From: aly abulkheir (abulkh34@matrix.newpaltz.edu) Subject: Re:Stereo Systems To: toyota-mods@cyberspace.cyberauto.com Date: Wed, 8 Nov 1995 21:28:17 -0500 (EST) Greetings Everyone, Regarding Jeffrey's post regarding his well thought out sound system, I would like to share what I have done regarding my sound system. I agree about the idea of staying with certain known brands and it will work if you are going for good general sound, but if you are going for all out clarity and balance (i.e., if you have become a crazed audiophile like me) you may find that just because one speaker manufacturer makes a great 6 1/2 doesn't mean that they make "the best" tweeter or 3 1/2, or that they make one at all, as you will see with my installation. This sound system was developed through listening sessions, months of reading, experimenting, asking questions, etc. It evolved from a bare bones system in my first car (a '75 Dodge Dart) to a more serious system in my second car (an '88 Mitsubishi Colt) with pounding bass, to what it is today in my "now and forever" car (my '85 MR2, red with All options) over a period of 5 years. Here it is: Components first: Yamaha YCT-925 Head Unit (tuner and cassette) Sony CDX-A15 10 disc changer (behind driver's seat, I'm short) a/d/s/ 642ix electronic crossover MB Quart 200.71 two way passive crossovers (pair) (2) a/d/s/ PS5.2 amplifiers (probably the best amp they ever made) a/d/s/ s6.2i 6 1/2" bass speakers (in bottom of doors)(also known as 420 speaker) MB Quart 100 KN-S 4" coaxials (in factory dash location) Infinity 32K 3 1/2" speakers (in upper-rear location) One amp runs the 6 1/2s in the doors from 32Hz to 3000Hz with 40Wx2. The other amp runs the 4s in the dash and the 3 1/2s in parallel. Surprisingly the front/rear balance is perfect running off one amp. (this amp is crossed over from 130Hz up) The front bottom of the doors was cut for a larger speaker, then thin sheet metal was cut, riveted and silicone sealed to the bottom front doors. This was covered with Dynamat for less resonation, then the hole was cut for the 6 1/2" bass speaker. Surprisingly, Toyota cut the bottom of the window at a 45 degree angle so it just misses the large magnet of this speaker (I was overjoyed, in a Mercedes 500SL, spacers were needed to mount this speaker, and in an NSX (Audio Coupe's install in Car Stereo Review), it worked because the Acura door panels are already spaced away from the doors. The bass is clear and powerful, without being boomy. I replaced the factoy door carpeting (thin felt over plastic) with sonically transparent carpeting available from any good car audio shop for $10. This carpeting looks exactly like the factory carpeting, but lets the sound through. In the dash, the MB Quart 4s fit right in after you cut off two of the mounting tabs so that it looks like the factory speaker. The 4 and the tweeter have separate power leads for bi-amplification if desired. I upgraded the crossovers to the Quart competition crossovers designed for these speakers and it cleared up the sound of the speaker noticeably. Polyester insulation (available at any fabric store) was used behind the speaker to provide a cleaner enclosure. In the upper rear (where you see holes in the '88/'89 MR2) I installed Infinity's 32K 3 1/2" dual cone speaker. I was skeptical at first with a dual cone, but after listening to it, I found the speaker to be clear with no harshness normally associated with dual cones. The cone in the center is not very deep anyway, so it may qualify as a mid-high speaker. I tried putting a 4" in there, but it is a very tight squeeze. For those of you wondering, the holes for these speakers are not there. You must remove the plastic panel and cut out a hole for the speaker. Try to get a speaker with a paper template for mounting, the Infinity included one. Polyester insulation was used behind this speaker too. Luckily, Sony makes the CD changers for Yamaha, so the Sony changer connects right to the very clear Yamaha tuner. This Head unit is no longer in production, since Yamaha left car audio, but it sounds incredible if you can get your hands on one. The amps and crossovers are mounted in the trunk against the front wall. They run cool, even though the engine compartment is right on the other side. Wires run to the right around the engine compartment. Taking the cooling vent on the right side of the car out temporarily is necessary to mount the wires, and drilling a 1" diameter hole is all that's necessary to route the wires into the passenger compartment and to the speakers. The installation is very stealth, in that you can't see the speakers if you look in. Every speaker is hidden by factory cloth, grille, or custom cloth. I am glad I did the entire install myself. It really sounds better that way when you can tune it yourself and make it sound the way you want it. It is frustrating at times when you can't get the sound right, but when you finally get it right, you find it was well worth the effort. If you are someone who truly enjoys listening to music, and you have a MK1 MR2, this sound setup will be well worth your while. If anyone has any questions regarding more detail of how each speaker or other components were mounted or decided upon, please feel free to email me. -Aly '85 MR2,Red with All options (yes, even the black spoiler) Looking for some more power the best handling and the most cost effective mods abulkh34@matrix.newpaltz.edu
