Awaiting the Big Brown Truck

[thehikingdude]

I'm a proud new owner of a 07' Subaru Outback 2.5i Basic. I love pretty much everything about it except for the stereo. After losing the stereo that I'd upgraded in my trade-in I cringe everytime I turn the stock stereo on. Here's what I've got coming so far.

- Rockford Fosgate 3SIXTY.1 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4sCNSDMEYXb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=3sixty%2E1&i=5753SIXTY1)
- (2) Pairs: Alpine SPR-17LP Speakers (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4sCNSDMEYXb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=SPR%2D17LP&i=500SPR17LP)
- Alpine MRP-F250 Amp (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4sCNSDMEYXb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=MRP%2DF250&i=500MRPF250)

My plan is to replace the 4 stock speakers, disconnect the tweeters and am hoping that the amp and the 3Sixty.1 will fit under the front seats. Has anybody tried this?

I had purchased the Subaru Under-the-seat Sub, but after much consideration I decided to return it; I did this in hopes that the Alpine speakers will provide as much bass as the Subaru version would have.

I'd be curious to hear if anybody else has gone with this same basic setup and what you learned from your install. Thoughts?

Also, what about using some Dynamat on the doors. Is it worth the money? If I were to do only the front OR the back would it make more sense to do the front doors first?

I'd like to thank Magic for some advice he shared with me and the other members that have posted here. I was really beginning to think I was stuck with the stock stereo until I found this site. Thanks to all of you.

-jeff
Original 85' Subaru XT Coupe Owner

[Magic]

Your welcome. and if its in your budget, I would add the dynamat, at least the little door kits you can get from BB or CC

[thehikingdude]

I'm still somewhat up in the air on Dynamat or not. The only thing making me think about it is the money. I'm actually paying to have everthing installed as I just don't have the time to do it with me being a family man.

If I remember correctly the shop quoted me $25 per door for materials plus installation for the Dynamat. I suppose since the door panels will be off for the speaker install it would make sense to go ahead and do it. The guy said it would really help with the bass to have it installed. Would it be best to just bite the bullet and have all 4 doors done now?

Not sure if it makes a difference, but he mentioned they use trunk kits on the doors.

-jeff

[NickB34]

Sound dampening is well worth it, but I have no idea how much it costs to have a shop install it. I did it all myself and was very pleased with the results. It made the crappy stock speakers sound decent (had to try it out before I replaced them with better speakers). $25 per door doesn't actually sound too bad for the materials.

[pillboy]

Awaiting the Big Brown Truck
It's gonna be a while. Dale is replacing the Ford motor with a Toyota.

[FishingFiend]

I'm convinced you can get kicking bass by just upgrading the factory speakers and adding power, like you're doing. However, you really should add dampening material, in fact it should be mandatory if you're spending money on your system. After much time spent dampening the doors, I'm absolutely convinced that there is less road noise, better and deeper bass and more volume out of my stereo now. Try second skin, it's not that expensive...

I've got amps under the seats, so you should have no problems getting the 3sixty and alpine under there.

[thehikingdude]

This is all great news. I think I'm just gonna have to slap down the credit card and do it right, sound dampening that is. No reason to be half assed about it. 100% ass is the only way to go. :icon_wink

At this point I can't wait. I feel like a kid waiting for Santa to show up. I will keep you updated.

[FishingFiend]

This is all great news. I think I'm just gonna have to slap down the credit card and do it right, sound dampening that is. No reason to be half assed about it. 100% ass is the only way to go. :icon_wink

At this point I can't wait. I feel like a kid waiting for Santa to show up. I will keep you updated.

If your still skeptical, install your system and then dampen a week later. Get some foam too, I'm sold on that too.

Good alternative to dynamat
http://www.secondskinaudio.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?pg=1&p=ps

I'm waiting on a 3sixty.2, but the pain is worse when it's in your hands and your too busy to get it installed. I probably won't have the time for a couple of weeks. :(

[aldouse]

i think you may need some speaker spacers for that install.. and you might have to cut out of the door card.

i had to go w/ type-s on my car in order to be able to hide it behind the door card w/o cutting into it. not sure if the OB is any different from the regular leggy.

