06 Legacy Stereo

Yea I know there are 23423423 posts about peoples stereo setup but it took for friggin' ever and I feel like posting about it.

 

I started by adding a new head unit and replacing the front speakers/tweeters with these. Both went in the default factory locations. I added dynamat to both the outer and inner side of the door. I wasn't planning on both sides but I had enough so I figured what the hell. I wasn't thinking ahead so I didn't take any pictures of the process, I will post some after photos though.

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2006/023/h023GTC652-f.jpeg

 

and

 

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2008/158/h158GT620U-f_mt.jpeg

 

I like the deck because it has a USB input and aux. The USB is great I picked up a 4GB thumb drive for $9 and just load it up with MP3s. I'm new to all this so the deck install was a major pain in the ass. After I got that all working I ended up installing an amp, under driver seat, and sub, put in a 150w pioneer amp with 12" alpine sub. I then installed a second amp, under passenger seat, 100w x4 for the front and rear speakers. I only did this because I had traded for the amp for some computer work and I really wanted the built in crossovers. Turns out it made a way bigger impact than I thought. I think it sounds really nice, after velcroing down my plate there is zero rattle inside or out.

 

Anyone have any ideas for rear speakers?

Where did you get the dash kit from for the headunit? Looks good and I need one.

Boy you sure are lucky to have the single Hvac vs the dual Hvac most of us have and can use that faceplate (crutch field has it I believe). We don't have the option of using that mod.

Rear speakers won't make too much of a difference. I always put my $ in the front sound stage. You will however, benefit from decent coax's in the rear. A decent $ 80 pair will do.

I meant can't use that faceplate

Where did you get the dash kit from for the headunit? Looks good and I need one.

 

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120998901/Subaru-Legacy-Outback-In-dash-Receiver-Kit.html?tp=3121

Boy you sure are lucky to have the single Hvac vs the dual Hvac most of us have and can use that faceplate (crutch field has it I believe). We don't have the option of using that mod.

Rear speakers won't make too much of a difference. I always put my $ in the front sound stage. You will however, benefit from decent coax's in the rear. A decent $ 80 pair will do.

 

 

The front speakers that I have are pretty good, I'm looking for something in the back that will fill out some more mids and bass. Because of vibration issues I have the crossover cutoff for the front speakers at 125MHz (is MHz right?). I've been tweaking the settings because I've cut out a decent chunk of the mid-to-low range up front. I feel like some good speakers in the back with a little more gain on them will solve the problem.

Personally I prefer my cutoff at 80-100 hz (not mhz) in the front to allow a bit of midbass upfront. That also depends on your sub cutoff point (generally should be 60 - 100 hz) . Lower values will give you better upfront bass at the expense of less bass range. Also the slope is of importance , most basic amps have a 12 db per octave frequency cutoff (the rate at which the cuttoff rolls of the desired range). Better amps allow you to chose between 12, 18 and 24 db per octave. One of the problems you may have is the lack of power. 100 x 4 RMS is a meager 25 w per channel. Some amps can drive speakers well at that range but if you have big magnet ,power hungry speakers you will not get the bass (or mid bass) you want or need. You dont need massive power for bass. Case in point is our stock LGT systems where there is a fair amount of bass/midbass . This is mostly due tothe matching of our stock headunit with fairly efficient speakers.

I'm currently curring off the front at around 90hz. I've been tweaking it so that it sounds best while not causing unwanted vibrations. My amp is 100w per channel (peak) on 4 channels, it pushes plenty and is almost all the way turned down. The main reason I want new rear speakers is because I can push a better range out of the rear without the vibrations.

Sounds like you know what you are doing and on the right track. Remember that 100 watts peak is a useless value . The RMS power is what really counts. For years I toyed with various amps and now run 150 watts RMS to each front (JL audio 300/2). It gives you alot more headroom to tweak. Vibrations or "resonances" in the front are often vibrating panels but can be quelched with sound deadening /absorbing. I know you already did so but maybe you might want to look into further sound deadening in the space above the front speakers . Ean611 is the guru in that department and and did an excellent write up a few months ago. I followed his advice with excellent results. Do change out the rear speakers , at amplified levels it will definitly sound better than the stockers. GL with your system.

I am installing a system now - where'd you tap power for your amp?

I want to get under the hood to the battery/alternator post...

Thanks - JER5EY

I used the hookups that were there for the factory sub and installed the amp under the drivers seat. I then added a block to split the power over to my 2nd amp.

Issac -

I have no amp harness under my driver's seat - yours was there already, or you ran it/one?

Thanks - JER5EY

I'll take some pictures and send them, I don't have a GT maybe something is different in the GT

I finally got from the under-dash grommet to the hood/fender/battery...

Will post pix & such later - thanks for anyone who helped (issac)...

- JER5EY

grommet is above the major harness by the driver's (LH) left toe, exits under hood by hood release cable...

Not as easy as it sounded...