From: vorpal@clubmet.metrobbs.com Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 15:10:48 -0500 Subject: MkI Stereo Upgrade I was looking at a setup for a stereo system for a MK I MR2 that was shown on the MR2 web site. I figured I would put in my 2 cents and say what MY system consists of. When I bought my MR2 used, it had the factory stereo and speakers in it, and soon this just wasn't enough. A killer sports car with a crappy stereo. Well, I went to a car audio specialist and they recommended a killer system, so we decked out the car. Here is what we put in. Sony XR-C210 head unit (Tuner/Casette) Sony CDX-45 10 disc changer (in the rear trunk against the wall) Boston Acoustic CX3 3 1/2" speakers for the rear. Boston Acoustic 4" speakers in the dash. Boston Acoustic 5 1/4" speakers in the doors (Yes, we had to do some drilling in the doors, and some work was done there because where they wanted to put the speakers, the box for the power windows was in the way. This had to be moved before the speakers could be put in) We also added a Clarion APA2060 30X2 amp to boost up the front speakers since they could handle more power. This system sounds nice, but one more thing was needed. Bass. Add 2 JL Audio 8W1 8" Subwoofers in boxes behind the seats. These 2 subwoofers are powered by the Clarion A1503 75X2 amplifier. Add a Clarion 21EX crossover and you have a nice system. I guess you can say that this system cost me around $2,500 to get it to where it is, but it's very well worth it. Now I can really crank the stereo and feel the kick of the bass as I take my T-Tops off in the summer and cruise in my red baby! Pat Jankowski vorpal@clubmet.metrobbs.com 1989 Red Supercharged MR2 (145 HP flying down the highway)
From: "Marc C. Brooks" (marcb@crl.com) Subject: Re: Help: Connecting a Stereo ('88 MK1 model) Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 16:17:58 -0500 Assuming you have the standard four-speaker layout... Red - Rear Right-hand + White - Rear Right-hand - Black - Rear Left-hand + Yellow - Rear Right-hand - Light Green - Front Right-hand + Blue - Front Right-hand - Pink - Front Left-hand + Violet - Front Left-hand - Pink/Blue - Subwoofer Control (+12v when radio/CD/tape is ON) Brown - Ground Black/Red - Antenna Up (+12v when radio is ON) Gray - Clock power (always +12v) Blue/Yellow - Main power (+12v when ignition ON or ACC) Hope this helps, Marc > back monday', he said, but I can't wait untill monday. So is there anyone > who know's what the colors of the wires stand for. Please help.
From: Smithwench@aol.com Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 14:27:34 EST Subject: Various Information Articles-MKI Stereo Upgrade Information
Car: 1988 Supercharged MR2 I noticed that the first article in this section has done almost exactly the same speaker layout that has been done in my car. The only difference is where the 6 1/2" subwoofers where placed. For some time now I've had many different custom radio installation shops look at my car for any ideas of where to place subwoofers. Originally, I had wanted a 8" but I wasn't sacrificing any leg space on the passenger side or cutting any holes into the cars body. Then, one day, I was driving through the bank and upon leaving I turned around to put the receipt in the compartment between the seat. Ya' know which compartment I'm talking about. The extremely usless one that was there to initially hold tape cassetes and so forth. Now that it's the cd age who needs that compartment anymore? Why not replace it with something more useful such as an 8" speaker? I drove IMMEDIATELY to GO-HO Car Audio in Virginia Beach for advice on if it would work. The manager, Brian, looked at the compartment and surrounding area and knew that an enclosed 8" speaker just would not fit. He showed me the two Kicker freeair 6 1/2" subwoofers and sold me on them almost immediately. I knew that there was going to be no other route to take but this one and it was a chance as it is. The speakers weren't hooked up so I couldn't hear them and no one in my knowledge had thought of putting speakers in the compartment space. Brain wasn't positive on how well it would turn out either. What the heck? Life's about taking risks anyway and if you love you car as much as I do then any change that hasn't been tried at least once can cause you to worry. No one likes to waste hard, earned money. I never expected the project to turn out as well as it had. The box and speakers fit like a charm. They are wrapped in matching cloth material to go with the back wall. All that is needed for security is a loose piece of the same black cloth as the box. The actual box sticks out about an inch and a half more than the consule did so there is no loss of significant room. I can still shift fast and hard with no worries. The sound created by these speakers is like home theater. The sound waves aim right towards the front windshield and reflect around the cabin. No matter where you put your ears the sound is immpeciable. The entire system complete now contains: Boston Accoustics Rally Series = 1" tweets in front corner of doors 3 !/2" cones in rear speakers 4" mids in front dash (1" and 4" are seprates) Kicker Freeair = 6 1/2" subwoofers inbetween seats Sony = CDX-5070 cd player w/ removable face (runs rear speakers) 4 channel amp w/ built-in crossovers (runs tweets & mids and subwoofers) I would like to add a cd changer as well but first comes speed. This weekend I'm dropping in a Jacobs Electronics Power Pak(with Omni Pak) ignition system. They say that it's a GUARENTEED 14 hp more at the wheels. I'll let you know if it is worth all the hype. Hopefully it will work well with the oversized supercharger pulley and custom exhaust already installed. Any questions that you have I'll do my best to answer. My e-mail address is: rycbrnr@hotmail.com. Thanks, Erich Summers