the amplifier.

The R2-750X5 includes a power supply design called P.O.W.E.R. This lightly regulated configuration increases maximum power output capability as the charging system supply voltage increases. Speaking of which, this amp is designed to work with supply voltages from 9 to 16 volts.

In terms of protection, Rockford’s NOMAD (NOn-Multiplying Advanced Decision) circuitry monitors the amp and will mute the outputs if it detects a short circuit on a speaker connection or an over-temperature condition on the chassis.

Perhaps the coolest technical feature in the R2-750X5 is the C.L.E.A.N. (Calibrated Level Eliminates Audible Noise) circuit. C.L.E.A.N. monitors the input and output connections for distortion. On the input side, the circuit monitors the signal from your radio for distortion so your installer can identify the maximum usable volume setting. On the output side, the monitoring LEDs turn red when the amp starts to clip the output signal.

Upgrade Your Car Audio System with Rockford Fosgate

If you are shopping for a high-performance multichannel amplifier to upgrade your car audio system, visit your local authorized Rockford Fosgate dealer and ask about the Prime Series R2-750X5. You can find a shop near you using the Dealer Locator on the Rockford website. For more information about Rockford products, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or their YouTube Channel.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.