[Magic]

need spacers up front but not in the back

[thehikingdude]

Yeah, I'm hoping the spacers do the trick. The R series are rather deep, that's for sure.

Any thoughts on the MRP-F250 and the R series speakers? A guy at the shop doing the install mentioned that the R series aren't the most efficient and that 40W per channel may not be enough.

[Magic]

I would concur

[thehikingdude]

Magic,

How many watts would you suggest for the R type? The shop has a demo model of the Alpine MRV-F345 (http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=14928) that they would sell for $329. However that's much more than I had planned on spending at the moment.

My initial thought is to stick with the MRP-F250 and upgrade down the road if I decide I need more power. I may consider the Alpine PDX 4.100 once it starts to ship. Thoughts?

[Magic]

That would work

[thehikingdude]

OK, I pulled the trigger and got a used Alpine MRV-F345 off of ebay for $145 with shipping. Now I won't have to wonder if I'm getting enough power.

[Magic]

Nice!!!

[FishingFiend]

Nice amp. You're good to go.

For those shopping for a 4-ch amp, Sound Domain has a great deal on the Eclipse EA-4000. $199 is a great price!

http://www.cardomain.com/item/ECLEA4000

[thehikingdude]

Due to waiting for the Alpine MRV-F345 I've not started the install yet. The shop doing the work is estimating ~$300 to Dynamat all 4 doors. The $300 includes both labor and materials. Does this seem like a reasonable deal?

I understand I could do it myself for a lot less, but I just don't have the time or even the patience to do something like that. Sorry, that's just me. I used to do all of my own car work (stereo, brakes, you name it), I just got sick of messing with it.

[Magic]

Thats actually a decent price considering what labor cost now a days

[FishingFiend]

Due to waiting for the Alpine MRV-F345 I've not started the install yet. The shop doing the work is estimating ~$300 to Dynamat all 4 doors. The $300 includes both labor and materials. Does this seem like a reasonable deal?

I understand I could do it myself for a lot less, but I just don't have the time or even the patience to do something like that. Sorry, that's just me. I used to do all of my own car work (stereo, brakes, you name it), I just got sick of messing with it.

$100 or so for materials and close to $200 for labor. Ouch...

The hardest part of the installation is getting the door panels off for the first time, otherwise it's like a collage. Just apply the dampening material and cover metal and air holes...

[thehikingdude]

Thats actually a decent price considering what labor cost now a days

Good to know. I've used this same shop a couple different times in the past and have a lot of faith in their workmanship. Both the owner (been doing car stereo work since '75) and another guy (since '84) do all the labor. After hearing how much detail he puts into making sure the speakers are properly sealed, etc I feel even better about the music to be.

One thing I did ask is if they run new speaker wire and found out that they don't. They normally go from the amp to the back of the HU and just use the existing wire. I asked what gauge is in the Subaru and he said he believes it's 14. Does that sound right? Of course I can pay to run speaker wire, but I wonder if it's really worth it. Help!

[Magic]

Its 100% worth it. This is the poor mans way of running speaker wire into the doors. I have never used the factory wiring. and I have seen the factory wire its more like 18ga....:yuk:

[one69chev]

sounds good, post up some pics when your done.....

[thehikingdude]

The waiting is almost over. Install starts at 9am in the morning. Can I say that I feel like a kid waiting for Santa to show up. Taking a day of vacation from work to get this done. Is that sick or what?

I've finally mounted my Samsung Helix XM Radio just below the shifter (AT) which seems to work perfectly. I will be bringing my camera to the install shop, although I'm not sure if they will be ok with me taking pics or not. So you may only see pics afterwards. The Alpine MRV-F345 amp fits perfectly under the drivers seat, almost as if it was made for it.

Counting down the hours!!!!! Wish me luck.

[FishingFiend]

Bring some demo cd's and make sure it's tuned to your satisfaction before leaving... Good luck!

[thehikingdude]

I just got it installed yesterday so I still need to spend some time fine-tuning the sound. With the little bit of time I spent tuning the system the main guy at the install shop had the following to say.

"Wow, I'm impressed and I'm not impressed very easily."
"That is the best sound I've ever heard from a factory head unit."

They ended up using Cascade Audio VB-2 instead of Dynamat on the doors. I still don't have the bass I've become accustomed to so the JL Audio Stealthbox is surely in my future.

I will update you more once I've had more time to experiment.

I will get some pics as well.

[thehikingdude]

Nothing really exciting at all. I wanted a total stealth look without touching the back end tray as I use that area quite a bit when hiking / backpacking for more room.

Alpine MRV-F345 Amp under the drivers seat. This pic is with the drivers seat all the way forward. Once it's back you can't see a thing.

http://jeffandjean.smugmug.com/photos/126021809-M.jpg

Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.1 under the passenger seat all the way forward. Same thing, once it's back you can't see it.
http://jeffandjean.smugmug.com/photos/126021906-M.jpg

Note the remote volume control for the RF 3Sixty.1 in the ashtray, when it's closed it's out of sight. Mounted the XM Radio just below the AT shifter. Hard to tell from the pic, but it's not in the way of anything.
http://jeffandjean.smugmug.com/photos/126021843-M.jpg

I just got done setting the gain on the amp and the independant speaker levels as well from the 3.Sixty1. I am simply blown away by how well it sounds now. The only thing I'm missing is low bass. What's next?

And for those with a sharp eye you will notice the kooky RCA plugs on the amp. I still need to reverse the speaker leads and the RCA jacks after all the testing I did to figure out what was causing the amp to shut down. The outputs are actually working the way they should, but I still need to fix it so it looks AND sounds right.

[tdjanke]

Glad to hear you like the sound! Tell your friend if he likes that to check out a 3Sixty.2.

[Magic]

Stole my ash tray concept huh??? Thats ok :D looks good man, glad you like

[thehikingdude]

I hadn't seen that, but I just scanned your gallery and I see it now. Great minds think alike!!! :)

[one69chev]

nice pics man----looks really clean; the best installs are stealth imho........

[thehikingdude]

nice pics man----looks really clean; the best installs are stealth imho........

Thanks!!!!! It was a fun system to build and even more fun when people hear it and have no clue what's behind the curtain.

[thehikingdude]

I just added the Alpine PLT-5 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-joOocTKftMo/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=plt%2D5&i=500PLT5) (250 Watts RMS) Subwoofer a few days ago and am very pleased with the bass improvement. It fits perfectly up against the back seat of my '07 Outback. It's not quite as much bass as you might get from a larger box, but it's more than enough for me.

The shop I got it from is awaiting the PLV-7 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-joOocTKftMo/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=plv%2D7&i=500PLV7) which I will try out once they are in stock. Depending on how well it fits in the back I may upgrade if the bass is substantially better. The PLV-7 (500 Watts RMS) is supposed to be better suited for larger vehicles so it's likely I will go with it. I will keep you updated.

[thehikingdude]

I just added the Alpine PLT-5 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-joOocTKftMo/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=plt%2D5&i=500PLT5) (250 Watts RMS) Subwoofer a few days ago and am very pleased with the bass improvement. It fits perfectly up against the back seat of my '07 Outback. It's not quite as much bass as you might get from a larger box, but it's more than enough for me.

The shop I got it from is awaiting the PLV-7 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-joOocTKftMo/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=plv%2D7&i=500PLV7) which I will try out once they are in stock. Depending on how well it fits in the back I may upgrade if the bass is substantially better. The PLV-7 (500 Watts RMS) is supposed to be better suited for larger vehicles so it's likely I will go with it. I will keep you updated.

I was just looking back at this old thread of mine to grab the URL and noticed that I never followed up.

The Alpine PLT-5 worked great once I got all the settings fine tuned.

I also upgraded the 3Sixty.1 to the 3Sixty.2. The difference between the two is substantial. I couldn't be happier with the final outcome.

[RobE]

Big Brown Truck FTW!